Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression

Kylie P Glanville; Cathryn M Lewis; Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; A. Abdellaoui; C.V. Dolan; Jouke Jan  Hottenga; Rick Jansen; Hamdi Mbarek; C.M. Middeldorp; Yusplitri Milaneschi; Michel G. Nivard; Wouter J Peyrot; Danielle Posthuma; Gonneke Willemsen

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression

Kylie P Glanville
, Cathryn M Lewis
, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
, A. Abdellaoui
, C.V. Dolan
, Jouke Jan Hottenga
, Rick Jansen
, Hamdi Mbarek
, C.M. Middeldorp
, Yusplitri Milaneschi
, Michel G. Nivard
, Wouter J Peyrot
, Danielle Posthuma
, Gonneke Willemsen

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression is higher in individuals with autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap, and in this study we tested whether genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.

METHODS: We fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.6-33.1 Mb), imputing 216 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and 4 complement component 4 (C4) haplotypes in studies from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Major Depressive Disorder Working Group and the UK Biobank. The total sample size was 45,149 depression cases and 86,698 controls. We tested for association between depression status and imputed MHC variants, applying both a region-wide significance threshold (3.9 × 10-6) and a candidate threshold (1.6 × 10-4).

RESULTS: No HLA alleles or C4 haplotypes were associated with depression at the region-wide threshold. HLA-B*08:01 was associated with modest protection for depression at the candidate threshold for testing in HLA genes in the meta-analysis (odds ratio = 0.98, 95% confidence interval = 0.97-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that an increased risk for depression was conferred by HLA alleles, which play a major role in the genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, or C4 haplotypes, which are strongly associated with schizophrenia. These results suggest that any HLA or C4 variants associated with depression either are rare or have very modest effect sizes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	419-430
Number of pages	12
Journal	Biological Psychiatry
Volume	87
Issue number	5
Early online date	5 Aug 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding

SHIP-LEGEND/TREND : SHIP is part of the Community Medicine Research net of the University of Greifswald, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant Nos. 01ZZ9603 , 01ZZ0103 , and 01ZZ0403 ), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs , and the Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania . Genotyping in SHIP was funded by Siemens Healthineers and the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania . The SHIP-LEGEND/TREND Study is also funded by the German Research Foundation (Grant No. DFG: GR 1912/5-1 [principal investigator, H.J. Grabe]). Genotyping in SHIP-TREND-0 was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant No. 03ZIK012 ). MARS : This work was funded by the Max Planck Society , the Max Planck Excellence Foundation , the BMBF in the National Genome Research Network framework (NGFN2 and NGFN-Plus) (Grant No. FKZ 01GS0481 ), and by the BMBF Program (Grant No. FKZ 01ES0811 ). We acknowledge all study participants. We thank numerous people at Max Planck Institute, and all study sites in Germany and Switzerland who contributed to this project. Controls were from the Dortmund Health Study, which was supported NGFNplus MooDS by the German Migraine and Headache Society and by unrestricted grants to the University of Münster from Almirall , AstraZeneca , Berlin Chemie , Boehringer , Boots Health Care , Glaxo-Smith-Kline , Janssen Cilag , McNeil Pharma , MSD Sharp and Dohme , and Pfizer . Blood collection was funded by the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine , University of Münster. Genotyping was supported by the BMBF (Grant No. 01ER0816 ). NESDA: The infrastructure for the NESDA study ( www.nesda.nl ) is funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) (Grant No. 10-000-1002 ) and financial contributions by participating universities and mental health care organizations (Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, GGZ inGeest, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, GGZ Rivierduinen, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, and Rob Giel Onderzoekscentrum). Genotyping was supported by the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI-NL) and National Institutes of Health (Genetic Association Information Network [GAIN] of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Grand Opportunity Grnat Nos. 1RC2 MH089951 and 1RC2 MH089995 [principal investigator, BJWH Penninx]). This work was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (Grant No. MR/N015746/1 Grant No. MR/N015746/1 , Ph.D. studentship [to KPG]) and partially funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust and King’s College London . The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care. RADIANT : This report represents independent research funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust , and King’s College London . The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health. Funding support was provided by the Medical Research Council, UK (Grant Nos. G0701420 and G0901245 [principal investigators, C. Lewis and G. Breen]) and NIMH, UK (Grant No. U01 MH109528 [principal investigator, G. Breen]). Rotterdam Study : Funding support was provided by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO) Investments (Grant No. 175.010.2005.011 , 911-03-012 [principal investigator, A.G. Uitterlinden]). The Rotterdam Study is also funded by Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University . BBMRI-NL: Funding support was provided by Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (Grant Nos. 184.021.007 and BBMRI-NL2.0 184.033.111 ). Genotyping was supported by BBMRI-NL , the Avera Institute , Sioux Falls , SD , and National Institutes of Health (Genetic Association Information Network [GAIN] of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Grand Opportunity Grant Nos. 1RC2 MH089951 and 1RC2 MH089995 [principal investigator, D.I. Boomsma]). We are deeply indebted to the investigators who comprise the PGC and to the hundreds of thousands of participants who have shared their life experiences with PGC investigators. The PGC has received major funding from the United States National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. U01 MH109528-03 [principal investigator, P.F. Sullivan]), the United States National Institute of Drug Abuse (Grant No. U01 MH1095320 [principal investigator A. Agrawal]), the Netherlands Scientific Organization (Grant No. 480-05-003 [principal investigator, D. Posthuma]), and the Dutch Brain Foundation and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (principal investigator, D. Posthuma). PsyColaus : Funding support was provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland (Grant Nos. 3200B0-105993 , 3200B0-118308 , 33CSCO-122661 , 33CS30-139468 , and 33CS30-148401 [principal investigator, M. Preisig]). PsyCoLaus/CoLaus received additional support from research grants from GlaxoSmithKline and the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne . BOMA : Funding support was provided by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany (Grant Nos. RI 908/11-1 , NO246/10-1 and Excellence Cluster ImmunoSensation [principal investigators, M. Rietschel and M.M. Nöthen]), the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) IntegraMent, Germany (Grant Nos. 01ZX1314A/01ZX1614A and 01ZX1314G/01ZX1614G [principal investigators, M.M. Nöthen, M. Rietschel, and S. Cichon]), and BMBF NGFNplus MooDS, Germany (Grant Nos. 01GS08144 and 01GS08147 [principal investigators, M.M. Nöthen, M. Rietschel, and S. Cichon]). QIMR : We thank the twins and their families for their willing participation in our studies. Funding support was provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (Grant Nos. 941177 , 971232 , 3399450 , and 443011 [principal investigator, N.G. Martin]) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant Nos. AA07535 , AA07728 , and AA10249 [principal investigator, A.C. Heath]). TwinGene : Thanks the Karolinska Institutet for infrastructural support of the Swedish Twin Registry . Funding support was provided by GenomeEUtwin, EU (Grant Nos. EU/QLRT-2001-01254 and QLG2-CT-2002-01254 [principal investigator, N. Pedersen]), the Heart and Lung foundation, Sweden (Grant No. 20070481 [principal investigator, P. Magnusson]), SSF, Sweden and Vetenskapsrådet, Sweden (Grant No. M-2005-1112 [principal investigator, U. de Faire]). Danish Radiant : Funding support was provided by Højteknologifonden, Denmark (Grant No. 0001-2009-2 [principal investigators, T. Werge (controls) and O. Mors (cases)]) and Lundbeck Foundation, Denmark (Grant No. R24-A3242 [principal investigators, T. Werge (controls) and O. Mors (cases)]) STAR*D : The authors appreciate the efforts of the STAR*D investigator team for acquiring, compiling, and sharing the STAR*D clinical data set. Funding support was provided by NIMH (Grant No. R01 MH-072802 [principal investigator, S.P. Hamilton]). Harvard i2b2 : Funding support was provided by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (Grant Nos. R01 MH085542 and R01 MH086026 [principal investigators, J.W. Smoller and R.H. Perlis]) GenPod/Newmeds : Funding support was provided by the Medical Research Council, UK (Grant No. G0200243 [principal investigators, G. Lewis and M. O'Donovan]), EU 6th framework, UK (Grant No. LSHB-CT-2003-503428 [principal investigator, R. Uher]), and EU Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, UK (Grant No. 15008 [principal investigator, G. Lewis]). Funding support for the Genome-Wide Association of Schizophrenia Study was provided by NIMH (Grant Nos. R01 MH67257 , R01 MH59588 , R01 MH59571 , R01 MH59565 , R01 MH59587 , R01 MH60870 , R01 MH59566 , R01 MH59586 , R01 MH61675 , R01 MH60879 , R01 MH81800 , U01 MH46276 , U01 MH46289 U01 MH46318 , U01 MH79469 , and U01 MH79470 ), and the genotyping of samples was provided through GAIN. The data sets used for the analyses described in this manuscript were obtained from the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gap through dbGaP accession number phs000021.v3.p2. Samples and associated phenotype data for the Genome-Wide Association of Schizophrenia Study were provided by the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia Collaboration (principal investigator, Pablo V. Gejman, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) and Northwestern University, Evanston, IL). NTR : NTR is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW) (Grant No. 480-15-001/674 ) We thank participants and scientists involved in making the UK Biobank resource available ( http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/ ). UK Biobank data used in this study were obtained under approved application 18177, which was supported by funding from the Medical Research Council (Grant No. MR/N015746/1 ). CoFaMS – Adelaide : Funding support was provided by National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (Grant No. APP1060524 [principal investigator, B.T. Baune]). Statistical analyses were performed on the NL Genetic Cluster computer ( http://www.geneticcluster.org/ ) hosted by SURFsara, and the King's Health Partners High Performance Compute Cluster funded with capital equipment grants from the Guy's and St Thomas' Charity (Grant No. TR130505 ) and Maudsley Charity (Grant No. 980 ). EDINBURGH : Genotyping was conducted at the Genetics Core Laboratory at the Clinical Research Facility (University of Edinburgh). Funding support was provided by Wellcome Trust, UK (Grant No. 104036/Z/14/Z [principal investigator, A.M. McIntosh]).

