Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 48 risk variants and highlights the role of the stria vascularis in hearing loss.

Trpchevska N, Freidin MB, Broer L, Oosterloo BC, Yao S, Zhou Y, Vona B, Bishop C, Bizaki-Vallaskangas A, Canlon B, Castellana F, Chasman DI, Cherny S, Christensen K, Concas MP, Correa A, Elkon R, Estonian Biobank Research Team , Mengel-From J, Gao Y, Giersch ABS, Girotto G, Gudjonsson A, Gudnason V, Heard-Costa NL, Hertzano R, Hjelmborg JVB, Hjerling-Leffler J, Hoffman HJ, Kaprio J, Kettunen J, Krebs K, Kähler AK, Lallemend F, Launer LJ, Lee I, Leonard H, Li C, Lowenheim H, Magnusson PKE, van Meurs J, Milani L, Morton CC, Mäkitie A, Nalls MA, Nardone GG, Nygaard M, Palviainen T, Pratt S, Quaranta N, Rämö J, Saarentaus E, Sardone R, Satizabal Barrera CL, Schweinfurth JM, Seshadri S, Shiroma E, Shulman E, Simonsick E, Spankovich C, Tropitzsch A, Lauschke VM, Sullivan PF, Goedegebure A, Cederroth CR, Williams FMK, Nagtegaal AP

Am. J. Hum. Genet. 109 (6) 1077-1091 [2022-05-12; online 2022-05-12]

Hearing loss is one of the top contributors to years lived with disability and is a risk factor for dementia. Molecular evidence on the cellular origins of hearing loss in humans is growing. Here, we performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis of clinically diagnosed and self-reported hearing impairment on 723,266 individuals and identified 48 significant loci, 10 of which are novel. A large proportion of associations comprised missense variants, half of which lie within known familial hearing loss loci. We used single-cell RNA-sequencing data from mouse cochlea and brain and mapped common-variant genomic results to spindle, root, and basal cells from the stria vascularis, a structure in the cochlea necessary for normal hearing. Our findings indicate the importance of the stria vascularis in the mechanism of hearing impairment, providing future paths for developing targets for therapeutic intervention in hearing loss.

NGI SNP genotyping [Service]

NGI Uppsala (SNP&SEQ Technology Platform) [Service]

National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]

PubMed 35580588

DOI 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.04.010

Crossref 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.04.010

pii: S0002-9297(22)00158-6


Publications 9.5.0