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• InTEAM Consortium - Alcoholic Hepatitis

  Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a life-threatening condition characterized by profound hepatocellular dysfunction for which targeted treatments are urgently needed. Identification of molecular drivers is hampered by the lack of suitable animal models. By performing RNA sequencing in livers from patients with different phenotypes of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), we describe the transcriptional programs involved in disease progression. We uncovered that development of AH is characterized by the defective activity of liver-enriched transcription factors (LETFs). The PPARG predicted activation state was found increased in early forms of ALD, while AH was associated by a marked decrease in HNF4A-dependent gene expression along with a marked expression of the fetal HNF4A isoform (P2). TGFB1, a key upstream transcriptome regulator in AH, induced the use of HNF4a P2 promoter in hepatocytes, which resulted in abnormal bile acid synthesis and defective metabolic and synthetic functions. PPARG agonists partially prevented this effect. We conclude that targeting TGFB1 and epigenetic drivers that modulate HNF4A-dependent gene expression could be beneficial to improve hepatocellular function in patients with AH. The study was conducted thanks to a multicenter collaboration under the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)-funded consortium: Integrated Approaches for Identifying Molecular Targets in Alcoholic Hepatitis (InTEAM).

  Study phs001807

• 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

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 1

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 43963 fastq files generated from 3024 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001008415

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 2

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 498 fastq files generated from 71 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001008591

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 3

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 29294 fastq files generated from 3653 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001008597

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 6

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 9 fastq files generated from 8 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001015458

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 4

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 25210 fastq files generated from 3040 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001015360

• DETECT-A NGS Data Batch 5

  This batch is a subset of the full DETECT-A dataset, containing 12740 fastq files generated from 3211 subjects. All sequencing was conducted using Illumina HiSeq 4000 and Illumina MiSeq platforms. Note that the division into batches follows no specific criteria and that the sequencing data for each subject has multiple files which may span multiple datasets. Thus, for a comprehensive analysis, it is recommended to request access to all datasets that comprise this study.

  Dataset EGAD00001015426

• Sequencing and analysis of a South Asian-Indian personal genome

  India with over 1.3 billion people is estimated to carry three times more genetic diversity compared to Europe. Next-generation sequencing technologies have facilitated the understanding of diversity by enabling whole genome sequencing at greater speed and lower cost. While multiple genomes from people of European and a few of Asian descent have been sequenced, only recently a single male genome from the Indian subcontinent at sufficient depth and coverage was published. We have in this study sequenced and analyzed the genome of a South Asian Indian female (SAIF) from the Indian state of Kerala. We identified over 3.4 million SNPs in this genome including over 89,873 private variations. Comparison of the SAIF genome with several published personal genomes revealed that this individual shared ~50% of the SNPs with each of these genomes. Analysis of the SAIF mitochondrial genome showed that it is closely related to the U1a3 haplogroup which has been previously observed in Kerala. We assessed the SAIF genome for SNPs with health and disease consequences and found that the individual was at a higher risk for multiple sclerosis and a few other diseases. In assessing SNPs that modulate drug response we found a variation that predicts a favorable response to metformin used for treating diabetes. SNPs predictive of adverse reaction to warfarin indicated that the SAIF individual is not at risk for bleeding if treated with typical doses of warfarin. In addition to these, we report the presence of several other SNPs of medical relevance.

  Study EGAS00001000328

• Autopsy-Confirmed Parkinson Disease GWAS Consortium (APDGC)

  The APDGC was formed to conduct a genome-wide association study in individuals with neuropathologically confirmed Parkinson Disease (PD) and neuropathologically normal controls. The rationale for the study is that including only cases and controls with neuropathologically confirmed disease status will reduce diagnostic misclassification and increase power to detect novel genetic associations.

