12450 results for ""non-traditional+communal+storytelling+approach"+novel+segment+noted+in+critical+commentary"

in 37.46 milliseconds.

• Developing Allelic Imbalance Analysis from Single-Nucleus RNA-Seq Data

  Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) is emerging as a powerful tool for understanding gene function across diverse cells. Recently, this has included the use of allele-specific expression (ASE) analysis to better understand how variation in the human genome affects RNA expression at the single-cell level. We reasoned that, because intronic reads are more prevalent in single-nucleus RNA-Seq (snRNA-Seq) and introns are under lower purifying selection, and are thus enriched for genetic variants, that snRNA-seq should facilitate single-cell analysis of ASE. Here we demonstrate how experimental and computational choices can improve the results of allelic imbalance analysis. We explore how experimental choices, such as RNA source, read length, sequencing depth, genotyping, etc., impact the power of ASE-based methods. We developed a new suite of computational tools to process and analyze scRNA-seq and snRNA-seq for ASE. As hypothesized, we extracted more ASE information from reads in intronic regions than those in exonic regions and show how read length can be set to increase power. Additionally, hybrid selection improved our power to detect allelic imbalance in genes of interest. We also explored methods to recover allele-specific isoform expression levels from both long- and short-read snRNA-seq. Overall, we provide an end-to-end experimental and computational approach for future studies.

  Study phs003749

• DLK1 Distinguishes Subsets of NF1-Associated Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors with Divergent Molecular Signatures

  Study Design and Aims We aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the malignant transformation of pre-existing neurofibromas (PNST) to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Our primary focus was on the role of DLK1 in this transformation process and its potential as a biomarker for diagnosis, risk assessment, and therapeutic stratification. Population InformationThis study consisted of a case set of peripheral nerve sheath tumor specimens, including plexiform neurofibromas, atypical neurofibromas, and MPNSTs, acquired under IRB approval at our institution. The majority of the subjects had neurofibromatosis type 1. Principal Findings DLK1 Overexpression: The study found that DLK1 is significantly increased in MPNST compared to non-malignant neurofibromas.Early Marker: DLK1 overexpression may precede histological changes indicative of malignancy.Serum Levels: Higher serum levels of DLK1 were observed in both mice and humans with MPNST.Molecular Stratification: Divergent levels of DLK1 expression identified distinct MPNST subsets with unique molecular characteristics and potential therapeutic targets.Clinical Implications: Overexpression of DLK1 was associated with the reactivation of embryonic signatures, an immunosuppressive microenvironment, and poorer overall survival in NF1-MPNST patients. Data Availability Whole exome sequencing, bulk RNA sequencing, and single-cell RNA sequencing data from this study will be made available through the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) to support further research and validation studies.

  Study phs003835

• Re-Evaluation of Systemic Early Neuromuscular Blockade

  This study of the ROSE trial data explored two distinct molecular subtypes of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) to better understand the disease's complexity and potential for personalized treatment. Previous studies had identified different inflammatory profiles in ARDS patients, with this research addressing three key questions: Can these molecular subtypes be consistently identified in a more severe group of ARDS patients? Do these subtypes respond differently to neuromuscular blockade treatment? What specific biological processes differentiate these inflammatory profiles? Advanced transcriptomic and protein analyses examined blood samples from ARDS patients. Analysis of these data revealed two main molecular phenotypes: Hypoinflammatory phenotype (60.4% of patients) Hyperinflammatory phenotype (39.6% of patients) Key findings demonstrated that the hyperinflammatory subtype was associated with:Significantly higher mortality rates relative to hypoinflammatory (61.6% vs. 30.3%)Significantly higher mortality rates relative to hypoinflammatory (61.6% vs. 30.3%)Distinct gene expression patterns related to immune responseUnique changes in genes associated with tissue remodeling and cellular processes Notably, the neuromuscular blockade treatment showed no difference in effects across these subtypes. Complex relationships emerged between gene expression and protein levels, with some genes closely matching their protein counterparts and others displaying more variable connections. The study concludes that these molecular phenotypes possess distinct clinical, protein, and genetic characteristics, suggesting potential for more precise, personalized approaches to ARDS treatment in the future.

  Study phs003929

• MRCA and MRCE SNP genotypes

  Gene expression levels can be an important link DNA between variation and phenotypic manifestations. Our previous map of global gene expression based on approximately 400K SNPs and 50K transcripts in 400 sib pairs from the MRCA family panel has been widely used to interpret the results of GWAS. Here, we more than double the size of our initial dataset with expression data on 550 additional individuals from the MRCE family panel using the Illumina whole genome expression array. We have used new statistical methods for dimension reduction to account for non-genetic effects in estimates of expression levels and we have also included SNPs imputed from the 1000 Genomes Project. Our methods reduced false discovery rates and increased the number of eQTLs mapped either locally or at a distance (i.e. in cis or trans) from 1,534 in the MRCA dataset to 4,452 (with <5% FDR). Imputation of 1000 Genomes SNPs further increased the number of eQTLs to 7,302. Using the same methods and imputed SNPs in the newly acquired MRCE dataset we identified eQTLs for 9000 genes. The combined results identify strong local and distant effects for transcripts from 14,177 genes. Our eQTL database (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty/liming-liang/software/eqtl/) based on these results is freely available to help define the function of disease-associated variants.

  Study EGAS00000000137

• The Federated EGA network

  In the last 10 years, most human omics data has been generated in the context of research consortia while recently there has been an emergence of large cohorts of human data generated by healthcare initiatives. Many countries in Europe now have nascent personalised medicine programmes. Thus, human genomics is shifting from being predominantly research-driven to being funded through healthcare systems. Genetic data generated in a healthcare context is subject to more stringent information governance than research data and nonetheless all data must adhere to national data protections laws. In this context, EGA identified the need for the development of a federated network to enable secure sharing of data whilst enabling genetic data to remain within the jurisdiction in which it was generated. The Federated EGA is designed to support national data management requirements for genomic and clinical data collected from citizens as part of healthcare or biomedical research projects. It includes a secure authorised access mechanism to support research use of these data across Europe and worldwide. We have engaged with over 14 ELIXIR countries to develop the federation model. The EGA federated configuration is composed of Central EGA, Federated EGA nodes and Community EGA nodes: Central EGA offers international submissions and helpdesk support, currently EGA co-managed by EMBL-EBI and CRG, Federated EGA nodes offer EGA services to researchers within their national jurisdiction, Community EGA nodes are individual institutions or initiatives with human genetic data intended to be shared with the research community. Key services available in the Federated EGA structure are: Central EGA Federated EGA node Community EGA nodes Data submission Offers international submissions service Offers submission service in a particular jurisdiction Does not offer an external submissions service Helpdesk support Provides external international helpdesk Provides helpdesk support for submitters in its jurisdiction and for approved users of data managed at its facilities Provides helpdesk support only for approved users of data managed at its facilities Data distribution Manages worldwide distribution for data hosted at Central EGA Manages worldwide distribution for data hosted at Federated EGA node Distribution for data hosted at Community EGA node EMBL-EBI and CRG have prepared a series of documents describing the overall governance and coordination framework. These describe the Federated EGA structure, the rights and responsibilities of the different parties and governing committees, and node operation guidelines. The federation governance proposal is under review by the first countries invited to join as Federated nodes, with further interested countries likely to join in the coming years. The Central EGA team has been working closely with many ELIXIR partners, including ELIXIR Finland, Luxembourg, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

