3743 results for "RNA AND sequencing OR transcriptome"

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• Pharmacogenomic Analysis Reveals New Therapeutic Options for Pleural Mesothelioma

  Background: Pleural mesothelioma (PM) urgently requires novel effective treatments. Drug repurposing is a relevant strategy to discover new therapeutic options among well-known drugs used in clinical practice. This study aimed to identify new therapies in the context of molecular heterogeneity of PM. Methods: We performed a multi-omics study of the largest cohort of patient-derived primary PM cell lines (n=58) to date, using whole exome sequencing, RNA sequencing and methylome analysis. We also conducted a large-scale drug screening of over 1300 compounds on a subset of cell lines (n=11), as well as an extension screen (n=48) for selected drugs of interest. The best candidates were validated using 3D culture and mouse models. Results: We demonstrated that the molecular landscape of the cell lines cohort recapitulates the main findings in tumours and revealed new specific features of PM. The large-scale drug screening and subsequent validations highlighted notably strong sensitivity to entinostat and fluvastatin. Importantly, both compounds displayed same efficacy in 2D and 3D culture models and single treatment prolonged survival in vivo similarly or even better than standard chemotherapy. Strikingly, combining entinostat treatment with anti-PD1 led to cures in some mice and immunized them against tumour cells. Conclusions: Among several candidates, we identified entinostat, notably in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor, and to a lesser extent fluvastatin, as promising therapeutic options for patients. We believe our study provides a valuable resource that could contribute to advances in the field and warrants further clinical investigation.

  Study EGAS00001007866

• Analysis of CD20 loss in patients treated with Mosunetuzumab

  CD20 is an established therapeutic target in B-cell malignancies. The CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab has significant efficacy in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Since target antigen loss is a recognized mechanism of resistance, we evaluated the contribution of CD20 expression to clinical response in patients with relapsed and/or refractory NHL in the phase 1/2 GO29781 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02500407) investigating mosunetuzumab monotherapy. CD20 was studied using immunohistochemistry (IHC), RNA sequencing, and whole-exome sequencing performed centrally in biopsies collected prior to treatment, or as paired samples at pre-dose and on-treatment, or at-progression. Prior to treatment, most patients exhibited a high proportion of tumor cells expressing CD20; however, the proportion of CD20+ tumor cells in 14/293 (6%) patients was <10%. Analyses of paired biopsies from patients during treatment revealed that CD20 levels were maintained in 29/30 (97%), vs patients with samples at-progression, in which 11/32 (34%) showed CD20 loss. Reduced transcription or acquisition of truncating mutations explained most but not all cases of CD20 loss. In vitro modeling confirmed the effect of CD20 variants identified in clinical samples on reduction of CD20 expression and confirmed missense mutations in the extracellular domain that could block mosunetuzumab binding. This study expands knowledge about the occurrence of target antigen loss after anti-CD20 therapeutics to CD20-targeting bispecific antibodies and elucidates the underlying mechanisms for reduced CD20 expression at disease progression that may be generalizable to other anti-CD20 targeting agents. These results also establish the utility of readily-available IHC staining for CD20 as a tool to inform clinical decisions.

  Study EGAS50000000151

• T-cell receptor sequencing of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in breast cancer

  The spatial distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) predicts breast cancer outcome and response to systemic therapy, highlighting the importance of an intact tissue structure for characterizing patients’ tumors. Here, we present ST-FFPE, a spatial transcriptomics method for the analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples, which opens the possibility of interrogating widely available archival tissue. The method involves extraction, exome capture and sequencing of RNA from different tumor compartments microdissected by laser-capture, and can be used to study the cellular composition of various tumor environments. Focusing on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), we characterized T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, fibroblasts and endothelial cells in both stromal and intra-epithelial compartments. We found a highly variable spatial distribution of immune cell subsets among tumors. This analysis revealed that the immune repertoires of intra-epithelial T and B cells were consistently less diverse than those of stromal T and B cells. T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing confirmed a reduced diversity and revealed higher clonality of intra-epithelial T cells relative to the corresponding stromal T cells. Analysis of the top ten dominant clonotypes in the two compartments showed a majority of shared but also some unique clonotypes both in stromal and intra-epithelial T cells. Hyperexpanded clonotypes were more abundant among intra-epithelial than stromal T cells. These findings validate the ST-FFPE method and suggest an accumulation of antigen-specific T cells within tumor core. Because ST-FFPE is readily applicable for analysis of previously collected tissue samples, it could be useful for rapid assessment of intratumoral cellular heterogeneity in multiple disease and treatment settings.

  Study EGAS00001007125

• Multivalent State Transitions Shape the Intratumoral Composition of Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

  Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is an aggressive, tobacco-associated tumor characterized by rapid growth, early metastases, and initial response followed by almost invariable resistance to chemotherapy. Studies to date have not resolved the extent that diverse transcriptional programs drive SCLC and contribute to its lethality. We combined patient-derived xenograft (PDX) (n = 64) resources with multi-omic profiling, single-cell fluorescence tracking of ex vivo tumor cells, and mathematical and statistical models to study the topology of the SCLC transcriptional state space and its plasticity.

