Browsing by Author "McCarthy, Mark I."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis of Circulating Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin Reveals Multiple Loci Implicated in Sex Steroid Hormone Regulation
    (Public Library of Science, 2012) Coviello, Andrea D.; Haring, Robin; Wellons, Melissa; Vaidya, Dhananjay; Lehtimäki, Terho; Keildson, Sarah; Lunetta, Kathryn L.; He, Chunyan; Fornage, Myriam; Lagou, Vasiliki; Mangino, Massimo; Onland-Moret, N. Charlotte; Chen, Brian; Eriksson, Joel; Garcia, Melissa; Liu, Yong Mei; Koster, Annemarie; Lohman, Kurt; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Petersen, Ann-Kristin; Prescott, Jennifer; Stolk, Lisette; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Wood, Andrew R.; Zhuang, Wei Vivian; Ruokonen, Aimo; Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa; Pouta, Anneli; Bandinelli, Stefania; Biffar, Reiner; Brabant, Georg; Cox, David G.; Chen, Yuhui; Cummings, Steven; Ferrucci, Luigi; Gunter, Marc J.; Hankinson, Susan E.; Martikainen, Hannu; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Illig, Thomas; Jansson, John-Olov; Johnson, Andrew D.; Karasik, David; Karlsson, Magnus; Kettunen, Johannes; Kiel, Douglas P.; Kraft, Peter; Liu, Jingmin; Ljunggren, Östen; Lorentzon, Mattias; Maggio, Marcello; Markus, Marcello R. P.; Mellström, Dan; Miljkovic, Iva; Mirel, Daniel; Nelson, Sarah; Papunen, Laure Morin; Peeters, Petra H. M.; Prokopenko, Inga; Raffel, Leslie; Reincke, Martin; Reiner, Alex P.; Rexrode, Kathryn; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Schwartz, Stephen M.; Siscovick, David; Soranzo, Nicole; Stöckl, Doris; Tworoger, Shelley; Uitterlinden, André G.; van Gils, Carla H.; Vasan, Ramachandran S.; Wichmann, H-Erich; Zhai, Guangju; Bhasin, Shalender; Bidlingmaier, Martin; Chanock, Stephen J.; De Vivo, Immaculata; Harris, Tamara B.; Hunter, David J.; Kähönen, Mika; Liu, Simin; Ouyang, Pamela; Spector, Tim D.; van der Schouw, Yvonne T.; Viikari, Jorma; Wallaschofski, Henri; McCarthy, Mark I.; Frayling, Timothy M.; Murray, Anna; Franks, Steve; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; de Jong, Frank H.; Raitakari, Olli; Teumer, Alexander; Ohlsson, Claes; Murabito, Joanne M.; Perry, John R. B.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is a glycoprotein responsible for the transport and biologic availability of sex steroid hormones, primarily testosterone and estradiol. SHBG has been associated with chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and with hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate cancer. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of 21,791 individuals from 10 epidemiologic studies and validated these findings in 7,046 individuals in an additional six studies. We identified twelve genomic regions (SNPs) associated with circulating SHBG concentrations. Loci near the identified SNPs included SHBG (rs12150660, 17p13.1, p = 1.8 × 10(-106)), PRMT6 (rs17496332, 1p13.3, p = 1.4 × 10(-11)), GCKR (rs780093, 2p23.3, p = 2.2 × 10(-16)), ZBTB10 (rs440837, 8q21.13, p = 3.4 × 10(-09)), JMJD1C (rs7910927, 10q21.3, p = 6.1 × 10(-35)), SLCO1B1 (rs4149056, 12p12.1, p = 1.9 × 10(-08)), NR2F2 (rs8023580, 15q26.2, p = 8.3 × 10(-12)), ZNF652 (rs2411984, 17q21.32, p = 3.5 × 10(-14)), TDGF3 (rs1573036, Xq22.3, p = 4.1 × 10(-14)), LHCGR (rs10454142, 2p16.3, p = 1.3 × 10(-07)), BAIAP2L1 (rs3779195, 7q21.3, p = 2.7 × 10(-08)), and UGT2B15 (rs293428, 4q13.2, p = 5.5 × 10(-06)). These genes encompass multiple biologic pathways, including hepatic function, lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and T2D, androgen and estrogen receptor function, epigenetic effects, and the biology of sex steroid hormone-responsive cancers including breast and prostate cancer. We found evidence of sex-differentiated genetic influences on SHBG. In a sex-specific GWAS, the loci 4q13.2-UGT2B15 was significant in men only (men p = 2.5 × 10(-08), women p = 0.66, heterogeneity p = 0.003). Additionally, three loci showed strong sex-differentiated effects: 17p13.1-SHBG and Xq22.3-TDGF3 were stronger in men, whereas 8q21.12-ZBTB10 was stronger in women. Conditional analyses identified additional signals at the SHBG gene that together almost double the proportion of variance explained at the locus. Using an independent study of 1,129 individuals, all SNPs identified in the overall or sex-differentiated or conditional analyses explained ~15.6% and ~8.4% of the genetic variation of SHBG concentrations in men and women, respectively. The evidence for sex-differentiated effects and allelic heterogeneity highlight the importance of considering these features when estimating complex trait variance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