  Blog the-federated-ega-network

• Genomic characterization of retinoblastoma (targeted sequencing)

  Retinoblastoma is the most frequent intraocular malignancy in children, originating from a maturing cone precursor in the developing retina. Little is known on the molecular basis underlying the biological and clinical behavior of this cancer. Here, using multi-omics data, we demonstrate the existence of two retinoblastoma subtypes. Subtype 1, of earlier onset, includes most of the heritable forms. It harbors few genetic alterations other than the initiating RB1 inactivation and corresponds to differentiated tumors expressing mature cone markers. By contrast, subtype 2 tumors harbor frequent recurrent genetic alterations including MYCN-amplification. They express markers of less differentiated cone together with neuronal/ganglion cell markers with marked inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity. The cone dedifferentiation in subtype 2 is associated with stemness features including low immune and interferon response, E2F and MYC/MYCN activation and a higher propensity for metastasis. The recognition of these two subtypes, one maintaining a cone-differentiated state, and the other, more aggressive, associated with cone dedifferentiation and expression of neuronal markers, opens up important biological and clinical perspectives for retinoblastomas. In this study, we performed targeted sequencing of the exonic regions of RB1, BCOR and ARID1A on 37 samples from the series of 102 retinoblastomas. Among them, 23 samples were not subjected to whole-exome sequencing, and 14 samples have the whole-exome sequencing data (deposited in EGAS00001005248).

  Study EGAS00001005550

• Double mutant DNMT3A AML: a unique subtype

  Mutation of DNMT3A, encoding a de novo methyltransferase essential for cytosine methylation, is a common early event in clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosines damages DNA, which is repaired by the base excision repair (BER) enzymes MBD4 and TDG. Congenital MBD4-deficiency has been linked to early-onset CH and AML, and is marked by exceedingly high levels of DNA damage and mutation of DNMT3A. Strikingly, wildtype (WT) DNMT3A binds TDG, thereby potentiating its repair activity. Since TDG is the only remaining BER enzyme in MBD4-deficient AML patients capable of repairing methylation damage, we investigated whether mutant DNMT3A negatively affects the repair function of TDG. We found that, whereas WT DNMT3A stimulates TDG function, mutant DNMT3A impairs TDG-mediated repair of DNA damage in vitro. In light of this finding and to extrapolate our observations to the broader AML patient population, we investigate here the genetic profiles and survival outcomes of AML patients with single (SM) versus double mutant (DM) DNMT3A. DM DNMT3A AML patients show a characteristic driver mutation landscape and reduced overall survival when compared to SM DNMT3A AML patients. Importantly, whole-genome sequencing showed a trend for increased DNA damage in primary DM DNMT3A AML samples, especially when DNMT3A mutations are located at the DNMT3A-TDG interaction interface.

  Study EGAS00001007966

• Human Pancreatic Islet RNAseq - Lund

  Most signals detected by genome-wide association studies map to non-coding sequence and their tissue-specific effects influence transcriptional regulation. However, many key tissues and cell-types required for appropriate functional inference are absent from large-scale resources such as ENCODE and GTEx. We explored the relationship between genetic variants influencing predisposition to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related glycemic traits, and human pancreatic islet transcription using RNA-Seq and genotyping data from 420 islet donors. We find: (a) eQTLs have a variable replication rate across the 44 GTEx tissues (&lt;73%), indicating that our study captured islet-specific cis-eQTL signals; (b) islet eQTL signals show marked overlap with islet epigenome annotation, though eQTL effect size is reduced in the stretch enhancers most strongly implicated in GWAS signal location; (c) selective enrichment of islet eQTL overlap with the subset of T2D variants implicated in islet dysfunction; and (d) colocalization between islet eQTLs and variants influencing T2D or related glycemic traits, delivering candidate effector transcripts at 23 loci, including DGKB and TCF7L2. Our findings illustrate the advantages of performing functional and regulatory studies in tissues of greatest disease-relevance while expanding our mechanistic insights into complex traits association loci activity with an expanded list of putative transcripts implicated in T2D development.

  Study EGAS00001004042

• Phenotyping data on human pancreatic islets from 191 donors - Lund

  Most signals detected by genome-wide association studies map to non-coding sequence and their tissue-specific effects influence transcriptional regulation. However, many key tissues and cell-types required for appropriate functional inference are absent from large-scale resources such as ENCODE and GTEx. We explored the relationship between genetic variants influencing predisposition to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related glycemic traits, and human pancreatic islet transcription using RNA-Seq and genotyping data from 420 islet donors. We find: (a) eQTLs have a variable replication rate across the 44 GTEx tissues (&amp;lt;73%), indicating that our study captured islet-specific cis-eQTL signals; (b) islet eQTL signals show marked overlap with islet epigenome annotation, though eQTL effect size is reduced in the stretch enhancers most strongly implicated in GWAS signal location; (c) selective enrichment of islet eQTL overlap with the subset of T2D variants implicated in islet dysfunction; and (d) colocalization between islet eQTLs and variants influencing T2D or related glycemic traits, delivering candidate effector transcripts at 23 loci, including DGKB and TCF7L2. Our findings illustrate the advantages of performing functional and regulatory studies in tissues of greatest disease-relevance while expanding our mechanistic insights into complex traits association loci activity with an expanded list of putative transcripts implicated in T2D development.

  Study EGAS00001004056

• UK10K NEURO ASD MGAS

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. The MGAS (Molecular Genetics of Autism Study) samples are from a clinical sample seen by specialists at the Maudsley hospital and who have had detailed phenotypic assessments with ADI-R and ADOS.For further information on this cohort please contact Patrick Bolton (patrick.bolton@kcl.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000113

• GWAS data on human pancreatic islets from 191 donors - Lund

  Most signals detected by genome-wide association studies map to non-coding sequence and their tissue-specific effects influence transcriptional regulation. However, many key tissues and cell-types required for appropriate functional inference are absent from large-scale resources such as ENCODE and GTEx. We explored the relationship between genetic variants influencing predisposition to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related glycemic traits, and human pancreatic islet transcription using RNA-Seq and genotyping data from 420 islet donors. We find: (a) eQTLs have a variable replication rate across the 44 GTEx tissues (&lt;73%), indicating that our study captured islet-specific cis-eQTL signals; (b) islet eQTL signals show marked overlap with islet epigenome annotation, though eQTL effect size is reduced in the stretch enhancers most strongly implicated in GWAS signal location; (c) selective enrichment of islet eQTL overlap with the subset of T2D variants implicated in islet dysfunction; and (d) colocalization between islet eQTLs and variants influencing T2D or related glycemic traits, delivering candidate effector transcripts at 23 loci, including DGKB and TCF7L2. Our findings illustrate the advantages of performing functional and regulatory studies in tissues of greatest disease-relevance while expanding our mechanistic insights into complex traits association loci activity with an expanded list of putative transcripts implicated in T2D development.