  Study phs003102

• Alignment BAM files and gene count files of the Illumina Sequencing Data (10 tumor samples)

  Reads were processed with the RNA-seq workflow 1.3.0 developed by the DKFZ Omics IT and Data Management Core Facility (https://github.com/DKFZ-ODCF/RNAseqWorkflow). First, FASTQ reads were aligned via two-pass alignment using STAR 2.5.3a. The STAR index was generated from the 1000 Genomes assembly and GENCODE Version 19 gene models with a sjdbOverhang of 200. Duplicate marking of the resultant main alignment file was done with sambamba 0.6.5. Gene-specific read counting was performed using featureCounts (from Subread 1.5.1) over exon features based on GENCODE Version 19 gene models. Both reads of a paired fragment were used for counting, and the quality threshold was set to 255, indicating that STAR found a unique alignment. Strand-specific counting was also used. For RPKM and TPM calculations, all genes on chromosomes X and Y, the mitochondrial genome, as well as rRNA and tRNA genes were omitted as they are likely to introduce library size estimation biases.

  Dataset EGAD00001008969

• Distinct embryonic phylogenies and driver events of infant Wilms tumor - RNA

  Cancers of adults typically arise through progressive rounds of clonal diversification and intratumoral selective sweeps which generate a long mutational trunk with shorter subclonal branches. Here, we investigated whether tumors of young children exhibit the same phylogenetic configuration. We studied three infants, including two newborns, with the childhood kidney cancer, Wilms tumour, through whole genome sequencing of bulk tissues, of single cell derived organoids, and of microdissections. All three cancers exhibited unusual driver events, with tumours of newborns harbouring FOXR2 rearrangements, delineating a distinct variant of Wilms tumour. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that tumors were seeded in an early, possibly confined window of development. Unusually, following seeding there was extensive polyclonal diversification with little evidence of clonal sweeps, leading to a distinct phylogenetic configuration more reminiscent of normal tissues rather than of adult cancers. These findings indicate that some childhood cancers may diversify via unorthodox phylogenetic pathways.

  Dataset EGAD00001009813

• The Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of a HeLa Cell Line

  HeLa is the most widely used model cell line for studying human cellular and molecular biology. To date, no genomic reference for this cell line has been released, and experiments have relied on the human reference genome. Effective design and interpretation of molecular genetic studies performed using HeLa cells require accurate genomic information. Here we present a detailed genomic and transcriptomic characterization of a HeLa cell line. We performed DNA and RNA sequencing of a HeLa Kyoto cell line and analyzed its mutational portfolio and gene expression profile. Segmentation of the genome according to copy number revealed a remarkably high level of aneuploidy and numerous large structural variants at unprecedented resolution. Some of the extensive genomic rearrangements are indicative of catastrophic chromosome shattering, known as chromothripsis. Our analysis of the HeLa gene expression profile revealed that several pathways, including cell cycle and DNA repair, exhibit significantly different expression patterns from those in normal human tissues. Our results provide the first detailed account of genomic variants in the HeLa genome, yielding insight into their impact on gene expression and cellular function as well as their origins. This study underscores the importance of accounting for the strikingly aberrant characteristics of HeLa cells when designing and interpreting experiments, and has implications for the use of HeLa as a model of human biology. Copyright Landry et al., "The Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of a HeLa Cell Line," G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics (2013).

  Study phs000643

• Comprehensive molecular and clinicopathological profiling of lung adenocarcinoma in Japanese never or light smokers

  Studies have yet to characterize the differences in molecular profiles of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) among divergent ethnic groups. Herein, we conducted comprehensive molecular profiling of LUAD in never or light smokers from Asia in order to discover novel targetable mutations and prognostic biomarkers of this distinct disease entity. Methods: We analyzed 996 cases of Asian LUAD, and performed whole-exome sequencing and/or RNA-seq in 125 cases of Asian LUAD negative for the driver oncogenes defined by conventional laboratory testing. We also investigated the clinical and pathological characteristics among the 996 cases. Results: Driver oncogenes were identified in 88 cases (70.4%) with specific hotspot mutations differing from those in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) study. Clustering based on mRNA expression profiles, but not genetic mutational ones, could predict patient prognosis. The risk score generated by the expression of a three-gene set was a strong prognostic marker for overall survival and progression-free survival in our cohort, and was further validated using TCGA cohort. Among the 996 cases, each driver alteration is distributed across all histological subtypes. Adenocarcinoma in situ was identified to harbor driver mutations, suggesting that these alterations are early events in the pathogenesis of LUAD. This study indicates the value of applying gene expression profiling for predicting the prognosis after a surgical operation, and that the identification of actionable mutations is important for optimizing targeted drugs in Japanese LUAD.

  Study JGAS000215

• Single-cell RNA-seq of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in classic Hodgkin lymphoma

  Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a largely MHC class I-negative tumor with recurrent 9p24.1/ PD-L1/ PD-L2 copy gains and the highest reported response rates to PD-1 blockade. We utilized scRNA sequencing to characterize the peripheral immune response to PD-1 blockade and more broadly define non-CD8+ dependent mechanisms of immune evasion in cHL. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 20 patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) cHL treated with PD-1 blockade (nivolumab) on the CheckMate 205 clinical trial (paired samples from cycle 1 day 1 [C1D1] and cycle 4 day 1 [C4D1]), 11 patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated cHL and 13 healthy donors.

  Study EGAS00001007569

• BRAIN Cell EncyclOpeDia of Transcribed Elements (BRAINcode)

  BRAINCODE: How Does the Human Genome Function in Specific Brain Neurons? The human brain comprises about 86 billion neurons whose function is central to human biology. How does the human genome program high performing neurons and neural networks in response to experience? What subprograms does the genome express in physiologically and morphologically distinct brain cells? The goal of the BRAIN Cell encyclOpeDia of transcribed Elements Consortium (BRAINcode) is to provide a map of gene expression - both protein-coding and non-coding - in specific cell types, not in culture, but in situ in brains of people. Going beyond traditional mRNA sequencing, polyadenylated and non-polyadenylated transcripts were ultra deeply sequenced using ribo-depleted RNA from neurons laser-captured from human post-mortem brains. Three prototypical neuron types, dopamine neurons, pyramidal neurons, and Betz cells, were prioritized because of their key biologic roles and differential vulnerability to important neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease. Genetic variation between individuals was examined for correlation with differences in transcribed sequences to identify regions of the genome that influence whether, how, and how much a transcript is expressed in specific cell types in human brains. Our results indicate a vast universe of annotated and novel non-coding RNAs expressed in brain cells and suggest a more diverse and much more complex transcriptional architecture than previously imagined.

