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Mark J Daly

Publications and source records attributed to Mark J Daly.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

GWAS Meta-analysis Identifies Novel Associated Loci and Points to Causal Tissues in Central Serous Chorioretinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To define CSC genetic architecture and identify implicated ocular tissues, cell types, genes, and circulating proteins. DATA SOURCES: Genome-wide data were assembled from FinnGen, All of Us, Mass General Brigham Biobank, Million Veteran Program, and a Dutch chronic CSC cohort. Serum protein quantitative trait loci, human single-cell ocular atlases, and UK Biobank macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging were used for downstream analyses. STUDY SELECTION: Five European-ancestry cohorts with genome-wide data and cohort-specific CSC case-control definitions were included, comprising 2,584 cases and 1,044,455 controls. Variants present in at least 2 cohorts were meta-analyzed. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Cohort-level GWASs were adjusted for age, age squared, sex, genotyping array or batch, and 10 genetic principal components, then combined using fixed-effects inverse-variance meta-analysis. Post-GWAS analyses included gene prioritization, colocalization, Mendelian randomization, single-cell disease-relevance scoring, and testing of a CSC genetic risk score in UK Biobank OCT images. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Genome-wide significant CSC loci, effector genes and proteins, tissue and cell-type enrichment, and CSC-relevant OCT abnormalities. RESULTS: Across 11,068,938 variants, 10 loci reached genome-wide significance (P < 5 &#xd7; 10-8), including 3 novel loci near TGFB1, LINC00551, and LOC105375630 and 7 replicated loci near CFH, CD46, NOTCH4, PREX1, PTPRB, GATA5, and TNFRSF10A. Integrative analyses prioritized 10 candidate effector genes. Colocalization and Mendelian randomization implicated circulating TNFRSF10A, TGFB1, and CASP10 levels. Single-cell analyses localized genetic risk to sclera (P = 2.0 &#xd7; 10-4) and vascular endothelial cells (P = 4.0 &#xd7; 10-4), with fibroblast enrichment. In UK Biobank, OCT abnormalities were more frequent in the top vs bottom 1% of CSC genetic risk (18 of 109 [16.5%] vs 8 of 134 [6.0%]; odds ratio, 4.05; 95% CI, 1.65-10.87; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this GWAS meta-analysis, CSC susceptibility localized predominantly to scleral and vascular biology rather than primary retinal pigment epithelial dysfunction. These findings support CSC as a sclerovascular disorder and nominate complement regulation, endothelial signaling, and extracellular matrix pathways for future study.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2026

Systematic common and rare variant association testing in 392,030 whole genomes in All of Us.

Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and rare variant association studies (RVAS) from population biobanks provide valuable resources for gene discovery in complex human traits. We present an analysis of the All of Us Research Program v8 release, which includes whole genome sequencing data and harmonized phenotypic information of 392,030 participants after quality control, enabling a unified investigation of rare and common variants across a spectrum of human traits and diseases. We build an extensive phenome- and genome-wide ("All by All") computational framework to perform GWAS and RVAS on 3,602 phenotypes and identify 49,863 approximately independent, high-quality single-variant and gene-level associations. Meta-analyses of All of Us and UK Biobank, with sample sizes as large as 786,871 participants, further enhance statistical power and find 193 pLoF gene-phenotype associations that are not significant in either cohort alone, including 22 associations not highlighted by previous studies. We also present a public interactive browser that integrates association results for common and rare variants to facilitate interpretation and rapid querying of summary statistics, along with supporting documentation, and a Featured Workspace in the All of Us Researcher Workbench. Our framework will apply to iterative data releases as All of Us grows, empowering researchers worldwide to uncover insights into the functional effects of genetic components on complex traits and diseases.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2025

Multipopulation GWAS for venous thromboembolism identifies novel loci followed by experimental validation in zebrafish.

Venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Although many genetic risk factors have been identified, a substantial portion of the heritability remains unexplained. In this study, we employed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for VTE across 9 international cohorts of the Global Biobank Meta-Analysis Initiative to address this question, along with in vivo functional validation. In this multipopulation GWAS (VTE cases, 27 987; controls, 1 035 290), 38 genome-wide significant loci were identified, 4 of which were potentially novel. For each autosomal locus, we performed gene prioritization using 7 independent, yet converging, lines of evidence. Through prioritization, we identified genes associated with VTE through GWAS and/or functional studies (eg, F5, F11, VWF, STAB2, PLCG2, TC2N), functionally validated those that did not have evidence other than GWAS (TC2N, TSPAN15), and discovered 1 not previously associated with coagulation (RASIP1). We evaluated the function of 6 prioritized genes with strong genetic evidence, including F7 as a positive control, using laser-mediated endothelial injury to induce thrombosis in zebrafish after CRISPR/Cas9 knockdown. From this assay, we have supportive evidence for the role of RASIP1 and TC2N in the modification of human VTE and suggestive evidence for STAB2 and TSPAN15. This study expands on the currently identified genomic architecture of VTE through biobank-based, multipopulation GWASs, in silico candidate gene predictions, and in vivo functional follow-up of candidate genes.

Zebrafish↗
PubMed2025

Genome-wide association study of long COVID.

Infections can lead to persistent symptoms and diseases such as shingles after varicella zoster or rheumatic fever after streptococcal infections. Similarly, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS&#x2011;CoV&#x2011;2) infection can result in long coronavirus disease (COVID), typically manifesting as fatigue, pulmonary symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. The biological mechanisms behind long COVID remain unclear. We performed a genome-wide association study for long COVID including up to 6,450 long COVID cases and 1,093,995 population controls from 24 studies across 16 countries. We discovered an association of FOXP4 with long COVID, independent of its previously identified association with severe COVID-19. The signal was replicated in 9,500 long COVID cases and 798,835 population controls. Given the transcription factor FOXP4's role in lung physiology and pathology, our findings highlight the importance of lung function in the pathophysiology of long COVID.

Humans↗
PubMed2022

Genetic structure correlates with ethnolinguistic diversity in eastern and southern Africa.

African populations are the most diverse in the world yet are sorely underrepresented in medical genetics research. Here, we examine the structure of African populations using genetic and comprehensive multi-generational ethnolinguistic data from the Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Populations-Psychosis study (NeuroGAP-Psychosis) consisting of 900 individuals from Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. We find that self-reported language classifications meaningfully tag underlying genetic variation that would be missed with consideration of geography alone, highlighting the importance of culture in shaping genetic diversity. Leveraging our uniquely rich multi-generational ethnolinguistic metadata, we track language transmission through the pedigree, observing the disappearance of several languages in our cohort as well as notable shifts in frequency over three generations. We find suggestive evidence for the rate of language transmission in matrilineal groups having been higher than that for patrilineal ones. We highlight both the diversity of variation within Africa as well as how within-Africa variation can be informative for broader variant interpretation; many variants that are rare elsewhere are common in parts of Africa. The work presented here improves the understanding of the spectrum of genetic variation in African populations and highlights the enormous and complex genetic and ethnolinguistic diversity across Africa.

Africa, Southern↗
PubMed2016

Androgen-sensitive hypertension associated with soluble guanylate cyclase-&#x3b1;1 deficiency is mediated by 20-HETE.

Dysregulated nitric oxide (NO) signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of hypertension, a prevalent and often sex-specific risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We previously reported that mice deficient in the &#x3b1;1-subunit of the NO receptor soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-) mice) display sex- and strain-specific hypertension: male but not female sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-) mice are hypertensive on an 129S6 (S6) but not a C57BL6/J (B6) background. We aimed to uncover the genetic and molecular basis of the observed sex- and strain-specific blood pressure phenotype. Via linkage analysis, we identified a suggestive quantitative trait locus associated with elevated blood pressure in male sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-)S6 mice. This locus encompasses Cyp4a12a, encoding the predominant murine synthase of the vasoconstrictor 20-hydroxy-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE). Renal expression of Cyp4a12a in mice was associated with genetic background, sex, and testosterone levels. In addition, 20-HETE levels were higher in renal preglomerular microvessels of male sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-)S6 than of male sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-)B6 mice. Furthermore, treating male sGC&#x3b1;1 (-/-)S6 mice with the 20-HETE antagonist 20-hydroxyeicosa-6(Z),15(Z)-dienoic acid (20-HEDE) lowered blood pressure. Finally, 20-HEDE rescued the genetic background- and testosterone-dependent impairment of acetylcholine-induced relaxation in renal interlobar arteries associated with sGC&#x3b1;1 deficiency. Elevated Cyp4a12a expression and 20-HETE levels render mice susceptible to hypertension and vascular dysfunction in a setting of sGC&#x3b1;1 deficiency. Our data identify Cyp4a12a as a candidate sex-specific blood pressure-modifying gene in the context of deficient NO-sGC signaling.