  Study EGAS00001004044

• UK10K NEURO ASD TAMPERE

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. The Tampere Autism sample set consists of samples from Finnish subjects with ASD (autism spectrum disorders) with IQs over 70 recruited from a clinical centre for the diagnosis and treatment of children with ASD. For further information on this cohort please contact either Terho Lehtimaki (terho.lehtimaki@uta.fi) or Kaija Puura (kaija.puura@pshp.fi).

  Study EGAS00001000115

• Sensitive Monogenic Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis by Targeted Haplotyping

  During pregnancy, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal blood encompasses a small percentage of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA), an easilyaccessible source for determination of fetal disease status in risk families through non-invasive procedures. In case of monogenic heritabledisease, background maternal cfDNA prohibits direct observation of the maternally inherited allele. Non-invasive prenatal diagnostics(NIPD) of monogenic diseases therefore relies on parental haplotyping and statistical assessment of inherited alleles from cffDNA,techniques currently unavailable for routine clinical practice. Here, we present monogenic NIPD (MG-NIPD), which requires a bloodsample from both parents, for targeted locus amplification (TLA)-based phasing of heterozygous variants selectively at a gene of interest.Capture probes-based targeted sequencing of cfDNA from the pregnant mother and a tailored statistical analysis enables predicting fetalgene inheritance. MG-NIPD was validated for 18 pregnancies, focusing on CFTR, CYP21A2, and HBB. In all cases we could predict theinherited alleles with &gt;98% confidence, even at relatively early stages (8 weeks) of pregnancy. This prediction and the accuracy ofparental haplotyping was confirmed by sequencing of fetal material obtained by parallel invasive procedures. MG-NIPD is a robustmethod that requires standard instrumentation and can be implemented in any clinic to provide families carrying a severe monogenicdisease with a prenatal diagnostic test based on a simple blood draw.

  Study EGAS00001002622

• Glioblastoma epigenome profiling identifies SOX10 as a master regulator of molecular tumour subtype

  Glioblastoma in adult patients are classified into four subtypes, IDH, MES, RTK I, and RTK II, based on DNA methylation and RNA expression data. Tumour subtype transitions commonly occur during the treatment of glioblastoma patients, and transitions to the mesenchymal (MES) subtype have been associated with therapy resistance and adverse prognosis. Here, we generate DNA methylome and histone modification data of glioblastoma primary tumours and show that glioblastoma subtypes differ by their enhancer landscapes. Using Core Regulatory Circuitry analysis of H3K27ac data, and independent analysis of RNA-derived gene regulatory networks, we identified 38 subtype master regulators whose cell type-specific activities we mapped in single-cell RNA sequencing data. These analyses identified the chromatin modifier SRY-Box 10 (SOX10) as a master regulator in tumours of the RTK I subtype. In functional studies we demonstrate that SOX10 loss causes a transition of RTK I tumour cells to a mesenchymal cellular state by altering the accessibility of enhancer-rich chromatin regions and their occupancy by Bromodomain Containing 4 (BRD4), a dynamic constituent of super-enhancers. Treatment with the BRD4 inhibitor JQ1 blocked this transition. These data demonstrate the fundamental role of enhancer chromatin remodelling and master regulator activity in the establishment, maintenance and plasticity of glioblastoma cellular states. We also make our data publically browsable at https://dkfz-b060.github.io/gb_browse/

  Study EGAS00001003953

• HELIUS cohort

  The gut microbiota composition is unique to every individual but is shaped by common factors including diet, lifestyle, medication use, early-life determinants, living environment or genetics. Most of these factors may be influenced by ethnicity. This study explored variations in fecal microbiota composition in 6048 individuals with different ethnic backgrounds living in the same geographical area (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). The HELIUS data are owned by the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location AMC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. To allow sharing of microbiome data collected in HELIUS with (inter)national researchers, 16s rRNA sequence analysis has been stored at the European genome-phenome archive (EGA; accession code EGAD00001004106). This requires that access needs to be granted, also because the HELIUS data are stored with relevant phenotypical variables. Access is granted to all researchers affiliated with an internationally recognized research institution who request to use the HELIUS data within the EGA context, after having signed the data transfer agreement. Any researcher can request the data by submitting a proposal to the HELIUS Executive Board as outlined at http://www.heliusstudy.nl/en/researchers/collaboration, by email: heliuscoordinator at amsterdamumc dot nl. The HELIUS Executive Board will check proposals if they do not conflict with ethical approvals and informed consent forms of the HELIUS study.

  Study EGAS00001002969

• Single cell transcriptomics of hESC-derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons generated by a new human development-based protocol

  Recent advances in stem cell technologies provide new opportunities for regenerative medicine and Parkinson’s disease modelling. However, the precise composition and quality of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived preparations at the single cell level, compared to endogenous brain standards, remains to be determined. In addition, multiple developmental pathways important for midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuron development remain to be implemented in hESCs. Here we use mouse developmental knowledge and human single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to generate a new development-based protocol to differentiate hESCs into mDA neurons. We found that Laminin 511, dual WNT activation with CHIR99021 and WNT5A, together with FGF8b, improved different aspects of midbrain patterning. Moreover, mDA neurogenesis and differentiation were enhanced by activation of liver X receptors and inhibition of fibroblast growth factor signaling. Analysis of hESC-derived midbrain cultures by scRNA-seq revealed multiple hESC-derived clusters, which resembled those in the endogenous human ventral midbrain. Moreover, high quality mDA neurons were detected and found to progressively acquire functionality in vitro. Thus, we hereby provide a hESC differentiation protocol that recapitulates several aspects of endogenous mDA neuron development, and a strategy to determine cell composition and quality of hESC-derived preparations that can be useful for disease modeling and cell therapy.

  Study EGAS00001006313

• deep-learning-powered tissue deconvolution for cfDNA

  Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a noninvasive biomarker for cell death of all organs. Deciphering the tissue origin of cfDNA can reveal abnormal cell death because of diseases, which has great clinical potential in disease detection and monitoring. Despite the great promise, the sensitive and accurate quantification of tissue-derived cfDNA remains challenging to existing methods due to the limited characterization of tissue methylation and the reliance on unsupervised methods. To fully exploit the clinical potential of tissue-derived cfDNA, here we present one of the largest comprehensive and high-resolution methylation atlas based on 521 noncancer tissue samples spanning 29 major types of human tissues. We systematically identified fragment-level tissue-specific methylation patterns and extensively validated them in orthogonal datasets. Based on the rich tissue methylation atlas, we develop the first supervised tissue deconvolution approach, a deep-learning-powered model, cfSort, for sensitive and accurate tissue deconvolution in cfDNA. On the benchmarking data, cfSort showed superior sensitivity and accuracy compared to the existing methods. We further demonstrated the clinical utilities of cfSort with two potential applications: aiding disease diagnosis and monitoring treatment side effects. The tissue-derived cfDNA fraction estimated from cfSort reflected the clinical outcomes of the patients. In summary, the tissue methylation atlas and cfSort enhanced the performance of tissue deconvolution in cfDNA, thus facilitating cfDNA-based disease detection and longitudinal treatment monitoring.

