13393 results for ""pdc"+"heritage+language"+census+study"

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• Aging and genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in an African rainforest hunter-gathering population

  Aging is associated with widespread changes in genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation. Thousands of CpG sites whose tissue-specific methylation levels are strongly correlated with chronological age have been previously identified. However, the majority of these studies have focused primarily on cosmopolitan populations living in the developed world; it is not known if age-related patterns of DNA methylation at these loci are similar across a broad range of human genetic and ecological diversity. We investigated genome-wide methylation patterns using saliva derived DNA from a traditionally hunting and gathering African populations: the Baka of the western Central African rainforest, together with the ≠Khomani San of the South African Kalahari Desert. We identify hundreds of CpG sites whose methylation levels are significantly associated with age, thousands that are significant in a meta-analysis, and replicate trends previously reported in populations of non-African descent. We confirm that an age associated site in the gene ELOVL2 shows a remarkably congruent relationship with aging in humans, despite extensive genetic and environmental variation across populations. We also demonstrate that genotype state at methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) can affect methylation trends at some known age-associated CpG sites. Our study explores the relationship between CpG methylation and chronological age in populations of African hunter-gatherers, who rely on different diets across diverse ecologies. While many age-related CpG sites replicate across populations, we show that considering common genetic variation at meQTLs further improves our ability to detect previously identified age associations.

  Study EGAS00001002226

• A Functional Network of Gastric-Cancer-Associated Splicing Events Controlled by Dysregulated Splicing Factors

  Except for a few genes known to have oncogenic spliceforms in gastric cancer, the full scope of aberrant splicing in gastric oncogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we elucidated the alternative splicing events associated with gastric carcinogenesis and identified upstream regulators governing these events. We performed RNA-seq on 19 matched tumor/normal pairs and a panel of gastric cancer cell lines, and identified 361 tumor associated (TA) alternative splicing events (ASEs), which included known oncogenic ASEs in genes such as INSR, FGFR2, CD44 and KRAS. We further identified 8 splicing factors dysregulated in gastric tumors, the expression of which are correlated to the splice ratio of the TA ASEs. We thereby constructed a dysregulated splicing network in gastric cancer, consisting of alternative splicing changes correlated to their potential regulators. This network featured three potential regulatory modules centered around the splicing factors ESRP2, MBNL1 and PTPB1. Knockdown of each splicing factor led to the expected changes in splicing of approximately half of the ASEs assayed. Thus, dysregulation of the splicing factors indeed was the cause of many of the TA ASEs. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that genes affected by tumor associated splicing were pre-dominantly involved in cytoskeletal organization. Concordant with this, knockdown of the splicing factors regulating the TA ASEs led to the expected changes in trans-well migration activity. Thus, we have established for the first time a comprehensive splicing network that likely drives gastric tumor progression, based on which novel therapeutic targets can be identified for further evaluation.

  Study EGAS00001002256

• Methylation differences in trisomy 21 using monozygotic twins

  We have hypothesized that methylation differences induced by trisomy 21 (T21) contribute to the phenotypic characteristics and heterogeneity in T21. In order to determine the methylation differences in T21 without the interference of the interindividual genomic variation, we have used fetal skin fibroblasts from monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for T21. We also used skin fibroblasts from MZ twins concordant for T21, normal MZ twins without T21, and unrelated normal and T21 individuals. We applied Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) to generate genome wide nucleotide resolution of DNA methylation based on high throughput sequencing between each pair of samples. RRBS revealed differentially methylated promoter regions (DMRs) in MZ twins discordant for T21 that have also been observed in unrelated normal and T21 individuals. The identified DMRs are enriched for genes involved in embryonic organ morphogenesis. These DMRs are maintained in iPS cells generated from this twin pair and are correlated with the gene expression changes. We have also observed an increase in DNA methylation level in the T21 methylome compared to the normal euploid methylome. This observation is concordant with the up regulation of DNA methyltransferase enzymes (DNMT3B and DNMT3L) and down regulation of DNA demethylation enzymes (TET2 and TET3) in the iPSC of the T21 versus normal twin. Additionally, two sets of T21 MZ twins discordant for heart defect highlighted DMRs in genes that are associated with heart development. In conclusion the study of DNA methylation differences in MZ twins discordant for genomic abnormalities is a promising approach to understand the molecular pathophysiology of aneuploidies.

  Study EGAS00001001051

• Differential Presence of Exons in Cell-Free DNA Reveals Different Patterns in Colorectal Cancer Between Metastatic and Non-Metastatic Patients

  Tumor genotyping during disease follow-up is gaining an increasing interest for monitoring and clinical management in colorectal cancer (CRC). Growing evidences suggest that single biopsies are inefficient for molecular profiling, due to clonal evolution and intratumoral heterogeneity of primary tumors and/or metastasis. Circulating free DNA (cfDNA) has emerged as an alternative source of genetic material that seems to be representative of the continuously changing tumor molecular features. Thus, the so-called 'liquid biopsy' also offers the additional advantages of accessibility and non-invasiveness for the patient. Novel strategies based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) of cfDNA are being currently developed, with most studies focusing on targeted deep sequencing panels of potential clinically actionable genes. Here we describe an alternative approach, consisting of exome-sequencing in cfDNA at a relatively shallower depth to provide a more general overview of the circulating genome. In this study, two groups of colorectal cancer patients, with either disseminated (M) or localized disease (N), were compared using whole-exome sequencing and a RNA-seq bioinformatics analysis pipeline. Thus, a set of 379 exons present at different levels in cfDNA from both groups were identified, giving rise to a completely new concept in this field, termed as 'Differential Presence of Exons'. Differentially present exons (DPEs) were subsequently used for M and N patients clustering and classification, allowing for the design of a predictive algorithm with encouraging preliminary results in a small subset of patients that could not be initially classified attending to the selection criteria (U group, unassignable).

  Study EGAS00001002687

• Breast cancer DNA repair

  Tumors of germline BRCA1/2 mutated carriers show homologous recombination (HR) deficiency (HRD), resulting in impaired DNA double strand break (DSB) repair and high sensitivity to Poly-(ADP-Ribose)-Polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. Although this therapy is expected to be effective beyond germline BRCA1/2 mutated carriers, a robust validated test to detect HRD tumors is lacking. In the present study we therefore evaluated a functional HR assay exploiting the formation of RAD51 foci in proliferating cells after ex vivo irradiation of fresh breast cancers (BrC) tissue: the RECAP test.Methods Fresh samples of 170 primary BrC were analyzed using the RECAP test. The molecular explanation for the HRD phenotype was investigated by exploring BRCA deficiencies, mutational signatures, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and microsatellite instability (MSI).Results RECAP was completed successfully in 148 out of 170 samples (87%). 24 tumors showed HRD (16%), while 6 tumors were HR intermediate (HRi) (4%). HRD was explained by BRCA deficiencies (mutations, promoter hypermethylation, deletions) in 16 cases. Several non-BRCA deficient HRD tumors showed BRCAness mutational signatures, suggesting that they are also bona fide HRD cases. HRD tumors showed an increased incidence of high TIL counts (p=0.023) compared to HR proficient (HRP) tumors and MSI was more frequently observed in the HRD group (2/20, 10%) than expected in BrC (1%) (p=0.017).Conclusion The RECAP test is a robust assay detecting both BRCA1/2 deficient and BRCA1/2 proficient HRD tumors, suggesting that this test identifies approximately 50% more patients that may benefit from PARPi treatment than BRCA gene testing only.

