Association of medically assisted reproduction with offspring cord blood DNA methylation across cohorts.

Is cord blood DNA methylation associated with having been conceived by medically assisted reproduction? This study does not provide strong evidence of an association of conception by medically assisted reproduction with variation in infant blood cell DNA methylation. Medically assisted reproduction consists of procedures used to help infertile/subfertile couples conceive, including ART. Due to its importance in gene regulation during early development programming, DNA methylation and its perturbations associated with medically assisted reproduction could reveal new insights into the biological effects of assisted reproductive technologies and potential adverse offspring outcomes. We investigated the association of DNA methylation and medically assisted reproduction using a case-control study design (N = 205 medically assisted reproduction cases and N = 2439 naturally conceived controls in discovery cohorts; N = 149 ART cases and N = 58 non-ART controls in replication cohort). We assessed the association between medically assisted reproduction and DNA methylation at birth in cord blood (205 medically assisted conceptions and 2439 naturally conceived controls) at >450 000 CpG sites across the genome in two sub-samples of the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and two sub-samples of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) by meta-analysis. We explored replication of findings in the Australian Clinical review of the Health of adults conceived following Assisted Reproductive Technologies (CHART) study (N = 149 ART conceptions and N = 58 controls). The ALSPAC and MoBa meta-analysis revealed evidence of association between conception by medically assisted reproduction and DNA methylation (false-discovery-rate-corrected P-value < 0.05) at five CpG sites which are annotated to two genes (percentage difference in methylation per CpG, cg24051276: Beta = 0.23 (95% CI 0.15,0.31); cg00012522: Beta = 0.47 (95% CI 0.31, 0.63); cg17855264: Beta = 0.31 (95% CI 0.20, 0.43); cg17132421: Beta = 0.30 (95% CI 0.18, 0.42); cg18529845: Beta = 0.41 (95% CI 0.25, 0.57)). Methylation at three of these sites has been previously linked to cancer, aging, HIV infection and neurological diseases. None of these associations replicated in the CHART cohort. There was evidence of a functional role of medically assisted reproduction-induced hypermethylation at CpG sites located within regulatory regions as shown by putative transcription factor binding and chromatin remodelling. While insufficient power is likely, heterogeneity in types of medically assisted reproduction procedures and between populations may also contribute. Larger studies might identify replicable variation in DNA methylation at birth due to medically assisted reproduction. Newborns conceived with medically assisted procedures present with divergent DNA methylation in cord blood white cells. If these associations are true and causal, they might have long-term consequences for offspring health. This study has been supported by the US National Institute of Health (R01 DK10324), the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant agreement no. 669545, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agreement no. 733206 (LifeCycle) and the NIHR Biomedical Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. Methylation data in the ALSPAC cohort were generated as part of the UK BBSRC funded (BB/I025751/1 and BB/I025263/1) Accessible Resource for Integrated Epigenomic Studies (ARIES, http://www.ariesepigenomics.org.uk). D.C., J.J., C.L.R. D.A.L and H.R.E. work in a Unit that is supported by the University of Bristol and the UK Medical Research Council (Grant nos. MC_UU_00011/1, MC_UU_00011/5 and MC_UU_00011/6). B.N. is supported by an NHMRC (Australia) Investigator Grant (1173314). ALSPAC GWAS data were generated by Sample Logistics and Genotyping Facilities at Wellcome Sanger Institute and LabCorp (Laboratory Corporation of America) using support from 23andMe. The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Education and Research, NIH/NIEHS (Contract no. N01-ES-75558), NIH/NINDS (Grant nos. (i) UO1 NS 047537-01 and (ii) UO1 NS 047537-06A1). For this work, MoBa 1 and 2 were supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01-ES-49019) and the Norwegian Research Council/BIOBANK (Grant no. 221097). This work was partly supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, Project no. 262700.D.A.L. has received support from national and international government and charity funders, as well as from Roche Diagnostics and Medtronic for research unrelated to this study. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest. N/A.

Caramaschi D ，Jungius J ，Page CM ，Novakovic B ，Saffery R ，Halliday J ，Lewis S ，Magnus MC ，London SJ ，Håberg SE ，Relton CL ，Lawlor DA ，Elliott HR ... -  《-》

Genome-wide association study meta-analysis identifies three novel loci for circulating anti-Müllerian hormone levels in women.