  Study EGAS00001007213

• HCA_Adrenal_Foetal_WSSS_RNA_SB

  The Human Cell Atlas initiative is an ambitious global research effort which aims to describe every cell in the human body across all developmental stages to generate a reference map to accelerate progress in science and medicine particularly relating to human development and disease. The initiative is led by investigators based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and funding support from the Wellcome and NIH. This specific project will assess human development. We aim to interrogate the cellular composition and molecular regulators underpinning development and maturation through single cell RNA-sequencing/spatial transcriptomics and computational algorithms to predict cellular developmental trajectories and cell-cell interactions. We will subsequent validate these findings in situ using allied imaging technologies e.g. immunohistochemistry and RNAscope and in vitro culture of human intestinal organoids (HIOs). This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001004089

• ARRA - NHLBI Lung Cohorts Sequencing Project: Genetic modifiers of

  The major goal of this project is to apply second generation resequencing technology to identify disease causing variants influencing pediatric and adult lung diseases in a collection of two longitudinal population cohorts of cystic fibrosis patients that have been well characterized for a comprehensive set of clinical traits. In Phase I, exome sequencing was performed on 43 cystic fibrosis patients with early Pa infection and 48 cystic fibrosis patients with late Pa infection to identify variants influencing the time to onset of Pa infection. In Phase II, additional exomes were added to the study, to reach a total of 91 individuals with early Pa infection and 96 with late Pa infection. The majority of the 340 subjects of Phase II do not have a Pa infection phenotype, but instead have a pulmonary function phenotype (121 severe vs. 124 mild impairment) as determined by the survival corrected Kulich FEV percentile of Corey et al. A small minority have intermediate phenotypes and/or show severe decline in lung function during childhood.

  Study phs000254

• Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) - OncoArray Genotypes

  The data come from 40 studies participating in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). CIMBA recruits individuals with pathogenic mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2. The majority of carriers were recruited through cancer genetics clinics offering genetic testing, and were enrolled into national or regional studies. The remainder were identified by population-based sampling of cases, or community recruitment. Eligibility to participate is restricted to carriers of pathogenic BRCA1/2 mutations who were 18 years or older at recruitment. Information collected included amongst other variables: age at recruitment; ages at breast and ovarian cancer diagnosis; and estrogen receptor (ER) status. Samples were genotyped using the Illumina OncoArray beadchip 500K SNP custom array. Details of the genotyping process and sample selection are included in Phelan et al, Identification of twelve new susceptibility loci for different histotypes of epithelial ovarian cancer, Nat Genet. 2017 May;49(5):680-691 (PMID:28346442), and Milne et al, Identification of ten variants associated with risk of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer, Nat Genet (in press).

  Study phs001321

• PETAL Repository of Electronic Data COVID-19 Observational Study (RED CORAL)

  To describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, 1480 consecutive adult inpatients with laboratory-confirmed, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to 57 US hospitals from March 1 to April 1, 2020 were studied.It was found that in a geographically diverse early-pandemic COVID-19 cohort with complete hospital folllow-up, hospital mortality was associated with older age, comorbidity burden, and male sex. Intensive care unit admissions occurred early and were associated with protracted hospital stays. Survivors often required new health care services or respiratory support at discharge.The PETAL Network central institutional review board at Vanderbilt University and the institutional review boards at each participating hospital approved the study or determined that the study was exempt from review. Instructions for requesting individual-level data are available on BioData Catalyst at https://biodatacatalyst.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/data/. Apply for data access in dbGaP. Upon approval, users may begin accessing requested data in BioData Catalyst. For questions about availability, you may contact the BioData Catalyst team at https://biodatacatalyst.nhlbi.nih.gov/contact.

  Study phs002363

• Spatiotemporal Evolution of the ccRCC Microenvironment Links Intra-Tumoral Heterogeneity to Immune Escape CINOMA

  We utilize temporal multi-regional multi-omics profiling to uncover the mechanisms of immune escape in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in 29 patients including 17 patients from a neoadjuvant nivolumab clinical trial. We observe that tumors can be broadly categorized into intra-tumoral heterogeneity (ITH) high and low, which correlates across genomic, transcriptomic, immune and tumor microenvironment (TME) landscapes. We identify several genetic alterations associated with ITH that correlate with a myeloid high and effector T cell low TME. Namely, ITH high tumors are enriched for mutations in SETD2, PBRM1, CDKN2A/B somatic copy number loss and HLA loss of heterozygosity, and they demonstrate the characteristics of immune escape. ITH high tumors demonstrate reduced peripheral blood TCR diversity which is associated with neoantigen depletion. Moreover, we identify a link between neoantigen depletion and immune escape through myeloid activation. A transcriptomic signature associated with neoantigen depletion is strongly associated with response to ICI treatment and targeted therapies in several independent clinical trial cohorts.

  Study phs003079

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Data Coordinating Center, Microbiome of the Lung and Respiratory Track, Lung HIV Microbiome Project (LHMP)

  Humans interact with countless microorganisms in multiple environments. The Lung HIV Microbiome Project (LHMP) characterized the microbiome of the lung and respiratory tract. This effort provided initial data to develop further hypotheses addressing differences between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected individuals. The project involved multiple studies, either single center or multiple-center studies. The research design of each study varies with the objective of that study. The Lung HIV Microbiome Project (LHMP) worked collaboratively to ensure the clinical and scientific integrity and success of this project. The LHMP characterized the microbiome of the lung alone or in combination with the oropharyngeal cavities in HIV-infected individuals and HIV-uninfected controls using molecular techniques to identify bacteria. Knowledge of the lung microbiome and that of other components of the respiratory tract in healthy and diseased states may lead to the identification of predictors of disease progression and therapeutic targets for translation into better preventive and treatment strategies. Study datasets and biospecimens are available for request from https://biolincc.nhlbi.nih.gov/studies/lhmp/.

  Study phs000769

• The Mutational Landscape of CTCL and Sezary Syndrome

  Sezary syndrome is a leukemic and aggressive form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) resulting from the malignant transformation of skin-homing central memory CD4+ T cells. To identify new genetic alterations involved in Sezary syndrome and CTCL transformation we performed whole-exome sequencing of tumor-normal sample pairs from 26 Sezary syndrome and 16 CTCL patients. These analyses revealed a distinctive pattern of somatic copy number alterations in Sezary syndrome including highly prevalent recurrent chromosomal deletions involving the TP53, RB1, PTEN, DNMT3A, and CDKN1B tumor suppressor genes. Mutation analysis identified a broad spectrum of somatic mutations involving key genes involved in epigenetic regulation (TET2, CREBBP, MLL3, BRD9, SMARCA4 and CHD3) and signaling, including mutations in MAPK1, BRAF, CARD11 and PRKG1 driving increased MAPK, NFKB and NFAT activity upon T-cell receptor stimulation. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the genetics of Sezary syndrome and CTCL and support the development of personalized therapies targeting key oncogenically activated signaling pathways for the treatment of these diseases.

