3874 results for "*geneti*"

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• 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

• Genome_Diversity_in_Africa_Project___ancient_samples___standard_libraries

  Given the central importance of Africa to studies of human origins, genetic diversity and disease susceptibility, large-scale and representative characterisation of genetic diversity in Africa is needed. Analyses of ancient DNA from Africa would complement sequencing of modern African populations and provide unique opportunities to transform our understanding of the pre-history of the region. This approach would greatly refine our understanding of population structure and gene flow in Africa and globally, including genetic signatures of ancient admixture. This low coverage sequencing experiment will allow us to test and refine our pipeline for ancient DNA sequencing.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 EGAS00001001182

• Neuroblastoma relapse trio series from the AMC

  The majority of neuroblastoma patients have tumors that initially respond to chemotherapy, but a large proportion of patients will experience therapy-resistant relapses. The molecular basis of this aggressive phenotype is unknown. Whole genome sequencing of 23 paired diagnostic and relapsed neuroblastomas showed clonal evolution from the diagnostic tumor with a median of 29 somatic mutations unique to the relapse sample. Eighteen of the 23 relapse tumors (78%) showed RAS-MAPK pathway mutations. Seven events were detected only in the relapse tumor while the others showed clonal enrichment. In neuroblastoma cell lines we also detected a high frequency of activating mutations in the RAS-MAPK pathway (11/18, 61%) and these lesions predicted for sensitivity to MEK inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide a rationale for genetic characterization of relapse neuroblastoma and show that RAS-MAPK pathway mutations may function as a biomarker for new therapeutic approaches to refractory disease.

  Study EGAS00001001183

• Genome-wide DNA-methylation assessment by MethylCap-seq and Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChips: an independent large-scale comparison

  DNA-methylation is an important epigenetic feature in health and disease. Two cost-efficient genome-scale methodologies to assess DNA-methylation are MethylCap-seq and Illumina's Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChips (HM450). However, objective information regarding the best-suited methodology for a specific research question is scant. Therefore, we performed a large-scale evaluation on a set of 70 brain tissue samples obtained from 65 glioblastoma and 5 non-tumoral brain tissues, using a gold standard free Bayesian modeling procedure. While conditional specificity was adequate for both approaches, conditional sensitivity was systematically higher for HM450. Also the genome-wide characteristics were compared, revealing that the HM450 probes assess less than 10% of the regions identified as methylated by MethylCap-seq. Hence the latter method may detect more potentially relevant DNA-methylation, defined by either functional location or previously reported differentially methylated candidate regions. Our results therefore indicate that – at least for the tissue under study - both methodologies are complementary, with a higher sensitivity for HM450, but a far larger genome-wide coverage for MethylCap-seq. Note that here only the relevant MethylCap-seq data is deposited, for the HM450 data we refer to GEO (GSE60274).

  Study EGAS00001001191

• G&T-seq: parallel sequencing of the genomes and transcriptomes of single cells

  The ability to simultaneously sequence the genome and transcriptome of the same single cell offersa powerful means to dissect functional genetic heterogeneity at the cellular level. Here we describeG&T-seq, a method for separating and sequencing genomic DNA and full-length mRNA from singlecells. By applying G&T-seq to over 220 single cells we reveal cellular properties that cannot beinferred from DNA or RNA sequencing alone, including associations between DNA copy numbervariation and gene expression dosage. We further demonstrate the detection of coding interchromosomalfusions and single nucleotide variants in both the genomes and transcriptomes ofindividual cells. G&T-seq enables the study of genotype-phenotype associations in single cells, andthe investigation of DNA cell lineage trees of healthy and diseased tissues with transcriptome inferredcell types and states.

  Study EGAS00001001204

• 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

• The genomic landscape of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 (iAMP21-ALL)

  Intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 (iAMP21) results from breakage-fusion-bridge cycles and chromothripsis defines a cytogenetic subgroup of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) cases associated with a poor prognosis. To systematically characterize the mechanism of somatic alternations in iAMP21, we perform integrated genomic, cytogenetic and transcriptomic analysis of 128 cases.