  Study EGAS00001002792

• 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/

  Study EGAS00001003847

• MYCN Amplification and ATRX Mutations are Incompatible in Neuroblastoma

  Age and stage of disease at diagnosis is associated with outcome in neuroblastoma. A previous study identified ATRX point mutations and in-frame deletions in older patients with stage 4 disease. To validate the frequency of ATRX mutations and assess the relation of mutations and known prognostic variables, we collaborated with the Children’s Oncology Group and sequenced the entire ATRX genomic locus in 475 neuroblastoma tumor samples to validate the frequency of ATRX mutations and assess the relation of mutations and known prognostic variables. Older age at diagnosis, stage 4 disease, and unfavorable histology were significantly associated with mutations in the ATRX gene; MYCN amplification was mutually exclusive from ATRX mutations. To directly test if ATRX mutations and MYCN amplification are incompatible in neuroblastoma, we mutated the ATRX gene in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma cell lines and ectopically expressed MYCN in ATRX mutant neuroblastoma cell lines. Both approaches showed that ATRX and MYCN amplification are incompatible in neuroblastoma in culture and in vivo. To gain a better understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of this incompatibility, we performed a series of experiments including telomere analysis, epigenetic profiling, electron microscopic analysis and metabolic profiling. We discovered that induction of MYCN expression in ATRX mutant neuroblastomas cells leads to metabolic reprogramming, mitochondrial dysfunction, increased reactive oxygen species and replicative stress. We propose that this leads to synthetic lethality in ATRX mutant neuroblastomas because of the underlying replicative stress in those cells as a result of dysfunction of this essential histone chaperone.

  Study EGAS00001003257

• These are from Korean HCC samples with exome sequencing

  Hepatic resection is the most curative treatment option for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, but is associated with a high recurrence rate, which exceeds 50% at 5 years after surgery. Understanding the genetic basis of hepatocellular carcinoma at surgically curable stages may enable the identification of new molecular biomarkers that accurately identify patients in need of additional early therapeutic interventions. Whole exome sequencing and copy number analysis was performed on 231 hepatocellular carcinomas (72% with hepatitis B viral infection) that were classified as early-stage hepatocellular carcinomas, candidates for surgical resection. Recurrent mutations were validated by Sanger sequencing. Unsupervised genomic analyses identified an association between specific genetic aberrations and postoperative clinical outcomes. Recurrent somatic mutations were identified in 9 genes, including TP53, CTNNB1, AXIN1, RPS6KA3, and RB1. Recurrent homozygous deletions in FAM123A, RB1, and CDKN2A, and high-copy amplifications in MYC, RSPO2, CCND1, and FGF19 were detected. Pathway analyses of these genes revealed aberrations in the p53, Wnt, PIK3/Ras, cell cycle, and chromatin remodelling pathways. RB1 mutations were significantly associated with cancer-specific and recurrence-free survival after resection (p = 0.016 and p = 0.001, respectively). FGF19 amplifications, known to activate Wnt signalling, were mutually exclusive with CTNNB1 and AXIN1 mutations, and significantly associated with cirrhosis (p = 0.017). RB1 mutations can be used as a prognostic molecular biomarker for resectable hepatocellular carcinoma. Further study is required to investigate the potential role of FGF19 amplification in driving hepatocarcinogenesis in patients with liver cirrhosis and to investigate the potential of anti-FGF19 treatment in these patients.

  Study EGAS00001000604

• Spatial and temporal evolution of distal 10q deletion, a prognostically unfavorable event in diffuse low-grade gliomas

  Background: The disease course of patients with diffuse low-grade glioma is notoriously unpredictable. Temporal and spatially distinct samples may provide insight into the evolution of clinically relevant copy number aberrations (CNAs). The purpose of this study is to identify CNAs that are indicative of aggressive tumor behaviour and can thereby complement the prognostically favorable 1p/19q co-deletion. Results: Genome-wide, 50 base pair single-end, sequencing was performed to detect CNAs in a clinically well-characterized cohort of 98 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded low-grade gliomas. CNAs are correlated with overall survival as an endpoint. Seventy-five additional samples from spatially distinct regions and paired recurrent tumors of the discovery cohort were analysed to interrogate the intratumoral heterogeneity and spatial evolution. Loss of 10q25.2-qter is a frequent subclonal event and significantly correlates with an unfavorable prognosis. A significant correlation is furthermore observed in a validation set of 126 and confirmation set of 184 patients. Loss of 10q25.2-qter arises in a longitudinal manner in paired recurrent tumor specimens, whereas the prognostically favorable 1p/ 19q co-deletion is the only CNA that is stable across spatial regions and recurrent tumors. Conclusions: CNAs in low-grade gliomas display extensive intratumoral heterogeneity. Distal loss of 10q is a late onset event and a marker for reduced overall survival in low-grade glioma patients. Intratumoral heterogeneity and higher frequencies of distal 10q loss in recurrences suggest this event is involved in outgrowth to the recurrent tumor.

  Study EGAS00001000643

• A targeted gene panel that covers coding, noncoding, and short tandem repeat regions improves the diagnosis of patients with neurodegenerative diseases

  Genetic testing for diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) is highly challenging because of genotype heterogeneity and overlapping clinical manifestations. Targeted-gene panels (TGPs), coupled with next-generation sequencing (NGS), can facilitate the profiling of a large repertoire of ND-related genes and help with differential diagnosis. Due to the technical limitations inherent in NGS and TGPs, short tandem repeat (STR) variations are often ignored. However, STR expansions are known to cause such NDs as Huntington’s disease and several types of spinocerebellar ataxias, such as SCA type 3 (SCA3).Here, we studied the clinical utility of a custom-made TGP that targets 199 NDs and 311 ND-associated genes on 118 undiagnosed patients. At least one known pathogenic or likely pathogenic variation was found in 54 (45.8%) patients; 27 (22.9%) of the 118 patients demonstrated clinical profiles that matched the variants. Based on the findings from the TGP, we refined the original diagnosis of 16 patients. A high concordance of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (99.9%) and small insertions and deletions (93.2%) were observed when comparing the results from TGP and whole-exome sequencing of four patients. We tested an in-house STR detection algorithm, and it reached a specificity of 0.88 and a sensitivity of 0.82 in our SCA3 cohort. This study also uncovered a trove of novel and recurrent variants that may enrich the repertoire of ND-related genetic markers. We propose that a combination of comprehensive TGPs and the bioinformatics analysis pipeline can improve the clinical diagnosis and accelerate the diagnosis of NDs.

  Study EGAS00001003737

• Prediction and quantification of splice events from RNA-seq data

  Analysis of splice variants from short read RNA-seq data remains a challenging problem. Here we present a novel method for the genome-guided prediction and quantification of splice events from RNA-seq data, which enables the analysis of unannotated and complex splice events. Splice junctions and exons are predicted from reads mapped to a reference genome and are assembled into a genome-wide splice graph. Splice events are identified recursively from the graph and are quantified locally based on reads extending across the start or end of each splice variant. We assess prediction accuracy based on simulated and real RNA-seq data, and illustrate how different read aligners (GSNAP, HISAT2, STAR, TopHat2) affect prediction results. We validate our approach for quantification based on simulated data, and compare local estimates of relative splice variant usage with those from other methods (MISO, Cufflinks) based on simulated and real RNA-seq data. In a proof-of-concept study of splice variants in 16 normal human tissues (Illumina Body Map 2.0) we identify 249 internal exons that belong to known genes but are not related to annotated exons. Using independent RNA samples from 14 matched normal human tissues, we validate 9/9 of these exons by RT-PCR and 216/249 by paired-end RNA-seq (2 x 250 bp). These results indicate that de novo prediction of splice variants remains beneficial even in well-studied systems. An implementation of our method is freely available as an R/Bioconductor package SGSeq.