  Study phs000994

• Evolutionary trajectories of IDH-mutant astrocytoma identify molecular grading markers related to cell cycling

  To study the evolutionary processes that drive malignant transformation in IDH-mutant astrocytomas, we performed multi-omics on a large cohort of matched initial and recurrent tumor samples. We find that genome-wide DNA-methylation levels decreased over time, mainly in patients with high-grade recurrences. DNA-demethylation was lifted from specific loci associated with DNA replication, and was associated with upregulation of cell cycling associated genes. Upregulation of cell cycling genes occurred predominantly in proliferating tumor cells, and was associated with tumor grade. Temporal DNA-demethylation and upregulation of cell cycling were hardly affected by chemo- and/or radiotherapy, indicating treatment does not affect the course of disease. Further, we defined a DNA-methylation based signature associated with tumor grade and poor prognostic genetic events, with a prognostic power stronger than CDKN2A/B deletion. We validated its prognostic power on primary tumor samples of patients included in the CATNON randomized phase 3 clinical trial. Therefore this model can serve as a molecular grading marker for IDH-mutant astrocytomas.

  Study EGAS00001007527

• Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

  Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a neurological disorder of aging that is characterized by enlarged cerebral ventricles, gait difficulty, incontinence and dementia. It is a common disorder that occurs almost exclusively after the age of 60. About 1.3% of patients over the age of 65 and 9-14% of nursing home residents are thought to have iNPH. Unfortunately, more than 90% of these patients remain misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, in part because the symptoms of iNPH resemble the symptoms of other neurodegenerative diseases, and in part because many health care practitioners are unfamiliar with this disorder. The etiology of iNPH is not known. Scattered reports of familial cases of iNPH suggest a genetic origin, but the genes involved are unknown. To investigate this matter, we have used exome sequencing to look for genetic factors associated with iNPH. We find recurrent heterozygous mutations in 10 genes, nearly all of which show increased expression in the ciliated ventricular epithelium and/or choroid plexus. Many have previously been associated with the function of cilia.&#160;

  Study phs002296

• Establishment of an iPSC Repository Derived from Healthy Volunteers

  Understanding the interaction between genetic variation and epigenetic variation remains a challenge due to the confounding role of environmental factors. We propose that human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an excellent model to study the relationship between genetic variation and epigenetic variation while controlling for consistent environmental factors. In this study, we have created a comprehensive resource of high-quality genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic data of six iPSC lines and three iPS-derived cell types (NSC, Motor Neuron, Monocyte) from three healthy donors. We found that epigenetic variation is most strongly associated with genetic variation at the iPSC stage, and that relationship weakens as epigenetic variation increases in the differentiated cells. Additionally, cell-type is a stronger source of epigenetic variation than genetic variation, highlighting that humans are far more similar than they are different, regardless of genetic background. Further, we have elucidated a utility of studying epigenetic variation in iPSCs and their derivatives for identifying important loci for GWAS studies and the cell-types in which they may be acting.

  Study phs003649

• Acute Respiratory Distress Network (ARDSNet) Study 02 Late Steroid Rescue Study (LaSRS) (ARDSNet-LaSRS-BioLINCC)

  Data Access NOTE: Please refer to the &#8220;Authorized Access&#8221; section below for information about how access to the data from this accession differs from many other dbGaP accessions. Biospecimens: Access to Biospecimens is through the NHLBI Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center (BioLINCC). Biospecimens from ARDSNet-LaSRS include BAL Slides, Bronchial Lavage, and Plasma. Please note that use of biospecimens in genetic research is subject to a tiered consent.Objectives: Since previous reports suggested that corticosteroids may improve survival, this project was developed as a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of corticosteroids in patients with persistent ARDS.Background: Persistent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by excessive fibroproliferation, ongoing inflammation, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and a substantial risk of death.Participants: There were 180 participants.Conclusions: The results do not support the routine use of methylprednisolone for persistent ARDS despite the improvement in cardiopulmonary physiology. In addition, starting methylprednisolone therapy more than two weeks after the onset of ARDS may increase the risk of death. (NEJM April 20, 2006; Vol 354, No. 16, pp 1671-84).

  Study phs003769

• Proteogenomic Analysis of CALGB40601 (ALLIANCE) a Neoadjuvant Phase III HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Trial

  80 frozen core needle biopsies from 54 HER2+ breast cancer patients from the CALGB 40601 trial (NCT00770809) were processed for proteogenomic analysis to identify genes, proteins, and phosphosites associated with pathological complete response to neodjuvant anti-HER2 therapies. The final set included 22 patients treated with trastuzumab plus lapatinib in combination with pacletaxel (THL arm), 24 patients treated with trastuzumab in combination with pacletaxel (TH arm), and 8 patients treated lapatinib in combination with pacletaxel (TL arm). Principal findings of this study included identifying negative cases misdiagnosed as HER2+ that did not respond to targeted therapy and observing higher levels of two biomarker candidates in non-pCR tumors. Mass spec-based proteomics and phosphoproteomics data generated from 75 biopsies (all 54 patients) will be made available via the Proteomic Data Commons. Whole exome- (67 biopsies from 49 patients) and RNA-sequencing (52 biopsies from 39 patients) data for the subset profiled with proteogenomics will be made available through dbGaP, but genomic and transcriptomic profiling data for the whole cohort has previously been deposited (phs001570).

  Study phs003576

• Linked-Read Whole Genome Sequencing Profiles Structural Variant Landscape of Gliomas with Barcode-Level Evidence

  Structural variants (SVs) play essential roles in glioma oncogenesis and offer prognostic insights, yet the SV landscape of gliomas has not been completely characterized due to previous technological limitations. To comprehensively profile the SV landscape of gliomas, we performed linked-read whole genome sequencing (LR-WGS) on 31 tumour samples from 20 glioma patients. Using barcode-level evidence, we validated known SVs and identified the presence of extrachromosomal DNA containing the EGFR sequence, which correlates with elevated EGFR expression. Additionally, we uncovered rare SVs affecting genes typically mutated by single nucleotide variants (SNVs), including those in the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. Our analysis also reveals selective chromosomal vulnerabilities to SVs, highlighting certain chromosomes as hotspots for SV accumulation. Collectively, our results demonstrate the utility of LR-WGS in accurately detecting SVs and thoroughly profiling SV landscapes using barcode-level evidence. The insights gained into the synergistic effects of SNVs and SVs on oncogenes further underscore the importance of integrating SV analysis when examining mutations in gliomas.

  Study EGAS50000000947

• Genomic Analysis of Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL

  Molecular phenotyping techniques have established a landscape of genomic variants in diagnostic Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), however these have not yet been applied in large scale studies of relapsed/refractory DLBCL resulting in incomplete characterization of mechanisms driving tumor progression and treatment resistance. Here, we performed an integrated multiomic analysis on relapsed/refractory DLBCL samples. Tumors from 87 relapsed/refractory DLBCL patients were included in this study and were available for data deposition [Tumor whole exome sequencing (WES): n=75, Germline WES: n=73, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq): n=72]. Tumor DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue sections, germline DNA was extracted from blood, and WES of all samples was performed using the Agilent SureSelect XT All Exon v6 kit and sequencing was carried out on an Illumina NovaSeq, 100 x 2 paired end reads. Tumor RNA was extracted from FFPE tissue sections and RNA-Seq was performed using the Illumina TruSeq RNA Exome Kit (Illumina) for library preparation, sequencing platform HiSeq 4000, 100 x 2 paired end reads.

