12433 results for ""non-traditional+communal+storytelling+approach"+novel+segment+noted+in+critical+commentary"

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• Parent-of-origin dependent DNA methylation and gene expression in the human placenta

  DNA methylation is globally reprogrammed after fertilization and the parental genomes have similar DNA methylation profiles after implantation except at the germline differentially methylated regions (gDMRs). We, and others, have previously shown that there are a large number of transient gDMRs in human blastocysts, whose differential methylation is lost in embryonic tissues after implantation. In this study we employed genome-wide allelic DNA methylation analyses of highly purified trophoblast cells from human placentas. ~40% of the transient-in-embryo gDMRs maintained their parent-of-origin-dependent biased allelic methylation. RNA sequencing-based allelic expression analyses revealed that some of the placental-specific gDMRs were associated with novel imprinted genes. This approach identified the first examples of X-linked gDMRs specific to the placenta. These findings highlight the unique regulation of allelic DNA methylation in the human placenta, which is important for understanding normal placental development and the pathogenesis of pregnancy complications.

  Study JGAS000038

• CD74-NRG1 fusions in lung adenocarcinoma

  We discovered a novel somatic gene fusion, CD74-NRG1, by transcriptome sequencing of 25 lung adenocarcinomas of never smokers. By screening 102 lung adenocarcinomas negative for known oncogenic alterations we found four additional fusion-positive tumors, all of which were of the invasive mucinous subtype. Mechanistically, CD74-NRG1 leads to extracellular expression of the EGF-like domain of NRG1 III-beta3, thereby providing the ligand for ERBB2-ERBB3 receptor complexes. Accordingly, ERBB2 and ERBB3 expression was high in the index case and expression of phospho-ERBB3 was specifically found in tumors bearing the fusion (p<0.0001). Ectopic expression of CD74-NRG1 in lung cancer cell lines expressing ERBB2 and ERBB3 activated ERBB3 and the PI3K-AKT pathway, and led to increased colony formation in soft agar. Thus, CD74-NRG1 gene fusions are activating genomic alterations in invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas and may offer a therapeutic opportunity for a lung tumor subtype with, so far, no effective treatment.

  Study EGAS00001000653

• Rare disruptive mutations in ciliary function genes contribute to testicular cancer susceptibility

  Testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) is the most common cancer in young men1,2. Here we aimed to identify novel risk factors for TGCT using whole-exome sequencing, which was performed on 328 affected individuals from 153 families, 634 sporadic cases and 1,644 controls. We searched for genes that were recurrently affected by rare variants (minor allele frequency <0.01) with potentially damaging effects and evidence of segregation in families. 8.7% of families carried rare disruptive mutations in the cilia-microtubule genes (CMG) as compared to 0.5% of controls3 (P=2.1x10-8). The most significantly mutated CMG was DNAAF1 with biallelic inactivation and loss of DNAAF1 expression shown in tumors from carriers. DNAAF1 as a cause of TGCT was supported by a DNAAF1Hu255h(+/-) zebrafish model with 94% penetrance for TGCT compared to 14% in wildtype fish. These data implicate cilia-microtubule inactivation as a cause of TGCT development and are the first evidence for CMGs as cancer susceptibility genes.

  Study EGAS00001001789

• Robust detection of translocations in lymphoma FFPE samples using Targeted Locus Capture-based sequencing - NGS targeted capture control cohort

  In routine diagnostic pathology, cancer biopsies are preserved by Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedding (FFPE) procedures for examination of (intra-) cellular morphology. Such procedures inadvertently induce DNA fragmentation, which compromises sequencing-based analyses of chromosomal rearrangements. Yet, rearrangements drive many types of hematolymphoid malignancies and solid tumors, and their manifestation is instructive for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Here, we present FFPE-Targeted Locus Capture (FFPE-TLC) for targeted sequencing of proximity-ligation products formed in FFPE tissue blocks, and PLIER, a computational framework that allows automated identification and characterization of rearrangements involving selected, clinically-relevant, loci. FFPE-TLC, blindly applied to 149 lymphoma and control FFPE samples, identifies the known and novel rearrangement partners. It outperforms fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in sensitivity and specificity, and shows clear advantages over standard capture-NGS methods, finding rearrangements involving repetitive sequences which they typically miss. FFPE-TLC is therefore a powerful clinical diagnostics tool for accurate targeted rearrangement detection in FFPE specimens.

  Study EGAS00001005325

• High Density SNP Association Analysis of Melanoma: Case-Control and Outcomes Investigation

  This research builds upon an extensive resource of melanoma cases and hospital based controls collected over several years at the U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The goal of this research is to identify novel susceptibility and outcome-related genes for melanoma using a systematic genome-wide association-based approach. Our goal is to conduct high-density SNP association and outcome studies. This dbGaP study contains samples from 2000 European ancestry cases and 1000 European ancestry controls using the Illumina OMNI1-Quad SNP chip. As a part of an ongoing R01 project, we have epidemiological data together with candidate gene results for 1000 of the melanoma cases and the controls. With regard to the outcome aspect of our design, as part of our melanoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant, our MelCore database contains comprehensive, prospectively maintained clinical information from all melanoma patients included in the study cohort, including primary tumor histopathology and staging information, standard and investigational blood tumor markers, details of surgical and systemic therapies, and extensive follow-up information, including time to relapse or recurrence, pattern of recurrence and survival duration. Finally, we intend to collaborate with the GenoMEL collaboration so we can jointly evaluate each other's findings. The goal of our analysis will be to identify novel genetic factors predisposing the development of melanoma, as well as genetic factors controlling melanoma stage at presentation, recurrence and progression. 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 melanoma through large-scale genome-wide association studies of 2000 European ancestry cases and 1000 European ancestry controls. 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 phs000187