  Study phs000394

• Phenotype Risk Scores Identify Patients with Unrecognized Mendelian Disease Patterns

  This study was designed to assess the phenotypic effects of rare variants. Rare variants are difficult to study in a high-throughput manner because most cohorts are underpowered to detect associations. In order to gain power to test rare variants, we use Phenotype Risk Scores (PheRS) based on features of Mendelian diseases. PheRS is calculated using claims data from an EHR that is mapped to clinical features from OMIM's clinical descriptions of Mendelian disease. We calculated PheRS for 1,204 Mendelians diseases in a cohort of 21,701 individuals genotyped on the HumanExome BeadChip. We then tested for association between these diseases and rare variants in causal genes. A phenotype risk score is calculated as the weighted sum of features for a given disease. The features are defined as a set of phecodes (consolidated ICD codes) associated with a particular Mendelian disease as described in OMIM. The weights for each phecode are calculated as the log inverse prevalence of the phecode in our cohort. For an individual, their score equals the sum of the weights for each phecode that is present in their medical record. Our study was based on a cohort of individuals with genotype data linked to de-identified electronic health records (EHR) from Vanderbilt's BioVU resource. We hope that this method will help generate phenotype-genotype correlation data on rare variants which in turn may inform rare variant interpretations use for diagnostics.

  Study phs001516

• FEGA and European GDI: working together to improve human health

  The Federated EGA is a global resource for discovery of and access to sensitive human omics and associated data consented for secondary use, through a network of human data repositories to accelerate biomedical research and improve human health. The Federated EGA network was launched in September 2022 with five inaugural nodes, and since 2023 seven operational nodes can share data across national borders in adherence to European and national laws. A few weeks after FEGA's official launch, in November 2022, the European Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI) project was kicked-off . This European Commission co-funded project, coordinated by ELIXIR, is aimed to deliver federated, sustainable and secure data infrastructure to access genomic and related phenotypic and clinical data across Europe. This project supports the aim of the 1+MG initiative (25 EU countries, Norway and UK) to enable personalised medicine and health through a shared framework and infrastructure for securely accessing and integrating high quality genomic data and other health data across borders.1+MG will be an integral component of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) for secondary use (Healthdata@EU) as an authorised participant. How are Federated EGA and GDI similar? Given their shared visions, the Federated EGA and European GDI networks have a lot in common. To begin, they share the same overall goal of establishing networks of “nodes” that host sensitive human data within a jurisdiction and connecting these nodes in a global network to support data discovery and promote human genome data access for research and healthcare. FEGA and GDI are both initially focused on enabling access to human genomic data, while FEGA ambition is to expand the scope to clinical research data and other omics data in the future. FEGA and GDI are both built on open and interoperable software solutions, a subset of which are based on the LocalEGA components. FEGA and GDI implementation solutions are based on international community standards, for example those developed by the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, which contributes to making them interoperable. Both FEGA and GDI allow for the nodes to make use of any solution that is fully compatible. As illustrated in Figure 1, a final key point is the significant overlap of institutions involved in envisioning and operating FEGA and GDI nodes, with the clear wish to keep them interoperable in the future. What distinguishes Federated EGA from GDI? Despite being largely similar, there are some differences between the FEGA and GDI networks, which we aim to clarify in this post. The first difference is the governance model that the nodes will operate to comply with national laws and GDPR. In the FEGA network, nodes have taken inspiration from the EGA data access model, where the infrastructure is a data processor of the hosted data and data controllership remains with the originating Data Access Committees (i.e. Data controllers) for each dataset. On the other hand, in the GDI network the controllership of datasets will be transferred to a 1+MG European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) legal entity created by the Member States (MS), who will make data access decisions, with data holders having veto powers for their datasets. Importantly, FEGA nodes have the flexibility to choose another model to fit with their data protection framework, including becoming data controllers for their datasets. The second difference is the inclusion criteria for data. While FEGA nodes are designed to accept almost any type of omics data in need of control access (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, genotyping, single cells sequencing, patient-tracked metagenomics), GDI nodes are initially, but not only, focused on accepting whole genome and exome sequencing data and affiliated data from sources such as (i) the Genome of Europe use case of the 1+MG initiative which specifically aims to fulfil the mission of building “a European network of national genomic reference cohorts of at least 500,000 citizens”) (ii) data collection of other types of genomic data identified by countries through the 1+MG dashboard and (iii) genomic data coming from data holders which would need to fulfil EHDS requirements. The third difference is the maturity of the software stacks. The FEGA network provides a set of software for data and metadata submission, storage, permissions management, and file distribution (the LocalEGA package). GDI is building a complete set of open source reference for the five functionalities covering the full data life cycle (a few more compared to the LocalEGA) including federated processing (analytics, AI/ML), which is still under active development. Notably, one of the GDI functionalities - storage and interfaces - can be satisfied by using the LocalEGA storage solution, highlighting the ability of FEGA and GDI to be interoperable. In both FEGA and GDI, nodes are allowed to use alternative solutions as long as they are fully interoperable with the networks. Figure 1 provides a simple overview of these described commonalities and differences. Figure1: schematic overview of the main commonalities and difference among a FEGA and a GDI node Can the same institute run a FEGA and a GDI node at the same time? The answer is Yes! We believe this is entirely possible and encouraged. As long as 1+MG requirements are continuously fulfilled in the implementation. The same trained personnel could operate the infrastructure and leverage the same national funding to run a FEGA and a GDI node. Several European nodes, especially GDI vanguard nodes like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Spain are following this model. The idea is that a lot of the work can be reused, given the overlapping scope and the interoperable technology. Thus, the hosted datasets can be discovered via the two catalogues, perhaps accessible under the same or different governance models. From a FEGA node perspective, the GDI datasets could simply be a subset of the datasets hosted in the FEGA node, which have their specific governance as any other. What's next? So, the amazing teams of people building the Federated EGA network and the European GDI network are working together to create infrastructures able to provide secure access to human genomic and associated data around Europe. Because we all know how much human genomics can improve healthcare and precision medicine. And we all want to collaborate to make it happen. This article has been reviewed collectively by members of the EGA and the GDI coordination team.