  Study phs003868

• Single Cell RNA-Sequencing of BCG Naive and Recurrent Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer Reveals a CD6/ALCAM-Mediated Immune-Suppressive Pathway

  Non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) represents 70&#8211;80% patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer, and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) remains a cornerstone treatment for intermediate- and high-risk NMIBC to prevent disease recurrence and progression. However, a significant number of patients experience recurrence after their first course of BCG, posing significant challenges in the management of the disease. We conducted single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) on freshly collected NMIBC samples, distinguishing between those naive to BCG treatment and those that recurred post-BCG treatment. We observed a clear activation of inflammatory pathways across cell types during recurrence, but these were not associated with canonical immune checkpoint or T cell exhaustion phenotypes. Analysis of cell-to-cell communication revealed enhanced interactions between T cells and urothelial cells in BCG-recurrence, predominantly modulated by CD6 and activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM). Furthermore, we found CD6hi T cells to be immunosuppressed and enriched in recurrent samples, suggesting a potential role for CD6 as an immune evasion signal in NMIBC.

  Study phs003742

• Spatial transcriptomics analysis of triple negative breast cancers

  While triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known to be heterogeneous at the genomic and transcriptomic levels, spatial information on tumor organization and cell composition is still lacking. Here, we investigated TNBC tumor architecture including its microenvironment using spatial transcriptomics on a series of 92 patients. We performed an in-depth characterization of tumor and stroma organization and composition using an integrative approach combining histomorphological and spatial transcriptomics. Furthermore, a detailed molecular characterization of tertiary lymphoid structures led to identify a gene signature strongly associated to disease outcome and response to immunotherapy in several tumor types beyond TNBC. A stepwise clustering analysis identified nine TNBC ecotypes, further validated in external datasets. Several ecotypes were associated with disease outcome and characterized by potentially actionable features. In this work, we provideThis is the largest TNBC series providing a comprehensive insight into the complexity of TNBC ecosystem with potential clinical relevance, opening avenues for treatment tailoring including immunotherapy. All the processed data needed to replicate the results from the publication (counts, images, clinical data, etc) are available on Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/14204217

  Study EGAS50000000475

• Ten colorectal cancer patients with locally advanced primary tumors who underwent primary tumor resection following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

  Background We aim to investigate the utility of serial gene mutation tracking for locally advanced CRC in those who underwent curative resection following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods We prospectively collected 10 locally advanced CRC cases for which curative resection was performed following preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Tissues from the primary tumour, distant metastatic tumours, and blood plasma were obtained during serial treatment. Comprehensive mutation analysis of 47 cancer-associated genes was performed using a pre-designed gene panel and next-generation sequencing. Results All cases showed a partial response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and pathological R0 resection was accomplished. In primary tumours, non-synonymous mutations were detected at between 1 and 14 sites before chemotherapy and at between 1 and 2 sites after. Founder mutations were precisely detected in blood plasma and metastatic tumours during longitudinal treatment. Conclusions Serial mutational analysis indicated that subclonal selection occurs during chemotherapy and that plasma can substitute for tumourous tissue in mutational analysis for drug selection and treatment decisions.

  Study JGAS000222

• Single cell RNA seq of breast cancer stem cells

  RNA sequences of breast cancer have been investigated for many patients. Recently it has been shown that there are intra-heterogeneity in tumor tissues. When the tumor cells were sequenced in bulk condition, only the major populations' mRNA will be detected. With respect to breast cancer, it has been also reported that cancer cells can sub-gropued into cancer stem cells and non-cancer stem cells. Although the mRNA expressions' difference between this two groups has been profoundly investigated, whether each group is composed by unique cell or not is yet to be elucidated. Since cancer stem cells are the thought to be the major contributor of metastasis and/or recurrence, we focused on cancer stem cells in this study. We separated cancer cells into cancer stem cells and non-cancer stem cells exploiting cancer stem cell specific surface markers. Thereafter, we sequenced mRNA of cancer stem cells in single cell resolution. From this result, we examined whether these cells can be sub-grouped or not.

  Study JGAS000305

• Shallow Whole Genome Sequencing of Patient Derived Xenografts

  Chemotherapy is the standard-of-care treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and benefits some patients, but what distinguishes responders from non-responders is unclear. In this study, we leveraged a comprehensive collection of 27 molecularly annotated patient-derived xenografts to uncover functional predictors of response to 5-FU and irinotecan combination therapy (FOLFIRI) in mCRC. Genetic analyses revealed that treatment sensitivity was marked by genomic scars indicative of BRCAness, suggesting homologous recombination (HR) deficiency as a key determinant. Accordingly, we surveyed a manually curated panel of 44 genes with a documented role in HR for the potential presence of pathogenic mutations. We did not observe a specific enrichment of HR gene mutations based on response to FOLFIRI. This result, combined with the absence of widespread biallelic inactivation of the analyzed genes and the predominance of mutations categorized as variants of unknown significance, suggests that FOLFIRI sensitivity is not primarily governed by underlying mutations in HR genes responsible for mitigating the genotoxic effects of this therapeutic regimen.

  Study EGAS50000000191

• Inferring tumor genomes from peripheral blood i.e. CTCs and plasma-DNA using deep sequencing and targeted enrichment

  In this study we tested whether complex tumor genomes can be inferred from the peripheral blood (plasma DNA /CTCs) of 32 patients with stage IV colorectal carcinoma (CRC). To establish the percentage of mutated plasma DNA fragments we used 8 patient samples with different plasma DNA size distributions and KRAS mutations in their corresponding primary tumors and employed ultra-deep pyrosequencing with 3 different sequencing reaction sizes (i.e., 119 bp, 168 bp, and 323 bp). Furthermore, we used massive parallel sequencing of a panel of 68 CRC-associated genes to establish the mutation spectrum of cancer driver genes in the primary tumors, metastases, and CTCs of two colorectal cancer patients. To investigate, whether mutations found in only one CTC (“private CTC mutations”) are true mutations occurring with allele frequencies below the resolution limits of current detection methods, or whether they are amplification or sequencing artifacts, we performed ultra-deep sequencing of the primary tumors, metastases, plasma DNAs and normal tissues.

