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Bayesian network imputation methods applied to multi-omics data identify putative causal relationships in a type 2 diabetes dataset containing incomplete data: An IMI DIRECT Study

PLoS Genetics, vol. 21, pp. e1011776

Abstract

Here we report the results from exploratory analysis using a Bayesian network approach of data originally derived from a large North European study of type 2 diabetes (T2D) conducted by the IMI DIRECT consortium. 3029 individuals (795 with T2D and 2234 without) within 7 different study centres provided data comprising genotypes, proteins, metabolites, gene expression measurements and many different clinical variables. The main aim of the current study was to demonstrate the utility of our previously developed method to fit Bayesian networks by performing exploratory analysis of this dataset to identify possible causal relationships between these variables. The data was analysed using the BayesNetty software package, which can handle mixed discrete/continuous data with missing values. The original dataset consisted of over 16,000 variables, which were filtered down to 260 variables for analysis. Even with this reduction, no individual had complete data for all variables, making it impossible to analyse using standard Bayesian network methodology. However, using the recently proposed novel imputation method implemented in BayesNetty we computed a large average Bayesian network from which we could infer possible associations and causal relationships between variables of interest. Our results confirmed many previous findings in connection with T2D, including possible mediating proteins and genes, some of which have not been widely reported. We also confirmed potential causal relationships with liver fat that were identified in an earlier study that used the IMI DIRECT dataset but was limited to a smaller subset of individuals and variables (namely individuals with complete data at pre-defined variables of interest). In addition to providing valuable confirmation, our analyses thus demonstrate a proof-of-principle of the utility of the method implemented within BayesNetty. The full final average Bayesian network generated from our analysis is freely available and can be easily interrogated further to address specific focussed scientific questions of interest.

Authors 38

  1. Newcastle University

    Affiliation as printed

    Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Research Software Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

  2. Helmholtz Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, München, Germany

  3. University of Ljubljana · National University of Singapore · Helmholtz Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, München, Germany

  4. University of Copenhagen · Lund University · University of Oxford · Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism · Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Science, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Lund, Sweden

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  5. University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  6. University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation

    Affiliation as printed

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  7. Technical University of Denmark

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark

  8. University of Geneva

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland

  9. Centre for Human Genetics · University of Oxford

    Affiliation as printed

    Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  10. University of Dundee · Ninewells Hospital

    Affiliation as printed

    Diabetes Endocrinology and Reproductive Biology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom

  11. Queen Mary University of London · Lund University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Science, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Lund, Sweden

    Precision Healthcare University Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

  12. Lund University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Science, Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Lund, Sweden

  13. Helmholtz Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, München, Germany

  14. University of Copenhagen · Zealand University Hospital Køge · Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Medical Department, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  15. University of Copenhagen · Zealand University Hospital Køge · Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Medical Department, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  16. Amsterdam University Medical Centers

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of General Practice Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  17. University of Exeter · Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter College of Medicine & Health, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Macleod Diabetes and Endocrine Centre, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, United Kingdom

  18. Science for Life Laboratory · KTH Royal Institute of Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    SciLifeLab, Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

  19. University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation

    Affiliation as printed

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  20. University of Exeter · Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter College of Medicine & Health, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Macleod Diabetes and Endocrine Centre, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, United Kingdom

  21. University of Oxford · Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

    Affiliation as printed

    Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  22. University of Eastern Finland

    Affiliation as printed

    Internal Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

  23. Centre for Human Genetics · University of Oxford

    Affiliation as printed

    Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  24. National Research Council

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Rome, Italy

  25. Centre for Human Genetics · University of Oxford

    Affiliation as printed

    Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

  26. University of Exeter · Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust · Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

    Affiliation as printed

    Academic Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, United Kingdom

    Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Exeter College of Medicine & Health, Exeter, United Kingdom

  27. Sanofi (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Global Development, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

  28. Affiliation as printed

    Eli Lilly Regional Operations GmbH, Wien, Austria

  29. University of Dundee · Ninewells Hospital

    Affiliation as printed

    Diabetes Endocrinology and Reproductive Biology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom

  30. University of Copenhagen · Gentofte Hospital · Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Clinical Metabolic Research, Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  31. Sanofi (Germany)

    Affiliation as printed

    Sanofi Partnering, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

  32. Amsterdam University Medical Centers

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  33. Science for Life Laboratory · KTH Royal Institute of Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    SciLifeLab, Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

  34. Helmholtz Munich

    Affiliation as printed

    Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, München, Germany

  35. Leiden University Medical Center · Amsterdam University Medical Centers

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden UMC, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  36. University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research · Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen

    Affiliation as printed

    Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

  37. University of Dundee · Ninewells Hospital · Newcastle University

    Affiliation as printed

    Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Population Health and Genomics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom

  38. Heather Jane Cordell corresponding

    Newcastle University

    Affiliation as printed

    Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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References 38