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The genomic basis of mood instability: identification of 46 loci in 363,705 UK Biobank participants, genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, and association with gene expression and function

Abstract:
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric phenotypes have tended to focus on categorical diagnoses, but to understand the biology of mental illness it may be more useful to study traits which cut across traditional boundaries. Here, we report the results of a GWAS of mood instability as a trait in a large population cohort (UK Biobank, n = 363,705). We also assess the clinical and biological relevance of the findings, including whether genetic associations show enrichment for nervous system pathways. Forty six unique loci associated with mood instability were identified with a SNP heritability estimate of 9%. Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSR) analyses identified genetic correlations with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Bipolar Disorder (BD), Schizophrenia, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Gene-level and gene set analyses identified 244 significant genes and 6 enriched gene sets. Tissue expression analysis of the SNP-level data found enrichment in multiple brain regions, and eQTL analyses highlighted an inversion on chromosome 17 plus two brain-specific eQTLs. In addition, we used a Phenotype Linkage Network (PLN) analysis and community analysis to assess for enrichment of nervous system gene sets using mouse orthologue databases. The PLN analysis found enrichment in nervous system PLNs for a community containing serotonin and melatonin receptors. In summary, this work has identified novel loci, tissues and gene sets contributing to mood instability. These findings may be relevant for the identification of novel trans-diagnostic drug targets and could help to inform future stratified medicine innovations in mental health.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/s41380-019-0439-8

Authors

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Psychiatry
Oxford college:
Wolfson College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-6719-1126

Contributors

Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
Medical Sciences Division
Department:
Psychiatry
Oxford college:
Wolfson College
Role:
Contributor
ORCID:
0000-0002-6719-1126


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Molecular Psychiatry More from this journal
Issue:
2019
Publication date:
2019-06-05
Acceptance date:
2019-04-29
DOI:
ISSN:
1359-4184


Keywords:
Pubs id:
pubs:1003510
UUID:
uuid:e4f14c49-01f1-492e-ba8f-d0eb1de2169e
Local pid:
pubs:1003510
Source identifiers:
1003510
Deposit date:
2019-05-29
ARK identifier:

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