  Study EGAS00001000337

• ABO: a 3D stroma-supported culture platform enabling full human B lymphopoiesis for disease modeling and gene therapy development

  Defective B-cell development underlies a large proportion of inborn errors of immunity, but progress in understanding disease mechanisms and of developing therapies has been limited by inadequate human in vitro models. Here, we establish a 3D aggregate culture platform composed of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and mouse bone marrow stromal cells as an assay for efficient B-cell output (the ABO platform). ABOs supported progression through pro-B, pre-B, immature, and transitional B-cell stages, with a transcriptional profile and B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoire diversity closely resembling human bone marrow B-cell ontogeny. ABO-derived B cells exhibited functional signaling and differentiated into class-switched memory and antibody-secreting B cells following CD40-mediated stimulation. The ABO platform reproduced the arrest in B-cell development observed in RAG1-SCID patient–derived HSPCs, which was corrected by lentiviral RAG1 gene therapy. Thus, ABOs provide a clinically relevant platform for modeling B-cell immunodeficiencies and evaluating therapeutic strategies.

  Study EGAS50000001693

• Data upcycling, powered by EGA

  In 2012 a collaborative effort headed by the teams of Carlos Caldas in Cambridge, UK and Samuel Aparicio, Canada, produced a pivotal study aimed at defining the mutational landscape of breast cancer. They gathered a collection of over 2000 breast cancer samples (METABRIC) associated with long-term clinical follow-up. They delineated an array of inherited and somatically acquired genetic variants and associated them to gene expression. This led to the identification of putative cancer-driving events and improved stratification of breast cancer patients. The study elicited huge attention and was tackled as herculean effort by fellow researchers. Cristina Curtis and her colleagues deposited the data in the EGA archive (EGAS00000000083). What they probably could not foresee is that their data would be reused more than 100 times, becoming one of the most downloaded datasets at EGA. In 2015, Frederik S. Varn and colleagues accessed the above-mentioned data from the New Hampshire, USA, to correlate it to transcriptional programs of hematopoietic cells infiltrated in breast tumours and found that those can influence patients' prognosis. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, improved the understanding of the interplay between immune system and cancer. Again, in 2017 the dataset was downloaded by an Italian/Polish collaboration and used to corroborate their mechanistic study that demonstrate how a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is aberrantly localized into the chromatin, where it modulates oncogenic isoforms expression, thus contributing to breast cancer. To date, the METABRIC dataset has been reused to contribute to 147 publications. Its impact on breast cancer research is incalculable, and it even spread beyond that, with recent contributions to the understanding of pan-cancer mechanisms and features. Some of the publications are translating into improvements in diagnosis and treatment of different types of breast cancer. This is just an example of how data upcycling can amplify the potential of any dataset, well past the scope of its creation, the imagination of its owners and any geographical border. At EGA, we are proud to empower such fruitful worldwide cycles of knowledge, providing a platform that enables safe sharing of sensitive genetic data.

  Blog data-upcycling-powered-by-ega

• Lineage-specific genome architecture links disease variants to target genes

  Long-range interactions between DNA regulatory elements and their target genes play major roles in gene regulation. The vast majority of interactions are uncharted, constituting a major missing link in understanding genome control. Here we use promoter capture Hi-C to identify interacting regions of 31,253 promoters in 17 human primary haematopoietic cell types. We show that long-range promoter interactions are highly cell-type specific, preferentially linking active promoters and enhancers. Patterns of promoter interactions reflect cell lineage relationships of the hematopoietic tree, consistent with dynamic remodeling of nuclear architecture during differentiation. Interacting regions are enriched for expression quantitative trait loci with effects on their interacting target genes. We exploit this rich resource of interactome maps to connect non-coding disease variants to their target promoters, identifying thousands of new disease-candidate genes, and implicating a number of gene pathways in disease susceptibility. Our results demonstrate the power of promoter interactomes from primary cells to reveal insights into genomic regulatory mechanisms underlying common diseases.

  Study EGAS00001001911

• Uveal melanoma patient with germline MBD4 nonsense mutation

  There is currently no effective treatment for metastasised uveal melanoma (UM). Recently, it was reported that a UM patient was responsive to checkpoint inhibitor (CI) treatment, due to a high tumour mutation burden correlated with a germline loss-of-function MBD4 mutation. Here, we report on another UM patient who carried an MBD4 germline nonsense variant (p.Leu563Ter) and her tumour showed a 5-fold higher than average mutation burden. We confirmed the association between germline loss-of-function variant in MBD4 and CI response. The patient experienced stable disease (10 months) and survived two years with metastatic disease, which is twice as long as median survival. Additionally, the frequency of MBD4 loss-of-function variants in reported UM cohorts was &gt;20 times higher than in an aggregated population genome database (P &lt; 5x10-5), implying a potential role as UM predisposition gene. These findings provide a strong basis for the inclusion of MBD4 in screening of potential UM-prone families as well as stratification of immunotherapy.

  Study EGAS00001003362

• MED12L Gene Alterations Define Aggressive BRCA2-Mutant Prostate Cancers

  Germline mutation of BRCA2 increases the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer (PCa) by over 700%. BRCA2-mutant PCa have poorer prognosis than sporadic PCa, with rapid development of metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and 5-year cancer-specific survival rates of ~50-60%1-4. Despite this, unique genomic driver events that explain the aggressiveness of localized BRCA2-mutant PCa are lacking. We used whole-genome sequencing to fully characterize 14 BRCA2-mutant PCa and demonstrate that BRCA2-mutant PCa is associated with increased genetic instability and a mutually exclusive mutational burden when compared to sporadic PCa. Importantly, BRCA2-mutated cancers are defined by unique copy number gains and hypomethylation events, including alterations in the MED12L/MED12 axis, which are found solely in mCRPC and are enriched in PCa tumours harbouring aggressive intraductal carcinoma (IDC-P) pathologic sub-types. Our findings begin to explain the clinical entity of BRCA2-mutated PCa as these tumours have a unique and aggressive genotype de novo, associated with IDC-P and mCRPC, even in the hormone-naive setting.

  Study EGAS00001001615

• RNA-seq study of a Princess Margaret Cancer Centre human acute myeloid leukemia patient cohort

  The PMCC AML RNAseq dataset consists of 81 AML patient samples (clinical data in Supplemental Table 11 of manuscript), processed in two batches. These patient samples are able to engraft in the NSG (NOD.Cg PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Wjl /SzJ) mouse model. Five patients (90543, 598, 90240, 110484, 100500) were included in both batches. Viaably frozen material from the Leukemia Tissue Bank at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/ University Health Network were thawed by dropwise addition of X-VIVO + 50% fetal calf serum supplemented with DNase (100μg/mL final concentration, Roche). RNA was extracted from bulk peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) using the RNeasy Micro Kit (Qiagen Inc.). A paired-end 76 base-pair flow-cell lane Illumina High seq 2000 yielded an average of 240 million sequence reads aligning to genome per sample at the Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency for cohort 1. Cohort 2 was subjected to 125 bp, paired-end RNA-sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq 2500 with an average of 50 million reads/sample at the Centre for Applied Genomics, Sick Kids Hospital.