  Study EGAS00001001026

• Prediction of pigmentation phenotypes by SNP typing in a Northern German population

  Human pigmentation traits are of great interest to many research areas, from ancient DNA analysis to forensic science. We aimed to develop a gene-based predictive model for pigmentation phenotypes in a realistic target population for forensic case work from Northern Germany. Our aim was to determine whether better prediction accuracy can be achieved, or fewer genetic markers may suffice, than in previously studied, genetically more heterogeneous populations. We investigated the association between eye, hair and skin colour, and 12 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from six genes. Our study comprised two samples of 300 and 100 individuals from Northern Germany who were carefully characterized with regard to pigmentation phenotypes. The first sample was used to select trait-associated SNPs whereas the second sample served to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and to quantify the predictive capability of the respective SNP genotypes. SNP rs12913832 in HERC2 was found to be strongly associated with blue eye colour (OR=15.6, p<1.2•10-4) and to yield reasonable predictive power (90% sensitivity, 63% specificity). SNP associations with hair and skin colour were weaker and genotypes less predictive. A comparison to two recently published sets of markers to predict eye and hair colour revealed that the consideration of additional SNPs with weak to moderate effect increases the predictive power in Northern Germans for eye colour, but not for hair colour. In addition, fine phenotyping and differentiation of hair colour (light / dark and red tint / no red tint) were found to increase the number of significant genotype-phenotype associations.

  Study EGAS00001001174

• Associations between APOE status and cognitive ability across the lifecourse

  The association between APOE genotype and cognitive function suggests a positive role for the e2 allele and a negative role for the e4 allele. Both alleles have relatively low frequencies in the general population, hence meta-analyses have been based on many small, heterogeneous studies. Here we report the APOE-cognition associations in the largest single analysis to date. APOE status and cognitive ability were measured in 18,337 participants from the Generation Scotland study between 2006 and 2011. The age range was 18-94 years with a mean of 47 (SD 15). Four cognitive domains were assessed: verbal declarative memory (paragraph recall), processing speed (digit symbol substitution), verbal fluency (phonemic verbal fluency), and vocabulary (Mill Hill synonyms). Linear regression was used to assess the associations between APOE genetic status and cognition. Possession of the e4 allele was associated with lower scores on the measures of memory and processing speed in subjects aged >60. Across all age ranges, the e4 allele was linked to better verbal fluency scores. In younger subjects (≤60 years) the e4 allele was linked to higher vocabulary scores. There were no associations between the e2 allele and cognitive ability. As seen in previous meta-analyses, the APOE e4 allele is linked to poorer cognitive performance in the domains of memory and processing speed. By contrast, positive associations were seen between the e4 allele and measures of verbal fluency and vocabulary. All associations were relatively small and, in many cases, nominally significant despite the very large sample size.

  Study EGAS00001001235

• A unidirectional histone code in bidirectional promoters across cell types

  Recent studies indicate that thousands of genes are expressed from bidirectional promoters (BDPs). Gene regulation at BDPs is poorly understood, in particular how the cell is able to regulate them differently. Here we investigate the effect of histone Modifications in BDP regulation. In this study, we model the gene activity using different gene expression assays, such as RNA-Seq, GRO-cap, and CAGE around the BDP transcription start sites (TSSs) using different histone modifications in various cell types. We develop a new statistical approach that links histone modifications to gene expression at BDPs. It improves over previous methods, because it is able to capture spatial dependencies of histone modifications along a promoter and leads to more interpretable results. We predict a general histone code that is independent of transcript orientation, cell type, and promoter configuration. The histone code at BDPs reveals that promoters are regulated unidirectionally, such that the majority of histone marks associated with gene expression occur downstream of the gene's TSS. By contrasting associations of histone marks with steady-state levels of capped RNAs in CAGE and nascent capped RNAs in GRO-cap, we show which histone marks have a preference for initiating polymerases and actively elongating polymerases. Using single-cell data we show that the bidirectional histone signal of activating marks is often due averaging of a heterogeneous cell population. Our results have implications for other experiments where the relationship between histone modification and gene initiation or gene elongation is investigated on a genome-wide scale.

  Study EGAS00001001656

• Dynamics of genome architecture and chromatin function during human B cell differentiation and neoplastic transformation

  Despite recent advances, the dynamics of genome architecture and chromatin function during human cell differentiation and its potential reorganization upon neoplastic transformation remains poorly characterized. Here, we integrate in situ Hi-C and nine additional omic layers to define and biologically characterize the dynamic changes in three-dimensional (3D) genome architecture across normal B cell differentiation and in neoplastic cells from different subtypes of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients. Beyond conventional active (A) and inactive (B) compartments, an integrative analysis of Hi-C data uncovers a highly-dynamic intermediate compartment enriched in poised and polycomb-repressed chromatin. During B cell development, we detect that 28% of the compartments change at defined maturation stages and mostly involve the intermediate compartment. The transition from naive to germinal center B cells is associated with widespread chromatin activation, which mostly reverts into the naive state upon further maturation of germinal center cells into memory B cells. The analysis of CLL and MCL neoplastic cells points both to entity and subtype-specific alterations in chromosome organization. Remarkably, we observe that large chromatin blocks containing key disease-specific genes alter their 3D genome organization. These include the inactivation of a 2Mb region containing the EBF1 gene in CLL and the activation of a 6.1Mb region containing the SOX11 gene in clinically aggressive MCL. This study indicates that 3D genome interactions are extensively modulated during normal B cell differentiation and that the genome of B cell neoplasias acquires a tumor-specific 3D genome architecture.

  Study EGAS00001004763

• MYO5B mutations in Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma promote cancer progression

  Identification of additional cancer-associated genes and secondary mutations driving the metastatic progression in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) is important. We recently reported novel recurrent nonsynonymous mutations in the MYO5B gene in metastatic PPGL. Here, we explored the functional impact of these MYO5B mutations, and analyzed MYO5B expression in primary PPGL tumor cases in relation to mutation status.Immunohistochemistry and mRNA expression analysis in 30 primary PPGL tumors revealed an increased MYO5B expression in metastatic compared to non-metastatic tumor cases. In addition, subcellular localization of MYO5B protein was altered from cytoplasmatic to membranous in some metastatic tumors, and the strongest and most abnormal expression pattern was observed in a PGL case harboring a MYO5B:p.G1611S mutation. Mutation analysis of additional PPGL tumors revealed additional, and hence recurrent, mutations in the paralog MYO5A. Three missense mutations in MYO5B were functionally studied using site directed mutagenesis and stable transfection into human neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-AS) and embryonic kidney cells (HEK293 cell line). Functional analysis of the mutants verified a significant increased proliferation rate in all MYO5B mutated clones (p.L587P, p.G1611S, and p.R1641C). The two somatically derived mutations p.L587P and p.G1611S were also found to increase the migration rate, and all three mutants affected intracellular transport by increased transferrin uptake. Downstream expression analysis of MYO5B mutants demonstrated a transcriptional activation of genes involved in glucose metabolism, proliferation, homeostasis, and migration. Our study validates the functional role of novel MYO5B mutations in proliferation and migration, and suggest the MYO5-pathway to be involved the malignant progression of PPGL tumors.

