A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of gout and its subtypes was performed to identify novel gout loci, including those that are subtype-specific.
Putative causal association signals from a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1213 controls from Japanese males were replicated with 1396 cases and 1268 controls using a custom chip of 1961 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We also first conducted GWASs of gout subtypes. Replication with Caucasian and New Zealand Polynesian samples was done to further validate the loci identified in this study.
In addition to the five loci we reported previously, further susceptibility loci were identified at a genome-wide significance level (p<5.0×10
Our findings including novel gout risk loci provide further understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of gout and lead to a novel concept for the therapeutic target of gout/hyperuricaemia.