  Study EGAS00001004792

• Gene fusion and transcriptomic landscapes of sarcomas

  Sarcoma represents a highly heterogeneous group of tumors. We report here the first unbiased and systematic search for gene fusions and analysis of transcriptomic profiles in 100 monomorphic sarcomas cases using RNA-sequencing profiling. Fusion genes were detected in two thirds of samples. Similarly to fusion genes such as PAX3/7-FOXO1, EWSR1/FUS-ETS, SS18-SSX, BRD3/4-NUTM1 or EWSR1/FUS/TAF15-NR4A3 characterizing well-defined entities, we show that all sarcomas displaying CIC fusions- whatever their fusion partner (being DUX4, NUTM1 or FOXO4) - form a transcriptionally homogeneous group of tumors. Likewise, tumors with either a BCOR fusion (with CCNB3, MAML3 or ZC3H7B partners) or with a BCOR internal duplication form a single biological entity. We also found that EML4-ALK fusions also characterize a homogeneous infantile fibrosarcoma subgroup. In contrast, fusions like VGLL2-NCOA2/CITED2, TMP3/TRP-NTRK1 or ETV6-NTRK3 are observed in more heterogeneous tumors. Finally, we also describe a new group of bone sarcomas characterized by EWSR1- or FUS-TFCP2 fusions.

  Study EGAS00001002189

• FetalQuant-SD: Accurate quantification of fetal DNA fraction by shallow-depth sequencing of maternal plasma DNA

  Noninvasive prenatal testing using massively parallel sequencing of maternal plasma DNA has been rapidly adopted in clinical use worldwide. Fetal DNA fraction in a maternal plasma sample is an important parameter for accurate interpretations of these tests. However, there is a lack of methods involving low-sequencing depth and yet would allow a robust and accurate determination of fetal DNA fraction in maternal plasma for all pregnancies. In this study, we have developed a new method to accurately quantify the fetal DNA fraction by analysing the maternal genotypes and sequencing data of maternal plasma DNA. Fetal DNA fraction was calculated based on the proportion of non-maternal alleles at single-nucleotide polymorphisms where the mother is homozygous. This new approach achieves a median deviation of 0.6% between predicted fetal DNA fraction and the actual fetal DNA fraction using as low as 0.03-fold sequencing coverage of the human genome. We believe that this method will further enhance the clinical interpretations of noninvasive prenatal testing using genome-wide random sequencing.

  Study EGAS00001001611

• Genetic history of the Swahili population

  At the dawn of the second millennium, the expansion of the Indian Ocean trading network aligned with the emergence of an outward-oriented community along the East African coast to create a cosmopolitan cultural and trading zone known as the Swahili Corridor. Based on analyses of genome-wide genotyping data in 140 individuals from coastal Kenya and the Comoros islands, along with 3,477 individuals from the Indian Ocean rim, we reconstruct historical population dynamics showing that the Swahili Corridor is largely an East Bantu genetic continuum. Within this continuity significant gene flows from the Middle East can be seen in the Swahili and Comorians at dates corresponding to the Islamization of East Africa. However the main external gene flow into insular populations of the Swahili Corridor, such as Comorian and Malagasy groups, came from Island Southeast Asia as early as the 10th century. Remarkably, our results reflect archaeological and linguistic data in suggesting that the Comoros archipelago is the oldest place of contact between Austronesian and African populations in the Swahili Corridor.

  Study EGAS00001002569

• Integration of human pancreatic islet genomic data refines regulatory mechanisms at Type 2 Diabetes susceptibility loci

  Human genetic studies have emphasised the dominant contribution of pancreatic islet dysfunction to development of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). However, limited annotation of the islet epigenome has constrained efforts to define the molecular mechanisms mediating the, largely regulatory, signals revealed by Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). We characterised patterns of chromatin accessibility (ATAC-seq, n=17) and DNA methylation (whole-genome bisulphite sequencing, n=10) in human islets, generating high-resolution chromatin state maps through integration with established ChIP-seq marks. We found enrichment of GWAS signals for T2D and fasting glucose was concentrated in subsets of islet enhancers characterised by open chromatin and hypomethylation, with the former annotation predominant. At several loci (including CDC123, ADCY5, KLHDC5) the combination of fine-mapping genetic data and chromatin state enrichment maps, supplemented by allelic imbalance in chromatin accessibility pinpointed likely causal variants. The combination of increasingly-precise genetic and islet epigenomic information accelerates definition of causal mechanisms implicated in T2D pathogenesis.

  Study EGAS00001002592

• A combined circulating tumor DNA and protein biomarker-based liquid biopsy for the earlier detection of pancreatic cancer

  The earlier diagnosis of cancer is one of the keys to reducing future cancer deaths. Here we describe our efforts to develop a non-invasive, blood test for the detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. We combined blood tests for KRAS gene mutations with carefully thresholded protein biomarkers to determine whether the combination of these markers was superior to any single marker. The cohort tested included 221 patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and 185 control patients without known cancers. KRAS mutations were detected in the plasma of 66 patients (30%) and every mutation found in the plasma was identical to that subsequently found in the patients' primary tumor (100% concordance). The use of KRAS in conjunction with two thresholded protein biomarkers (CA19-9 and prolactin) increased the sensitivity to 67%. Only one of the 185 plasma samples from the control cohort were positive for any of the three markers (99.5% specificity). This combinatorial approach may prove useful for the earlier detection of many cancer types.

  Study EGAS00001002444

• Description and determinants of the faecal resistome and microbiome of farmers and slaughterhouse workers: a metagenome-wide cross-sectional study.

  Within this study, we extracted DNA of 194 stool samples of persons living or working on pig and broiler farms (54 pig farmers, 24 broiler farmers), 70 pig slaughterhouse workers and 46 control subjects (Lifelines population living in the Northern parts of the Netherlands, and without recent antimicrobial use and occupational livestock contact). Total DNA was sequenced and metagenomic analysis was performed. Subsequently, the faecal resistomes and microbiomes were described and analysed (doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105939). Highlights study: • Food chain workers are exposed to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in livestock. • We describe faecal resistomes and microbiomes of farmers and slaughterhouse workers. • Faecal AMR gene loads in pork exposed workers exceed those in broiler farmers/controls. • Resistome and microbiome differences are shown between and within occupational groups. • On-farm working hours and working/living on a pig farm determine the faecal resistome. • Contact with livestock may be a determinant for human AMR gene carriage. This study is part of the EFFORT project: http://www.effort-against-amr.eu/.

  Study EGAS00001003944

• Genetic history of the Comorian populations.

  At the dawn of the second millennium, the expansion of the Indian Ocean trading network aligned with the emergence of an outward-oriented community along the East African coast to create a cosmopolitan cultural and trading zone known as the Swahili Corridor. Based on analyses of genome-wide genotyping data in 140 individuals from coastal Kenya and the Comoros islands, along with 3,477 individuals from the Indian Ocean rim, we reconstruct historical population dynamics showing that the Swahili Corridor is largely an East Bantu genetic continuum. Within this continuity significant gene flows from the Middle East can be seen in the Swahili and Comorians at dates corresponding to the Islamization of East Africa. However the main external gene flow into insular populations of the Swahili Corridor, such as Comorian and Malagasy groups, came from Island Southeast Asia as early as the 10th century. Remarkably, our results reflect archaeological and linguistic data in suggesting that the Comoros archipelago is the oldest place of contact between Austronesian and African populations in the Swahili Corridor.

  Study EGAS00001002565