Coanalysis of GWAS with eQTLs reveals disease-tissue associations.
Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), or genetic variants associated with changes in gene expression, have the potential to assist in interpreting results of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). eQTLs also have varying degrees of tissue specificity. By correlating the statistical significance of eQTLs mapped in various tissue types to their odds ratios reported in a large GWAS by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC), we discovered that there is a significant association between diseases studied genetically and their relevant tissues. This suggests that eQTL data sets can be used to determine tissues that play a role in the pathogenesis of a disease, thereby highlighting these tissue types for further post-GWAS functional studies.
Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
Hyunseok Peter
HP
Kang
Alex A
AA
Morgan
Rong
R
Chen
Eric E
EE
Schadt
Atul J
AJ
Butte