• NHLBI GO-ESP: Family Studies (Hematological Cancers)

  The NHLBI "Grand Opportunity" Exome Sequencing Project (GO-ESP), a signature project of the NHLBI Recovery Act investment, was designed to identify genetic variants in coding regions (exons) of the human genome (the "exome") that are associated with heart, lung and blood diseases. These and related diseases that are of high impact to public health and individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups will be studied. These data may help researchers understand the causes of disease, contributing to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, as well as determine whether to tailor prevention and treatments to specific populations. This could lead to more effective treatments and reduce the likelihood of side effects. GO-ESP is comprised of five collaborative components: 3 cohort consortia - HeartGO, LungGO, and WHISP - and 2 sequencing centers - BroadGO and SeattleGO. Two major goals in the study of human malignancies are (i) to understand the genetic basis that underlies the predisposition of certain individuals to develop cancer and (ii) to identify the full spectrum of acquired mutations that occur in human cancers. There has been some progress in both of these areas with respect to hematologic malignancies but much remains to be discovered. As a result of recent advantages in sequencing technologies it is now feasible to sequence multiple individual whole exomes at reasonable cost. Such technologies provide a unique opportunity to transform our understanding of the biological basis of human cancer and to identify inherited genetic variants that predispose individuals to the development of hematologic malignancies. Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute leukemia are clonal disorders of hematopoieis. Our study involves performing whole exome sequencing of individuals with these disorders for the purpose of identifying (i) novel inherited genetic variants associated with the risk of developing of MPN/MDS/acute leukemia and (ii) novel acquired mutations associated with the development of MPN/MDS/acute leukemia.

  Study phs000632

• Longitudinal profiling of the immune response to Plasmodium vivax in naive hosts by RNA-sequencing

  Plasmodium vivax offers unique challenges for control and elimination, and may prove a tougher hurdle to overcome than Plasmodium falciparum. And yet compared to P. falciparum we know very little about the innate and adaptive immune responses that need to be harnessed to reduce disease and transmission. We recently generated a blood bank of a new clonal field isolate of P. vivax (PvW1) for human challenge studies and used systems immunology tools to track the host response throughout infection and convalescence. As part of this study, RNA-sequencing was used to resolve changes in whole blood gene expression through time in 6 volunteers (7-9 time-points per volunteer). In summary, these data show that P. vivax induces two distinct transcriptional programmes in whole blood during and after infection. During infection, transcriptional profiling reveals the rapid mobilisation of an emergency myeloid response, which leads to systemic inflammation and the recruitment of all major T cell subsets into lymphoid tissues. Six days after infection, this innate response subsides and a transcriptional signature of proliferation is revealed. This most likely represents widespread activation of lymphocytes, which return to the circulation after parasite clearance - transcriptional profiling of T cells at this time-point could therefore reveal the outcomes of critical cell-cell interactions that take place within the spleen during infection. 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 EGAD00001006924

• Chinese Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC) Disease Study

  AHC is a rare and severe neurological disorder, and characterized by episodic hemiplegia or quadriplegia attacks, accompanied by other paroxysmal symptoms of oculomotor abnormalities, dystonia, seizures and autonomic disturbances; the age of onset usually occurrs before 18 months of life. Sodium-potassium ATPase alpha3 subunit (ATP1A3) has recently been identified as a causal gene for sporadic AHC by three groups. However, there has not been any large genetic study on a Chinese cohort. In the submitted data, whole-exome sequencing of three trios and three sporadic cases in a Chinese cohort produced an average of 18.8 gigabases of raw sequence. Through our analysis pipeline including BWA mapping, GATK recalibration, variant calling and filtering, all six patients contained missense mutations in ATP1A3 which were further confirmed as de novo mutations. Along with validation in additional patients, this study confirmed ATP1A3 as a causal gene in Chinese AHC patients, and reported six novel mutations.

  Study phs000660

• A Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) of Risk for Osteosarcoma

  This is a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of osteosarcoma, the most common primary bone malignancy. Osteosarcoma typically occurs in adolescents and young adults. It occurs at increased frequency in several inherited cancer predisposition syndromes but the genetic contribution to sporadic osteosarcoma is largely unexplored. The objective of this study was to identify genetic risk factors for osteosarcoma by conducting a genome-wide association study. We developed collaborations with multiple institutions in order to attain the necessary sample size required to discover novel loci in the genome associated with osteosarcoma using the GWAS approach. Genomic DNA (either blood or buccal in source) derived from osteosarcoma cases was obtained from each participating institution or research group. De-identified blood or buccal cell DNA samples from osteosarcoma cases were derived from existing biobanks at the collaborative institutions. Control subjects were derived from existing NCI cohorts and matched by gender and ethnicity.

  Study phs000734

• Genetic Study of Vascular Anomalies

  Vascular anomalies are malformations or tumors of the vasculature that can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Vascular anomalies are caused by germline or post-zygotic pathogenic variants in genes that regulate cell growth and vascular development. Complex or extensive vascular anomalies are often intractable despite interventions such as sclerotherapy, embolization, or surgery. In recent years, targeted therapy has played an increasingly crucial role in the management of these diseases. Identification of the molecular causes of vascular anomalies is essential to provide efficacious therapy; however, genetic profiling is often limited by difficulty obtaining affected tissues and limited sequencing depth. The lack of this information limits treatment options and the precision of targeted therapy, especially for primary complex lymphatic anomalies. To address these limitations, we have applied novel techniques, including analysis of unconventional samples such as endothelial cells isolated from lymphatic fluid and cell-free DNA, deep coverage exome sequencing, and unique molecular identifier ultra-deep targeted sequencing, in the molecular profiling of these diseases.

  Study phs003197