14538 results for "PLOS+ONE+Pennsylvania+German+ACS+language+code+pdc+open+access+study"

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• Whole genome sequencing with linked reads of pediatric glioblastoma samples

  Pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) is a lethal cancer with no effective therapies. To understand mechanisms of tumor evolution in this cancer, we performed whole genome sequencing with linked reads on longitudinally resected pGBM samples. Our analyses showed that all diagnostic and recurrent samples were collections of genetically diverse subclones. Clonal composition rapidly evolved at recurrence, with less than 8% of non-synonymous single nucleotide variants being shared in diagnostic-recurrent pairs. In order to track the origins of the mutational events we observed in pGBM, we generated whole genome datasets for two patients and their parents. These trios showed that genetic variants could be (i) somatic, (ii) inherited from a healthy parent, or (iii) arose de novo in the germlines of pGBM patients. Analysis of variant allele frequencies supported a model of tumor growth involving slow-cycling cancer stem cells that give rise to fast-proliferating progenitor-like cells and to non-dividing cells. Interestingly, radiation and anti-mitotic chemotherapeutics did not increase overall tumor burden upon recurrence. These findings support an important role for slow-cycling stem cell populations in contributing to recurrences, since slow-cycling cell populations are expected to be less prone to genotoxic stress induced by these treatments and to accumulate few mutations. Our results highlight the need for new targeted treatments that account for the complex functional hierarchies and genomic heterogeneity of pGBM.

  Study EGAS00001003432

• UK10K NEURO ASD GALLAGHER

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. This is an Irish sample set of individuals with ASD (approximately 50% with comorbid intellectual disability). Individuals have been diagnosed with ADI/ ADOS, measures of cognition/ adaptive function. They represent a more severe, narrowly defined cohort of ASD subjects. Family histories are available for some with measures of broader phenotype. For further information on this cohort please contact Nadia Bolshakova (bolshakn@tcd.ie).

  Study EGAS00001000112

• Probabilistic cell type assignment of single-cell transcriptomic data reveals spatiotemporal microenvironment dynamics in human cancers

  Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has transformed biomedical research, enabling decomposition of complex tissues into disaggregated, functionally distinct cell types. For many applications, investigators wish to identify cell types with known marker genes. Typically, such cell type assignments are performed through unsupervised clustering followed by manual annotation based on these marker genes, or via "mapping" procedures to existing data. However, the manual interpretation required in the former case scales poorly to large datasets, which are also often prone to batch effects, while existing data for purified cell types must be available for the latter. Furthermore, unsupervised clustering can be error-prone, leading to under- and over- clustering of the cell types of interest. To overcome these issues we present CellAssign, a probabilistic model that leverages prior knowledge of cell type marker genes to annotate scRNA-seq data into pre-defined and de novo cell types. CellAssign automates the process of assigning cells in a highly scalable manner across large datasets while simultaneously controlling for batch and patient effects. We demonstrate the analytical advantages of CellAssign through extensive simulations and exemplify real-world utility to profile the spatial dynamics of high-grade serous ovarian cancer and the temporal dynamics of follicular lymphoma. Our analysis reveals subclonal malignant phenotypes and points towards an evolutionary interplay between immune and cancer cell populations with cancer cells escaping immune recognition.

  Study EGAS00001003452

• Germline variants collaborate with somatic mutations and initiate and/or drive disease in primary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN)

  Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (T-MN) are poorly characterized secondary hematological malignancies following chemotherapy/radiotherapy exposure. We compared the clinical and mutational characteristics of T-MN (n=129) and primary myelodysplastic syndrome (P-MDS, n=108) patients. Although the somatic mutation frequency was similar between T-MN and P-MDS patients (93% in both groups), the pattern was distinct. TP53 mutations were more frequent in T-MN (29.5% versus 7%), while spliceosomal complex mutations were more common in P-MDS (56.5% versus 25.6%).In contrast to P-MDS, the ring sideroblasts (RS) phenotype was not associated with better survival in T-MN, most probably due to genetic association with TP53 mutations. SF3B1 was mutated in 96% of P-MDS with ≥15% RS, but in only 32% T-MN. TP53 mutations were detected in 92% T-MN with ≥15% RS and SF3B1 wild-type cases. Interestingly, T-MN and P-MDS patients with “Very low” or “Low” Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) showed similar biological and clinical characteristics. In a Cox-regression analysis, TP53 mutation was a poor prognostic factor in T-MN, independent of IPSS-R cytogenetic, disease-modifying therapy and NRAS mutation.Our data have direct implications for T-MN management and provide evidence that, in addition to conventional disease parameters, mutational analysis should be incorporated in T-MN risk stratification.

  Study EGAS00001003547

• Genomic Alterations in Gingivo-buccal Cancer: ICGC-India Project_YR01

  As a part of the ICGC, India has undertaken genomic studies on gingivobuccal cancer of the oral cavity, which is the most prevalent form of cancer among men in India. There are various known environmental (life-style) correlates of this cancer, the most important of which are tobacco chewing and HPV infection. Paired DNA samples – isolated from the tumor tissue and from the blood of fifty patients – have been analyzed to catalog germline and somatic mutations. Association between each observed genomic alteration and exposure to environmental risk factors is being explored.Detailed clinical characterization of the patients, collection of data on demographic and environmental exposures, and isolation of DNA samples from blood and tumor tissues collected from each patient are being done at the Advanced Centre for Research, Treatment and Education on Cancer, Mumbai. Exome capture and deep resequencing are being performed at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani. We have analyzed the exomes of paired blood and tumor DNA samples using two orthogonal platforms – exome capture by Roche-Nimblegen SeqCap Ez kit followed by sequencing on Roche-454 GS FLX, and exome capture by Illumina TrueSeq Exome Enrichment kit followed by sequencing on Illumina HiSeq-2000. Each exome is being sequenced at a mean depth of 30x. In addition, we have used Illumina Omni Quad SNP-chips to generate genotype data at 1.14 million genomic markers. The average concordance between SNP-chip and sequence data is 99.8%.

  Study EGAS00001000249

• Cistrome-partitioning reveals convergence of somatic mutations and risk-variants on master transcription regulators in primary prostate tumors

  Thousands of noncoding somatic Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs) of unknown function are reported in tumors. Partitioning the genome according to cistromes, reveals the enrichment of somatic SNVs in prostate tumors as opposed to adjacent normal tissue cistromes of master transcription regulators, including AR, FOXA1 and HOXB13. This parallels enrichment of prostate cancer genetic predispositions over these transcription regulators’ tumor cistromes, exemplified at the 8q24 locus harboring both risk-variants and somatic SNVs in cis-regulatory elements, upregulating MYC expression and altering the binding of transcription regulators to DNA. However, Massively-Parallel Reporter Assays reveal that few SNVs can alter the transactivation potential of individual CREs. Instead, SNVs accumulate, similarly to inherited riskvariants, in cistromes of master transcription regulators required for prostate cancer development. Difficulties in inferring the biological significance of noncoding mutations have limited their inclusion in precision genomics medicine pipelines. Most attempts to delineate a role for noncoding mutations relied on detecting evidence for positive selection within individual CREs, such as reported for the TERT gene promoter. By considering the enrichment of noncoding mutations in cistromes as opposed to individual CREs, we reveal their specificity towards master transcription regulators that promote prostate cancer development, a feature shared with inherited risk-variants. Overall, our work provides a blueprint for the functional interpretation of noncoding mutations in genomic tests relying on defining cis-regulatory units according to cistrome-partitioning to identify cancer driver transcription regulators.

  Study EGAS00001003928

• Open_Targets_020_Epigenomes_of_Cell_Lines

  There is currently a drive to establish cell based assay systems of greater human biological and disease relevance through the use of well characterised transformed cell lines, primary cells and complex cellular models (e.g. co-culture, 3D models). However, although the field is gaining valuable experience in running more non-standard & complex cell assays for target validation and compound pharmacology studies, there is the lack of a systematic approach to determine if this expansion in cell assay models is reflected in increased human biological and disease relevance. The increasing wealth of publically available transcriptomic, and epigenome (ENCODE and Epigenome Roadmap) data represents an ideal reference mechanism for determining the relationship between cell types used for target & compound studies to primary human cells and tissues from both healthy volunteers & patients. The CTTV020 epigenomes of cell line project aims to generate epigenetic and transcriptomic profiles of cell lines and compare these with existing and newly generated reference data sets from human tissue and cell types. The aim is to identify assay systems which will provide greater confidence in translating target biology and compound pharmacology to patients. Multiple cell types commonly used within research have been grouped according to biology. Examples include erythroid, lung epithelial, hepatocyte cell types and immortalised models of monocyte / macrophage biology. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001003138

• Long-read trio sequencing of unsolved patients with intellectual disability

  Long-read sequencing (LRS) has the potential to comprehensively identify all medically-relevant genome variation, including variation commonly missed by short read sequencing (SRS) approaches. To determine this potential, we performed LRS up to 40x coverage using the Pacific Biosciences Sequel instrument for 5 patient-parent trios with intellectual disability, whose aetiology remained unresolved after SRS exomes and genomes. A first systematic assessment of LRS coverage showed that ~35Mb of the genome was only accessible by LRS and not SRS. Structural variant (SV) calling yielded on average 28,292 SV calls per individual, totalling 12.9 MB of sequence. Trio-based analyses showed concordance for up to 95% of these SV calls across the genome, and 80% of the LRS SV calls were not identified by SRS. De novo mutation analysis did not identify any de novo SVs, confirming these are rare events. Because of high sequence coverage, we were also able to call single nucleotide substitutions. On average, we identified 3 million substitutions per genome, with a Mendelian inheritance concordance of up to 97%. Of these, approximately 100,000 were located in the ~35Mb of the genome that was only captured by LRS. Moreover, these variants affected the coding sequence of 64 genes, including 32 known to cause Mendelian disorders. Although no clinical diagnoses were made in these 5 patients, our data show the potential added value of LRS compared to SRS for identifying medically relevant genome variation.

