Genome-wide association study reveals BET1L associated with survival time in the 137,693 Japanese individuals

Commun Biol. 2023 Feb 3;6(1):143. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04491-0.

Abstract

Human lifespan is reported to be heritable. Although previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified several loci, a limited number of studies have assessed the genetic associations with the real survival information on the participants. We conducted a GWAS to identify loci associated with survival time in the Japanese individuals participated in the BioBank Japan Project by carrying out sex-stratified GWASs involving 78,029 males and 59,664 females. Of them, 31,324 (22.7%) died during the mean follow-up period of 7.44 years. We found a novel locus associated with survival (BET1L; P = 5.89 × 10-9). By integrating with eQTL data, we detected a significant overlap with eQTL of BET1L in skeletal muscle. A gene-set enrichment analysis showed that genes related to the BCAR1 protein-protein interaction subnetwork influence survival time (P = 1.54 × 10-7). These findings offer the candidate genes and biological mechanisms associated with human lifespan.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • East Asian People
  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study*
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Qc-SNARE Proteins / genetics

Substances

  • BET1L protein, human
  • Qc-SNARE Proteins