  Blog fega-and-gdi

• Genome Wide Association Study of Subjects with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

  Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS, is a complex and heterogeneous disease that severely impacts the health and quality of life of those afflicted. Several lines of evidence support the possibility that ME/CFS development may involve a heritable component. In this pilot study, 42 cases that meet the diagnostic criteria of ME/CFS and 38 healthy controls were consented into this study. The goal of this study was to identify candidate polymorphisms that can be used for a large multi-center screening study.

  Study phs001015

• A prospective study identifies MisMatch Repair genes as candidate predisposing genes for uveal melanoma.

  Objective: The aim of this study is to identify new predisposing genes for uveal melanoma (UM), the most common intraocular malignancy in adults. Design: Prospective cohort study from Institut Curie. Participants: 381 unselected patients diagnosed with UM between July 2021 and February 2023 at Institut Curie. Methods: All patients received genetic counseling and consented to extended genetic testing. A panel of 122 genes was analyzed by targeted sequencing on germline DNA from these patients. Main outcomes measures: UM was diagnosed by ophthalmologists at Institut Curie, and a senior pathologist confirmed the diagnosis when tumor or biopsy was available. Classification of the germline genetic variants was performed according to the ACMG guidelines. Results: We identified at least one pathogenic variant (PV) in 79 patients. Among those variants, 20 were found in clinically relevant genes for the patient’s follow-up and genetic counseling. We found a significant enrichment of germline pathogenic variants in Mismatch Repair (MMR) MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6 genes in this UM cohort, suggesting that MMR germline alterations could predispose to UM. From this cohort, one tumor was available from a patient carrying a MLH1 germline mutation. The tumor was characterized by a monosomy 3, in line with a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of MLH1, located on chromosome 3. Loss of expression of MLH1 and PMS2 was observed by immunohistochemistry, and MMR mutational signatures SBS6, ID1 and ID2 were identified from the whole genome sequencing of the tumor. These data suggest that MLH1 is implicated in the oncogenesis of this UM. Conclusions: This study is the largest prospective constitutional study performed on UM patients, and the first demonstrating that MMR germline alterations are significantly enriched among these patients. Further analyses will be needed to estimate the risk of developing UM for patients with Lynch syndrome