  Study EGAS00001004319

• Targets of MEK inhibition in DIPG

  The survival of children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) remains dismal, with new treatments desperately needed. In the era of precision medicine, targeted therapies represent an exciting treatment opportunity, yet resistance can rapidly emerge, playing an important role in treatment failure. In a prospective biopsy-stratified clinical trial, we combined detailed molecular profiling (methylation BeadArray, exome, RNAseq, phospho-proteomics) linked to drug screening in newly-established patient-derived models of DIPG in vitro and in vivo. We identified a high degree of in vitro sensitivity to the MEK inhibitor trametinib in samples which harboured genetic alterations targeting the MAPK pathway, including the non-canonical BRAF_G469V mutation, and those affecting PIK3R1 and NF1. However, treatment of PDX models and of a patient with trametinib at relapse failed to elicit a significant response. We generated trametinib-resistant clones in the BRAF_G469V model through continuous drug exposure, and identified acquired mutations in MEK1/2 (MEK1_K57N, MEK1_I141S and MEK2_I115N) with sustained pathway up-regulation. These cells showed the hallmarks of mesenchymal transition, and expression signatures overlapping with inherently trametinib-insensitive primary patient-derived cells that predicted an observed sensitivity to dasatinib. Combinations of trametinib with dasatinib and the downstream ERK inhibitor ulixertinib showed highly synergistic effects in vitro. These data highlight the MAPK pathway as a therapeutic target in DIPG, and show the importance of parallel resistance modelling and rational combinatorial treatments likely to be required for meaningful clinical translation.

  Study EGAS00001004495

• The Medical Genome Reference Bank: a whole genome data resource of 4,000 healthy elderly individuals.

  Allele frequency data from human reference populations is of increasing value for filtering and assignment of pathogenicity to genetic variants. Aged and healthy populations are more likely to be selectively depleted of pathogenic alleles, and therefore particularly suitable as a reference populations for the major diseases of clinical and public health importance. However, reference studies of the healthy elderly have remained under represented in human genetics. We have developed the Medical Genome Reference Bank (MGRB), a large scale comprehensive whole genome dataset of confirmed healthy elderly individuals, to provide a publicly accessible resource for health related research, and for clinical genetics. It also represents a useful resource for studying the genetics of healthy aging. The MGRB comprises 4,000 healthy, older individuals with no reported history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or dementia, recruited from two Australian community based cohorts. DNA derived from blood samples will be subject to whole genome sequencing. The MGRB will measure genome wide genetic variation in 4,000 individuals, mostly of European decent, aged 60 to 95 years (mean age 75 years). The MGRB has committed to a policy of data sharing, employing a hierarchical data management system to maintain participant privacy and confidentiality, whilst maximizing research and clinical usage of the database. The MGRB will represent a dataset of international significance, broadly accessible to the clinical and genetic research community.

  Study EGAS00001003511

• Efficacy of JAK/STAT pathway inhibition in murine xenograft models of early T-cell precursor (ETP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia

  Early T-cell precursor (ETP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a recently described subtype of T-ALL characterized by a unique immunophenotype and genomic profile as well as a high rate of induction failure. Frequent mutations in cytokine receptor and JAK/STAT signaling pathways led us to hypothesize that ETP-ALL is dependent on JAK/STAT signaling. Here we demonstrate aberrant activation of the JAK/STAT pathway in ETP-ALL blasts relative to non-ETP T-ALL. Moreover, ETP-ALL showed hyperactivation of STAT5 in response to IL7, an effect that was abrogated by the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. In vivo, ruxolitinib displayed activity in 6/6 patient-derived murine xenograft models of ETP-ALL, with profound single-agent efficacy in 5 models. Ruxolitinib treatment decreased peripheral blast counts relative to pre-treatment levels and compared to control (P<0.01) in 5/6 ETP-ALL xenografts, with marked reduction in mean splenic blast counts (P<0.01) in 6/6 samples. Surprisingly, both JAK/STAT pathway activation and ruxolitinib efficacy were independent of the presence of JAK/STAT pathway mutations, raising the possibility that the therapeutic potential of ruxolitinib in ETP-ALL extends beyond those cases with JAK mutations. These findings establish the preclinical in vivo efficacy of ruxolitinib in ETP-ALL, a biologically distinct subtype for which novel therapies are needed.

  Study EGAS00001001146

• The clonal and mutational evolution spectrum of primary triple negative breast cancers

  Primary triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) represent approximately 16% of all breast cancers and are a tumour type defined by exclusion,for which comprehensive landscapes of somatic mutation have not been determined. Here we show in 104 early TNBC cases, that at the time of diagnosis these cancers exhibit a wide and continuous spectrum of genomic evolution, with some exhibiting only a handful of somatic aberrations in a few pathways, whereas others contain hundreds of somatic events and multiple pathways implicated. Integration with matched whole transcriptome sequence data revealed that only 36% of mutations are expressed. By examining single nucleotide variant (SNV) allelic abundance derived from deep re-sequencing (median > 20,000 fold) measurements in 2414 somatic mutations, we determine for the first time in an epithelial tumour, the relative abundance of clonal genotypes among cases in the population. We show that TNBC vary widely and continuously in their clonal frequencies at the time of diagnosis, with basal subtype TNBC exhibiting more variation than non-basal TNBC. Although p53 and somatic mutations appear clonally dominant compared with other pathways, in some tumours their clonal frequencies are incompatible with founder status. Mutations in cytoskeletal and cell shape/motility proteins occurred at lower clonal frequencies, suggesting they occurred later during tumour progression. Taken together our results show that future attempts to dissect the biology and therapeutic responses of TNBC will require the determination of individual tumour clonal genotypes.

  Study EGAS00001000132

• Renal_habitat_WXS

  This project aims at correlating genetic diversity (as well as transcriptomic, metabolic and immune diversity) observed in multiple targeted tumour biopsies and circulating tumour DNA with heterogeneity on multiparametric MRI. To this end, 20 patients with RCC (15 patients with localised/locally advanced disease and 5 with mRCC) will undergo multiparametric MRI including metabolic assessment by 13C-MRSI as well as measurements of tumour perfusion, oxygenation and water diffusion. Based on unique combinations of these imaging parameters, tumour habitats will be defined through cluster mapping. Intra-operative biopsy and immediate freezing of tumour cores from different imaging habitats will be performed. Multiregional ex-vivo tumour biopsies will be spatially registered to the MR data by using 3D printed tumour moulds generated from high-resolution volumetric sequences. These moulds allow slicing tumour specimens in identical planes to the MR acquisition and increase the accuracy of tissue sampling. The biopsies will then undergo molecular profiling such as metabolomic and RNA sequencing (including mRNA immune profiling), as well as DNA sequencing to assess driver and clonal mutations in different tumour habitats and guide design of appropriate cfDNA probes. The targeted cfDNA capture panel will be employed to determine the ability of cfDNA to capture the full genetic diversity observed in the primary tumour and to relate cfDNA to various imaging habitats in both renal and pancreatic cancer. Data integration will be undertaken between imaging habitats and molecular profiles for each region.

  Study EGAS00001003703

• Small variants in mtDNA Canary Islands - WES Illumina (ITER)

  The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is of interest for a range of fields including evolutionary, forensic, and medical genetics. Human mitogenomes can be classified into evolutionary related haplogroups that provide ancestral information and pedigree relationships. Because of this and the advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology, there is a diversity of bioinformatic tools for haplogroup classification. We present a benchmarking of the 11 most salient tools for human mtDNA classification using empirical whole-genome (WGS) and whole-exome (WES) short-read sequencing data from 36 unrelated donors. Besides, because of its relevance, we also assess the best performing tool in third-generation long noisy read WGS data obtained with nanopore technology for a subset of the donors. We found that, for short-read WGS, most of the tools exhibit high accuracy for haplogroup classification irrespective of the input file used for the analysis. However, for short- read WES, Haplocheck and MixEmt were the most accurate tools. Based on the performance shown for WGS and WES, and the accompanying qualitative assessment, Haplocheck stands out as the most complete tool. For third-generation HTS data, we also showed that Haplocheck was able to accurately retrieve mtDNA haplogroups for all samples assessed, although only after following assembly-based approaches (either based on a referenced-based assembly or a hybrid de novo assembly). Taken together, our results provide guidance for researchers to select the most suitable tool to conduct the mtDNA analyses from HTS data.

