4051 results for "*geneti*"

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• DNA Methylation Analysis of Prostate Cancer Cell Lines and Tissues Using Next Generation Sequencing

  Aberrant DNA methylation changes are known to occur during prostate cancer progression beginning with precursor lesions. Utilizing fifty nanograms of genomic DNA in Methylplex-Next Generation Sequencing (M-NGS) we mapped the global DNA methylation patterns in prostate tissues (n=17) and cells (n=2). Peaks were located from mapped reads obtained in each sequencing run using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based algorithm previously used for Chip-Seq data analysis(http://www.sph.umich.edu/csg/qin/HPeak). The total methylation events in intergenic/intronic regions between benign adjacent and cancer tissues were comparable. Promoter CGI methylation gradually increased from -12.6% in benign samples to 19.3% and 21.8% in localized and metastatic cancer tissues and approximately 20% of all CpG islands (CGIs) (68,508) were methylated in tissues. We observed distinct patterns in promoter methylation around transcription start sites, where methylation occurred directly on the CGIs, flanking regions and on CGI sparse promoters. Among the 6,691 methylated promoters in prostate tissues, 2481 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) are cancer specific and several previously studied targets were among them. A novel cancer specific DMR in WFDC2 promoter showed 77% methylation in cancer (17/22), 100% methylation in transformed prostate cell lines (6/6), none in the benign tissues (0/10) and normal PrEC cells. Integration of LNCaP DNA methylation and H3K4me3 data suggested a role for DNA methylation in alternate transcription start site utilization. While methylated promoters containing CGIs had mutually exclusive H3K4me3 modification, the histone mark was absent in CGI sparse promoters. Finally, we observed difference in methylation of LINE-1 elements between transcription factor ERG positive and negative cancers. The comprehensive methylome map presented here will further our understanding of epigenetic regulation of the prostate cancer genome. Overall Design: We mapped the global DNA methylation patterns in prostate tissues (n=17) and cells (n=2) from fifty nanograms of genomic DNA using Methylplex-Next Generation Sequencing (M-NGS). For replicate analysis in cell lines, a total of 4 runs were completed for PrEC prostate normal cell line, and 5 runs were completed for LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. For tissue samples, 2 benign prostate samples were sequenced twice on Illumina next generation sequencing platform to access overall repeatability of M-NGS.

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• Genetic Determinants of Viral Clearance in HCV-Infected Populations

  The World Health Organization estimates there are 170 million persons with HCV infection worldwide, and an estimated 4 million persons are infected in the United States. Persistent HCV infection can cause cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Long term disease consequences do not occur in persons who spontaneously recover. It is not known why 10-40% recover from hepatitis C (and are not at increased risk of cirrhosis and cancer), but that knowledge would contribute to efforts to treat and/or prevent HCV infection. The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the host genetic basis for recovery from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. There is strong evidence that host genetic differences determine HCV recovery. After accidental exposure to the same HCV inoculum, some persons recover while others develop persistent infection. Recovery from HCV infection is an outstanding phenotype for genetic studies since both viral exposure and viral recovery can be ascertained with high sensitivity and specificity and since there are no known viral or environmental determinants. The study group is comprised of an ethnically and geographically diverse international population. All cohorts comprising this study group of 3350 individuals are well characterized. This case-control study is comprised of approximately 40% clearance individuals who are matched by age and HIV status within their respective cohorts at a ratio of 1:1 or 1:2 with HCV chronically infected individuals.

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• National Cancer Institute (NCI) Study of Lung Cancer and Smoking Phenotypes in African-American Cases and Controls

  This is a two-stage case-control study designed to evaluate the association between common genetic variants and the risk of lung cancer. The stage 1 studies included 1737 cases and 3602 controls from the following studies: MD Anderson Lung Cancer Epidemiology Study, The Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC), NCI-MD Lung Cancer-Case Control Study, Northern California Lung Cancer Study, Project CHURCH (Creating a Higher Understanding of Cancer Research δ Community Health), Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO), Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), and the Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University (KCI/WSU). The stage 2 studies included an independent set of 866 cases and 796 controls from the following studies: The Black Women's Health Study (BWHS), The Harvard-MGH Lung Cancer Susceptibility Study (HLCS), MD Anderson Lung Cancer Epidemiology Study, MD Anderson/LBJ Hospital Biorepository, NCI-MD Lung Cancer Case-Control Study, Northern California Lung Cancer Study, Philadelphia Lung Cancer Study on Gene Environment Interactions (Plus-Gene), Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), and KCI/WSU.

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• Defining T cell States Associated with Response to Checkpoint Immunotherapy in Melanoma

  Checkpoint blockade therapy using antibodies targeting CTLA4, PD1 or PDL1 have changed the way cancer patients with advanced disease are being treated, as evident by their FDA approval in a wide variety of malignancies, and their ability to induce high response rates when compared to conventional therapies (e.g. chemotherapy). However, even in melanoma, despite the high response rate, most patients are refractory to therapy or acquire resistance in 10-12 months. To identify key immunological elements coupled with response or resistance to checkpoint immunotherapy, we performed an unbiased analysis on 16,291 CD45+ immune cells from 32 patients (48 samples) treated with checkpoint therapy (anti-PD1=37; anti-PD1/CTLA4=11), using single cell transcriptomics. Initial unsupervised clustering of all CD45+ cells identified 11 clusters. When examining the association of these clusters with clinical outcome, we found that two clusters (B-cells, p=0.005; memory T-cells, p=0.03) were significantly enriched in responder lesions while 4 clusters (monocytes/macrophages, p=0.003; dendritic cells, p=0.015; exhausted CD8+ T-cells, p=0.005; and exhausted/cell-cycle lymphocytes, 1.3x10-5) are enriched in non-responder lesions. Next, by leveraging our unbiased single cell approach, we identified not only clusters but also specific markers associated with either responder lesions (PLAC8, LTB, LY9, SELL, TCF7, IGKC and CCR7) or non-responder ones (CCL3, CD38, HAVCR2, ENTPD1 and WARS), many of which were not previously reported to be associated with clinical outcome to checkpoint therapy. Due to the importance of CD8+ T-cells in controlling tumors, the significant association of T-cell states with clinical outcome, and their high abundance in melanoma tumors, we next focused our analysis on CD8+ T-cells and identified 2 main clusters CD8_G (with increased expression of genes linked to memory) and CD8_B (enriched for genes linked to cell dysfunction), that were significantly enriched in responder (CD8_G, p=1.4x10-6) and non-responder (CD8_B, p=0.005) lesions, respectively. Since cells with both states coexist in each of the responder and non-responder lesions, we decided to calculate the ratio between the number of cells in these 2 clusters and observed a significant separation between responders (CD8_G/CD8_B>1) and non-responders (CD8_G/CD8_B<1) when looking at all samples, baseline or post samples separately. Similar results were detected when looking at the expression of a single transcription factor, TCF7, in CD8 T-cells in an independent cohort (n=43) using a simple immunofluorescence assay. Additionally, we validated the identity and function of some of the newly identified cell states as well as their epigenetic landscape, and found that cells expressing the inhibitory molecules CD39 and TIM3, on top of being enriched in non-responder lesions, are likely to play a crucial role in T-cell exhaustion in melanoma. Collectively, our study provides extensive unbiased data in human tumors for discovery of predictors and therapeutic targets to checkpoint immunotherapy.

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• A National Translational Science Network of Precision-Based Immunotherapy for Primary Liver Cancer (PLC)

  The primary objective of the NCI-CLARITY study is to establish a biospecimen repository for genomic, genetic and epigenetic analysis to study the biology of primary liver cancer (PLC) development and progression. Secondary objectives include predicting overall and progression-free survival following immunotherapy. In the retrospective phase, anonymous archival tissue from PLC patients was obtained from five participating sites. Whole exome and transcriptome sequencing was generated and used to predict overall survival in response to immunotherapy.

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• Genome Sequencing of Circulating Tumor Cells for Minimally Invasive Molecular Characterization of Multiple Myeloma Pathology

  ​​Multiple Myeloma (MM) develops from well-defined precursor stages known as Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) and Smoldering MM (SMM); however, invasive bone marrow (BM) biopsy limits screening and monitoring strategies for patients. In this study, we enumerated circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patients with precursor and overt diseases, and developed a novel approach, MinimuMM-seq, which enables detection of translocations and copy number abnormalities through whole-genome sequencing of highly pure CTCs. In a cohort of 51 patients, 24 with paired BM, we applied our method MinimuMM-seq and detected 100% of clinically reported BM biopsy events. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay could replace molecular cytogenetics by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) for diagnostic yield and risk classification. In 8 patients we could apply MinimuMM-seq on serially collected samples to track and monitor major clones in peripheral blood. We describe clonal evolution and shifting dynamics of subclones over time, as well as in between blood and marrow compartments. All whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data generated in this study will be made accessible through dbGaP.

