Massively parallel assessment of gene regulatory activity at human cortical structure associated variants
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE289858 | GEO | 2026/04/09
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified 145 genomic regions that contribute to schizophrenia risk, but linkage disequilibrium (LD) makes it challenging to discern causal variants. Computational finemapping prioritized thousands of credible variants, ~98% of which lie within poorly characterized non-coding regions. To functionally validate their regulatory effects, we performed a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) on 5,173 finemapped schizophrenia GWAS variants in primary human neural progenitors (HNPs). We identified 440 variants with allelic regulatory effects (MPRA-positive variants), with 72% of GWAS loci containing at least one MPRA-positive variant. Transcription factor binding had modest predictive power for predicting the allelic activity of MPRA-positive variants, while GWAS association, finemap posterior probability, enhancer overlap, and evolutionary conservation failed to predict MPRA-positive variants. Furthermore, 64% of MPRA-positive variants did not exhibit eQTL signature, suggesting that MPRA could identify yet unexplored variants with regulatory potentials. MPRA-positive variants differed from eQTLs, as they were more frequently located in distal neuronal enhancers. Therefore, we leveraged neuronal 3D chromatin architecture to identify 273 genes that physically interact with MPRA-positive variants. These genes annotated by chromatin interactome displayed higher mutational constraints and regulatory complexity than genes annotated by eQTLs, recapitulating a recent finding that eQTL- and GWAS-detected variants map to genes with different properties. Finally, we propose a model in which allelic activity of multiple variants within a GWAS locus can be aggregated to predict gene expression by taking chromatin contact frequency and accessibility into account. In conclusion, we demonstrate that MPRA can effectively identify functional regulatory variants and delineate previously unknown regulatory principles of schizophrenia.
2023-08-07 | GSE211045 | GEO
Project description:The most recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cutaneous melanoma identified 54 risk-associated loci, but functional variants and their target genes for most have not been established. Here, we performed massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) using malignant melanoma and normal melanocyte cells and further integrated multi-layer annotation to systematically prioritize functional variants and susceptibility genes from these GWAS loci. Of 1,992 risk-associated variants tested in MPRA, we identified 285 from 42 loci (78% of the known loci) displaying significant allelic transcriptional activities in either cell type (FDR < 1%). We further characterized MPRA-significant variants by motif prediction, epigenomic annotation, and statistical/functional fine-mapping to create integrative variant scores, which prioritized one to six plausible candidate variants per locus for the 42 loci and nominated a single variant for 43% of these loci. Overlaying the MPRA-significant variants with genome-wide significant expression or methylation quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from melanocytes or melanomas identified candidate susceptibility genes for 60% of variants (172 of 285 variants). CRISPRi of top-scoring variants validated their cis-regulatory effect on the eQTL target genes, MAFF (22q13.1) and GPRC5A (12p13.1). Finally, we identified 36 melanoma-specific and 45 melanocyte-specific MPRA-significant variants, a subset of which are linked to cell-type-specific target genes. Analyses of transcription factor availability in MPRA datasets and variant-transcription factor interaction in eQTL datasets highlighted the roles of transcription factors in cell-type-specific variant functionality. In conclusion, MPRA along with variant scoring effectively prioritized plausible candidates for most melanoma GWAS loci and highlighted cellular contexts where the susceptibility variants are functional.
2022-11-28 | GSE210354 | GEO
Project description:The most recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cutaneous melanoma identified 54 risk-associated loci, but functional variants and their target genes for most have not been established. Here, we performed massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) using malignant melanoma and normal melanocyte cells and further integrated multi-layer annotation to systematically prioritize functional variants and susceptibility genes from these GWAS loci. Of 1,992 risk-associated variants tested in MPRA, we identified 285 from 42 loci (78% of the known loci) displaying significant allelic transcriptional activities in either cell type (FDR < 1%). We further characterized MPRA-significant variants by motif prediction, epigenomic annotation, and statistical/functional fine-mapping to create integrative variant scores, which prioritized one to six plausible candidate variants per locus for the 42 loci and nominated a single variant for 43% of these loci. Overlaying the MPRA-significant variants with genome-wide significant expression or methylation quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from melanocytes or melanomas identified candidate susceptibility genes for 60% of variants (172 of 285 variants). CRISPRi of top-scoring variants validated their cis-regulatory effect on the eQTL target genes, MAFF (22q13.1) and GPRC5A (12p13.1). Finally, we identified 36 melanoma-specific and 45 melanocyte-specific MPRA-significant variants, a subset of which are linked to cell-type-specific target genes. Analyses of transcription factor availability in MPRA datasets and variant-transcription factor interaction in eQTL datasets highlighted the roles of transcription factors in cell-type-specific variant functionality. In conclusion, MPRA along with variant scoring effectively prioritized plausible candidates for most melanoma GWAS loci and highlighted cellular contexts where the susceptibility variants are functional.