Can additional genetic variants for circulating anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels be identified through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis including a large sample of premenopausal women? We identified four loci associated with AMH levels at P < 5 × 10-8: the previously reported MCM8 locus and three novel signals in or near AMH, TEX41 and CDCA7. AMH is expressed by antral stage ovarian follicles in women, and variation in age-specific circulating AMH levels has been associated with disease outcomes. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying these AMH-disease associations are largely unknown. We performed a GWAS meta-analysis in which we combined summary statistics of a previous AMH GWAS with GWAS data from 3705 additional women from three different cohorts. In total, we included data from 7049 premenopausal female participants of European ancestry. The median age of study participants ranged from 15.3 to 48 years across cohorts. Circulating AMH levels were measured in either serum or plasma samples using different ELISA assays. Study-specific analyses were adjusted for age at blood collection and population stratification, and summary statistics were meta-analysed using a standard error-weighted approach. Subsequently, we functionally annotated GWAS variants that reached genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8). We also performed a gene-based GWAS, pathway analysis and linkage disequilibrium score regression and Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. We identified four loci associated with AMH levels at P < 5 × 10-8: the previously reported MCM8 locus and three novel signals in or near AMH, TEX41 and CDCA7. The strongest signal was a missense variant in the AMH gene (rs10417628). Most prioritized genes at the other three identified loci were involved in cell cycle regulation. Genetic correlation analyses indicated a strong positive correlation among single nucleotide polymorphisms for AMH levels and for age at menopause (rg = 0.82, FDR = 0.003). Exploratory two-sample MR analyses did not support causal effects of AMH on breast cancer or polycystic ovary syndrome risk, but should be interpreted with caution as they may be underpowered and the validity of genetic instruments could not be extensively explored. The full AMH GWAS summary statistics will made available after publication through the GWAS catalog (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/). Whilst this study doubled the sample size of the most recent GWAS, the statistical power is still relatively low. As a result, we may still lack power to identify more genetic variants for AMH and to determine causal effects of AMH on, for example, breast cancer. Also, follow-up studies are needed to investigate whether the signal for the AMH gene is caused by reduced AMH detection by certain assays instead of actual lower circulating AMH levels. Genes mapped to the MCM8, TEX41 and CDCA7 loci are involved in the cell cycle and processes such as DNA replication and apoptosis. The mechanism underlying their associations with AMH may affect the size of the ovarian follicle pool. Altogether, our results provide more insight into the biology of AMH and, accordingly, the biological processes involved in ovarian ageing. Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II were supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health (CA172726, CA186107, CA50385, CA87969, CA49449, CA67262, CA178949). The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the listed authors, who will serve as guarantors for the contents of this article. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). Funding for the collection of genotype and phenotype data used here was provided by the British Heart Foundation (SP/07/008/24066), Wellcome (WT092830M and WT08806) and UK Medical Research Council (G1001357). M.C.B., A.L.G.S. and D.A.L. work in a unit that is funded by the University of Bristol and UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00011/6). M.C.B.'s contribution to this work was funded by a UK Medical Research Council Skills Development Fellowship (MR/P014054/1) and D.A.L. is a National Institute of Health Research Senior Investigator (NF-0616-10102). A.L.G.S. was supported by the study of Dynamic longitudinal exposome trajectories in cardiovascular and metabolic non-communicable diseases (H2020-SC1-2019-Single-Stage-RTD, project ID 874739). The Doetinchem Cohort Study was financially supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports of the Netherlands. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Ansh Labs performed the AMH measurements for the Doetinchem Cohort Study free of charge. Ansh Labs was not involved in the data analysis, interpretation or reporting, nor was it financially involved in any aspect of the study. R.M.G.V. was funded by the Honours Track of MSc Epidemiology, University Medical Center Utrecht with a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) (022.005.021). The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) has grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) (U01NR004061; U01AG012505, U01AG012535, U01AG012531, U01AG012539, U01AG012546, U01AG012553, U01AG012554, U01AG012495). The SWAN Genomic Analyses and SWAN Legacy have grant support from the NIA (U01AG017719). The Generations Study was funded by Breast Cancer Now and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). The ICR acknowledges NHS funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent official views of the funders. The Sister Study was funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Z01-ES044005 to D.P.S.); the AMH assays were supported by the Avon Foundation (02-2012-065 to H.B. Nichols and D.P.S.). The breast cancer genome-wide association analyses were supported by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the 'Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation du Québec' through Genome Québec and grant PSR-SIIRI-701, The National Institutes of Health (U19 CA148065, X01HG007492), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A16563, C1287/A10710) and The European Union (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175 and H2020 633784 and 634935). All studies and funders are listed in Michailidou et al. (Nature, 2017). F.J.M.B. has received fees and grant support from Merck Serono and Ferring BV. D.A.L. has received financial support from several national and international government and charitable funders as well as from Medtronic Ltd and Roche Diagnostics for research that is unrelated to this study. N.S. is scientific consultant for Ansh Laboratories. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Verdiesen RMG ，van der Schouw YT ，van Gils CH ，Verschuren WMM ，Broekmans FJM ，Borges MC ，Gonçalves Soares AL ，Lawlor DA ，Eliassen AH ，Kraft P ，Sandler DP ，Harlow SD ，Smith JA ，Santoro N ，Schoemaker MJ ，Swerdlow AJ ，Murray A ，Ruth KS ，Onland-Moret NC ... -  《-》

Genome-wide association study meta-analysis of dizygotic twinning illuminates genetic regulation of female fecundity.