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• Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer: Aromatase Inhibitor Response Study

  Highly variable outcomes are observed in patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer who undergo preoperative estrogen deprivation therapy with aromatase inhibitors (AI). In this study, 46 baseline tumor and normal genomes and 31 baseline tumor/normal exomes of participants selected from two clinical trials of neoadjuvant AI therapy on ER+ breast cancer were sequenced to identify somatic alterations that correlate with response to AI, to screen for therapeutic targets and to elucidate the genetic landscape of ER+ breast cancer. From the same set of patients we later performed deep genomic characterization of a subset of matched primary tumors after four months of AI therapy, generating comprehensive information about the range of changes that occur when ER+ breast cancers are subjected to estrogen deprivation. This data includes whole genome sequence and transcriptome data. To better understand tumor heterogeneity and the evolution of resistance to estrogen-deprivation therapy, a subset of these tumours, along with 38 additional cases were sequenced to greater depth using targeted capture with a gene panel.

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• National Eye Institute (NEI) Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS)

  The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was initially designed as a long-term multi-center, prospective study of the clinical course of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and age-related cataract. In addition to collecting natural history data, AREDS included a clinical trial of high-dose vitamin and mineral supplements for AMD and a clinical trial of high-dose vitamin supplements for cataract. AREDS participants were 55 to 80 years of age at enrollment and had to be free of any illness or condition that would make long-term follow-up or compliance with study medications unlikely or difficult. On the basis of fundus photographs graded by a central reading center, best-corrected visual acuity and ophthalmologic evaluations, 4,757 participants were enrolled in one of several AMD categories, including persons with no AMD. The clinical trials for AMD and cataract were conducted concurrently. AREDS participants were followed on the clinical trials for a median time of 6.5 years. Subsequent to the conclusion of the clinical trials, participants were followed for an additional 5 years and natural history data were collected. The AREDS research design is detailed in AREDS Report 1. AREDS Report 8 contains the mainline results from the AMD trial; AREDS Report 9 contains the results of the cataract trial. Blood samples were also collected from 3,700+ AREDS participants for genetic research. Genetic samples from 600 AREDS participants (200 controls, 200 Neovascular AMD cases, and 200 Geographic Atrophy cases) were selected using data available in March 2005 and then were evaluated with a genome-wide scan. These data, as well as selected phenotypic data, were made available in the dbGaP. DNA from AREDS participants, which is currently being stored in the AREDS Genetic Repository, is available for research purposes. However, not all of the 3,700+ AREDS participants who submitted a blood sample currently have DNA available. In addition to including the data from the genome-wide scan on the 600 original samples, this second version of the AREDS dbGaP database provides a comprehensive set of data tables with extensive clinical information collected for the 4,757 participants who participated in AREDS. The tables include information collected at enrollment/baseline, during study follow-up, fundus and lens pathology, nutritional estimates, quality of life measures and measures of morbidity and mortality. In November 2010, over 72,000 high quality fundus and lens photographs of 595 AREDS participants (of the original 600 selected for the genome-wide scan) were made available in the AREDS dbGaP. In addition to the genome-wide scan data, the fundus and lens grading data for these participants are also available through the AREDS dbGaP. Details about the ocular photographs that are available may be found in the document "Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) Ocular Photographs". In January 2012, a measure of daily sunlight exposure was added in a separate "sunlight" table. Furthermore, the "followup" table has been revised. The visual acuity for the right eye was inadvertently missing at odd-numbered visits (01, 03, 05, etc.). This data is now part of the table. In February 2014 over 134,500 high-quality fundus photographs (macular field F2) of 4613 AREDS participants were added to the existing AREDS dbGaP resource. The AREDS dbGaP image archive already contains over 72,000 high quality fundus and lens photographs of 595 AREDS participants for whom dbGaP-accessible genotype data exist. Information about the available ocular photographs found in the document "Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) Ocular Photographs" has been updated with an addendum. It is hoped that this resource will better help researchers understand two important diseases that affect an aging population. These data may be applied to examination and inference on genetic and genetic-environmental bases for age-related diseases of public health significance and may also help elucidate the clinical course of both conditions, generate hypotheses, and aid in the design of clinical trials of preventive interventions. Definitions of Final AMD Phenotype Categories Please see phd001138.1 for a detailed description of how AREDS participants' final AMD phenotype was categorized. User's Guide for AREDS Phenotype Data A detailed User's Guide for the AREDS phenotype data is available. This User's Guide is meant to be a comprehensive document which explains the complexities of the AREDS data. It is recommended that all researchers using AREDS phenotype data make use of this User's Guide.

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• Charles R. Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine (IPM) BioBank Genome Wide Association Study of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Phenotypes

  The Institute for Personalized Medicine (IPM) Biobank Project is a consented, EMR-linked medical care setting biorepository of the Mount Sinai Medical Center (MSMC) drawing from a population of over 70,000 inpatients and 800,000 outpatient visits annually. MSMC serves diverse local communities of upper Manhattan, including Central Harlem (86% African American), East Harlem (88% Hispanic Latino), and Upper East Side (88% Caucasian/white) with broad health disparities. IPM Biobank populations include 28% African American (AA), 38% Hispanic Latino (HL) predominantly of Caribbean origin, 23% Caucasian/White (CW). IPM Biobank disease burden is reflective of health disparities with broad public health impact: average body mass index of 28.9 and frequencies of hypertension (55%), hypercholesterolemia (32%), diabetes (30%), coronary artery disease (25%), chronic kidney disease (23%), among others. Biobank operations are fully integrated in clinical care processes, including direct recruitment from clinical sites, waiting areas and phlebotomy stations by dedicated Biobank recruiters independent of clinical care providers, prior to or following a clinician standard of care visit. Recruitment currently occurs at a broad spectrum of over 30 clinical care sites. Minorities are strikingly underrepresented in GWAS, including Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and Chronic Kidney Disease; multigenic genetic risk scores for CAD have been recently validated in European ancestry populations, but not in AA or HL populations. Several important opportunities exist for extending additional GWAS to minority populations with a shared risk spectrum of CAD and CKD. For example, progressive CKD is a major and independent risk factor for CVD with an inverse relationship between estimated GFR (eGFR), and risk for mortality and cardiovascular events. This increased risk is only partially explained by the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among these patients. We conducted a GWAS of CAD and CKD related phenotypes in IPM Biobank with the primary objective to explore the genetics of overlapping CAD and CKD predominantly in minority populations characterized by increased risk.

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• Genome-Wide Association Study of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Finland

  The genetic etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not well understood. Finland has one of the highest incidence of ALS in the world, making it an ideal population for study. To identify genetic risk factors for this fatal neurodegenerative disease, we undertook a genome-wide association study of 405 Finnish patients diagnosed with ALS and 497 Finnish controls. Two loci that exceeded the Bonferroni threshold for genome-wide significance were identified. One was located on chromosome 21q22, corresponding to the known autosomal recessive D90A allele of the SOD1 gene. The other was detected on the short arm of chromosome 9, which had been previously identified in linkage studies of families with ALS. Together, these two loci account for most of the increased incidence of ALS observed in this population.

