A genome-wide association study reveals ARL15, a novel non-HLA susceptibility gene for rheumatoid arthritis in North Indians

  • Sapna Negi
  • , Garima Juyal
  • , Sabyasachi Senapati
  • , Pushplata Prasad
  • , Aditi Gupta
  • , Shalini Singh
  • , Sujit Kashyap
  • , Ashok Kumar
  • , Uma Kumar
  • , Rajiva Gupta
  • , Satbir Kaur
  • , Suraksha Agrawal
  • , Amita Aggarwal
  • , Jurg Ott
  • , Sanjay Jain
  • , Ramesh C. Juyal
  • , B. K. Thelma*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and their subsequent meta-analyses have changed the landscape of genetics in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by uncovering several novel genes. Such studies are heavily weighted by samples from Caucasian populations, but they explain only a small proportion of total heritability. Our previous studies in genetically distinct North Indian RA cohorts have demonstrated apparent allelic/genetic heterogeneity between North Indian and Western populations, warranting GWAS in non-European populations. We undertook this study to detect additional disease-associated loci that may be collectively important in the presence or absence of genes with a major effect. Methods: High-quality genotypes for >600,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 706 RA patients and 761 controls from North India were generated in the discovery stage. Twelve SNPs showing suggestive association (P < 5 × 10-5) were then tested in an independent cohort of 927 RA patients and 1,148 controls. Additional disease-associated loci were determined using support vector machine (SVM) analyses. Fine-mapping of novel loci was performed by using imputation. Results: In addition to the expected association of the HLA locus with RA, we identified association with a novel intronic SNP of ARL15 (rs255758) on chromosome 5 (Pcombined = 6.57 × 10 -6; odds ratio 1.42). Genotype-phenotype correlation by assaying adiponectin levels demonstrated the functional significance of this novel gene in disease pathogenesis. SVM analysis confirmed this association along with that of a few more replication stage genes. Conclusion: In this first GWAS of RA among North Indians, ARL15 emerged as a novel genetic risk factor in addition to the classic HLA locus, which suggests that population-specific genetic loci as well as those shared between Asian and European populations contribute to RA etiology. Furthermore, our study reveals the potential of machine learning methods in unraveling gene-gene interactions using GWAS data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3026-3035
Number of pages10
JournalArthritis and Rheumatism
Volume65
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12-2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Rheumatology
  • Immunology
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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