Mbarek H ，Gordon SD ，Duffy DL ，Hubers N ，Mortlock S ，Beck JJ ，Hottenga JJ ，Pool R ，Dolan CV ，Actkins KV ，Gerring ZF ，Van Dongen J ，Ehli EA ，Iacono WG ，Mcgue M ，Chasman DI ，Gallagher CS ，Schilit SLP ，Morton CC ，Paré G ，Willemsen G ，Whiteman DC ，Olsen CM ，Derom C ，Vlietinck R ，Gudbjartsson D ，Cannon-Albright L ，Krapohl E ，Plomin R ，Magnusson PKE ，Pedersen NL ，Hysi P ，Mangino M ，Spector TD ，Palviainen T ，Milaneschi Y ，Penninnx BW ，Campos AI ，Ong KK ，Perry JRB ，Lambalk CB ，Kaprio J ，Ólafsson Í ，Duroure K ，Revenu C ，Rentería ME ，Yengo L ，Davis L ，Derks EM ，Medland SE ，Stefansson H ，Stefansson K ，Del Bene F ，Reversade B ，Montgomery GW ，Boomsma DI ，Martin NG ... -  《-》

Body mass index and subfertility: multivariable regression and Mendelian randomization analyses in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study.

What is the association between BMI and subfertility? We observed a J-shaped relationship between BMI and subfertility in both sexes, when using both a standard multivariable regression and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. High BMI in both women and men is associated with subfertility in observational studies and this relationship is further substantiated by a few small randomized controlled trials of weight reduction and success of assisted reproduction. Women with low BMI also have lower conception rates with assisted reproduction technologies. Cohort study (the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study), 28 341 women and 26 252 men, recruited from all over Norway between 1999 and 2008. Women (average age 30, average BMI 23.1 kg/m2) and men (average age 33, average BMI 25.5 kg/m2) had available genotype data and provided self-reported information on time-to-pregnancy and BMI. A total of 10% of couples were subfertile (time-to-pregnancy ≥12 months). Our findings support a J-shaped association between BMI and subfertility in both sexes using multivariable logistic regression models. Non-linear MR validated this relationship. A 1 kg/m2 greater genetically predicted BMI was linked to 18% greater odds of subfertility (95% CI 5% to 31%) in obese women (≥30.0 kg/m2) and 15% lower odds of subfertility (-24% to -2%) in women with BMI <20.0 kg/m2. A 1 kg/m2 higher genetically predicted BMI was linked to 26% greater odds of subfertility (8-48%) among obese men. Low genetically predicted BMI values were also related to greater subfertility risk in men at the lower end of the BMI distribution. A genetically predicted BMI of 23 and 25 kg/m2 was linked to the lowest subfertility risk in women and men, respectively. The main limitations of our study were that we did not know whether the subfertility was driven by the women, men or both; the exclusive consideration of individuals of northern European ancestry; and the limited amount of participants with obesity or BMI values <20.0 kg/m2. Our results support a causal effect of obesity on subfertility in women and men. Our findings also expand the current evidence by indicating that individuals with BMI values <20 kg/m2 may have an increased risk of subfertility. These results suggest that BMI values between 20 and 25 kg/m2 are optimal for a minimal risk of subfertility. The MoBa Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. This project received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 947684). It was also partly supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project number 262700. Open Access funding was provided by the Folkehelseinstituttet/Norwegian Institute of Public Health. D.A.L. is a UK National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator (NF-SI-0611-10196) and is supported by the US National Institutes of Health (R01 DK10324) and a European Research Council Advanced Grant (DevelopObese; 669545). The funders had no role in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication. D.A.L. receives (or has received in the last 10 years) research support from National and International government and charitable bodies, Roche Diagnostics and Medtronic for research unrelated to the current work. The rest of the authors declare that no competing interests exist. N/A.

Hernáez Á ，Rogne T ，Skåra KH ，Håberg SE ，Page CM ，Fraser A ，Burgess S ，Lawlor DA ，Magnus MC ... -  《-》

Identification of autosomal cis expression quantitative trait methylation (cis eQTMs) in children's blood.

Ruiz-Arenas C ，Hernandez-Ferrer C ，Vives-Usano M ，Marí S ，Quintela I ，Mason D ，Cadiou S ，Casas M ，Andrusaityte S ，Gutzkow KB ，Vafeiadi M ，Wright J ，Lepeule J ，Grazuleviciene R ，Chatzi L ，Carracedo Á ，Estivill X ，Marti E ，Escaramís G ，Vrijheid M ，González JR ，Bustamante M ... -  《eLife》