  Study EGAS00001004998

• Genetic heterogeneity and dynamics of transcriptional subtypes in matched primary and recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

  To get a better understanding of different HNSCC subtypes, whole-exome (matched tumor-normal paits) and whole transcriptome sequencing to to elucidate underlying molecular processes. Here, we present the matched whole-exome sequencing data from 28 patients (normal tissue, tumor tissue, relapse).

  Study EGAS00001005005

• Prenatal lead exposure is associated with decreased cord blood DNA methylation of the glycoprotein VI gene involved in platelet activation and thrombus formation

  Early-life lead exposure impairs neurodevelopment and later exposure affects the cardiovascular system. Lead has been associated with reduced global 5-methylcytosine DNA methylation, suggesting that lead toxicity acts through epigenetic mechanisms. The objective of this study is to clarify how early life lead exposure alters DNA methylation of specific genes, using an epigenomic approach. We measured lead concentrations in urine (gestational week, GW, 8) and erythrocytes (GW 14), using ICP-MS, for 127 pregnant mothers recruited in the MINIMat food and supplementation cohort in rural Bangladesh. Cord blood DNA methylation was analyzed with the Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip and top sites were validated by methylation-sensitive high-resolution melt curve analysis. Maternal urinary lead concentrations (divided into quartiles) showed significant (after adjustment for FDR) inverse associations with methylation at nine CpGs. Three of these sites were in the 5’ end, including the promoter, of glycoprotein IV (GP6); cg18355337 (q=0.029, β=-0.30), cg25818583 (q=0.041, β=-0.18) and cg23796967 (q=0.047, β=-0.17). The methylation in another CpG site in GP6 was close to significant (cg05374025, q=0.057, β=-0.23). The erythrocyte lead concentrations (divided into quartiles) were also inversely associated with CpG methylation in GP6, although this was not statistically significant after FDR-adjustments. Eight CpG sites in GP6 constituted a differentially methylated region in relation to urinary lead (p=0.005, q=0.48) and erythrocyte lead (p=0.007, q=0.46). In conclusion, we found that moderate prenatal lead exposure appear to epigenetically affect GP6, a key component of platelet aggregation and thrombus formation, suggesting a novel link between early lead exposure and cardiovascular disease later in life.

  Study EGAS00001001575

• Cell-free DNA TAPS for early cancer detection

  Multimodal, genome-wide characterization of epigenetic and genetic information in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) could enable more sensitive early cancer detection. However, due to technological challenges associated with DNA methylation sequencing in low input cfDNA samples, most studies have been limited by DNA damage caused by bisulfite sequencing, or the qualitative nature of enrichment-based sequencing. Recently, we developed TET-assisted Pyridine Borane Sequencing (TAPS), which is a mild, bisulfite-free method for base-resolution direct DNA methylation sequencing. Here we optimized TAPS for cfDNA (cfTAPS) to provide high-quality and high-depth whole-genome cell-free methylomes. We applied cfTAPS to 85 cfDNA samples from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and non-cancer controls. From just 10 ng cfDNA (1-3 mL of plasma), we generated the most comprehensive cfDNA methylome to date. We demonstrated that cfTAPS provides multimodal information about cfDNA characteristics, including DNA methylation, tissue of origin, and DNA fragmentation. Integrated analysis of these epigenetic and genetic features enables accurate identification of early HCC and PDAC.

