title: A synonymous SNP of the corneodesmosin gene leads to increased mRNA stability and demonstrates association with psoriasis across diverse ethnic groups.
abstract: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder with multifactorial aetiology. Genome-wide scans have provided unambiguous evidence for a major disease susceptibility locus on chromosome 6p21 (PSORS1). A minimal PSORS1 interval has been defined which encompasses three genes (HLA-C, HCR and CDSN) carrying psoriasis-associated SNPs. On the basis of this genetic evidence, we have undertaken an assessment of CDSN allele functional impact. A comparison of CDSN intragenic haplotypes showed that SNPs exclusive to disease-associated chromosomes are located in regions implicated in the stabilization of RNA transcripts. As CDSN is over-expressed in psoriatic lesions, we hypothesised that disease-associated intragenic SNPs may alter the rate of its mRNA decay. Here, we demonstrate that mRNAs transcribed from a CDSN risk haplotype present a 2-fold increase in stability, compared with those transcribed from a neutral haplotype (t-test P=0.004). Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that a single synonymous SNP (CDSN*971T) accounts for the observed increase in RNA stability. CDSN*971T maps to a RNA stability motif and UV cross-linking analysis demonstrated that the SNP affects the transcript affinity for a 39 kDa RNA binding protein. Association analyses show that haplotypes bearing CDSN*971T confer psoriasis susceptibility in a wide range of ethnic groups. These results demonstrate the effect of synonymous variation upon allele specific gene expression, a finding of relevance to future studies of the pathogenesis of common and complex traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capon
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Mahreen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ameen
authors.forename: A David
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Burden
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tillman
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Trembath
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016384:Consensus Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008297:Male; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D020871:RNA Stability / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015843:Serpins / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: C109656:CDSN protein, human; D006023:Glycoproteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C530652:SERPINB13 protein, human; D015843:Serpins