12405 results for ""non-traditional+communal+storytelling+approach"+novel+segment+noted+in+critical+commentary"

in 19.55 milliseconds.

• RB1 Gene Inactivation by Chromothripsis in Human Retinoblastoma

  Retinoblastoma is a rare childhood cancer of the developing retina. Most retinoblastomas initiate with biallelic inactivation of the RB1 gene through diverse mechanisms including point mutations, nucleotide insertions, deletions, loss of heterozygosity and promoter hypermethylation. Recently, a novel mechanism of retinoblastoma initiation was proposed. Gallie and colleagues discovered that a small proportion of retinoblastomas lack RB1 mutations and had MYCN amplification [1]. In this study, we identified recurrent chromosomal, regional and focal genomic lesions in 94 primary retinoblastomas with their matched normal DNA using SNP 6.0 chips. We also analyzed the RB1 gene mutations and compared the mechanism of RB1 inactivation to the recurrent copy number variations in the retinoblastoma genome. In addition to the previously described focal amplification of MYCN and deletions in RB1 and BCOR, we also identified recurrent focal amplification of OTX2, a transcription factor required for retinal photoreceptor development. We identified 10 retinoblastomas in our cohort that lacked RB1 point mutations or indels. We performed whole genome sequencing on those 10 tumors and their corresponding germline DNA. In one of the tumors, the RB1 gene was unaltered, the MYCN gene was amplified and RB1 protein was expressed in the nuclei of the tumor cells. In addition, several tumors had complex patterns of structural variations and we identified 3 tumors with chromothripsis at the RB1 locus. This is the first report of chromothripsis as a mechanism for RB1 gene inactivation in cancer.

  Study EGAS00001000598

• IκBε deficiency accelerates disease development in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

  The NFKBIE gene, which encodes the NF-κB inhibitor IκBε, is mutated in 3-7% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The most recurrent alteration is a 4-bp frameshift deletion associated with NF-κB activation in leukemic B cells and poor clinical outcome. To study the functional consequences of NFKBIE gene inactivation, both in vitro and in vivo, we engineered CLL B cells and CLL-prone mice to stably down-regulate NFKBIE expression and investigated its role in controlling NF-κB activity and disease expansion. We found that IκBε loss leads to NF-κB pathway activation and promotes both migration and proliferation of CLL cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, NFKBIE inactivation was sufficient to induce a more rapid expansion of the CLL clone in lymphoid organs and contributed to the development of an aggressive disease with a shortened survival in both xenografts and genetically modified mice. IκBε deficiency was associated with an alteration of the MAPK pathway, also confirmed by RNA-sequencing in NFKBIE-mutated patient samples, and resistance to the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib. In summary, our work underscores the multimodal relevance of the NF-κB pathway in CLL and paves the way to translate these findings into novel therapeutic options.

  Dataset EGAD50000000754

• CcRCC_metabolic_heterogeneity

  Heterogeneity is a hallmark of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In this study, hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI (HP-13C-MRI) was used to probe metabolic heterogeneity non-invasively in 6 ccRCC patients from which 58 tumor and healthy tissues biopsies were acquired postoperatively. MRI parameters were correlated with 146 metabolite concentrations and the expression of 2523 metabolic genes across 34 metabolic pathways. Using metabologram projections and pathway consensus scoring, several metabolic pathways were correlated with the metabolic MRI, including glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, and the TCA cycle. A simple thresholding approach applied to the imaging metrics was sufficient to provide meaningful metabolic pathway information. We also show that tissue metabolic heterogeneity increases in regions with higher pyruvate-to-lactate conversion on imaging. These results provide validation of the biological relevance of HP-13C-MRI and support the possibility of its clinical use to improve disease characterization, stratification, targeting of biopsies, and providing novel methods to monitor treatment response.