  Study EGAS00001003991

• Identification of Therapeutic Targets in Rhabdomyosarcoma Through Integrated Genomic, Epigenomic, and Proteomic Analyses

  Personalized cancer therapy based on the somatic mutations identified in patient tumors is becoming an increasingly emphasized approach to improve outcomes of patients with cancer. There are also examples of therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer that result from changes in gene expression that are a direct or indirect result of tumor specific epigenetic perturbations. These genomic and epigenomic changes are ultimately manifest in the tumor proteome and phosphoproteome. In this study, we integrated genomic, epigenomic and proteomic data for rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities. RMS was selected for this analysis because RAS pathway mutations in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are the most common potentially actionable lesions across pediatric solid tumors. The epigenomic data was useful for identifying deregulated developmental pathways in RMS including the WNT, HH, BMP, adenyl cyclase, p38/MAPK and PI3K pathways. Perturbations in those 6 myogenic signal transduction pathways were also evident in the proteome and phosphoteome data. In addition, the proteomic/phosphoproteomic data revealed that the cell cycle checkpoint, unfolded protein response and RB/E2F pathways were deregulated in RMS relative to normal muscle. Recent success targeting CDK4/6 and MEK in adult cancers with RAS mutations led us to test the value of these targets in RMS tumors. We also targeted the unfolded protein response pathway and cell cycle checkpoint pathway using molecular targeted therapeutics in orthotopic patient derived xenografts. Taken together, these data demonstrate the value of integrating epigenomic and proteomic data to identify tumor vulnerabilities that extend beyond somatic mutations identified in the genome.

  Study EGAS00001002967

• Healthy_ageing_thymus

  Single cell RNA sequencing of immune and non-immune cells from healthy ageing thymus Thymus is a primary lymphoid organ that creates an environment for the T lymphocyte precursors differentiation into the naive T cells, which involves TCR gene rearrangement, negative and positive selection. Despite thymus critical function for the recognition of the pathogens it starts to atrophy very early in life. Thymic Epithelial Space (TES), where thymocyte education occurs, starts to decline rapidly just after birth, while with the onset of puberty thymus is also progressively replaced with adipose tissue. This leads to a reduced naive T cell output,which decreases an organism's ability to recognize pathogens. In our lab, we have already collected and characterized cell type composition and gene regulatory networks of the fetal tand adult human thymus (Park et al, Science 2020). In the current project we plan to expand the number of paediatric and adult samples in the study with the aim to understand how the process of thymic involution happens. We will use single-cell transcriptomics to zoom on changes that occur in immune and non-immune cell types in different phases of thymic involution with the hope to understand which gene expression changes are causal for the thymic involution process and how naïve T cell production can be increased in elderly. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001004311

• Transcriptomic intra-tumor heterogeneity of colorectal cancer varies depending on tumor location within the colorectum

  Background; Intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH) of colorectal cancer (CRC) complicates molecular tumor classification, such as transcriptional subtyping. Differences in cellular states, biopsy cell composition, and tumor microenvironment may all lead to ITH. Here we analyze ITH at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels to ascertain whether subtype discordance between multiregional biopsies reflects relevant biological ITH or lack of classifier robustness. Further, we study the impact of tumor location on ITH.MethodsMultiregional biopsies from stage II and III CRC tumors were analyzed by RNA sequencing (41 biopsies, 14 tumors) and multiplex immune protein analysis (89 biopsies, 29 tumors). CRC subtyping were performed using consensus molecular subtypes (CMS), CRC intrinsic subtypes (CRIS), and TUMOR types. ITH-scores and network maps were defined to determine the origin of heterogeneity. A validation cohort was used with one biopsy per tumor (162 tumors).ResultsOverall, inter-tumor transcriptional variation exceeded ITH, and subtyping calls were frequently concordant between multiregional biopsies. Still, some tumors had high ITH and were classified discordantly. Proximal tumors showed ITH related to differences in the microenvironment, while ITH within distal tumors were cancer-cell related. This subtype discordancy reflected actual molecular ITH within the tumors. The relevance of the subtypes was reflected at protein level where several inflammation markers were significantly increased in immune related transcriptional subtypes, which was verified in an independent cohort (Wilcoxon rank sum test; p<0.05).ConclusionOur transcriptomic and proteomic analyses show that the tumor location along the colorectum influence the ITH of CRC, which again influence the concordance of subtyping.

  Study EGAS00001004668

• Mutation-specific non-canonical pathway of PTEN as a distinct therapeutic target for glioblastoma

  PTEN is one of most frequently altered tumor suppressor genes in malignant tumors. The dominant negative effect of PTEN alteration suggests that aberrant function of PTEN mutation might be more disastrous than deletion, the most frequent genomic event in glioblastoma (GBM). This study aimed to understand the functional properties of various PTEN missense mutations and to investigate their clinical relevance. The genomic landscape of PTEN alteration was analyzed using the Samsung Medical Center GBM cohort and validated via The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset. Several hot-spot mutations were identified, and their subcellular distributions and phenotypes were evaluated. We established a library of cancer cell lines that over-express these mutant proteins using the U87MG and patient-derived cell models lacking functional PTEN. PTEN mutations were categorized into two major subsets: missense mutations in the phosphatase domain and truncal mutations in the C2 domain. We determined the subcellular compartmentalization of four mutant proteins (H93Y, C124S, R130Q, and R173C) from the former group and found that they had distinct localizations; those associated with invasive phenotypes (‘edge mutations’) localized to the cell periphery, while the R173C mutant localized to the nucleus. Invasive phenotypes derived from edge substitutions were unaffected by an anti-PI3K/Akt agent but were disrupted by microtubule inhibitors. PTEN mutations exhibit distinct functional properties with regard to their subcellular localization. Further, some missense mutations (‘edge mutations’) in the phosphatase domain caused enhanced invasiveness associated with dysfunctional cytoskeletal assembly, thus suggesting it to be a potent therapeutic target.

  Study EGAS00001004753

• Integrative genomic analysis identifies key pathogenic mechanisms in primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma

  Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) represents a clinically and pathologically distinct subtype of large B-cell lymphomas. Furthermore, molecular studies, including global gene expression profiling, have provided evidence that PMBL is more closely related to classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Although targeted sequencing studies have revealed a number of mutations involved in PMBL pathogenesis, a comprehensive description of disease-associated genetic alterations and perturbed pathways is still lacking. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing of 95 PMBL tumors to inform on oncogenic driver genes and recurrent copy number alterations. The integration of somatic gene mutations with gene expression signatures provides further insights into genotype-phenotype interrelation in PMBL. We identified highly recurrent oncogenic mutations in the JAK-STAT and NF-kB pathways, and provide additional evidence of the importance of immune evasion in PMBL (CIITA, CD58, B2M, CD274, PDCD1LG2). Our analyses highlight the IRF-pathway as a putative novel hallmark with frequent alterations in multiple pathway members (IRF2BP2, IRF4, IRF8). In addition, our integrative analysis illustrates the importance of JAK1, RELB and EP300 mutations driving oncogenic signaling. The identified driver genes were significantly more frequently mutated in PMBL as compared to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, whereas only a limited number of genes were significantly different between PMBL and cHL, emphasizing the close relationship between these entities. Our study, performed on a large cohort of PMBL, highlights the importance of distinctive genetic alterations for disease taxonomy with relevance for diagnostic work-up and therapeutic decision-making.

