3993 results for "*geneti*"

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• Data upcycling, powered by EGA

  In 2012 a collaborative effort headed by the teams of Carlos Caldas in Cambridge, UK and Samuel Aparicio, Canada, produced a pivotal study aimed at defining the mutational landscape of breast cancer. They gathered a collection of over 2000 breast cancer samples (METABRIC) associated with long-term clinical follow-up. They delineated an array of inherited and somatically acquired genetic variants and associated them to gene expression. This led to the identification of putative cancer-driving events and improved stratification of breast cancer patients. The study elicited huge attention and was tackled as herculean effort by fellow researchers. Cristina Curtis and her colleagues deposited the data in the EGA archive (EGAS00000000083). What they probably could not foresee is that their data would be reused more than 100 times, becoming one of the most downloaded datasets at EGA. In 2015, Frederik S. Varn and colleagues accessed the above-mentioned data from the New Hampshire, USA, to correlate it to transcriptional programs of hematopoietic cells infiltrated in breast tumours and found that those can influence patients' prognosis. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, improved the understanding of the interplay between immune system and cancer. Again, in 2017 the dataset was downloaded by an Italian/Polish collaboration and used to corroborate their mechanistic study that demonstrate how a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is aberrantly localized into the chromatin, where it modulates oncogenic isoforms expression, thus contributing to breast cancer. To date, the METABRIC dataset has been reused to contribute to 147 publications. Its impact on breast cancer research is incalculable, and it even spread beyond that, with recent contributions to the understanding of pan-cancer mechanisms and features. Some of the publications are translating into improvements in diagnosis and treatment of different types of breast cancer. This is just an example of how data upcycling can amplify the potential of any dataset, well past the scope of its creation, the imagination of its owners and any geographical border. At EGA, we are proud to empower such fruitful worldwide cycles of knowledge, providing a platform that enables safe sharing of sensitive genetic data.

  Blog data-upcycling-powered-by-ega

• Youth-GEMs, the project using data to define the mental health trajectories of young people

  Mental health trajectories are shaped by genetic, cognitive, social, and environmental factors that are particularly influential during human development. How exactly the interplay between these factors is impacting mental health, however, is yet unknown. The project “Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth (Youth-GEMs)”, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme, aims to help reducing mental suffering among European youth. How do Youth-GEMs contribute to bettering mental health in young people? Youth-GEMs aims to identify specific neurological, (epi)genetic and environmental drivers on mental health trajectories of young people. To do so, the project is working on a public knowledge base on functional genomics of the developing human brain, between birth and 24 years old. Reliable predictive models for trajectories of onset and course of mental illness in young people of the general population in Europe will be developed. Additionally, a secure and FAIR data infrastructure in mental health is being produced. Engaging and empowering young people Youth-GEMs is also working on the engagement of young people in the scientific field of Psychiatry. For that, the project is developing initiatives such as Science Café, intended to create a learning community where ideas and stories are shared. The 10th Science Café will take place today, with the participation of Lauren Fromont from the EGA. How do the EGA contribute to Youth-GEMs? The contributions require careful data management and harmonisation: we are dealing with an extraordinary amount of data types, sources, and time points (since the studies are longitudinal). To analyse them together and to determine which factors and interactions are truly key to account for mental health trajectories, the variables need to be transformed in a common “language”, i.e., harmonised under a common data model. Further, to guarantee FAIRness of data storage and sharing for future projects that will further advance our knowledge in the mental health field, we are ensuring that data are processed securely but can also be discovered easily. Find out more information about the project in the Youth-GEMs website.