  Dataset EGAD00001015780

• cfDNA analysis reveals relation of POLR1D amplification to bevacizumab resistance in colorectal cancer patients

  Bevacizumab is an approved anti-angiogenic drug for patients with metastasized colorectal cancer (mCRC) targeting VEGF. The survival benefit of anti-VEGF therapy in mCRC patients is limited to a few months and acquired resistance mechanisms are greatly unknown. Using plasma DNA, we studied the evolution of tumor genomes in a cohort of patients with mCRC (n=150) and observed a recurrent focal amplification (8.7% of cases) on chromosome 13q12.2. Analysis of TCGA data (n=619) suggested an association with later stages, which we confirmed by longitudinal plasma analyses. We defined the minimally amplified region and studied the mechanistic consequences of copy number gain of the involved genes. The amplification of one gene, POLR1D, impacted cell proliferation, resulting in upregulation of VEGFA, an important regulator of angiogenesis which has been implicated in the resistance to bevacizumab. In several patients, we observed the emergence of this 13q12.2 amplicon under bevacizumab treatment, which was invariably associated with evolution of therapy resistance. Hence, we describe a novel resistance mechanism against a widely applied treatment in mCRC patients which will impact clinical management .

  Dataset EGAD00001005761

• Integrated Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Small Cell Lung Cancer Reveals Inter- and Intratumoral Heterogeneity and a Novel Chemotherapy-Refractory Subtype

  We integrated histology, transcriptome, exome, and treatment outcomes of small cell neuroendocrine cancer (SCNC) from a range of metastatic sites, revealing complex intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity of neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation and transcriptomic subtypes (ASCL1, NEUROD1, POU2F3, YAP1 and ATOH1). High NE SCNCs were more likely to benefit from replication stress-targeted therapies, in contrast to non-NE tumors which were more likely to respond to immune response-targeted therapies.

  Study phs002541

• Patient-derived models of primary breast cancer for preclinical development of novel neoadjuvant therapies

  Generation of the first large-scale cohort of mouse intraductal patient-derived xenograft (MIND-PDX) models of primary invasive breast cancer (IBC) and a collection of matched PDX-derived organoids (PDXO) representing all molecular subtypes of IBC, including estrogen receptor (ER-) positive breast cancer. Furthermore, we show that our IBC-MIND cohort can serve as a platform to test experimental neoadjuvant treatment options in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

  Study EGAS50000000398

• RNA-Sequencing and Somatic Mutation Status of Adrenocortical Tumors: Novel Pathogenetic Insights

  To investigate the relationship between transcriptome profile and genetic background in a large series of adrenocortical tumors and to identify new potential pathogenetic mechanisms, we performed transcriptome profiling by high-throughput sequencing. We collected snap-frozen tissue from patients with adrenocortical tumors (n = 59) with known genetic background: 26 adenomas with Cushing syndrome, 17 adenomas with mild autonomous cortisol secretion, 9 endocrine-inactive adenomas, 7 adrenocortical carcinomas. Additionally, we sequenced 4 control samples.

  Study EGAS00001004533

• Resequencing candidate genes for male spermatogenic impairment

  This study aims to identify novel candidate variants from human Y-chromosomal genes DAZ, BPY2 and CDY1/2 by resequencing the coding regions of these genes from male patients with spermatogenic impairment. The coding regions of the genes plus a selection of phylogenetically informative Y-chromosomal markers have been amplified by standard PCR, amplicon lengths range from 178 to 486 bp. Amplicons were quantified by gel electrophoresis and pooled in approx. equimolar concentrations per patient. For each of the 480 submitted samples, approx. 1 microgram of amplified DNA pool was provided in a total volume of 120 microlitres. The samples were indexed and libraries prepared for PE250bp Illumina MiSeq runs. 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/ .

  Dataset EGAD00001006784

• Organ maturation in preparation for birth (Peds RFA) to develop a tissue resource and a single-cell atlas of organ development and maturation for dissemination among the scientific and clinical community: RNA (2025-10-14)

  Knowledge about abnormal organ development is important to understand pathology and to develop novel treatment approaches for individuals with congenital and acquired disease. Most of our current understanding is based on examination of tissues from the embryo and early foetus, collected from women undergoing termination of pregnancy in the first trimester (third) of pregnancy. There is very little known about normal and abnormal organ development from a developmental perspective during the crucial last two-thirds of pregnancy when much remodelling of foetal tissues occurs. This study will generate a single-cell atlas of late-foetal lungs, blood, heart, bone and immune organs. . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2025-10-14.