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• Exome Sequencing of Statin-Induced Myopathy Cases

  Severe myopathic events occur in 0.1-0.5% of patients taking statins. Although genetic association studies have identified some possibly associated gene loci, these have not been reproducible in additional studies with independent patient cohorts. A more reasonable explanation for susceptibility to statin-induced myopathy is the presence of rare pathogenic variants in genes important for skeletal muscle structure and function. In support of this, we have previously reported an increased incidence of pathogenic variants in genes causing metabolic myopathies in patients with statin-induced myopathy (Vladutiu et al.,2006). We also reported a patient with statin myopathy who had an RYR1 variant known to be causative of malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS) (Vladutiu et al., 2011). There are a number of genes associated with metabolic myopathies triggered by various factors such as extreme exercise, fasting, extremes in temperature, viral infection and exposure to volatile anesthetics. In addition, many of the genes causing congenital myopathies, myofibrillar myopathies and muscular dystrophies have overlapping phenotypes with these genes. We propose that statins act as an additional trigger inducing myopathic symptoms and many patients with severe statin-induced myopathy have causative genetic variants within similar genes associated with MHS and congenital myopathy. We have analyzed the resultant data using a disease model in which rare pathogenic variants, possibly within multiple genes, are causative of statin-induced myopathy. In this study, we have identified potentially causative genetic variants in greater than 50% of the statin-induced myopathy cases and in particular, rare and possibly pathogenic in the RYR1 and CACNA1S genes were present in 25% of the patient samples studied. Vladutiu, G. D., Simmons, Z., Isackson, P.J., Tarnopolsky, M., Peltier, W.L., Barboi, A.C., Sripathi, N., Wortmann, R.L., Phillips, P.S., (2006). "Genetic risk factors associated with lipid-lowering drug-induced myopathies." Muscle Nerve 34: 153-162. Vladutiu, G. D., Isackson, P.J., Kaufman, K., Harley, J.B., Cobb, B., Christopher-Stine, L., Wortmann, R.L, (2011). "Genetic risk for malignant hyperthermia in non-anesthesia-induced myopathies." Mol Genet Metab 104: 167-173.

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• Starr County Health Studies' Genetics of Diabetes Study

  An initial observation in the 1970s that Starr County, Texas, had the highest diabetes-specific mortality of any of the 254 Texas counties led to the establishment of a field office in Rio Grande City, Texas (the county seat of Starr County) and the initiation of a series of studies to understand the epidemiology and genetics of type 2 diabetes, its complications and related conditions in this predominantly (97%) Mexican American population. The field office opened in February 1981 and has operated continuously since then. During this time, three systematic surveys of the population have been conducted as well as family and longitudinal studies. Culturally sensitive diabetes education programs have been developed and implemented and also a weight loss intervention. In total, more than 23,000 Mexican American individuals have been examined with more than 200,000 aliquots of biological specimens stored. Collectively, these studies are known as the Starr County Health Studies. The present Genetics of Diabetes Study has the goal of identifying loci/alleles that underlie susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in this high risk population using genome wide markers and association testing. The study makes use of two primary resources that have been developed in order to identify 1,000 type 2 diabetes cases and 1,000 disease free controls. In the first instance we have identified a subset of unrelated cases from the total cases that we have identified. Where multiply affected sibships were available, the youngest onset case with detailed phenotyping (including assessment of diabetic retinopathy) was selected. Controls came from a recent survey to establish a representative sample of the Starr County population. Blocks were randomly selected, households on selected blocks enumerated and one individual randomly selected from each household for a detailed examination. The examination included an oral glucose tolerance test. Those included as controls are those with no prior diagnosis of diabetes and a negative oral glucose tolerance test. This collection of cases and controls provides the opportunity to identify susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes and its complications, specifically diabetic retinopathy and albuminuria. The data set also allows the examination of impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. The samples are split between those born in the United States and those born in Mexico and this gives a natural contrast for examining genotype and environmental interactions. It is anticipated that the understanding that will come will lead to strategies for delaying and preventing the onset of diabetes and its complications.

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• Genome-wide Identification of Variants Affecting Early Human Brain Development

  This is a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of global brain tissue volumes in human infants. The published study for this project includes 561 infants, and 239 parents gave consent for data sharing through dbGaP. An intronic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in IGFBP7 (rs114518130; GeneID: 3490) met genome-wide significance for gray matter volume (P=4.15x10-10). An intronic SNP in WWOX (rs10514437; GeneID: 51741) neared genome-wide significance for white matter volume (P=1.56x10-8). Additional loci with small P-values include psychiatric GWAS associations and transcription factors expressed in the developing brain. Genetic risk scores for schizophrenia and ASD, and the number of genes affected by rare copy number variants (CNV burden) did not predict global brain tissue volumes. Integrating these results with large-scale GWAS in adolescents [Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC)] and adults [Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis version 2 (ENIGMA2)] suggested minimal overlap between common variants impacting brain volumes at different ages.

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• Evaluation of COPD Longitudinally to Identify Predictive Surrogate Endpoints (ECLIPSE)

  ECLIPSE was a longitudinal observational study of 2164 COPD subjects and a smaller number of smoking controls (337) and nonsmoking controls (245) followed regularly for three years, with three chest CT scans (at baseline, one year, and three years) (Vestbo, European Respiratory Journal 2008; 31: 869). Inclusion criteria included age 40-75, at least 10 pack-years of smoking, and spirometry in GOLD grades 2-4 (COPD cases) or normal spirometry with post-bronchodilator FEV1 >85% predicted and FEV1/FVC>0.7 (controls). Study visits were performed at enrollment, three months, and every six months thereafter with spirometry, questionnaires, and other clinical evaluations. The ECLIPSE CT scans have been analyzed with the VIDA software for emphysema and airway phenotypes. ECLIPSE has provided key insights into the clinical epidemiology of COPD, including COPD exacerbations (Hurst, NEJM 2010; 363: 1128) and lung function decline in COPD (Vestbo, NEJM 2011; 365: 1184). ECLIPSE has been used in a number of genetic studies of COPD susceptibility and protein biomarkers(Faner, Thorax 2014; 69: 666). Genome-wide gene expression microarray data are available in 147 induced sputum samples from COPD subjects and 248 peripheral blood samples from COPD and control subjects.

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• Transcriptome and Epigenome of TIL Infusion for Cancer Immunotherapy

  Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) using ex vivo–expanded autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can mediate complete regression of certain human cancers. The impact of TIL phenotypes on clinical success of TIL-ACT is currently unclear. Samples were analyzed from TIL infusion products from metastatic melanoma human patients who responded to TIL-ACT (responders) and patients who did not (non-responders). Single cell transcriptome of TIL infusion products were analyzed for CD8 TIL phenotype and function. In patients with available neoantigen reactive TIL, single cell TCR clonotyping was performed to study anti-tumor TIL states between responders and non-responders. Epigenetic studies on TIL infusion products were performed using ATAC sequencing between paired CD39- C69- and CD39+ CD69+ CD8+ TILs.

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• Heart and Vascular Health Study (HVH)

  Objectives The Heart and Vascular Health Study (HVH) is a case-control study of risk factors for the development of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, venous thrombosis (VT), and atrial fibrillation (AF). The study setting is Group Health, an integrated health care delivery system in Washington State. Background The HVH originated in 1988 with the examination of risk factors for MI. Over the ensuing years, the study has been funded by a series of grants, which have added case subjects with stroke, VT, and AF, and used a common control group. Study aims have focused on the associations of medication use with cardiovascular events. Starting in 1997, the study aims expanded to include genetic associations with cardiovascular disease. Participants recruited in 2009 or later and who provided blood samples for genetic analysis were asked for consent to deposit genetic and phenotype data in dbGaP. Design As part of the HVH study, case subjects were identified by searching for ICD-9 codes consistent with MI, stroke, VT, or AF, and medical records were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis. Control subjects were identified at random from the Group Health enrollment and were matched to MI cases. All subjects have an index date. For cases, the index date was assigned as the date that the cardiovascular event (MI, stroke, VT, or AF) came to clinical attention. For controls, the index date was a random date within the range of the case index dates. For both cases and controls, information was collected from the inpatient and outpatient medical record, by telephone interview with consenting survivors, and from the Group Health pharmacy and laboratory databases. Consenting participants provided a blood specimen. Genetic Research Genetic factors underlying cardiovascular disease are studied using DNA isolated from the blood samples.