  Study phs001556

• Integrated Metabolic Profiling and Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Therapeutic Modalities in Breast Cancer

  In this study, we performed metabolite profiling and RNA-sequencing on human breast cancer tumors and normal breast tissue samples, including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), estrogen receptor positive breast cancer (ER+) and paired normal samples, and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) samples. Here, we report two distinctive groups defined by metabolites; a TNBC-HIGH group that shows high levels of pyrimidine pathway metabolites and biosynthetic enzymes, and an ER-HIGH group that shows high levels of fatty acid and arginine biosynthesis intermediates. We identify different metabolic enrichment profiles between cell lines grown in vitro vs. in vivo; cell lines grown in vivo recapitulate patient tumors metabolic profiles. Further, we identify a subset of genes that strongly correlates with the TNBC-HIGH metabolic profile using integrated metabolic and gene expression profiling, which strongly predicts patient prognosis when tested on larger human datasets. As a proof-of-principle, when we target TNBC-HIGH metabolic dysregulation with a pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitor (Brequinar), and/or a glutaminase inhibitor (CB-839), we observe therapeutic efficacy and decreased tumor growth in representative TNBC cell lines, murine p53-null mammary tumors, and in vivo patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) upon multi-agent drug treatment. This study highlights potential new therapeutic opportunities in breast cancers guided by a genomic biomarker, which could prove impactful for breast cancers that rapidly proliferate.

  Study phs002396

• Genetic and Hormonal Contributions to Gene Expression in Immune Cells

  The origins of sex differences in human disease are elusive, in part because of difficulties in separating the effects of sex hormones and sex chromosomes. To isolate the effects of testosterone, estradiol, and sex chromosome complement (XX or XY) in humans, we implemented a four-state, cross-sectional study design of trans- and cisgender individuals, the former receiving exogenous testosterone or estradiol for at least a year as part of their gender-affirming medical care. This study design allowed us to compare four combinations of sex hormones and sex chromosomes in humans: XX individuals treated with exogenous testosterone (n=21), XY individuals treated with exogenous estradiol (n=13), untreated XX individuals (n=20), and untreated XY individuals (n=15). We chose to focus on the human immune system because it displays an impressively broad range of sex-differential biology. We collected blood samples from each individual and isolated PBMCs the same day. We performed 10X Genomics 3' single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) on PBMCs from the 69 individuals. We generated 150-bp paired end reads from a total of 358,426 cells (with an average of 48,007 reads/cell) and identified 18 distinct immune cell types. We found that testosterone, estradiol, and sex chromosome complement have unique, non-overlapping effects on PBMC cell abundances and gene expression.

  Study phs003860

• Investigating Host Genetic Risk Factors for Tuberculosis in Highly Endemic South African Populations

  It is apparent from our recent population genetic and admixture mapping work 1–3 that a substantial part of the ancestral input into the South African Coloured (SAC) population is from the San or Khoe groups, which are not well represented in publicly available genetic databases. It is a reasonable assumption that the SAC population in the Western Cape may have derived more genetic input from the present KhoeSan population in the Northern Cape than the San residing in Namibia. It was concluded by our group that it is indeed the southern African KhoeSan group, the ≠Khomani, that best represent the KhoeSan contribution seen in the SAC 4. More recently, it has been shown that there are ancestry related increases in TB susceptibility, especially with increased Bantu-speaking African and KhoeSan ancestry 5. We aim to elucidate the epidemiological and human-host genetic risk factors for TB and the immunological pathways modulating TB infection. The proposed sub-study will enroll people evaluated for TB at Northern Cape community health clinics and their contacts from their households and/or community. We will conduct a demographic interview, collect saliva, which will be used for genetic analysis, and blood to determine latent TB infection status and capture immunological responses to mycobacterial infections at the cellular level and RNA sequencing.

  Study EGAS00001007850

• INSPIRE - Investigator-initiated Phase 2 Study of Pembrolizumab Immunological Response in Metastatic Solid Tumors

  Whole exome and RNA sequencing source data for: Clouthier, D.L., Lien, S.C., Yang, S.Y.C. et al. An interim report on the investigator-initiated phase 2 study of pembrolizumab immunological response evaluation (INSPIRE). j. immunotherapy cancer 7, 72 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40425-019-0541-0 Bratman S*, Yang SYC*, Iafolla MAJ, Liu Z, Hansen AR, Bedard P, Lheureux S, Spreafico A, Razak AA, Shchegrova S, Louie M, Billings P, Zimmerman B, Sethi H, Aleshi A, Torti D, Marsh K, Eagles J, Cirlan I, Hanna Y, Clouthier D, Lien SC, Ohashi PS, Xu W, Siu LL, Pugh TJ. Personalized circulating tumor DNA analysis as a predictive biomarker in solid tumor patients treated with pembrolizumab. Nature Cancer. 2020:1:873-881. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018- 020-0096-5. Yang SYC, Lien SC, Wang BX, Clouthier DL, Hanna Y, Cirlan I, Zhu K, Bruce JP, El Ghamrasni S, Iafallo MAJ, Oliva M, Hansen AR, Spreafico A, Bedard PL, Lheureux S, Razak A, Speers V, Berman HK, Aleshin A, Haibe-Kains B, Brooks DG, McGaha TL, Butler MO, Bratman SV, Ohashi PS, Siu LL, and Pugh TJ. Pan-cancer analysis of longitudinal metastatic tumors reveals genomic alterations and immune landscape dynamics associated with pembrolizumab sensitivity. Nature Comm 2021:12, 5137. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25432-7