  Dataset EGAD00001015737

• Targeted sequencing of candidate regions on chromosome 22q predisposing to multiple schwannomas

  Constitutional LZTR1 or SMARCB1 pathogenic variants have been found in ~86% of familial and ~40% of sporadic schwannomatosis cases. Hence, we performed massively parallel sequencing of the entire LZTR1, SMARCB1 and NF2 genomic loci in 35 individuals with schwannomas negative for constitutional first-hit pathogenic variants in the LZTR1/SMARCB1/NF2 coding sequences, however with 22q deletion and/or a different NF2 pathogenic variant in each tumor, including six cases with only one tumor available. Furthermore, we verified whether any other LZTR1/SMARCB1/NF2 (likely) pathogenic variant(s) could be found in 16 cases carrying a SMARCB1 constitutional variant in the 3’ untranslated region (3’-UTR) c.*17C>T, c.*70C>T or c.*82C>T. As no additional variants were found, functional studies were performed to clarify the effect of these 3’-UTR variants on the transcript. The 3’-UTR variants c.*17C>T and c.*82C>T showed pathogenicity by negatively affecting SMARCB1 transcript level. Two novel deep intronic SMARCB1 variants, c.500+883T>G and c.500+887G>A, resulting in out-of-frame missplicing of intron 4, were identified in two unrelated individuals. Further resequencing of the entire repeat - masked genomics sequences of chromosome 22q in individuals negative for pathogenic variants in the SMARCB1/LZTR1/NF2 coding- and non-coding regions revealed five potential schwannomatosis-predisposing candidate genes, i.e. MYO18B, NEFH, SGSM1, SGSM3 and SBF1, pending further verification.

  Study EGAS00001005680

• Botensilimab, an Fc-enhanced Anti-CTLA-4 Antibody, is Effective Against Tumors Poorly Responsive to Conventional Immunotherapy

  This study explores the genomic landscape associated with a novel Fc-engineered anti-CTLA-4 antibody (botensilimab) in advanced solid tumors. We seek to understand if enhancing the Fc-region affinity of anti-CTLA-4 antibodies can improve anti-tumor efficacy and expand clinical benefit to tumors poorly responsive to conventional immunotherapy. As part of an ongoing open-label, Phase 1, multicenter study, we conducted an exploratory sub-analysis of genomics data. The primary study evaluates the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of botensilimab monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody (balstilimab) in participants with advanced solid tumors. RNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor biopsies and matched normal blood samples were isolated and subjected to RNA-sequencing using the Personalis ImmunoID NeXT Platform. We demonstrated that anti-CTLA-4 engineered for enhanced FcγR affinity leverages FcγR-dependent mechanisms to potentiate T cell responsiveness, reduce intratumoral Tregs, and enhance antigen presenting cell activation. This genomic analysis contributes to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying patient responses to Fc-engineered anti-CTLA-4 therapy and may inform future strategies to expand the clinical benefit of immune checkpoint blockade in cancer immunotherapy.

  Study phs003704

• Rapid identification of somatic genome rearrangements as personalized biomarkers for blood-based cancer monitoring

  Increasing evidence shows the value of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) to detect cancer and monitor its progression. Somatic genomic structural variations (SVs) are promising personalized biomarkers for sensitive and specific detection of ctDNA in liquid biopsies. However, accurate, affordable, and fast identification of such SV biomarkers is challenging, which hinders routine use in the clinic. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach - termed SHARC - for rapid discovery of somatic SV breakpoints as personalized tumour biomarkers. SHARC combines low-coverage cancer genome sketching by using Oxford Nanopore portable sequencing with a random forest classification and a dedicated filtering pipeline to enrich for somatic SVs. Our method leverages the real-time and long-read capabilities of Nanopore sequencing to identify somatic SV breakpoints at nucleotide resolution from a tumour biopsy within two days. We applied SHARC to tumour samples of high-grade ovarian and prostate cancer and validated on average 10 somatic SVs per sample with the use of PCR mini-amplicons. Finally, we demonstrate that these somatic SV biomarkers can be used to detect tumour presence from liquid biopsies in a quantitative manner and we retrospectively monitored treatment response in patients with prostate cancer, demonstrating its potential benefit for clinical practice.

