Meta-analysis identifies multiple loci associated with kidney function-related traits in east Asian populations.

PubMed ID: 22797727

Author(s): Okada Y, Sim X, Go MJ, Wu JY, Gu D, Takeuchi F, Takahashi A, Maeda S, Tsunoda T, Chen P, Lim SC, Wong TY, Liu J, Young TL, Aung T, Seielstad M, Teo YY, Kim YJ, Lee JY, Han BG, Kang D, Chen CH, Tsai FJ, Chang LC, Fann SJ, Mei H, Rao DC, Hixson JE, Chen S, Katsuya T, Isono M, Ogihara T, Chambers JC, Zhang W, Kooner JS; KidneyGen Consortium; CKDGen Consortium, Albrecht E; GUGC consortium, Yamamoto K, Kubo M, Nakamura Y, Kamatani N, Kato N, He J, Chen YT, Cho YS, Tai ES, Tanaka T. Meta-analysis identifies multiple loci associated with kidney function-related traits in east Asian populations. Nat Genet. 2012 Jul 15;44(8):904-9. doi: 10.1038/ng.2352. PMID 22797727

Journal: Nature Genetics, Volume 44, Issue 8, Jul 2012

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), impairment of kidney function, is a serious public health problem, and the assessment of genetic factors influencing kidney function has substantial clinical relevance. Here, we report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for kidney function-related traits, including 71,149 east Asian individuals from 18 studies in 11 population-, hospital- or family-based cohorts, conducted as part of the Asian Genetic Epidemiology Network (AGEN). Our meta-analysis identified 17 loci newly associated with kidney function-related traits, including the concentrations of blood urea nitrogen, uric acid and serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate based on serum creatinine levels (eGFRcrea) (P < 5.0 × 10(-8)). We further examined these loci with in silico replication in individuals of European ancestry from the KidneyGen, CKDGen and GUGC consortia, including a combined total of ∼110,347 individuals. We identify pleiotropic associations among these loci with kidney function-related traits and risk of CKD. These findings provide new insights into the genetics of kidney function.