12393 results for ""statistically+reactive"+taxa+in+microbial+community"

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• Melanoma Genome Sequencing Project

  Melanoma is the most prevalent cause of skin cancer morbidity and mortality. In order to characterize the full range of somatic mutations that may drive the growth of melanoma, we are sequencing tumor and normal DNA from a set of roughly 150 melanomas. For the majority of samples (approximately 90% of the cases), mutations in protein coding genes will be assessed in the exonic DNA of tumor-normal pairs using hybrid capture and paired-end DNA sequencing. For a few of DNA samples (approximately 10% of the cases), the entire genomes will be analyzed to assess the possible contribution of complex structural rearrangements contributing to oncogenesis. The sequencing data are supplemented by copy number profiling on the same tumors using high-density SNP arrays. Integration of these approaches will enable the unbiased and comprehensive characterization of both known and novel recurrent DNA alterations that arise in melanoma.Versions 1-4 contain whole exome and bulk RNA sequencing data for patients with melanoma.Version 5 - We compared somatic genomic profiles from matched pre-treatment and post-resistance tumor biopsies in patients with metastatic melanoma who exhibited heterogeneous responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). This version includes whole exome sequencing (WES) data from 14 patients.

  Study phs000452

• 3D tissue engineered human skeletal muscle modelling Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

  acioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by sporadic misexpression of the transcription factor double homeobox 4 (DUX4) in skeletal muscles. So far, monolayer cultures and animal models have been used to study the FSHD disease mechanism and for FSHD therapy development, but these models do not fully recapitulate the disease and there is a lack of knowledge on how DUX4 misexpression leads to skeletal muscle dysfunction. To overcome these barriers, we have developed a 3D tissue engineered skeletal muscle (3D-TESM) model by generating genetically matched myogenic progenitors (MPs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells of three mosaic FSHD patients. 3D-TESMs derived from genetically affected MPs recapitulate pathological features including DUX4 and DUX4 target gene expression, smaller myofiber diameters, and reduced absolute forces upon electrical stimulation. RNA sequencing data illustrates increased expression of DUX4 target genes in 3D-TESMs compared to 2D myotubes, and cellular differentiation was improved by 3D culture conditions. Treatment of 3D-TESMs with small molecules identified in drug development screens in 2D muscle culture showed no improvements in contractile force and sarcomere organization, highlighting the potential benefit of 3D-TESMs for preclinical drug potency screening by eliminating false-positive compounds for FSHD research and drug development.

  Study EGAS50000000502

• BHD-associated kidney cancer

  Background Birt-Hogg-Dub? (BHD) syndrome is a hereditary kidney cancer syndrome, which predisposes patients to develop kidney cancer, cutaneous fibrofolliculomas and pulmonary cysts. The responsible gene, FLCN is a tumor suppressor for kidney cancer which plays an important role for energy homeostasis through the regulation of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism. However, how FLCN-deficiency leads to renal tumorigenesis is unclear. Results Whole-exome sequencing analysis of BHD-associated kidney cancer revealed that copy number variations (CNV) of BHD-associated kidney cancer are considerably different from those already reported in sporadic cases. Somatic mutation analysis revealed BHD-associated kidney cancer has quite few common mutations in specific genes; however, chromatin remodeling genes in total were frequently mutated in BHD-associated kidney cancer (17/29 tumors, 59%). Metabolite analysis revealed that glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway and lipid metabolism were upregulated whereas the rate of beta oxydation and TCA cycle is decreased in BHD-associated kidney cancer compared to normal adjacent kidney. Conclusions BHD-associated kidney cancer displays a unique molecular characteristics which is totally different from that of sporadic kidney cancer, providing the mechanistic insight into tumorigenesis under FLCN deficiency as well as the foundation for the development of novel therapeutics for kidney cancer.

