Search Results - EGA European Genome-Phenome Archive

WGS of high grade serous ovarian tumours and matched blood normals

FASTQ reads for 34 matched tumour-normal WGS pairs for high grade serous ovarian cancer patients. Scottish HGSOC samples were collected via local Bioresource facilities at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen and stored in liquid Nitrogen until required. HGSOC patients were determined from pathology records and were included in the study where there was matched tumour and whole blood samples. Tumour samples were divided into two for DNA and RNA extraction and slivers of tissue were taken, fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin wax (FFPE). Samples were only included if they were confirmed as HGSOC and there was greater than 40% tumour cellularity throughout the tumour, determined using H&sE staining of the FFPE sections and pathology review. Somatic DNA was extracted from the tumour and germline DNA was extracted from whole blood. Somatic DNA was extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood and tissue kit (cat no 69504). The tissue was initially homogenised using a Qiagen Bioruptor, followed by the manufacturers recommended protocol (including RNase digestion step). Germline DNA was extracted from 1-3ml whole blood using the Qiagen FlexiGene kit (cat no 51206) following the manufacturers recommended protocol. The resulting DNA underwent quality control as follows: firstly, A260 and A280nm were measured on a Denovix DS-11 Fx to qualitatively illustrate A260/280nm and A260/230nm ratios as surrogate measures of DNA purity. A260/280 had to be 1.8 or greater and A260/230 had to be 2.0 or greater. Then, DNA was quantified using LifeTechnologies Qubit dsDNA BR kit (cat no Q32850) and we required a minimum of 50ul at 25ng/ul for WGS. Thirdly, DNA was diluted to 25ng/ul and a representative sample was loaded onto a 0.8% TAE gel, ran at 100v for 60mins and then imaged using a BioRad ChemiDoc imaging system to visualise the DNA quality.

Dataset EGAD00001010135

Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitopes Sequencing (CITE-Seq) Analysis to Investigate the Impact of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor on CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Edited Human Hematopoietic Stem Cell Function

Our research using in-vivo preclinical xenograft mouse models demonstrated that G-CSF impedes engraftment of CRISPR-Cas9 gene edited human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In this CITE-seq study, we sought to investigate the mechanisms by which G-CSF negatively impacts long-term repopulating functions of CRISPR-Cas9 gene edited human HSCs. Accordingly, human CD34+ cells were obtained from a healthy volunteer and edited with Cas9 alone (Cas9 group), Cas9+AAVS1-targeting gRNA (RNP group), or Cas9+AAVS1-targeting gRNA+GSE56 (RNP/GSE56 group). Then, these edited cells were transplanted into busulfan-conditioned NSG mice, and these mice subsequently received 3 days of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or G-CSF. Each mouse was subsequently euthanized and harvested for bone marrow cells and human CD34+cells were isolated using immunomagnetic beads. Isolated CD34+ cells from a total of 6 mice were individually stained with Total seq B CITE-seq antibodies (CD38, CD45RA, CD90, CD49f) + hashtag oligo antibodies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to purify ~2,500 cells from each group that were subsequently pooled for CITE-seq library preparation and sequencing. Seurat was used to demultiplex data into 6 individual groups and differential gene expression analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of G-CSF within Cas9, RNP and RNP/GSE56 groups.

Study phs003277

NHLBI TOPMed: Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium (PCGC)'s Congenital Heart Disease Biobank

The Pediatric Cardiovascular Genetics Consortium (PCGC) proposes to define genetic causes for congenital heart defects (CHD) as part of the TOPMed Program are the most common form of heart disease in childhood and are also the most prevalent form of birth defects, occurring in 2-3% of live births. The PCGC has recruited and clinically characterized = 10,000 CHD probands and parents (CHD trios). From whole exome sequencing (WES) of >2800 CHD trios, we identified a substantial enrichment of damaging de novo mutations in genes important for cardiogenesis, particularly implicating histone modifier enzyme gene defects. Analysis of whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 350 probands with CHD unexplained by WES and their parents preliminarily implicated de novo mutations in enhancers of genes previously shown to cause CHD in mouse knock out models. Sequencing of RNA (RNAseq) from discarded cardiac tissues from CHD probands has revealed likely causal allele-specific expression (ASE) as well as biallelic loss of expression (LOE). We have also discovered de novo epimutations, differentially methylated regions (DMRs), some with underlying de novo DNA variation, that are detectable in peripheral blood leukocytes and appear to underlie 10% of CHD. Of note, these assorted 'omic' approaches have enabled one another, both for attributing causality and assessing functional impact. Based on these extensive preliminary data, we hypothesize that PCGC probands with uninformative exomic analyses (WES-negative) harbor de novo genetic and/or epigenetic mutations in critical regulatory elements that participate in developmental expression of cardiac genes. To identify these etiologies, we propose analyses of WGS in 1000 WES-negative CHD trios, prioritizing those with probands with banked CHD tissues (n=78), one damaging variant in a recessive CHD gene, and older fathers (age>45). We also request WGS for 230 probands, for whom we have cardiac tissues but not parental DNAs. We request RNAseq for 308 cardiac tissues. For DNA methylation, which TOPMed will offer through the Illumina 850k array platform, we are requesting analysis of DNAs from peripheral blood leukocytes for all probands for whom WGS will be performed (1000 from trios, 230 singletons) as well as DNAs from cardiac tissues (n=308) to pair with the WGS, RNAseq and blood DNA methylation data. We will use existing resources and capabilities of the PCGC to confirm relevant mutations and those of its companion consortium in the Bench to Bassinet Program, the Cardiovascular Development Consortium, to inform analyses of non-coding mutations as well as to perform confirmatory functional genomics studies using cell and animal models. We expect that the studies resulting from data generated through TOPMed will provide novel insights into the molecular basis for CHD and fundamental knowledge about genes and pathways involved in cardiac development. Aside from being relevant to CHD, we anticipate that our findings will inform the understanding of later-onset cardiovascular diseases, including some arising in adulthood.

