GWAS of Epigenetic Aging Rates in Blood Reveals a Critical Role for TERT
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ARTICLE DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02697-5 OPEN GWAS of epigenetic aging rates in blood reveals a critical role for TERT Ake T. Lu et al.# DNA methylation age is an accurate biomarker of chronological age and predicts lifespan, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this genome-wide association study of 9907 individuals, we find gene variants mapping to five loci associated with intrinsic epi- 1234567890():,; genetic age acceleration (IEAA) and gene variants in three loci associated with extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA). Mendelian randomization analysis suggests causal influences of menarche and menopause on IEAA and lipoproteins on IEAA and EEAA. Var- iants associated with longer leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) paradoxically confer higher IEAA (P < 2.7 × 10−11). Causal mod- eling indicates TERT-specific and independent effects on LTL and IEAA. Experimental hTERT- expression in primary human fibroblasts engenders a linear increase in DNA methylation age with cell population doubling number. Together, these findings indicate a critical role for hTERT in regulating the epigenetic clock, in addition to its established role of compensating for cell replication-dependent telomere shortening. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.H. (email: [email protected]) #A full list of authors and their affliations appears at the end of the paper NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2018) 9:387 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02697-5 | www.nature.com/naturecommunications 1 ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02697-5 fi 2 = 2 = NA methylation (DNAm) pro les of sets of cytosine cohorts were lower, hIEAA 0.19 and hEEAA 0.19 (Supplementary phosphate guanines (CpGs) allow one to develop accurate Table 2). D fi estimators of chronological age which are referred to as We rst performed GWAS meta-analysis of IEAA and EEAA “DNAm age”, “epigenetic age”, or the “epigenetic clock”. Across only in our European ancestry cohorts (N = 8393). Variants with − the life course the correlation between DNAm age and suggestive associations (P < 1.0 × 10 5) were then evaluated in chronological age is >0.951,2. Individuals whose leukocyte DNAm non-European ancestry cohorts (N = 1514), followed by a age is older than their chronological age (“epigenetic age combined meta-analysis across the two strata (Fig. 1a, b). We acceleration”) display a higher risk of all-cause mortality after found no evidence for genomic inflation in individual studies 3–6 accounting for known risk factors , and offspring of (λGC ¼ 0:99 ~ 1.06, Supplementary Tables 3 and 4) or in the 7 λ = centenarians exhibit a younger DNAm age . Epigenetic age European ancestry meta-analysis ( GC 1.03 ~ 1.05; LD score β ¼ : acceleration in blood is associated with cognitive impairment, regression (LDSC) intercept terms 0;IEAA 1 004 and 8,9 10 β ¼ : neuro-pathology in the elderly , Down syndrome , Werner 0;EEAA 1 004; Supplementary Fig. 1 and Supplementary syndrome11, Parkinson’s disease12, obesity13, HIV infection14, Table 2). Variant associations that were genome-wide − and frailty15, menopause16 but it only displays weak correlations significant (P < 5.0 × 10 8) according to the fixed-effect meta- with clinical biomarkers17,18. DNAm age shows no apparent analysis were also evaluated with the trans-ethnic heterogeneity correlation with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), whose pace of test that is implemented in the MANTRA software21. The shortening in cultured somatic cells has been referred to as the MANTRA software provides a meta-analysis estimate, known as ‘mitotic clock’. In vivo, DNAm age and telomere length appear to Bayes Factor (BF), that is arguably more stringent than the fixed- be independent predictors of mortality19. effects meta-analysis because it accounts for genetic heterogeneity Here we examine two widely used measures of epigenetic age between different study populations. Our study focused on acceleration: (a) intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (IEAA), genetic variants that met two criteria: fixed effects meta 2 < −8 ≅ < −8 based on 353 CpGs described by Horvath , which is independent P 5.0 × 10 and MANTRA log10BF 6( P 5×10 ). of age-related changes in blood cell composition, and (b) extrinsic For IEAA, we identified 264 associated variants, mapping to five epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA), an enhanced version of that genomic loci (3q25.33, 5p15.33, 6p22.3, 6p22.2, and 17q22, based on 71 CpGs described by Hannum (2013) which up- Table 1, Supplementary Data 1, Fig. 2, and Supplementary Fig. 2). weights the contribution of blood cell count measures1,6. IEAA Conditional analyses revealed a secondary signal for IEAA at and EEAA are only moderately correlated (r = 0.37). IEAA 6p22.3 (Table 1, Supplementary Figs. 3c and h). For EEAA, we measures cell-intrinsic methylation changes, exhibits greater identified 440 associated