    (Springer Nature, 2021) Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Tung, Joyce Y.; Eriksson, Nicholas; Albrecht, Eva; Aliev, Fazil; Andreassen, Ole A.; Barroso, Inês; Beckmann, Jacques S.; Boks, Marco P.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Boyd, Heather A.; Breteler, Monique M. B.; Campbell, Harry; Chasman, Daniel I.; Cherkas, Lynn F.; Davies, Gail; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Deary, Ian J.; Deloukas, Panos; Dick, Danielle M.; Duffy, David L.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Esko, Tõnu; Feenstra, Bjarke; Geller, Frank; Gieger, Christian; Giegling, Ina; Gordon, Scott D.; Han, Jiali; Hansen, Thomas F.; Hartmann, Annette M.; Hayward, Caroline; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hicks, Andrew A.; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Hwang, Liang-Dar; Ikram, M. Arfan; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kemp, John P.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Klopp, Norman; Konte, Bettina; Kutalik, Zoltan; Lahti, Jari; Li, Xin; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Luciano, Michelle; Magnusson, Sigurdur H.; Mangino, Massimo; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Martin, Nicholas G.; McArdle, Wendy L.; McCarthy, Mark I.; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Melbye, Mads; Melville, Scott A.; Metspalu, Andres; Milani, Lili; Mooser, Vincent; Nelis, Mari; Nyholt, Dale R.; O'Connell, Kevin S.; Ophoff, Roel A.; Palmer, Cameron; Palotie, Aarno; Palviainen, Teemu; Pare, Guillaume; Paternoster, Lavinia; Peltonen, Leena; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.; Polasek, Ozren; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Prokopenko, Inga; Raikkonen, Katri; Ripatti, Samuli; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Rudan, Igor; Rujescu, Dan; Smit, Johannes H.; Smith, George Davey; Smoller, Jordan W.; Soranzo, Nicole; Spector, Tim D.; St. Pourcain, Beate; Starr, John M.; Stefánsson, Hreinn; Steinberg, Stacy; Teder-Laving, Maris; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Stefánsson, Kári; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Uitterlinden, André G.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; van Rooij, Frank J. A.; Vink, Jaqueline M.; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuoksimaa, Eero; Waeber, Gérard; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Warrington, Nicole; Waterworth, Dawn; Werge, Thomas; Wichmann, H-Erich; Widen, Elisabeth; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wright, Alan F.; Wright, Margaret J.; Xu, Mousheng; Zhao, Jing Hua; Kraft, Peter; Hinds, David A.; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Mägi, Reedik; Neale, Benjamin M.; Evans, David M.; Medland, Sarah E.; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Handedness has been extensively studied because of its relationship with language and the over-representation of left-handers in some neurodevelopmental disorders. Using data from the UK Biobank, 23andMe and the International Handedness Consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of handedness (N = 1,766,671). We found 41 loci associated (P < 5 × 10-8) with left-handedness and 7 associated with ambidexterity. Tissue-enrichment analysis implicated the CNS in the aetiology of handedness. Pathways including regulation of microtubules and brain morphology were also highlighted. We found suggestive positive genetic correlations between left-handedness and neuropsychiatric traits, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Furthermore, the genetic correlation between left-handedness and ambidexterity is low (rG = 0.26), which implies that these traits are largely influenced by different genetic mechanisms. Our findings suggest that handedness is highly polygenic and that the genetic variants that predispose to left-handedness may underlie part of the association with some psychiatric disorders.