Phenome-wide association study using research participants' self-reported data provides insight into the Th17 and IL-17 pathway

PLoS One. 2017 Nov 1;12(11):e0186405. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186405. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

A phenome-wide association study of variants in genes in the Th17 and IL-17 pathway was performed using self-reported phenotypes and genetic data from 521,000 research participants of 23andMe. Results replicated known associations with similar effect sizes for autoimmune traits illustrating self-reported traits can be a surrogate for clinically assessed conditions. Novel associations controlling for a false discovery rate of 5% included the association of the variant encoding p.Ile684Ser in TYK2 with increased risk of tonsillectomy, strep throat occurrences and teen acne, the variant encoding p.Arg381Gln in IL23R with a decrease in dandruff frequency, the variant encoding p.Asp10Asn in TRAF3IP2 with risk of male-pattern balding, and the RORC regulatory variant (rs4845604) with protection from allergies. This approach enabled rapid assessment of association with a wide variety of traits and investigation of traits with limited reported associations to overlay meaningful phenotypic context on the range of conditions being considered for drugs targeting this pathway.

MeSH terms

  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Interleukin-17 / genetics
  • Interleukin-17 / immunology*
  • Phenotype*
  • Self Report
  • Th17 Cells / immunology*

Substances

  • Interleukin-17

Grants and funding

MGE, MNC, LMY-A, TJ, AG, MRN, LCM, DKR, DMW are employees of GlaxoSmithKline. JA is an employee of PAREXEL International. SFC is an employee of Suzanne F Cook Epidemiology Associates LLC. DAH and CT are employees of 23andMe. GlaxoSmithKline funded the study. The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors [MGE, MNC, LMY-A, TJ, AG, MRN, LCM, DKR, DMW], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.