Gene-level analysis of rare variants in 379,066 whole exome sequences identifies an association of GIGYF1 loss of function with type 2 diabetes
Aimée M. Deaton, Margaret M. Parker, Lucas D. Ward, Alexander O. Flynn-Carroll, Lucas BonDurant, Gregory Hinkle, Parsa Akbari, Luca A. Lotta, RGC Management and Leadership Team, Gonçalo R. Abecasis, Aris Baras, Michael Cantor, Giovanni Coppola, Aris N. Economides, Luca A. Lotta, John D. Overton, Jeffrey G. Reid, Alan Shuldiner, Katia Karalis, Andrew Deubler, Katherine Siminovitch, Sequencing and Lab Operations, Christina Beechert, Caitlin Forsythe, Erin D. Fuller, Zhenhua Gu, Michael Lattari, Alexander Lopez, John D. Overton, Thomas D. Schleicher, Maria Sotiropoulos Padilla, Louis Widom, Sarah E. Wolf, Manasi Pradhan, Kia Manoochehri, Ricardo H. Ulloa, Genome Informatics, Xiaodong Bai, Suganthi Balasubramanian, Andrew Blumenfeld, Boris Boutkov, Gisu Eom, Lukas Habegger, Alicia Hawes, Shareef Khalid, Olga Krasheninina, Rouel Lanche, Adam J. Mansfield, Evan K. Maxwell, Mona Nafde, Sean O’Keeffe, Max Orelus, Razvan Panea, Tommy Polanco, Ayesha Rasool, Jeffrey G. Reid, William Salerno, Jeffrey Staples, Michael Cantor, Dadong Li, Translational and Analytical Genetics, Adam E. Locke, Niek Verweij, Jonas B. Nielsen, Jonas Bovijn, Tanima De, Mary E. Haas, Parsa Akbari, Olukayode Sosina, Marcus B. Jones, Jason Mighty, Michelle G. LeBlanc, Lyndon J. Mitnaul, Regeneron Personnel, Gonçalo R. Abecasis, Aris Baras, Michael Cantor, Giovanni Coppola, Aris N. Economides, Luca A. Lotta, John D. Overton, Jeffrey G. Reid, Alan Shuldiner, Andrew Deubler, Katia Karalis, Christina Beechert, Caitlin Forsythe, Erin D. Fuller, Zhenhua Gu, Michael Lattari, Alexander Lopez, Thomas D. Schleicher, Maria Sotiropoulos Padilla, Karina Toledo, Louis Widom, Sarah E. Wolf, Manasi Pradhan, Kia Manoochehri, Ricardo H. Ulloa, Xiaodong Bai
Abstract
Abstract Sequencing of large cohorts offers an unprecedented opportunity to identify rare genetic variants and to find novel contributors to human disease. We used gene-based collapsing tests to identify genes associated with glucose, HbA1c and type 2 diabetes (T2D) diagnosis in 379,066 exome-sequenced participants in the UK Biobank. We identified associations for variants in GCK, HNF1A and PDX1 , which are known to be involved in Mendelian forms of diabetes. Notably, we uncovered novel associations for GIGYF1 , a gene not previously implicated by human genetics in diabetes. GIGYF1 predicted loss of function (pLOF) variants associated with increased levels of glucose (0.77 mmol/L increase, p = 4.42 × 10 –12 ) and HbA1c (4.33 mmol/mol, p = 1.28 × 10 –14 ) as well as T2D diagnosis (OR = 4.15, p = 6.14 × 10 –11 ). Multiple rare variants contributed to these associations, including singleton variants. GIGYF1 pLOF also associated with decreased cholesterol levels as well as an increased risk of hypothyroidism. The association of GIGYF1 pLOF with T2D diagnosis replicated in an independent cohort from the Geisinger Health System. In addition, a common variant association for glucose and T2D was identified at the GIGYF1 locus. Our results highlight the role of GIGYF1 in regulating insulin signaling and protecting from diabetes.