  Study EGAS00001003280

• Single cell transcriptomics of hESC-derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons generated by a new human development-based protocol

  Recent advances in stem cell technologies provide new opportunities for regenerative medicine and Parkinson’s disease modelling. However, the precise composition and quality of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived preparations at the single cell level, compared to endogenous brain standards, remains to be determined. In addition, multiple developmental pathways important for midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuron development remain to be implemented in hESCs. Here we use mouse developmental knowledge and human single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to generate a new development-based protocol to differentiate hESCs into mDA neurons. We found that Laminin 511, dual WNT activation with CHIR99021 and WNT5A, together with FGF8b, improved different aspects of midbrain patterning. Moreover, mDA neurogenesis and differentiation were enhanced by activation of liver X receptors and inhibition of fibroblast growth factor signaling. Analysis of hESC-derived midbrain cultures by scRNA-seq revealed multiple hESC-derived clusters, which resembled those in the endogenous human ventral midbrain. Moreover, high quality mDA neurons were detected and found to progressively acquire functionality in vitro. Thus, we hereby provide a hESC differentiation protocol that recapitulates several aspects of endogenous mDA neuron development, and a strategy to determine cell composition and quality of hESC-derived preparations that can be useful for disease modeling and cell therapy.

  Study EGAS00001006313

• scRNA-seq of HGSC tumor and ascites

  Immune regulatory metabolites are key features of the tumor microenvironment (TME), yet with a few notable exceptions, their identities remain largely unknown. We uncovered the immune regulatory metabolic states and metabolomes of sorted tumor and stromal, CD4+, and CD8+ cells from the tumor and ascites of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) using high-dimensional flow cytometry and metabolomics supplemented with single cell RNA sequencing. Flow cytometry revealed that tumor cells show a consistently greater uptake of glucose than T cells, but similar mitochondrial activity. Cells within the ascites and tumor had pervasive metabolite differences, with a striking enrichment in 1-methylnicotinamide (MNA) in T cells infiltrating the tumor compared to ascites. Despite the elevated levels of MNA in T cells, the expression of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, the gene encoding the enzyme that catalyses the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to nicotinamide, was restricted to fibroblasts and tumor cells. Treatment of T cells with MNA resulted in an increase in T cell-mediated secretion of the tumor promoting cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha. Thus, the TME-derived metabolite MNA contributes to an alternative and non-cell autonomous mechanism of immune modulation of T cells in HGSC. Collectively, uncovering the tumor-T cell metabolome may reveal metabolic vulnerabilities that can be exploited using T cell-based immunotherapies to treat human cancer.

  Study EGAS00001004829

• BMP4 and temozolomide synergize in the majority of patient derived glioblastoma cultures

  The poor prognosis of patients with glioblastoma is partly due to resistance to standard treatment, which combines chemoradiation using temozolomide (TMZ). The concept of cancer stem cells provided new insight into tumor resistance and management, and isolated Glioblastoma stem-like cells (GSCs) which contribute to this therapy resistance. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) is a differentiation factor that stimulates astroglial differentiation of such GSCs, thereby reducing their self-renewal. Exposing GSCs to BMP4 could therefore sensitize them to chemotherapy with TMZ, but previous studies with various treatment paradigms have produced contradictory results in this matter. Therefore, we re-defined the optimal treatment paradigm for the combination of TMZ and BMP4 and subsequently re-assessed the inter-tumoral variability in response to co-treatment with TMZ+BMP4 in vitro. First, the simultaneous treatment was found more effective than sequential therapy. Second, after application of our optimized treatment protocol, 70% of a total of 20 patient-derived glioblastoma cultures showed synergy when the treatments were combined. The synergistic effect was a result of increased cellular apoptosis and not of decreased proliferation. Comparative RNA-sequencing suggested that combination treatment results in decreased MAPK signaling. We conclude that addition of BMP4 to standard therapy with TMZ could enlarge the group of patients with good therapeutic response.

  Study EGAS00001007095

• Resistance to Checkpoint Blockade Therapy Through Inactivation of Antigen Presentation

  Although immune checkpoint blockade (CPB) leads to prolonged responses in 15-40% of patients with metastatic melanoma, treatment refractory disease and progression after initial response remain major causes of mortality. While predictors of response have been reported, the common mechanisms of both primary and acquired resistance are poorly understood. To identify mechanisms of resistance and examine the evolving landscape in response to CPB, we performed whole exome sequencing (WES), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and RNA-sequencing (RNAseq) of longitudinal tumor biopsies from 17 metastatic melanoma patients treated with various CPB therapies. We found no significant changes in both mutational and neoantigen loads over time between responders and nonresponders. However, we identified abnormalities in one gene, beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), an essential component of MHC Class I antigen presentation, that were present in samples during disease progression but not regression. In total, we identified B2M aberrations in 29.4% of patients, including multiple early frameshift mutations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) overlapping B2M, and absence of tumor-specific B2M protein expression. Additional defects in the antigen presentation and IFNγ pathways were identified but were not restricted to progressing lesions in our cohort. In two independent cohorts of 105 and 38 melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab (anti-CTLA4) and pembrolizumab (anti-PD1) respectively, we found that B2M LOH was enriched 3-fold in nonresponders (~30%) vs. responders (~10%) and associated with poorer overall survival (log-rank p=0.01, p=0.006). Loss of both copies of B2M was found only in nonresponders. We also found evidence for association of LOH overlapping IFNGR1 with poorer overall survival exclusively in the anti-PD1 cohort. Thus, B2M loss is likely a common mechanism of primary and acquired resistance to therapies targeting CTLA4 or PD-1.