Study phs001735

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Biospecimen Pre-analytical Variables (BPV) Analysis

The Biospecimen Pre-analytical Variables (BPV) Program is a National Cancer Institute-sponsored study to systematically assess the effects of pre-analytical factors on the molecular profile of biospecimens. A robust biospecimen collection infrastructure was established to prospectively collect biospecimens using rigorous standard operating procedures to control for most variables while introducing experimental conditions to study specific biospecimen handling issues, including the cold ischemic time (delay to formalin fixation), time in formalin, freezing methods, and storage temperatures and durations. RNA and DNA from biospecimens collected under these conditions was analyzed on multiple molecular platforms. The potential effects of these pre-analytical conditions on protein integrity and detection of metabolites were also examined. Data from this study will be used to develop evidence-based biospecimen standard operating procedures and best practices for fit-for-purpose collection, processing, and storage of biospecimens. The BPV Cohort is utilized in the following dbGaP substudies. To view genotypes, analysis, expression data, other molecular data, and derived variables collected in these substudies, please click on the following sub-studies below or in the "Substudies" box located on the right hand side of this top-level study page phs001304 BPV Cohort. The substudy links will be active once they are released by dbGaP. Preanalytical Impacts on Global Metabolite Profiling - plasma (MassSpec by Metabolon) This study was to evaluate the impact of the storage temperature (s) (-80°C and LN2 vapor) and the length of storage on human plasma quality using LC-MS/MS (liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry) based global metabolite profiling. The study includes 240 plasma samples collected from 40 donors. Investigate the effect of the delay to fixation on the proteome and phosphoproteome -FFPE (MassSpec by Caprion). The study is to do proteome and phosphoproteome analysis on Delay to fixation was carried out using FFPE tumor samples from colon and ovarian cancer patients comparing 2, 3, and 12hr delay to fixation to the 1hr time point. The study includes 100 samples 20 donors. Investigate the effect of storage conditions of tumor specimens on the proteome and phosphoproteome profiling- Frozen tissue and plasma (MassSpec by Caprion). The study was to evaluate the effects of storage conditions on tumor specimens. Plasma samples from 40 cancer patients stored at two different temperatures (-80°C and LN2) for a given period (0-2, 6-8, and 12-14 months) were evaluated. Frozen kidney tumor samples from 20 patients were compared for effects of different snap frozen (dry ice vs. LN2) and storage temperatures (-80°C and LN2). The study includes 100 tissue and 240 plasma samples from 60 donors. Preanalytical Impacts on Genomic Sequencing by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology (mRNA/miRNA and WES by Expression Analysis). The goal of the study is to determine the effects of cold ischemic delay-to-fixation (4 time points) and formalin preservation (FFPE) on the nature and quality of genomic profiles using the matched freshly frozen sample as the gold standard, which including WES, RNAseq. The study includes 395 samples from 37 donors. Preanalytical Impacts on Copy Number Variation (CNV) Detection by aCGH technology (aCGH by Georgetown University). This study was to use aCGH to evaluate the effect of variation in cold ischemia time and time in formalin fixation on CNV in DNA extracted from kidney cancer specimens. The study includes 235 samples from 40 donors. Evaluation of frozen conditions on mRNA profiling by TaqMan assay (mRNA expression by Georgetown University). This study was to utilize gene expression profiling, using custom TaqMan arrays, to compare the molecular profiles of RNA from frozen tumor samples collected using two freezing methods (dry ice or LN2), two storage temperatures (-80°C or LN2 vapor), as well as Optimal Cutting Temperature (OCT) compound and non-OCT embedded. The study includes 100 samples from 20 donors. mRNA signature for stratification by cold ischemia time (mRNA expression by IBBL). The study was to determine the effects of cold ischemic time (delay-to-fixation) and formalin preservation (FFPE) on mRNA detection by Taqman assay using tumor tissue specimens from kidney, colon and ovarian cancer patients. There are160 samples from 40 donors. The Biospecimen PV cohort is utilized in the following dbGaP individual studies. To view molecular data, and derived variables collected in these individual studies, please click on the following individual studies below or in the "Sub-studies" box located on the right hand side of this top-level study page phs001304 Biospecimen PV cohort. phs001634 CIT mRNA phs001635 CNV aCGH phs001636 Fixation Delay phs001637 Global Metabolite Profiling phs001638 mRNA TaqMan phs001639 NGS phs001640 Tumor Storage

Study phs001304

Uveal Melanoma Immunogenomics Predict Immunotherapy Resistance and Susceptibility

Immunotherapy using immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) has shown success in treating metastatic cutaneous melanoma but has limited efficacy against metastatic uveal melanoma (UM), a rare variant arising from the immune privileged eye. To better understand this immune resistance, we performed comprehensive immunogenomic profiling of 100 human UM metastases using clinicogenomics, bulk and single cell transcriptomics, T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire analysis, and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) potency assessment. We found that over half of these metastases harbored TIL with potent autologous tumor specificity, despite having low tumor mutational burden and resistance to prior immunotherapies, including ICI and the bispecific T cell engager tebentafusp. These T cell infiltrated metastases displayed activated antigen presenting cells, chronic interferon signaling, and diverse TCR repertoires. However, we observed strikingly low intratumoral TCR clonality and transcriptionally non-proliferative TIL within the tumor microenvironment even after ICI and tebentafusp therapy, demonstrating that these immunotherapies were insufficient to induce proliferation of the tumor reactive TIL. To harness the therapeutic potential of these quiescent TIL, we developed rapid tumor transcriptomic profiling to enable their selective in vivo identification and ex vivo liberation to counter their growth suppression. We demonstrate that adoptive transfer of these transcriptomic selected TIL can promote tumor immunity in patients with metastatic UM when other immunotherapies are incapable.Data that will be available through dbGaP includes raw bulk tumor transcriptomic sequencing data.

Study phs003330

Beyond BRCA deficiency: Clinical and molecular predictors of survival in patients with BRCA-deficient tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma

Homologous recombination DNA repair deficient (HRD) tumors account for about 50% of tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSC) and are associated with a high response to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, a subset of patients with HRD tumors have unexpected resistance to chemotherapy and experience short survival. Our study compared BRCA-deficient and proficient HGSC among patients with short (<3 years, the lowest quartile of overall survival (OS)) versus longer-term (>3 year OS) to identify prognostic markers and potential therapeutic opportunities. Primary tumors from a cohort of patients with advanced-stage HGSC (n=154) enriched for those with HRD tumors and short survival (n=42) were analyzed using whole-genome sequencing, bulk RNA-sequencing, and DNA methylation profiling. A subset of HRD tumors (n=143) were characterized for immune cell densities by multiplex immunofluorescence. Clinicopathological features were assessed in 1,389 patients with HGSC, including 282 with pathogenic germline BRCA variants (gBRCApv). Findings were validated in two international HGSC cohorts: the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium (n=5,875) and Multisciplinary Ovarian Cancer Outcome Group (n=895). In gBRCApv-carriers, residual disease following surgical cytoreduction was not associated with shorter OS unlike in non-carriers where it was strongly associated. While most patients with gBRCApv had a more favorable OS compared to non-carriers, a survival advantage was not apparent in those with variants located outside of BRCA1 exon 10/23 and BRCA2 exon 11/27. Patient survival correlated with HRD score, such that those with a score ≥63 had significantly longer OS compared to those with HRD scores of 42-63 and <42. While higher HRD scores were associated with better survival outcomes, most gBRCApv carriers with a short survival had tumor HRD scores that exceeded the threshold typically considered predictive of a good response to carboplatin or PARP inhibitors. BRCA2-deficient HGSC with loss of the tumor suppressor NF1 was associated with exceptionally favorable outcome (median OS 17 years), whereas amplification of both PIK3CA and RAD21, was associated with poor outcome in BRCA2-deficient HGSC (median OS 2.9 years). The density of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ PD-1+ T cells was prognostic for OS in gBRCApv-carriers. In summary, rather than simply the presence or absence of a germline BRCA pathological variant influencing patient survival, the co-occurrence of specific somatic gene alterations, the extent of immune cell infiltration, the level of homologous recombination deficiency, and BRCA-variant location may modify clinical outcomes in patients with BRCA-deficient HGSC. Analysis of exceptional outcome patients, in this case gBRCApv-carriers with an atypically short survival, may identify determinants of outcome applicable to the wider HGSC patient population.

