Identification of HKDC1 and BACE2 as genes influencing glycemic traits during pregnancy through genome-wide association studies.

View Abstract

Maternal metabolism during pregnancy impacts the developing fetus, affecting offspring birth weight and adiposity. This has important implications for metabolic health later in life (e.g., offspring of mothers with pre-existing or gestational diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of metabolic disorders in childhood). To identify genetic loci associated with measures of maternal metabolism obtained during an oral glucose tolerance test at ∼28 weeks' gestation, we performed a genome-wide association study of 4,437 pregnant mothers of European (n = 1,367), Thai (n = 1,178), Afro-Caribbean (n = 1,075), and Hispanic (n = 817) ancestry, along with replication of top signals in three additional European ancestry cohorts. In addition to identifying associations with genes previously implicated with measures of glucose metabolism in nonpregnant populations, we identified two novel genome-wide significant associations: 2-h plasma glucose and HKDC1, and fasting C-peptide and BACE2. These results suggest that the genetic architecture underlying glucose metabolism may differ, in part, in pregnancy.

Investigators
Abbreviation
Diabetes
Publication Date
2013-09-01
Volume
62
Issue
9
Page Numbers
3282-91
Pubmed ID
23903356
Medium
Print-Electronic
Full Title
Identification of HKDC1 and BACE2 as genes influencing glycemic traits during pregnancy through genome-wide association studies.
Authors
Hayes MG, Urbanek M, Hivert MF, Armstrong LL, Morrison J, Guo C, Lowe LP, Scheftner DA, Pluzhnikov A, Levine DM, McHugh CP, Ackerman CM, Bouchard L, Brisson D, Layden BT, Mirel D, Doheny KF, Leya MV, Lown-Hecht RN, Dyer AR, Metzger BE, Reddy TE, Cox NJ, Lowe WL,