New insights into the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis: a transcriptome- and proteome-wide association study

Abstract

Introduction Thyroid hormones have systemic effects on the human body and play a key role in the development and function of virtually all tissues. They are regulated via the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis and have a heritable component. Using genetic information, we applied tissue-specific transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) and plasma proteome-wide association studies (PWAS) to elucidate gene products related to thyrotropin (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels. Results TWAS identified 297 and 113 transcripts associated with TSH and FT4 levels, respectively (25 shared), including transcripts not identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of these traits, demonstrating the increased power of this approach. Testing for genetic colocalization revealed a shared genetic basis of 158 transcripts with TSH and 45 transcripts with FT4, including independent, FT4-associated genetic signals within the CAPZB locus that were differentially associated with CAPZB expression in different tissues. PWAS identified 18 and ten proteins associated with TSH and FT4, respectively (HEXIM1 and QSOX2 with both). Among these, the cognate genes of five TSH- and 7 FT4-associated proteins mapped outside significant GWAS loci. Colocalization was observed for five plasma proteins each with TSH and FT4. There were ten TSH and one FT4-related gene(s) significant in both TWAS and PWAS. Of these, ANXA5 expression and plasma annexin A5 levels were inversely associated with TSH (PWAS: P = 1.18 × 10−13, TWAS: P = 7.61 × 10−12 (whole blood), P = 6.40 × 10−13 (hypothalamus), P = 1.57 × 10−15 (pituitary), P = 4.27 × 10−15 (thyroid)), supported by colocalizations. Conclusion Our analyses revealed new thyroid function-associated genes and prioritized candidates in known GWAS loci, contributing to a better understanding of transcriptional regulation and protein levels relevant to thyroid function.