  Study EGAS00001003746

• Non-viral precision T cell receptor replacement for personalized cell therapy

  The T cell receptor (TCR) provides the fine specificity of T cells to recognize mutations in cancer cells 1-3. We developed a clinical-grade approach based on CRISPR/Cas9 non-viral precision genome editing to simultaneously knock-out the two endogenous TCR genes, TCRα (TRAC) and TCRβ (TRBC), and insert in the TRAC locus the two chains of a neoantigen-specific TCR (neoTCR), isolated from the patient’s own circulating T cells using a personalized library of soluble predicted neoantigen-HLA capture reagents. Sixteen patients with refractory solid cancers received up to three distinct neoTCR-transgenic cell products, each expressing a patient-specific neoTCR, in a cell dose-escalation, first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial (NCT03970382). One patient had grade 1 cytokine release syndrome, and one grade 3 encephalitis. All had the expected side effects from the lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Five patients had stable disease, and the other 11 had disease progression as best response on therapy. NeoTCR-transgenic T cells were detected in tumour biopsies post-infusion at frequencies higher than the native TCRs pre-infusion. This study demonstrates the feasibility of isolating and cloning multiple TCRs recognizing mutational neoantigens, the simultaneous knock-out of the endogenous TCR and knock-in of the neoTCRs using single-step, non-viral precision genome editing, the manufacturing of neoTCR engineered T cells at clinical grade, the safety of infusing up to three gene edited neoTCR T cell products, and the ability of the transgenic T cells to traffic to the patients’ tumours.

  Study EGAS00001006898

• shallow WGS and deep targeted panel on ctDNA in rhabdomyosarcomas

  The genomic spectrum of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) progression from primary to relapse is not fully understood. In this study we investigate 35 patients with relapsed RMS from two contributing institutions, 18 fusion-positive (FP-RMS) and 17 fusion-negative RMS (FN-RMS). Targeted DNA or whole exome sequencing (WES) was used to detect alterations in paired primary/relapsed samples. In 10 cases, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from multiple timepoints through clinical care and progression was analyzed for feasibility of liquid biopsy in monitoring treatment response/relapse. ctDNA alterations were evaluated using a targeted custom RMS panel (36 genes) at high coverage for single nucleotide variation and fusion detection, and a shallow whole genome sequencing for copy number variation. FP-RMS had a stable genome with relapse, with the most common secondary alterations : CDKN2A/B, MYCN and CDK4 alterations, being already present at diagnosis and impacting overall survival. FP-RMS lacking major secondary events at baseline acquired recurrent MYCN and AKT1 alterations. FN-RMS acquired a higher number of new alterations, most commonly SMARCA2 missense mutations. ctDNA analyses detected pathognomonic variants in all RMS patients at diagnosis, regardless of FP/FN or type of alterations, while at relapse selected alterations were confirmed in 86% of FP-RMS and 100% FN-RMS. Moreover, a higher number of fusion reads was detected with increased disease burden and at relapse in patients following a fatal outcome. These results underscore patterns of tumor progression within a relatively stable genomic landscape and provide rationale for using liquid biopsy to monitor treatment response.

  Study EGAS00001007399

• High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics Uncover Epidermal-Dermal Divergences in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Spatial Context Reshapes the Gene Expression Landscape

  Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive malignancy with neuroendocrine differentiation marked by high plasticity, often manifesting as rapid therapy resistance. Although the cell-of-origin is presumed to be epithelial, epidermal localization of MCC is rarely observed, largely because in situ MCC is typically an incidental finding. Nevertheless, a subset of MCC tumors exhibits epidermotropism, wherein tumor cells are present in the epidermis. The behavior of cancer cells is profoundly influenced by the tumor microenvironment and interactions with neighboring cells. Notably, the normal counterparts of the cancer’s cell-of-origin have been shown to attenuate tumor aggressiveness. Thus, epidermotropic MCC presents a unique opportunity to explore the potential role of surrounding keratinocytes in modulating tumor cell behavior. While the epidermotropic tumor nests share histological resemblance with their dermal counterparts, their transcriptomic profiles remain unexplored. Here, we employed high-definition spatial and single cell transcriptomics to dissect the gene expression profiles of epidermotropic MCC cells, comparing them to MCC cells in the tumor core and those adjacent to blood vessels. Notably, epidermotropic MCC cells exhibit a transcriptomic signature reminiscent of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, characterized by upregulation of genes encoding keratins, S100A proteins, as well as calmodulin-like proteins 3 and 5. Mechanistically, this keratinocytic differentiation is associated with enhanced p63 activity, leading to the upregulation of PERP. Collectively, our study demonstrates that MCC cells can adopt a keratinocytic differentiation program in response to microenvironmental cues, underscoring the remarkable phenotypic plasticity of this malignancy and the importance of the tumor microenvironment for tumor characteristics.

  Study EGAS00001008157

• Comparison of the diagnostic yield of aCGH and NGS across different neurodevelopmental disorders

  Current recommendations for the genetic diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) do not include the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) and are still based on chromosomal microarrays, such as comparative genomic hybridization array (aCGH). The present study compares the diagnostic yield obtained by aCGH and clinical exome sequencing in NDD globally and its spectrum of disorders. To that end, 1412 patients clinically diagnosed with NDDs and studied with aCGH were classified into phenotype categories: Global developmental delay/intellectual disability (GDD/ID); autism spectrum disorder (ASD); and Other NDDs. These categories were further subclassified into subcategories, based on the most frequent accompanying signs and symptoms: isolated forms, forms with epilepsy; forms with micro or macrocephaly and syndromic forms. A subset of 245 patients of the 1412 were subjected to clinical exome sequencing. Diagnostic yield of aCGH and clinical exome sequencing, expressed as the number of solved cases, was compared for each phenotype category and subcategory. Clinical exome sequencing was superior than aCGH for all cases except for isolated ASD, with no cases solved by NGS. Globally, clinical exome sequencing solved 20% of cases (versus 5.7% by aCGH) and the diagnostic yield was highest for all forms of GDD/ID and lowest for Other NDDs (7.1% versus 1.4% by aCGH) and ASD (6.1% versus 3% by aCGH). In the majority of cases, diagnostic yield was higher in the phenotype subcategories than in the mother category. These results support the use of NGS as the first-tier test in the diagnostic algorithm of all NDDs followed by aCGH when necessary.

  Study EGAS00001004949

• The Dutch Microbiome Project: Defining the (un)healthy gut microbiome

  The Dutch Microbiome Project (DMP) data includes raw data generated by shotgun metagenomic sequencing of faecal samples of 8,208 Dutch individuals, processed microbiome data analysed using Biobakery2 tools (including taxonomy, pathway, virulence factors and antibiotic resistance gene profiles), and basic phenotypes (age and sex, BMI). Data is made available in two randomly assigned batches to facilitate the data access and maintenance. Access to this dataset requires a minimal access procedure (data access form at https://forms.gle/eHeBdXJMXbVvCJRc8 or email request to the data access committee (DAC) of this study, listed at DAC EGAC00001001996, https://ega-archive.org/dacs/EGAC00001001996). This access procedure is to ensure that the data is being requested for research/scientific purposes only and thus complies with the informed consent signed by Lifelines participants, which specifies that the collected data will not be used for commercial purposes. Submitted data access forms will be evaluated by the DAC and Lifelines, and a response to requests will be given within two weeks. For requests from verified academic parties, access will be given without further delay. For requests from commercial parties, Lifelines will perform a pre-DPIA (Data Privacy Impact Assessment) to assess the risks of the proposed processing of personal data (e.g. purpose, storage, access, archiving, etc.) with respect to the GDPR (EU privacy laws) subject rights. Based on the outcome of the pre-DPIA, Lifelines will decide whether sharing data with the commercial entity is allowed and/or whether additional measures have to be taken.