  Study phs001427

• A Phase I Study With a Personalized Neoantigen Cancer Vaccine in Glioblastoma Multiforme

  Neoantigens, which are derived from tumor-specific protein-coding gene mutations, are exempt from central tolerance, can generate robust immune responses and function as bona fide antigens that facilitate tumor rejection. A strategy of using multi-epitope and personalized neoantigen vaccination has previously been tested in patients with high-risk melanoma. We demonstrated that this strategy is feasible for glioblastoma (GBM) which typically has a relatively low mutation load and an immunologically 'cold' tumor microenvironment. We conducted whole exome sequencing (WES) of tumor and normal cells from individual GBM patients to identify tumor-specific mutations. We assessed the expression of mutated alleles by RNA-sequencing of tumor, and used personalized neoantigen-targeting vaccines to immunize newly diagnosed GBM patients following surgical resection and conventional radiotherapy in a phase I/Ib study. Patients who did not receive dexamethasone, a highly potent corticosteroid that is frequently prescribed to treat cerebral oedema in GBM patients, generated circulating polyfunctional neoantigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that were enriched in a memory phenotype and showed an increase in the number of tumor-infiltrating T cells. Using single-cell T cell receptor analysis, we provided an evidence that neoantigen-specific T cells from the peripheral blood can migrate into an intracranial GBM tumor. Neoantigen-targeting vaccines thus have the potential to favorably alter the immune environment of GBM.In order to discover cancer antigens derived from annotated and unannotated protein-coding regions of the genome, we carried out matched ribosome profiling (Ribo-Seq) on two GBM samples. We discovered novel or unannotated open reading frames (nuORFs) and their expression levels as well as somatic mutations within the nuORFs, which could be used to predict potential neoantigens.

  Study phs001519

• THAP11 mutations in a patient with a cblX-like phenotype implicates THAP11 in the regulation of cobalamin metabolism and early vertebrate development

  Mutations in HCFC1 are associated with cblX (MIM309541), an X-linked recessive disorder, characterized by defects in cobalamin metabolism and other developmental defects. HCFC1 is a transcriptional co-regulator, which interacts with transcription factors to regulate the expression of a myriad of genes. Notably, HCFC1 regulates cobalamin metabolism via the regulation of MMACHC expression through its interaction with THAP11, a THAP domain-containing transcription factor. In addition, the HCFC1/THAP11 complex potentially regulates genes involved in diverse cellular functions including cell cycle, proliferation, and transcription. Thus, it is likely that mutations in THAP11 may also result in biochemical and other phenotypes similar to those observed in patients with cblX. We report a patient who presented with phenotypic features that overlap cblX, but did not have any mutations in either MMACHC or HCFC1. We sequenced THAP11 by Sanger sequencing and discovered a potentially pathogenic, homozygous variant in THAP11, c.240C>G (p.Phe80Leu). Functional analysis in the developing zebrafish embryo, demonstrate that both THAP11 and HCFC1 regulate the proliferation and differentiation of neural precursors, suggesting important roles in normal brain development. Further, the loss of THAP11 in zebrafish embryos, results in craniofacial abnormalities including the complete loss of Meckel’s cartilage, the ceratohyal, and all of the ceratobranchial cartilages. These data are consistent with our previous work which demonstrated a role for HCFC1 in vertebrate craniofacial development. Furthermore, our high throughput RNA-sequencing analysis reveals several overlapping gene targets of HCFC1 and THAP11 that likely contribute to the phenotypes associated with cblX and related disorders. Thus, both HCFC1 and THAP11 play important roles in the regulation of cobalamin metabolism as well as other pathways involved in early vertebrate development.

  Study EGAS00001002201

• Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Study EGAS00001004564

• Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma - CM066-WES

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Study EGAS00001004567

• Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma - CM67 WES

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Study EGAS00001004555

• Proteogenomic Characterization Unveils Biomarkers Associated With Chemoresistance in Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

  Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) combined with radical cystectomy has been used as a standard of care for patients with clinically non-metastatic muscle invasive urothelial bladder cancer, but 40-50% patients will benefit from the treatment. Molecular subtypes of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) provide a possible biomarker roadmap that may help identify patients who may or may not respond to NAC. Recently, by integrating Mass Spectrometry-based proteomics, proteogenomic studies from the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) have demonstrated the potential of this approach in prioritizing candidate driver genes and facilitating understanding of the chemotherapy resistance mechanisms. To demonstrate the proteogenomic workflow for investigating the mechanisms underlying chemotherapy resistance in MIBC, we conducted proteogenomic characterization of 46 pre- and 14 post- treatment tumors, including whole exome sequencing (WES), mRNA sequencing, Tandem Mass Tag (TMT)-proteomics, or TMT-phosphoproteomic. These samples were selected from an initial cohort of 143 MIBC tissues and filtered by tumor purity, clinical history, pathological response, and proteomic quality control metrics. The final cohort comprised samples from 53 patients, including 45 with both genomic and proteomic data and 8 with genomic data only.Our multi-omics-based clustering reveals subtypes associated with chemotherapy sensitivity. Protein abundance of a short isoform of ATAD1 and RAF family proteins were identified as biomarkers of chemosensitivity which highlights the importance of proteomics data. Integration of proteomic and phosphoproteomic data reveals Wnt signaling via GSK3B-S9 phosphorylation and the JAK/STAT pathway as potential targets to overcome chemoresistance. Correlations between PD-L1 and TROP-2/NECTIN-4 indicate an additive benefit of combination therapy targeting these proteins. Our data analysis clearly demonstrates that proteogenomic plays an important role in uncovering potential resistance mechanisms that operate only at protein and Post-Translational Modification (PTM) levels. Proteomics data can be accessed through PRIDE with ID PXD060290. RNA-seq and whole-exome sequencing (WES) FASTQ files are archived in the dbGaP database.

