12454 results for ""non-traditional+communal+storytelling+approach"+novel+segment+noted+in+critical+commentary"

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• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Cardiovascular: Cardiology Biobanking for Biomarker Discovery

  This study is a part of NHGRI's Center for Common Disease Genomics, which is a collaborative large-scale genome sequencing effort to comprehensively identify rare risk and protective variants contributing to multiple common disease phenotypes. Current estimates anticipate that the CCDG program will sequence approximately 140K whole genomes and 225K whole exomes during the life of the project. The Cardiovascular Disease working group of the CCDG considered five diseases: early-onset coronary artery disease (EOCAD), stroke, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes. Atrial fibrillation will affect between 6-12 million individuals in the US by 2050. AF also is associated with increased risks of stroke, dementia, heart failure, death, and high health care costs. Many risk factors for AF have been identified, including advancing age, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and CVD risk factors. However, there is little knowledge how to prevent AF. Furthermore, therapies for AF are only partially effective, and are themselves associated with substantial morbidity. Previously, heritable forms of AF have been considered rare; yet in the last decade, it has been established that AF, and in particular early-onset forms of AF, are heritable. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide a powerful tool to identify common variants underlying disease risk. The AFGen Consortium currently consists of investigators from more than 25 studies with >20,000 individuals with AF and >100,000 without AF. In the latest analyses, 14 loci have been identified for AF1. Broadly, the loci implicate genes related to cardiopulmonary development, cardiac-expressed ion channels, and cell signaling molecules.Source: https://ccdg.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/CCDG_CVD_EOAF_FINAL_w_link.pdfThe BioHEART study is a multi-center, prospective, observational cohort study to identify new biomarkers in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute myocardial infarction (MI) (ACTRN12618001322224). Participants are recruited at time of clinically indicated computed tomography (CT) coronary angiogram (CTCA). 1,950 of 5,000 planned participants have been recruited and serum/plasma/erythrocytes/monocytes stored, with follow-up ongoing. CTCA imaging studies provides volumetric quantification of total calcified and non-calcified plaque, which is assessed using established and novel scoring systems. Comprehensive molecular phenotyping is performed on blood samples using state-of-the-art genomic, transcriptomic, proteomics, metabolomic, lipidomic, and immunophenotyping. Outcome data will be used to build improved risk models for CAD.Reference: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ - ACTRN12618001322224

  Study phs002726

• Analyzing Somatic Mutagenesis in Systemic Sclerosis

  The study was undertaken with the aim of estimating differences in the mutational burden in lung tissues from healthy vs systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. SSc is an auto-immune disease, with patients often developing cancer. However, the etiology of this phenomenon is poorly understood. As such we sought to uncover potential molecular mechanisms prevalent within SSc tissues that might be potentiating cancer. Samples were randomly collected from individuals from two broad ethnic groups, European (EA) and African American (AA). In total, samples were obtained from 7 individuals belonging to the EA group and 4 individuals from the AA group. For this study, ethnicity was not included as a confounding variable, given that the data set has roughly comparable number of individuals from both ethnicities for the healthy and SSc cohorts. Study participants ranged in age from 37-63 years old. Median age (52 years old) of healthy individuals was comparable to the SSc cohort (~48 years old). Participants were self-described as current/former smokers or non-smokers. Lung tissues were obtained under a protocol approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board. Written informed consent statements were provided to the University of Pittsburgh IRB by the study participants/patients. Sample sizes were determined by the ability of bulk lung fibroblast tissues to stably propagate in culture until single cell clones could be obtained. Samples for which sufficient cell density could not be achieved for downstream high-depth sequencing analysis were excluded from the study and are not reported. Five or greater than 5 samples are collected from each cohort including healthy and SSc patients. Subjects were allocated to two basic cohorts based on diagnosis at the time of explant. Participants with no reported lung anomalies were allocated to the "healthy" cohort, whereas individuals with reported lung abnormalities, primarily SSc with pulmonary fibrosis and/or hypertension were allocated to the "SSc" cohort. All tissue samples were cultured, propagated and processed in identical fashion without requiring individual-specific protocols. Additionally, equivalent amounts of DNA were used for preparing sequencing libraries from both cohorts, and all samples were sequenced using Illumina whole genome sequencing (WGS) and analyzed using identical computational pipelines. Our study primarily discovered that there is a significantly higher burden of somatic mutations in SSc samples, compared to healthy samples. We observed an overall increase in a range of mutations in genomes of SSc patients, including single base substitutions, indels, structural variants and copy number alterations. Additionally, we uncovered a novel mutation signature associated with SSc samples, hinting at the activity of POLH in these samples, and highlighting the potential nexus between inflammation, DNA damage, and cancer.

  Study phs003700

• Robust detection of translocations in lymphoma FFPE samples using Targeted Locus Capture-based sequencing

  Chromosomal translocations with immunoglobin (IG) loci are the classic drivers in a large subset of B-cell lymphomas. Detection of these translocations is important for confirmation of diagnosis and for prognosis and therapy decisions. Currently, molecular diagnosis of translocations in lymphomas is not addressed well by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The standard method for detection of translocations is Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH), which is labor-intensive, and can be difficult to interpret. There is a need for a robust technology that can be standardized. Targeted Locus Capture (TLC) selectively enriches and sequences entire genes based on the crosslinking of physically proximal sequences, and thereby enables complete sequencing of genes of interest, including detection of large structural variants. Because the technology is based on the crosslinking and fragmenting of DNA, it has particular advantages in the analysis of Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) samples, in which DNA is inherently crosslinked and fragmented. In order to validate the FFPE-TLC technology as a novel approach for translocation detection in lymphoma samples, we have developed a panel assay containing genes with frequent translocations (MYC, BCL2, BCL6, IG loci). With this assay we have analyzed >140 lymphoma and control FFPE samples of variable input amounts and qualities that had previously been analyzed with FISH, and a subset also with standard targeted NGS. Good concordance with FISH results was observed for both translocation positive and negative samples. In 10 cases for which FFPE-TLC detected a relevant fusion and FISH had been called negative, discordance could be explained by higher sensitivity of FFPE-TLC or by inconclusive FISH results. In a specific case, FFPE-TLC detected a small-distance rearrangement on chromosome 3 that caused a BCL6 fusion but led to insufficient and therefore undetectable break-apart with FISH. Secondly, the FFPE-TLC approach was tested on a set of 19 B-cell lymphoma FFPE samples that had previously been analyzed using standard targeted NGS and FISH and was enriched for discordant results between these methods. FFPE-TLC-based NGS enables more robust translocation calling as the detection relies on broad sequencing coverage across the translocation partner rather than on breakpoint sequences only. In 3 cases, FFPE-TLC could proof false negative calls in standard targeted NGS due to breakpoints located in regions difficult to capture or to sequence. In 1 case, standard targeted NGS had made a false positive call on a breakpoint sequence that was shown to be caused by a small insertion rather than a genuine translocation. This study shows that FFPE-TLC promises to be a robust alternative for FISH analysis and standard targeted NGS procedures in lymphoma diagnostics and possibly in other cancers with frequent structural variants. The FFPE-TLC approach enables a single, DNA-based NGS test detecting both small mutations and translocations.