Study EGAS00001008059

Genomic Characterization of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Lines

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth leading cancer by incidence worldwide(1). Various chemical carcinogens (tobacco, alcohol and betel nut), human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and genetic predisposition contribute to the etiology of HNSCC, and to the complex genetic alterations in tumor subsets that differ in prognosis and response to therapies (2). Recently, a comprehensive landscape of genomic and transcriptomic alterations in HNSCC tumors has emerged from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Network (3). TCGA revealed novel and previously recognized gene and chromosomal region copy number alterations (CNAs), mutations, and expression clusters, and defined their frequency, co-occurrence, and relationship to common and rare subtypes of HPV(-) and (+) tumors that vary in prognosis. To identify cell line models for determining the functional role and therapeutic importance of these alterations, we are performing whole exome and RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of an expanded panel of 15 HPV(-) and 11 HPV(+) HNSCC cell lines and primary oral keratinocytes. We find that the recurrent genomic alterations in cell lines are remarkably consistent with those found in more aggressive tumors, from which cell lines have traditionally been most readily adapted to culture (4). Genome-wide correlation of CN (copy number) with expression identified a suite of potential drivers or modifier genes that differ by HPV status, and are of potential biologic and therapeutic relevance. Further, our findings elucidate and validate genomic alterations underpinning numerous discoveries made with these widely-used and recently derived HNSCC lines, and provide a roadmap for their potential use as models for future studies of tumor subtypes with worse prognosis. References Torre LA, Bray F, Siegel RL, Ferlay J, Lortet-Tieulent J, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin. 2015;65(2):87-108. Van Waes C, Musbahi O. Genomics and advances towards precision medicine for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2017;2(5):310-9. Cancer Genome Atlas N. Comprehensive genomic characterization of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Nature. 2015;517(7536):576-82. White JS, Weissfeld JL, Ragin CC, Rossie KM, Martin CL, Shuster M, et al. The influence of clinical and demographic risk factors on the establishment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. Oral Oncol. 2007;43(7):701-12.

Study phs001581

Phase II Study of Cryoablation and Post-Progression Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Metastatic Melanoma

Percutaneous cryoablation guided by imaging is a well-established, minimally invasive treatment for oncological conditions. We posited that cryoablation could alter the immune microenvironment by directly influencing the tumor, potentially eliciting an anti-tumor response in cases resistant to immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). In this non-randomized phase II single-center study (NCT03290677), individuals with unresectable melanoma experiencing progression on ICI underwent cryoablation in a single progressing metastasis, while ICI was continued for at least two additional cycles. The main objectives were to assess safety and feasibility and to evaluate tumor response in non-ablated lesions. Between May 2018 and July 2020, 17 patients participated in the study. The treatment regimen proved safe, revealing an objective response rate of 23.5% and a disease control rate of 41% (comprising 4 partial responses and 3 stable diseases). In our investigation into the factors influencing response to cryoablation therapy in ICI-resistant melanoma, we conducted single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) using both 10x Genomics and Smart-seq2 technologies on biopsies from metastatic sites of 15 patients. We collected pre-treatment samples from all patients and post-treatment samples from 5 patients, totaling 20 samples. After quality control, excluding cells specific to anatomical sites or rare cell types (e.g., alveolar type II, neurons), and batch correction, we analyzed 49,071 single cells spanning melanocyte, endothelial, stromal, T, myeloid, and B/plasma cell lineages. Differential gene expression (DGE) analysis between myeloid cells identified the genes MARCKS and IL10, two genes involved in anti-inflammatory responses that can inhibit macrophages activation to be associated with failed response. Moreover, DGE analysis of T cells identified the gene TXK, which acts as a Th1 transcription factor, and the gene CMKLR1 (chemerin-like-receptor-1), which triggers migration of CD8 T-cells to be upregulated in patients who benefited from cryoablation treatment. In contrast, MTHFD2 and GGH, two genes involved in one-carbon metabolism and the folate cycle, were upregulated in T cells from patients who did not respond to therapy. Our analysis revealed a significant increase in B/plasma cells in patients who responded positively to the therapy combination, along with an enrichment of oxidative phosphorylation in T cells among non-responsive patients with progressive disease. These findings advocate for further investigation into this innovative and synergistic therapeutic approach.

Study phs003579

Plasma MicroRNA Signatures of Aging

Background. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally and show differential expression in various tissues with aging phenotypes. Detectable in circulation, extracellular microRNAs reflect (patho)physiological processes and hold promise as biomarkers for healthy aging and age-related diseases. This study aimed to explore plasma extracellular microRNAs as biological aging indicator and their associations with health outcomes using population-level data. Methods. We quantified plasma expression levels of 2,083 extracellular microRNAs using targeted RNA-sequencing in 2,684 participants from the population-based Rotterdam Study cohort. The training and test sets included 1,930 participants from the advanced-aged initial and second subcohort (RS-I/RS-II; median age: 70.6), while the validation set comprised 754 participants from the middle-aged fourth subcohort (RS-IV; median age: 53.5). Based on 591 microRNAs well-expressed in plasma, we examined differential expression of microRNAs with chronological age, PhenoAge –a composite score of age and nine multi-system blood biomarkers–, the frailty index, and mortality. Next, elastic net models were employed to construct composite microRNA-based aging biomarkers predicting chronological age (mirAge), PhenoAge (mirPA), frailty index (mirFI), and mortality (mirMort). The association of these aging biomarkers with different age-related health outcomes was assessed using Cox Proportional Hazard, linear regression, and logistic regression models in the test and validation sets. Results. We identified 188 microRNAs differentially expressed with chronological age within the RS-I/RS-II advanced-aged population (ntraining=1158, ntest=772), of which 177 microRNAs (94.1%) were replicated in the middle-aged RS-IV subcohort (nvalidation=754). Moreover, 227 miRNAs showed robust associations with PhenoAge, 61 with FI, and 16 with ten-year mortality independent of chronological age. Subsequently, we constructed four plasma microRNA-based aging biomarkers: mirAge with 108, mirPA with 153, mirFI with 81, and mirMort with 50 miRNAs. Elevated scores on these microRNA-based aging biomarkers were associated with unfavorable health outcomes, including lower subjective physical functioning and self-reported health and increased mortality and frailty risk, but not with first- or multi-morbidity. Overall, larger effect estimates were observed for mirPA, mirFI, and mirMort compared to mirAge. Conclusions. This study describes distinct plasma microRNA-aging signatures and introduces four microRNA-based aging biomarkers with potential to identify accelerated aging and age-related decline, providing insights into the intricate process of human aging.