  Study phs004049

• The G2 gene expression signature and MYC overexpression are independent poor prognostic factors in childhood high-grade osteosarcoma

  Purpose In high-grade osteosarcoma, prognostic factors at diagnosis are insufficient for stratifying patients into relevant subgroups. Recently, a transcriptomic study developed the G1/G2 gene expression signature, in which the G2 signature was associated with unfavorable survival. An orthogonal study identified MYC amplification as an unfavorable prognostic factor using targeted next-generation sequencing. The purpose of this study was to validate the independent prognostic value and to investigate the combined prognostic value of the G1/G2 signature with, MYC amplification and/or MYC expression for survival prediction. Material and methods This study included pediatric and adolescent patients with high-grade osteosarcoma. RNA sequencing was performed in 48 patients. Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 40 patients. Gene expression signature scores, MYC amplification (defined as > 7 copies) and MYC expression levels were calculated. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed for event-free survival (EFS) (primary endpoint) and overall survival (OS) (secondary endpoint). Results In the full cohort, the 3-year event-free survival rate was 37%. In multivariable Cox regression analysis with metastatic disease stage (n=21, 44%) as covariate, the G2 signature and MYC expression were independently associated with worse outcomes in terms of EFS (Hazard ratio (HR) 3.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34-8.21 and HR 3.38, 95%-CI 1.71-6.66, respectively) and OS (HR 4.07, 95%-CI 1.19-13.9 and HR 2.88, 95%-CI 1.22-6.76, respectively). MYC amplification was not associated with EFS or OS in univariable analysis (HR 1.88, 95% -CI 0.74-4.77 and HR 0.79, 95%-CI 0.21-3.05, respectively). Conclusion The G2 gene expression signature and MYC expression were independently associated with unfavorable outcomes in a pediatric cohort of patients with high-grade osteosarcoma. The combined prognostic value warrants further prospective validation and could potentially serve as a stratification marker for future osteosarcoma treatment protocols.

  Study EGAS00001008073

• Genomic profiling of paediatric high grade gliomas from the HERBY clinical trial

  The HERBY trial was a phase-II open-label, randomised, multicentre trial evaluating bevacizumab in patients with newly-diagnosed non-brainstem high grade glioma (HGG) between the ages of 3-18yrs. 121 patients were randomised with 1yr event-free survival as the primary end-point. Confirmation of HGG diagnosis by reference pathology was mandatory before randomisation, followed by review with five independent expert neuropathologists. We collected specimens from 89 patients consenting to translational research, and performed Sanger sequencing for H3F3A, Illumina 450K BeadArray methylation profiling, and whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing where possible. 7/89 patients (8%) harboured H3F3A G34R/V mutations, whilst 24/89 (27%) harboured H3F3A K27M, the latter reflecting a high proportion of the novel entity recognised in the 2016 WHO classification of diffuse midline glioma with H3K27M mutation. Both histone mutations conferred a significantly shorter progression-free (p=0.0104) and overall survival (p=0.00159). 450K methylation subtyping additionally identified a number of subgroups in histone wild-type cases. These included infrequent (4/86, 4.6%) cases with IDH1 mutation in older children, further categorised into astrocytic ATRX-mutant (n=3) or 1p19q co-deleted with TERT promoter mutation (n=1). 9/74, (12%) of cases were classified as biologically resembling pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) by methylation profiling, with 5/9 harbouring BRAF V600E mutations and epithelioid histology, and 3/9 NF1 mutation and giant cell features. Three cases had methylation profiles more closely resembling low grade gliomas, though were morphologically high grade, and harboured MAPK dysregulation in two cases, with the third part of an additional infant (<3yrs) cohort. Finally, four cases had a mutational burden several orders of magnitude higher than the rest, with (2197-5332) somatic coding variants/sample reflecting a hypermutator phenotype. These data provide an important insight into the wide biological diversity of ‘HGG’ found in the paediatric age group and allow for a profound refinement of clinical trial interpretation.

