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Reupena, Muagututi‘a Sefuiva

Mayo Clinic

Lutia I Puava Ae Mapu I Fagalele, Apia, Samoa

Citations 1

Cross-cohort analysis of expression and splicing quantitative trait loci in TOPMed

Science | July 16, 2026 | Volume: 393 | Issue: 6808 | Pages: No page available

10.1126/science.adx2989 | PMID 42462027

Most genetic variants associated with complex traits are hypothesized to regulate gene expression. To understand the genetics underlying gene expression variability, we characterized 14,324 RNA-sequencing samples from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program and performed expression and splicing quantitative trait locus (e/sQTL) analyses in six tissues and cell types, including whole blood ( n = 6454) and lung ( n = 1291). We detected tens of thousands of secondary cis-e/sQTLs, showing that secondary cis-e/sQTL discovery remains unsaturated. We fine-mapped UK Biobank–derived genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals from 164 traits and identified e/sQTL colocalizations for 10,611 GWAS signals, including 7096 that colocalize with secondary e/sQTLs. Our results suggest that even larger e/sQTL analyses will uncover additional secondary e/sQTLs, further benefiting GWAS interpretation.