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• Uncovering the Genetic Architecture of Colorectal Cancer with Focus of Rare and Less Frequent Variants

  The Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) is a collaborative effort comprised of a coordinating center and scientific researchers from well-characterized cohort and case-control studies conducted in North America and Europe. This international consortium aims to accelerate the discovery of common and rare genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer by conducting large-scale meta-analyses of existing and newly generated genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, replicating and fine-mapping of GWAS discoveries, and investigating how genetic risk variants are modified by environmental risk factors. To expand these efforts, we assembled case-control sets or nested case-control sets from 20 different North American or European studies. Summary descriptions and study participant inclusions/exclusion criteria for each of these studies are detailed below. The Black Women's Health Study (BWHS): Is the largest follow-up study of the health of African-American women (Cozier et al., 2004; Rosenberg et al., 1995) [PMID: 15018884; PMID: 7722208]. The purpose is to identify and evaluate causes and preventives of cancers and other serious illnesses in African-American women. Among the diseases being studied are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, uterine fibroids, systemic lupus erythematosus, and cardiovascular disease. The study began in 1995, when 59,000 black women from all parts of the United States enrolled through postal questionnaires. The women provided demographic and health data on the 1995 baseline questionnaire, including information on weight, height, smoking, drinking, contraceptive use, use of other selected medications, illnesses, reproductive history, physical activity, diet, use of health care, and other factors. The participants are followed through biennial questionnaires to determine the occurrence of cancers and other illnesses and to update information on risk factors. Self-reports of cancer are confirmed through medical records and state cancer registry records. Mouthwash-swish samples, as a source of DNA, were obtained from ~26,000 BWHS participants in 2002-2007. DNA was isolated from the mouthwash-swish samples at the Boston University Molecular Core Genetics Laboratory using the QIAAMP DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen). All incident colorectal cancer cases with a DNA sample were included in the present analysis. Two controls per case, selected from among BWHS participants free of colorectal cancer at end of follow-up, were matched to cases on year of birth (+/- 2 years) and geographical region of residence (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West). A total 209 colorectal cancer cases and 423 controls were sent for genotyping. Campaign Against Cancer and Heart Disease (CLUE II): The Campaign Against Cancer and Heart Disease, is a prospective cohort designed to identify biomarkers and other factors associated with risk of cancer, heart disease, and other conditions (Kakourou et al., 2015) [PMID: 26220152]. 32,894 participants were recruited from May through October 1989 from Washington County, Maryland and surrounding communities. Colorectal cancer cases (n = 297) and matched controls (n = 296) were identified between 1989 and 2000 among participants in the CLUE II cohort of Washington County, Maryland. Colorectal Cancer Study of Austria (CORSA): In the ongoing colorectal cancer study of Austria (CORSA), more than 13,000 Caucasian participants have been recruited within the province-wide screening project "Burgenland Prevention Trial of Colorectal Disease with Immunological Testing" (B-PREDICT) since 2003 (Hofer et al., 2011) [PMID: 21422235]. All inhabitants of the Austrian province Burgenland aged between 40 and 80 years are annually invited to participate in fecal immunochemical testing and haemoccult positive screening participants are invited for colonoscopy. CORSA includes genomic DNA and plasma of colorectal cancer cases, low-risk and high-risk adenomas, and colonoscopy-negative controls. Controls received a complete colonoscopy and were free of colorectal cancer or polyps. CORSA participants have been recruited in the four KRAGES hospitals in Burgenland, Austria, and additionally, at the Medical University of Vienna (Department of Surgery), the Viennese hospitals "Rudolfstiftung" and the "Sozialmedizinisches Zentrum Sud", and at the Medical University of Graz (Department of Internal Medicine). 1403 colorectal cancer and advanced colorectal adenoma cases, and 1404 matched controls were selected for the study. Distribution of factors sex and age (5 year strata) were evenly matched between cases and controls. Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS II): The CPS II Nutrition cohort is a prospective study of cancer incidence and mortality in the United States, established in 1992 and described in detail elsewhere (Calle et al., 2002; Campbell et al., 2014) [PMID: 12015775; PMID: 25472679]. At enrollment, participants completed a mailed self-administered questionnaire including information on demographic, medical, diet, and lifestyle factors. Follow-up questionnaires to update exposure information and to ascertain newly diagnosed cancers were sent biennially starting in 1997. Reported cancers were verified through medical records, state cancer registry linkage, or death certificates. The Emory University Institutional Review Board approves all aspects of the CPS II Nutrition Cohort. A total of 360 cases and 359 controls were selected for this study. Czech Republic Colorectal Cancer Study (Czech Republic CCS): Cases with positive colonoscopy results for malignancy, confirmed by histology as colon or rectal carcinomas, were recruited between September 2003 and May 2012 in several oncological departments in the Czech Republic (Prague, Pilsen, Benesov, Brno, Liberec, Ples, Pribram, Usti and Labem, and Zlin). Two control groups, sampled at the same time of cases recruitment, were included in the study. The first group consisted of hospital-based individuals with a negative colonoscopy result for malignancy or idiopathic bowel diseases. The reasons for the colonoscopy were: i) positive fecal occult blood test, ii) hemorrhoids, iii) abdominal pain of unknown origin, and iv) macroscopic bleeding. The second control group consisted of healthy blood donor volunteers from a blood donor center in Prague. All individuals were subjected to standard examinations to verify the health status for blood donation and were cancer-free at the time of the sampling. Details of CRC cases and controls have been reported previously (Vymetalkova et al., 2014; Naccarati et al., 2016; Vymetalkova et al., 2016) [PMID: 24755277; PMID: 26735576; PMID: 27803053]. All subjects were informed and provided written consent to participate in the study. They approved the use of their biological samples for genetic analyses, according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The design of the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic. All subjects included in the study were Caucasians and comprised 1792 cases and 1764 matched controls. Controls were matched to CRC cases as 1:1 ratio. Matching was done on age and sex. Age was matched on +-5 years, whereas sex was matched exactly. For the cases without matched controls, matching was done only on sex. Early Detection Research Network (EDRN): The aim of the EDRN initiative is to develop and sustain a biorepository for support of translational research (Amin et al., 2010) [PMID: 21031013]. High-quality biospecimens were accrued and annotated with pertinent clinical, epidemiologic, molecular and genomic information. A user-friendly annotation tool and query tool was developed for this purpose. The various components of this annotation tool include: CDEs are developed from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Cancer Checklists and North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACR) standards. The CDEs provides semantic and syntactic interoperability of the data sets by describing them in the form of metadata or data descriptor. A total of 352 colorectal case samples and 399 controls were selected for this study. Controls were matched to CRC cases based on age and sex. The EPICOLON Consortium (EPICOLON): The EPICOLON Consortium comprises a prospective, multicentre and population-based epidemiology survey of the incidence and features of CRC in the Spanish population (Fernandez-Rozadilla et al., 2013) [PMID: 23350875]. Cases were selected as patients with de novo histologically confirmed diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma. Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, Lynch syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease-related CRC, and cases where patients or family refused to participate in the study were excluded. Hospital-based controls were recruited through the blood collection unit of each hospital, together with cases. All of the controls were confirmed to have no history of cancer or other neoplasm and no reported family history of CRC. Controls were randomly selected and matched with cases for hospital, sex and age (+- 5 years). A total of 370 cases and 370 controls were selected for genotyping. Hawaii Adenoma Study: For this adenoma study, two flexible-sigmoidoscopy screening clinics were first used to recruit participants on Oahu, Hawaii. Adenoma cases were identified either from the baseline examination at the Hawaii site of the Prostate Lung Colorectal and Ovarian cancer screening trial during 1996-2000 or at the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii's Gastroenterology Screening Clinic during 1995-2007. In addition, starting in 2002 and up to 2007, we also approached for recruitment all eligible patients who underwent a colonoscopy in the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Gastroenterology Department. Cases were patients with histologically confirmed first-time adenoma(s) of the colorectum and were of Japanese, Caucasian or Hawaiian race/ethnicity. Controls were selected among patients with a normal colorectum and were individually matched to the cases on age at exam, sex, race/ethnicity, screening date (+-3 months) and clinic and type of examination (colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy). We recruited 1016 adenoma cases (67.8% of all eligible) and 1355 controls (69.2% of all eligible); 889 cases and 1169 controls agreed to give a blood and 29 cases and 34 controls, a mouthwash sample. A total of 989 cases and 1185 controls were genotyped for this study. Columbus-area HNPCC Study (HNPCC, OSUMC): Patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed at six participating hospitals were eligible for this study, regardless of age at diagnosis or family history of cancer. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis were not eligible for this study. These six hospitals perform the vast majority of all operations for CRC in the Columbus metropolitan area (population 1.7 million). The institutional review board at all participating hospitals approved the research protocol and consent form in accordance with assurances filed with and approved by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Briefly, during the period of January 1999 through August 2004, 1,566 eligible patients with CRC were accrued to the study (Hampel et al., 2008) [PMID 18809606]. A total of 1472 colorectal cancer samples had enough blood DNA remaining to be sent for genotyping. Control samples were provided by the Ohio State University Medical Center%#39;s (OSUMC) Human Genetics Sample Bank. The Columbus Area Controls Sample Bank is a collection of control samples for use in human genetics research that includes both donors' anonymized biological specimens and linked phenotypic data. The data and samples are collected under the protocol "Collection and Storage of Controls for Genetics Research Studies", which is approved by the Biomedical Sciences Institutional Review Board at OSUMC. Recruitment takes place in OSUMC primary care and internal medicine clinics. If individuals agree to participate, they provide written informed consent, complete a questionnaire that includes demographic, medical and family history information, and donate a blood sample. 4-7 ml of blood is drawn into each of 3 ACD Solution A tubes and is used for genomic DNA extraction and the establishment of an EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell culture, cell pellet in Trizol, and plasma. Controls were matched to CRC cases as 1:1. Matching was done on age at reference time (age_ref), race, and sex. Age_ref was matched on +-5 years. Sex and race were matched exactly. For the cases without matched controls, matching was done only on sex and race with 1:1 ratio. Since controls are fewer than cases, one control is matched on 2 cases at most. Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS): A parallel prospective study to the NHS (Nurses' Health Study). The HPFS cohort comprised 51,529 men aged 40-75 who, in 1986, responded to a mailed questionnaire (Rimm et al., 1990) [PMID: 2090285]. Participants provided information on health related exposures, including current and past smoking history, age, weight, height, diet, physical activity, aspirin use, and family history of colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer and other outcomes were reported by participants or next-of-kin and were followed up through review of the medical and pathology record by physicians. Overall, more than 97% of self-reported colorectal cancers were confirmed by medical record review. Information was abstracted on histology and primary location. Incident cases were defined as those occurring after the subject provided the blood sample. Prevalent cases were defined as those occurring after enrollment in the study but before the subject provided the blood sample. Follow-up evaluation has been excellent, with 94% of the men responding to date. Colorectal cancer cases were ascertained through January 1, 2008. In 1993-1995, 18,825 men in the HPFS mailed blood samples by overnight courier, which were aliquoted into buffy coat and stored in liquid nitrogen. In 2001-2004, 13,956 men in the HPFS who had not provided a blood sample previously mailed in a swish-and-spit sample of buccal cells. Incident cases were defined as those occurring after the subject provided a blood or buccal sample. Prevalent cases were defined as those occurring after enrollment in the study in 1986, but before the subject provided either a blood or buccal sample. After excluding participants with histories of cancer (except nonmelanoma skin cancer), ulcerative colitis, or familial polyposis, case-control sets were previously constructed. In addition to colorectal cancer cases and controls, a set of adenoma cases and matched controls with available DNA from buffy coat were selected for genotyping. Over the follow-up period, data were collected on endoscopic screening practices and, if individuals had been diagnosed with a polyp, the polyps were confirmed to be adenomatous by medical record review. Adenoma cases were ascertained through January 1, 2008. A separate case-control set was constructed of participants diagnosed with advanced adenoma matched to control participants who underwent a lower endoscopy in the same time period and did not have an adenoma. Advanced adenoma was defined as an adenoma 1 cm or larger in diameter and/or with tubulovillous, villous, or highgrade dysplasia/carcinoma-in-situ histology. Matching criteria included year of birth (within 1 year) and month/ year of blood sampling (within 6 months), the reason for their lower endoscopy (screening, family history, or symptoms), and the time period of any prior endoscopy (within 2 years). Controls matched to cases with a distal adenoma either had a negative sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy examination, and controls matched to cases with proximal adenoma all had a negative colonoscopy. In total, 159 advanced adenoma cases and 109 controls were selected for genotyping. Leeds Colorectal Cancer Study (LCCS): Following local ethical approval, colorectal cancer cases were recruited from 1997 until 2012 in Leeds, UK through surgical clinics. Initially, funding was provided by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries (subsequently the Food Standards Agency) and Imperial Cancer Research Fund (subsequently Cancer Research UK). Recruitment also occurred similarly in Dundee, Perth and York between the periods of 1997 and 2001 using the same protocol and the data and samples were combined. Pathologically confirmed cases were consented at outpatient clinics, providing information on known and postulated risk factors for colorectal cancer (diet, lifestyle and family history) as well as providing a blood sample for DNA. Exclusion criteria included pre-existing diverticular disease and an inability to complete the questionnaire. The General Practitioners of cases (all UK residents have a nominated General Practitioner to whom to refer initial medical queries) and these GPs were asked to send letters to other persons on their patient list of the same gender and born within 5 years of the case. Subsequently to enhance the number of controls, we systematically invited patients from selected GP practices. Diet was assessed in cases and controls using an extensive dietary and lifestyle questionnaire modified by that produced by the European Prospective Investigation in Cancer (EPIC). The frequency that each specific food items were eaten was recorded and we also obtained average fruit and vegetable consumption as a cross-check. In total, 1591 cases and 739 controls provided a DNA sample. The North Carolina Colon Cancer Studies (NCCCS I/II): The North Carolina Colon Cancer Studies (NCCCS I- colon and NCCCS II-rectal) were population-based case-control studies conducted in 33 counties of North Carolina. Cases were identified using the rapid case ascertainment system of the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry. Patients with a first diagnosis of histologically confirmed invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon (cecum through sigmoid colon) between October 1996 and September 2000 were classified as potential cases in the NCCCS I. The NCCCS II included patients with a first diagnosis of histologically confirmed invasive adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon, rectosigmoid, or rectum (hereafter collectively referred to as rectal cancer) between May 2001 and September 2006. Additional eligibility requirements were: aged 40-80 years, residence in one of the 33 counties, ability to give informed consent and complete an interview, had a driver's license or identification card issued by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (if under the age of 65), and had no objections from the primary physician in regards to contacting the individual. Controls, identified and sampled during the respective study dates, were selected from two sources. Potential controls under the age of 65 were identified using the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles records. For those 65 years and older, records from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services were used. Controls were matched to cases using randomized recruitment strategies. Recruitment probabilities were done using strata of 5-year age, sex, and race groups. Dietary information was collected using a modified version of the semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire developed at the National Cancer Institute. In addition, participants were asked about vitamin and mineral supplementation, special diets, restaurant eating, sodium use, and fats used in cooking. In NCCCS I, 515 colorectal cases and 687 matched controls were sent for genotyping. In NCCCS II, 796 colorectal cases and 823 controls were sent from the NCCCS II for genotyping. Controls were matched to CRC cases as 1:1 ratio. Matching was done on age, race, and sex. Age was matched on +-5 years. Race and sex was matched exactly. For the cases without matched controls, matching was done only on sex and race. Nurses Health Study (NHS): The NHS cohort began in 1976 when 121,700 married female registered nurses age 30-55 years returned the initial questionnaire that ascertained a variety of important health-related exposures (Belanger et al., 1978) [PMID: 248266]. Since 1976, follow-up questionnaires have been mailed every 2 years. Colorectal cancer and other outcomes were reported by participants or next-of-kin and followed up through review of the medical and pathology record by physicians. Overall, more than 97% of self-reported colorectal cancers were confirmed by medical-record review. Information was abstracted on histology and primary location. The rate of follow-up evaluation has been high: as a proportion of the total possible follow-up time, follow-up evaluation has been more than 92%. Colorectal cancer cases were ascertained through June 1, 2008. In 1989 -1990, 32,826 women in NHS I mailed blood samples by overnight courier, which were aliquoted into buffy coat and stored in liquid nitrogen. In 2001-2004, 29,684 women in NHS I who did not previously provide a blood sample mailed a swish-and-spit sample of buccal cells. Incident cases were defined as those occurring after the subject provided a blood or buccal sample. Prevalent cases were defined as those occurring after enrollment in the study in 1976 but before the subject provided either a blood or buccal sample. After excluding participants with histories of cancer (except nonmelanoma skin cancer), ulcerative colitis, or familial polyposis, case-control sets were previously constructed from which DNA was isolated from either buffy coat or buccal cells for genotyping. In addition to colorectal cancer cases and controls, a set of advanced adenoma cases and matched controls with available DNA from buffy coat were selected for genotyping. Over the follow-up period, data were collected on endoscopic screening practices and, if individuals had been diagnosed with a polyp, the polyps were confirmed to be adenomatous by medical record review. Adenoma cases were ascertained through June 1, 2011. A separate case-control set was constructed of participants diagnosed with advanced adenoma matched to control participants who underwent a lower endoscopy in the same time period and did not have an adenoma. Advanced adenoma was defined as an adenoma more than 1 cm in diameter and/or with tubulovillous, villous, or high-grade dysplasia/carcinoma-in-situ histology. Matching criteria included year of birth (within 1 year) and month/year of blood sampling (within 6 months), the