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Genome-wide association study in 79,366 European-ancestry individuals informs the genetic architecture of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2018-01-17) Jiang, Xia; O’Reilly, Paul F.; Aschard, Hugues; Hsu, Yi-Hsiang; Richards, J. Brent; Dupuis, Josée; Ingelsson, Erik; Karasik, David; Pilz, Stefan; Berry, Diane; Kestenbaum, Bryan; Zheng, Jusheng; Luan, Jianan; Sofianopoulou, Eleni; Streeten, Elizabeth A.; Albanes, Demetrius; Lutsey, Pamela L.; Yao, Lu; Tang, Weihong; Econs, Michael J.; Wallaschofski, Henri; Völzke, Henry; Zhou, Ang; Power, Chris; McCarthy, Mark I.; Michos, Erin D.; Boerwinkle, Eric; Weinstein, Stephanie J.; Freedman, Neal D.; Huang, Wen-Yi; Van Schoor, Natasja M.; Velde, Nathalie van der; de Groot, Lisette C. P. G. M.; Enneman, Anke; Cupples, L. Adrienne; Booth, Sarah L.; Vasan, Ramachandran S.; Liu, Ching-Ti; Zhou, Yanhua; Ripatti, Samuli; Ohlsson, Claes; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Lorentzon, Mattias; Eriksson, Johan G.; Shea, M. Kyla; Houston, Denise K.; Kritchevsky, Stephen B.; Liu, Yongmei; Lohman, Kurt K.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Peacock, Munro; Gieger, Christian; Beekman, Marian; Slagboom, Eline; Deelen, Joris; Heemst, Diana van; Kleber, Marcus E.; März, Winfried; de Boer, Ian H.; Wood, Alexis C.; Rotter, Jerome I.; Rich, Stephen S.; Robinson-Cohen, Cassianne; Heijer, Martin den; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Cavadino, Alana; Joshi, Peter K.; Wilson, James F.; Hayward, Caroline; Lind, Lars; Michaëlsson, Karl; Trompet, Stella; Zillikens, M. Carola; Uitterlinden, Andre G.; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Broer, Linda; Zgaga, Lina; Campbell, Harry; Theodoratou, Evropi; Farrington, Susan M.; Timofeeva, Maria; Dunlop, Malcolm G.; Valdes, Ana M.; Tikkanen, Emmi; Lehtimäki, Terho; Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka; Kähönen, Mika; Raitakari, Olli T.; Mikkilä, Vera; Ikram, M. Arfan; Sattar, Naveed; Jukema, J. Wouter; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Langenberg, Claudia; Forouhi, Nita G.; Gundersen, Thomas E.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Butterworth, Adam S.; Danesh, John; Spector, Timothy; Wang, Thomas J.; Hyppönen, Elina; Kraft, Peter; Kiel, Douglas P.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Vitamin D is a steroid hormone precursor that is associated with a range of human traits and diseases. Previous GWAS of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have identified four genome-wide significant loci (GC, NADSYN1/DHCR7, CYP2R1, CYP24A1). In this study, we expand the previous SUNLIGHT Consortium GWAS discovery sample size from 16,125 to 79,366 (all European descent). This larger GWAS yields two additional loci harboring genome-wide significant variants (P = 4.7×10-9 at rs8018720 in SEC23A, and P = 1.9×10-14 at rs10745742 in AMDHD1). The overall estimate of heritability of 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum concentrations attributable to GWAS common SNPs is 7.5%, with statistically significant loci explaining 38% of this total. Further investigation identifies signal enrichment in immune and hematopoietic tissues, and clustering with autoimmune diseases in cell-type-specific analysis. Larger studies are required to identify additional common SNPs, and to explore the role of rare or structural variants and gene-gene interactions in the heritability of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk
    (Nature, 2017) Day, Felix R.; Thompson, Deborah J.; Helgason, Hannes; Chasman, Daniel I.; Finucane, Hilary; Sulem, Patrick; Ruth, Katherine S.; Whalen, Sean; Sarkar, Abhishek K.; Albrecht, Eva; Altmaier, Elisabeth; Amini, Marzyeh; Barbieri, Caterina M.; Boutin, Thibaud; Campbell, Archie; Demerath, Ellen; Giri, Ayush; He, Chunyan; Hottenga, Jouke J.; Karlsson, Robert; Kolchic, Ivana; Loh, Po-Ru; Lunetta, Kathryn L.; Mangino, Massimo; Marco, Brumat; McMahon, George; Medland, Sarah E.