Androgens↗
PubMed2007

Refined genomic localization and ethnic differences observed for the IBD5 association with Crohn's disease.

Although the general association of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 5 region on chromosome 5q31 to Crohn's disease (CD) has been replicated repeatedly, the identity of the precise causal variant within the region remains unknown. A recent report proposed polymorphisms in solute carrier family 22, member 4 (SLC22A4) organic cation transporter 1(OCTN1) and solute carrier family 22, member 5 (SLC22A5) (OCTN2) as responsible for the IBD5 association, but definitive, large-sample comparison of those polymorphisms with others known to be in strong linkage disequilibrium was not performed. We evaluated 1879 affected offspring and parents ascertained by a North American IBD Genetics Consortium for six IBD5 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to evaluate association localization and ethnic and subphenotypic specificity. We confirm association to the IBD5 region (best SNP IGR2096a_1/rs12521868, P<0.0005) and show this association to be exclusive to the non-Jewish (NJ) population (P=0.00005) (risk allele undertransmitted in Ashkenazi Jews). Using Phase II HapMap data, we demonstrate that there are a set of polymorphisms, spanning genes from prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4HA2) through interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) with equivalent statistical evidence of association to the reported SLC22A4 variant and that each, by itself, could entirely explain the IBD5 association to CD. Additionally, the previously reported SLC22A5 SNP is rejected as the potential causal variant. No specificity of association was seen with respect to disease type and location, and a modest association to ulcerative colitis is also observed. We confirm the importance of IBD5 to CD susceptibility, demonstrate that the locus may play a role in NJ individuals only, and establish that IRF1, PDLIM, and P4HA2 may be equally as likely to contain the IBD5 causal variant as the OCTN genes.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Histocompatible embryonic stem cells by parthenogenesis.

Genetically matched pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells generated via nuclear transfer or parthenogenesis (pES cells) are a potential source of histocompatible cells and tissues for transplantation. After parthenogenetic activation of murine oocytes and interruption of meiosis I or II, we isolated and genotyped pES cells and characterized those that carried the full complement of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens of the oocyte donor. Differentiated tissues from these pES cells engrafted in immunocompetent MHC-matched mouse recipients, demonstrating that selected pES cells can serve as a source of histocompatible tissues for transplantation.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Identification of EFHC2 as a quantitative trait locus for fear recognition in Turner syndrome.

One-third of women with Turner syndrome (45,X) have autism-like social and communication difficulties, despite normal verbal IQ. Deletion mapping of the X-chromosome implicated 5 Mb of Xp11.3-4 as critical for recognition of facial fear, a quantitative measure of social cognition. Variability in fear recognition accuracy in Turner syndrome suggested the existence of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) revealed by X-monosomy. We aimed to identify the gene(s) influencing fear recognition by dense mapping of the 5 Mb region. Initial regression-based association mapping of fear recognition in 93 women with Turner syndrome across the critical region was performed, using genotype data at 242 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We identified three regions of interest, in which 52 additional SNPs were genotyped. The third region then contained four SNPs associated with fear recognition (0.0030 > P > 0.00046). We obtained an independent sample of 77 Turner syndrome females that we genotyped for 77 SNPs in the initial regions of interest. Region three showed association in the same direction, maximal at SNPs rs7055196 and rs7887763 (P = 0.022 each). Four SNPs in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD), including this pair, span 40 kb within a novel transcript, EF-hand domain containing 2 (EFHC2). In the combined Turner syndrome samples, the most strongly associated SNP (P = 0.00007) has frequency of 8.8% and an estimated effect size accounting for over 13% of the variance in fear recognition. EFHC2 shows genealogy and extended LD consistent with directional selection. This novel QTL may influence social cognition in the general population and in autism.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed2006

WHAP: haplotype-based association analysis.