  Study JGAS000115

• Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma case report

  Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma (SEF) is a rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcomathought to originate in fibroblasts of the tissues surrounding tendons, ligaments and muscles. Minimally responsive to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies, greater than 50% of SEF patients experience relapse and/or metastatic disease. SEF is most commonly discovered in middle-aged and elderly adults, but also rarely in children. A common gene fusion occurring between the EWSR1 and CREB3L1 genes has been observed in 80-90% of SEF cases. We describe here the youngest SEF patient reported to date (a 3-year-old Caucasian male) who presented with numerous bony and lung metastases. Additionally, we perform a comprehensive literature review of all SEF-related articles published since the disease was first characterized. The patient described in this report experienced persistent disease progression despite being heavily treated with multiple surgeries, radiation, numerous chemotherapies and targeted therapeutics. Primary tumor, metastatic and relapse sites were sequenced by whole genome, whole exome, and deep transcriptome next generation sequencing with comparison to a patient-matched normal blood sample. Consistent across all sequencing analyses was the disease-defining EWSR1-CREB3L1 fusion as a single feature consensus. We provide an analysis of our genomic findings and a discussion as to potential therapeutic strategies for SEF.

  Study EGAS00001005214

• ERG ALTERATIONS DEFINE A NOVEL SUBTYPE OF ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA

  Structural chromosomal alterations are a hallmark of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) yet many patients lack an identifiable abnormality on conventional cytogenetic analysis. Here, using integrated analysis of genome-wide DNA copy number and gene expression data of 1764 childhood and adult ALL cases, including whole-genome, exome and mRNA-sequencing of 72 cases, we report a novel subtype of B-progenitor ALL (B-ALL) representing 4-13% of B-ALL cases characterized by a distinct gene expression profile, and focal deletions of ERG (ETS related gene) in 56% of cases. These cases are characterized by expression of a ERG transcript that utilizes a novel exon in intron 6 of ERG spliced to the canonical reading frame of ERG exons 7-10, encoding a 27 kDa C-terminal ERG protein that retains the ETS and transactivating domains but lacks the N-terminal pointed and regulatory domains. This protein is a competitive inhibitor of wild-type ERG and is leukemogenic in vivo. ERG-altered ALL cases have a favourable outcome despite the presence of alterations associated with poor prognosis in non-ERG ALL, such as deletions of IKZF1. These findings identify a new subtype of leukemia characterized by a novel mechanism of ETS transcription factor dysregulation in cancer.

  Study EGAS00001000514

• An RCOR1 loss-associated gene expression signature identifies a prognostically significant DLBCL subgroup

  Effective treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is plagued by heterogeneous responses to standard therapy, and molecular mechanisms underlying unfavorable outcomes in lymphoma patients remain elusive. Here, we profiled 148 genomes with 91 matching transcriptomes in an R-CHOP-treated DLBCL cohort to uncover molecular subgroups linked to treatment failure. Systematic integration of high-resolution genotyping arrays and RNA-seq data revealed novel deletions in RCOR1 to be associated with unfavorable progression free survival (P = 0.001). Integration of expression data from the clinical samples with data from RCOR1 knockdowns in the lymphoma cell lines KM-H2 and Raji yielded an RCOR1 loss-associated gene signature comprising of 233 genes. This signature identified a subgroup of patients with unfavorable overall survival (OS) (P = 0.023). The prognostic significance of the 233-gene signature for OS was reproduced in an independent cohort comprising of 195 R- CHOP treated patients (P = 0.039). Additionally, we discovered that within the IPI low risk group, the gene signature provides additional prognostic value that was independent of the cell-of-origin phenotype. Taken together, we present a novel and reproducible molecular subgroup of DLBCL, impacting risk-stratification of R- CHOP treated DLBCL patients and revealing a new avenue for therapeutic intervention strategies.

  Study EGAS00001001000

• CancerLocator: Non-Invasive Cancer Diagnosis and Tissue-of-Origin Prediction Using Methylation Profiles of Cell-Free DNA

  Background: The detection and characterization of cell-free DNA in plasma is one of the most promising new areas in cancer diagnosis. Liquid biopsy, unlike traditional tissue biopsy, has the potential to diagnose a variety of different malignancies. Results: Here we propose a probabilistic method, CancerLocator, which exploits the diagnostic potential of cell-free DNA by determining not only the presence but also the location of tumors. CancerLocator simultaneously infers the proportions and the tissue-of-origin of tumor-derived cell-free DNA in a blood sample using genome-wide DNA methylation data. We comprehensively evaluate CancerLocator with simulations and real data, and compare its performance with that of two established multi-class classification methods. We show that the predicted tumor burdens are highly consistent with the true values. In addition, when the proportion of tumor-derived DNAs in the cell-free DNAs is low, the two popular machine learning methods completely fail for cancer diagnosis, while CancerLocator successfully overcomes the challenge. CancerLocator also achieves promising results on patient plasma samples, despite the fact that the DNA methylation data from these samples has very low sequencing coverage. Conclusions: CfDNA methylation may be developed as an important approach for non-invasive early cancer diagnosis.