  Study EGAS50000000914

• Exome Sequencing of a family with thrombocytopenia, red cell macrocytosis, and lymphoblastic leukemia predisposition

  A family with a history of bleeding, variable thrombocytopenia, red cell macrocytosis and two cases of pre B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was studied in a single visit. The family was assessed for bleeding history using a bleeding questionnaire. Additionally, complete blood counts were measured and whole blood was collected from five affected individuals and three unaffected individuals for DNA extraction and whole exome sequencing. The goal of this study is to determine the genetic cause of thrombocytopenia, red cell macrocytosis, and predisposition to leukemia in a family. It is hoped that the information obtained from this study will help researchers understand the genetic and molecular basis of platelet and red cell production, as well as leukemia predisposition.

  Study phs000873

• Genetic Epidemiology of Ovarian Cancer Histotypes

  Epithelial ovarian cancer is a highly fatal malignancy with known genetic etiology; however, it is estimated that a substantial portion of narrow sense heritability remains to be discovered. The goal of this research was to use genetic information from distantly related ovarian cancer cases to identify regions of the genome that may harbor rare risk variants for epithelial ovarian cancer. The study was conducted in the setting of the Utah Population Database, a statewide data resource in which extensive ancestry data are linked to Utah Cancer Registry records. Focusing on families with a statistically significant excess risk of epithelial ovarian cancer, we used the Infinium Global Screening Array v.3.0 to generate germline genotyping data for distantly related cases. We then applied Shared Genomic Segment Analysis to each set of related cases to identify genomic regions that may harbor ovarian cancer risk variants. Eleven regions were identified. Genotype data are available through dbGaP for one case from each pedigree. Genotype data from other ovarian cancer cases within the high-risk pedigrees as well as the pedigrees' corresponding structures can be requested and made available with approval from the Utah Resource for Genetic and Epidemiologic Research (RGE).

  Study phs003140

• Exome Sequecning of MDS xenografted samples

  Pre-clinical research of Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) is hampered by a lack of feasible disease models. Previously, we have established a robust patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model for MDS. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that this model is applicable as a pre-clinical platform to address pending clinical questions by interrogating the efficacy and safety of the thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag. Our pre-clinical study included n=49 xenografts generated from n=9 MDS patient samples. Substance efficacy was evidenced by FACS-based human platelet quantification, and clonal bone marrow evolution was reconstructed by serial whole exome sequencing of the PDX samples. In contrast to clinical trials in humans, this experimental setup allowed vehicle- and replicate-controlled analyses on a patient-individual level deciphering substance-specific effects from natural disease progression. We found that eltrombopag effectively stimulated thrombopoiesis in MDS PDX without adversely affecting the patients’ clonal composition. In conclusion, our MDS PDX model is a useful tool for testing new therapeutic concepts in MDS preceding clinical trials.