  Study EGAS00001003963

• Human liver NPCs single cell project

  Independent of their inflammatory phenotype, macrophages are key orchestrators of hepatic metabolism. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) often occurs in obese individuals and is among the most common causes of cirrhosis, the terminal chronic liver disease that may necessitate liver transplantation. While multiple populations of macrophages have been described in the human liver, their function and turnover in obese patients at high risk of developing NAFLD and cirrhosis is currently unknown. Herein we identified a specific human population of resident liver myeloid cells that protects against the metabolic impairment associated with obesity. By studying the turnover of liver myeloid cells in individuals undergoing liver transplantation using markers of donor-recipient mismatch, we made the novel discovery that liver myeloid cell turnover differs between humans and mice. Using single cell techniques and flow cytometry we determined that the proportion of the protective resident liver myeloid cells, denoted liver myeloid cells 2 (LM2), decreases during obesity. Functional validation approaches using human 2D and 3D cultures revealed that the presence of LM2 ameliorates the oxidative stress associated with obese conditions. Our study indicates that resident myeloid cells could be a therapeutic target to decrease the oxidative stress associated with NAFLD.

  Study EGAS00001007194

• Transcriptomic analysis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia stem cells

  Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is characterized by the accumulation of clonal myeloid blast cells unable to differentiate into mature leukocytes. Chemotherapy induces remission in the majority of patients, but relapse rates are high and lead to poor clinical outcomes. Since this is primarily caused by chemotherapy-resistant leukemic stem cells (LSCs), it is essential to eradicate LSCs to improve patient survival. LSCs have predominantly been studied at the transcript level, thus lacking information about post-transcriptionally regulated genes and associated networks. Here we extend our previous report on LSC proteomes to healthy age-matched hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and correlate the proteomes to the corresponding transcriptomes. By comparing LSCs to leukemic blasts and healthy HSPCs, we validate candidate LSC markers and highlight novel and potentially targetable proteins that are absent or only lowly expressed in HSPCs. In addition, our data provides strong evidence that LSCs harbor a characteristic energy metabolism, adhesion molecule composition, as well as RNA processing properties. Furthermore, correlating proteome and transcript data of the same individual samples highlights the strength of proteome analyses, which are particularly potent in detecting alterations in metabolic pathways. In summary, our study provides a comprehensive proteomic and transcriptomic characterization of functionally validated LSCs, blasts and healthy HSPCs, representing a valuable resource helping to design LSC-directed therapies.

  Study EGAS00001004402

• Systems genetics in human endothelial cells identifies non-coding variants modifying enhancers, expression, and complex disease traits

  Identification of causal variants and mechanisms underlying complex disease traits in humans requires strategies to locate and fine-map functional regulatory variants in disease-relevant cell types. To discover functional regulatory variants in primary aortic endothelial cells (ECs) from humans, we collected genetic, transcriptomic, and four epigenomic phenotypes in a population of 153 human donors representing individuals of both sexes and three major ancestries. We found thousands of EC eQTLs that were not present in GTEx at all ranges of effect sizes, indicating novel functional variants not observable from tissue data. We performed several epigenetic assays across 53 donors' EC to enable molecular QTL mapping, which included chromatin accessibility, histone modification, and transcription factor binding of proteins ERG and NF-kB/p65 in two activation states. We discovered over 3000 regulatory elements where cis-regulatory variants associated to significant differences in epigenetic marks. Co-localization with our eQTLs, TF motif mutations, and 3D confirmation capture data in ECs enabled our discovery of hundreds of high-confidence functional regulatory elements that perturb endothelial molecular phenotypes. Furthermore, this set of variants is enriched at GWAS loci for Coronary Artery disease and other disease traits, with some SNPs demonstrating pleiotropic effects. Together, our dataset and analytical approach provide the genetics and vascular biology communities with specific variants affecting EC biology and serves as a proof-of-principle for how to detect functional regulatory variants in human cells with relevance to complex traits.