  Study EGAS00001004962

• UK10K NEURO UKSCZ

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. These samples have been collected from throughout the UK and Ireland. The samples fall into two main categories, approximately 500 have a full diagnostic work up. A proportion of these are cases with a positive family history of schizophrenia, either collected as sib-pairs or from multiplex kindred's. The second group consist mainly of >300 samples that have been systematically collected within South Wales and in addition to full diagnostic work up have undergone detailed cognitive testing. All samples have obtained a DSM IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.For further information on this cohort please contact Michael Owen (OwenMJ@cardiff.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000123

• DNA methylation and somatic mutations converge on cell cycle and define similar evolutionary histories in brain tumors

  The evolutionary history of tumor cell populations can be reconstructed from patterns of genetic alterations. In contrast to the stability of genetic events, epigenetic states are reversible and sensitive to the microenvironment, prompting the question whether epigenetics can be similarly used to discover tumor phylogeny. We examined the spatial and temporal dynamics of DNA methylation in a cohort of low-grade gliomas and their patient-matched recurrences. Genes upregulated through promoter hypomethylation during malignant progression to high-grade glioblastoma were enriched in cell cycle function, evolving in parallel with genetic alterations that deregulate the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint. Moreover, phyloepigenetic relationships robustly recapitulated phylogenetic patterns inferred from somatic mutations. These findings highlight widespread co-dependency of genetic and epigenetic events throughout brain tumor evolution.

  Study EGAS00001001255

• Institut Curie Neuroblastoma Whole Genome Sequencing Diagnosis Relapse

  Neuroblastoma, a clinically heterogeneous pediatric cancer, is characterized by distinct genomic profiles but few recurrent mutations. As neuroblastoma is expected to have high degree of genetic heterogeneity, study of neuroblastoma's clonal evolution with deep coverage whole-genome sequencing of diagnosis and relapse samples will lead to a better understanding of the molecular events associated with relapse. Samples were included in this study if sufficient DNA from constitutional, diagnosis and relapse tumors was available for WGS. Whole genome sequencing was performed on trios (constitutional, diagnose and relapse DNA) from eight patients using Illumina Hi-seq2500 leading to paired-ends (PE) 90x90 for 6 of them and 100x100 for two. Expected coverage for sample NB0175 100x100bp was 30X for tumor and constitutional samples. For the seven other patients expected coverage was 80X for tumor samples with PE 100x100, 100X in the other tumor samples and 50X for all constitutional samples (see table 1). Following alignment with BWA (Li et al., Oxford J, 2009 Jul) allowing up to 4% of mismatches, bam files were cleaned up according to the Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK) recommendations (Van der Auwera et al., Current Protocols in Bioinformatics, 2013, picard-1.45, GenomeAnalysisTK-2.2-16). Variant calling was performed in parallel using 3 variant callers: GenomeAnalysisTK-2.2-16, Samtools-0.1.18 and MuTect-1.1.4 (McKenna et al., Genome Res, 2010; Li et al., Oxford J, 2009 Aug; Cibulskis et al., Nature, 2013). Annovar-v2012-10-23 with cosmic-v64 and dbsnp-v137 were used for the annotation and RefSeq for the structural annotation. For GATK and Samtools, single nucleotide variants (SNVs) with a quality under 30, a depth of coverage under 6 or with less than 2 reads supporting the variant were filter out. MuTect with parameters following GATK and Samtools thresholds have been used to filter our irrelevant variants. .SNVs