An ancestry-enriched HNF4A variant and GP2 reveal distinct mechanisms of type 2 diabetes in exome-wide study of 13,674 cases and 41,024 controls

Abstract

Abstract / Introductory ParagraphType 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common and complex metabolic condition with significant heterogeneity within and across ancestries1-4. Compared with individuals of European ancestry (EUR), people of south Asian ancestry (SAS) have two to four-fold higher risk of T2D, develop the disease at younger ages and lower body mass index (BMI), and experience more rapid progression to complications5-10. Understanding the genetic basis of this is hindered by low representation of south Asians in genetic studies. Here, we perform an exome-wide association study of T2D in 13,674 cases and 41,024 controls from the Genes & Health study of British Pakistani and Bangladeshi individuals. We identify a novel rare variant in HNF4A - a canonical monogenic diabetes / MODY gene, in which missense variants would be expected to increase T2D risk. Surprisingly, HNF4A Pro437Ser is associated with a halved risk of T2D and reduced risk of diabetes-related complications but increased non-HDL cholesterol. We additionally characterise a T2D risk-increasing variant which is common only in South and East Asian ancestral groups (GP2 Val429Met), which is associated with lower BMI and phenotypic and genetic markers of insulin deficiency. We validate our findings through replication in independent multi-ancestry cohorts, in vitro functional assays, and integration of proteogenomic analysis. These findings highlight how the study of under-represented populations can identify biological mechanisms associated with disease phenotypes enriched in those populations.