  Study phs002057

• Shedding light over COVID-19 susceptibility and severity

  “One of the most remarkable features of SARS-CoV-2 infection is the variation in consequence ranging from asymptomatic to life-threatening” state the authors of the majestic Nature paper released in accelerated pre-view on July 2021. This variation in consequences represent not only an issue of burning medical relevance, but also a scientific and intellectual challenge for scientists around the globe. Researchers are known to be easily triggered by a challenge, and they recently demonstrated to be even better at double their efforts to focus on an urgent societal need. In this work led and coordinated by the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (COVID-19 HGI), researchers gathered data from 49,562 cases and two million controls from 46 studies performed worldwide. The majority of the data has been deposited at the EGA, where 29 datasets have been collected under the study number EGAS00001005304. Data gathered from diverse sources conferred a huge robustness to the results. Genetic data from different ancestry origin were included in the analyses, even though data from patients with European origin was highly predominant (approx. 75%). Separated analysis of the different ancestries gave rise to relevant differences in the results, highlighting how important it is to take this aspect in consideration for future studies. Data from the individual studies was compiled into three categories according to COVID-19 severity for a meta-analysis: (a) critically ill cases (b) moderate or severe cases (c) all cases. They were paired with non-COVID-19-reported controls. All three analysis resulted in a total of 13 genetic loci associated with COVID-19 severity. Out of those, 9 loci associated specifically with critical illness, while 6 (a few overlapped) associated with moderated illness. Some genomic position matched previous findings. Interestingly, working with such an enormous amount of data allowed the depth to discriminate association with disease susceptibility vs severity, an issue of large medical relevance. Several loci mapped into biological relevant genes, like TYK2, PPP1R15A and FOXP4, previously implicated in immune response and/or lung functions. Researchers participating in the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative have worked in an unprecedented time-tight collaboration, prioritizing data sharing and collective results to tackle the pandemic affecting the world. The scientific community won’t miss any of the lessons to learn from this, and the EGA is ready to keep working to enable safe data sharing and fruitful collaborations.

  Blog covid-19-susceptibility-and-severity

• Genomic Data Archive From the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors With Diabetes

  The Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) is the largest biorepository of human pancreata from organ donors with type 1 diabetes (T1D), maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY), cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), gestational diabetes, and islet autoantibody positive (AAb+)/pre-T1D. The mission of the nPOD is to distribute biospecimens and associated de-identified data/metadata to an international researcher network, and to promote the development of new treatments for these diabetes conditions. Here, we describe the release of high-parameter genotyping data for the nPOD cohort. Specifically, 372 subjects were genotyped using a customized precision medicine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray (UFDIchip). These data were technically validated using published algorithms to evaluate donor relatedness, ancestry, imputed HLA, and T1D genetic risk score. Additionally, 207 subjects were queried for rare known and novel coding region variants via whole exome sequencing (WES). These data are now publicly available, enabling genotype-selected sample requests and the study of novel genotype : phenotype associations, ultimately to explain diabetes heterogeneity and inform precision medicine strategies to interrupt diabetes pathogenesis.