  Study EGAS00001004760

• Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Genetics Study

  The Predictors of Spontaneous Cerebral AVM Hemorrhage study was designed to identify genetic markers that predict adverse outcomes in brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM) patients, examine race-ethnicity influences on BAVM hemorrhage risk, and use genome-wide association analysis to identify novel genetic predictors of AVM and hemorrhage using the Affymetrix GeneChip. We performed the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) (PMID: 26818729) of sporadic BAVM to investigate association of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with risk of sporadic BAVM in the international, multicenter Genetics of Arteriovenous Malformation (GEN-AVM) consortium. The study included a Caucasian discovery cohort of 515 BAVM cases and 1,191 controls genotyped using Affymetrix genome-wide SNP arrays. The Phase 1 discovery cohort comprised of 338 BAVM cases (154 male) and 504 controls genotyped using the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0. The molecular data (individual genetic data) for the Phase 1 discovery cohort 338 BAVM cases (self-reported Caucasian) recruited at University of California, San Francisco, or Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC) are included in the dbGaP Study Report: Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Genetics Study, with the additional BAVM case phenotypic and sample attribute characteristics: sex, race, age at BAVM diagnosis, hemorrhagic presentation, BAVM size. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and the study was approved by the respective Institutional Review Boards. The molecular dataset for this study in dbGaP is based on the genotypes obtained for the initial set of 906,600 SNPs for cases and controls called together using Birdseed v2 algorithm in Affymetrix Genotyping Console Software. The final QC'd dataset includes 717,335 markers as SNPs with MAF<0.01 or deviating from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.00001) in controls were excluded. After QC, the average genotyping call rate was 99%. The discovery phase GWAS identified 57 top BAVM-associated SNPs which were tested in a replication cohort including 608 BAVM cases and 744 controls. The molecular dataset for these 338 BAVM cases was also included in a report investigating common and rare genome-wide copy number variation for association with BAVM (PMID: 24098321), which included a total sample size of 371 sporadic Caucasian BAVM cases and 563 Caucasian controls. This study identified a CNV region on 1p36.13 (NBPF1 locus) that was significantly enriched with duplications in BAVM cases compared to controls, although this association did not replicate in an independent cohort of 184 sporadic BAVM cases and 182 controls. This resource will help researchers to better understand the genetic risk factors for BAVM and/or hemorrhage. These data may be applied to examine the genetic contributions to arteriovenous malformation, stroke, and related vascular disorders and may help generate hypotheses regarding the genetics of cerebrovascular disease.

  Study phs002069

• Genome-Wide Association Studies of Prematurity and Its Complications (African American)

  Preterm delivery resulting in the birth of a premature infant is a complex problem with a devastating impact on individuals, families and society. The prevalence of preterm birth has increased steadily in developed countries over the last 20 years and more than three million children die of preterm birth worldwide each year. Despite the importance of the problem and its disproportionate occurrence in poor and minority populations, the underlying causes have been difficult to identify. Spontaneous preterm labor has as its suspected triggers infection, stress, poor nutrition and inherited factors. The single best predictor for preterm delivery is a previous preterm birth. Studies of twins and of recurrences within families provide evidence that genetic factors underlie a substantive component of the risk for prematurity. One major challenge in studying genetic factors in prematurity is that the risk case is not truly established. The genetic risk could reside either in the mother and her uterus or in the infant/placenta. Identification of genetic factors in the mother and/or infant could provide insights into identifying relevant environmental covariates that may be more amenable to rapid interventions but difficult to find using standard epidemiology alone. A comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) is the ideal way to identify those genes that would not be suspected based on our current understanding of the biology of parturition. We are using 2200 African American samples with term or preterm labor. A subset of these (~800) are infant samples recruited by the Neonatal Research Network as part of a study on cytokines and infection in extremely low birth weight infants (Schelonka RL, et al., 2011. PMID: 21145756). Therefore, this group consists of infants <1,000 grams with clinical outcome data for the infant allowing study of the genetic contributors for not only preterm birth but also the complications that often accompany preterm birth. The result will enable a better understanding of the biology of parturition and suggest environmental modifications that can prolong gestations to improve neonatal and adult outcomes. This study is part of the Gene Environment Association Studies initiative (GENEVA, http://www.genevastudy.org) funded by the trans-NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI). The overarching goal is to identify novel genetic factors that contribute to preterm birth through large-scale genome-wide association studies of African-American cases and controls from multiple sites in the United States. Genotyping was performed at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR). Data cleaning and harmonization were done at the GEI-funded GENEVA Coordinating Center at the University of Washington.