reason for their lower endoscopy (screening, family history, or symptoms), and the time period of any prior endoscopy (within 2 years). Controls matched to cases with a distal adenoma either had a negative sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy examination, and controls matched to cases with proximal adenoma all had a negative colonoscopy. A total of 272 cases and 236 matched controls were sent to CIDR for the advanced adenoma case-control set. Northern Swedish Health and Disease Study (NSHDS): Comprises over 110,000 participants, including approximately one third with repeated sampling occasions, from three population-based cohorts (Dahlin et al., 2010; Myte et al., 2016) [PMID: 20197478; PMID: 27367522]. The largest is the ongoing Vasterbotten Intervention Programme, in which all residents of Vasterbotten County are invited to a health examination upon turning 30 (some years), 40, 50 and 60 years of age. Extensive measured and self-reported health and lifestyle data, as well as blood samples for central biobanking in Umea, Sweden, are collected at the health exam. Leucocyte DNA samples for 1:1-matched CRC case-control sets from the NSHDS, of which 878 samples are included in this study, have been selected for genotyping. This is in addition to 354 samples from the NSHDS previously analyzed as part of the multicenter EPIC cohort. Cancer-specific and overall survival data are available for all patients. For at least 425 patients, archival tumor tissue has been analyzed for the BRAF V600E mutation and by sequencing codon 12 and 13 for KRAS mutations, as well as for MSI screening status by immunohistochemistry and for an eight-gene CIMP panel using quantitative real-time PCR (MethyLight). Ohio Colorectal Cancer Prevention Initiative (OCCPI, OSUMC): OCCPI (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01850654) is a population-based study of colorectal cancer patients diagnosed in one of 51 hospitals throughout the state of Ohio from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016. The OCCPI was created to decrease CRC incidence in Ohio by identifying patients with hereditary predisposition (statewide universal tumor screening for newly diagnosed CRC patients), increase colonoscopy compliance for first-degree relatives of CRC patients, and encourage future research through the creation of a biorepository. The 51 Ohio hospitals participating in the OCCPI were selected to represent a cross-section of clinical centers in the state based on high reported volume of CRC patients, affiliation with a high volume hospital, or interest in participation. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained by the individual hospitals, Community Oncology Programs, or by ceding review to the OSU IRB. Written informed consent was obtained. A total of 2139 colorectal cases were genotyped. Patients were considered eligible for this study if they were age 18 or older at the time of enrollment, if they had a surgical resection (or biopsy if unresectable) in the state of Ohio demonstrating an adenocarcinoma of the colorectum from 1/1/13 - 12/31/16. Matched control samples were selected from the Ohio State University Medical Center's (OSUMC) Human Genetics Sample Bank in an identical way to the selection for the Columbus-area HNPCC Study (please refer to the description for the Columbus-area HNPCC Study). Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trail (PLCO): PLCO enrolled 154,934 participants (men and women, aged between 55 and 74 years) at ten centers into a large, randomized, two-arm trial to determine the effectiveness of screening to reduce cancer mortality. Sequential blood samples were collected from participants assigned to the screening arm. Participation was 93% at the baseline blood draw. In the observational (control) arm, buccal cells were collected via mail using the "swish-and-spit" protocol and participation rate was 65%. Details of this study have been previously described (Huang et al., 2016) [PMID: 27673363] and are available online (http://dcp.cancer.gov/plco). For this study 1651 advanced adenoma cases and 1392 controls were selected for genotyping. Selenium and Vitamin E Prevention Trial (SELECT): The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) was a double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial which explored using selenium and vitamin E alone and in combination to prevent prostate cancer in healthy men (Lippman et al., 2009) [PMID: 19066370]. Secondary endpoints included the prevention of colorectal and lung cancers. SELECT was conducted at 427 sites and centers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; 35,533 men 55 years and older (50 or older if African American) were randomized beginning August 22, 2001. Supplementation was discontinued on October 23, 2008 due to futility. 308 colorectal cancer cases and 308 matched controls were selected from the SELECT population and sent for genotyping. Screening Markers For Colorectal Disease Study and Colonoscopy and Health Study (SMS-REACH): Details on this study population were previously reported (Burnett-Hartman et al., 2014) [PMID: 24875374]. Participants were enrollees in an integrated health-care delivery system in western Washington State (Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, Washington) aged 24-79 years who underwent an index colonoscopy for any indication between 1998 and 2007 and donated a buccal-cell or blood sample for genotyping analysis. Study recruitment took place in 2 phases, with phase 1 occurring in 1998-2003 and phase 2 occurring in 2004-2007. Persons who had undergone a colonoscopy less than 1 year prior to the index colonoscopy, persons with inadequate bowel preparation for the index colonoscopy, and persons with a prior or new diagnosis of colorectal cancer, a familial colorectal cancer syndrome (such as familial adenomatous polyposis), or another colorectal disease were ineligible. Patients diagnosed with adenomas or serrated polyps and persons who were polyp-free at the index colonoscopy (controls) were systematically recruited during both phases of recruitment. Approximately 75% agreed to participate and provided written informed consent. Based on medical records, persons who agreed to participate and those who refused study participation were similar with respect to age, sex, and colorectal polyp status. Study protocols were approved by the institutional review boards of the Group Health Cooperative and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, Washington). A total of 575 cases and 508 matched were selected for the study. Controls were matched to CRC cases as 1:1 ratio. Matching was done on age_ref, race, and sex. Age_ref was matched on +-5 years. The Women's Health Initiative (WHI): WHI is a long-term national health study that has focused on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. The original WHI study included 161,808 postmenopausal women enrolled between 1993 and 1998. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA serves as the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center for data collection, management, and analysis of the WHI. The WHI has two major parts: a partial factorial randomized Clinical Trial (CT) and an Observational Study (OS); both were conducted at 40 Clinical Centers nationwide. The CT enrolled 68,132 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50-79 into trials testing three prevention strategies. If eligible, women could choose to enroll in one, two, or all three of the trial components. The components are: Hormone Therapy Trials (HT): This double-blind component examined the effects of combined hormones or estrogen alone on the prevention of coronary heart disease and osteoporotic fractures, and associated risk for breast cancer. Women participating in this component with an intact uterus were randomized to estrogen plus progestin (conjugated equine estrogens [CEE], 0.625 mg/d plus medroxyprogesterone acetate [MPA] 2.5 mg/d] or a matching placebo. Women with prior hysterectomy were randomized to CEE or placebo. Both trials were stopped early, in July 2002 and March 2004, respectively, based on adverse effects. All HT participants continued to be followed without intervention until close-out. Dietary Modification Trial (DM): The Dietary Modification component evaluated the effect of a low-fat and high fruit, vegetable and grain diet on the prevention of breast and colorectal cancers and coronary heart disease. Study participants were randomized to either their usual eating pattern or a low-fat dietary pattern. Calcium/Vitamin D Trial (CaD): This double-blind component began 1 to 2 years after a woman joined one or both of the other clinical trial components. It evaluated the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on the prevention of osteoporotic fractures and colorectal cancer. Women in this component were randomized to calcium (1000 mg/d) and vitamin D (400 IU/d) supplements or a matching placebo. The Observational Study (OS)examines the relationship between lifestyle, environmental, medical and molecular risk factors and specific measures of health or disease outcomes. This component involves tracking the medical history and health habits of 93,676 women not participating in the CT. Recruitment for the observational study was completed in 1998 and participants were followed annually for 8 to 12 years. All centrally confirmed cases of invasive colorectal cancers, or deaths from colorectal cancer were selected as potential cases from September 30, 2015 database. Controls were participants free of colorectal cancer (invasive or in situ) as of September 30, 2015. Potential cases and controls were excluded if they (1) were non-White; (2) had history of colorectal cancers at baseline; (3) lost to follow-up after enrollment; (4) DbGAP ineligible; (5) had <1.25ug of DNA; (6) selected for WHI study M26 Phase I or II; (7) selected for WHI study AS224 and also included in the imputation project. A total of 578 cases and 104,429 controls met the eligibility criteria. Each case was matched with 1 control (1:1) that exactly met the following matching criteria: age (+-5 years), 40 randomization centers (exact), WHI date (+-3 years), CaD date (+-3 years), OS flag (exact), HRT assignments (exact), DM assignments (exact), and CaD assignments (exact). Control selection was done in a time-forward manner, selecting one control for each case from the risk set at the time of the case's event. The matching algorithm was allowed to select the closest match based on a criteria to minimize an overall distance measure (Bergstralh EJ, Kosanke JL. Computerized matching of cases to controls. Technical Report #56, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. April 1995). Each matching factor was given the same weight. When exact matches could not be found, the matching criteria were gradually relaxed among unmatched cases and controls until all cases had found matched controls. Using the matching criteria specified above, 559 of the 578 eligible cases found exact matches. The matching criteria was then relaxed to : Age+-5, randomization centers, WHI date +- 3 years, CaD date +- 3 years, OS flag, HRT flag, DM flag, CaD flag. 17 of the remaining 19 unmatched cases found matched controls. By matching on Age+-5, randomization centers, WHI date +- 3 years, CaD date +- 3 years, OS flag, HRT flag, the remaining 2 unmatched cases found their matches.