variants, mapping to three loci (4p16.3, consistency across different tissues, appears unrelated to lifestyle 10p11.1, and 10p11.21; Table 1, Supplementary Data 1, Fig. 2, and factors and probably indicates a fundamental cell aging process Supplementary Fig. 4); however, the two lead SNPs, rs71007656 that is largely conserved across cell types2,6. By contrast, EEAA and rs1005277 at 10p11.1 and 10p11.21, respectively, are 2 = captures age-related changes in leukocyte composition and moderately correlated (rEUR 0.35, Table 1). Conditional analysis correlates with lifestyle and health-span related characteristics, showed that the association of the INDEL variant rs71007656 yielding a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality6,18. To dissect partially derived from its association with rs1005277 because the the genetic architecture underlying DNAm age of blood, we P-value of rs71007656 was no longer genome-wide significant in a performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of conditional model of rs1005277. By contrast, the SNP rs1005277 IEAA and EEAA based on leukocyte DNA samples from almost remained genome-wide significant in a conditional model of 10,000 individuals. Our GWAS identifies a total of five rs71007656 (Supplementary Fig. 5b, c and e, f). Associations were loci associated with IEAA and three loci associated with consistent across studies (Supplementary Figs. 6 and 7), except for EEAA at genome-wide significance. One of the loci associated one locus (6p22.3: Cochran’s I2 = 58%, MANTRA posterior with IEAA co-locates with the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase probability of heterogeneity = 0.64, Table 1 and Supplementary (TERT) gene on chromosome 5. Variants in TERT that are Data 1). At each of the five IEAA related loci, the risk alleles associated with increased IEAA are also associated with longer conferred between 0.41 and 1.68 years higher IEAA (Table 1). Of telomeres. Our in vitro experiments indicate that hTERT the five loci associated with IEAA, four also exhibited at least expression is required for DNAm aging in human primary suggestive and sign-consistent associations with EEAA (most − fibroblast cells. Finally, our Mendelian randomization analyses significant P = 6.6 × 10 7, Supplementary Data 2. By contrast, reveal that age at menarche and age at menopause have a causal SNPs in the three loci associated with EEAA were not associated effect on IEAA. (P > 0.05) with IEAA (Supplementary Data 2). Analysis of published chromatin state marks22 showed that most lead variants are in chromosomal regions that are transcribed in multiple cell Results lines (Supplementary Fig. 8). Two loci, 6p22.2 and 6p22.3, co- GWAS meta-analyses for IEAA and EEAA. Genomic analyses locate (within 1 Mb) with CpGs that contribute to the Horvath were performed in 9907 individuals (aged 10–98 years), from 15 estimate of DNAm age (Table 1 and Supplementary Data 1), and data sets, adjusted for chronological age and sex (Supplementary it is possible that these genotypic associations with IEAA arise Table 1, Fig. 1, and Supplementary Note 1). Eleven data sets from direct SNP effects on local methylation (Supplementary comprised individuals of European ancestry (84.7%) and four Note 2 and Supplementary Figs. 9 and 10). comprised individuals of African (10.3%) or Hispanic ancestry (5.0%). GWAS genotypes were imputed to ~7.4 million variants using the 1000 genomes reference panel. To estimate the herit- Transcriptomic studies in leukocytes. To learn about potential ability of epigenetic age acceleration in blood, we used both functional consequences of these associations, we conducted pedigree- and SNP-based methods (Methods section). Our cis-eQTL analysis for each locus associated with IEAA or EEAA, 2 = pedigree-based estimates of heritability were hIEAA 0.37 and using data on leukocyte mRNA expression in up to 15,295 2 = fi fi hEEAA 0.33 in individuals of European ancestry, which is con- samples from ve studies (Fig. 1c; Methods section). We identi ed sistent with previous heritability estimates in twins2 and with 11 putative cis-eQTLs located in seven of the eight associated loci those obtained in other tissues (e.g., adipose and brain)9,13,20. (Supplementary Data 3). Each putative cis-eQTL was then SNP-based estimates of heritability in our European ancestry analyzed by summary data-based Mendelian randomization 2 NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2018) 9:387 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02697-5 | www.nature.com/naturecommunications NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02697-5 ARTICLE a Study data sets b Meta-analysis Stage 1: (N=8393) I. Fixed effects models II. Combining non-EUR 11 studies of EUR ancestry combining EUR studies studies only on on all markers M SNPs P < 1.0×10–5 at stage 1 Stage 2: (N=1514) 4 studies of non-EUR ancestry Combined stage : (N=9907) III. Combining all studies on M SNPs 15 studies -> Meta combined stage P IV. Bayesian trans-ancestry analysis on SNPs with Meta P < 5.0×10–8 –8 ≥ Genome-wide significant SNPs : Meta P < 5.0×10 & log10BF 6 c Transcriptomic studies in blood (N =15,295) Study N I.