  Study phs000353

• eIMPACT Trial: Modernized Collaborative Care to Reduce the Excess CVD Risk of Older Depressed Patients

  Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the #1 killer of American men and women, and its economic burden is substantial and on the rise. Adults with depression are at elevated risk of CVD events and poor CVD prognosis. Unfortunately, past clinical trials of depression treatments have not observed the anticipated cardiovascular benefits. A novel explanation for these null results is that the depression interventions in these trials, which all involved patients with preexisting CVD, were delivered too late in the natural history of CVD. Accordingly, the objective of this single-center, parallel-group, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial was to determine whether successful depression treatment before, versus after, the onset of clinical CVD reduces CVD risk in depression. Primary care patients with depression and elevated CVD risk from a safety net healthcare system (N = 216, Mage = 59 years, 78% female, 50% Black, 46% with income <$10,000/year) were randomized 1:1 to 12 months of the eIMPACT intervention (a modernized collaborative stepped care program involving internet cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT], telephonic CBT, and/or select antidepressants) or usual primary care for depression (primary care providers supported by embedded behavioral health clinicians and psychiatrists). The primary outcome was endothelial dysfunction (brachial flow-mediated dilation) at 12 months, and the secondary outcomes were self-reported depressive symptoms (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-20), autonomic dysfunction (high-frequency heart rate variability), systemic inflammation (interleukin-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), and platelet activation (β-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4) at 12 months. The central hypothesis was that the eIMPACT intervention would improve endothelial dysfunction in depressed adults by decreasing depressive symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and platelet activation. Primary results are posted to ClinicalTrials.gov at NCT02458690. The de-identified limited dataset available on BDC consists of only the individual phenotypic data needed to confirm this trial’s primary results – i.e., randomization status, primary and secondary outcome variables, and participant characteristics utilized in the hypothesis-testing models (age, sex, race, education, income, and systolic blood pressure). We also provide the SAS code to replicate the results of the hypothesis-testing models reported in Table 4 and Supplemental Tables 1-3 in the main outcomes paper (#2 in Selected Publications). Of note, the user will need to specify the file path for the dataset to run the SAS code. Instructions for requesting individual-level data are available on BDC at https://biodatacatalyst.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/data/. Apply for data access in dbGaP. Upon approval, users may begin accessing requested data in BDC. For questions about availability, you may contact the BDC team at https://biodatacatalyst.nhlbi.nih.gov/contact.

  Study phs003283

• Liver biopsy derived induced pluripotent stem cells provide an unlimited supply for the generation of patient-specific hepatocyte-like cells

  Background: Hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a promising cell culture model to study metabolism, biotransformation, viral infections and genetic liver diseases. However the derivation of iPSCs is restricted by ethical and procedural constraints. Furthermore, incomplete HLC differentiation remains a major challenge. iPSC may carry-on a tissue of origin dependent expression memory influencing iPSC differentiation into different cell types. If liver derived iPSCs (Li-iPSCs) maintain a liver specific gene expression profile is not known. It is also not known, if Li-iPSCs would allow the generation of more fully differentiated HLCs.Methods: Primary liver cells (PLCs) were expanded from liver needle biopsies and reprogrammed into Li-iPSCs using a non-integrative Sendai virus-based system. Li-iPSCs were differentiated into HLCs using established differentiation protocols. The HLC phenotype was characterized at the protein, functional and transcriptional level. RNA sequencing data were generated from the originating liver biopsies, the Li-iPSCs, fibroblast derived iPSCs, and differentiated HLCs, and used to characterize and compare their transcriptome profiles.Results: PLCs were obtained from small pieces of liver biopsies and could be reprogrammed into Li-iPSCs. Li-iPSCs indeed retain a liver specific transcriptional footprint. Li-iPSCs can be propagated to provide an unlimited supply of cells for differentiation into Li-HLCs. Similar to HLCs derived from fibroblasts, Li-HLCs could not be fully differentiated into hepatocytes. Relative to the originating liver, Li-HLCs showed lower expression of liver specific transcription factors and increased expression of genes involved in the differentiation of other tissues.Conclusions: PLCs and Li-iPSCs obtained from small pieces of human needle liver biopsies constitute a novel unlimited source for the production of HLCs. Despite the preservation of a liver specific gene expression footprint in Li-iPSCs, the generation of fully differentiated hepatocytes cannot be achieved with the current differentiation protocols.