2022-11-28 | GSE210355 | GEO
Project description:Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a rare atopic disorder associated with esophageal dysfunction, including difficulty swallowing, food impaction, and inflammation. EoE develops in a small subset of people with food allergies under the influence of environmental and genetic risk factors. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 31 independent risk loci for the disease, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) expansion of these loci nominates a set of 531 variants that are potentially causal. These risk variants are non-coding, suggesting a likely role in altered gene regulatory mechanisms. To systematically interrogate the gene regulatory activity of these variants, we designed a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) containing the alleles of each variant within their 170 bp genomic sequence context cloned into a GFP reporter library. Transfection of the MPRA library into TE-7 esophageal epithelial cells, HaCaT skin keratinocytes, and Jurkat T cells revealed cell-type-specific gene regulation. We identify 32 allelic enhancer variants (allelic enVars) that regulate reporter gene expression in a genotype-dependent manner in at least one cellular context. By annotating these variants with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and chromatin looping data in related tissues and cell types, we identify putative target genes affected by genetic variation in EoE patients, including TSLP and multiple genes at the HLA locus. Transcription factor enrichment analyses reveal possible roles for cell-type specific regulators, including GATA-3, a key regulator of type 2 inflammation. Collectively, our approach reduces the large set of EoE-associated variants to a set of 32 with allelic regulatory activity, providing new functional insights into the effects of genetic variation in this disease.
2023-11-26 | GSE232336 | GEO
Project description:Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a rare atopic disorder associated with esophageal dysfunction, including difficulty swallowing, food impaction, and inflammation. EoE develops in a small subset of people with food allergies under the influence of environmental and genetic risk factors. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 31 independent risk loci for the disease, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) expansion of these loci nominates a set of 531 variants that are potentially causal. These risk variants are non-coding, suggesting a likely role in altered gene regulatory mechanisms. To systematically interrogate the gene regulatory activity of these variants, we designed a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) containing the alleles of each variant within their 170 bp genomic sequence context cloned into a GFP reporter library. Transfection of the MPRA library into TE-7 esophageal epithelial cells, HaCaT skin keratinocytes, and Jurkat T cells revealed cell-type-specific gene regulation. We identify 32 allelic enhancer variants (allelic enVars) that regulate reporter gene expression in a genotype-dependent manner in at least one cellular context. By annotating these variants with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and chromatin looping data in related tissues and cell types, we identify putative target genes affected by genetic variation in EoE patients, including TSLP and multiple genes at the HLA locus. Transcription factor enrichment analyses reveal possible roles for cell-type specific regulators, including GATA-3, a key regulator of type 2 inflammation. Collectively, our approach reduces the large set of EoE-associated variants to a set of 32 with allelic regulatory activity, providing new functional insights into the effects of genetic variation in this disease.
2023-11-26 | GSE232337 | GEO
Project description:Genome-wide association studies of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) nominate 3,073 genetic variants at 91 risk loci. To systematically screen these variants for allelic transcriptional enhancer activity, we constructed a massively parallel reporter assays (MPRA) library comprising 12,396 DNA oligonucleotides containing the genomic context around every allele of each SLE variant. Transfection into Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B cell line GM12878 revealed 482 variants with enhancer activity, with 51 variants showing genotype-dependent (allelic) enhancer activity at 27 risk loci. Combined with allelic enhancer activity analyses in Jurkat cell line, we identified shared and unique allelic transcriptional regulatory mechanisms at SLE risk loci. In-depth analysis of allelic transcription factor (TF) binding at and around 51 allelic variants identified one class of TFs whose DNA-binding motif tends to be directly altered by the risk variant and a second, larger class of TFs that also bind allelically but do not have their motifs directly altered by the variant. Collectively, our approach provides a blueprint for the discovery of allelic gene regulation at risk loci for any disease and offers insight into the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlying SLE.