  Study EGAS00001005678

• Genome-wide cell-free DNA termini in patients with cancer

  The structure, fragmentation pattern, length and terminal sequence of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is under the influence of nucleases present in the blood. We hypothesized that differences in the diversity of bases at the end of cfDNA fragments can be leveraged on a genome-wide scale to enhance the sensitivity for detecting the presence of tumor signals in plasma. We surveyed the cfDNA termini in 72 plasma samples from 319 patients with 18 different cancer types using low-coverage whole genome sequencing. The fragment-end sequence and diversity were altered in all cancer types in comparison to 76 healthy controls. We converted the fragment end sequences into a quantitative metric and observed that this correlates with circulating tumor DNA tumor fraction (R = 0.58, p < 0.001, Spearman). Using these metrics, we were able to classify cancer samples from control at a low tumor content (AUROC of 91% at 1% tumor fraction) and shallow sequencing coverage (mean AUROC = 0.99 at >1M fragments). Combining fragment-end sequences and diversity using machine learning, we classified cancer from healthy controls (mean AUROC = 0.99, SD = 0.01). Using unsupervised clustering we showed that early-stage lung cancer can be classified from control or later stages based on fragment-end sequences. We observed that fragment-end sequences can be used for prognostication (hazard ratio: 0.49) and residual disease detection inresectable esophageal adenocarcinoma patients, moving fragmentomics toward a greater clinical implementation.

  Study EGAS00001005738

• Mutational landscape and patterns of clonal evolution in relapsed pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

  Relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a leading cause of childhood death. Prior studies have shown clonal mutations at relapse often arise from relapse-fated subclones that exist at diagnosis. However, the genomic landscape, evolutionary trajectories and mutational mechanisms driving relapse are incompletely understood. In an analysis of 92 cases of relapsed childhood ALL, incorporating multimodal DNA and RNA sequencing, deep digital mutational tracking and xenografting to formally define clonal structure, we identify 50 significant targets of mutation with distinct patterns of mutational acquisition or enrichment. CREBBP, NOTCH1, and Ras signaling mutations rose from diagnosis subclones, whereas variants in NCOR2, USH2A and NT5C2 were exclusively observed at relapse. Evolutionary modeling and xenografting demonstrated that relapse-fated clones were minor (50%), major (27%) or multiclonal (18%) at diagnosis. Putative second leukemias, including those with lineage shift, were shown to most commonly represent relapse from an ancestral clone rather than a truly independent second primary leukemia. A subset of leukemias prone to repeated relapse exhibited hypermutation driven by at least three distinct mutational processes, resulting in heightened neoepitope burden and potential vulnerability to immunotherapy. Finally, relapse-driving sequence mutations were detected prior to relapse using deep digital PCR at levels comparable to orthogonal approaches to monitor levels of measurable residual disease. These results provide a genomic framework to anticipate and circumvent relapse by earlier detection and targeting of relapse-fated clones.

  Study EGAS00001003975

• The Southern African Human Genome Programme

  The Southern African Human Genome Programme (SAHGP) is a national and regional initiative that aims to unlock the unique genetic character of southern African populations. Its vision is to improve quality of life through understanding human genetic diversity. It is timely to advance the SAHGP initiative since global genomic initiatives are increasingly pointing to populations in Africa, more specifically the San and Khoe from southern Africa, as harbouring the most ancient genetic signatures among the living populations of the world. Studies on African populations have already generated a wealth of information upon which the SAHGP can build. This information will be used to promote and support genomic research programmes both nationally and regionally to address critical questions that would benefit the people of our region. The SAHGP aims to make a significant contribution to the understanding of DNA variation among southern Africans and how this impacts on the health of the people of this region. Aims of the SAHGP: To develop capacity for genomic research in southern Africa; To establish sustainable resources for genomic research in the region; and To translate knowledge and information into improvements in human health in the region. The objective is to derive the maximum benefit from the SAHGP, and that the data should be widely shared with the scientific community for the benefit of the people of the sub-continent and beyond.

  Study EGAS00001002639

• DNA hypermethylation and differential gene expression associated with Klinefelter syndrome

  The molecular basis for the phenotypic traits and morbidity in Klinefelter syndrome (KS) are not clarified. As DNA methylation affect gene expression and thereby play a role in disease susceptibility, we performed genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of leucocytes from peripheral blood samples from 67 KS patients, 67 male controls and 33 female controls, in addition to genome-wide RNA-sequencing profiling in a subset of 9 KS patients, 9 control males and 13 female controls. Characterization of the methylome as well as the transcriptome of both coding and non-coding genes identified a unique epigenetic and genetic landscape of both autosomal chromosomes as well as the X chromosome in KS. A subset of genes show significant correlation between methylation values and expression values. Gene set enrichment analysis of differentially methylated positions yielded terms associated with well-known comorbidities seen in KS. In addition, differentially expressed genes revealed enrichment for genes involved in the immune system, wnt-signaling pathway and neuron development. Based on our data we point towards many new candidate genes (AKAP17A, AMOT, APOB, DACT1, DDX58, DOCK7, EIF2S3, FIGNL1, G3BP1, HENMT1, HERC5, IFI44, IFI44L, IFIT1, IFIT3, ISG15, KANK1, LGALS1, NSD1, PEX10, PLSCR1, RSAD2, SHROOM2, SLC25A6, SPEG, SPON2, TXLNG), which may be implicated in the phenotype and further point towards non-coding genes (RP13-216E22.4, RP13-36G14.4, G087825, G088512), which may be involved in X chromosome inactivation in KS and in the regulation of escape genes.

  Study EGAS00001002797

• H3.3G34R/V-transformed interneuron progenitors co-opt PDGFRA for gliomagenesis

  Histone H3.3 glycine 34 to arginine/valine (H3.3G34R/V) mutations occur in deadly hemispheric high-grade gliomas. These tumors show exquisite regional and temporal specificity, suggesting a developmental context permissive to the effects of G34R/V mutations. Here we present the molecular landscape of G34R/V gliomas (n=85) and show that 50% bear activating mutations in PDGFRA, with strong selection pressure for PDGFRAMUT clones at recurrence. We show that G34R/V tumors arise in interneuron progenitors of the foetal ventral forebrain expressing GSX2 and the DLX family of homeobox transcription factors, where terminal neuronal differentiation is impaired through aberrant G34R/V-mediated H3K27me3. Frequent co-occurrence of G34R/V & PDGFRAMUT is facilitated in this interneuron lineage-of-origin as PDGFRA forms an aberrant chromatin loop with the adjacent GSX2, hijacking its active chromatin conformation. At the single-cell level, G34R/V tumours entirely lack oligodendroglial transcriptional programs prominent in other glioma entities, and instead harbour dual neuronal and astroglial compartments. CRISPR-removal of H3.3G34R/V does not impact tumorigenicity suggesting this mutation becomes dispensable, while PDGFRAMUT are potently oncogenic regardless of G34 mutation. Collectively, our results suggest that G34R/V gliomas arise in foetal interneuron progenitors unable to undergo terminal differentiation, enabling co-option of PDGFRA through inappropriate expression and activating mutations to promote gliogenesis and oncogenicity. Reliance on PDGFRA for oncogenesis may be of therapeutic opportunity in G34R/V glioma.

  Study EGAS00001004301

• Atypical 3q26/MECOM rearrangements genocopy inv(3)/t(3;3) in acute myeloid leukemia

  Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with inv(3)/t(3;3)(q21q26) is a distinct WHO recognized entity, characterized by its aggressive course and poor prognosis. In this subtype of AML, the translocation of a GATA2 enhancer (3q21) to MECOM (3q26) results in overexpression of the MECOM isoform EVI1 and monoallelic expression of GATA2 from the unaffected allele. The full-length MECOM transcript, MDS1-EVI1, is not expressed as the result of the 3q26 rearrangement. Besides the classical inv(3)/t(3;3), a number of other 3q26/MECOM rearrangements with poor treatment response have been reported in AML. Here we demonstrate, in a group of 33 AML patients with atypical 3q26 rearrangements, MECOM involvement with EVI1 overexpression, but no or low MDS1-EVI1 levels. Moreover, the 3q26 translocations in these AML patients often involve super-enhancers of genes active in myeloid development (e.g. CD164, PROM1, CDK6 or MYC). In more than 50% of these cases allele specific GATA2 expression was observed, either by copy number loss or by an unexplained allelic imbalance. Altogether, atypical 3q26 recapitulate the main leukemic mechanism of inv(3)/t(3;3) AML, namely EVI1 overexpression driven by enhancer hijacking, absent MDS1-EVI1 expression and potential GATA2 involvement. Therefore, we conclude that both atypical 3q26/MECOM and inv(3)/t(3;3) can be classified as a single entity of 3q26-rearranged AMLs. Routine analyses determining MECOM rearrangements, EVI1 and MDS1-EVI1 expression are required to recognize 3q-rearranged AML cases.

  Study EGAS00001004325

• Memory-like HCV-specific CD8+ T cells retain a chronic scar after cure of chronic HCV infection

  Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with CD8+ T-cell exhaustion characterized by limited effector functions and thus compromised anti-viral activity. Exhausted HCV-specific CD8+ T cells are comprised of memory-like and terminally exhausted CD8+ T-cell subsets. So far, little is not known about the molecular profile and fate of these cells after elimination of chronic antigen stimulation by direct acting antiviral therapy (DAA). Here, we report an antigen-driven molecular core signature underlying exhausted CD8+ T-cell subset heterogeneity in chronic viral infection with a progenitor/progeny relationship of memory-like and terminally exhausted HCV-specific CD8+ T cells via an intermediate stage. Furthermore, transcriptional profiling reveals that the memory-like cells remain after DAA-mediated cure while terminally exhausted HCV-specific CD8+ T-cell subsets are lost. Thus, the memory polarization of the overall HCV-specific CD8+ T-cell response after cure does not result from re-differentiation of exhausted T cells. Consequently, antigen elimination has little impact on the exhausted core signature of memory-like CD8+ T cells that remains clearly different from bona fide T-cell memory. These results identify a molecular signature of T-cell exhaustion that is imprinted like a chronic scar in HCV-specific CD8+ T cells even after HCV cure, highlighting the requirement of re-programming to elicit full effector potential of exhausted T cells.