  Study EGAS00001002211

• Whole genome sequencing of tumour and normal paired samples of diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas

  Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) have a universally dismal prognosis (median 9-12 months), with neither chemotherapeutic nor targeted agents showing any substantial survival benefit in clinical trials in children with these tumours. DIPG are highly infiltrative malignant glial neoplasms of the ventral pons, which due to their location within the brain, make them unsuitable for surgical resection and consequently have a universally dismal clinical outcome. Recent high-throughput sequencing approaches have revealed a striking prevalence of K27M mutations in the genes encoding the histone variants H3.3 (H3F3A) or H3.1 (HIST1H3B) in the childhood brain tumour DIPG. This K-to-M substitution confers a trans-dominant ablation of global H3K27 trimethylation, which likely profoundly alters gene expression through de-repression of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) target genes. Despite these advances in our understanding of the distinct biology of these tumours, approaches for specific novel therapeutic interventions are not clear, and little has been reported of the secondary mutations accompanying these changes. We carried out whole genome sequencing on a series of 20 tumour normal pairs of pre-treatment biopsy samples of DIPG, for which the patients underwent a safe stereotactic procedure, and whole exome sequencing on a further six tumour normal pairs obtained at autopsy.

  Study EGAS00001000572

• Novel genes for Intellectual Disability identified using whole genome sequence and pathway analysis

  Intellectual Disability (ID) is one of the most common global disorders. However for ~30% of patients with ID no cause is identified, despite a clinical diagnostic odyssey that includes genome wide clinical microarray (CMA). We carefully selected 8 trios, each composed of a child with ID and brain structural defect, and both normal parents for whole genome sequencing (WGS). We conducted WGS on the trio and filtered out de novo single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and then used a pathway-based refinement to select candidates. We confirmed a de novo pathogenic SNV in ARID1B, and likely pathogenic SNVs in CACNB3, SPRY4, PHF6, SQSTM1 and UPF1 in 5 of the 8 children. All genes except ARID1B and PHF6 are previously unreported for ID. We analysed our WGS data using 4 independent algorthims for copy number and structural variation including using de novo whole genome assembly. We confirmed one likely contributory 165kb de novo CNV (missed by CMA). We conducted a validation study of over 2000 exomes for our novel candidate genes and also present a strategy to analyze the non-coding sequence space. This study provides an extensive analysis of WGS in the context of ID and yielded causative variants in >60% of cases.

  Study EGAS00001001386

• Ewing and Ewing-like-sarcoma tumoroid biobank reveals distinct drug sensitivities: translocation makes the difference

  Ewing sarcoma (ES) and Ewing-like sarcomas (ELS) are highly aggressive tumors found in soft tissues and bone of mostly children and young adults. Despite being different in many aspects, including genetics, possible cell-of-origin, and pathology, patients with any of these entities all receive the same therapeutic regimen. Currently, there is a lack of preclinical cell models that can predict drug response of these entities in vitro. Here, we describe a pediatric ES and ELS tumor organoid (tumoroid) biobank containing tumoroids with different translocations, including EWSR1::FLI1, EWSR1::ERG, CIC::DUX4, and BCOR-rearrangements. Using histology, whole genome sequencing and RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that these tumoroids retain key properties of their matching patient tumors. In addition, we traced tumor subclones in the tumoroids across patient-matched longitudinal samples, which showed that cellular heterogeneity was maintained. We subsequently performed drug screening on the tumoroid models, which unveiled entity-specific drug sensitivity to various cytotoxic compounds and targeted compounds, including MCL-1 inhibitors for CIC::DUX4 sarcomas. Taken together, this newly established ES and ELS patient-derived tumoroid biobank generates a unique source of material for future basic cancer research and drug-screening.

  Study EGAS00001007941