GWAS for male-pattern baldness identifies 71 susceptibility loci explaining 38% of the risk

Nicola Pirastu (), Peter K. Joshi, Paul S. de Vries, Marilyn C. Cornelis, Paul M. McKeigue, NaNa Keum, Nora Franceschini, Marco Colombo, Edward L. Giovannucci, Athina Spiliopoulou, Lude Franke, Kari E. North, Peter Kraft, Alanna C. Morrison, Tõnu Esko and James F. Wilson
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Nicola Pirastu: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Peter K. Joshi: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Paul S. de Vries: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Marilyn C. Cornelis: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Paul M. McKeigue: University of Edinburgh
NaNa Keum: Dongguk University
Nora Franceschini: University of North Carolina
Marco Colombo: University of Edinburgh
Edward L. Giovannucci: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Athina Spiliopoulou: University of Edinburgh
Lude Franke: University Medical Center
Kari E. North: University of North Carolina
Peter Kraft: Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Alanna C. Morrison: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Tõnu Esko: University of Tartu
James F. Wilson: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Male pattern baldness (MPB) or androgenetic alopecia is one of the most common conditions affecting men, reaching a prevalence of ~50% by the age of 50; however, the known genes explain little of the heritability. Here, we present the results of a genome-wide association study including more than 70,000 men, identifying 71 independently replicated loci, of which 30 are novel. These loci explain 38% of the risk, suggesting that MPB is less genetically complex than other complex traits. We show that many of these loci contain genes that are relevant to the pathology and highlight pathways and functions underlying baldness. Finally, despite only showing genome-wide genetic correlation with height, pathway-specific genetic correlations are significant for traits including lifespan and cancer. Our study not only greatly increases the number of MPB loci, illuminating the genetic architecture, but also provides a new approach to disentangling the shared biological pathways underlying complex diseases.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01490-8

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