  Study phs002861

• Biological Determinants of Peritoneal Dialysis Outcomes

  Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) is a technique for treating kidney failure where fluid is instilled into the body's peritoneal cavity. Fluid and solutes travel across the peritoneum, and this is critical to successful PD. Studies have shown that certain demographic and clinical variables explain a small part of the variability in baseline peritoneal solute transfer rate and water transfer function across the peritoneum. This study sought to identify the common genetic variants associated with the baseline peritoneal function in patients starting treatment with PD and change in function upon treatment with PD. This study has two specific aims: Aim 1: To identify and validate genetic loci that influence the peritoneal solute transfer rate (PSTR) at start of PD. Aim 2: To identify and validate genetic loci in pre-specified biologic pathways with change in peritoneal ultrafiltration capacity. This study incorporates data from participants' peritoneal solute transfer rate in their first ever peritoneal equilibrium test (PET) and changes in the transfer of water across the peritoneal membrane over time in a sub-group of participants, demographic information, and results from laboratory analysis of DNA, blood, and dialysate. This study comprises patient populations from pre-existing biorepositories in Europe, and prospectively enrolled participants in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. Clinical data related to the participants' peritoneal solute transfer rate from their first ever Peritoneal Equilibrium Test (PET), demographic information, and change in ultrafiltration capacity over time, are correlated with various genetic markers of interest. For individuals enrolled prospectively, blood and dialysate were collected at the first study visit. Annually, subjects either underwent a PET as standard of care or perform an additional 4-hour dwell as part of the study. These subsequent measures were utilized to determine change in ultrafiltration capacity over time. Inclusion criteria included adults over the age of 20 who are able to provide consent and had a record of a PET within 6 months of starting PD. Subjects with missing outcome data and that did not pass genotyping QC were excluded. Genotyping was performed in two batches using the Illumina InfiniumOmni2-5-8v1-3_A1 array with 2,372,784 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the first batch (n=1957). The second genotyping batch (n=1053) was on the InfiniumOmni2-5-8v1-4_A1 array with 2,382,209 SNVs. Imputation was performed using the Michigan Imputation Server and the HRC1.1 genotype reference. The Institutional Review Board of the University of Washington has “dbGaP-certified” the consent forms used to enroll participants in Australia, Canada, and United States and the genotype-phenotype data from the participants (n=827) deposited in the public repository. Furthermore, it has been determined that under the EU-GDPR regulations, depositing data of participants enrolled in UK, Belgium, and Sweden (n=2,023) into dbGaP “serves no lawful purpose” as the consent form used for enrolling participants did not obtain explicit permission for depositing data in a public repository.

  Study phs002996

• Heat selection enables highly scalable methylome profiling in cell-free DNA for noninvasive monitoring of cancer patients

  Genome-wide analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation profile has been recognized as a promising approach for sensitive and specific detection of many cancers. However, scaling such genome-wide assays for clinical translation is impractical due to the high cost of whole genome bisulfite sequencing. We have shown that the small fraction of GC-rich genome is highly enriched in CpG sites and disproportionately harbors the majority of cancer-specific methylation signature. Here, we report on the simple but effective Heat enrichment of CpG-rich regions for Bisulfite Sequencing (Heatrich-BS) platform that allows for focused methylation profiling in these highly informative regions. Our novel method and bioinformatics algorithm enable accurate tumor burden estimation with high sensitivity and quantitative tracking of colorectal cancer patient’s response to treatment, at much reduced sequencing cost suitable for frequent monitoring. We also show, for the first time, tumor epigenetic subtyping from cfDNA using Heatrich-BS, which could enable patient stratification from non-invasive liquid biopsy. As such, Heatrich-BS holds great potential for highly scalable screening and regular monitoring of cancer using liquid biopsy.

  Study EGAS00001006198

• Genetic Discovery and Application in a Clinical Setting: Continuing a Partnership (eMERGE Phase II)