Study EGAS00001008117

dbGaP Collection: NHLBI Heart Failure Related dbGaP Data (No IRB requirement)

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Big Data Analysis Challenge: Creating New Paradigms for Heart Failure Research has concluded. The NHLBI will continue to make this collection of data available to the research community.Past information regarding the Data Collection for the NHLBI Big Data Analysis Challenge: Creating New Paradigms for Heart Failure Research is below.The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is inviting novel Solutions for the NHLBI Big Data Analysis Challenge: Creating New Paradigms for Heart Failure Research. The goal of the challenge is to foster innovation in computational analysis and machine learning approaches utilizing large-scale NHLBI-funded datasets to identify new paradigms in heart failure research. The challenge aims to address the need for new open source disease models that can define sub-categorizations of adult heart failure to serve as a springboard for new research hypotheses and tool development in areas of heart failure research from basic to clinical settings. NHLBI has a history of making considerable investments in the creation of deep data resources including: long-standing, deeply-phenotyped epidemiological cohorts, innovative clinical trials, and large-scale precision medicine efforts that have generated whole genome sequencing and "other omics" data for more than one-hundred thousand individuals. To provide challenge participants with streamlined access to data across NHLBI's numerous studies containing heart failure data, the NHLBI has created this dbGaP study collection. Data access for this collection is controlled by NHLBI's Data Access Committee. Challenge participants are required to follow the use restrictions and acknowledgement instructions from the original dataset(s). Please note that the data in this collection are not harmonized across studies or otherwise altered from the original study. The NHLBI Big Data Analysis Challenge: Heart Failure Data Collection contains all NHLBI studies currently in dbGaP that contain data that may be relevant to research on heart failure. The studies in this collection are approved for General Research Use (GRU), Health/Medical/Biomedical Use (HMB), or Disease-Specific Use (DS) that permits research on heart failure. These studies span a variety of study designs, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample sizes, and provide a wide breadth and depth of phenotype data on study participants. The available genomic data in these studies also varies, including genotyping arrays, sequencing (targeted, exome, whole genome), and additional -omic data (e.g., RNA or metabolite profiles). Please refer to each study's individual accession page to learn more about how study data were collected. Challenge participants are reminded that in addition to dbGaP, NHLBI's Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center (BioLINCC) contains other studies that have collected data relevant to heart failure and may wish to utilize BioLINCC data in the development of their Solution. Please refer to the individual accession page for each study in this collection to learn more about the history of each study.

Study phs001991

GA4GH

Standards The EGA is a long-standing supporter of the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health (GA4GH) to enhance responsible sharing of human genetic data through the development of interoperable global standards for human data access. The EGA is one of the founding GA4GH Driver Projects and has contributed to the development and implementation of several GA4GH standards and APIs. Below is a list of the GA4GH standards and APIs that are currently available or planned for implementation at EGA. TechnicalStandards Purpose SpecificationVersion SupportedVersion Implementation Large Scale Genomics htsget A protocol for secure, efficient, and reliable access to sequencing read and variation data. V1.3.0 V1.0.0 Specification Documentation Endpoint Read File Formats (SAM/BAM/CRAM) Specifications for storing next-generation sequencing read data. V3.0.0 V3.0.0 Implementation Example of Usage Variation File Formats (VCF/BCF) The specifications for Variant Call Format Files (VCF) and its binary counterpart BCF. V4.0.0 V2.0.0 V4.0.0 V2.0.0 Implementation Example of Usage Crypt4GH v1.0 Enables direct byte-level compatible random access to encrypted genetic data stored in community standards (e.g. CRAM, VCF) V1.0 V1.0 Specification Documentation Endpoint refget API Enables access to reference sequences using an identifier derived from the sequence itself. V1.2.6 NA Specification RNAget API v1 Provides a means of retrieving data from several types of RNA experiments including (i) feature-level expression data from RNA-seq type measurements and (ii) coordinate-based signal/intensity data similar to a bigwig representation via a client/server model. V1.0.0 NA Documentation Discovery Beacon v2 Supports discovery of genomic variants, phenotypes, and individuals V1.0.1 V0.3 Web UI API Source Code Service Info API v1 The Service Info API is an endpoint for describing GA4GH service metadata, designed for extension and inclusion in other APIs. Service info is used to describe a single service, while Service Registry is used to describe multiple services. V1.0.0 NA Documentation Service Registry API v1 provides information about other GA4GH services, primarily for the purpose of organizing services into networks or groups and service discovery across organizational boundaries. V1.0.0 NA Documentation Data Use Researcher Identities Data Use Ontology (DUO) Allow users to semantically tag genomic datasets with usage restrictions, allowing them to become automatically discoverable based on a health, clinical, or biomedical researcher’s authorisation level or intended use. 2021-02-23 2021-02-23 Specification Documentation Endpoint Authentication & Authorization Infrastructure (AAI) The GA4GH AAI specification leverages OpenID Connect (OIDC) Servers for use in authenticating the identity of researchers desiring to access clinical and genomic resources from data holders adhering to GA4GH standards, and to enable data holders to obtain security-related attributes of those researchers. V1.2.0 V1.2.0 API URI: ega.ebi.ac.uk:8443 Documentation Repository Researcher IDs (passport, visa) Specify the collection of researchers that may access a dataset at any given time, and the credentials they must supply. V1.0.1 V1.0.1 Specification Documentation Endpoint Cloud Tool Registry Service API TRS is a standard API for exchanging tools and workflows to analyze, read, and manipulate genomic data. V2.0.1 NA Documentation Repostiory Data Repository Service API DRS API is a standard for building data repositories and adapting access tools to work with those repositories, works with other approved APIs from the GA4GH Cloud Work Stream to allow researchers to discover algorithms across different cloud environments and send them to datasets they wish to analyse. V1.0.3 NA Documentation Repostiory Workflow Execution Service API This API lets users run a single workflow (defined using CWL or WDL) on multiple different platforms, clouds, and environments, and be confident that it will work the same way. The API provides methods to request that a workflow be run, pass parameters to that workflow, get information about running workflows, and cancel a running workflow. V1.0.1 NA Documentation Repostiory Genomic Knowledge Standards Variation Representation v1 Provides a flexible framework of computational models, schemas, and algorithms to precisely and consistently exchange genetic variation data across communities. V1.3.0 EGA team is contributing to including it in in Beacon v2 Specification and Elixir Reference Implementation Documentation Repostiory Clin/ Pheno Data Capture Phenopackets Provides information models with different levels of complexity to enable high level clinical phenotype information as well as deep clinical phenotype information to be exchanged. V2.0.0 Included in Ongoing Submissions EGA team is contributing to including it in in Beacon v2 Specification and Elixir Reference Implementation Documentation Repostiory Driver Project The EGA, jointly coordinated by the EBI and the CRG, was announced, in 2017, to be one of the 15 Driver Projects for GA4GH. Driver Projects are international genomic data initiatives, focussed on real projects and challenges that will guide the development efforts in order to accelerate and enable completely responsible and standarised data sharing by 2022. All chosen Driver Projects make a cross-sectional effort by playing an important role across the different workstreams. Thomas Keane, Jordi Rambla, Mallory Freeberg, and Aina Jené have been named Driver Project Champions for the EGA. All Driver Project Champions will be leading this ambitious initiative for the following years.