Funders	Funder number
Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
MSD Sharp and Dohme
Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum
NHS
King’s College London
Erasmus University
Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service
Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
Sioux Falls
Deutsche Migräne- und Kopfschmerzgesellschaft e.V.
National Institute for Health Research
Erasmus Medisch Centrum
Rob Giel Onderzoekscentrum
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Siemens Healthineers
Avera Institute
BBMRI-NL
Ministry of Cultural Affairs
Dutch Brain Foundation
GlaxoSmithKline
Universiteit Leiden
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development
Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne
Max Planck Excellence Foundation
Pfizer
Excellence Cluster ImmunoSensation
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
UK Research and Innovation
National health and Medical Research Council, Australia	971232, 443011, 3399450
???publication-publication-funding-organisation-not-added???	480-05-003, 480-15-001, 175.010.2005.011, 911-03-012
Heart and Lung foundation	20070481
National Health and Medical Research Council	APP1060524, 941177, 1060524
Højteknologifonden	0001-2009-2
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	RI 908/11-1, 03ZIK012, GR 1912/5-1, NO246/10-1
National Institute of Mental Health	U01 MH46289 U01 MH46318, R01 MH59586, U01 MH79469, R01 MH61675, R01 MH59571, R01 MH60879, U01MH109536, U01 MH46276, R01 MH59588, R01 MH59566, R01 MH59565, R01 MH59587, R01 MH-072802, K01MH113848, U01 MH79470, U01MH109528, R01 MH085542, R01 MH086026, R01 MH81800, R01 MH60870, R01 MH67257
United States National Institute of Drug Abuse	U01 MH1095320
Wellcome Trust	104036/Z/14/Z, 104036
Medical Research Council	MC_PC_17228, G0200243, MR/N015746/1, G0701420, MR/L010305/1, G0901245
EU 6th framework	LSHB-CT-2003-503428
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung	01ZZ0403, FKZ 01ES0811, 01GS08144, 01ZX1314G/01ZX1614G, 01GS08147, FKZ 01GS0481, 01ZX1314A/01ZX1614A, 01ZZ0103, 01ZZ9603
Now	480-15-001/674
Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning	M-2005-1112
GenomeEUtwin	QLG2-CT-2002-01254, EU/QLRT-2001-01254
ZonMw	10-000-1002
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	33CS30-148401, 3200B0-118308, 148401, 105993, 33CSCO-122661, 33CS30-139468, 3200B0-105993
National Institutes of Health	1RC2 MH089951, 1RC2 MH089995
Lundbeckfonden	R24-A3242
Innovative Medicines Initiative	15008
Maudsley Charity	980
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism	AA10249, AA07728, AA07535
Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine , University of Münster	01ER0816
Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure	BBMRI-NL2.0 184.033.111, 184.021.007
Guy's and St Thomas' Charity	TR130505