  Study EGAS00001002676

• TOPDECC-Trans-omics for Precision Dentistry and Early Childhood Caries: Genome-Wide Genotyping (CIDR) and Microbiome in the ZOE 2.0 Study

  The ZOE 2.0 study is a cross-sectional genetic epidemiologic investigation of early childhood oral health, conducted in a state-wide, community-based, multi-ethnic sample of 3-5-year-old preschool-age children in North Carolina, United States. Between 2016-2019, 8,059 children were enrolled and 6,404 of them underwent comprehensive oral-clinical examinations that provided usable data on dental caries (i.e., early childhood caries; ECC) phenotypes. Saliva samples and supragingival biofilm samples were collected by 10 trained and calibrated examiners during the clinical encounters that took place in enrolled children's preschool (Head Start) centers. Specifically, the study enrolled participants and conducted clinical examinations in 260 Head Start centers that belonged to 34 Head Start programs in NC. 6,262 participants provided clinical data and had extracted DNA that met quantity and quality criteria for high-density genotyping and 6,144 of them were retained in the genome-wide association study (GWAS). Additional information on oral health-related behaviors, risk factors and self-reported outcomes was collected prior to the conduct of the clinical exam using self-administered questionnaires completed by children's guardians. Height and weight measurements were used to derive measures of adiposity. A domestic water sample for fluoride concentration measurement was obtained after the clinical examination for approximately 25% of study participants, to provide a measure of environmental exposure to this known caries-preventive agent and this information was subsequently imputed to the entire cohort using a novel GIS-informed method. Supragingival biofilm samples for microbiome analyses were collected from all participating children. Biofilm samples from a pilot 5% (n=300) of the cohort were carried forward to WGS (metagenomics; MTG) and RNAseq (metatranscriptomics; MTX) analyses, and these sequence data are being released via the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) in this dbGaP accession: 300 participants with MTG, 297 of those with MTX. Of note, the 17 participants with MTG data did not have genotypes produced, therefore the study's released participant total count is 6161, including 6144 (with genotypes released) plus 17 (with no genotypes released but with MTG data in the SRA).The study's primary objective is to identify risk loci and gene sets/pathways for ECC and related traits (e.g., caries prevalence and severity) by conducting a trans-ethnic GWAS. Genotyping is based on the Infinium™ Global Diversity Array and the TOPMed panel is used for imputation via the University of Michigan Imputation server. Secondarily, the ZOE 2.0 seeks to determine prevalence and severity of dental caries, other oral disease outcomes, and putative risk factors for dental caries in this low-income population-based sample of European-, African-, and Hispanic/Latino-American preschool-age children.

