This presentation describes published pQTL data from the liver and compares it to *new* pQTL data from the kidney. Note: Conclusions about the tissue comparison are preliminary.
Mapping pQTL Mapping Proteins Peptides MS/MS Compare ? Munger et al. 2014 Chick*, Munger* et al. Nature, 2016 How does genetic variation influence transcript and protein abundance in the liver and kidney? Compare kidney to liver
Mediation Analysis RNA Protein QTL trans cis RNA Protein Target Causal Intermediates RNA Protein trans QTL cis Target Target Protein ~ pQTLdistant Target Protein ~ pQTLdistant + MediatorProtein x 8000 proteins Target Protein ~ pQTLdistant + MediatorRNA x 21000 Transcripts X
all subthreshold peaks LOD > 5. Aka “Pull the weeds”. Step 3: Repeat process for all 8k proteins. Step 4: Find proteins that share same subthreshold peak and mediator
but… – Most local variants that affect transcript levels do not affect protein levels. • Post-transcriptional mechanisms underlie all but a few of distant pQTL. – Very few distant pQTL shared by liver and kidney. • Mediation analysis can identify protein intermediates that confer significant or subtle effects on protein abundance. • Tissue-specific local e/pQTL drive tissue-specific distant pQTL.