UNLABELLED: We describe a software tool to perform haplotype-based association analysis, for quantitative and qualitative traits, in population and family samples, using single nucleotide polymorphism or multiallelic marker data. A range of tests is offered: omnibus and haplotype-specific tests; prospective and retrospective likelihoods; covariates and moderators; sliding window analyses; permutation P-values. We focus on the ability to flexibly impose constraints on haplotype effects, which allows for a range of conditional haplotype-based likelihood ratio tests: for example, whether an allele has an effect independent of its haplotypic background, or whether a single variant can explain the overall association at a locus. We illustrate using these tests to dissect a multi-locus association. AVAILABILITY: WHAP is a C/C++ program, freely available from the author's website: http://pngu.mgh.harvard.edu/purcell/whap/

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

A genome-wide association study identifies IL23R as an inflammatory bowel disease gene.

The inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are common, chronic disorders that cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal bleeding. To identify genetic factors that might contribute to these disorders, we performed a genome-wide association study. We found a highly significant association between Crohn's disease and the IL23R gene on chromosome 1p31, which encodes a subunit of the receptor for the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-23. An uncommon coding variant (rs11209026, c.1142G>A, p.Arg381Gln) confers strong protection against Crohn's disease, and additional noncoding IL23R variants are independently associated. Replication studies confirmed IL23R associations in independent cohorts of patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. These results and previous studies on the proinflammatory role of IL-23 prioritize this signaling pathway as a therapeutic target in inflammatory bowel disease.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

Transferability of tag SNPs in genetic association studies in multiple populations.

A general question for linkage disequilibrium-based association studies is how power to detect an association is compromised when tag SNPs are chosen from data in one population sample and then deployed in another sample. Specifically, it is important to know how well tags picked from the HapMap DNA samples capture the variation in other samples. To address this, we collected dense data uniformly across the four HapMap population samples and eleven other population samples. We picked tag SNPs using genotype data we collected in the HapMap samples and then evaluated the effective coverage of these tags in comparison to the entire set of common variants observed in the other samples. We simulated case-control association studies in the non-HapMap samples under a disease model of modest risk, and we observed little loss in power. These results demonstrate that the HapMap DNA samples can be used to select tags for genome-wide association studies in many samples around the world.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2006

Analysis of high-resolution HapMap of DTNBP1 (Dysbindin) suggests no consistency between reported common variant associations and schizophrenia.

DTNBP1 was first identified as a putative schizophrenia-susceptibility gene in Irish pedigrees, with a report of association to common genetic variation. Several replication studies have reported confirmation of an association to DTNBP1 in independent European samples; however, reported risk alleles and haplotypes appear to differ between studies, and comparison among studies has been confounded because different marker sets were employed by each group. To facilitate evaluation of existing evidence of association and further work, we supplemented the extensive genotype data, available through the International HapMap Project (HapMap), about DTNBP1 by specifically typing all associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms reported in each of the studies of the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH)-derived HapMap sample (CEU). Using this high-density reference map, we compared the putative disease-associated haplotype from each study and found that the association studies are inconsistent with regard to the identity of the disease-associated haplotype at DTNBP1. Specifically, all five "replication" studies define a positively associated haplotype that is different from the association originally reported. We further demonstrate that, in all six studies, the European-derived populations studied have haplotype patterns and frequencies that are consistent with HapMap CEU samples (and each other). Thus, it is unlikely that population differences are creating the inconsistency of the association studies. Evidence of association is, at present, equivocal and unsatisfactory. The new dense map of the region may be valuable in more-comprehensive follow-up studies.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

A high-resolution HLA and SNP haplotype map for disease association studies in the extended human MHC.