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Noordam, Raymond; Nutile, Teresa; Paternoster, Lavinia; Perjakova, Natalia; Porcu, Eleonora; Rose, Lynda M.; Schraut, Katharina E.; Segrè, Ayellet V.; Smith, Albert V.; Stolk, Lisette; Teumer, Alexander; Andrulis, Irene L.; Bandinelli, Stefania; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Benitez, Javier; Bergmann, Sven; Bochud, Murielle; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bojesen, Stig E.; Bolla, Manjeet K.; Brand, Judith S.; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Broer, Linda; Brüning, Thomas; Buring, Julie E.; Campbell, Harry; Catamo, Eulalia; Chanock, Stephen; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Corre, Tanguy; Couch, Fergus J.; Cousminer, Diana L.; Cox, Angela; Crisponi, Laura; Czene, Kamila; Davey-Smith, George; de Geus, Eco J. C. N.; de Mutsert, Renée; De Vivo, Immaculata; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Dunning, Alison M.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Fasching, Peter A.; Fernández-Rhodes, Lindsay; Ferrucci, Luigi; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Franke, Lude; Gabrielson, Marike; Gandin, Ilaria; Giles, Graham G.; Grallert, Harald; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F.; Guéne, Pascal; Hall, Perr; Hallberg, Emily; Hamann, Ute; Harris, Tamara B.; Hartman, Catharina A.; Heiss, Gerardo; Hooning, Maartje J.; Hopper, John L.; Hu, Frank; Hunter, David; Ikram, M. Arfan; Im, Hae Kyung; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Joshi, Peter K.; Karasik, David; Kutalik, Zoltan; LaChance, Genevieve; Lambrechts, Diether; Langenberg, Claudia; Launer, Lenore J.; Laven, Joop S. E.; Lenarduzzi, Stefania; Li, Jingmei; Lind, Penelope A.; Lindstrom, Sara; Liu, YongMei; Luan, Jian'an; Mannermaa, Arto; Mbarek, Hamdi; McCarthy, Mark I.; Meisinger, Christa; Meitinger, Thomas; Menni, Cristina; Metspalu, Andres; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Milani, Lili; Milne, Roger L.; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mulligan, Anna M.; Nalls, Mike A.; Navarro, Pau; Nevanlinna, Heli; Nyholt, Dale R.; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; O'Mara, Tracy A.; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Palotie, Aarno; Pedersen, Nancy; Peters, Annette; Peto, Julian; Pharoah, Paul D. P.; Pouta, Anneli; Radice, Paolo; Rahman, Iffat; Ring, Susan M.; Robino, Antonietta; Rosendaal, Frits R.; Rudan, Igor; Rueedi, Rico; Ruggiero, Daniela; Sala, Cinzia F.; Schmidt, Marjanka K.; Scott, Robert A.; Shah, Mitul; Sorice, Rossella; Southey, Melissa C.; Sovio, Ulla; Stampfer, Meir; Steri, Maristella; Strauch, Konstantin; Tanaka, Toshiko; Tikkanen, Emmi; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Traglia, Michela; Truong, Thérèse; Tyrer, Jonathan P.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Edwards, Digna R. Velez; Vitart, Veronique; Völker, Uwe; Vollenweider, Peter; Wang, Qin; Widen, Elisabeth; van Dijk, Ko Willems; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winqvist, Robert; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zoledziewska, Magdalena; Zygmunt, Marek; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Ciullo, Marina; Cucca, Francesco; Esko, Tõnu; Franceschini, Nora; Gieger, Christian; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hayward, Caroline; Kraft, Peter; Lawlor, Debbie A.; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O.; Nohr, Ellen A.; Polasek, Ozren; Porteous, David; Price, Alkes L.; Ridker, Paul M.; Snieder, Harold; Spector, Tim D.; Stöckl, Doris; Toniolo, Daniela; Ulivi, Sheila; Visser, Jenny A.; Völzke, Henry; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Wilson, James F.; Spurdle, Amanda B.; Thorsteindottir, Unnur; Pollard, Katherine S.; Easton, Douglas F.; Tung, Joyce Y.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Hinds, David; Murray, Anna; Murabito, Joanne M.; Stefansson, Kari; Ong, Ken K.; Perry, John R. B.; The Lifelines Cohort Study; The InterAct Consortium; kConFab/AOCS Investigators; Endometrial Cancer Association Consortium; Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium; PRACTICAL consortium; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project–imputed genotype data in up to ∼370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10−8) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ∼7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ∼25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ∼250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Parent-of-origin specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2014-10-02) Perry, John RB; Day, Felix; Elks, Cathy E.; Sulem, Patrick; Thompson, Deborah J.; Ferreira, Teresa; He, Chunyan; Chasman, Daniel I.; Esko, Tõnu; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Albrecht, Eva; Ang, Wei Q.; Corre, Tanguy; Cousminer, Diana L.; Feenstra, Bjarke; Franceschini, Nora; Ganna, Andrea; Johnson, Andrew D.; Kjellqvist, Sanela; Lunetta, Kathryn L.; McMahon, George; Nolte, Ilja M.