  Study EGAS00001002328

• Multiomic Landscape of Multiple Myeloma Precursor and Relapsed Disease

  Multiple myeloma (MM) is a treatable, though incurable, plasma cell malignancy. The molecular mechanisms driving disease onset and the emergence of drug resistance remain elusive. To better characterize the mutational, transcriptional, and epigenetic alterations that accompany MM disease evolution, we accessed molecular data from MM patients treated at Moffitt Cancer Center, with bone marrow biopsies collected between 2011 and 2023.We performed scMultiome (single-cell, paired RNA/ATAC-Seq, 10x Genomics) on 18 CD138+-selected bone marrow aspirate samples, including: 2 healthy donors, 3 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), 4 with smoldering myeloma (SMM), 3 with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM), 1 with early relapse MM (ERMM, 1 to 3 lines of therapy), and 5 with late relapse MM (LRMM, 4 or more lines of therapy). Our dataset includes a sequential sample: a patient with a premalignant condition ("scMultiome_SMM_4") that progressed to active myeloma ("scMultiome_NDMM_3"). These data allow for the assessment of transcriptional and epigenetic dysregulation at the cellular level. Our findings illustrate the dynamic epigenetic and transcriptional landscapes that accompany MM disease progression.We also conducted CUT&Tag analysis on 4 NDMM and 4 LRMM samples to map histone modifications, specifically H3K27ac, to investigate their role in transcriptional reprogramming observed in advanced stages of MM. This analysis revealed sample heterogeneity in terms of super-enhancer-regulated genes associated with active transcription.This cohort also includes samples from the clinical trial NCT04151667, “Daratumumab-Based Response-Adaptive Therapy for Older Adults With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma.” We performed scRNAseq (single-cell RNA sequencing, 10x Genomics) on 30 CD138+-selected bone marrow aspirate samples and 31 pre-sort samples featuring bone marrow mononuclear cells of various cell types from 5 healthy donors and 11 patients with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM). Our dataset includes sequential samples for all 11 NDMM patients, both prior to induction therapy (denoted by ‘a') with Daratumumab and Dexamethasone, and at cycle 2 day 22 (C2D22, i.e., 60 days after induction therapy start, denoted by ‘b'). For three NDMM patients, we also have samples at relapse (denoted by ‘c'). These data allow for the assessment of transcriptional dysregulation at the single-cell level in both the tumor and immune-tumor microenvironment, associated with Daratumumab treatment in NDMM patients.In addition to the molecular data, demographic, and phenotypic information for all samples is provided.

  Study phs003892

• IFN-γ and TNF-α drive a CXCL10+ CCL2+ Macrophage Phenotype Expanded in Severe COVID-19 Lungs and Inflammatory Diseases with Tissue Inflammation

  We explored how the human macrophages response to different inflammatory factors, focusing particularly on the effects of antiviral interferons (IFN-β and IFN-γ), pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, and other mediators like IL-4. Co-cultured fibroblasts were a component in some conditions to generate factors produced by resident stroma. We used a single-cell antibody-based hashing strategy to multiplex samples from different stimulatory conditions in one sequencing run. This macrophage transcriptomic data reveals distinct macrophage activation states and polarizations shaped by different tissue-related inflammatory conditions at single-cell resolution. We further performed an unbiased integration between tissue-level macrophages and this stimulated human blood-derived macrophages, which pinpoint an IFN-γ and TNF-α synergistically driven inflammatory macrophage phenotype expanded in severe COVID-19 lungs and other inflamed disease tissues.

  Study phs002780

• Anaplastic oligodendroglioma exome and RNA sequencing data

  Anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (AOs) are rare primary brain tumors which are generally incurable, with heterogeneous prognosis and few treatment targets identified. Most oligodendrogliomas have chromosome 1p/19q co-deletion and IDH mutation. We analyzed 51 AOs by whole-exome sequencing, identifying previously reported frequent somatic mutations in CIC and FUBP1. We also identified recurrent mutations in TCF12 and in an additional series of 83 AO. Overall 7.5% of AO are mutated for TCF12, which encodes an oligodendrocyte-related transcription factor. 80% of TCF12 mutations identified were in either the bHLH domain, which is important for TCF12 function as a transcription factor, or were frame shift mutations leading to TCF12 truncated for this domain. We show that these mutations compromise TCF12 transcriptional activity and are associated with a more aggressive tumor type. Our analysis provides further insights into the unique and shared pathways driving AO.

  Study EGAS00001001209

• RNA sequencing of circulating human immune cells before and after interleukin-2 immunotherapy in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

  Within the investigator-initiated clinical trial Charact-IL-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03312335), we treated 12 female systemic lupus erythematosus patients with low-dose interleukin-2. Patients received 4 cycles of 5 daily injections of 1.5 million international units interleukin-2 over 9 weeks. This study aimed at investigating interleukin-2-induced transcriptional changes in circulating human immune cells, and to define changes in T cell receptor clonality before and after interleukin-2 immunotherapy. For this purpose, blood was collected from patients before and after each treatment cycle.

  Study EGAS50000000458

• TSO500 STJAN33, BRAF mutated CUP

  The data set contains FASTQ files (filetype) of a NEXTSEQ550DX run (instrument). De FASTQ files are from DNA and RNA sample. The Library prep is a NGS TSO500 library prep (Illumina) (technology). A Study to Examine the Clinical Value of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Performed by Belgian NGS Laboratories: a Belgian Precision Study of the BSMO in Collaboration With the Cancer Centre (BALLETT) This 2-year study involves the consortium of 9 cooperating Belgian NGS laboratories and will enroll 936 metastatic or locally advanced cancer patients coming from 13 different Belgian hospitals and cancer centers. Upon inclusion, all cancer patients will be offered 'comprehensive genomic profiling' (CGP) using Illumina's TSO500 NGS panel. This targeted NGS panel of 523 genes allows for the detection of single nucleotide variants, small indels, copy number variations and fusions, as well as for the determination of the 'tumor mutational burden' (TMB) and the 'microsatellite-instability' status (MSI). Both the wet lab execution of the CGP as well as the biological and clinical classification of the variants will be performed in a fully standardized way among the 9 participating Belgian local NGS laboratories.

  Dataset EGAD50000000689

• Addiction of Primary Cutaneous Gamma-Delta T-cell Lymphomas to JAK-STAT Signaling

  Primary cutaneous γδ T-cell lymphoma (PCGDTL) is a mature T-cell lymphoma (TCL) of the skin with a median survival of 31 months and no effective therapies. PCGDTLs frequently possess mutations in the JAK/STAT pathway, including in JAK1, JAK3, STAT3, STAT5B, and SOCS1. We hypothesized that single-agent JAK inhibition may be effective in PCGDTLs, particularly those with targetable JAK/STAT pathway mutations. Herein, we demonstrate the near-complete response of two PCGDTL cases to single-agent JAK inhibitors, ruxolitinib or cerdulatinib. However, both patients eventually relapsed with acquired mutations in JAK1, JAK3, or STAT5B.