  Study EGAS00001004538

• Partner-independent fusion gene detection by multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 enrichment and long-read Nanopore sequencing

  Fusion genes are hallmarks of various cancer types and important determinants for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment possibilities. The promiscuity of fusion genes with respect to partner choice and exact breakpoint-positions restricts their detection in the diagnostic setting, even for known and recurrent fusion gene configurations. To accurately identify these gene fusions in an unbiased manner, we developed FUDGE: a FUsion gene Detection assay from Gene Enrichment. FUDGE couples target-selected and strand-specific CRISPR/Cas9 activity for enrichment and detection of fusion gene drivers (e.g. BRAF, EWSR1, KMT2A/MLL) - without prior knowledge of fusion partner or breakpoint-location - to long-read Nanopore sequencing. FUDGE encompasses a dedicated bioinformatics approach (NanoFG) to detect fusion genes from Nanopore sequencing data. Our strategy is flexible with respect to target choice and enables multiplexed enrichment for simultaneous analysis of several genes in multiple samples in a single sequencing run. We observe on average a 508-fold on-target enrichment and identify fusion breakpoints at nucleotide resolution - all within two days. We demonstrate that FUDGE effectively identifies fusion genes in cancer cell lines, tumor samples and on whole genome amplified DNA irrespective of partner gene or breakpoint-position in 100% of cases. Furthermore, we show that FUDGE is superior to routine diagnostic methods for fusion gene detection. In summary, we have developed a rapid and versatile fusion gene detection assay, providing an unparalleled opportunity for pan-cancer detection of fusion genes in routine diagnostics.

  Study EGAS00001003964

• Genetic variability in exon 1 of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1 is associated with postoperative complications

  Patients having major surgery experience inflammation post-operatively, which may contribute to post-operative morbidity. Endogenous glucocorticoids (GCs) are an essential part of the stress response, but this response varies between individuals, which may in turn affect clinical outcome in general, and post-operative inflammation, specifically. Exon 1 of the NR3C1 gene, encoding the glucocorticoid receptor, contains an established region of differential regulation. DNA methylation patterns in this region have been found to differ between individuals. We investigated the methylation status and genotype in the Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) island in exon 1 of NR3C1 in 24 patients who underwent major abdominal surgery and correlated it with post-operative complications. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes and underwent targeted bisulfite sequencing of the CpG island. Complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification and 14 out of 24 had post-operative complications. Multifactorial and partial least square methods were used to analyse the data. A homogenous demethylated pattern was observed in all patients and no single CpG methylation was associated with post-operative complications. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly correlated with higher Clavien-Dindo scores. Genetic variability in the chr5:143,402,505-143,405,805 region of exon 1 of the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1, but not DNA methylation, was associated with more severe post-operative complications in patients having major abdominal surgery. This indicates that the response to GCs may be of clinical importance for inflammatory conditions.

  Study EGAS00001005737

• Non-coding mutations reveal cancer driver cistromes in luminal breast cancer

  Whole-genome sequencing of primary breast tumors enabled the identification of cancer driver genes and non-coding cancer driver plexuses from somatic mutations. However, differentiating between driver and passenger events among non-coding genetic variants remains a challenge to understand the etiology of cancer and inform the delivery of personalized cancer medicine. Herein, we reveal enrichment of non-coding mutations in cis-regulatory elements that cover a subset of transcription factors linked to tumor progression in luminal breast cancers. Using a cohort of 26 primary luminal ER+PR+ breast tumors, we compiled a catalogue of ~100,000 unique cis-regulatory elements from ATAC-seq data. Integrating this catalogue with somatic mutations from 350 publicly available breast tumor whole genomes, we identified four recurrently mutated individual cis-regulatory elements. By then partitioning the non-coding genome into cistromes, defined as the sum of binding sites for a transcription factor, we uncovered cancer driver cistromes for ten transcription factors, namely CTCF, ELF1, ESR1, FOSL2, FOXA1, FOXM1 GATA3, JUND, TFAP2A, and TFAP2C in luminal breast cancer. Nine of these ten transcription factors were shown to be essential for growth in breast cancer, with four exclusive to the luminal subtype. Collectively, we present a strategy to find cancer driver cistromes relying on quantifying the enrichment of non-coding mutations over cis-regulatory elements concatenated into a functional unit drawn from an accessible chromatin catalogue derived from primary cancer tissues.

  Study EGAS00001005235

• Small variants in mtDNA Canary Islands - WGS Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ITER)

  The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is of interest for a range of fields including evolutionary, forensic, and medical genetics. Human mitogenomes can be classified into evolutionary related haplogroups that provide ancestral information and pedigree relationships. Because of this and the advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology, there is a diversity of bioinformatic tools for haplogroup classification. We present a benchmarking of the 11 most salient tools for human mtDNA classification using empirical whole-genome (WGS) and whole-exome (WES) short-read sequencing data from 36 unrelated donors. Besides, because of its relevance, we also assess the best performing tool in third-generation long noisy read WGS data obtained with nanopore technology for a subset of the donors. We found that, for short-read WGS, most of the tools exhibit high accuracy for haplogroup classification irrespective of the input file used for the analysis. However, for short- read WES, Haplocheck and MixEmt were the most accurate tools. Based on the performance shown for WGS and WES, and the accompanying qualitative assessment, Haplocheck stands out as the most complete tool. For third-generation HTS data, we also showed that Haplocheck was able to accurately retrieve mtDNA haplogroups for all samples assessed, although only after following assembly-based approaches (either based on a referenced-based assembly or a hybrid de novo assembly). Taken together, our results provide guidance for researchers to select the most suitable tool to conduct the mtDNA analyses from HTS data.

  Study EGAS00001005677

• Prostate cancer ancestral genomic disparity

  Prostate cancer is characterised by significant global disparity; mortality rates in SubSaharan Africa are double to quadruple those in Eurasia. Hypothesising unknown interplay between genetic and non-genetic factors, tumour genome profiling envisages contributing mutational processes. Through whole-genome sequencing of treatment-naïve prostate cancer from 183 ethnically/globally distinct patients (African versus European), we generate the largest cancer genomics resource for Sub-Saharan Africa. Identifying ~2 million somatic variants, Africans carried the greatest burden. We describe a new molecular taxonomy using all mutational types and ethno39 geographic identifiers, including Asian. Defined as Global Mutational Subtypes (GMS) A–D, although Africans presented within all subtypes, we found GMS-B to be ‘African-specific’ and GMS-D ‘African-predominant’, including Admixed and European Africans. Conversely, Europeans from Australia, Africa and Brazil predominated within ‘mutationally-quiet’ and ethnically/globally ‘universal’ GMS-A, while European Australians shared a higher mutational burden with Africans in GMS45 C. GMS predicts clinical outcomes; reconstructing cancer timelines suggests four evolutionary trajectories with different mutation rates (GMS-A, low 0.968/year versus D, highest 1.315/year). Our data suggest both common genetic factors across extant populations and regional environmental factors contributing to carcinogenesis, analogous to gene-environment interaction defined here as a different effect of an environmental surrounding in persons with different ancestries or vice versa. We anticipate GMS acting as a proxy to intrinsic and extrinsic mutational processes in cancers, promoting global inclusion in landmark studies.

  Study EGAS00001006425

• Disease and phenotype relevant genetic variants identified from histone acetylomes in human hearts

  Identifying genetic markers for heterogeneous complex diseases such as heart failure has been challenging, and may require prohibitively large cohort sizes in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in order to demonstrate statistical significance1. On the other hand, chromatin quantitative trait loci (QTL), elucidated by direct epigenetic profiling of specific human tissues, may contribute towards prioritising variants for disease-association. Here, we captured non-coding genetic variants by performing enhancer H3K27ac ChIP-seq in 70 human control and end-stage failing hearts, mapping out a comprehensive catalogue of 47,321 putative human heart enhancers. 3,897 differential acetylation peaks (FDR < 0.05) pointed to recognizable pathways altered in heart failure (HF). To identify cardiac histone acetylation QTLs (haQTLs), we regressed out confounding factors including HF disease status, and employed the G-SCI test2 to call out 1,680 haQTLs (FDR < 0.1). A subset of these showed significant association to gene expression, either in cis (180), or through long range interactions (81), identified by Hi-C and Hi-ChIP performed on a subset of hearts. Furthermore, a concordant relationship was found between the gain or disruption of specific transcription factor (TF) binding motifs, inferred from alternative alleles at the haQTLs, associated with altered H3K27ac peak heights. Finally, colocalisation of our haQTLs with heart-related GWAS datasets allowed us to identify 62 unique loci. Disease-association for these new loci may indeed be mediated through modification of H3K27-acetylation enrichment and their corresponding gene expression differences.

