Whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing of 1064 individuals with type 1 diabetes reveals novel genes for diabetic kidney disease

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a severe diabetic complication that affects one third of individuals with type 1 diabetes. Although several genes and common variants have been shown to be associated with DKD, much of the predicted inheritance remains unexplained. Here, we performed next-generation sequencing to assess whether low-frequency variants, extending to a minor allele frequency (MAF) ≤10% (single or aggregated) contribute to the missing heritability in DKD.

We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) of 498 individuals and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 599 individuals with type 1 diabetes. After quality control, next-generation sequencing data were available for a total of 1064 individuals, of whom 541 had developed either severe albuminuria or end-stage kidney disease, and 523 had retained normal albumin excretion despite a long duration of type 1 diabetes. Single-variant and gene-aggregate tests for protein-altering variants (PAV) and protein-truncating variants (PTV) were performed separately for WES and WGS data and combined in a meta-analysis. We also performed genome-wide aggregate analyses on genomic windows (sliding window), promoters and enhancers using the WGS dataset.

In the single-variant meta-analysis, no variant reached genome-wide significance, but a suggestively associated common THAP7 rs369250 variant (p=1.50 × 10⁻⁵, MAF=49%) was replicated in the FinnGen general population genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for chronic kidney disease and DKD phenotypes. The gene-aggregate meta-analysis provided suggestive evidence (p<4.0 × 10⁻⁴) at four genes for DKD, of which NAT16 (MAF_PAV≤10%) and LTA (also known as TNFβ, MAF_PAV≤5%) are replicated in the FinnGen general population GWAS data. The LTA rs2229092 C allele was associated with significantly lower TNFR1, TNFR2 and TNFR3 serum levels in a subset of FinnDiane participants. Of the intergenic regions suggestively associated with DKD, the enhancer on chromosome 18q12.3 (p=3.94 × 10⁻⁵, MAF_variants≤5%) showed interaction with the METTL4 gene; the lead variant was replicated, and predicted to alter binding of the MafB transcription factor.

Our sequencing-based meta-analysis revealed multiple genes, variants and regulatory regions that were suggestively associated with DKD. However, as no variant or gene reached genome-wide significance, further studies are needed to validate the findings.