2021-01-31 | GSE143792 | GEO
Project description:Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with a complex etiology involving environmental and genetic factors. Numerous genetic risk loci for MS have been nominated through genome-wide association studies, with most associated variants residing in non-coding regions. However, further work is needed to understand how genetic variation contributes to disease-related alterations to gene expression. Here, we use massively parallel reporter assays (MPRAs) to identify genetic risk variants with genotype-dependent enhancing or silencing activity within a set of 14,276 variants distributed among 233 independent multiple sclerosis risk loci that have reached genome-wide or suggestive significance. We applied our MPRA library to a commercially available B cell line (GM12878) as well as B cell lines derived from two patients with MS. In total, our approach discovered 150 allelic enhancer variants and 286 allelic silencing variants, representing 83 independent MS risk loci. Collectively, our systematic, genome-scale approach implicates causal genotype-dependent gene regulatory mechanisms for 38% of the known or suggestive MS risk loci, providing a unique resource for the discovery of the genetic mechanisms underlying this chronic inflammatory disease.
2025-11-13 | GSE293036 | GEO
Project description:Although genetic studies have identified many hundreds of loci associated with human traits and diseases, pinpointing the causal alleles remains difficult, particularly for non-coding variants. To address this challenge, we have enhanced the sensitivity and reproducibility of the massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA), adapting it to identify variants that directly modulate gene expression. We then applied it to over 29,000 single nucleotide and insertion/deletion polymorphisms from 3,965 cis-expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). We demonstrate strong correlation between our MPRA approach and existing measures of regulatory function, and determine an approximate sensitivity of ~20% with a positive predictive value of 60-65% to detect an eQTL causal allele. We identify 842 variants showing differential expression between alleles, including 53 well-annotated variants associated with diseases and traits. Thus, we have created a resource of concrete leads for understanding the genetic basis of specific phenotypes and illustrate the promise of this kind of approach for comprehensively interrogating how non-coding polymorphism shapes human biology. The study consists of two separate MPRA experiments, a 78,958 oligo (79k study) and a 7,500 oligo library (7.5k). For each library we processed independent transfections into two lymphoblastoid cell lines; in total we completed 5 replicates of NA12878 and 3 replicates of NA19239. For the 79k library we also performed 5 replicate transfections into the hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2. Raw data is provided as Illumina reads of the 20 bp barcode from the RNA extracted 24 hours post transfection as well as from the plasmid library used for transfection. We also provide oligo/barcode combinations from the âgfp vector in the form of a tab delimited file containing the raw sequence reads of the barcode (column 1) and genomic sequence (column 2). Processed count files are unnormalized counts for each oligo acquired by summing all barcode matches together for each replicate.
2016-06-01 | E-GEOD-75661 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified thousands of associations between common genetic variants and human disease phenotypes, but the majority of these variants are non-coding, often requiring genetic fine-mapping, epigenomic profiling, and individual reporter assays to delineate potential causal variants. We employ a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) to simultaneously screen 2,756 variants in strong linkage disequilibrium with 75 sentinel variants associated with red blood cell traits. We show that this assay identifies elements with endogenous erythroid regulatory activity. Across 23 sentinel variants, we conservatively identified 32 MPRA functional variants (MFVs). We used targeted genome editing to demonstrate endogenous enhancer activity across 3 MFVs that predominantly affect the transcription of SMIM1, RBM38, and CD164. Functional follow-up of RBM38 delineates a key role for this gene in the alternative splicing program occurring during terminal erythropoiesis. Finally, we provide evidence for how common GWAS-nominated variants can disrupt cell-type-specific transcriptional regulatory pathways.
2016-10-07 | GSE87711 | GEO
Project description:Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified thousands of associations between common genetic variants and human disease phenotypes, but the majority of these variants are non-coding, often requiring genetic fine-mapping, epigenomic profiling, and individual reporter assays to delineate potential causal variants. We employ a massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) to simultaneously screen 2,756 variants in strong linkage disequilibrium with 75 sentinel variants associated with red blood cell traits. We show that this assay identifies elements with endogenous erythroid regulatory activity. Across 23 sentinel variants, we conservatively identified 32 MPRA functional variants (MFVs). We used targeted genome editing to demonstrate endogenous enhancer activity across 3 MFVs that predominantly affect the transcription of SMIM1, RBM38, and CD164. Functional follow-up of RBM38 delineates a key role for this gene in the alternative splicing program occurring during terminal erythropoiesis. Finally, we provide evidence for how common GWAS-nominated variants can disrupt cell-type-specific transcriptional regulatory pathways.
2016-10-07 | GSE87710 | GEO