430 Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies novel risk loci for uterine fibroids across multiple ancestry groups

• Published in: Journal of clinical and translational science 2024-04, Vol.8 (s1), p.128-129
• Main Authors: Kim, Jeewoo, Williams, Ariel, Noh, Hannah, Shuey, Megan M., Edwards, Todd L., Velez Edwards, Digna R., Hellwege, Jacklyn N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Blood pressure; Cell cycle; DNA damage; Endometriosis; Fibroids; Fibrosis; FOXO3 protein; Gene expression; Gene loci; Gene mapping; Genetic diversity; Genomes; Lung diseases; Meta-analysis; p53 Protein; Pax2 protein; Population studies; Precision Medicine/Health; Risk factors; Signal transduction; Statistical analysis; Tumorigenesis; Uterus; Vitamin D
• ISSN: 2059-8661; 2059-8661
• DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.372

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Uterine fibroids are benign tumors of the uterus with a high disease prevalence and burden, yet there are few multi-ancestry genetic studies. This is the largest and most diverse fibroid GWAS to-date. Our goal is to identify novel genetic variants and gene expression pathways associated with fibroids and characterize their biological relevance. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We performed a cross-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS summary statistics from eight datasets. The total sample size was 74,294 cases and 465,810 controls with participants of European (80% of sample), African (4%), East Asian, and Central South Asian (16%) ancestry. We mapped variants to genes with OpenTarget Genetics and used Functional Mapping and Annotation to conduct tissue expression gene-set enrichment and identify lead variants. We used S-PrediXcan to estimate genetically predicted gene expression (GPGE) associated with fibroid risk. This was with models that predicted gene expression across 49 different tissue types. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis compiled significant GPGE genes and their weights with a scientific literature database to identify overlapping pathways. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We identified 370 independent significant variants. Among these, we identified variants mapped to three novel genes (PAX2, VIP, FOXO3) and eight genes not previously validated (TEKT1, SLC16A11, RPEL1, RASL11B, ASGR1, SLC12A7, TTC28, POLR2A). Many loci have roles in cell cycle regulation or are associated with fibroid risk factors like blood pressure, BMI, and vitamin D levels. Loci were significantly enriched in DNA damage and cell cycle pathways. Of 588 significant predicted expression gene-tissue pairs, 173 unique genes were novel fibroid associations. These genes are also associated with cancers, estradiol, and endometriosis. Top enriched pathways included p53 signaling, HOTAIR, BRCA1DNA damage response, and pulmonary fibrosis signaling. In uterine tissue there were 15 novel GPGE associations. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Using this large and diverse data, we identified novel loci associated with fibroids that are enriched in hormone-response, DNA damage, and cell-cycle pathways. GPGE loci were in tumorigenesis and fibrosis pathways. These novel genetic loci and uterine gene expression findings may provide translational opportunities for novel fibroid treatments.