12517 results for ""non-traditional+communal+storytelling+approach"+novel+segment+noted+in+critical+commentary"

in 24.78 milliseconds.

• snRNA-seq analysis in multinucleated myogenic FSHD cells identifies heterogeneous FSHD transcriptome signatures associated with embryonic-like program activation and oxidative stress-induced apoptosis

  The sporadic nature of DUX4 expression in FSHD muscle challenges comparative transcriptome analyses between FSHD and control samples. A variety of DUX4 and FSHD-associated transcriptional changes have been identified, but bulk RNA-seq strategies prohibit comprehensive analysis of their spatiotemporal relation, interdependence and role in the disease process. In this study, we used single-nucleus RNA-sequencing of nuclei isolated from patient- and control-derived multinucleated primary myotubes to investigate the cellular heterogeneity in FSHD. Taking advantage of the increased resolution in snRNA-sequencing of fully differentiated myotubes, two distinct populations of DUX4-affected nuclei could be defined by their transcriptional profiles. Our data provides insights into the differences between these two populations and suggests heterogeneity in two well-known FSHD-associated transcriptional aberrations: increased oxidative stress and inhibition of myogenic differentiation. Additionally, we provide evidence that DUX4-affected nuclei share transcriptome features with early embryonic cells beyond the well-described cleavage stage, progressing into the 8-cell and blastocyst stages. Altogether, our data suggests that the FSHD transcriptional profile is defined by a mixture of individual and sometimes mutually exclusive DUX4-induced responses and cellular state-dependent downstream effects.

  Study EGAS00001007635

• Identification of Targetable FGFR Gene Fusions in Diverse Cancers

  In this study, patients with advanced cancer across all histologies were enrolled in our IRB approved clinical sequencing program, called MI-ONCOSEQ, to go through an integrative sequencing which includes whole exome sequencing of the tumor and matched normal, and transcriptome sequencing. Four index cases were identified which harbor gene rearrangements of FGFR2 including two cholangiocarcinoma cases, a metastatic breast cancer case, and a metastatic prostate cancer case. After extending our assessment of FGFR rearrangements across multiple tumor cohorts, including TCGA, we identified FGFR gene fusions with intact kinase domains of FGFR1, FGFR2, or FGFR3 in cholangiocarcinoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung squamous cell cancer, bladder cancer, thyroid cancer, oral cancer, glioblastoma, and head and neck squamous cell cancer. All FGFR fusion partners tested exhibit oligomerization capability, suggesting a shared mode of kinase activation. Overexpression of FGFR fusion proteins in vitro induced cell proliferation, and bladder cancer cell lines that harbors FGFR3 fusion proteins exhibited enhanced susceptibility to pharmacologic inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Due to the combinatorial possibilities of FGFR family fusion to a variety of oligomerization partners, clinical sequencing efforts which incorporate transcriptome analysis for gene fusions are poised to identify rare, targetable FGFR fusions across diverse cancer types.

  Study phs000602

• Precision Medicine for Dilated Cardiomyopathy in European and African Ancestry

  The DCM Precision Medicine Study is a multi-site consortium-based cross-sectional study of families with an embedded open-label randomized controlled trial. The aims of the study are to test the hypothesis that dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has a substantial genetic basis and to evaluate the effectiveness of a family communication intervention in improving the uptake of preventive screening and surveillance in at-risk first-degree relatives. The Study goal was to recruit 1,300 individuals (600 non-Hispanic African ancestry, 600 non-Hispanic European ancestry, and 100 Hispanic; 50% female) meeting rigorous diagnostic criteria for idiopathic DCM (probands) and 2,600 of their relatives. The probands were inpatients or outpatients identified by heart failure and cardiac transplant cardiovascular physicians and clinical research personnel in heart failure/heart transplant programs at sites in the DCM Consortium. The DCM phenotype was selected for this study because of its prevalence and its prior inclusion in the development of virtually all pharmacotherapy for non-ischemic heart failure from reduced ejection fraction. Study procedures included obtaining family history, cardiac history, medical record review, surveys, and blood sample collection. Exome data from 1219 idiopathic DCM probands and 127 idiopathic DCM relatives are included in dbGaP.

  Study phs002641

• Identifying New Genetic Subtypes in Follicular Lymphoma

  Follicular lymphoma (FL) exhibits considerable variability in biological features and clinical trajectories across patients. To dissect the diversity of FL, we utilized a Bernoulli mixture model to identify genetic subtypes in 713 pre-treatment tumor tissue samples. Our analysis revealed the existence of five subtypes with unique genetic profiles that correlated with clinicopathological characteristics. The clusters were enriched in specific mutations as follows: CS (CREBBP and STAT6), TT (TNFAIP3 and TP53), GM (GNA13 and MEF2B), Q (quiescent, for low mutation burden), and AR (mutations of mTOR pathway-related genes). The subtype Q was enriched for patients with stage I disease and was associated with a lower proliferative history compared to the other subtypes. The AR subtype was unique in its enrichment for IgM-expressing FL cases and was associated with advanced-stage and more than 4 nodal sites. The existence of subtypes was validated in an independent cohort of 418 samples from the GALLIUM trial. Notably, patients assigned to the TT subtype consistently experienced inferior progression-free survival when treated with immunochemotherapy. Collectively, our findings offer insight into core pathways distinctly linked with each FL cluster and are expected to be informative in the era of targeted therapies.

