Ancestry-specific genetics of amino acids and microbiota-related metabolites reveal causal effects on cardiometabolic disease in Chinese populations
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The genetic architecture of circulating amino acids (AAs) and microbiota-related metabolites (MRMs) in relation to cardiometabolic disease remains poorly characterized in East Asian populations, limiting ancestry-specific insights. METHODS: In a prospective cohort of 2953 Chinese individuals, we performed a large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 28 serum AAs and 22 MRMs. We conducted a cross-ancestry comparison of variant-metabolite associations. Using colocalization and Mendelian randomization (MR), we further investigated causal roles of 50 AAs and MRMs in 25 cardiometabolic diseases from the BioBank Japan. Furthermore, we explored differences in the genetic regulation of these metabolites between incident T2DM cases and healthy controls. RESULTS: We identified 33 metabolite-variant associations, 22 of which were previously unreported, and revealed several loci specific to East Asian ancestry. Integrative colocalization and MR analyses established 49 causal relationships between metabolite levels and cardiometabolic diseases, most notably implicating genetically predicted N-acetyltryptophan to increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, we observed distinct patterns of genetic regulation between T2DM cases and controls, highlighting substantial heterogeneity of effects and dynamic gene-disease interplay. CONCLUSIONS: These findings offer crucial insights into the ancestry-specific genetic determinants of metabolic traits, and shed new light on their causal roles in the etiology of cardiometabolic diseases in East Asian populations.
Source: Cardiovascular Diabetology
Authors: Yilan Ding, Hong Lin, Yue Yin, Mian Li, Yu Xu, Shuangyuan Wang, Min Xu, Jie Zheng, Tiange Wang, Zhiyun Zhao, Xiadi He, Ruixin Liu, Hong Qiao, Guijun Qin, Yingfen Qin, Xulei Tang, Zhen Ye, Ruying Hu, Lixin Shi, Qing Su, Xuefeng Yu, Li Yan, Qin Wan, Gang Chen, Zhengnan Gao, Guixia Wang, Feixia Shen, Xuejiang Gu, Zuojie Luo, Li Chen, Xinguo Hou, Yanan Huo, Qiang Li, Yinfei Zhang, Tianshu Zeng, Chao Liu, Youmin Wang, Shengli Wu, Tao Yang, Huacong Deng, Donghui Li, Shenghan Lai, Lulu Chen, Jiajun Zhao, Yiming Mu, Guang Ning, Weiqing Wang, Yufang Bi, Jieli Lu, for the 4C Study Group
Institutions: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ruijin Hospital, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Guangxi Medical University, First Affiliated Hospital of GuangXi Medical University, First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, XinHua Hospital, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Dalian Municipal Central Hospital, First Hospital of Jilin University, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wuhan Union Hospital, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Nanchang University, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, Jiading District Central Hospital, Jiangsu Province Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Karamay Central Hospital, The Affiliated Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Chinese People's Liberation Army
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,290
Award: G8525436051
OpenAlex ID: W7140177023