within and around exons of coding genes overlapping splice sites.. Then,variants reported in more than 1% of the population in the 1000 genomes (1000gAprl_2012) or Exome Sequencing Project (ESP6500) have been discarded in order to filter polymorphisms. Finally, synonymous variants were filtered out. MuTect focuses on somatic by filtering with constitutional sample. Mpileup comparison between constitutional and somatic DNAs allowed us to focus also on tumor specific SNVs with GATK and Samtools. Finally, every SNV called by our pipeline and also supported in any constitutional samples were filtered our in order to prevent putative constitutional DNA coverage deficiency. Then we analyzed CNVs (copy number variants) with HMMcopy-v0.1.1 (Gavin et al., Genome Res, 2012) and control-FREEC-v6.7 (Boeva et al., Bioinformatics 2011) with a respective window of 2000bp and 1000 bp, and auto-correction of normal contamination of tumor samples for Control-FREEC. Finally we explored Structural variants (SVs) including deletions, inversions, tandem duplications and translocations using DELLY-v0.5.5 with standard parameters (Rausch et al., Oxford J, 2012). In tumors, at least 10 supporting reads were required to make a call and 5 supporting reads for the sample NB0175 with a coverage of only 40X (see table 2). To predict SVs in constitutional samples for subsequent somatic filtering, only 2 supporting reads were required in order not to miss one. To identify somatic events, all the SVs in each normal sample were first flanked by 500 bp in both directions and any SVs called in a tumor sample which was in the combined flanked regions of respective normal sample was removed (see graph 1). Deletions with more than 5 genes impacted or larger than 1Mb and inversions or tandem duplications covering more than 4 genes, were removed. We focused on exonic and splicing events for deletions, inversions, and tandem duplications. For translocation, we keep all SVs that occurred in intronic, exonic, 5'UTR, upstream or splicing regions. Bioinformatics detection of variations with Deep sequencing approach Once PE reads merged and adaptors trimmed by SeqPrep with default parameters, merged reads were aligned via the BWA (Li H. and Durbin R. 2009 PMID 19451168) allowing up to 1 differences in the 22-base-long seeds and reporting only unique alignments. Only reads having a mapping quality 20 or more have been further analysed. Variant calling software was not used, since we aimed to predict variations at low frequencies, observed in less than 1% of reads. Such variants require a custom approach. Using DepthOfCoverage functions of the Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK) v2.13.2 (McKenna A, et al., 2010 Genome Research PMID: 20644199), we focused on high quality coverage of bases A, C, G and T at the targeted variant position. Depth of coverage of each base following a mapping quality higher than 20 and a base quality higher than 10 have been taken into account in order to focus only on high quality data. Aiming to determine the background level of variability at the studied regions, 10 control samples were included in the analysis. The same approach and filtering criteria have been applied as introduced above over the entire amplicons. In order to highlight variants, for each sample the frequencies of each bases at each amplicon position were then compared to those observed in the set of controls. Statistical analyses were performed with the R statistical software (http://www.R-project.org). Fisher’s exact two-sided tests with a Bonferroni correction were performed to compare percentages of bases between the data sets, i.e. for a given base between a case and the controls. Finally, significant variations were filtered-in once (i) a significant increase in the percentage of avariant base and (ii) a significant decrease in the percentage of it's reference base following our p.values criteria was observed (p.val < 0.05).