  Study EGAS50000000435

• IDENTIFICATION AND TARGETED MANAGEMENT OF A PATIENT WITH A NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER CAUSED BY BIALLELIC MUTATIONS IN SLC5A6

  We describe a sibling pair displaying an early infantile-onset, progressive neurodegenerative phenotype, with symptoms of developmental delay and epileptic encephalopathy developing from 12 to 14 months of age. Using whole exome sequencing, compound heterozygous variants were identified in SLC5A6, which encodes the sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT) protein. SMVT is an important transporter of the B-group vitamins biotin, pantothenate and lipoate. The protein is ubiquitously expressed and has major roles in vitamin uptake in the digestive system, as well as transport of these vitamins across the blood-brain barrier. Pathogenicity of the identified variants was demonstrated by impaired biotin uptake of mutant SMVT. Identification of this vitamin transporter as the genetic basis of this disorder guided targeted therapeutic intervention, resulting clinically in improvement of the patient’s neurocognitive and neuromotor function. This is the second report of biallelic mutations in SLC5A6 leading to a neurodegenerative disorder due to impaired biotin, pantothenate and lipoate uptake. The genetic and phenotypic overlap of these cases confirms mutations in SLC5A6 as the genetic cause of this disease phenotype. Recognition of the genetic disorder caused by SLC5A6 mutations is essential for early diagnosis and to facilitate timely intervention by triple vitamin (biotin, pantothenate and lipoate) replacement therapy.

  Study EGAS00001003861

• Whole-Genome Sequencing Suggests Schizophrenia Risk Mechanisms in Humans with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

  Chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletions impart a high but incomplete risk for schizophrenia. Possible mechanisms include genome-wide effects of DGCR8 haploinsufficiency. In a proof-of-principle study to assess the power of this model, we used high-quality, whole-genome sequencing of nine individuals with 22q11.2 deletions and extreme phenotypes (schizophrenia, or no psychotic disorder at age >50 years). The schizophrenia group had a greater burden of rare, damaging variants impacting protein-coding neurofunctional genes, including genes involved in neuron projection (nominal P = 0.02, joint burden of three variant types). Variants in the intact 22q11.2 region were not major contributors. Restricting to genes affected by a DGCR8 mechanism tended to amplify between-group differences. Damaging variants in highly conserved long intergenic noncoding RNA genes also were enriched in the schizophrenia group (nominal P = 0.04). The findings support the 22q11.2 deletion model as a threshold-lowering first hit for schizophrenia risk. If applied to a larger and thus better-powered cohort, this appears to be a promising approach to identify genome-wide rare variants in coding and noncoding sequence that perturb gene networks relevant to idiopathic schizophrenia. Similarly designed studies exploiting genetic models may prove useful to help delineate the genetic architecture of other complex phenotypes.

  Study EGAS00001002344

• Transcriptomics identifies blunted immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D in people with multiple sclerosis

  Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the immune effects of vitamin D in people with MS are not well understood. We analyzed transcriptomic datasets generated by RNA sequencing of immune cell subsets (CD4+, CD8+ T cells, B cells, monocytes) from 33 healthy controls and 33 untreated MS cases. We utilized a traditional bioinformatic pipeline and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to determine genes and pathways correlated with endogenous vitamin D. In controls, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells had 1079 and 1188 genes, respectively, whose expressions were correlated with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D level (P<0.05). Functional enrichment analysis identified association with TNF-alpha and MAPK signaling. In CD4+ T cells of controls, vitamin D level was associated with expression levels of several genes proximal to multiple sclerosis risk loci (P=0.01). Genes differentially associated with endogenous vitamin D by case-control status were enriched in TNF-alpha signaling via NF-κB. WGCNA suggested a blunted response to vitamin D in cases relative to controls. Collectively, our findings provide further evidence for the immune effects of vitamin D, and demonstrate a differential immune response to vitamin D in cases relative to controls, highlighting a possible mechanism contributing to MS pathophysiology.

  Study EGAS00001007254

• Gene-Environment Interactions in COCCaINE Use Disorder: Collaborative Case-Control Initiative in Cocaine Addiction

  Drug addiction is a phenotype that has high heritability estimates. In recent years, association studies of candidate genes and some genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a large number of SNPs associated with substance use, abuse or dependence, particularly in phenotypes related to alcohol and nicotine use. Regarding snorted or smoked cocaine dependency, only one GWAS has been conducted so far. In addition, genetic association studies that specifically evaluated smoked cocaine dependence (e.g. crack) are rare, because of characteristics related to the route of administration and duration of the effect of the drug. Thus, the main aim of this GWAS was to identify genetic variations that modulate the risk for the cocaine dependence.

  Study phs001810

• Mucosal Melanoma Targeted Exome Sequencing Study (UCSF)

  Mucosal melanoma is a deadly disease that carries the worst prognosis amongst subtypes of melanoma. Like all melanomas, mucosal melanomas are frequently driven by activating mutations in the MAPK and/or PI3K pathways; however, unlike melanomas that arise on sun-exposed skin, mucosal melanomas harbor few point mutations. Instead, most somatic alterations involve structural alterations, which appear early during tumor progression. Molecular studies in mucosal melanoma generally only profile point mutations without interrogating copy number alterations, and pathogenic mutations are only found in 30% of cases. We sequenced 38 mucosal melanomas, and in addition to profiling point mutations, we looked for copy number alterations that amplify oncogenes or delete tumor suppressors.

  Study phs001594

• Cryptic Splice Mutation in the Fumarate Hydratase Gene in Patients With Clinical Manifestations of Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC)

  Four patients with hysterectomy were evaluated for biochemical and molecular evidence of autosomal dominant Fumarate Hydratase (FH) alterations causing Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC). HLRCC is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by the development of cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas, and risk for development of an aggressive form of papillary renal cell cancer. Enzyme assay, western blot analyses, direct nanopore RNA sequencing, and whole genome sequencing (WGS) were utilized. The study identified a cryptic splice mutation in intron 9 of the FH gene that results in retention of 57 base pairs of intronic sequence in the affected allele of the mature FH mRNA.

  Study phs003381