Systematic Localization of Common Disease-Associated Variation in Regulatory DNA

Abstract

Predictions of Genetic Disease Many genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified loci and variants associated with disease, but the ability to predict disease on the basis of these genetic variants remains small. Maurano et al. (p. 1190 ; see the Perspective by Schadt and Chang ; see the cover) characterize the location of GWAS variants in the genome with respect to their proximity to regulatory DNA [marked by deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) hypersensitive sites] by tissue type, disease, and enrichments in physiologically relevant transcription factor binding sites and networks. They found many noncoding disease associations in regulatory DNA, indicating tissue and developmental-specific regulatory roles for many common genetic variants and thus enabling links to be made between gene regulation and adult-onset disease.

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Affiliated Institutions

• Brigham and Women's Hospital US
• University of Washington Medical Center US
• Harvard University US
• Chinese Academy of Sciences CN
• University of Washington US
• Fred Hutch Cancer Center US
• Benaroya Research Institute
• Yale University US
• Beijing Institute of Genomics CN

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