Documentation about/projects-and-funders/ga4gh

RNA-sequencing of tumors from 45 patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

Genomic profiling can provide prognostic and predictive information to guide clinical care. Biomarkers that reliably predict patient response to chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibition in gastric cancer are lacking. In this work, we used our machine learning algorithm NTriPath to identify a gastric-cancer specific 32-gene signature. Using unsupervised clustering on expression levels of these 32 genes in tumors from 567 patients, we identified four molecular subtypes that were prognostic for survival. We then built a support vector machine with linear kernel and the binary classifier to generate a risk score that is prognostic for 5-year overall survival and validated the risk score using three independent datasets. We also found that the molecular subtypes predicted response to adjuvant 5-fluorouracil and platinum after gastrectomy and immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with metastatic or recurrent disease. The 32-gene signature is a promising prognostic and predictive biomarker to guide the clinical care of gastric cancer patients and should be validated in a prospective manner. This EGA archive includes both St.Mary hospital cohort samples (n=28) and Yonsei immunotherapy patient samples (n=17).

Study EGAS00001005588

Cryptococcosis in Previously Healthy Adults

Cryptococcus is a fungus that causes infections most commonly in immunocompromised patients, such as those with AIDS and solid organ transplant recipients and is currently responsible for an estimated 15% of all AIDS-related deaths globally. However, in developed countries, approximately one-third of cases fall outside these groups such that cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) has become the most common cause of non-viral meningitis in the U.S. Within the U.S., approximately 15-20% have no readily identifiable immune defect and cryptococcal infection in these hosts has a mortality rate of 30-50% despite optimal antifungal therapy. NIH Clinical Study Protocol 93-I-0106 (NCT00001352). The objectives of this protocol can be broadly categorized as: 1) Characterize the immunologic and genetic mechanisms predisposing to disease acquisition; 2) Understand the post-infectious inflammatory response and distinguish its consequences from those directly due to fungal growth; and 3) Management of post-infectious neuro-inflammatory syndromes associated with cryptococcal meningitis (CM). This protocol recruits patients who have microbiological evidence of cryptococcal neurologic or non-CNS disease (typically pulmonary or bone). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples collected during clinical care are used to measure serum and CNS cellular and soluble cytokines as well as to perform in-situ immunohistochemistry. CSF and blood samples are also collected to measure transcriptional (gene expression), proteomic (protein), and lipidomic (lipids) changes that occur throughout disease and treatment. Observational data detailing audiological, ophthalmological and neurocognitive deficits in these patients is also recorded. We have recently described a post-infectious inflammatory syndrome (PIIRS) associated with cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM) which can be best described as a neuro-inflammatory state during which CM patients present with altered mental status (Montreal Cognitive Assessment Score As part of the protocol, we treat patients for either microbiological failure or neuroinflammatory sequelae by conventional therapies utilizing FDA-approved pharmaceuticals at FDA-approved doses. To understand and identify the predominant biological pathways responsible for PIIRS neuroinflammation, we examined patient CSF at baseline (at time of PIIRS diagnosis) and post-treatment with different FDA-approved pharmaceuticals at FDA-approved doses compared to CSF from non-PIIRS donors. Upstream pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes in the CSF of PIIRS patients revealed a prominent role for the JAK/STAT pathway in the pathogenesis of PIIRS and support the use of the JAK inhibitor, ruxolinib, as a pathway-instructed therapy to treat PIIRS patients. Data available through dbGaP: single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from CSF cells of a patient with PIIRS at the time of diagnosis and following treatment with steroids (1g solumedrol/day) and NanoString transcriptional data from CSF cells of patients with PIIRS at the time of diagnosis compared to CSF cells from non-PIIRS donors.

Study phs003871

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the mesangial identity and species diversity of glomerular cell transcriptomes

Molecular characterization of the individual cell types in human kidney as well as model organisms are critical in defining organ function and understanding translational aspects of biomedical research. Previous studies have uncovered gene expression profiles of several kidney glomerular cell types, however, important cells, including mesangial (MCs) and glomerular parietal epithelial cells (PECs), were missing or incompletely described, and a systematic comparison between mouse and human kidney is lacking. To this end, we used Smart-seq2 to profile 4332 individual glomerulus-associated cells isolated from human living donor renal biopsies and mouse kidney. The analysis revealed genetic programs for all four glomerular cell types (podocytes, glomerular endothelial cells, MCs and PECs) as well as rare glomerulus-associated macula densa cells (MDCs). Importantly, we detected heterogeneity in glomerulus-associated Pdgfrb-expressing cells, including bona fide intraglomerular MCs with the functionally active phagocytic molecular machinery, as well as a unique mural cell type located in the central stalk region of the glomerulus tuft. Furthermore, we observed remarkable species differences in the individual gene expression profiles of defined glomerular cell types that highlight translational challenges in the field and provide a guide to design translational studies.