  Study phs001415

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex eQTL and mQTL Study

  Mapping expression and methylation quantitative trait loci (eQTLs and mQTLs) using genome-wide genotype, transcriptome, and DNA methylome data can provide an unbiased approach to identify novel functional variants. One critical issue of the eQTL/mQTL analysis is that the role of genetic variants in regulating gene expression (or DNA methylation) can be tissue- or cell-specific. To unravel causal variants from disease-associated loci, it would be necessary to map eQTLs and mQTLs in both patients and controls. Those eQTLs and mQTLs in patients are more likely to be causal variants for the disease. Identification of disease- and tissue-specific eQTLs and mQTLs will help disentangle the role of the specific tissue in disease development as well. In the present study, we mapped eQTLs and mQTLs in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with alcoholism or alcohol use disorder (AUD) and matched control subjects by integrative analyses of genome-wide SNP genotype, mRNA transcriptome, and DNA methylome data. As AUD is comorbid with schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BIP), major depressive disorder (MDD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we further examined the co-localization of PFC eQTLs/mQTLs and GWAS-identified SNPs (mainly noncoding SNPs) that were associated with AUD as well as comorbid SCZ, BIP, MDD, and ADHD. Our study demonstrated the enrichment of PFC eQTLs/mQTLs in the above psychiatric disorder-associated genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

  Study phs001981

• University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Exome Sequencing Analysis

  Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly heritable with recent sibling recurrence risk estimates of 19% overall and 26% in males. The heritable phenotype of hyperserotonemia, or elevated levels of platelet serotonin (5HT), in ~35% of people with ASD is a well-established biomarker. The efficacy of drugs like risperidone and potent serotonin transporter inhibitors at treating behaviors related to Insistence on Sameness, along with evidence of the contribution of hyperserotonemia to autism susceptibility collectively support the hypothesis that dysfunction in the 5HT system is a significant etiological target for investigation of the genetic component to autism. ASD genetic architecture is complex; common variants of large effect do not contribute substantially to overall ASD risk, but there are clearly common variants with small effects and rare genetic/genomic variation of larger effect among ASD genetic risk factors. The NIH ARRA Autism Sequencing Consortium, including Dr. Sutcliffe and Dr. Cook among others, has initiated exome sequencing studies to identify more of the rare variants contributing to ASD. Data from our group and others reveal numerous rare de novo and inherited sequence mutations, and the number of de novo and other functional mutations that are found to affect molecules encoding 5HT signaling and its regulation further reinforces our hypothesis that regulation of serotonin levels is important in autism genetic susceptibility. Integrin receptor signaling pathways were prominently featured among identified de novo mutations, thus defining a set of interrelated gene networks that control 5HT signaling. We propose to extend our findings to date by conducting exome sequencing on ACE subjects, for whom we also have 5HT biochemical data, to identify rare variants (including CNVs) in 5HT-related gene networks. In total we propose to have exome sequencing completed on 523 samples. The purpose of the proposed research is two-fold: 1) we will conduct more extensive investigations to determine the support for the hypothesis that genetic variation at genes regulating platelet serotonin levels affect susceptibility to ASD and 2) we will combine the exome sequence data from these studies with sequence data for autism being accumulated in a variety of other research projects to further the goal of identifying and characterizing the genetic component to ASD.

  Study phs000712

• Homozygous Duplication Identified by Whole Genome Sequencing Causes LRBA Deficiency

  In more than one third of primary immunodeficiency (PID) patients, extensive genetic analysis including whole exome sequencing (WES) fails to identify the genetic defect. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is able to detect variants missed by other genomics platforms, enabling the molecular diagnosis of otherwise unresolved cases. Here, we report two siblings, offspring of consanguineous parents, who experienced similar severe events encompassing early onset of colitis, lymphoproliferation and hypogammaglobulinemia, typical of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-responsive and beige-like anchor protein (LRBA) or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) deficiencies. WGS of these patients detected a 12.3 kb homozygous tandem duplication that was absent in control cohorts and is predicted to disrupt the reading frame of the LRBA gene.

  Study phs002557

• Non-coding RNAs Activated by the Wnt/Beta-catenin Signaling Pathway in Hepatoblastoma

  Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common pediatric liver tumor, affecting mostly children under 3 years of age. This rare tumor represents 1% of all pediatric cancers. Genetic studies have shown that HB is characterized by high frequency mutations of the CTNNB1 gene encoding beta-catenin (around 75%) and relative genomic stability. Here we have analyzed the transcriptional profile of 21 HBs compared to matched non-tumor livers by Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE), which provides accurate and quantitative profiling of all transcripts. CAGE analysis revealed strong upregulation of known Wnt target coding genes in most tumors analyzed, consistent with previous transcriptomic studies. To better define the Wnt-dependent transcriptional landscape of HB, we integrated CAGE data with TCF4 ChIP-seq data from a CTNNB1-mutated cancer cell line and with the FANTOM5 genomic coordinates of TCF/LEF binding motifs. Both TCF/LEF binding motifs and ChIP-seq peaks were strongly enriched in the immediate upstream region, not only for protein-coding genes, but also for non-coding transcripts. Among the selected 112 top Wnt target genes at FDR<1.0E-6 and fold change>8, we found clear over-representation (66%) of distant transcription start sites (TSSs) representing lncRNAs and enhancer RNAs, which raises the question of their role in HB pathogenesis. Analysis of the 112 promoters using CAGEd-oPOSSUM confirmed the predominant involvement of Tcf/Lef transcription factors, together with HNF4G, GATA2, Sox3 and Ets-related genes. Finally, the 112 Wnt target signature defined 3 tumor subclasses, T1, T2 and T3, characterized by progressive alteration of the non-coding part of the transcriptome and significant differences in clinical behavior.