  Study EGAS00001005329

• European Genome-phenome Archive 15th Anniversary Celebration

  2023 marks the 15th Anniversary of the EGA, jointly managed by the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG). To mark the occasion, a simultaneous celebration was held in both institutions on the 13th of December 2023. The teams gathered online to play a quiz game and celebrate all the achievements and milestones with two wonderful anniversary cakes. In 2008, the European Genome-phenome Archive was created at the EBI-EMBL in Cambridge to guarantee that human genome and phenome data were available to the international scientific community while data privacy was preserved. The six-person staff at the beginning of the project is now far behind us, with a team that reaches the number of 35 members. Since 2013, the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Centre for Genomic Regulation share responsibility for The European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA). At that time, the EGA had data for about 0,5 petabytes. Currently, the Archive contains more than 12 petabytes. 2023 comes to an end with several good news. The EGA has been renewed as an ELIXIR Core Data Resource. This was announced during the GA4GH 11th Plenary held in San Francisco last September when ELIXIR-Beacon was also confirmed to be a GA4GH Driver Project. Thus, the Beacon API has maintained this title since 2018. What’s more, the first Federated EGA dataset is now live on our website. This year we also launched new services for EGA users in September. By the numbers, in 2023 the EGA counts 2.5 PB archived, 371 studies published, 208 new submitters and 19 active projects in which the team is participating, among others. We look forward to continuing to support your research in 2024!

  Blog 15-anniversary

• Epigenomics of Patient Outcomes after Aneurysmal SAH

  This project was focused on understanding the pathophysiology following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). DNA methylation is a key mechanism for regulation of gene expression and function in the adult brain and appears to play an important role in neuroprotection during ischemic events in the brain. Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), occurring during the acute phase following aSAH, is a major contributor to the complications that later develop; however, the pathophysiology of DCI and the development of complications is not known. We hypothesize that characterizing the methylome representing the CNS environment post aSAH will clarify the pathophysiology associated with DCI and patient outcomes. The aims of this project focused on the daily genome-wide methylomic changes that occur in DNA representing the CNS for the first 14 days after aSAH, as well as in peripheral blood in a subset of partcipants, and determining if this methylomic data impacts DCI and the development of complications after aSAH.

  Study phs001990

• Genomic Predictors of Combat Stress Vulnerability and Resilience

  The Genomic Predictors of Combat Stress Vulnerability and Resilience Study was designed to probe the likely hereditary basis for risk or resilience to develop PTSD and other trauma spectrum disorders. The overall guiding hypothesis was that genomic variation gives rise to risk/susceptibility traits that, when actuated by traumatic environmental stimuli, such as combat, give rise to PTSD and other stress-related phenotypes. Two studies designed to identify risk and resilience factors for combat-induced, stress-related symptoms are being conducted by our group: The Marine Resiliency Study (MRS) is a prospective PTSD study with longitudinal follow-up (pre- and post-exposure to combat stress) of US Marines bound for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. Extensive phenotyping includes 3 domains: Psychosocial, Psychophysiologic, and Biophysiologic. The biological and physiological measures collected were chosen in part due to their potential to serve as intermediate phenotypes for stress-related disorders. A second, cross-sectional study involves a cohort of combat-exposed active duty or previously deployed service members (CAVC), including PTSD cases and controls with comparable psychosocial and clinical phenotypes. Little information is available about the factors that explain why some trauma survivors develop stress disorders and some do not. It is hoped that the insights gained from this approach will improve understanding of the genetic contributors to PTSD, and potentially provide novel diagnostic tests and therapeutic approaches to this currently enigmatic and difficult-to-manage condition.

  Study phs000864

• Preclinical Pediatric Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH)

  Purpose: Pediatric solid tumors arise from diverse tissues during development and exhibit a wide range of molecular, cellular and genetic features. This diversity, combined with the low incidence of pediatric cancer makes it increasingly difficult to personalize therapy for individual patients based on the unique features of their tumors. Therefore, well-credentialed preclinical models that capture the diversity and heterogeneity of pediatric solid tumors are essential for identifying molecular targeted therapeutics for precision medicine. Experimental Design: Here, we report 281 orthotopic patient derived xenografts (O-PDXs) from 224 patients representing 24 different types of pediatric solid tumors. We have performed genomic characterization of the O-PDXs and compared them to their corresponding patient tumors. To demonstrate the feasibility and utility of using such a diverse collection of O-PDXs in preclinical studies, we performed a preclinical pediatric precision medicine trial based on the NCI-COG Pediatric MATCH trial enrollment criteria. We also tested molecular targeted therapy for a novel oncogenic fusion recently reported in pediatric melanoma and precision drug delivery using nano-liposomal irinotecan. Results: In the preclinical match study, we identified one specific single agent response to LY3023414 in an osteosarcoma model with a TSC2 variant of unknown significance. Combinations of nano-liposomal irinotecan were effective in treating both Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma xenografts. Conclusion: Our studies demonstrate the value of large, well-credentialed preclinical models for future precision medicine in pediatric oncology using single agents, drug combinations and novel drug formulations.