Study EGAS00001004943

Raw sequencing files from WGS and RNA-Seq

Acute leukemias are the most common malignancies in children with an onset of the disease among 0-6 years-old. The early development of theses malignancies has been proposed as an indicator of their prenatal origin, hypothesis that has been confirmed especially in the case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For acute myeloid leukemia (AML), comprising an heterogenous group of different cytogenetics subtypes, this prenatal origin has also been confirmed specially for MLL-rearranged and t(8;21) subgroups. AMLs carrying t(7;12) constitute up to 30% of cases under 2-years-old, frequently being associated with a trisomy of chromosome 19 and an overexpression of MNX1 gene. An in utero origin of this specific subgroup has been suggested but not clearly confirmed. Here, we present the case of a 5-months-old AML patient with t(7;12) in which we have fully characterized a novel breakpoint occurring among ETV6 and NOM1 genes. We demonstrate the presence of this specific ETV6-NOM1 fusion in CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells isolated from the cord blood unit from the same patient and stored at birth. Moreover, trisomy +19 present at diagnosis was not detected at birth. Together, our results demonstrate the prenatal origin of the t(7;12) in infant AML, and establish trisomy +19 as a secondary event in this leukemia.

Study EGAS50000000186

Re-Evaluation of Systemic Early Neuromuscular Blockade

This study of the ROSE trial data explored two distinct molecular subtypes of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) to better understand the disease's complexity and potential for personalized treatment. Previous studies had identified different inflammatory profiles in ARDS patients, with this research addressing three key questions: Can these molecular subtypes be consistently identified in a more severe group of ARDS patients? Do these subtypes respond differently to neuromuscular blockade treatment? What specific biological processes differentiate these inflammatory profiles? Advanced transcriptomic and protein analyses examined blood samples from ARDS patients. Analysis of these data revealed two main molecular phenotypes: Hypoinflammatory phenotype (60.4% of patients) Hyperinflammatory phenotype (39.6% of patients) Key findings demonstrated that the hyperinflammatory subtype was associated with:Significantly higher mortality rates relative to hypoinflammatory (61.6% vs. 30.3%)Significantly higher mortality rates relative to hypoinflammatory (61.6% vs. 30.3%)Distinct gene expression patterns related to immune responseUnique changes in genes associated with tissue remodeling and cellular processes Notably, the neuromuscular blockade treatment showed no difference in effects across these subtypes. Complex relationships emerged between gene expression and protein levels, with some genes closely matching their protein counterparts and others displaying more variable connections. The study concludes that these molecular phenotypes possess distinct clinical, protein, and genetic characteristics, suggesting potential for more precise, personalized approaches to ARDS treatment in the future.

Study phs003929

Exome and RNA sequencing of relapsed TCF3-PBX1 t(1;19) acute lymphoblastic leukemia

TCF3-PBX1 (E2A-PBX1) is a recurrent gene fusion in B-cell precursor lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), which is caused by the translocation t(1;19)(q23;p13). TCF3-PBX1 BCP-ALL patients typically benefit from chemotherapy; however, many relapse and subsequently develop resistant disease with few effective treatment options. Mechanisms driving disease progression and therapy resistance have not been studied in TCF3-PBX1 BCP-ALL. Here, we aimed to identify novel treatment options for TCF3-PBX1 BCP-ALL by profiling leukemia cells from a relapsed patient, and determine molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and progression. By drug sensitivity testing of leukemic blasts from the index patient, control samples and TCF3-PBX1 positive and negative BCP-ALL cell lines, we identified the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase delta (p110δ) inhibitor idelalisib as an effective treatment for TCF3-PBX1 BCP-ALL. This was further supported by evidence showing TCF3-PBX1 directly regulates expression of PIK3CD, the gene encoding p110δ. Other somatic mutations to TP53 and MTOR, as well as aberrant expression of CXCR4, may influence additional drug sensitivities specific to the index patient and accompanied progression of the disease. Our results suggest that idelalisib is a promising treatment option for patients with TCF3-PBX1 BCP-ALL while other drugs could be useful depending on the genetic context of individual patients.

Study EGAS00001001876

A Platform Study of Combination Immunotherapy for the Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Treatment of Patients with Surgically Resectable Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas

This is a single-institutional, randomized, open label platform clinical trial testing various immunotherapy combinations. Patients with newly diagnosed and surgically resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) and scheduled to undergo the Whipple procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital were eligible to participate in this study. Criteria for determining resectability strictly followed National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. The study consisted of 6 parts: parts 1-5 constituted the Prime Phase (see below), and part 6 was the Extended Treatment Phase. Part 1: Participants received one cycle of immunotherapy two weeks prior to undergoing the Whipple procedure. Part 2: Subjects underwent the Whipple procedure. Part 3: Subjects received a second cycle of immunotherapy 4-10 weeks following the Whipple procedure (2-4 weeks prior to adjuvant chemoradiation). Part 4: Subjects underwent chemoradiation. Part 5: Subjects received 4 additional 28-day cycles of immunotherapy beginning 1-2 months after completing chemoradiation for a total of six cycles (two before chemoradiation and 4 following chemoradiation). Eligible subjects were randomized to Arms A and B in a 1:1 ratio, stratified up-front by age (≤65, >65). Arm A participants received Cy/GVAX. Arm B participants received the combination of Cy/GVAX and nivolumab. GVAX Vaccine consists of equal numbers (2.5 x 108 each) of Panc 6.03 pcDNA1GM-CSF and Panc 10.05 pcDNA1GM-CSF combined into a single vaccination. Each vaccination consisted of six total intradermal injections. A single intravenous (IV) dose of 200 mg/m2 Cy (CytoxanR) was given one day prior to GVAX. Anti-PD-1 Therapeutic Antibody Nivolumab 480 mg every 4 weeks was administered as an intravenous infusion. The primary objective for Arms A and B was to compare IL17 expression (Th17) in vaccine-induced lymphoid aggregates between resected PDAs from patients treated with the combination of Cy/GVAX and anti-PD-1 blockade antibody vs. the treatment of Cy/GVAX alone. Secondary objectives were to assess the safety, overall survival (OS), and disease free survival (DFS) of patients treated with each of the study drug combinations, and to assess the effects of each of the immunotherapy study drug combinations on PD-L1/PD-1 associated pathways, vaccine-induced immune regulatory signatures, and peripheral and intratumoral antigen specific T cell responses. The exploratory objective was to explore the effects of therapy on tumor and peripheral blood and tumor infiltrating immune cells, and to explore potential molecular determinants of response, progression and disease stability. To these ends, tumor infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) were obtained from surgically resected tumors following the neoadjuvant treatment of the study immunotherapy. TIICs were sorted into CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+ T cells, CD3-CD19+ B cells, and CD3-CD19-CD11b+ myeloid cells by flow cytometry. The sorted immune cell subtype pellets were sent to the commercial vendor (Eurofins) for RNA extraction and sequencing. SMART-seq v4 Ultra Low Input mRNA Sample Prep Kit was used for library preparation with 100bp paired end reads. FASTQ files, that were returned from the vendor, are deposited here.

