Leveraging eQTLs to identify individual-level tissue of interest for a complex trait.

ABSTRACT: Genetic predisposition for complex traits often acts through multiple tissues at different time points during development. As a simple example, the genetic predisposition for obesity could be manifested either through inherited variants that control metabolism through regulation of genes expressed in the brain, or that control fat storage through dysregulation of genes expressed in adipose tissue, or both. Here we describe a statistical approach that leverages tissue-specific expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) corresponding to tissue-specific genes to prioritize a relevant tissue underlying the genetic predisposition of a given individual for a complex trait. Unlike existing approaches that prioritize relevant tissues for the trait in the population, our approach probabilistically

SUBMITTER: Majumdar A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8174686 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature