Genome-wide analyses of 200,453 individuals yield new insights into the causes and consequences of clonal hematopoiesis

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH), the clonal expansion of a blood stem cell and its progeny driven by somatic driver mutations, affects over a third of people, yet remains poorly understood. Here we analyze genetic data from 200,453 UK Biobank participants to map the landscape of inherited predisposition to CH, increasing the number of germline associations with CH in European-ancestry populations from 4 to 14. Genes at new loci implicate DNA damage repair (PARP1, ATM, CHEK2), hematopoietic stem cell migration/homing (CD164) and myeloid oncogenesis (SETBP1). Several associations were CH-subtype-specific including variants at TCL1A and CD164 that had opposite associations with DNMT3A- versus TET2-mutant CH, the two most common CH subtypes, proposing key roles for these two loci in CH development. Mendelian randomization analyses showed that smoking and longer leukocyte telomere length are causal risk factors for CH and that genetic predisposition to CH increases risks of myeloproliferative neoplasia, nonhematological malignancies, atrial fibrillation and blood epigenetic ageing. Analysis of whole-exome sequencing data from 200,453 UK Biobank participants identifies loci associated with clonal hematopoiesis and highlights causal links between clonal hematopoiesis and other traits.

Automated summary

This study analyzes genetic data to understand the genetic predisposition and causal links of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) in a large population. It identifies new genetic loci associated with CH, subtype-specific associations, and causal relationships between CH and other traits.