Study phs003002

PAK4 inhibition improves PD-1 blockade immunotherapy

Introduction with rationale and aims for study Immune checkpoint blockade therapies have significantly altered the current landscape of cancer treatment. However, this immunotherapy still fails more often than it succeeds. There are now evidences that the lack of tumour infiltration by immune cells is the main mechanism of primary resistance to PD‐1 blockade therapies for cancer. It has been postulated that cancer cell‐intrinsic mechanisms may actively exclude T cells from tumours, suggesting that the finding of actionable molecules that could be inhibited to increase T cell infiltration may synergize with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. With the idea of finding potential drivers of immune exclusion, we performed RNA sequencing analysis of biopsies from melanoma patients and compared the transcriptomic differences of samples that where infiltrated with those that did not have immune infiltration. Methods RNAseq analysis of gene expressions on biopsies from melanoma patients treated with checkpoint blockade were analysed. We focused on the variable of "infiltration: yes or no,", e.g. tumors that were well infiltrated by immune cells with those that kept immune cells out. Sequencing revealed a list of genes whose expression differed between the infiltrated and noninfiltrated tumors. The kinase PAK4 stood out as a good candidate for inhibition treatment in the future as it was consistently enriched in the samples without immune infiltration. To test whether immunotherapy would work better if we deleted PAK4, we first knocked out PAK4, using CRISPR‐Cas9, in the ‐resistant melanoma cell line, B16. Then they injected the melanoma cells into mice and observed that PAK4 KO tumours now responded to PD‐1 blockade. In order to elucidate whether pharmacological inhibition of PAK4 could recapitulate the results observed in the B16 PAK4 KO tumours, we obtained the PAK4 inhibitor, KPT-9274, from Karyopharm Therapeutics. Indeed, inhibiting PAK4 in combination with anti‐PD‐1 immunotherapy significantly slowed the growth of the B16 melanomas more than either drug alone. Results and Conclusions Transcriptomic analysis of melanoma tumors that were well infiltrated by immune cells with those that kept immune cells out revealed a list of genes whose expression differed between the infiltrated and non-infiltrated tumours. The result suggests that p21 activated kinase 4 (PAK4) is enriched in non-responding tumour biopsies with low T cell and dendritic cell infiltration. In addition, PAK4 decreased WNT activity, a signalling pathway that has previously been involved in immune exclusion. In mouse models, genetic deletion of PAK4 increased T cell infiltration and reversed resistance to PD‐1 blockade in a CD8 T cell-dependent manner. Furthermore, combination of with the PAK4 inhibitor, KPT-9274, improved anti‐tumour responses compared to anti‐PD‐1 alone. Therefore, high PAK4 expression is correlated with low T cell and dendritic cell infiltration and lack of response to PD‐1 blockade, which could be reversed with PAK4 inhibition. The data establish a rationale for targeting this kinase with inhibitors in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients. Future work and data that we can anticipate for this study Oncogenic signalling pathways and specially the WNT signalling pathway, have been associated with lack of immune infiltration and resistance to PD‐1 blockade therapies. Here, we show that PAK4 overcome resistance to PD‐1 blockade while significantly decreases WNT signalling activity. Therefore, it constitutes the first potential druggable target that is able to reverse oncogenic driven immune cell exclusion. However, the fully mechanism whereby PAK4 sensitizes tumours to immunotherapy remains to be fully elucidated. It is necessary to address whether PAK4 inhibition overcomes resistance through WNT signalling inhibition or if other signalling pathways are involved in the observed phenotype.

Study phs001919

LCLF1.0 Data

In this study, we investigated ad libitum food intake of 20 healthy adult volunteers who each completed a 4-week stay at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During their stay, they consumed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet and a low-fat, high-carbohydrate (LFHC) diet for 2 weeks each, in random order. We collected information about energy intake and metabolic changes in response to the two test diets. The test diets were presented to subjects in amounts exceeding their daily energy requirements, and subjects were instructed to eat as much or as little of each diet as desired. This study implemented 7-day rotating menus for each test diet. The diets were matched for presented calories and protein, but the LCHF diet was low in carbohydrate (~10% of calories) and high in fat (~75% of calories) whereas the LFHC diet was high in carbohydrates (~75% of calories) and low in fat (~10% of calories). The two test diets had a common foundation of vegetables with low amounts of digestible carbohydrates such as lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, tomato, asparagus, broccoli, peppers, brussels sprouts, and green beans. The LCHF diet included meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and nuts. The LFHC diet included legumes, rice, root vegetables, soy products, corn, lentils, peas, whole grains, bread, and fruit. The test diets were designed using a standard computerized nutrition database, and blood samples were collected from the subjects.

Study phs003187

Successful Clinical Response in Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT)

The goal of this study is to iteratively identify, validate and refine biomarkers to predict clinical failure, and identify novel targets for therapy, beyond traditional antibiotics, for patients with severe pneumonia requiring intubation, including severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (HAP/VAP). We hypothesize that factors within the alveolar microenvironment in many patients with pneumonia prevent the active process of pneumonia resolution.The major emphasis will be on HAP. Mechanically ventilated CAP patients are a very high-risk group for subsequent VAP, and therefore CAP samples will be included to determine baseline bacteria, microbiome, and host defense patterns for those that do or do not develop HAP/VAP. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is the leading cause of death from nosocomial infections. Even in patients receiving pathogen-appropriate therapy, reported clinical failure rates are increasing, approaching 50% in recent clinical trials. Current approaches to improve outcomes in patients with pneumonia almost exclusively focus on the development of antibiotics to address the problem of resistance. However, the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens is insufficient to explain the high rates of clinical failure. Instead, we hypothesize that factors within the alveolar microenvironment in many patients with pneumonia prevent the active process of pneumonia resolution. These factors include pathogen-specific adaptations to the injured lung that modulate the innate and adaptive immune response, as well as changes to the alveolar microbiome, driven by selective pressure within our modern intensive care units. Understanding this complex adaptive system requires the integration of clinical information with unbiased measures of the host, pathogen, and microbiome changes within the alveolar microenvironment. These measures must be repeated over time to identify factors that distinguish successful from failed therapy for pneumonia sufficiently early during the clinical course to allow for effective interventions. To address this challenge, we have assembled a talented group of investigators in the Successful Clinical Response In Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) Systems Biology Center. We will leverage our routine clinical practice of safe alveolar sampling in mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia with repeated non-bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (NBBAL) sampling over the course of pneumonia. From this fluid, we will combine flow cytometry with multi-omic technologies (cell population-specific transcriptomics, epigenomics, shotgun microbiome sequencing, and pathogen-specific sequencing). Our systems scientists will integrate these genomic data with robust clinical -omics with the goal of identifying biomarkers that can be prospectively tested in patients and causally evaluated in humanized mouse models.The addition of a pooled sample artificially increases the number of automatically computed subjects by one.