  Blog youth-gems-mental-health

• From research to data sharing: exploring EGA user's experiences

  The Cell Plasticity and Regeneration Group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL focuses on the process of recruitment of macrophages that takes place in the small intestine during injury and healing. They recently published a paper titled “Mucosal Macrophages Govern Intestinal Regeneration in Response to Injury" in Gastroenterology Journal. As part of the research, some experiments were conducted using human intestinal organoid lines. These cells were processed for RNA sequencing, and the sequencing data were deposited at the EGA to be made available to the scientific community. When dealing with human genomic information, repositories must ensure the availability of the datasets while ensuring data protection. In this context, the European Genome-phenome Archive stands as a service for secure archiving and sharing of genetic, phenotypic and clinical data resulting from biomedical research. Following the recent publication of their paper, we took the opportunity to talk to Ilias Moraitis, first author, and Jordi Guiu, group leader, to find out about their experience with data sharing. Could you explain the focus of your research? In the lab, we study intestinal regeneration and how immune cells participate in this process. We use several techniques: engineered mouse models, image tracing, as well as mouse and human cells intestinal organoids. What challenges do you face regarding data management? We didn’t have a lot of problems. Always the informatic part, the data analysis, can give problems. But everything was smooth and working. We think it’s very important to deposit the data in repositories. For the mouse data it is very straightforward, but for us it was the first time depositing human data, which is sensitive because it comes from patients, and this is legally regulated. That’s why we thought about the EGA, and it was our first time. Why do you think it is important to submit data to repositories such as EGA? Because we think data is important for the science. Nowadays, we are sequencing a lot everywhere worldwide and having these resources shared with the scientific community it’s not only good for science, but it is also saving money and reducing costs. And there is so much data in there that can be used for other projects and for other questions. And it saves time! How was the process of submitting the data to the EGA? The communication worked very well but it was slower than we would like. But I think this is something we learn on the way. People usually wait until the last minute to do this before publication but if you know it in advance, you can start the process earlier. If you had to repeat the process, would you do anything differently? It’s like everything, isn’t it? For the first time you don’t know, you aren’t sure, but for the second time you know the steps, you know what to do and it’s faster. Of course, we would to do it earlier. Also, there were some things related to the control access that we didn’t know how to manage, but it was something more internal to us. Who is going to receive the communications and when, is our ethical committee going to evaluate this? All these technicalities that we didn’t know before starting this process, so we had to think about all these things. Next time it will be faster on our side. Do you have any suggestions for us to improve the submission process? Maybe we’ll need to ask our bioinformatician who did it! He was in charge of this part. Besides that, we think if the process were faster, it would be better for everyone. Also, in science a lot of times you have to do a lot of things at the very last minute, because of the nature of the experiments, or the need to accomplish for submitting a paper. Being faster in the process would be a plus. On your side, we went through the process and were able to find some information, but there were aspects we weren't aware of and weren't sure how to handle. I'm not sure if other institutes have different protocols for managing data requests or how they handle these internally. We believe the main issue lies in how the forms are filled out. Do you have any recommendations for other submitters? The main advice is to do this with enough time. Submit the data when you have the sequences, and don’t wait until the last minute. And then it can be under embargo, so you don’t need to make it public at that moment. As soon as you sequence, upload it and then it will be there for whenever you need to publish. How do you think we could encourage other researchers to submit their data? There are different layers here. One is that it is mandatory. You have to do this. The other is that we belong to a research community, to the same community and sharing this is making our research community stronger and more efficient. And then, also because this gives you visibility. The data is there, other people can analyse your data, and this also will bring citations to your papers. It has many advantages.

  Blog from-research-to-data-sharing

• Solve-RD multi-omics data chud-faivre cohort

  The dataset includes short-read whole-genome sequencing (SR-WGS) data, SR-RNAseq data, OGM (Bionano) data, LR-WGS data, Epigenetics (RBSS) data and deep-WES data generated within the project Solve-RD from biosamples submitted by the group chud-faivre. The cohorts consists of 111 individuals recruited as part of Solve-RD cohorts 2-4 and aligns with ERN-ITHACA related disease entities (for a description of the Solve-RD cohorts see www.solve-rd.eu/fact-sheet-solve-rd-cohorts).

