rs12413946 (LINC02929): Blood Cell Trait Variant

Key takeaways

• rs12413946 lies near the LINC02929 gene (a long intergenic non-coding RNA, meaning a gene that does not produce a protein) and was identified in a large genome-wide study of blood cell traits.
• The study tested 36 hematological properties - spanning red cells, white cells, and platelets - in 173,480 European-ancestry participants.
• Across all blood cell traits, 2,706 independently associated variants were found, including low-frequency and rare variants with stronger individual effects than common variants.
• Specific effect sizes or the exact blood cell trait linked to rs12413946 are not detailed in the available study text.

What the research says A genome-wide association study of 36 blood cell indices in 173,480 European-ancestry individuals from the UK Biobank and INTERVAL studies identified rs12413946 at this locus among thousands of variants associated with hematological traits. The study tested 29.5 million genetic variants and found 2,706 independently associated variants, including 130 rare (minor allele frequency under 1%) and 230 low-frequency (1%-5%) variants with notable impact on blood cell phenotypes. The authors applied Mendelian randomization - a statistical technique that uses genetic variants to estimate whether a trait causally influences a disease - to explore links between blood cell indices and complex diseases including autoimmune conditions, schizophrenia, and coronary heart disease.

Reported associations

• Blood cell traits (hematological indices): rs12413946 was identified as a variant associated with one or more of 36 blood cell properties in 173,480 European-ancestry participants from the UK Biobank and INTERVAL studies; the available study text does not specify which trait or the effect size for this individual variant.

Evidence quality The source study provides substantial statistical power with 173,480 participants and 29.5 million tested variants; rs12413946 is one of 2,706 independently associated signals identified. The available text does not report the specific p-value, effect size, or independent replication data for this variant alone. The study population is limited to individuals of European ancestry, which may affect how broadly the findings apply to other groups. Evidence for this specific variant should be considered preliminary until further targeted analyses are published.

Lifestyle considerations No lifestyle considerations on file for this variant.