Epigenome-Wide Study Identified Methylation Sites Associated with the Risk of Obesity

• Main Authors: Majid Nikpay, Sepehr Ravati, Robert Dent, Ruth McPherson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: obesity; EWAS; epigenetics; multiomics; Mendelian randomization
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/6/1984

Here, we performed a genome-wide search for methylation sites that contribute to the risk of obesity. We integrated methylation quantitative trait locus (mQTL) data with BMI GWAS information through a SNP-based multiomics approach to identify genomic regions where mQTLs for a methylation site co-localize with obesity risk SNPs. We then tested whether the identified site contributed to BMI through Mendelian randomization. We identified multiple methylation sites causally contributing to the risk of obesity. We validated these findings through a replication stage. By integrating expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data, we noted that lower methylation at cg21178254 site upstream of <i>CCNL1</i> contributes to obesity by increasing the expression of this gene. Higher methylation at cg02814054 increases the risk of obesity by lowering the expression of <i>MAST3</i>, whereas lower methylation at cg06028605 contributes to obesity by decreasing the expression of <i>SLC5A11</i>. Finally, we noted that rare variants within 2p23.3 impact obesity by making the cg01884057 site more susceptible to methylation, which consequently lowers the expression of <i>POMC</i>, <i>ADCY3</i> and <i>DNAJC27</i>. In this study, we identify methylation sites associated with the risk of obesity and reveal the mechanism whereby a number of these sites exert their effects. This study provides a framework to perform an omics-wide association study for a phenotype and to understand the mechanism whereby a rare variant causes a disease.