A comprehensive meta-analysis of common genetic variants in autism spectrum conditions

[thumbnail of Open Access]
Preview
Text (Open Access) - Published Version
· Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.
| Preview
Available under license: Creative Commons Attribution

Please see our End User Agreement.

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email

Warrier, V., Chee, V., Smith, P., Chakrabarti, B. orcid id iconORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-7895 and Baron-Cohen, S. (2015) A comprehensive meta-analysis of common genetic variants in autism spectrum conditions. Molecular Autism, 6 (1). 49. ISSN 2040-2392 doi: 10.1186/s13229-015-0041-0

Abstract/Summary

Background Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication alongside repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. ASC are heritable, and common genetic variants contribute substantial phenotypic variability. More than 600 genes have been implicated in ASC to date. However, a comprehensive investigation of candidate gene association studies in ASC is lacking. Methods In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature for association studies for 552 genes associated with ASC. We identified 58 common genetic variants in 27 genes that have been investigated in three or more independent cohorts and conducted a meta-analysis for 55 of these variants. We investigated publication bias and sensitivity and performed stratified analyses for a subset of these variants. Results We identified 15 variants nominally significant for the mean effect size, 8 of which had P values below a threshold of significance of 0.01. Of these 15 variants, 11 were re-investigated for effect sizes and significance in the larger Psychiatric Genomics Consortium dataset, and none of them were significant. Effect direction for 8 of the 11 variants were concordant between both the datasets, although the correlation between the effect sizes from the two datasets was poor and non-significant. Conclusions This is the first study to comprehensively examine common variants in candidate genes for ASC through meta-analysis. While for majority of the variants, the total sample size was above 500 cases and 500 controls, the total sample size was not large enough to accurately identify common variants that contribute to the aetiology of ASC.

Altmetric Badge

Item Type Article
URI https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/52481
Identification Number/DOI 10.1186/s13229-015-0041-0
Refereed Yes
Divisions Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN)
Interdisciplinary centres and themes > ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Research Network
Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Neuroscience
Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Cognition Research (CCR)
Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher BioMed Central
Download/View statistics View download statistics for this item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Search Google Scholar