  Study EGAS00001003586

• H3Africa - Stroke Investigative Research and Education Networks

  Although stroke is a discrete phenotype, it is the clinical culmination of several complex and interacting biological processes, precipitated by various genetic and environmental factors, thereby making ready analyses of its underlying mechanisms a challenge. However, the formulation of successful tailor-made prevention strategies for limiting the immense personal and societal burden of stroke in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is contingent on a better understanding of the predisposing risk factors for stroke in the region, which may not necessarily match the nature of stroke risk factors described among other people on other continents. Indeed, the underlying risk factors for stroke in SSA have hitherto not been comprehensively characterized, and currently there is a paucity of expertise, experience, and infrastructure in genomics and environmental research in SSA, to initiate and sustain such investigation. We seek to establish the Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) as a multidisciplinary collaborative research network of investigators in SSA and the United States collectively focused on exploring ways to promote a better understanding of the genetic and environmental risk factors for stroke among people of African ancestry. SIREN will evaluate unique contributors to stroke in SSA and compare these findings with those in a cohort of African American stroke survivors, all while simultaneously building sustainable capacities in phenomics, biobanking, genomics, biostatistics and bioinformatics for future high-level investigation of stroke and other vascular disease entities in SSA.

  Study EGAS00001007331

• Oxidative phosphorylation is a key ontogenetic feature of monocyte immunometabolism promoting myeloid differentiation after birth

  Neonates primarily rely on innate immunity, yet their inflammatory responses to microbes, particularly those of monocytes, are usually restricted compared to adults. This is controversially interpreted as immaturity increasing the risk of sepsis or essential programming allowing immune adaptation after birth. Which changes the cellular immunometabolism undergoes after birth and its role in these concepts are poorly defined. Here, we applied transcriptomic, metabolic, and immunological approaches and found that monocytes exhibit an inverse ontogenetic balance of immunometabolism. Our data show that glycolysis in monocytes increases within the first year of life and fuels their inflammatory responsiveness. In contrast, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is high in neonatal monocytes supporting myeloid differentiation but declines only gradually during the first five years of life. Treatment of neonatal monocytes with lipopolysaccharide induces an adult-like immunometabolic phenotype. Ketogenic diet restricts glycolysis in adult monocytes, but cannot reactivate OXPHOS and revive a neonatal-like immunometabolic phenotype, suggesting that neonatal metabolism is hardwired and cannot be restored by simple dietary changes. Transcriptional network and population-wide human variation analyses identified E2F1, MYB, STAT1 and FLI1 as important regulators of age-dependent cell functions and related energy demands in human monocytes. Collectively, our findings show that restricted glycolysis and increased OXPHOS are a physiological programming in neonatal monocytes. Premature switching to an adult-like metabolism could untimely enhance inflammatory responses and disrupt important myeloid differentiation, whereas microbial challenges accumulating during childhood seem to induce an essential gradual metabolic switch.

  Study EGAS00001007555

• NIPT samples for systematic evaluation of BinDel, a software tool for detecting clinically significant microdeletions in low-coverage WGS-based NIPT samples

  This dataset contains three sets of samples. The first sample set contains euploid fetus pregnancies reported by NIPTIFY screening test and postnatal evaluation. Dataset was processed similarly to previously published guidelines from KU Leuven, with modifications [1]. Briefly, peripheral blood samples were collected in cell-free DNA BCT tubes (Streck, USA), and plasma was separated with standard dual centrifugation. Cell-free DNA was extracted from 3 ml plasma using MagMAX Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit (ThermoFisher Scientific). Whole-genome libraries were prepared using the FOCUS (Fragmented DNA Compact Sequencing Assay, Competence Centre on Health Technologies, Estonia) NIPT method protocol with 12 cycles for the final PCR enrichment step. In the following quantification, equal amounts of 36 samples were pooled, and the quality and quantity of the pool were assessed on Agilent 2200 TapeStation (Agilent Technologies, USA). Whole genome sequencing was performed on the NextSeq 550 instrument (Illumina Inc.) with an average coverage of 0.32× (minimum 0.08 and maximum 0.42) and producing 85 bp single-end reads. The second sample set contains a single NIPT sample postnatally diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. The sample was sequenced with Illumina NextSeq 500 platform, producing 85 bp single-end reads with an average per-sample coverage of 0.32× at the University of Tartu, Institute of Genomics Core Facility, according to the manufacturer’s standard protocols, as described previously [2]. The third sample set contains samples SC005 (SeraCare Life Sciences Inc lot #10446565), SC0042 (#10571706), and SC016 (#10560229). These are SeraCare Life Sciences Inc circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) like mixture of human genomic DNA that consists of matched maternal and fetus. SC005 and SC0042 consist of matched DNA of maternal and fetus with DiGeorge Syndrome. SC016 is a custom-ordered DNA Mix with fetus DNA having a pathogenic loss of the terminal region of 20p13 and a pathogenic 3q29 duplication. SC016 was processed as the first sample set was processed, and SC0042 was processed as the second sample set was processed. Sample SC005 was processed once as was sample set 1 and once as was sample set 2 processed. This study was performed with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Tartu (#352/M-12). 1. Bayindir B, Dehaspe L, Brison N, Brady P, Ardui S, Kammoun M, et al. Noninvasive prenatal testing using a novel analysis pipeline to screen for all autosomal fetal aneuploidies improves pregnancy management. Eur J Hum Genet. 2015;23: 1286– 1293. doi:10.1038/ejhg.2014.282 2. Žilina O, Rekker K, Kaplinski L, Sauk M, Paluoja P, Teder H, et al. Creating basis for introducing noninvasive prenatal testing in the Estonian public health setting. Prenat Diagn. 2019;39: 1262–1268. doi:10.1002/pd.5578

  Dataset EGAD00001009512

• cfMethyl-seq data (cfSort study) from serial plasma samples of NSCLC patients

  The cfMethyl-Seq libraries of the serial plasma cfDNA samples from the four NSCLC patients were constructed following the standard protocol. 10 ng of cfDNA in the volume of 25 µl was used as input material. 5’-end dephosphorylation was done with 3 µl 10xCutSmart buffer and 2 µl quick CIP from NEB (Ipswich, MA) at 37 oC for 30 min then heat-inactivated at 80 oC for 5 min. The 3’-end blocking was done with 0.5 µl 10xCutSmart buffer, 3 µl 2.5 mM CoCl2, 1 µl terminal transferase (all from NEB), and 0.5 µl 1 mM ddGTP at 37 oC for 2 h followed by 75 oC for 20 min. The mixture was then purified with 2x AmpureXP beads (Beckman Coulter, Indianapolis, IN) and eluted in 21.5 µl RT-PCR grade water (Thermo-Fisher, Waltham, MA). Restriction digestion was done with 2.5 µl 10xCutSmart buffer and 1 µl MspI (NEB) for 18 h at 37  oC and 20 min at 65 oC . 0.5 µl 10xCutSmart buffer, 0.3 µl dACGTP mixture (100 mM dATP, 10 mM dCTP, 10 mM dGTP), 1 µl Klenow (exo-, 5U/µl, NEB) and 2.6 µl RT-PCR water, 0.6 µl 50 mM DTT (ThermoFisher) was added to the mixture for end repair and A-overhang addition with the program 30  oC for 20 min, 37 oC for 1 h and 75 oC for 20 min. Adapter ligation was then performed with 1 µl 10xThermoFisher HC T4 ligase buffer, 0.4 µl 100 mM ATP (ThermoFisher), 0.2 µl 50 mM DTT, 1 µl ThermoFisher HC T4 DNA ligase (30 Weiss Unit/µl), 5 ng home-made duplex UMI adapter with all the cytosines methylated (protocol adopted from Kennedy et al.) at 16 oC for 20 h and 65 oC for 20 min. Bisulfite conversion of the adapter-ligated product was carried out with QIAGEN EpiTect plus DNA bisulfite kit following their protocol for two rounds of conversion. The converted product was purified with Qiagen MinElute spin column and eluted with 20 µl RT-PCR water. PCR amplification was done using the NEBNext Multiplex Oligos for Illumina (2.5 µl of universal and index primer each) and 25 µl KAPA HiFi HotStart Uracil+ ReadyMix (Roche) with the following cycling conditions: 98  oC for 45 s, 15 cycles of 98  oC for 15 s, 60  oC for 30 s and 72  oC for 30 s, followed by a final extension at 72  oC for 5 min. The PCR product was purified with 1x AmpureXP beads and eluted with 30 µl EB buffer. DNA concentration was measured by Qubit 1xdsDNA HS assay. 5% TBE-UREA PAGE and bioanalyzer assay was performed as quality control on each library before sequencing.

  Dataset EGAD00001010881

• Evolution of an adenomacarcinoma in response to selection by targeted kinase inhibitors

  Background - Adenocarcinomas of the tongue are rare and represent the minority (20-25%) of salivary gland tumors affecting the tongue. We investigated the utility of massively parallel sequencing to characterize an adenocarcinoma of the tongue, before and after treatment. Results - In the pre-treatment tumor we identified 7,629 genes within regions of copy number gain. 1,078 genes exhibited increased expression relative to the blood and unrelated tumors and four genes contained somatic protein-coding mutations. Our analysis suggested the tumor cells were driven by the RET oncogene. Genes whose protein products are targeted by the RET inhibitors sunitinib and sorafenib correlated with being amplified and or highly expressed. Consistent with our observations administration of sunitinib was associated with stable disease lasting 4 months, after which the lung lesions began to grow. Administration of sorafenib and sulindac provided disease stabilization for an additional 3 months after which the cancer progressed and new lesions appeared. A recurring metastasis possessed 7,288 genes within copy number amplicons, 385 genes exhibiting increased expression relative to other tumours and 9 new somatic protein coding mutations. The observed mutations and amplif ications were consistent with therapeutic resistance arising through activation of the MAPK and AKT pathways. Conclusions - We conclude that complete genomic characterization of a rare tumour has the potential to aid in clinical decision making and identifying therapeutic approaches where no established treatment protocols exist. These results also provide direct in-vivo genomic evidence for mutational evolution within a tumor under drug selection and potential mechanisms of drug resistance accrual.