  Dataset EGAD00001015811

• Reduced platelet formation associated with serine metabolic dysregulation in integrin αIIbβ3-deficient megakaryocytes

  Glanzmann Thrombasthenia (GT) is characterized by absent platelet aggregation in response to all agonists except ristocetin and is caused by recessive inactivating variants in ITGA2B or ITGB3. While GT patients typically are described as having normal platelet counts, autosomal dominant activating variants in ITGA2B or ITGB3 cause macrothrombocytopenia. Interestingly, in our cohort of 16 GT patients, eight consistently exhibited platelet counts at the lower end of the normal range. We studied the role of integrin αIIbβ3 in platelet formation using megakaryocytes (MKs) derived from genetically modified immortalized megakaryocyte cell lines (imMKCLs), focusing on two modifications of ITGB3: ITGB3-/- (inactivating) and ITGB3WT/D673_E713del (activating). In static differentiation cultures, ITGB3-/- and ITGB3WT/D673_E713del imMKCLs exhibited normal MK differentiation but reduced proplatelet formation. Platelet production was also impaired in a 3D silk-based bone marrow system and in shaking cultures, confirming a quantitative role for ITGB3 in platelet production, independent of the type of variant. While TRAP-activated in vitro-generated platelets lacking αIIbβ3 failed to bind the activation-dependent PAC-1 antibody, ITGB3WT/D673_E713del platelets bound PAC-1 prior to activation mimicking the patient’s phenotype. Transcriptome profiling and metabolomic analyses ofintegrin αIIbβ3 deficient MKs revealed impaired serine metabolism and downregulation of SLC3A2 (CD98hc), an amino acid transporter chaperon known to interact with the β3 subunit. Flow cytometry confirmed decreased CD98hc in mutant MKs, while re-expression of wild-type ITGB3 in ITGB3-/- MKs restored αIIbβ3 and CD98hc expression, normalized proplatelet formation, and enhanced serine uptake. These results uncover a previously unrecognized role of integrin αIIbβ3 in coupling serine metabolism to platelet biogenesis.

  Study EGAS50000001711

• RNA sequencing of genetically modifed immortalized megakaryocytes

  The dataset contains bulk RNAseq samples from 7 ITGB3 mutants (3 with ITGB3 knock-out and 4 with an ITGB3 splice variant) compared to 4 wildtypes. The ITGB3 mutants and WT_1 and WT_2 are from the same batch; WT_3 and WT_4 are from another sequencing batch. The library was performed using the TruSeq Stranded Total RNA with Ribo-Zero H/M/R_Gold kit and the read length is 100 bp.

  Dataset EGAD50000002462

• VLAIO DenMark Project Data Access Committee

  The VLAIO DenMark Project Data Access Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving controlled-access requests for human genetic, immunological, omics, and associated phenotype data generated within the VLAIO O&O project HBC.2022.0988, titled “Use of multimodel omics technologies to study Dengue host response markers”. The project is a collaboration between Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Universiteit Gent, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, covering dengue host-response data generated from human challenge, natural infection, and related biomarker studies. The DAC evaluates whether proposed data use is consistent with participant consent, applicable ethics approvals, data protection requirements, institutional policies, and the data access policy linked to the relevant EGA dataset. Access decisions should be made by the project representatives from Janssen, ITG, and UGent, including Ole Lagatie, Kevin Ariën, and Filip Van Nieuwerburgh. EGA will distribute controlled-access data only upon approval granted by this DAC.

  Dac EGAC50000001078

• Germline variants in patients with five cutaneous melanoma

  Skin melanoma arises from a complex interplay between UV radiation exposure and inherited genetic susceptibility. A subset of invidiuals experience multiple independent tumours, suggestingh a stronger underlying genetic component. In this study, we investigate the germline contribution to melanoma development in individuals diagnosed with five or more primary melanomas.

  Study EGAS50000001361

• RASA2 deletion rescues immune synapse dysfunction, enhancing CAR T cell efficacy against DMGs