  Study EGAS00001008011

• Kidney Two-Hit Mapping

  Germ-line genetic variants identified thus far generally account for only part of the genetic risk predicted for most cancers. A component of the remaining risk may be explained by functionally consequent genetic variants that are individually very rare (or private to that individual's family). While their identification may be highly informative for cancer etiology and biological knowledge, strategies that allow for agnostic (genome-wide) identification of such genes are not straight forward. This is particularly true for rare cancers where sufficient numbers of patients may simply not be available for appropriate statistically powered studies. In this project we have explored a study design based around the concept of "two-hit mapping" using the co-occurrence of germ-line and somatic mutations in the same gene to assist in the identification of susceptibility genes. The dataset includes 54 kidney cancer patients selected for enrichment of genetic disease, that is patients with: early age of onset and/or family history and/or bilateral disease. Germ-line and somatic (kidney cancer) tumor sequencing was carried out. These data may improve our understanding of kidney cancer.

  Study phs001971

• Colorectal cancer study

  Matrix metalloproteinase-11 (MMP11) is an enzyme with proteolytic activity against matrix and non-matrix proteins. Although most MMPs are secreted as inactive proenzymes and they are later activated extracellularly, MMP11 is activated intracellularly by furin within the constitutive secretory pathway. It is a key factor in physiological tissue remodeling and its alteration may play an important role in the progression of epithelial malignancies and other diseases. TCGA colon and colorectal adenocarcinoma data showed that upregulation of MMP11 expression correlates with tumorigenesis and malignancy. Here, we provide evidence that a germline variant in the MMP11 gene (NM_005940: c.232C>T; p.(Pro78Ser)), identified by whole exome sequencing, can increase the tumorigenic properties of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. P78S is located in the prodomain region, which is responsible for blocking MMP11’s protease activity. This variant was detected in the proband and all the cancer-affected family members analyzed, while it was not detected in healthy relatives. In silico analyses predict that P78S could have an impact on the activation of the enzyme. Furthermore, our in vitro analyses show that the expression of P78S in HCT116 cells increases tumor cell invasion and proliferation. In summary, our results show that this variant could modify the structure of the MMP11 prodomain, producing a premature or uncontrolled activation of the enzyme that may contribute to an early CRC onset in these patients. The study of this gene in other CRC cases will provide further information about its role in CRC development, which might improve patient treatment in the future.

  Study EGAS00001006489

• 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

• Offspring Sex Impacts DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Placentae from Women with Diabetes during Pregnancy

  Exposure to diabetes in utero is known to increase the offspring's likelihood of developing metabolic disease in adulthood, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. It has been proposed that early exposure to hyperglycemia and elevated insulin levels may lead to malprogramming of the fetus leading to the subsequent development of diabetes and obesity. Epigenetic modifications of the genome including DNA methylation, provide a plausible mechanism that allows for permanent propagation of gene activity states from one generation of cells to the next. The placenta, a fetal tissue easily accessible for study, is a complex organ that is essential in regulating fetal growth. The changes in placental nutrient transport associated with diabetes during pregnancy (DDP) have significant effects on the developing fetus, indicating that the placenta plays a critical role in fetal programming. The aim of our study was to investigate whether exposure to DDP alters genome-wide DNA methylation in the placenta obtained from term pregnancies resulting in differentially methylated loci of metabolically relevant genes and downstream changes in RNA and protein expression.

  Study phs001535