  Study EGAS00000000074

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Serum Stimulation of Human Intestinal Organoids Induces Barrier Leakiness and Changes in Goblet Cell Differentiation

  Human intestinal epithelial cells are the interface between potentially harmful luminal content and basally residing immune cells. Their role is not only nutrient absorption but also the formation of a tight monolayer that constantly secretes mucus creating a multi-layered protective barrier. Alterations in this barrier can lead to increased gut permeability which is frequently seen in individuals with chronic extraintestinal autoimmune diseases, such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Despite recent advances in identifying alterations in gut microbiota composition in SLE patients, not much attention has been given to the epithelial barrier itself. To date, it remains largely unexplored which role and function intestinal epithelial cells have in SLE pathology. Here, we present a unique near-physiologic in vitro model specifically designed to examine the effects of SLE on the epithelial cells. We utilize human colon organoids that are stimulated with serum obtained from SLE patients. Combining bulk and single-cell RNA transcriptomic analysis with functional assays revealed that SLE serum stimulation induced a unique expression profile marked by a reduction of goblet cell marker expression and mucus composition. Additionally, organoids exhibited imbalanced cellulat composition along with enhanced paracellular permeability,mitochondrial function, and a type I interferon gene signature. Similarly, transcriptomic analysis of SLE human colon biopsies revealed a downregulation of epithelial secretory markers. Our work uncovers a crucial connection between SLE and intestinal homeostasis that might be promoted in vivo through the blood, offering insights into the causal connection of barrier dysfunction and autoimmune diseases.

  Study EGAS50000000012

• Carboxylesterase 1 mediates a distinctive metabolic profile of dendritic cells to attain an inflammatory phenotype

  The metabolic profile of dendritic cells (DCs) shapes their phenotype and functions. Carboxylestrase 1 (CES1) enzyme is highly expressed in mononuclear myeloid cells however its exact role in DCs is elusive. We used a CES1 inhibitor (WWL113) and genetic overexpression to explore the role of CES1 in DCs differentiation in inflammatory models. CES1 expression was analyzed during CD14+ monocytes differentiation to DCs (MoDCs) using quantitative PCR. CES1 Inhibitor (WWL113) was applied during MoDCs differentiation. Surface markers, secreted cytokines, lactic acid production, phagocytic and T cell polarization capacity were analyzed. Transcriptomic and metabolic profile were assessed with RNA-sequencing and mass spectrometry. Cellular respiration was assessed with seahorse respirometry. Transgenic mice were used to assess CES1 overexpression in DCs in inflammatory models. CES1 expression peaks early during MoDCs differentiation. Pharmacological inhibition of CES1 led to higher expression of CD209, CD86 and MHCII. WWL113 treated MoDCs secreted higher quantities of IL6, IL8, TNF and IL10 and demonstrated stronger phagocytic ability and higher capacity to polarize Th17 differentiation in autologous DCs-T cells co-culture model. Transcriptomic profiling revealed enrichment of multiple inflammatory and metabolic pathways. Functional metabolic analysis shows impaired maximal mitochondrial respiration capacity, increased lactate production and decreased intracellular amino acids and TCA intermediates. Transgenic human CES1 overexpression in murine DCs generated less inflammatory phenotype and increased resistance to T cell mediated colitis. In conclusion, CES1 inhibition directs DCs differentiation towards more inflammatory phenotype, that shows stronger phagocytic capacity and supports Th17 skewing. This is associated with disrupted mitochondrial respiration and amino acids depletion.

  Study EGAS50000000230

• A Single Cell Transcriptomic Analysis of Human Neocortical Development

  Defining the number, proportion, or lineage of distinct cell types in the developing human brain is an important goal of modern brain research. We produced single cell transcriptomic profiles for 40,000 cells at mid-gestation to define deep expression profiles corresponding to all known major cell types at this developmental period and compare this with bulk tissue profiles. We identified multiple transcription factors (TFs) and co-factors expressed in specific cell types, including multiple new cell-type-specific relationships, providing an unprecedented resource for understanding human neocortical development and evolution. This includes the first single-cell characterization of human subplate neurons and subtypes of developing glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. We also used these data to deconvolute single cell regulatory networks that connect regulatory elements and transcriptional drivers to single cell gene expression programs in the developing CNS. We characterized major developmental trajectories that tie cell cycle progression with early cell fate decisions during early neurogenesis. Remarkably, we found that differentiation occurs on a transcriptomic continuum, so that differentiating cells not only express the few key TFs that drive cell fates, but express broad, mixed cell-type transcriptomes prior to telophase. Finally, we mapped neuropsychiatric disease genes to specific cell types, implicating dysregulation of specific cell types in ASD, ID, and epilepsy, as the mechanistic underpinnings of several neurodevelopmental disorders. Together these results provide an extensive catalog of cell types in human neocortex and extend our understanding of early cortical development, human brain evolution and the cellular basis of neuropsychiatric disease.

  Study phs001836

• SLCO1B1 Variants and Methotrexate Clearance

  Methotrexate plasma concentration is related to its clinical effects. To identify the genetic basis of interindividual variability in methotrexate pharmacokinetics in children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we performed a genome-wide analysis (GWAS) of 500,568 germline single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 434 children with ALL who received 3,014 courses of methotrexate at 2 to 5 g/m2. SNPs were validated in an independent cohort of 206 patients. Adjusting for age, race, sex, and methotrexate regimen, the most significant associations were with SNPs in the organic anion transporter polypeptide, SLCO1B1 (rs11045879 (P = 1.7 x 10-10) and rs4149081 (P = 1.7 x 10-9) (Trevino et al, PMID: 19901119). To test whether rare variants in SLCO1B1 could alter its function, we genotyped SLCO1B1 exons in a slightly larger group of 699 children with ALL who received methotrexate and identified 93 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found several common and rare non-synonymous (NS) SNPs associated with methotrexate clearance. NS SNPs predicted to be functionally damaging (common or rare) were more likely to be found among patients with the lowest adjusted methotrexate clearance (lowest 10%) than patients with high clearance (highest 10%). Four SLCO1B1 haplotypes were associated with reduced methotrexate clearance and we verified that these haplotypes have lower function with in vitro transport assays. We were able to quantitatively account for a third of the population variability in clearance of methotrexate with clinical and genetic covariates. This data set includes the dependent variable of methotrexate clearance and all of the SNP data available from arrays, sequencing, and genotyping.

  Study phs000426

• Investigation of the Causal Etiology in a Patient with T-B+NK+ Immunodeficiency

  We describe a male proband with normal B lymphocyte and natural killer (NK) cell numbers, but who had T lymphopenia beginning at 1 week of age. His peripheral blood contained very few T cell receptor excision circles (TREC), suggesting impaired thymic T cell development. He received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell marrow transplant, but despite engraftment, it did not fully correct the T lymphopenia. Sequencing excluded known immunodeficiency genes; however, whole exome sequencing revealed X-linked inheritance by the male proband of a missense mutation in MED14 (MED14V763A), a component of the mediator complex. Functional screening of the MED14V763A variant in zebrafish suggested that MED14 is essential for normal development, since morpholino (MO)-mediated loss of MED14 function attenuated T cell development, but it was rescued by ectopic expression of the wild type human MED14 but not by the MED14V763A variant. This defect in T cell repopulation is consistent with the incomplete T cell reconstitution observed upon transplantation of the proband with bone marrow from his healthy male sibling, who was found to have the same MED14V763A variant. However, the brother was normal, indicating that the altered MED14 could not by itself explain the disease. WES also revealed a mutation in the L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAMQ498H); however, introducing that mutation in vivo in mice did not disrupt T cell development. Consequently, the immunodeficiency in the patient is not fully elucidated. It is possible that MED14 contributes, but it is also possible that another gene is fully responsible for the disease.

  Study phs002990

• Common Variation in Candidate Genes in the Diabetes Prevention Program

  The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a multicenter controlled clinical trial examining the efficacy of an intensive lifestyle intervention or metformin to prevent or delay the development of diabetes in a population selected to be at high risk due to the presence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and obesity. Development of diabetes, defined by 1997 American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria, was the primary outcome while cardiovascular disease and its risk factors were important secondary outcomes. The pharmacological intervention was double blinded and placebo controlled. After randomization, participants had quarterly clinical evaluations and had, in addition, a fasting plasma glucose at semi-annual visits and a 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test at annual visits. Volunteers were recruited from populations known to be at particularly high risk for impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes including the following: persons with a family history of NIDDM, the elderly, overweight individuals, women with a history of diabetes during pregnancy ("gestational diabetes"), and minority populations including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Pacific Island Americans, and Native Americans. The primary focus of the genetic investigations have been on candidate genes, including candidates derived from GWAS of diabetes, lipid and glycemia-related phenotypes. Please note more phenotype data for the DPPG cohort is available through the NIDDK Data Repository. Information on obtaining this phenotype data can be found by going to https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dppos/?query=DPP and https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dpp/?query=DPP. Data will need to be requested from both data sets. A linking file will be available to the NIDDK Data Repository.