  The electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network is a consortium of ten participating sites funded by the NHGRI to investigate the use of electronic medical record systems for genomic research. The goal of eMERGE is to conduct genome-wide association studies in approximately 19,000 individuals using EMR-derived phenotypes and DNA from linked Biorepositories. The eMERGE Network brings together researchers with a wide range of expertise in genomics, statistics, ethics, informatics, and clinical medicine from leading medical research institutions across the country. Each center participating in the consortium is uniquely situated to provide critical resources to this highly collaborative and productive network. Each site combines a biobank or study cohort with extensive genomic data and access to clinical data derived from electronic medical records. Sites are geographically dispersed and have diverse patient populations, including two sites focusing specifically on pediatrics. The eMERGE Network is comprised of 9 sites and one coordinating center. Each site maintains its own biorepository where DNA specimens are linked to phenotypic data contained within EMRs. Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, PI: Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD Cincinnati Children's Medical Center with Boston Children's Hospital, PI: John Harley, MD, PhD - CCHMC and Ingrid Holm, MD, MPH - BCH Geisinger Health System, PI: David Carey, PhD and Marc Williams, MD Group Health Cooperative with University of Washington, PI: Eric Larson, MD, MPH - GHC and Gail Jarvik, MD, PhD - UW Marshfield Clinic with Essentia Institute of Rural Health, PI: Catherine McCarty, PhD, MPH - Essentia and Murray Brilliant, PhD - Marshfield Mayo Clinic, PI: Christopher Chute, MD, DrPH and Iftikhar Kullo, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, PI: Erwin Bottinger, MD Northwestern University, PI: Rex Chisholm, PhD and Maureen Smith, MS Vanderbilt University, PI: Dan Roden, MD eMERGE Coordinating Center - Vanderbilt University, PI: Paul Harris, PhD Using electronic phenotyping methods, the consortium used DNA samples from all participating sites to explore the genetic determinants of red cell indices, white blood count (WBC) differential, diabetic retinopathy, height, serum lipid levels, specifically total cholesterol, HDL (high density lipoprotein), LDL (low density lipoprotein), and triglycerides, and autoimmune hypothyroidism as well as using the phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) paradigm to replicate and discover relationships between targeted genotypes with multiple phenotypes.

  Study phs000948

• Whole Exome Sequencing and RNA-Seq to Characterize the Somatic Breast Cancer Landscape Among Latinas in California

  Somatic mutational profiles are increasingly being used to guide treatment. However, there is a dearth of data from non-European populations. To address this gap, we conducted paired tumor/normal whole exome paired-end sequencing and tumor RNA-Seq on 146 breast tumors from 140 Hispanic/Latina (H/L) women with breast cancer. We characterized somatic mutations, copy number alterations, tumor subtypes [Prediction Analysis of Microarray 50 (PAM50)], Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer (COSMIC) mutation signatures and expression profiles, and compared them to breast tumors from non-Hispanic White (White) women in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Using MutSigCV, we found that the most commonly mutated genes, including TP53, RUNX1, PTEN, PIK3CA, MAP3K1, GATA3, CDH1 and CBFB, were similar to those in breast tumors from non-Hispanic white women. Novel findings were that outliers of BLTP2 (aka KIAA0100) over-expression and COSMIC mutational signature 16 were more common in tumors from H/L women than White women. We also identified that the known germline APOBEC3A/B deletion variant was significantly more common in H/L women and was associated with indigenous American ancestry. Data available through dbGaP will be whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data, as well as phenotypic data, including estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 receptor status, tumor histology, stage, and grade, and age at diagnosis.

  Study phs003218

• An Empirical Approach Leveraging Tumorgrafts to Dissect the Tumor Microenvironment in Renal Cell Carcinoma Identifies Missing Link to Prognostic Inflammatory Factors

  We undertook an empirical approach to dissect the tumor microenvironment by developing a bulk tumor dissection algorithm, DisHet, and leveraging RNA-Seq data of tumorgrafts (patient-derived tumors implanted in mice), in which only the tumor cell component expands. We found that approximately 65% of previously defined immune signature genes are not abundantly expressed in the Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) microenvironment, and we identified more than two times as many novel immune/stromal transcripts. By using refined immune/stroma-specific genes and genomics, electronic medical record data and imaging data of 1084 RCC patients, we discovered a highly-inflamed pan-RCC subtype enriched for Treg cells, NK cells, Th1 cells, neutrophils, macrophages, B cells, and CD8+ T cells. This inflamed subtype (IS) is enriched for aggressive RCCs, including BAP1-deficient clear-cell and type 2 papillary tumors. Interestingly, IS is correlated with systemic manifestations of inflammation in patients such as thrombocytosis and anemia, whose pathogenesis were poorly defined and have been predictors of poor prognosis in RCC. Indeed, we discovered that IS is a strong predictor of poor survival. Lastly, our analyses show that tumor cells may drive stromal immune response. Overall, these data provide a missing link between the tumor cells, the tumor microenvironment, and systemic factors.

