Determination of polygenic risk to characterize exposure to gestational stress

• Grant number: 20/16376-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Helena Paula Brentani
• Grantee: Catarina dos Santos Gomes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/18560-6 - Data integration to identify biological markers of neurodevelopmental disorders, AP.TEM

Abstract

This project aims to determine the polygenic risk for characterizing exposure to gestational stress. Recently, modifications in the risk calculations of polygenic score (RPS) have been proposed to assess the prediction of individual risk, as well as the integration of information on exposure to environmental stress. The use of Multiple Polygenic Scoring (MPS) methodology has been used to explore the genetic correlations between the outcome trait and a multitude of characteristics, with no assumptions about the relationships between predictors. Such studies demonstrate that an MPS approach that combines GWAS data of various characteristics produces better phenotype prediction at the individual level than predictive models of single score in independent test data, that is, they show that the polygenic variation associated with other traits beyond of the prognosis to be predicted, contributes to the prediction. In addition, studies that have used data on gene expression, for example, in individuals exposed to gestational problems have contributed to increase the predictive power of RPS for psychiatric disorders. However, none of these has improved predictive power in populations with different ethnicities. (AU)