  Study EGAS00001001184

• MutWP5__CRUK_Mutographs_of_Cancer__Breast__Reduction_Mammoplasty___Exome__Novaseq_

  Cancer is a genetic disease caused by an accumulation of mutations, however many of these mutations have been identified in pathologically normal tissue. We aim to use laser-capture microscopy (LCM) to sample individual clones from breast tissue to identify whether cancer-associated mutations appear in this normal tissue, assess the mutational burden present, and identify the mutational processes causing these mutations. We will sample from a wide age range of individuals (<20 to >60 years old) to determine whether these processes differ in pre- and post-menopausal women. We will also be comparing the tissue from healthy individuals (samples from breast reduction surgery) to those at elevated risk of breast cancer (mastectomy from BRCA1/2 patients) and those who have breast cancer (adjacent normal, distal normal, and tumour tissue from mastectomy). This will allow us to determine how these processes are different between these groups of individuals, and gain insight into the earliest stages of tumor development.

  Study EGAS00001003527

• Primary prostate Hi-C

  Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease whose progression is linked to genome instability. Despite large-scale tumour sequencing efforts, the impact of mutations on the genetic architecture in cancer remains ill-defined due to limited integration of genomics data across dimensions. We addressed this limitation by assessing the impact of structural variants on the chromatin states and the three-dimensional organization across benign and malignant primary prostate genomes. We find high concordance in the three-dimensional genome organization between malignant and benign prostate tissues, arguing for constraints to the three-dimensional genome of prostate tumours. Moreover, we identify structural variants as effectors of changes to focal chromatin interactions, guiding cis-regulatory element hijacking that imposes opposing expression changes on genes found at antipodes of a rearrangement. This leads to the repression of tumour suppressor gene expression and up-regulation of oncogenes, such as at the TMPRSS2-ERG and PMEPA1-ZNF156 loci. Collectively, our results argue that cis-regulatory element hijacking by structural variants overshadows large-scale topological changes to alter gene regulation and promote oncogenesis.

  Study EGAS00001005014

• Transcriptomic and epigentic analysis of human peripheral blood NK cell subsets revealing role of Bcl11b in differentiation

  Transcriptomic analysis of seven human peripheral blood NK cell subsets and three T cell subsets purified from healthy cytomeglovirus seropositive donors. Epigenetic analysis including identification of open chromatin and active enhancer elements confirms key regulatory factors defining an NK cell differentiation axis. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation sequencing reveals contribution of key transcription factors associated with NK cell differentiation including Bcl11b.

  Study EGAS00001005025

• Genomic characterization of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma reveals critical genes underlying tumorigenesis and poor prognosis

  The genetic mechanisms underlying the poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are not well understood. In this study, we comprehensively characterized somatic mutations, copy number alterations (SCNAs)/structural variants (SVs) found in ESCC from sequencing 10 whole-genome and 57 whole-exome matched tumor-normal pairs. We identified multiple somatic mutations seen previously in known cancer pathways and identified candidate genes for ESCC including VANGL1 and MIR4707. A survival analysis based on the expression profiles of 321 ESCC individuals indicated that the somatically altered genes we found were significantly associated with ESCC poorer survival. Subsequently, we performed functional studies to validate the roles of the altered genes in tumor proliferation and metastasis.

  Study EGAS00001001723

• HipSci HumanExome BeadChip analysis-Rare_BBS

  The HipSci project brings together diverse constituents in genomics, proteomics, cell biology and clinical genetics to create a UK national iPS cell resource and use it to carry out cellular genetic studies. In this sub-study we performed Genotyping analysis using the Infinium HumanExome BeadChip on iPS cells generated from skin biopsies or blood samples from rare disease patients diagnosed with Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

  Study EGAS00001001272

• Induced Pluripotent Cells Derived from Differentiated Rod Photoreceptors Undergo Efficient Retinogenesis in Three-Dimensional Cultures

  "Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are used to study lineage-specific differentiation in culture. We developed a standardized quantitative protocol called STEM-RET to compare eye field specification, optic cup formation, and retinal differentiation across stem cell populations. We reprogrammed individual rod photoreceptors into iPSCs by inducible expression of Oct3/4, Klf4, Sox2, and Myc. We also developed ESC lines from rods by somatic cell nuclear transfer. Using the STEM-RET protocol, we compared the abilities of ESCs, fibroblast-derived iPSCs (f-iPSCs), rod photoreceptor-derived iPSCs (r-iPSCs), and rod photoreceptorderived ESCs to form retinae using STEM-RET. r-iPSCs were the most efficient at producing differentiated retina. Retinae derived from f-iPSCs lacked an inner nuclear layer (INL) and had a concomitant reduction in amacrine cells and other INL cell populations. The INL-specific LIM homeobox gene, Lhx9, was hypermethylated in fiPSCs and concomitantly downregulated in retinae derived from those stem cells. ChIP-seq analysis for H3K36me3, H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9/14Ac, H3K27me3, H3K9me3, CTCF and 5 hydroxymethyl cytosine showed that the major difference between the r-iPSCs and the f-iPSCs were in the genes marked by the CTCF insulator protein. Importantly, CTCF binding enrichment at rod photoreceptor specific genes was at least 10-fold higher in r-iPSCs relative to f-iPSCs. Taken together, our data suggest that both inhibitory and permissive epigenetic marks important for retinal development can be retained in iPSCs and such marks can be exploited to select the most favorable stem cell population to study retinal development or produce photoreceptor precursors for cell transplantation."

