Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33004804›Full record

ArticleNature communications2020

Mendelian randomization while jointly modeling cis genetics identifies causal relationships between gene expression and lipids.

Adriaan van der Graaf, Annique Claringbould, Antoine Rimbert, BIOS Consortium, Harm-Jan Westra, Yang Li, Cisca Wijmenga, Serena Sanna

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Lower Hippocampal Volume Partly Mediates the Association Between rs6859 in themedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Higher eQTL power reveals signals that boost GWAS colocalization.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Abundant Parent-of-origin Effect eQTL: The Framingham Heart Study.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Adriaan van der GraafUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8898-8484
Annique ClaringbouldUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9201-6557
Antoine RimbertUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Pediatrics, Section Molecular Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2971-4926
BIOS Consortium
Harm-Jan WestraUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7038-567X
Yang LiUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.
Cisca WijmengaUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5635-1614
Serena SannaUniversity of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Genetics, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713, Groningen, AV, The Netherlands. serena.sanna@irgb.cnr.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3768-1749
University Medical Center Groningen · NLLeiden University Medical Center · NLAmsterdam Neuroscience · NLCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRErasmus MC · NLUniversity of Groningen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inference of causality between gene expression and complex traits using Mendelian randomization (MR) is confounded by pleiotropy and linkage disequilibrium (LD) of gene-expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). Here, we propose an MR method, MR-link, that accounts for unobserved pleiotropy and LD by leveraging information from individual-level data, even when only one eQTL variant is present. In simulations, MR-link shows false-positive rates close to expectation (median 0.05) and high power (up to 0.89), outperforming all other tested MR methods and coloc. Application of MR-link to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) measurements in 12,449 individuals with expression and protein QTL summary statistics from blood and liver identifies 25 genes causally linked to LDL-C. These include the known SORT1 and ApoE genes as well as PVRL2, located in the APOE locus, for which a causal role in liver was not known. Our results showcase the strength of MR-link for transcriptome-wide causal inferences.

Indexed as

Gene Expression RegulationGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseModels, GeneticQuantitative Trait LociAdaptor Proteins, Vesicular TransportApolipoproteins ECholesterol, LDLComputer SimulationDatasets as TopicGenetic PleiotropyHumansLinkage DisequilibriumLipid MetabolismMendelian Randomization AnalysisMetabolic Networks and PathwaysMultifactorial InheritanceAdaptor Proteins, Vesicular TransportApoE protein, humanApolipoproteins ECholesterol, LDLNECTIN2 protein, humanNectinsSortilin

Identifiers

PMID33004804
PMCPMC7530717
OpenAlexW3089981509

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.