  Study phs000681

• Role of Tobacco Smoke in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

  Background. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histologically defined renal cancer. However, it is not a uniform disease and includes several genetic subtypes with different prognoses. ccRCC is also characterized by distinguished metabolic reprogramming. Tobacco smoking (TS) is an established risk factor for ccRCC with unknown effects on tumor pathobiology.Methods. We investigated the landscape of ccRCCs and paired normal kidney tissues (NKTs) using integrated transcriptomic, metabolomic and metallomic approaches in a cohort of never smokers (NS) and long-term current smokers (LTS) Caucasian males. Results. All three Omics domains consistently identified a distinct metabolic subtype of ccRCCs in LTS, characterized by activation of oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) coupled with reprogramming of the malate-aspartate shuttle and metabolism of aspartate, glutamate, glutamine and histidine. Cadmium, copper and inorganic arsenic accumulated in LTS tumors showing redistribution among intracellular pools, including relocation of copper into the cytochrome c oxidase complex. Gene expression signature based on the LTS metabolic subtype provided prognostic stratification of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ccRCC tumors that was independent from genomic alterations.Conclusions. The work identified the TS related metabolic subtype of ccRCC with vulnerabilities that can be exploited for precision medicine approaches targeting metabolic pathways. The results provided rationale for the development of metabolic biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic applications using evaluation of OxPhos status. The metallomic analysis revealed the role of disrupted metal homeostasis in ccRCC highlighting the importance of studying effects of metals from e-cigarettes and environmental exposures.

  Study phs002083

• NHLBI GO-ESP: Family Studies (Familial Atrial Fibrillation)

  The NHLBI "Grand Opportunity" Exome Sequencing Project (GO-ESP), a signature project of the NHLBI Recovery Act investment, was designed to identify genetic variants in coding regions (exons) of the human genome (the "exome") that are associated with heart, lung and blood diseases. These and related diseases that are of high impact to public health and individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups will be studied. These data may help researchers understand the causes of disease, contributing to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, as well as determine whether to tailor prevention and treatments to specific populations. This could lead to more effective treatments and reduce the likelihood of side effects. GO-ESP is comprised of five collaborative components: 3 cohort consortia - HeartGO, LungGO, and WHISP - and 2 sequencing centers - BroadGO and SeattleGO. Large epidemiological studies have demonstrated a significant heritable component in atrial fibrillation (AF), especially the Lone forms, suggesting a monogenic syndrome. Although substantial genetic contribution has been made to the etiology of AF, the specific genes have not yet been identified. The familial form of this disease remains poorly characterized and largely undetermined. Here we seek to identify, characterize and determine the natural course of AF in our clinical practice. We identified four large multi-generation families (FAF 1-4). In FAF 1-2, most family members have symptomatic paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and were adequately treated with a combination of rate and rhythm therapies. By contrast, the AF substrate in FAF 3 and 4 was resistant to anti-arrhythmic drugs and ablation therapies.

  Study phs000362

• Liquid Biopsy Versus Tissue Biopsy to Assess Acquired Resistance and Tumor Heterogeneity in Gastrointestinal Cancers

  Tumor heterogeneity can drive the evolution of multiple tumor subclones harboring unique molecular resistance alterations in different metastatic lesions in an individual patient, under the selective pressure of therapy1-3. Studies have suggested that liquid biopsy may better capture the heterogeneity of acquired resistance, but systematic, direct comparisons of post-progression liquid vs. standard single-lesion tumor biopsies are lacking. In a prospective cohort of 44 patients with molecularly-defined gastrointestinal cancers and acquired resistance to targeted therapy, direct comparison of post-progression liquid vs. tumor biopsy revealed that liquid biopsy more frequently identified clinically-relevant resistance alterations and multiple resistance mechanisms, detecting resistance alterations not detected in matched tumor biopsy in 78% of cases. Whole-exome sequencing of serial cell-free DNA, tumor biopsies and rapid autopsy specimens elucidated geographic and evolutionary characteristics of heterogeneity. Our data suggest that acquired resistance is frequently characterized by profound tumor heterogeneity and highlight the potential clinical utility of liquid biopsy. Burrell, R. A. & Swanton, C. Tumour heterogeneity and the evolution of polyclonal drug resistance. Molecular oncology 8, 1095-1111, doi:10.1016/j.molonc.2014.06.005 (2014). Misale, S. et al. Emergence of KRAS mutations and acquired resistance to anti-EGFR therapy in colorectal cancer. Nature 486, 532-536, doi:10.1038/nature11156 (2012). Ahronian, L. G. et al. Clinical Acquired Resistance to RAF Inhibitor Combinations in BRAF-Mutant Colorectal Cancer through MAPK Pathway Alterations. Cancer Disco 5, 358-367, doi:10.1158/2159-8290.Cd-14-1518 (2015).

  Study phs001853

• Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing of Circulating Cell-Free (CCF) DNA and its Cellular Contributors

  Background: Circulating cell free (ccf) fetal DNA has enabled non-invasive prenatal fetal aneuploidy testing without direct discrimination of the genetically distinct maternal and fetal DNA. Current testing may be improved by specifically enriching the sample material for fetal DNA. DNA methylation may allow for such a separation of DNA and thus support additional clinical opportunities; however, this depends on knowledge of the methylomes of ccf DNA and its cellular contributors. Results: Whole genome bisulfite sequencing was performed on a set of unmatched samples including ccf DNA from 8 non-pregnant (NP) and 7 pregnant female donors and genomic DNA from 7 buffy coat and 5 placenta samples. We found CpG cytosines within longer fragments were more likely to be methylated, linking DNA methylation and fragment size in ccf DNA. Comparison of the methylomes of placenta and NP ccf DNA revealed many of the 51,259 identified differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were located in domains exhibiting consistent placenta hypomethylation across millions of consecutive bases, regions we termed placenta hypomethylated domains. DMRs identified when comparing placenta to NP ccf DNA were recapitulated in pregnant ccf DNA, confirming the ability to detect differential methylation in ccf DNA mixtures. Conclusions: We generated methylome maps for four sample types at single base resolution, identified a link between DNA methylation and fragment length in ccf DNA, identified DMRs between sample groups, and uncovered the presence of megabase-size placenta hypomethylated domains. Furthermore, we anticipate these results to provide a foundation to which future studies using discriminatory DNA methylation may be compared.

  Study phs000846

• Stand Up To Cancer East Coast Prostate Cancer Research Group

  Most prostate cancer deaths are caused by metastatic, castration resistant disease (mCRPC). To develop a precision medicine framework for mCRPC, we established a multi-institutional, international clinical sequencing infrastructure to enroll and carry out prospective whole exome and transcriptome sequencing of tumors from a cohort of mCRPC patients. We obtained high quality DNA and RNA sequence data from 150 bone or soft tissue biopsies. Central pathology revealed high-grade adenocarcinoma with only four cases (3.6%) showing neuroendocrine differentiation. Aberrations of AR, ETS genes, TP53 and PTEN were frequent (40-60% of cases), with TP53 and AR alterations being the most enriched in mCRPC compared to primary prostate cancer. We identified novel genomic alterations in PIK3CA/B (fusions and mutations); R-spondin, BRAF and RAF1 (fusions); APC (inactivating mutations); delta-catenin (missense mutations); and ZBTB16/PLZF (homozygous deletions). Aberrations of BRCA2, BRCA1 and ATM were observed at substantially higher frequencies (19.3% overall) than seen in primary prostate cancers, with 56% of these being exclusively somatic. Putative driver gene alterations were identified in nearly all patients, and over half also harbored driver gene fusions, homozygous deletions and/or amplifications. Moreover, 89% of patients harbored a clinically actionable aberration including 62.7% with aberrations in AR, 65% in other cancer-related genes, and 8% with actionable pathogenic germline alterations. Overall, integrative clinical sequencing analysis can be safely and efficiently performed in mCRPC, yields findings that may be actionable for enrolling patients in clinical trials of targeted therapies, and may inform the basis of individual clinical responses.

  Study phs000915

• Sporadic autism exomes reveal a highly interconnected protein network of de novo mutations

  It is well established that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a strong genetic component; however, for at least 70% of cases, the underlying genetic cause is unknown. Under the hypothesis that de novo mutations underlie a substantial fraction of the risk for developing ASD in families with no previous history of ASD or related phenotypes-so-called sporadic or simplex families-we sequenced all coding regions of the genome (the exome) for parent-child trios exhibiting sporadic ASD, including 189 new trios and 20 that were previously reported. Additionally, we also sequenced the exomes of 50 unaffected siblings corresponding to these new (n = 31) and previously reported trios (n = 19), for a total of 617 individual exomes from 209 families deposited in dbGaP. Here we show that de novo point mutations are overwhelmingly paternal in origin (4:1 bias) and positively correlated with paternal age, consistent with the modest increased risk for children of older fathers to develop ASD. Moreover, 39% (49 of 126) of the most severe or disruptive de novo mutations map to a highly interconnected beta-catenin/chromatin remodelling protein network ranked significantly for autism candidate genes. In proband exomes, recurrent protein-altering mutations were observed in two genes: CHD8 and NTNG1. Mutation screening of six candidate genes in 1,703 ASD probands identified additional de novo, protein-altering mutations in GRIN2B, LAMC3 and SCN1A. Combined with copy number variant (CNV) data, these results indicate extreme locus heterogeneity but also provide a target for future discovery, diagnostics and therapeutics.