  Study EGAS00001001288

• Neuroblastoma Evolution

  Here, we quantify the somatic evolution of neuroblastomas by deep (80x) whole-genome sequencing, molecular clock analysis and population-genetic modeling in a comprehensive cohort (Hipo_K09R) covering all subtypes.

  Study EGAS00001006533

• Epigenome and transcriptome profiling of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by substantial clinical heterogeneity, despite relatively few genetic alterations. To provide a basis for studying epigenome deregulation in CLL, we established genome-wide chromatin accessibility maps for 88 CLL samples from 55 patients using the ATAC-seq assay, and we also performed ChIPmentation and RNA-seq profiling for ten representative samples. Based on the resulting dataset, we devised and applied a bioinformatic method that links chromatin profiles to clinical annotations. Our analysis identified sample-specific variation on top of a shared core of CLL regulatory regions. IGHV mutation status – which distinguishes the two major subtypes of CLL – was accurately predicted by the chromatin profiles, and gene regulatory networks inferred for IGHV-mutated vs. IGHV-unmutated samples identified characteristic differences between these two disease subtypes. In summary, we discovered widespread heterogeneity in the chromatin landscape of CLL, established a community resource for studying epigenome deregulation in leukemia, and demonstrated the feasibility of chromatin accessibility mapping in cancer cohorts and clinical research.

  Study EGAS00001001821

• Genetic analysis of HLA and immune escape genes in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

  Fifty percent of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cases lack cell-surface expression of the class-I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I), thereby escaping immune recognition by cytotoxic T cells. In order to comprehensively identify the mechanisms involved in MHC-I loss, we first performed immunophenotypic analysis of both MHC class-I and -II in 657 cases across the spectrum of B-NHL, revealing that loss of MHC-I, but not MHC-II, is preferentially restricted to DLBCL. We then used whole exome and targeted deep-sequencing to examine genes involved in MHC-I expression in 74 DLBCL samples representative of MHC-I positive and negative cases. We show here that somatic biallelic or monoallelic inactivation of B2M and/or HLA-I is present in 80.9% (34/42) of MHC-I negative tumors. Furthermore, 68.8% (22/32) of MHC-I positive DLBCLs also harbored monoallelic HLA-I genetic alterations (MHC-I positivemono) that lead to allelic imbalance, suggesting allele-specific inactivation. Both MHC-I negative and MHC-I positivemono cases showed a significantly higher mutational burden as well as a higher number of inferred neo-antigens, suggesting co-selection of HLA-I loss and sustained neo-antigen production. Interestingly, the analysis of > 500.000 individuals in two databases revealed homozygosity of germline HLA-I genes in 26-38% of DLBCL patients, a frequency significantly higher than that observed in any other cancer type. In mice, germinal-center B cells lacking HLA-I expression did not progress to lymphoma and were counterselected in the context of oncogene-driven lymphomagenesis, suggesting that additional events are needed to license immune evasion. These results suggest a multi-step process of HLA-I loss including both germ-line and somatic events in DLBCL development, and have direct implications for the pathogenesis and immunotherapeutic targeting of this disease.

  Study EGAS00001005054

• Tumor-derived cell lines as pharmacogenomic models to predict therapeutic vulnerabilities in hepatocellular carcinoma

