CPAG: software for leveraging pleiotropy in GWAS to reveal similarity between human traits links plasma fatty acids and intestinal inflammation

Genome Biol. 2015 Sep 15;16(1):190. doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0722-1.

Abstract

Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have demonstrated that the same genetic variants can be associated with multiple diseases and other complex traits. We present software called CPAG (Cross-Phenotype Analysis of GWAS) to look for similarities between 700 traits, build trees with informative clusters, and highlight underlying pathways. Clusters are consistent with pre-defined groups and literature-based validation but also reveal novel connections. We report similarity between plasma palmitoleic acid and Crohn's disease and find that specific fatty acids exacerbate enterocolitis in zebrafish. CPAG will become increasingly powerful as more genetic variants are uncovered, leading to a deeper understanding of complex traits. CPAG is freely available at www.sourceforge.net/projects/CPAG/.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Crohn Disease / blood*
  • Enterocolitis / etiology
  • Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / blood*
  • Genetic Pleiotropy*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study / methods*
  • Humans
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Software*
  • Zebrafish

Substances

  • Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated
  • palmitoleic acid