Novel loci affecting iron homeostasis and their effects in individuals at risk for hemochromatosis.
Benyamin B., Esko T., Ried JS., Radhakrishnan A., Vermeulen SH., Traglia M., Gögele M., Anderson D., Broer L., Podmore C., Luan J., Kutalik Z., Sanna S., van der Meer P., Tanaka T., Wang F., Westra H-J., Franke L., Mihailov E., Milani L., Hälldin J., Winkelmann J., Meitinger T., Thiery J., Peters A., Waldenberger M., Rendon A., Jolley J., Sambrook J., Kiemeney LA., Sweep FC., Sala CF., Schwienbacher C., Pichler I., Hui J., Demirkan A., Isaacs A., Amin N., Steri M., Waeber G., Verweij N., Powell JE., Nyholt DR., Heath AC., Madden PAF., Visscher PM., Wright MJ., Montgomery GW., Martin NG., Hernandez D., Bandinelli S., van der Harst P., Uda M., Vollenweider P., Scott RA., Langenberg C., Wareham NJ., InterAct Consortium None., van Duijn C., Beilby J., Pramstaller PP., Hicks AA., Ouwehand WH., Oexle K., Gieger C., Metspalu A., Camaschella C., Toniolo D., Swinkels DW., Whitfield JB.
Variation in body iron is associated with or causes diseases, including anaemia and iron overload. Here, we analyse genetic association data on biochemical markers of iron status from 11 European-population studies, with replication in eight additional cohorts (total up to 48,972 subjects). We find 11 genome-wide-significant (P<5 × 10(-8)) loci, some including known iron-related genes (HFE, SLC40A1, TF, TFR2, TFRC, TMPRSS6) and others novel (ABO, ARNTL, FADS2, NAT2, TEX14). SNPs at ARNTL, TF, and TFR2 affect iron markers in HFE C282Y homozygotes at risk for hemochromatosis. There is substantial overlap between our iron loci and loci affecting erythrocyte and lipid phenotypes. These results will facilitate investigation of the roles of iron in disease.