  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous aggressive malignancy with low efficacy of current therapies at advanced stages. We integrated molecular and pharmacological profiling of a large panel of liver cancer cell lines (LCCL) to assess their clinical relevance as HCC preclinical models and identify new effective therapies and biomarkers of response. We performed multi-omic analysis including whole-exome, RNA and miRNA sequencing and quantification of 126 proteins in a series 34 LCCL coupled with a screening of 29 anti-cancer agents. Molecular profiles of LCCL and primary HCC were compared and we searched for molecular features associated with drug response. Our panel of LCCL faithfully recapitulated the most aggressive molecular "proliferation class" of HCC. Genomic alterations of the RAS-MAPK pathway correlated with trametinib sensitivity that was more potent than FGFR4 inhibitors in tumor cells depending on the FGF19/FGFR4 pathway. Moreover, we showed that FGF19 amplification was only functional in tumor cells that retained a hepatocyte differentiation program with expression of FGFR4, KLB and NR1H4 highlighting the complex interplay between the genomic and transcriptomic context in drug response. We also identified drugs/combination that could target efficiently the transcriptomic "progenitor subclass of HCC", as well as specific genetic contexts such as inactivating mutations in TSC1/TSC2 and TP53 associated with higher sensitivity to the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and the AURKA inhibitor alisertib, respectively. LCCL represent relevant preclinical models for drug-biomarker discovery in HCC and enabled to identify molecular contexts linked with particular therapeutic vulnerabilities that may be useful to stratify patients in future clinical trials

  Study EGAS00001003536

• Targeting FGFR1 for treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma (H021)

  Purpose: Altered FGFR1 signaling has emerged as therapeutic target in various epithelial malignancies. In contrast, the role of FGFR1 in soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) has not been established. Prompted by the detection and subsequent therapeutic inhibition of amplified FGFR1 in a patient with metastatic leiomyosarcoma, we investigated the oncogenic properties and potential as drug target of FGFR1 in STS.Experimental Design: The frequency of FGFR1 amplification and overexpression, as assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization, microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization and mRNA expression profiling, SNP array profiling, and RNA sequencing, was determined in three independent patient cohorts. The sensitivity of STS cell lines with or without FGFR1 alterations to genetic and pharmacologic FGFR1 inhibition and the signaling pathways engaged by FGFR1 were investigated using short-term viability assays, long-term colony formation assays, and biochemical analysis.Results: Increased FGFR1 copy number was detected in 74 of 190 (38.9%; Cohort 1), 13 of 79 (16.5%; Cohort 2), and 80 of 254 (31.5%; Cohort 3) patients. FGFR1 overexpression occurred in 16 of 79 (20.2%, Cohort 2) and 39 of 254 (15.4%; Cohort 3) patients. Targeting of FGFR1 by short hairpin RNA-mediated knockdown and different small-molecule inhibitors (PD173074, AZD4547, BGJ398) revealed that the requirement for FGFR1 signaling in STS cells is primarily dictated by FGFR1 expression levels, and identified the MAPK-ERK1/2 axis as critical FGFR1 effector pathway.Conclusion: These data identify FGFR1 as driver gene in multiple STS subtypes and support FGFR1 inhibition, guided by patient selection according to FGFR1 expression and monitoring of MAPK-ERK1/2 signaling, as therapeutic option in this challenging group of diseases.H021

  Study EGAS00001001844

• Recapitulation of genetic predisposition to medulloblastoma in human neuroepithelial stem cells

  Human neural stem cell cultures provide progenitor cells that are potential cells of origin for brain cancers. However, the extent to which genetic predisposition to tumor formation can be faithfully captured in stem cell lines is uncertain. Here we evaluated neuroepithelial stem (NES) cells, representative of cerebellar progenitors. We transduced NES cells with MYCN, observing medulloblastoma upon orthotopic implantation in mice. Significantly, transcriptomes and patterns of DNA methylation from xenograft tumors were globally more representative of human medulloblastoma compared to a MYCN-driven genetically engineered mouse model. Orthotopic transplantation of NES cells generated from Gorlin syndrome, patients predisposed to medulloblastoma due to germline mutated PTCH1, also generated medulloblastoma. We engineered candidate cooperating mutations in Gorlin NES cells, with mutation of DDX3X or loss of GSE1 both accelerating tumorigenesis. These findings demonstrate that human NES cells provide a potent experimental resource for dissecting genetic causation in medulloblastoma.

  Study EGAS00001003620