Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34314424›Full record

ArticlePLoS genetics2021

An autoimmune disease risk variant: A trans master regulatory effect mediated by IRF1 under immune stimulation?

Margot Brandt, Sarah Kim-Hellmuth, Marcello Ziosi, Alper Gokden, Aaron Wolman, Nora Lam, Yocelyn Recinos, Zharko Daniloski, John A Morris, Veit Hornung and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS genetics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 7% 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

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Non-coding RNA · 2025
    Review
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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

12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Margot BrandtNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-9434-794X
Sarah Kim-HellmuthNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-8791-5729
Marcello ZiosiNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.
Alper GokdenNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-9659-7352
Aaron WolmanNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.
Nora LamNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-8933-3121
Yocelyn RecinosNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-7377-8660
Zharko DaniloskiNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-3453-0849
John A MorrisNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2769-8202
Veit HornungGene Center and Department of Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4150-194X
Johannes SchumacherCenter for Human Genetics, University Hospital Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Tuuli LappalainenNew York Genome Center, New York, New York, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-7746-8109
New York Genome Center · USLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DEMax Planck Institute of Psychiatry · DEPhilipps University of Marburg · DE

Funding

TRAINING IN CELLULAR, MOLECULAR AND BIOPHYSICAL STUDIEST32GM008224 · NIGMS · COLUMBIA UNIV NEW YORK MORNINGSIDE · PI LIEM, RONALD K. · 1987 to 2021
$9.9M
Statistical models for fine-mapping and interpretation of schizophrenia-associated lociR01MH106842 · NIMH · NEW YORK GENOME CENTER · PI BUSSEMAKER, HARMEN J, LAPPALAINEN, TUULI · 2015 to 2024
$5.0M
NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM008224NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH106842
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Functional mechanisms remain unknown for most genetic loci associated to complex human traits and diseases. In this study, we first mapped trans-eQTLs in a data set of primary monocytes stimulated with LPS, and discovered that a risk variant for autoimmune disease, rs17622517 in an intron of C5ORF56, affects the expression of the transcription factor IRF1 20 kb away. The cis-regulatory effect specific to IRF1 is active under early immune stimulus, with a large number of trans-eQTL effects across the genome under late LPS response. Using CRISPRi silencing, we showed that perturbation of the SNP locus downregulates IRF1 and causes widespread transcriptional effects. Genome editing by CRISPR had suggestive recapitulation of the LPS-specific trans-eQTL signal and lent support for the rs17622517 site being functional. Our results suggest that this common genetic variant affects inter-individual response to immune stimuli via regulation of IRF1. For this autoimmune GWAS locus, our work provides evidence of the functional variant, demonstrates a condition-specific enhancer effect, identifies IRF1 as the likely causal gene in cis, and indicates that overactivation of the downstream immune-related pathway may be the cellular mechanism increasing disease risk. This work not only provides rare experimental validation of a master-regulatory trans-eQTL, but also demonstrates the power of eQTL mapping to build mechanistic hypotheses amenable for experimental follow-up using the CRISPR toolkit.

Indexed as

AdultAutoimmune DiseasesChromosome MappingDNA, AntisenseFemaleGene ExpressionGene Expression ProfilingGene Expression RegulationGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHEK293 CellsHumansImmunityInterferon Regulatory Factor-1MalePolymorphism, Single NucleotideDNA, AntisenseInterferon Regulatory Factor-1IRF1 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID34314424
PMCPMC8345867
OpenAlexW3186920055

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.