Genome-wide association meta-analyses identified 1q43 and 2q32.2 for hip Ward's triangle areal bone mineral density

- A GWAS is performed for areal BMD at Ward's triangle region of the hip.
- Two novel loci 1q43 and 2q32.2 were identified.
- Three previously reported loci 5q14.3, 6q25.1 and 7q21.3 were replicated.

Aiming to identify genomic variants associated with osteoporosis, we performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis of bone mineral density (BMD) at Ward's triangle of the hip in 7175 subjects from 6 samples. We performed in silico replications with femoral neck, trochanter, and inter-trochanter BMDs in 6912 subjects from the Framingham heart study (FHS), and with forearm, femoral neck and lumbar spine BMDs in 32965 subjects from the GEFOS summary results. Combining the evidence from all samples, we identified 2 novel loci for areal BMD: 1q43 (rs1414660, discovery p = 1.20 × 10− 8, FHS p = 0.05 for trochanter BMD; rs9287237, discovery p = 3.55 × 10− 7, FHS p = 9.20 × 10− 3 for trochanter BMD, GEFOS p = 0.02 for forearm BMD, nearest gene FMN2) and 2q32.2 (rs56346965, discovery p = 7.48 × 10− 7, FHS p = 0.10 for inter-trochanter BMD, GEFOS p = 0.02 for spine BMD, nearest gene NAB1). The two lead SNPs rs1414660 and rs56346965 are eQTL sites for the genes GREM2 and NAB1 respectively. Functional annotation of GREM2 and NAB1 illustrated their involvement in BMP signaling pathway and in bone development. We also replicated three previously reported loci: 5q14.3 (rs10037512, discovery p = 3.09 × 10− 6, FHS p = 8.50 × 10− 3, GEFOS p = 1.23 × 10− 24 for femoral neck BMD, nearest gene MEF2C), 6q25.1 (rs3020340, discovery p = 1.64 × 10− 6, GEFOS p = 1.69 × 10− 3 for SPN-BMD, nearest gene ESR1) and 7q21.3 (rs13310130, discovery p = 8.79 × 10− 7, GEFOS p = 2.61 × 10− 7 for spine BMD, nearest gene SHFM1). Our findings provide additional insights that further enhance our understanding of bone development, osteoporosis, and fracture pathogenesis.