  Study EGAS00001005027

• Exome sequencing

  Human telomere biology disorders (TBD), a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by telomere attrition and premature aging phenotypes, are caused by inherited loss-of-function mutations in telomere-associated genes. Here, we identify three germline heterozygous missense variants in RPA1 gene in four unrelated probands presenting with short telomeres and varying clinical features of TBD including bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome, T- and B-cell lymphopenia, pulmonary fibrosis, and skin manifestations. All variants cluster to DNA binding domain A of RPA1 protein. RPA1 is an essential single-strand DNA-binding protein essential for DNA replication and repair. RPA1 has been implicated in telomere maintenance but the mechanism remains elusive. Thus far, no genetic disorder had been linked to RPA1. Using FRET assays, we showed that RPA1E240K and RPA1V227A exhibit increased binding to single-strand and telomeric DNA, implying a gain in DNA-binding function while RPA1T270A has binding properties similar to wild type. To study the mutational effect, RPA1E240K, with the highest binding capacity, was knocked-in iPSCs using CRISPR/Cas9, which showed severe telomere shortening and impaired hematopoietic differentiation. Furthermore, in the RPA1E240K patient, stable blood counts over two decades due coincided with clonal rescue hematopoiesis with an RNA-degrading truncating RPA1 mutation and a uniparental isodisomy 17p with loss of RPA1E240K allele. Using single cell DNA sequencing, the two somatic genetic rescue events were proven to be independently acquired in hematopoietic stem cells. In summary, we describe the first human disease caused by germline RPA1 variants in individuals with TBD.

  Study EGAS00001005761

• RaScALL: Rapid screening of RNA-seq in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

  RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) efforts in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) have identified numerous prognostically significant genomic alterations which can guide diagnostic risk stratification and treatment choices when detected early. However, a full RNA-seq Bioinformatics workflow is time-consuming and costly in a clinical setting where rapid detection and accurate reporting of clinically relevant alterations are essential. To accelerate the identification of ALL-specific alterations (including gene fusions, single nucleotide variants and focal gene deletions), we developed the rapid screening tool RaScALL, capable of identifying more than 100 prognostically significant lesions directly from raw sequencing reads. RaScALL uses the k-mer based targeted detection tool km and known ALL variant information to achieve a high degree of accuracy for reporting subtype defining genomic alterations compared to standard alignment-based pipelines. Gene fusions, including difficult to detect fusions involving EPOR and DUX4, were accurately identified in 98% (164 samples) of reported cases in a 180-patient Australian study cohort and 95% (n=63) of samples in a North American validation cohort. Pathogenic sequence variants were correctly identified in 75% of tested samples, including all cases involving subtype defining variants PAX5 p.P80R (n=12) and IKZF1 p.N159Y (n=4). Accurate detection of intragenic IKZF1 deletions resulting in aberrant transcript isoforms was also detectable with 98% accuracy. Importantly, the median analysis time for detection of all targeted alterations averaged 22 minutes per sample, significantly shorter than standard alignment-based approaches, ensuring accerelated risk-stratification and therapeutic triage.

  Study EGAS00001006460

• Epigenome-wide methylation analysis of colorectal carcinoma, adenoma and normal tissue reveals novel biomarkers addressing unmet clinical needs

  Studies about CRC biomarker discovery have focused on methylation patterns in normal and colorectal tumor tissue, leading to a lack of knowledge of methylation in adenomas. Therefore, we performed the first epigenome-wide study to compare the epigenomes of all three tissue types combined, and to identify discriminatory biomarkers. Public Illumina MethylEPIC® data was collected from 552 normal, 118 carcinoma and 116 adenoma samples. Pairwise analyses were performed for discovery of differentially methylated probes (DMPs). We identified 693 813, 620 643 and 558 897 DMPs when comparing normal vs carcinoma, normal vs adenoma and adenoma vs carcinoma respectively. To double evidence (DE) these DMPs, analysis of Illumina 450K data from public datasets was performed. Through this analysis, 13 DE DMPs with │Δβ│≥0.3 were identified for adenoma vs carcinoma. A binary logistic regression model was generated to evaluate the discriminatory potential of these DE DMPS. The model was validated in an in-house experimental methylation dataset of 13 adenoma and 9 carcinoma samples. Our classifier reached a cross-validated AUC of 0.996 and 0.855 in the discovery and validation datasets respectively. A sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 95% were reached, with an overall accuracy of 96%. Our analysis show that methylation biomarkers have the potential to discriminate between normal, precursor and carcinoma tissues of the colorectum. More importantly, we highlight the power of the methylome, showing that DMPs can be used as biomarkers in the clinic to identify colorectal adenoma and carcinoma. 

  Study EGAS00001007017

• Clinical relevance of somatic copy-number alterations in plasma circulating tumor DNA from advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients treated with osimertinib

  Background: Somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) are associated with drug resistance in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The purpose of our study was to assess the clinical relevance and development of genome-wide SCNAs in plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) under osimertinib therapy.Methods: We included 43 patients with advanced EGFR T790M-positive lung adenocarcinoma who were treated with osimertinib after progression under previous EGFR-TKI therapy. We performed genomic profiling of ctDNA in plasma samples from each patient obtained pre-osimertinib and after patients developed resistance to osimertinib. SCNAs were detected by shallow whole-genome plasma sequencing and EGFR mutations were assessed by droplet digital PCR.Results: SCNAs in resistance-related genes (rrSCNAs) were detected in 10 out of 39 (25.6%) evaluable patients before start of osimertinib. The presence of rrSCNAs in plasma before initiation of osimertinib therapy was associated with a lower response rate to osimertinib (50% versus 86%, p=0.02) and was an independent predictor for shorter progression-free survival (adjusted HR 3.26, 95% CI 1.37-7.75, p=0.008) and overall survival (adjusted HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.09-5.34, p=0.03).Conclusions: Genomic profiling of plasma ctDNA is clinically relevant and affects the efficacy and clinical outcome of osimertinib. Our approach allows comprehensive assessment of SCNAs in plasma samples of lung adenocarcinoma patients and may help to guide genotype-specific therapeutic strategies in the future.

