Discovery and fine-mapping of kidney function loci in first genome-wide association study in Africans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for kidney function have uncovered hundreds of risk loci, primarily in populations of European ancestry. We conducted the first GWAS of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in Africa in 3288 Ugandans and replicated the findings in 8224 African Americans. We identified two loci associated with eGFR at genome-wide significance (p<5×10 −8 ). The most significantly associated variant (rs2433603, p=2.4×10 −9 ) in GATM was distinct from previously reported signals. A second association signal mapping near HBB (rs141845179, p=3.0×10 −8 ) was not significant after conditioning on a previously reported SNP (rs334) for eGFR. However, fine-mapping analyses highlighted rs141845179 to be the most likely causal variant at the HBB locus (posterior probability of 0.61). A trans-ethnic GRS of eGFR constructed from previously reported lead SNPs was not predictive into the Ugandan population, indicating that additional large-scale efforts in Africa are necessary to gain further insight into the genetic architecture of kidney disease.