Genetic coupling of enhancer activity and connectivity in gene expression control
In this study, we investigated whether the genetic effects of eQTLs on enhancer activity and enhancer-promoter contacts (connectivity) are inherently coupled or distinct. To address this, we performed Capture Hi-C targeting ~1100 eQTL loci, along with ATAC-seq and RNA-seq, in monocytes from 34 healthy male donors. Using single-modality and multi-modality Bayesian statistical approaches, we demonstrated that eQTL effects are predominantly shared across enhancer activity, connectivity, and gene expression. However, we also identified a locus where an eQTL disrupts a CTCF binding site at a putative insulator, facilitating contacts between the PCK2 gene promoter and downstream enhancers. To validate these findings, we used 4C-seq to confirm the allelic effects of eQTLs on enhancer-promoter connectivity at the PCK2 locus and another eQTL region associated with THBS1 expression, both of which showed consistent eQTL effects across all three modalities. Additionally, we conducted Hi-C on monocytes from two donors to map reference TADs and performed ChIP-seq to confirm the allelic effects of the PCK2 eQTL on CTCF binding. Together, these data provide comprehensive insights into the genetic coupling of enhancer activity, connectivity, and gene expression.
- Type: Epigenetics
- Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)
Click on a Dataset ID in the table below to learn more, and to find out who to contact about access to these data
Dataset ID | Description | Technology | Samples |
---|---|---|---|
EGAD50000001116 | Illumina NovaSeq 6000 | 34 |