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Updated: Nov 25, 2025

ATAC-Seq Library Preparation of Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Neutrophils
Published on: January 3, 2025
Functional annotation of genetic associations by transcriptome-wide association analysis provides insights into
Yao Yao1,2, Jia Yang3, Qian Qin4
1Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Department of Medicine, West China Second Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Abstract:
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple genomic loci linked to blood cell traits, however understanding the biological relevance of these genetic loci has proven to be challenging. Here, we performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) integrating gene expression and splice junction usage in neutrophils (N = 196) with a neutrophil count GWAS (N = 173,480 individuals). We identified a total of 174 TWAS-significant genes enriched in target genes of master transcription factors governing neutrophil specification. Knockout of a TWAS candidate at chromosome 5q13.2, TAF9, in CD34+ hematopoietic and progenitor cells (HSPCs) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology showed a significant effect on neutrophil production in vitro. In addition, we identified 89 unique genes significant only for splice junction usage, thus emphasizing the importance of alternative splicing beyond gene expression underlying granulopoiesis. Our results highlight the advantages of TWAS, followed by gene editing, to determine the functions of GWAS loci implicated in hematopoiesis.
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