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Porcu, Eleonora; Smith, Albert V.; Stolk, Lisette; Teumer, Alexander; Tšernikova, Natalia; Tikkanen, Emmi; Ulivi, Sheila; Wagner, Erin K.; Amin, Najaf; Bierut, Laura J.; Byrne, Enda M.; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Koller, Daniel L.; Mangino, Massimo; Pers, Tune H.; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Andrulis, Irene L.; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Atsma, Femke; Bandinelli, Stefania; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Benitez, Javier; Blomqvist, Carl; Bojesen, Stig E.; Bolla, Manjeet K.; Bonanni, Bernardo; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Buring, Julie E.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chanock, Stephen; Chen, Jinhui; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Collée, J. Margriet; Couch, Fergus J.; Couper, David; Coveillo, Andrea D.; Cox, Angela; Czene, Kamila; D’adamo, Adamo Pio; Smith, George Davey; De Vivo, Immaculata; Demerath, Ellen W.; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; Dieffenbach, Aida K.; Dunning, Alison M.; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Eriksson, Johan G.; Fasching, Peter A.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Flyger, Henrik; Foroud, Tatiana; Franke, Lude; Garcia, Melissa E.; García-Closas, Montserrat; Geller, Frank; de Geus, Eco EJ; Giles, Graham G.; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Guénel, Pascal; Guo, Suiqun; Hall, Per; Hamann, Ute; Haring, Robin; Hartman, Catharina A.; Heath, Andrew C.; Hofman, Albert; Hooning, Maartje J.; Hopper, John L.; Hu, Frank B.; Hunter, David J.; Karasik, David; Kiel, Douglas P.; Knight, Julia A.; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Kutalik, Zoltan; Lai, Sandra; Lambrechts, Diether; Lindblom, Annika; Mägi, Reedik; Magnusson, Patrik K.; Mannermaa, Arto; Martin, Nicholas G.; Masson, Gisli; McArdle, Patrick F.; McArdle, Wendy L.; Melbye, Mads; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Milne, Roger L.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Neven, Patrick; Nohr, Ellen A.; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Oostra, Ben A.; Palotie, Aarno; Peacock, Munro; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Peterlongo, Paolo; Peto, Julian; Pharoah, Paul DP; Postma, Dirkje S.; Pouta, Anneli; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Ring, Susan; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M.; Rudolph, Anja; Salomaa, Veikko; Sanna, Serena; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Marjanka K.; Southey, Mellissa C.; Sovio, Ulla; Stampfer, Meir J.; Stöckl, Doris; Storniolo, Anna M.; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tyrer, Jonathan; Visser, Jenny A.; Vollenweider, Peter; Völzke, Henry; Waeber, Gerard; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wallaschofski, Henri; Wang, Qin; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winqvist, Robert; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce HR; Wright, Margaret J.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Econs, Michael J.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Loos, Ruth JF; McCarthy, Mark I.; Montgomery, Grant W.; Rice, John P.; Streeten, Elizabeth A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; Bergmann, Sven; Boerwinkle, Eric; Boyd, Heather A.; Crisponi, Laura; Gasparini, Paolo; Gieger, Christian; Harris, Tamara B.; Ingelsson, Erik; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Kraft, Peter; Lawlor, Debbie; Metspalu, Andres; Pennell, Craig E.; Ridker, Paul M.; Snieder, Harold; Sørensen, Thorkild IA; Spector, Tim D.; Strachan, David P.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Widen, Elisabeth; Zygmunt, Marek; Murray, Anna; Easton, Douglas F.; Stefansson, Kari; Murabito, Joanne M.; Ong, Ken K.; Department of Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation,, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P<5×10−8) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1/WDR25, MKRN3/MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signaling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition.