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Genome-wide analyses of neonatal jaundice reveal a marked departure from adult bilirubin metabolism

  • Pol Solé-Navais
  • , Julius Juodakis
  • , Karin Ytterberg
  • , Xiaoping Wu
  • , Jonathan P. Bradfield
  • , Marc Vaudel
  • , Abigail L. LaBella
  • , Øyvind Helgeland
  • , Christopher Flatley
  • , Frank Geller
  • , Moshe Finel
  • , Mengqi Zhao
  • , Philip Lazarus
  • , Hakon Hakonarson
  • , Per Magnus
  • , Ole A. Andreassen
  • , Pål R. Njølstad
  • , Struan F.A. Grant
  • , Bjarke Feenstra
  • , Louis J. Muglia
  • Stefan Johansson, Ge Zhang, Bo Jacobsson
  • University of Gothenburg
  • Statens Serum Institut
  • University of Copenhagen
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Quantinuum Research LLC
  • University of Bergen
  • Norwegian Institute of Public Health
  • University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • University of Helsinki
  • Washington State University Spokane
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Oslo
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
  • University of Cincinnati

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Jaundice affects almost all neonates in their first days of life and is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin. Although the core biochemistry of bilirubin metabolism is well understood, it is not clear why some neonates experience more severe jaundice and require treatment with phototherapy. Here, we present the first genome-wide association study of neonatal jaundice to date in nearly 30,000 parent-offspring trios from Norway (cases ≈ 2000). The alternate allele of a common missense variant affecting the sequence of UGT1A4 reduces the susceptibility to jaundice five-fold, which replicated in separate cohorts of neonates of African American and European ancestries. eQTL colocalization analyses indicate that the association may be driven by regulation of UGT1A1 in the intestines, but not in the liver. Our results reveal marked differences in the genetic variants involved in neonatal jaundice compared to those regulating bilirubin levels in adults, suggesting distinct genetic mechanisms for the same biological pathways.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7550
JournalNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

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