Study phs002300

Prediction of Resistance and Sensitivity to HER2 Targeted Therapy in the Neoadjuvant Setting

Women with breast cancers that overexpress HER2 are at greater risk for disease progression and death than women whose tumors do not overexpress HER2. Trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of the HER2 protein blocks downstream signaling of HER2 and substantially improves the efficacy of chemotherapy in women with metastatic and early-stage HER2-positive breast cancers. Because resistance to trastuzumab eventually results in progressive disease in the metastatic setting and contributes to recurrence following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy, it is important to develop agents other than trastuzumab that target HER2 signaling through different mechanisms of action. Lapatinib is an oral, small molecule, dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of HER2 and EGFR. Lapatinib has shown a lack of cross-resistance with trastuzumab in preclinical studies and activity in women with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer that has progressed during trastuzumab treatment. Trastuzumab blocks the downstream signaling of HER2 by binding to the extracellular domain of the receptor. Lapatinib binds to the intracellular domains of HER2 and EGFR and prevents activation of downstream signaling pathways. Because of this different mechanism of action, lapatinib may be effective in trastuzumab-resistant disease. The study will also provide important safety information on trastuzumab and lapatinib combinations immediately following anthracycline exposure, and also provide an initial direct comparison of cardiac effects of trastuzumab and lapatinib when incorporated into a standard sequential adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by weekly paclitaxel neoadjuvant regimen. Availability of a second agent that can interrupt HER2-signaling pathways through completely different mechanisms than those of trastuzumab offers the potential for further improvement in the management of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic setting. Co-administration of both trastuzumab and lapatinib with chemotherapy may be important in improving outcomes in subsets of HER2-positive breast cancers. However, use of two inhibitors of the HER2 pathway will increase costs and may increase toxicity, so it will be important to identify the subsets of patients who would benefit from the dual therapy. Inhibition of HER2 with a single agent clearly is sufficient for many patients as evidenced by the results of the trastuzumab trials. Therefore, co-administration to unselected populations of women with HER2-positive breast cancers would not represent an optimal approach. Given the activity of lapatinib, it is likely that it will also be sufficiently active in inhibiting HER2-pathway activation in some patients to allow for its use as the sole inhibitor of the HER2 pathway. Different populations may also derive greater benefit from one of the HER2-blocking agents relative to the other. Identification of potential predictive factors for pathologic complete response to the combination or to either agent administered alone in neoadjuvant trials would provide important information for adjuvant trials designed to definitively address these important issues. This study will compare 3 combined chemotherapy regimens: AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab and lapatinib, AC followed by paclitaxel plus lapatinib, and AC followed by paclitaxel plus trastuzumab given before surgery to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.Tumor samples were collected prior to and post-treatment, and RNA sequencing was performed with this version.

Study phs003275

Involvement of the FGF8/FGF Receptor Signaling Pathway in the Maintenance and Progression of Fusion-Positive Rhabdomyosarcoma

In our previous work, we used a myoblast model of fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma (FP-RMS) to demonstrate that FGF8, a target of the PAX3-FOXO1 (P3F) transcription factor, is essential for tumorigenicity driven by P3F. When aberrantly expressed, FGF8 can also sustain tumorigenicity in recurrent tumors that are independent of P3F. In this study, we report that FGF8, along with its receptors FGFR1 and FGFR4, is often highly expressed in FP-RMS tumors. We found that high levels of FGF8 expression in FP-RMS cells correlate with increased sensitivity to an FGFR4 inhibitor and a pan-FGFR inhibitor. Conversely, downregulating FGF8 led to a loss of sensitivity to these inhibitors. Interestingly, when FGF8 was upregulated in myoblasts, it resulted in decreased FGFR4 expression and sensitized the cells to an FGFR1 inhibitor and a pan-FGFR inhibitor. The downregulation of FGFR4 expression mediated by FGF8 could be reversed by inhibiting FGFR1, MEK, or ERK, thereby defining a signaling pathway through which FGF8 exerts its regulatory effects. Additionally, we discovered that high FGF8 expression in P3F-independent recurrent tumors is due to a rearrangement of viral long terminal repeat (LTR) sequences into the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of FGF8, leading to increased stability of FGF8 mRNA. These findings indicate that FGF8 plays an oncogenic role in FP-RMS through FGFR4 and may also exert oncogenic effects in P3F-independent relapses via FGFR1. Our study highlights the functional significance of FGF8 in FP-RMS and supports the rationale for preclinical investigations of FGFR inhibitors in treating this type of cancer.

Study phs004009

Whole exome and RNA sequencing of organoid samples derived from TRACERx patients

Immune checkpoint blockade in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) rarely leads to complete tumour remission, suggesting that tumours harbour subpopulations of cancer cells that can escape immune predation. However, while tumours consist of multiple genetically distinct clones, the extent to which separate tumour subclones differ intrinsically in their functional capacity for immune evasion remains largely unexplored. This has been challenging to address due to an inability to isolate and propagate individual tumour subclones from human cancers. Here, we leverage the multi-region TRACERx lung cancer evolution study to generate a patient-derived platform that allows the functional analysis of immune escape at single clone resolution. We generated libraries of >20 separate NSCLC organoid lines per patient by isolating individual (clonal) organoids established from multiple spatially separated tumour regions. Each organoid subline was co-cultured with autologous tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) to evaluate their capacity to elicit a T cell response. Organoid lines derived from separate tumour regions, or from single clones within individual regions, differ vastly in their capacity to elicit a T cell response, showing the coexistence of intrinsically immune evading (‘hot’) and non-evading (‘cold’) clones in the same primary tumour. Organoid lines escaping T cell recognition represent genetically and transcriptionally unique subclones with a distinct evolutionary history, showing that evolutionary sculpting of subclonal diversity can have functional consequences for anti-tumour immunity. Notably, the identification of immune-evasive subclones would not have been possible using computational approaches alone, highlighting the unique value of functional co-culture platforms. This patient-derived functional co-culture platform reveals that tumour evolution can give rise to distinct cancer clones with intrinsic differences in immune evasion capacity and provides an approach to prospectively identify, isolate and characterise immune evading subclones from patients with cancer.

Study EGAS00001008092

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

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