Genetic links between ovarian ageing, cancer risk and de novo mutation rates.
Nature 2024 ; 633: 608-614.
Stankovic S, Shekari S, Huang QQ, Gardner EJ, Ivarsdottir EV, Owens NDL, Mavaddat N, Azad A, Hawkes G, Kentistou KA, Beaumont RN, Day FR, Zhao Y, Jonsson H, Rafnar T, Tragante V, Sveinbjornsson G, Oddsson A, Styrkarsdottir U, Gudmundsson J, Stacey SN, Gudbjartsson DF, Breast Cancer Association Consortium Breast Cancer Association Consortium, Kennedy K, Wood AR, Weedon MN, Ong KK, Wright CF, Hoffmann ER, Sulem P, Hurles ME, Ruth KS, Martin HC, Stefansson K, Perry JRB, Murray A
DOI : 10.1038/s41586-024-07931-x
PubMed ID : 39261734
PMCID : PMC11410666
URL : https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07931-x
Abstract
Human genetic studies of common variants have provided substantial insight into the biological mechanisms that govern ovarian ageing. Here we report analyses of rare protein-coding variants in 106,973 women from the UK Biobank study, implicating genes with effects around five times larger than previously found for common variants (ETAA1, ZNF518A, PNPLA8, PALB2 and SAMHD1). The SAMHD1 association reinforces the link between ovarian ageing and cancer susceptibility, with damaging germline variants being associated with extended reproductive lifespan and increased all-cause cancer risk in both men and women. Protein-truncating variants in ZNF518A are associated with shorter reproductive lifespan-that is, earlier age at menopause (by 5.61 years) and later age at menarche (by 0.56 years). Finally, using 8,089 sequenced trios from the 100,000 Genomes Project (100kGP), we observe that common genetic variants associated with earlier ovarian ageing associate with an increased rate of maternally derived de novo mutations. Although we were unable to replicate the finding in independent samples from the deCODE study, it is consistent with the expected role of DNA damage response genes in maintaining the genetic integrity of germ cells. This study provides evidence of genetic links between age of menopause and cancer risk.
Lay Summary
See the blog post on the MRC Epidemiology Unit website.