GWAS and Beyond: Using Omics Approaches to Interpret SNP Associations

AbstractPurpose of ReviewNeurodegenerative diseases, neuropsychiatric disorders, and related traits have highly complex etiologies but are also highly heritable; identifying the causal genes and biological pathways underlying these traits may advance the development of treatments and preventive strategies. While many genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified variants contributing to polygenic neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric phenotypes including Alzheimer ’s disease (AD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and bipolar disorder (BPD) among others, interpreting the biological roles of significantly associated variants in the genetic architecture of these traits remains a significant challenge. Here, we review several ‘omics’ approaches which attempt to bridge the gap from associated genetic variants to phenotype by helping define the functional roles of GWAS loci in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and traits.Recent FindingsSeveral common ‘omics’ approaches have been applied to examine neuropsychiatric traits, such as nearest-gene mapping, trans-ethnic fine mapping, annotation enrichment analysis, transcriptomic analysis, and pathway analysis, and each of these approaches has strengths and limitations in providing insight into bi ological mechanisms. One popular emerging method is the examination of tissue-specific genetically regulated gene expression (GReX), which aggregates the genetic variants’ effects at the gene level. Furthermor...
Source: Current Genetic Medicine Reports - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research