Abstract

Over 500 genetic loci have been associated with risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), however most loci are located in gene-distal non-coding regions and their target genes are not known. Here, we generated high-resolution promoter capture Hi-C (PCHi-C) maps in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) to provide a resource for identifying and prioritizing the functional targets of CVD associations. We validate these maps by demonstrating that promoters preferentially contact distal sequences enriched for tissue-specific transcription factor motifs and are enriched for chromatin marks that correlate with dynamic changes in gene expression. Using the CM PCHi-C map, we linked 1,999 CVD-associated SNPs to 347 target genes. Remarkably, more than 90% of SNP-target gene interactions did not involve the nearest gene, while 40% of SNPs interacted with at least two genes, demonstrating the importance of considering long-range chromatin interactions when interpreting functional targets of disease loci.

Data availability

Raw and processed sequencing data are provided at ArrayExpress through accession numbers E-MTAB-6014 (Hi-C) and E-MTAB-6013 (RNA-seq).

The following data sets were generated
The following previously published data sets were used

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Lindsey E Montefiori

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    For correspondence
    lem@uchicago.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-2342-6349
  2. Debora R Sobreira

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Noboru J Sakabe

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Ivy Aneas

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Amelia C Joslin

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Grace T Hansen

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Grazyna Bozek

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Ivan P Moskowitz

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-0014-4963
  9. Elizabeth M McNally

    Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  10. Marcelo A Nóbrega

    Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
    For correspondence
    nobrega@uchicago.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-0451-7846

Funding

National Institutes of Health (HL123857)

  • Marcelo A Nóbrega

National Institutes of Health (HL119967)

  • Marcelo A Nóbrega

National Institutes of Health (HL118758)

  • Marcelo A Nóbrega

National Institutes of Health (HL128075)

  • Elizabeth M McNally
  • Marcelo A Nóbrega

National Institutes of Health (T32GMOO7197)

  • Lindsey E Montefiori

American Heart Association (17PRE33410726)

  • Lindsey E Montefiori

National Institutes of Health (HL137307-01)

  • Lindsey E Montefiori

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

© 2018, Montefiori et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

Metrics

  • 10,655
    views
  • 1,270
    downloads
  • 119
    citations

Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.

Download links

A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.

Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)

Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)

Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)

  1. Lindsey E Montefiori
  2. Debora R Sobreira
  3. Noboru J Sakabe
  4. Ivy Aneas
  5. Amelia C Joslin
  6. Grace T Hansen
  7. Grazyna Bozek
  8. Ivan P Moskowitz
  9. Elizabeth M McNally
  10. Marcelo A Nóbrega
(2018)
A promoter interaction map for cardiovascular disease genetics
eLife 7:e35788.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.35788

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.35788

Further reading

    1. Cancer Biology
    2. Chromosomes and Gene Expression
    Ashley L Cook, Surojit Sur ... Nicolas Wyhs
    Research Article

    Despite exciting developments in cancer immunotherapy, its broad application is limited by the paucity of targetable antigens on the tumor cell surface. As an intrinsic cellular pathway, nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) conceals neoantigens through the destruction of the RNA products from genes harboring truncating mutations. We developed and conducted a high-throughput screen, based on the ratiometric analysis of transcripts, to identify critical mediators of NMD in human cells. This screen implicated disruption of kinase SMG1’s phosphorylation of UPF1 as a potential disruptor of NMD. This led us to design a novel SMG1 inhibitor, KVS0001, that elevates the expression of transcripts and proteins resulting from human and murine truncating mutations in vitro and murine cells in vivo. Most importantly, KVS0001 concomitantly increased the presentation of immune-targetable human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class I-associated peptides from NMD-downregulated proteins on the surface of human cancer cells. KVS0001 provides new opportunities for studying NMD and the diseases in which NMD plays a role, including cancer and inherited diseases.

    1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    2. Chromosomes and Gene Expression
    Kira A Cozzolino, Lynn Sanford ... Dylan J Taatjes
    Research Article

    Hyperactive interferon (IFN) signaling is a hallmark of Down syndrome (DS), a condition caused by Trisomy 21 (T21); strategies that normalize IFN signaling could benefit this population. Mediator-associated kinases CDK8 and CDK19 drive inflammatory responses through incompletely understood mechanisms. Using sibling-matched cell lines with/without T21, we investigated Mediator kinase function in the context of hyperactive IFN in DS over a 75 min to 24 hr timeframe. Activation of IFN-response genes was suppressed in cells treated with the CDK8/CDK19 inhibitor cortistatin A (CA), via rapid suppression of IFN-responsive transcription factor (TF) activity. We also discovered that CDK8/CDK19 affect splicing, a novel means by which Mediator kinases control gene expression. To further probe Mediator kinase function, we completed cytokine screens and metabolomics experiments. Cytokines are master regulators of inflammatory responses; by screening 105 different cytokine proteins, we show that Mediator kinases help drive IFN-dependent cytokine responses at least in part through transcriptional regulation of cytokine genes and receptors. Metabolomics revealed that Mediator kinase inhibition altered core metabolic pathways in cell type-specific ways, and broad upregulation of anti-inflammatory lipid mediators occurred specifically in kinase-inhibited cells during hyperactive IFNγ signaling. A subset of these lipids (e.g. oleamide, desmosterol) serve as ligands for nuclear receptors PPAR and LXR, and activation of these receptors occurred specifically during hyperactive IFN signaling in CA-treated cells, revealing mechanistic links between Mediator kinases, lipid metabolism, and nuclear receptor function. Collectively, our results establish CDK8/CDK19 as context-specific metabolic regulators, and reveal that these kinases control gene expression not only via TFs, but also through metabolic changes and splicing. Moreover, we establish that Mediator kinase inhibition antagonizes IFN signaling through transcriptional, metabolic, and cytokine responses, with implications for DS and other chronic inflammatory conditions.