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Hypothesis-driven genome-wide association studies provide novel insights into genetics of reading disabilities

  • Quantitative Trait Working Group of the GenLang Consortium
  • The Dalglish Family 22q Clinic, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • University of Toronto
  • Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
  • University of St Andrews
  • King's College London
  • Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
  • Technical University of Munich
  • University of Edinburgh
  • Maastricht University
  • Netherlands Twin Register, The Netherlands
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Amsterdam UMC
  • Human Genetics and Cognitive Functions Unit, Institut Pasteur, UMR 3571, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
  • Université Paris Cité
  • University of Zurich
  • Universität Zürich
  • Heidelberg University 
  • BCBL – Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language
  • Ikerbasque Basque Foundation for Science
  • University of the Basque Country
  • University of Bologna
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • Biological Nanochemistry Research Group, Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
  • University of Pannonia
  • University of New Mexico
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Amsterdam
  • University of Lausanne
  • Erasmus MC
  • Radboud University Nijmegen
  • Radboud University Medical Center
  • IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed - Pozzilli (IS)
  • University of Insubria
  • Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • Yale University
  • University of York
  • Clınica Psicobiologıa y Metodologıa
  • University of Oxford
  • Amsterdam UMC - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • University of Helsinki
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Graz
  • BioTechMed-Graz
  • McGill University
  • University of Jyväskylä
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
  • Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
  • Tufts University
  • Murdoch Children's Research Institute
  • University of Melbourne
  • Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of Bonn
  • University of Montreal
  • School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia,
  • Hunter Medical Research Institute
  • Hunter New England Health
  • University of Denver
  • École des hautes études en sciences sociales
  • Griffith University Queensland
  • Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
  • Royal Holloway University of London
  • University of Bristol
  • Population Health Sciences, Bristol, United Kingdom
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • Aston University
  • Harvard University
  • Telethon Kids Institute
  • University of Queensland
  • University Health Network University of Toronto
  • University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
  • University of Limburg
  • Netherlands Twin Register
  • VU University Medical Hospital
  • Amsterdam Reproduction and Development
  • Basque Foundation for Science
  • Oncologia ed Ematologia Pediatrica “Lalla Seràgnoli” Ospedale Sant'Orsola Malpighi Università di Bologna
  • Research Centre for Natural Sciences
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
  • University Hospital of Bonn
  • School of Medicine and Public Health
  • John Hunter Hospital
  • Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Reading Disability (RD) is often characterized by difficulties in the phonology of the language. While the molecular mechanisms underlying it are largely undetermined, loci are being revealed by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In a previous GWAS for word reading (Price, 2020), we observed that top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were located near to or in genes involved in neuronal migration/axon guidance (NM/AG) or loci implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A prominent theory of RD etiology posits that it involves disturbed neuronal migration, while potential links between RD-ASD have not been extensively investigated. To improve power to identify associated loci, we up-weighted variants involved in NM/AG or ASD, separately, and performed a new Hypothesis-Driven (HD)–GWAS. The approach was applied to a Toronto RD sample and a meta-analysis of the GenLang Consortium. For the Toronto sample (n = 624), no SNPs reached significance; however, by gene-set analysis, the joint contribution of ASD-related genes passed the threshold (p~1.45 × 10–2, threshold = 2.5 × 10–2). For the GenLang Cohort (n = 26,558), SNPs in DOCK7 and CDH4 showed significant association for the NM/AG hypothesis (sFDR q = 1.02 × 10–2). To make the GenLang dataset more similar to Toronto, we repeated the analysis restricting to samples selected for reading/language deficits (n = 4152). In this GenLang selected subset, we found significant association for a locus intergenic between BTG3-C21orf91 for both hypotheses (sFDR q < 9.00 × 10–4). This study contributes candidate loci to the genetics of word reading. Data also suggest that, although different variants may be involved, alleles implicated in ASD risk may be found in the same genes as those implicated in word reading. This finding is limited to the Toronto sample suggesting that ascertainment influences genetic associations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number495
JournalTranslational psychiatry
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2022

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