A cis-regulatory element regulates ERAP2 expression through autoimmune disease risk SNPs

Wouter J Venema, Sanne Hiddingh, Jorg van Loosdregt, John Bowes, Brunilda Balliu, Joke H de Boer, Jeannette Ossewaarde-van Norel, Susan D Thompson, Carl D Langefeld, Aafke de Ligt, Lars T van der Veken, Peter H L Krijger, Wouter de Laat, Jonas J W Kuiper*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near the ERAP2 gene are associated with various autoimmune conditions, as well as protection against lethal infections. Due to high linkage disequilibrium, numerous trait-associated SNPs are correlated with ERAP2 expression; however, their functional mechanisms remain unidentified. We show by reciprocal allelic replacement that ERAP2 expression is directly controlled by the splice region variant rs2248374. However, disease-associated variants in the downstream LNPEP gene promoter are independently associated with ERAP2 expression. Allele-specific conformation capture assays revealed long-range chromatin contacts between the gene promoters of LNPEP and ERAP2 and showed that interactions were stronger in patients carrying the alleles that increase susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. Replacing the SNPs in the LNPEP promoter by reference sequences lowered ERAP2 expression. These findings show that multiple SNPs act in concert to regulate ERAP2 expression and that disease-associated variants can convert a gene promoter region into a potent enhancer of a distal gene.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100460
JournalCell genomics
Volume4
Issue number1
Early online date29 Nov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2024

Keywords

  • ERAP2
  • GWAS
  • SNP
  • alternative splicing
  • autoimmunity
  • birdshot
  • eQTL
  • haplotype
  • rs2248374

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