  Study EGAS00001004539

• Submission FAQ

  Submission FAQ Before Submission Is the EGA the right archive for my data? The most suitable archive for your data is dependent on the type of data you are wishing to submit and whether the data require public or controlled access. Public access is defined as complete and open access to all submitted data. On the contrary, controlled access, exerted by the EGA, requires formal applications to be made to access the submitted data files and metadata. EGA only accepts human-derived data subject to controlled access. If your submission contains other types of data, please choose the appropriate repository for it (see image below): ENA, EVA, ArrayExpress, BioSD and GWAS catalog.  Should your submission be subjected to controlled access? Data access conditions are normally defined in the original informed consent agreements signed by the participants involved in your study. All data submitted to the EGA is subject to controlled access. These consents prevent the derived data files, potentially identifiable, from being dispersed by open and public access. Controlled access data often refers to human data derived from medical research and consortium projects. If in doubt, consult the informed consent agreements that apply to your study The EGA enables you to hold a submission before publication. What data types can be submitted to the EGA? Data types accepted by the EGA can be split into three categories: Sequences: both in generic and platform-specific formats. Array-based: from raw signal files to processed matrices. Phenotypes: all possible phenotype formats are accepted. All manufacturer-specific raw data formats derived from major next generation sequencing platforms are accepted. Also generic sequence formats: flat reads in a FASTQ file, aligned sequences (BAM or CRAM files) as well as sequence variation files in VCF format. All array-based technologies are accepted, including raw data, intensity and analysis files, without any restriction on data formats accepted. We also accept and distribute phenotype data (associated to the samples) in almost any format: from an image to a README file. How long does a submission take? Submissions to EGA come in a variety of formats and sizes, thus it is difficult for us to exactly predict how long a submission will take. We, therefore, advise all of our submitters to allow as much time as possible to make a submission. Based on previous records, we anticipate that the submission process may take at least one month. The submitter’s familiarity with the procedures, possible technical issues that may arise during submission and the amount of data that is being submitted are the main factors that will affect the length of the submission process. However, each step of a regular submission should be considered when estimating the time it would take: Encryption of the files Upload of the files Metadata submission Archival of the files Release of the study and datasets to EGA webpage For example, the upload of the files depends on the submission size, while metadata submission mainly relies on each submitter’s expertise. Further, some steps (e.g. answering to inquiries) depend on the EGA Helpdesk team, which may take some days to be processed during busy times Is data deposited in the EGA secure? The EGA set-up consists of a secure computing facility for data processing, a shared EBI set-up for data submissions and distribution of data via data requests made through the EGA website. Data is also copied in the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) infrastructure, where all stored and distributed data is encrypted Data is encrypted along the submission process and stored securely, granting its access to authorised users exclusively. During the download process, through our Python Client or Aspera, all requested data is downloaded over secure https connections. All data at the EGA is encrypted, and only accessible (for log-in and download) through secure protocols. For further information please, visit our security overview. What documentation do I need to provide? All submissions require policy’s documentation: 'Data Access Agreement (DAA)', 'Data Processing Agreement (DPA)' and 'Authorized Submitters Formulary'. The data processors (EGA) and the data owners will also sign the DPA. Will all metadata be public? Among the submitted metadata we need to make the distinction between identifiable and unidentifiable metadata: (1) the former may allow the identification of the human the sample derived from (e.g. detailed geographical providence, personal name, family ancestry…); (2) while the latter can be used to interpret the data without compromising the anonymity of the patients. The majority of the metadata submitted to the EGA corresponds to the unidentifiable category (e.g. sequencer's model). This type of metadata is publicly available on the EGA website and other EBI resources/partners’ websites. On the other hand, some parts samples’ metadata are subject to being identifiable, and thus only accessible by authorized data requesters, with the exception of: 5 submitter-defined attributes of the sample: alias, title, subject_id, gender and phenotype. It is the submitter’s responsibility not to submit sensitive metadata in these public fields. 3 anonymised fields that pinpoint the sample record in archivals: sample’s EGA stable ID (EGAN…), BioSample ID (SAMEA…) and submitter’s center name. During Submission Are there any sample specific requirements for EGA? All samples submitted to the EGA must include the attributes of biological sex, subject ID (anonymised individual identifier) and phenotype information. These are critical for data findability and its analysis, and we highly recommend using controlled ontology terms where applicable. For example: defining tumour and non-tumour samples and/or defining disease state. The EGA recommends using the Experimental Factor Ontology Database to find ontologized terms that describe your sample phenotypes. How do I get an accession number to use in my publication? You will receive your study accession number (EGAS…) upon complete your submission, either: Programmatically. As soon as the metadata is submitted and validated your study will be assigned an accession number that will be given in the submission’s response. Manually registering your study and relevant metadata using the online metadata submission tool: the EGA submitter Portal. How are files uploaded to the EGA? Data files are uploaded into private submission drop boxes (i.e. environments to which you are granted access and where you can transfer your files) using INBOX or FTP. These spaces are provided as part of the submission procedure. Before uploading any file, you must encrypt your files, . Only encrypted files shall be uploaded to the drop boxes. Why does data need to to encrypted for my submitted files? It is one of the security steps the EGA has implemented. In case of a security breach, people without the proper encryption key will not be able to read or use the information that could have been leaked. This measure is essential when working with sensitive data, such as controlled access human data. All submitters must use crypt4gh to create EGA compliant files prior to uploading them. This encryption is GPG-based, using EGA’s public key. Why are my files not available if I see them in the INBOX? There exists a time window between the data upload and the availability of such files via the Submitter Portal. For this reason, some metadata (run and analysis objects) cannot be registered until at least 24 hours after the files have been uploaded to your box. Why are MD5 sum values generated for my submitted files? We require pre- and post- encryption MD5 (message-digest) checksum values to be provided for all submitted files. These 128-bit values are computed using the content of each file, creating unique sequences that allow us to ensure that file integrity has been maintained during the transfer process. In other words, if the MD5 checksums we generate and those you generated match, we infer that the content of the transferred files is correct (i.e. files are not corrupted or truncated). MD5 checksums are computed automatically using the crypt4gh tool provided. Your submission will not be accepted and may be significantly delayed if you do not provide MD5 checksum values for all data files in the required format. How can I check if my files are correctly uploaded to the inbox? It is important to check the status pf your file so you know whether your files are in the inbox, being processed, or if there is any issue with one of them. In order to check this, you should: Look for the file locally. Drag and drop it to the file table. Then bars will appear on the table, which means that we are processing it. Green: The files checksum are correct and your file will move to “ingested files”. No further actions are needed from your end.. Red: The files checksum does not match and your file needs to be re-uploaded. Please re-upload relevant files to your inbox using the same path. How can I add my dataset to the cBioPortal instance? In order to link your data to the cBioPortal, you must register it as a normal dataset in the Submitter Portal. For more information, please refer to the cBioPortal documentation. After Submission How do I use my accession number in my publication? We suggest the use of the below template, using your study accession ID (EGAS…) : Data has been deposited at the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA), which is hosted by the EBI and the CRG, under accession number EGASXXXXXXXXXXX. Further information about EGA can be found at https://ega-archive.org and "The European Genome-phenome Archive of human data consented for biomedical research" Your study ID will be the one that groups your whole submission, and thus its usage is recommended as such. Nevertheless, all metadata submitted to EGA hold a unique and persistent identifier (starting with EGA…) that can be used to identify specific records. For example, you could reference a specific dataset (EGAD…) or sample (EGAN…) in your publications (see full list of identifiers). How do I make my data searchable? Once you have finalized your submission, you can schedule the data release. Please take into account that the release process needs time for the files to be archived in our system, and for the Helpdesk team to validate your submission. Can I withdraw (meta)data from the EGA? We have methods in place for the secure removal of deposited (meta)data. Contact EGA-helpdesk for further details. EGA complies with FAIRness of (meta)data, and thus, even when the data is removed we keep an entry for their identifiers in our system. In other words, we execute a soft delete on canceled objects (e.g. a study): metadata is still stored in our systems, but it loses all links, cannot be queried and data files cannot be retrieved anymore. The reason behind this behaviour is so that queries using withdrawn data properly respond back (see example of a canceled study). What happens to the data once it has been submitted to the EGA? When the data is submitted, the submitter can choose either keep their data private or schedule the release of their data.

  Documentation submission/metadata/submission/FAQ

• Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma

  Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC) is a rare liver tumor primarily affecting adolescents and young adults. Little is known of the molecular pathogenesis. To characterize the disease we performed RNA sequencing and whole genome sequencing on FL-HCC tumors and adjacent normal tissue. The results demonstrate few consistent differences on the chromosomal level and many hundreds of alterations in the expression of RNA transcripts.

  Study phs000709

• Inherited T Cell Defects: Diagnosis, Mechanisms and Treatments

  Infants with abnormal newborn screen results for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and their parents were enrolled in UCSF IRB approved protocols with informed consent to have molecular and immunologic investigation to determine the cause of the infant's low T lymphocytes. Studies included exome sequencing of DNA from the infant and both parents. Candidate variants were investigated in mouse and zebrafish model organisms.

  Study phs002968

• Temporal and Clonal Progression in Pediatric Ependymoma

  Whole genome and exome-based DNA sequencing of germline and tumor specimens from serial samples of a single patient's ependymoma. The findings reveal the extent to which treatment with radiation and chemotherapies resulted in the diversification of the tumor subclonal architecture and shaped the neo-antigen landscape, and provide new insights into possible molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis, treatment response and recurrence.

