Mouse Genome-Wide Association and Systems Genetics Identifies Lhfp as a Regulator of Bone Mass

Bone mineral density (BMD) is a strong predictor of osteoporotic fracture. It is also one of the most heritable disease-associated quantitative traits. As a result, there has been considerable effort focused on dissecting its genetic basis. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of inbred strains to identify associations influencing BMD. This analysis identified a significant (P=3.1 x 10-12) BMD locus on Chromosome 3@52.5 Mbp that replicated in two seperate inbred strain panels and overlapped a BMD quantitative trait locus (QTL) previously identified in a F2 intercross. The association mapped to a 300 Kbp region containing four genes; Gm2447, Gm20750, Cog6, and Lhfp. Further analysis found that Lipoma HMGIC Fusion Partner (Lhfp) was highly expressed in bone and osteoblasts and its expression was regulated by local expression QTL (eQTL) in multiple tissues. A co-expression network analysis revealed that Lhfp was strongly connected to genes involved in osteoblast differentiation. To directly evaluate its role in bone, Lhfp deficient mice (Lhfp-/-) were created using CRISPR/Cas9. Consistent with genetic and network predictions, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from Lhfp-/- displayed increased osteogenic differentiation. Lfhp-/- mice also had elevated BMD due to increased cortical bone mass. In conclusion, we used GWAS and systems genetics in mice to identify Lhfp as a regulator of osteoblast activity and bone mass.