  Study phs000482

• Decoding Human Heart Morphogenesis through Single-cell Multi-modal Analyses

  The heart, which is the first organ to develop, is highly dependent on its form to function. However, how diverse cardiac cell types spatially coordinate to create complex morphological structures critical for heart function remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that integration of single cell RNA-sequencing with high-resolution multiplexed error-robust fluorescent in situ hybridization (MERFISH) not only resolves the identity of cardiac cell types developing the human heart but also provides a spatial mapping of individual cells that enables illumination of their organization into cellular communities forming distinct cardiac structures. We discovered that many of these cardiac cell types further specified into subpopulations exclusive to specific communities, supporting their specialization according to cellular ecosystem and anatomic region. In particular, ventricular cardiomyocyte subpopulations displayed an unexpected complex laminar organization across the ventricular wall and formed, with other cell subpopulations, several cellular communities. Interrogating cell-cell interactions within these communities revealed signaling pathways orchestrating the spatial organization of cardiac cell subpopulations during ventricular wall morphogenesis. In vivo conditional genetic mouse models and in vitro human pluripotent stem cell studies confirmed an intricate multicellular PLXN-SEMA crosstalk among specific ventricular cardiomyocyte, fibroblast and endothelial cell subpopulations that directs the compaction of the ventricular wall layers. Thus, these detailed findings into the cellular social interactions and specialization of cardiac cell types constructing and remodeling the human heart offer new insights into structural heart diseases as well as engineering complex multi-cellular tissues for human heart repair. Reprinted from Farah et al. (In press), with permission from Nature.

  Study phs002031

• Non-Coding Autoimmune Risk Variant Defines Role for ICOS in T Peripheral Helper Cell Development

  Our fine-mapping of 76 non-MHC loci associated with risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA, 11,475 cases, 15,870 controls) has recently identified rs117701653, a non-coding single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CTLA4/CD28/ICOS locus, as the variant most likely to modulate RA risk within this region, with the minor allele C showing disease protection compared to the major allele A. We found that this SNP exhibits allele-specific protein binding and transcriptional modulation, further supporting its regulatory nature. Here, we aimed to determine whether the functional non-coding variant rs117701653 modulates the expression of genes within the CD28/CTLA4/ICOS locus. To address this question, we employed low-input RNA sequencing using the Illumina SmartSeq2 platform on resting total CD4+ T cells from the blood of 24 healthy subjects (8 AA, 8 AC, 8 CC) recruited based on genotype from the Mass General Brigham biobank. We performed a targeted cis-eQTL mapping analysis for protein coding genes with transcription start sites (TSS) within a 1MB window of SNP rs117701653. These genes included WDR12, NBEAL1, CYP20A1, ABI2, RAPH1, CD28, CTLA4, ICOS, and PARD3B. Surprisingly, allelic variation at rs117701653 correlated strongly with expression of ICOS. This suggests that individuals carrying the protective allele C at rs117701653 express lower levels of ICOS, implicating ICOS as a plausible target gene influenced by this protective allele. The raw sequence data from the 24 healthy individuals are available through dbGAP. Gene expression matrices have been deposited to GEO accession GSE235868.

  Study phs003448

• ILyAD (Indolent Lymphoma And vitamin D)

  Indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas are incurable diseases, and require intermittent and often morbid and expensive therapy during their prolonged natural history. Lower intensity and better-tolerated, cost-effective treatment strategies are needed for these patients. Low vitamin D levels at diagnosis of indolent lymphomas are strongly associated with inferior outcomes to treatment. Standard therapy for low tumor burden, indolent lymphoma includes a single agent monoclonal antibody (rituximab). In our double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial we evaluated if vitamin D supplementation with 2000IU oral cholecalciferol daily for three years improved the progression-free survival of patients with indolent lymphoma treated with single agent rituximab. Stratification factors for randomization included histology and Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FL-IPI) prognostic score. The primary endpoint of the trial was progression-free survival over three years; secondary endpoints included response at 13 weeks, and overall survival. Eligible participants were adults with biopsy proven follicular lymphoma (grades 1-3a), small lymphocytic lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma and mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue with no prior anti-lymphoma systemic therapy. Participants had Ann Arbor stage II or greater, measurable disease defined by Lugano criteria. Participants with osteoporosis requiring prescription treatment, symptomatic primary hyperthyroidism, hypercalcemia, creatinine greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal or a history of calcium-related kidney stones were excluded. Germline DNA was isolated from saliva samples obtained from participants at baseline. Whole exome sequencing was performed and SNPs were analyzed using the Agilent SureSelectXT Human All Exon V6 +UTR array. SNP data from 185 participants are available through dbGaP.

  Study phs003503

• Cerebrospinal fluid cfDNA sequencing for classification of central nervous system glioma

  Primary central nervous system (CNS) gliomas can be classified by characteristic genetic alterations. In addition to solid tissue obtained by surgery or biopsy, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) derived from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an alternative source of material for genomic analyses. Experimental design: We performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) of CSF cfDNA in a representative cohort of 85 patients presenting with with suspicion of primary or recurrent glioma at two neurooncological centers. Copy-number variation (CNV) profiles, single nucleotide variants (SNVs), and small insertions/ deletions (indels) were combined into a molecular-guided tumor classification. Comparison with the solid tumor was performed for 38 cases with matching solid tissue available. Results: Cases were stratified into four groups: glioblastoma (n = 32), other glioma (n = 19), non-malignant (n = 17) and no confirmed diagnosis available (n = 17). We introduce a molecular-guided tumor classification, enabling identification of tumor entities and/ or cancer specific alterations in 75.0 % (n = 24) of glioblastoma and 52.6 % (n = 10) of other glioma cases. The overlap between CSF and matching solid tissue was highest for CNVs (26-48 %) and SNVs at pre-defined gene loci (44 %), followed by SNVs/indels identified via uninformed variant calling (8-14 %). A molecular-guided tumor classification was made 23.5 % (n = 4) of cases with no confirmed diagnosis available. Conclusions: We developed a workflow for targeted sequencing of CSF cfDNA as well as a strategy for interpretation and reporting of sequencing results based on a molecular-guided tumor classification in glioma.

  Study EGAS50000000060

• NCI Cancer Model Development for the Human Cancer Model Initiative (HCMI)

  The Cancer Model Development Center (CMDC) project is part of the Human Cancer Model Initiative (HCMI) and is managed by the Office of Cancer Genomics within the Center for Cancer Genomics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The goal of the HCMI is to generate approximately 1000 novel human "next generation" tumor-derived models as a community resource. The models aim to faithfully recapitulate the cellular complexity and heterogeneity of human tumors. The CMDCs are tasked by the NCI with producing a proportion of the cancer models. Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI) is a contributing member of the HCMI. Models developed by HCMI are being derived from a number of tumor types and subtypes (see below), including rare adult, pediatric and understudied cancers. The number of models and the clinical sites from which patient samples are acquired is increasing. Normal tissue, originating tumor, and tumor-derived models are sequenced. The next generation cancer models are associated with rich clinical and genomic data through the NCI Genomic Data Commons for all researchers to advance cancer research. The CMDC and HCMI models will serve as excellent tools in research to provide insight into the pathways that influence tumor growth and progression, how tumors respond to therapy, etc. Ultimately, the data generated using these models will support the development of personalized oncology. There is a delay between registered IDs and model availability. The current model count is found in The HCMI Searchable Catalog which is updated when new models are available for distribution to the research community.

  Study phs001486

• Single Cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Profiling of Haemophilus ducreyi Infection

  We investigated the immune response in end-point pustules formed by Haemophilus ducreyi in volunteers using an experimental infection model. Six volunteers were infected in the skin of the upper arm at three sites with 41-85 CFU of H. ducreyi loaded on an allergy testing device; a sham-inoculated (e.g., wound) site was also performed. Five volunteers (4 men and 1 woman; 2 Asians and 3 Whites; aged 27-46 years) formed pustules 6-8 days post infection; 1 volunteer spontaneously resolved all sites. If a volunteer formed pustules, biopsies were performed to collect their pustule and wound sites. Biopsy pairs for all 5 pustule formers were subjected to single cell (sc) RNA-seq. Sequencing libraries were prepared using the 10X Genomics Single-cell 3' RNA-seq kit. Spatial transcriptomics was performed on biopsy pairs from 4 of the 5 pustule formers. Ten micron sections were placed on 10X Genomics Visium slides for fresh-frozen tissue, and libraries were prepared with the 10X Genomics Visium spatial 3' gene expression kit. All samples were sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000. Count tables were produced with CellRanger and SpaceRanger, respectively, and Seurat was used to analyze the data. We identified 13 major cell types by scRNA-seq; the proportion of some immune cell subsets was increased in pustules compared to wound sites. We also localized the major cell types within the tissue by using the scRNA-seq data to deconvolve the spatial transcriptomic data. The FASTQ files and count tables from CellRanger and SpaceRanger are provided.

  Study phs003754