  Methods: We compared the efficacy of B7-H3 CAR T-cells between SJ-DIPGX7c (DMG) and U87-MG (adult glioblastoma) patient-derived cell lines and showed impaired efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. We performed live-cell imaging and single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate deficiencies in immune synapse (IS) formation between CAR T-cells and DMGs. Lastly, we genetically deleted RASA2, a negative regulator of T cell activation, and evaluated the resulting impact on IS formation and quality, as well as in vitro and in vivo functionality. Sample preparation and sequencing For single cell RNA sequencing, two sets of co-culture arrays were prepared: (1) 2.5×106 Ctrl T cells were co-cultured with 2.5×106 tumor cells (SJ-DIPGX7c, SJ-DIPGX9c, SJ-DIPGX37c, D425, ST1, and U87-MG) and (2) 1×106 CAR T-cells were co-cultured with 4×106 tumor cells (SJ-DIPGX7c, SJ-DIPGX9c, SJ-DIPGX37c, D425, ST1, and U87-MG). Both co-culture arrays were incubated at 37°C 5% CO2 for 16 hours. Co-cultures were enzymatically digested with Accutase (Thermofisher; A1110501) for 10 min at room temperature, and cells were filtered by using Miltenyi dead cell removal kit (Miltenyi; 130-090-101). Highly viable cells were recovered and prepared using the Fixation Kit (PARSE Bioscience) according to manufacturer ‘s protocol. After fixation, the cell count was determined by using a Neubauer hemocytometer. A total of 1.14×105 cells from 12 coculture conditions were used, resulting in approximately 9.5×104 cells per condition. These cells were subjected to the Single Cell Whole Transcriptomic kit v2 (PARSE Bioscience) for library construction. Libraries were subsequently sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform, generating paired-end 200 bp reads.

  Dataset EGAD50000002785

• Single-cell RNA sequencing of liver metastasis-derived colorectal cancer organoids profiling cellular heterogeneity and lineage dynamics across time

  The objective of this analysis was to identify, at single-cell resolution, trasncriptionally distinct subpopulations in untreated metastatic colorectal cancer organoids with diverse genetic backgrounds and to investigate their temporal dynamics.

  Study EGAS50000001927

• Epigenetic profiling of acute myeloid leukemia

  To investigate the epigenetic heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), we analyzed a cohort of AML patients using ATAC-seq (n=1563), targeted-capture sequencing (n=1563), and RNA-seq (n=1398). Subsets of cases were also analyzed using EPIC DNA methylation array (n=424), ChIP-seq (for H3K27ac (n=234), H3K27me3 (n=217), SMC1 (n=209), CTCF (n=218), and RPB1 (n=220)), and single-cell RNA- and ATAC-seq (n=36).

  Study EGAS00001008315

• Population histories of the Indigenous Adivasi and Sinhalese from Sri Lanka using whole genomes

  Sri Lanka has played a key role in the peopling of South Asia, with archaeological evidence for human presence on the island dating back to ⁓40,000 years ago. Present-day Indigenous peoples of the island, the Adivasi, are proposed to have descended from early inhabitants of the region, while urban populations like the Sinhalese, the major ethnic group on the island, migrated from India in historical times. Using whole genomes from 19 Adivasi individuals belonging to two clans and from 35 Sinhalese, we find that the Adivasi and Sinhalese share high genetic similarities with each other and with other Sri Lankan and Indian populations, especially those with greater genetic affinity to Ancestral South Indians (ASI). Admixture modeling of the Sri Lankan groups reveals that despite shared ancestral components, the Adivasi retain higher genetic contributions from ancient hunter-gatherers compared with the Sinhalese. Additionally, in contrast to the Sinhalese, the Adivasi have maintained low effective population size and undergone strong founder events, which is consistent with their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, historic relocations, and habitat fragmentation. While the two Adivasi clans are genetically more similar to each other than to any other populations, we observe differing demographic histories, with the Interior Adivasi experiencing a stronger bottleneck than the Coastal Adivasi since their split. This whole-genome-based study addresses gaps in our understanding of the demographic and migratory history of two key Sri Lankan groups and, consequently, of broader South Asia by illuminating complex population structure that has been shaped by both demographic and socio-cultural factors.