  Study phs002232

• Whole-Genome Sequencing in Multiplex Epilepsy Families

  Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders, affecting approximately 4% of individuals at some time in their lives. More than 30% of people with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite treatment, and improved approaches to treatment and prevention are sorely needed. In the search for new strategies to reduce the burden of disease, the discovery of specific genes that influence risk offers a novel opportunity to clarify pathogenic mechanisms, identify susceptible individuals prior to seizure onset, and treat and prevent seizures in people at risk. Despite clear evidence of the importance of genetics in susceptibility to epilepsy, only limited progress has been made in identifying the specific genes that influence risk. One of the greatest challenges for genetic research on this disorder is its extreme clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Although epilepsy is broadly defined by recurrent unprovoked seizures, it is so variable in its clinical manifestations, natural history, and treatment response that most epileptologists view it as a collection of different syndromes ("epilepsies") with distinct etiologies. The genetic effects on susceptibility are also likely to be extremely variable, ranging from rare variants with high penetrance (some of which produce Mendelian patterns of inheritance) to common variants with low penetrance. Recent findings strongly suggest that rare gene variants play a major role in the genetic architecture of the epilepsies. The purpose of this study was to discover new genetic risk factors for epilepsy. The primary approach was to use whole-genome sequencing to interrogate classes of genetic variants, including very rare variants, in multiplex families. Our main hypothesis was that, in at least some proportion of these families, a single variant would explain all instances of epilepsy. Variants identified within the families could then be tested for cosegregation within the family and also validated by seeing enrichment in sporadic epilepsy cases. Furthermore, understanding the impact of rare variation in epilepsy also has the potential to provide insight into the genetic architecture of other complex human diseases. Our analysis focused on families containing multiple individuals with non-acquired (idiopathic or unknown cause) epilepsy under the hypothesis that these would be enriched for genetic control. The families studied had been previously collected and phenotyped in detail, and contain an average of 3.8 individuals per family with a range of different types of epilepsy. We selected one or two affected individuals from each family for sequencing. This work has generated NGS data on 60 samples from 29 multiplex epilepsy families. We have established that, under a monogenic model of inheritance, sequencing pairs of distantly related relatives is an effective method for reducing the number of candidate variants. Critically, we have found that no single variant can explain a large proportion of these epilepsy families. This work emphasizes that identifying causal variants among the many genetic candidates found in this work will require very large sample sizes and gene-based analyses.

  Study phs000690

• The Genomics and Randomized Trials Network (GARNET) Vitamin Intervention Stroke Prevention (VISP) Trial

  The VISP trial (PI Jim Toole, M.D., Wake Forest University School of Medicine) was a multi-center, double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial that enrolled patients aged 35 or older with homocysteine (Hcy) levels above the 25th percentile at screening and a non-disabling cerebral infarction (NDCI) within 120 days of randomization (Toole, 2002, PMID: 12417369). The trial was designed to determine if daily intake of a multivitamin tablet with high dose folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 reduced recurrent cerebral infarction (primary endpoint), and nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) or mortality (secondary endpoints). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive daily doses of the high-dose formulation (n=1,827), containing 25mg pyridoxine (B6), 0.4mg cobalamin (B12), and 2.5mg folic acid; or the low-dose formulation (n=1,853), containing 200mcg pyridoxine, 6mcg cobalamin and 20mcg folic acid. Enrollment in VISP began in August 1997, and was completed in December 2001, with 3,680 participants enrolled. Within the trial, 2,164 participants from 46 clinic sites provided DNA and agreed for it to be shared for use in a genetic subset study of VISP. This study is part of Genomics and Randomized Trials Network (GARNET), funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The overarching goal is to identify novel genetic factors that contribute to stroke through large-scale genome-wide association studies of treatment response in randomized clinical trials. Genotyping was performed at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR). Data cleaning and harmonization were performed at the GARNET Coordinating Center at the University of Washington. The data of the VISP trial have been released to dbGaP users in several segments: Version 1 (phs000343.v1.p1), consisted of n=4 phenotype datasets, and all raw, cleaned and imputed genotype data. Version 2 (phs000343.v2.p1) included n=14 additional phenotype datasets (plus pedigree, consent, and sample-mapping data), and increased the available data to a total of n=970 phenotype variables. Version 3 (phs000343.v3.p1) included all n=36 phenotype datasets (plus pedigree, consent, and sample-mapping data), and increased the available data to a total of n=1918 phenotype variables.Version 4 (phs000343.v4.p1), the current release, includes all previous phenotypic datasets, includes one new phenotypic dataset for the untargeted metabolomics data of 50 individuals, includes DNA methylation profiles for n=180 individuals, and sequencing data for n=179 individuals.

  Study phs000343