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Cohort Studies

Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

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Glanville, K. P., Lewis, C. M., Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Abdellaoui, A., Dolan, C. V., Hottenga, J. J., Jansen, R., Mbarek, H., Middeldorp, C. M., Milaneschi, Y., Nivard, M. G., Peyrot, W. J., Posthuma, D., & Willemsen, G. (2020). Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression. Biological Psychiatry, 87(5), 419-430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

@article{1b26af9f26bf4614ab59a7c1eb2b7e31,

title = "Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression is higher in individuals with autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap, and in this study we tested whether genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.METHODS: We fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.6-33.1 Mb), imputing 216 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and 4 complement component 4 (C4) haplotypes in studies from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Major Depressive Disorder Working Group and the UK Biobank. The total sample size was 45,149 depression cases and 86,698 controls. We tested for association between depression status and imputed MHC variants, applying both a region-wide significance threshold (3.9 × 10-6) and a candidate threshold (1.6 × 10-4).RESULTS: No HLA alleles or C4 haplotypes were associated with depression at the region-wide threshold. HLA-B*08:01 was associated with modest protection for depression at the candidate threshold for testing in HLA genes in the meta-analysis (odds ratio = 0.98, 95\% confidence interval = 0.97-0.99).CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that an increased risk for depression was conferred by HLA alleles, which play a major role in the genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, or C4 haplotypes, which are strongly associated with schizophrenia. These results suggest that any HLA or C4 variants associated with depression either are rare or have very modest effect sizes.",

author = "Glanville, \{Kylie P\} and Coleman, \{Jonathan R I\} and Hanscombe, \{Ken B\} and Jack Euesden and Choi, \{Shing Wan\} and Purves, \{Kirstin L\} and Gerome Breen and Air, \{Tracy M\} and Andlauer, \{Till F M\} and Baune, \{Bernhard T\} and Binder, \{Elisabeth B\} and Blackwood, \{Douglas H R\} and Boomsma, \{Dorret I\} and Buttensch{\o}n, \{Henriette N\} and Luc{\'i}a Colodro-Conde and Udo Dannlowski and Nese Direk and Dunn, \{Erin C\} and Forstner, \{Andreas J\} and \{de Geus\}, \{Eco J C\} and Grabe, \{Hans J\} and Hamilton, \{Steven P\} and Ian Jones and Jones, \{Lisa A\} and Knowles, \{James A\} and Zolt{\'a}n Kutalik and Levinson, \{Douglas F\} and Glyn Lewis and Lind, \{Penelope A\} and Susanne Lucae and Magnusson, \{Patrik K\} and Peter McGuffin and McIntosh, \{Andrew M\} and Yuri Milaneschi and Ole Mors and Sara Mostafavi and Bertram M{\"u}ller-Myhsok and Pedersen, \{Nancy L\} and Penninx, \{Brenda W J H\} and Potash, \{James B\} and Martin Preisig and Stephan Ripke and Jianxin Shi and Shyn, \{Stanley I\} and Smoller, \{Jordan W\} and Fabian Streit and Sullivan, \{Patrick F\} and Henning Tiemeier and Rudolf Uher and \{Van der Auwera\}, Sandra and Weissman, \{Myrna M\} and O'Reilly, \{Paul F\} and Lewis, \{Cathryn M\} and \{Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium\} and A. Abdellaoui and C.V. Dolan and Hottenga, \{Jouke Jan\} and Rick Jansen and Hamdi Mbarek and C.M. Middeldorp and Yusplitri Milaneschi and Nivard, \{Michel G.\} and Peyrot, \{Wouter J\} and Danielle Posthuma and Gonneke Willemsen",

year = "2020",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031",

language = "English",

volume = "87",

pages = "419--430",

journal = "Biological Psychiatry",

issn = "0006-3223",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

number = "5",

}

Glanville, KP, Lewis, CM, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Abdellaoui, A, Dolan, CV, Hottenga, JJ, Jansen, R, Mbarek, H, Middeldorp, CM, Milaneschi, Y, Nivard, MG, Peyrot, WJ, Posthuma, D & Willemsen, G 2020, 'Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression', Biological Psychiatry, vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 419-430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression. / Glanville, Kylie P; Lewis, Cathryn M; Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium et al.
In: Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 87, No. 5, 01.03.2020, p. 419-430.