  Study EGAS00001002786

• Characterizing the Role of the Immune Microenvironment in Multiple Myeloma Progression at a Single Cell Level

  The plasma cell disease multiple myeloma (MM) is highly dependent on its bone marrow microenvironment (BMME). Early alterations within the bone marrow microenvironment that contribute to the progression of multiple myeloma (MM) from its precursor stages could hold the key to identifying novel therapeutic approaches, yet the intrinsic variability in cellular populations between patients together with differences in sample processing and analysis methods have made it difficult to identify consistent changes between datasets. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing of BM cells from precursor stages, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), smoldering MM (SMM) and newly diagnosed MM and analyzed our data in combination with a previously published dataset that used a similar patient population and sample processing. Despite vast interpatient heterogeneity, some alterations were seen consistently in both datasets. We identified changes in immune cell populations as disease progressed that were characterized by a substantial decrease in memory and naïve CD4 T cells and an increase in CD8+ effector T cells and T-regulatory cells. These alterations were further accompanied by an enrichment of non-clonal memory B cells and an increase of CD14 and CD16 monocytes in MM compared to its precursor stages. These results provide crucial information of the immune changes associated with the progression to clinical MM and can help to develop immune based strategies for patient stratification and early therapeutic intervention. 

  Study phs002756

• A super-enhancer associated with CD47 links pro-inflammatory signaling to CD47 upregulation in breast cancer

  CD47 is a cell surface molecule that inhibits phagocytosis of cells that express it by binding to its receptor, SIRPα, on macrophages and other immune cells. CD47 is expressed at different levels in normal cells, however, in cancer cells, CD47 transcript and protein expression is aberrantly increased. Here we sought to uncover the regulators of CD47 transcription, including active enhancers that increase its aberrant expression in cancer cells, in order to reveal mechanisms by which different neoplastic cells generate this dominant 'don't eat me' signal. Enhancers are genomic regions, often referred to as "switches", that can turn on or off the transcription of target genes. Recently the discovery of super-enhancers (SEs) has given more insight into the regulatory architecture of key genes that are highly expressed in a specific cell type, during a particular developmental stage or in disease. By analyzing the CD47 regulatory genomic landscape, we discovered: i) A distinct super-enhancer (SE) is associated with CD47 upregulation in breast cancer cells ii) Disruption of CD47 SEs by using the BRD4 inhibitor JQ1 robustly reduces CD47 gene expression; and iii) The TNF-NFKB1 signaling pathway is directly involved in the regulation of CD47 by interacting with a distal downstream constituent enhancer located within a CD47-associated SE specific to breast cancer. Our results describe a novel mechanism that cancer cells have evolved to drive CD47 overexpression to escape immune surveillance.

  Study phs001264

• Single-cell Analysis of Neoplastic Plasma Cells Identifies Novel Myeloma Pathobiology Mediators and Potential Targets

  Newly diagnosed symptomatic and relapsed/refractory myeloma is a clonal plasma cell (PC) dyscrasia that arises from precursors which have been studied utilizing bulk or single-cell (sc) techniques. By combining scRNA-sequencing with scB-cell receptor (BCR)-sequencing, we found more dysregulated genes in monoclonal PCs compared with analyses of the entire CD138+ population, which includes non-neoplastic/polyclonal PCs. We identified a panel of genes that were over- or under-expressed in symptomatic states that could be putative oncogenic drivers or tumor suppressors, respectively.

  Study EGAS50000000803