Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41038828›Full record

SynthesisNature communications2025

Trans-eQTL mapping prioritises USP18 as a negative regulator of interferon response at a lupus risk locus.

Krista Freimann, Anneke Brümmer, Robert Warmerdam, Tarran S Rupall, Ana Laura Hernández-Ledesma, Joshua Chiou, Emily R Holzinger, Joseph C Maranville, Nikolina Nakic, Halit Ongen and 11 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

21 authors.

Krista FreimannInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
Anneke BrümmerDepartment of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3576-0750
Robert WarmerdamDepartment of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8691-0053
Tarran S RupallOpen Targets, South Building, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.
Ana Laura Hernández-LedesmaLaboratorio Internacional de Investigación Sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de, México, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8819-7471
Joshua ChiouInternal Medicine Research Unit, Research and Development, Pfizer, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4618-0647
Emily R HolzingerBristol Myers Squibb, Massachusetts, MA, USA.
Joseph C MaranvilleBristol Myers Squibb, Massachusetts, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1688-1573
Nikolina NakicResearch Technologies, GSK, Stevenage, UK.
Halit OngenResearch Technologies, GSK, Heidelberg, Germany.
Luca StefanucciOpen Targets, South Building, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4352-1151
Michael C TurchinBristol Myers Squibb, Massachusetts, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3569-1529
eQTLGen Consortium
Lude FrankeDepartment of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-8802
Urmo VõsaEstonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3476-1652
Carla P JonesOpen Targets, South Building, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4329-3267
Alejandra Medina-RiveraLaboratorio Internacional de Investigación Sobre el Genoma Humano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de, México, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico.
Gosia TrynkaOpen Targets, South Building, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6955-9529
Kai KisandInstitute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5426-4648
Sven BergmannDepartment of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6785-9034
Kaur AlasooInstitute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. kaur.alasoo@ut.ee.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1761-8881

Funding

EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020) 825775Eesti Teadusagentuur (Estonian Research Council) MOB3ERC115Eesti Teadusagentuur (Estonian Research Council) PRG1117Eesti Teadusagentuur (Estonian Research Council) PSG415Swiss National Science Foundation | National Center of Competence in Research Affective Sciences - Emotions in Individual Behaviour and Social Processes (National Centre of Competence in Research Affective Sciences) 310030_152724/1Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust (Wellcome) 220540/Z/20/A
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although genome-wide association studies have provided valuable insights into the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases, translating these findings to causal genes and their downstream mechanisms remains challenging. We performed trans expression quantitative trait locus (trans-eQTL) meta-analysis in 3734 lymphoblastoid cell line samples, identifying four robust loci that replicated in an independent multi-ethnic dataset of 682 individuals. The trans-eQTL signal at the ubiquitin specific peptidase 18 (USP18) locus colocalised with a GWAS signal for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). USP18 is a known negative regulator of interferon signalling and the SLE risk allele increased the expression of 50 interferon-inducible genes, suggesting that the risk allele impairs USP18's ability to effectively limit the interferon response. Intriguingly, the USP18 trans-eQTL signal would not have been discovered in a meta-analysis of up to 43,301 whole blood samples, reaffirming the importance of capturing context-specific genetic effects for GWAS interpretation.

Indexed as

InterferonsLupus Erythematosus, SystemicQuantitative Trait LociUbiquitin ThiolesteraseAllelesCell LineChromosome MappingGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansPolymorphism, Single NucleotideInterferonsUbiquitin ThiolesteraseUSP18 protein, human

Identifiers

PMID41038828
PMCPMC12491431

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.