  Study EGAS50000001928

• Plasma CTCF ChIP-seq Reveals Cancer-Associated cfDNA Binding Profiles

  Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in plasma predominantly exists as nucleoprotein complexes. Although circulating CTCF-bound cfDNA (cfCTCF-DNA) has previously been reported, the occupancy of individual CTCF binding sites in plasma has not been systematically characterised. This study describes the isolation of endogenous plasma cfCTCF-DNA by chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing (ChIP-seq) in samples obtained from cancer patients and healthy individuals. A two-step enrichment strategy was employed, combining physical removal of background cfDNA by immunoprecipitation with bioinformatic filtering to remove residual non-CTCF-derived sequences. Sequencing reads were aligned to the UCSC hg38 reference genome using BWA-MEM v0.7.17 and processed to generate CRAM files containing alignments restricted to the primary chromosomes (chr1–chr22, chrX, chrY and chrM). CTCF-associated cfDNA fragments were classified according to their similarity to a consensus CTCF binding motif, enabling discrimination between low-affinity and high-affinity CTCF binding sites. Comparative analyses identified quantitative and qualitative differences in plasma cfCTCF-DNA profiles between healthy individuals and patients with cancer. The deposited dataset comprises plasma cfCTCF-DNA ChIP-seq data from four clinical cohorts and includes both CTCF-enriched and total cfDNA samples where applicable. These data support the investigation of CTCF occupancy patterns as a novel class of liquid biopsy biomarkers for cancer detection and monitoring.

  Study EGAS50000001937

• Urine cfDNA workflow for epigenomic profiling.

  Urine cell-free DNA (cfDNA) holds great promise as a non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring of diseases. However, its clinical utility is challenged by high nuclease activity and rapid degradation, necessitating an optimized urine cfDNA workflow. We evaluated a workflow for urine cfDNA methylation and fragmentation profiling, comparing PAXgene Urine Technology, with Streck Urine Preserve and unstabilized urine, using enzymatic methyl sequencing of cfDNA from healthy individuals, across multiple urine storage time points (immediate, 6 h, and 72 h). Urine stabilization significantly improved cfDNA yield and preserved cfDNA fragment sizes, while unstabilized samples exhibited marked degradation and reduced sequencing quality. Methylation analysis revealed high concordance between stabilized samples, with subtle divergence after 72 h. In contrast, unstabilized samples showed widespread methylation changes. Biological patterns were retained in stabilized urine cfDNA. Our study underscores the importance of well-designed (pre)analytical urine workflows to allow urine cfDNA (epi)genomic analyses.

  Study EGAS50000001535

• Circulating cell-free DNA methylation profiles as noninvasive multiple sclerosis biomarkers: A proof-of-concept study

  In chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), there is a critical unmet need for cost-effective non-invasive blood biomarkers to concurrently classify disease subtypes, monitor disability severity, and predict long-term progression. In this proof-of-concept study, we performed low-coverage whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) on 75 plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) samples collected from a well-characterized real-world prospective clinic cohort with longitudinal disability outcome measurements. We assessed the clinical utility of cfDNA methylation profile for differentiating MS patients from non-MS controls, classifying MS subtypes, estimating disability severity, and predicting disease trajectories.

  Study EGAS50000001277

• INTEGRATIVE MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SKIN TUMORS FROM CYLD CUTANEOUS SYNDROME PATIENTS

  CYLD cutaneous syndrome (CCS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by germline CYLD mutations and by multiple benign skin tumors dependent on NF-kB pathway. We assembled a large cohort of CCS rare skin tumors that was profiled with whole exome or genome sequencing, RNA sequencing and methylation arrays to better understand genetic mechanisms of CCS tumorogenesis.

  Dataset EGAD50000000362

• Epigenetic and Transcriptomic profiling of hiPSC- and UCB-HSC derived CD4+CD8+ T progenitors

  Generation of T cell subsets from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in defined in vitro systems could provide a valuable model to study the mechanisms of human T cell development in the thymus and serve as a scalable source for therapeutic cell products. We generated a unique DNA methylation (DNAmeth) and RNA-seq dataset of in vitro generated hiPSC-derived and umbilical cord blood (UCB-) derived T cell progenitor subsets from a feeder-free differentiaion system and integrated them with data from primary human thymocyte populations.

  Study EGAS50000001929

• Multi-omic signatures in multiple myeloma

  Multiple myeloma (MM) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous plasma-cell malignancy. Quadruplet therapy, combining anti-CD38 antibodies, immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors, and dexamethasone, is now the standard induction treatment for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). To gain a comprehensive view of molecular changes in MM and their association with treatment response in this new standard care, we performed a multi-omic study of 423 NDMM from the MIDAS trial.

  Study EGAS50000001573