  Study phs001433

• Demographically Diverse Substance Use Disorder Cohorts of Dr. Stanley H. Weiss

  The Demographically Diverse Substance Use Disorder Cohorts of Dr. Stanley H. Weiss, which constitute the Epidemiology of the Weiss Cohort Projects, consist of a series of inter-connected projects, building upon a set of cohort projects of various groups, mainly drug users from medication-assisted treatment programs, that Dr. Stanley H. Weiss first developed in the 1980’s plus several newer initiatives, each with an array of collaborators. Beginning in the 1980’s, Dr. Stanley H. Weiss started several long-term studies of persons who inject drugs (PWID) across the United States, ultimately enrolling over 10,000 participants through the early 1990’s with an average age then in their 30’s. About a quarter were enrolled from sites in New Jersey (NJ). These studies included the first testing of PWID for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the human T-cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLV I and HTLV II). Cumulative past support (initiation thru ~ 1999) for these cohort studies included ~ $20 million from intramural resources from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), plus multiple grants and in-kind support from the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) totaling ~ $1 million. The Weiss Cohort Projects include the first large AIDS-era cohorts to include women at high risk for HIV. A high percentage of subjects in these studies are black or Latino. Thus, this is an ethnically diverse US cohort, with a high proportion of women included. These subjects are at high risk of parenteral and sexual infection from both drug use and sexual practices. Samples from other studies conducted by Dr. Weiss, in which detailed interviews were conducted, are included as controls (persons documented by us not to have a history of opioid drug use). As one of our groups of subjects have many persons of Haitian ancestry, we specifically included some Haitians who had never used opioids as controls. Our documentation includes such ancestry. These cohorts demonstrated high rates of HIV and HTLV-II infection in PWIDs, including one study initiated in 1981 with confirmation in the later cohorts. In the first two decades of these studies, among numerous publications was the first study showing a very high rate of hepatitis C infection among PWIDs. An example of how the studies’ long-time horizon proved essential was that it first became possible to test whether a person had ever been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as how much HCV was in each person’s blood, many years after the specimens were collected. This allowed HCV amounts in blood to be compared for subjects who had died of liver disease early in the study versus those who survived. Then a sequence of published papers culminated in demonstrating, using a nested case-control design, that a high baseline HCV titer was predictive of early progression to death from end-stage liver failure. Outcomes related to HCV (end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma) remain under study. In the original cohort studies, the mean age at enrollment was ~ 33 years old, so that those still alive in 2022 are mainly now ~ 60 - 75 years old. Many participants have already died. The tincture of time has led to subjects reaching ages when many more are dying from a wide array of outcomes, including from many chronic diseases (including cancer) as well as from infectious agents (especially HIV, HCV) or drug overdose. Renewed collaboration with local drug treatment programs has led to new field-based studies, including examination of some currently evolving problems among drug users. Dr. Weiss joined the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Genetics Consortium (NGC) in 2017, and through the NIDA project officer has had access to NGC contract resources (see below). NIH Certificate of Confidentiality, CC-DA-16-214 (attached) protects these studies. Past arrangements related to data on our subjects leads to restrictions on the use of data emanating from our study, such as potential commercialization and restrictions on whom may access and use these data. NIDA Genetics Consortium (NGC) resources further support these endeavors and will be used as part of the NGC analyses studying the genetics of substance use. Study participants signed informed consent for the information collected from them to be used with no time limit and for biologic specimens collected from them to be used without restriction in future research. Serum samples were collected from participants, and from many also plasma, white blood cells and/or urine samples. About 100,000 vials were stored. All specimens have been continuously preserved at sufficiently cold temperatures to prevent deterioration, and many subjects separated white blood cells were processed and frozen in such a way as to maintain viability. Detailed data from the participants has been accumulated over time, and in general, linkage has been retained in each sub-study in accordance with the consent forms and protocols. For some participants, specimens were collected at multiple times (that is, sequential specimens). Multiple specimens from a single person exist in this database, and efforts at de-duplication remain ongoing. Dr. Weiss should be contacted if an investigator requires unique individuals since: • Multiple phases of enrollment occurred, and as our prospective follow-up continues; Dr. Weiss may identify new instances of multiple enrollment. • Some persons are related to each other. • In general, in this dataset for dbGaP, only a single specimen/record form a given person is included. Advances in laboratory testing techniques now permit innovative new uses for our linked research biospecimen repository. The ongoing focus of an interdisciplinary research program based on these cohorts relates subjects’ diseases, behaviors, medical history, and outcomes with biological and exposure markers. Participants’ use of various substances was ascertained on study enrollments, many serially over time. Quantitative frequency of use data, also sometimes sequential over time, were ascertained. Active ascertainment of outcomes is being conducted, including matching to mortality and cancer databases. Investigators interested in collaborations on specific outcomes (which is not part of this dbGaP dataset) or in the use of our stored specimens are encouraged to contact the principal investigator, Dr. Weiss. The processing of the genomic data was done in conjunction with NIDA, and in accordance with some longstanding data cleaning steps used by NIDA in the NIDA Genetics Consortium (NGC), a group to which we shall be contributing these data for collaborative analyses. Since there is the potential for these steps to introduce certain types of potential biases, we summarize these here. Under contract from NIDA, cryopreserved sera or plasma (-80 C) or cells (in liquid nitrogen) were used, with most stored having been stored for 30 to 40 years in our biorepository. In the case of serum or plasma, in which only (largely) cell-free DNA fragments were available, DNA was extracted and restored prior to amplification. Industry standard DNA amplification techniques were done on all samples prior to genotyping in accord with established protocols of the NIDA Genetics Consortium. Our genotype data were run and processed on the Illumina Infinium OmniExpress_v_1.3 array. This array has 714,238 SNPs, and was designed many years ago. There were 628 SNPs on the array that do not correspond to any chromosome position, and these were removed. Genotype data were submitted by NIDA’s contracted genotyping laboratory in six batches over time to NIDA’s contracted dbGaP data management group, which conducted quality control (QC) analyses. QC analysis included an assessment of batch effects on for five of the six batches. (One of the batches, with only 12 samples, was too small for QC analysis of batch effects.) Standard NIDA Genetic Consortium cleaning was performed. Samples with a call rate <.85 were removed. Only one sample per person was retained. When more than one specimen was genotyped from one subject, only the sample with the higher call rate was retained (provided, of course, that that call rate was ≥ 0.85). We have retained some people we know are related, including some found to have been related through genotyping; the pedigree file describes those relationships. In summary, key cleaning steps include: 1. Using PLINK to check gender discrepancy. 2. Using PREST-PLUS and KING (Kinship-based Inference for GWAS) to check relatedness. 3. Using PEDCHECK and PLINK to check/zero-out Mendelian error. 4. Using PLINK to perform sample QC, SNP QC, along with KING to perform chromosome X and chromosome Y QC. 5. SNP-QC: Batch-effect: 5 Batches were compared (one batch, with few samples, was not). These five batches were compared to each other in all ten possible pairs, one batch vs. another batch, examining SNP allele frequency discrepancies by population (from GRAF), Fisher Exact Allelic test, with the criterion of p<5e-8 for removal. 6. SNP-QC: discordant SNPs in QC duplicates. Compared 25 QC duplicated samples with call rate > 0.95, removed SNPs with 3+ discordance. 7. There were 1,056 SNPs that were monomorphic; these have been retained so they can be included in analyses in which our dbGaP data are combined with those from other cohorts (in the latter of which those SNPs may not be monomorphic). The final cleaned dataset submitted has 8,898 samples and 606,793 SNPs.

  Study phs002140

• The Genetic and Transcriptomic Evolution of Melanoma

  The overarching goal of the study was to better understand the evolution of melanoma. To do this, we collected archival tissue of melanomas adjacent to their intact, remnant precursor lesions. We also collected archival tissue of primary melanomas and their matching metastases. From the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks, we microdissected non-neoplastic (normal), precursor, and descendent portions of tissue. Both RNA and DNA were extracted from the microdissected tissues and subjected to next generation sequencing. In summary, we performed matched DNA/RNA sequencing of melanoma/precursor/normal trios, allowing us to trace the genetic and transcriptomic evolution of melanoma.

  Study phs001550

• High-Throughput LINE-1 Retrotransposon Discovery in Humans

  The aim of this study is to discover LINE-1 (L1) insertion sites present in humans that are absent from the reference genome sequence. We use the distinguishing nucleotide characteristics of human-specific L1 elements to resequence the L1 3' flanking regions thus locating the L1 insertion sites whether or not they are present in the reference genome assembly. In doing so, we have uncovered a higher than expected number of non-reference L1 insertions, an average of 152 insertions per individual. In addition, we find that any two individuals differ at an average of 285 sites with respect to presence or absence of L1 insertions in those sites, and use this to estimate the rate of retrotransposition in humans at 1 event per 140 live births (95% c.i. 1/95 to 1/270). We show that individual 'L1 profiles' recapitulate genetic ancestry as expected, and find that dimorphic insertions are more frequent in introns relative to fixed insertions.

  Study phs000273

• Identifying novel DNA damage response genes in radiosensitive individuals

  Ionizing radiation is an effective therapeutic agent for cancer treatment as well as a potent carcinogen. Sensitivity to the cell-killing effects of radiation can vary across human population with a subset of individuals displaying extreme hypersensitivity. It is usually attributable to inherited defects in DNA damage response pathways. The present study was designed to elucidate the genetic basis of variation in hypersensitivity to radiation exposure through exome sequencing of radiosensitive individuals, with the ultimate goal of identifying genes with the most significant effects on cellular DNA damage responses. The study participants included subjects referred for clinical testing for Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome (NBS) or Ligase IV Syndrome. These are rare, recessive genetic disorders and hypersensitivity to radiation exposure is a common phenotype among individuals affected by all the three disorders. The study participants exhibited phenotypic characteristics similar to individuals with A-T, NBS or Ligase IV Syndrome, but lacked the causative mutations in ATM (GeneID:472) or NBN (GeneID:4683) genes. For further validation of the radiation sensitivity phenotype among the enrolled subjects, B-lymphoblastoid cells lines were established for each subject from peripheral blood lymphocytes. Each cell line was evaluated for displaying impaired survival rates relative to normal controls after exposure to ionizing radiation. 53 subjects with validated phenotype were finally included in the study and DNA extracted from their B-lymphoblastoid cell lines was used for exome sequencing. This sequencing data for radiation sensitive subjects is being made available in the dbGaP. It is hoped that this resource will be beneficial for researchers who wish to further investigate components of human cellular DNA damage response pathways and/or genetic architecture underlying radiation hypersensitivity. This data may also aid in the rational design of new radiosensitizing or radioprotective agents.

  Study phs001911