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression

AU - Glanville, Kylie P

AU - Coleman, Jonathan R I

AU - Hanscombe, Ken B

AU - Euesden, Jack

AU - Choi, Shing Wan

AU - Purves, Kirstin L

AU - Breen, Gerome

AU - Air, Tracy M

AU - Andlauer, Till F M

AU - Baune, Bernhard T

AU - Binder, Elisabeth B

AU - Blackwood, Douglas H R

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I

AU - Buttenschøn, Henriette N

AU - Colodro-Conde, Lucía

AU - Dannlowski, Udo

AU - Direk, Nese

AU - Dunn, Erin C

AU - Forstner, Andreas J

AU - de Geus, Eco J C

AU - Grabe, Hans J

AU - Hamilton, Steven P

AU - Jones, Ian

AU - Jones, Lisa A

AU - Knowles, James A

AU - Kutalik, Zoltán

AU - Levinson, Douglas F

AU - Lewis, Glyn

AU - Lind, Penelope A

AU - Lucae, Susanne

AU - Magnusson, Patrik K

AU - McGuffin, Peter

AU - McIntosh, Andrew M

AU - Milaneschi, Yuri

AU - Mors, Ole

AU - Mostafavi, Sara

AU - Müller-Myhsok, Bertram

AU - Pedersen, Nancy L

AU - Penninx, Brenda W J H

AU - Potash, James B

AU - Preisig, Martin

AU - Ripke, Stephan

AU - Shi, Jianxin

AU - Shyn, Stanley I

AU - Smoller, Jordan W

AU - Streit, Fabian

AU - Sullivan, Patrick F

AU - Tiemeier, Henning

AU - Uher, Rudolf

AU - Van der Auwera, Sandra

AU - Weissman, Myrna M

AU - O'Reilly, Paul F

AU - Lewis, Cathryn M

AU - Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium

AU - Abdellaoui, A.

AU - Dolan, C.V.

AU - Hottenga, Jouke Jan

AU - Jansen, Rick

AU - Mbarek, Hamdi

AU - Middeldorp, C.M.

AU - Milaneschi, Yusplitri

AU - Nivard, Michel G.

AU - Peyrot, Wouter J

AU - Posthuma, Danielle

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

PY - 2020/3/1

Y1 - 2020/3/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression is higher in individuals with autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap, and in this study we tested whether genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.METHODS: We fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.6-33.1 Mb), imputing 216 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and 4 complement component 4 (C4) haplotypes in studies from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Major Depressive Disorder Working Group and the UK Biobank. The total sample size was 45,149 depression cases and 86,698 controls. We tested for association between depression status and imputed MHC variants, applying both a region-wide significance threshold (3.9 × 10-6) and a candidate threshold (1.6 × 10-4).RESULTS: No HLA alleles or C4 haplotypes were associated with depression at the region-wide threshold. HLA-B*08:01 was associated with modest protection for depression at the candidate threshold for testing in HLA genes in the meta-analysis (odds ratio = 0.98, 95% confidence interval = 0.97-0.99).CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that an increased risk for depression was conferred by HLA alleles, which play a major role in the genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, or C4 haplotypes, which are strongly associated with schizophrenia. These results suggest that any HLA or C4 variants associated with depression either are rare or have very modest effect sizes.

AB - BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression is higher in individuals with autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap, and in this study we tested whether genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.METHODS: We fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.6-33.1 Mb), imputing 216 human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and 4 complement component 4 (C4) haplotypes in studies from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Major Depressive Disorder Working Group and the UK Biobank. The total sample size was 45,149 depression cases and 86,698 controls. We tested for association between depression status and imputed MHC variants, applying both a region-wide significance threshold (3.9 × 10-6) and a candidate threshold (1.6 × 10-4).RESULTS: No HLA alleles or C4 haplotypes were associated with depression at the region-wide threshold. HLA-B*08:01 was associated with modest protection for depression at the candidate threshold for testing in HLA genes in the meta-analysis (odds ratio = 0.98, 95% confidence interval = 0.97-0.99).CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that an increased risk for depression was conferred by HLA alleles, which play a major role in the genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, or C4 haplotypes, which are strongly associated with schizophrenia. These results suggest that any HLA or C4 variants associated with depression either are rare or have very modest effect sizes.

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85072749953#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

DO - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.031

M3 - Article

C2 - 31570195

SN - 0006-3223

VL - 87

SP - 419

EP - 430

JO - Biological Psychiatry

JF - Biological Psychiatry

IS - 5

ER -

Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles and C4 Haplotypes Are Not Significantly Associated With Depression

Abstract

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