  Study phs001461

• Rearrangements of the MAST Kinase and Notch Gene Families in Breast Cancer

  Paired-end transcriptome sequencing was performed on a panel of breast cancer cell lines and tissues and a set of benign cell line and tissue controls. Analyses of the paired end sequences were performed and chimeric transcripts derived from gene rearrangement events were identified. Sequencing was performed on Illumina GAII and HiSeq 2000 platforms with read lengths from 40 to 100 bases.

  Study phs000513

• Novel Gene-Environment Regulatory Circuit in Chamber-Specific Growth of Perinatal Heart

  We report a case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and lactic acidosis in a 3-year-old female. Cardiac and skeletal muscle biopsies exhibited mitochondrial hyperplasia with decreased complex VI activity. Whole exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous variants, p.Arg333Trp and p.Val119Leu, in TSFM, a nuclear gene that encodes a mitochondrial translation elongation factor, resulting in impaired oxidative phosphorylation and juvenile hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

  Study phs002725

• Developmental Dynamics of Translation in the Human Brain

  We performed ribosome profiling and RNA sequencing from a total of 43 adult brain and 30 prenatal brain samples. The age of adult brain donors ranged from 18 to 82 years (average 39.5 years), with an average post-mortem interval of 9.9 hours. The gestational age of prenatal cortex samples ranged from 12 to 23 weeks, with a mean of 19.9 weeks. 

  Study phs002489

• Investigating Human Placentation and Pregnancy Using First Trimester Chorionic Villi

  Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is routinely used for prenatal diagnosis of cytogenetic disorders, but also possesses great potential for studying placentation. To better understand villi biology, human placentation, and how these relate to pregnancy outcomes, we examined the morphology and transcriptomes of villi obtained via CVS from 10-14 weeks of pregnancy and correlated these with pregnancy attributes and clinical outcomes.

  Study phs001320

• Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): Mutational Landscape

  Multi-agent combination chemotherapy can be curative in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Still, patients with primary refractory disease or those with relapsed leukemia have a very poor prognosis. Here we report the mutational landscape of matched diagnostic and relapsed pediatric and adult ALL samples. Our data provides comprehensive annotation of genetic lesions acquired at relapse and reveals diagnostic and relapse-specific mutational mechanisms in ALL.

  Study phs001951

• Nanopore cDNA Sequencing of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

  While splicing changes caused by somatic mutations in SF3B1 are known, identifying full-length isoform changes may better elucidate the functional consequences of these mutations. We have performed nanopore sequencing of full-length cDNA from CLL samples with and without SF3B1 mutation, as well as normal B cell samples. With long reads, we analyzed alternative splicing patterns associated with SF3B1 mutation at an isoform-level.

  Study phs001959

• Single Cell Omics Resolves Transcriptional Alterations in Sjogren's Syndrome

  Single cell omics resolves transcriptional alterations in Sjogren's Syndrome. This data compares the single cell transcriptional profiles of the minor salivary glands between Sjogren’s Syndrome patients and non-Sjogren’s Syndrome subjects. Portions of this data were reported in two separate publications: Huang & Perez, et al., 2021 Nature Medicine and Yin, et al., 2021, Frontiers in Immunology . 

  Study phs002446

• Next Generation Mendelian Genetics: Auriculocondylar syndrome (ACS)

  This project is part of an ongoing project to identify the molecular genetic basis of rare craniofacial disorders. This specific project involved the collection of DNA samples from four probands with severe manifestations of auriculocondylar syndrome and their parents. Detailed clinical phenotypic data is available on each proband. The sole purpose of this research is to identify the molecular cause(s) of auriculochondylar syndrome.

  Study phs000437

• Inhibiting DNA Methylation Causes an Interferon Response in Cancer via dsRNA Including Endogenous Retroviruses

  We show that DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate immune signaling in cancer through the viral defense pathway and re-expression of epigenetically silenced endogenous retrovirus. In melanoma patients treated with an immune checkpoint therapy, high viral defense signature expression in tumors significantly associates with durable clinical response and DNMTi treatment sensitizes to anti-CTLA4 therapy in a pre-clinical melanoma model.

  Study phs001038

• Transcriptomic Profiling of Bulk Tissue and Laser-Capture Microdissected Neurons of Postmortem Human Brains in the Superior Temporal Gyrus

  We performed RNA-Seq on bulk tissue and laser-capture microdissected (LCM) neurons from 59 postmortem human brains in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) to investigate Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)-associated transcriptomic changes. We examined post-mortem brain tissue from 27 subjects with ASD and 32 neuro-typical controls. Raw RNA-Seq data in FASTQ format are provided.

  Study phs003208

• Elucidating Mechanisms of the Graft versus Leukemia Effect of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

  Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is an established mode of adoptive cellular therapy for treatment of relapsed disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the response rate to DLI is only 20%. Here we use next generation sequencing technologies to understand the transcriptomic and immunologic features associated with response or resistance to therapy.

  Study phs003630

• CD4 T Cell Subsets in Human Metastatic Melanoma

  We used single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) to define CD4+ T-cell subsets in melanoma tumors from patients undergoing tumor resection. All patients received immune checkpoint blockade prior to surgery. We identified multiple subsets in the tumor with transcriptional features of suppressive function, including TR1 cells and FOXP3+ Treg cells. Based on transcriptional profiles, classical helper T cell subsets were not prevalent.

  Study phs003816

• Single-Cell Sequencing of Genomic DNA, RNA, and ADT in CRISPR-Edited Cells

  CRAFTseq data containing multi-modal single-cell genomic DNA amplicon, cDNA and surface-protein from various primary cell types and cell lines, including human CD4 T cells, Jurkat cells, HH cells, Daudi cells and HEK293T cells. Cells were edited with CRISPR HDR or base editing. Also contains bulk RNA-seq data for edited human primary CD4 T cells and Daudi cells.

  Study phs004042

• Genetic and Epigenetic Screens in Primary Human T Cells Link Candidate Causal Autoimmune Variants to T Cell Networks

  We aimed to define the target genes and pathways in which autoimmune disease-associated genetic variants operate. We performed single cell-CRISPR-interference screens in primary human T cells and bulk RNA-seq on T cells containing CRISPRi and single gRNAs to assess how T cell regulatory regions containing autoimmune-associated genetic variants affect nearby gene expression and cellular programs.

  Study phs004072

• Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing of lineage-switched acute myeloid leukemia with KMT2A-AFF1 rearrangement

  We performed whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing of lineage-switched acute myeloid leukemia (LS AML) with KMT2A-AFF1 rearrangement to elucidate the feature and potential treatment targets. Notably, LS AML possessed gene expression signatures of monocytic myeloid derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs). Several known genes related to MDSCs were highly expressed in LS AML, which could be novel treatment targets.

  Study JGAS000631

• 1. Identidication of molecular biological mechanism associated with the development and prognosis of uterine cancer, uterine sarcoma, and endometrial hyperplasia / 2. Identification of molecular biological mechanism associated with the development of endometriosis and malignant transformation, ovarian cancer, fallopian tubal cancer, peritoneal cancer, and other malignant tumors in gynecological organs

  To identify molecular subtypes and carcinogenesis in clear cell ovarian carcinomas by whole-exome sequencing, RNA-sequencing, and methylation array, and to characterize high-grade serous carcinomas by NGS-based, integrative genomic analyses, with focus on homologous recombination deficiency, molecular subtypes and prognositic factors.

  Study JGAS000560