A genome-wide association study of 24-hour urinary excretion of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Ubiquitous exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) instigates a major public health problem, but much remains unknown on the inter-individual differences in metabolism and excretion of EDCs. To examine this we performed a two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) for 24-hour urinary excretions of four parabens, two bisphenols, and nine phthalate metabolites. Results showed five genome-wide significant (p-value < 5x10(-8)) and replicated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) representing four independent signals that associated with mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) and mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP). Three of the four signals were located on chromosome 10 in a locus harboring the cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes CYP2C9, CYP2C58P, and CYP2C19 (rs117529685, p(MECPP) = 5.38x10(-25); rs117033379, p(MECPP) = 1.96x10(-19); rs4918798, p(MECPP) = 4.01x10(-71); rs7895726, p(MEHHP) = 1.37x10(-15), r(2) with rs4918798 = 0.93). The other signal was on chromosome 6 close to the solute carrier (SLC) genes SLC17A1, SLC17A3, SLC17A4, and SCGN (rs1359232, p(MECPP) = 7.6x10(-16)). These four SNPs explained a substantial part (8.3 % - 9.2 %) of the variance in MECPP in the replication cohort. Bioinformatics analyses supported a likely causal role of CYP2C9 and SLC17A1 in metabolism and excretion of MECPP and MEHHP. Our results provide biological insights into mechanisms of phthalate metabolism and excretion with a likely causal role for CYP2C9 and SLC17A1.