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The immune system is highly diverse, but characterization of its genetic architecture has lagged behind the vast progress made by genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of emergent diseases. Our GWAS for 54 functionally relevant phenotypes of the adaptive immune system in 489 healthy individuals identifies eight genome-wide significant associations explaining 6%-20% of variance. Coding and splicing variants in PTPRC and COMMD10 are involved in memory T cell differentiation. Genetic variation controlling disease-relevant T helper cell subsets includes RICTOR and STON2 associated with Th2 and Th17, respectively, and the interferon-lambda locus controlling regulatory T cell proliferation. Early and memory B cell differentiation stages are associated with variation in LARP1B and SP4. Finally, the latrophilin family member ADGRL2 correlates with baseline pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 levels. Suggestive associations reveal mechanisms of autoimmune disease associations, in particular related to pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Pinpointing these key human immune regulators offers attractive therapeutic perspectives.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.celrep.2018.09.048

Type

Journal article

Journal

Cell Rep

Publication Date

16/10/2018

Volume

25

Pages

798 - 810.e6

Keywords

adaptive immune system, association, autoimmunity, genetics, genome-wide association, immune phenotype, susceptibility, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Autoimmune Diseases, Female, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Healthy Volunteers, Humans, Immunologic Factors, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory, Th17 Cells, Young Adult