The proteins encoded by the classical HLA class I and class II genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are highly polymorphic and are essential in self versus non-self immune recognition. HLA variation is a crucial determinant of transplant rejection and susceptibility to a large number of infectious and autoimmune diseases. Yet identification of causal variants is problematic owing to linkage disequilibrium that extends across multiple HLA and non-HLA genes in the MHC. We therefore set out to characterize the linkage disequilibrium patterns between the highly polymorphic HLA genes and background variation by typing the classical HLA genes and >7,500 common SNPs and deletion-insertion polymorphisms across four population samples. The analysis provides informative tag SNPs that capture much of the common variation in the MHC region and that could be used in disease association studies, and it provides new insight into the evolutionary dynamics and ancestral origins of the HLA loci and their haplotypes.

Genetic Predisposition to Disease↗
PubMed2006

Genetic variation in myosin IXB is associated with ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Common germline genetic variation in the 3' region of myosin IXB (MYO9B) has been associated recently with susceptibility to celiac disease, with a hypothesis that MYO9B variants might influence intestinal permeability. These findings suggested the current study investigating a possible further role for MYO9B variation in inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS: Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected to tag common haplotypes from the 35-kb 3' region of MYO9B. These included the strongest celiac disease-associated variants reported in a Dutch cohort. These SNPs were studied in 3 independently collected and genotyped case-control cohorts of European descent (UK, Dutch, and Canadian/Italian), comprising in total 2717 inflammatory bowel disease patients (1197 with Crohn's disease, 1520 with ulcerative colitis) and 4440 controls. RESULTS: Common variation in MYO9B was associated with susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease in all 3 cohorts examined (most associated SNP, rs1545620; meta-analysis P = 1.9 x 10(-6); odds ratio, 1.2), with the same alleles showing association as reported for celiac disease. CONCLUSIONS: MYO9B genetic variants predispose to inflammatory bowel disease. Interestingly, rs1545620 is a nonsynonymous variant leading to an amino acid change (Ala1011Ser) in the third calmodulin binding IQ domain of MYO9B. Unlike previous variants (in other genes) reported to predispose to inflammatory bowel disease, the association at MYO9B was considerably stronger with ulcerative colitis, although weaker association with Crohn's disease also was observed. These data imply shared causal mechanisms underlying intestinal inflammatory diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Common variation in three genes, including a noncoding variant in CFH, strongly influences risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common, late-onset disease with seemingly typical complexity: recurrence ratios for siblings of an affected individual are three- to sixfold higher than in the general population, and family-based analysis has resulted in only modestly significant evidence for linkage. In a case-control study drawn from a US-based population of European descent, we have identified a previously unrecognized common, noncoding variant in CFH, the gene encoding complement factor H, that substantially increases the influence of this locus on AMD, and we have strongly replicated the associations of four other previously reported common alleles in three genes (P values ranging from 10(-6) to 10(-70)). Despite excellent power to detect epistasis, we observed purely additive accumulation of risk from alleles at these genes. We found no differences in association of these loci with major phenotypic categories of advanced AMD. Genotypes at these five common SNPs define a broad spectrum of interindividual disease risk and explain about half of the classical sibling risk of AMD in our study population.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

The value of gene-based selection of tag SNPs in genome-wide association studies.

Genome-wide association scans are rapidly becoming reality, but there is no present consensus regarding genotyping strategies to optimise the discovery of true genetic risk factors. For a given investment in genotyping, should tag SNPs be selected in a gene-centric manner, or instead, should coverage be optimised based on linkage disequilibrium alone? We explored this question using empirical data from the HapMap-ENCODE project, and we found that tags designed specifically to capture common variation in exonic and evolutionarily conserved regions provide good coverage for 15-30% of the total common variation (depending on the population sample studied), and yield genotype savings compared with an anonymous tagging approach that captures all common variation. However, the same number of tags based on linkage disequilibrium alone captures substantially more (30-46%) of the total common variation. Therefore, the best strategy depends crucially on the unknown degree to which functional variation resides in recognisable exons and evolutionarily conserved sequence. A hypothetical but reasonable scenario might be one in which trait-causing variation is equally distributed between exons plus conserved sequence, and the rest of the genome. In this scenario, our analysis suggests that a tagging approach that captures variation in exons and conserved sequence provides only modestly better coverage of putatively causal variation than does anonymous tagging. In HapMap CEU samples (with northern and western European ancestry), we observed roughly equivalent coverage for equal investment for both tagging strategies.

Databases, Nucleic Acid↗