rs9260489

Genome-wide association study of plasma beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) levels in 6,738 European Americans identified two genome-wide significant loci: the HLA region on chromosome 6 (rs9264638, p=1.8×10⁻²³) and SH2B3 on chromosome 12 (rs3184504, p=3.1×10⁻⁸). Six index SNPs in the HLA region accounted for 3.2% of log(B2M) variance and their associations were largely explained by imputed classical HLA alleles (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C). The HLA locus was not associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate, while the SH2B3 locus had previously been implicated as an eGFR locus, confirming B2M as a kidney function biomarker.

This meta-analysis of 7 genome-wide association studies identified three novel multiple sclerosis susceptibility loci: rs170934 near EOMES (3p24.1, OR=1.17, P=1.6×10⁻⁸), rs2150702 in MLANA (9p24.1, OR=1.16, P=3.3×10⁻⁸), and rs6718520 near THADA (2p21, OR=1.17, P=3.4×10⁻⁸). The analysis encompassed 5,545 cases and 12,153 controls and identified 10 additional loci with suggestive evidence of association (P<1×10⁻⁶), including IL12B, TAGAP, PLEK, and ZMIZ1, which are shared with other inflammatory diseases.