  Study phs003837

• Paired DNA and RNA sequencing uncovers common and rare genomic variants regulating gene expression in the human retina

  In this study, we uncovered common and rare genomic variants shaping retinal expression profiles. This includes 1,483,595 significant cis-expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) impacting 9,959 and 3,699 genes in NSR and RPE, respectively, with associated genomic variants enriched to cis-candidate regulatory elements and notable shared eGenes between NSR and RPE. We also detected 1051 expression outliers and prioritised 299 rare non-coding single-nucleotide, structural variants or copy number variants as plausible drivers for 28% of outlier events. This study increases understanding of gene expression regulation in the human retina.

  Study EGAS50000001443

• RNA sequencing data of 142 samples from 142 patients with HER2+ breast cancer treated with letrozole or tamoxifen (SOLTI PAMELA trial)

  PAMELA (NCT01973660) is a non-randomized, open-label, multicentric, prospective translational research study in stage I-IIIA HER2+ breast cancer designed to evaluate the ability of the PAM50 intrinsic subtypes to predict pCR in the breast (pCRB) following 18 weeks of neoadjuvant lapatinib and trastuzumab (+/- hormonal therapy if hormone receptor [HR] positive). Patients with HR+ disease received letrozole (if postmenopausal) or tamoxifen (if pre-menopausal). The primary objective was to compare the pCRB rates of the HER2-E versus the non-HER2-E subtypes in the intent-to-treat population.

  Study EGAS00001006410

• Surgery in combination with immune checkpoint therapy as an effective treatment for patients with metastatic cancer.

  Abstract Surgical removal of primary tumors was shown to reverse tumor-mediated immune suppression in pre-clinical models with metastatic disease. However, how cytoreductive surgery in the metastatic setting modulates the immune responses in patients, especially in the context of immune checkpoint therapy (ICT)-containing treatments is not understood. Here, we report the first prospective, non-comparative clinical trial (N=104) using three different ICT-containing strategies plus cytoreductive or “debulking” surgery to remove the primary tumor-bearing kidney or a metastatic lesion as a treatment for patients (N=43) with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC). For those patients (N=61) who were not candidates for cytoreductive surgery, a biopsy was obtained instead for correlative biological studies. Our data demonstrated that the combination of ICT with cytoreductive surgery was safe and feasible in patients with mccRCC. The 2-year overall survival was 84% with a median OS of 54.7 months for patients who received ICT containing regimens plus surgery. Immune-monitoring studies with co-detection by indexing (CODEX) identified distinct tumor spatial conformation of cellular subsets as a novel and improved predictor of response to ICT. Importantly, single-cell RNA-sequencing data demonstrated that surgical removal of the tumor increased antigen-presenting dendritic cell population with a concurrent reduction in KDM6B expressing immune-suppressive myeloid cells in the peripheral blood. Together, this study highlighted the feasibility of combining ICT with cytoreductive surgery in a metastatic setting and demonstrated potential enhancement of immune responses following ICT plus cytoreductive surgery in patients with metastatic disease.

  Study EGAS00001005667

• Exome sequencing

  Human telomere biology disorders (TBD), a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by telomere attrition and premature aging phenotypes, are caused by inherited loss-of-function mutations in telomere-associated genes. Here, we identify three germline heterozygous missense variants in RPA1 gene in four unrelated probands presenting with short telomeres and varying clinical features of TBD including bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome, T- and B-cell lymphopenia, pulmonary fibrosis, and skin manifestations. All variants cluster to DNA binding domain A of RPA1 protein. RPA1 is an essential single-strand DNA-binding protein essential for DNA replication and repair. RPA1 has been implicated in telomere maintenance but the mechanism remains elusive. Thus far, no genetic disorder had been linked to RPA1. Using FRET assays, we showed that RPA1E240K and RPA1V227A exhibit increased binding to single-strand and telomeric DNA, implying a gain in DNA-binding function while RPA1T270A has binding properties similar to wild type. To study the mutational effect, RPA1E240K, with the highest binding capacity, was knocked-in iPSCs using CRISPR/Cas9, which showed severe telomere shortening and impaired hematopoietic differentiation. Furthermore, in the RPA1E240K patient, stable blood counts over two decades due coincided with clonal rescue hematopoiesis with an RNA-degrading truncating RPA1 mutation and a uniparental isodisomy 17p with loss of RPA1E240K allele. Using single cell DNA sequencing, the two somatic genetic rescue events were proven to be independently acquired in hematopoietic stem cells. In summary, we describe the first human disease caused by germline RPA1 variants in individuals with TBD.

  Study EGAS00001005761

• RNA-seq study of longitudinal blood cell samples from children at risk of type 1 diabetes

  The appearance of type 1 diabetes (T1D)-associated autoantibodies is the first and only measurable parameter to predict progression toward T1D in genetically susceptible individuals. However, autoantibodies indicate an active autoimmune reaction, wherein the immune tolerance is already broken. Therefore, there is a clear and urgent need for new biomarkers that predict the onset of the autoimmune reaction preceding auto-antibody positivity or reflect progressive b-cell destruction. Here we report the mRNA sequencing–based analysis of 306 samples including fractionated samples of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well as CD4, CD8 cell fractions and unfractionated PBMC samples longitudinally collected from seven children who developed beta-cell autoimmunity (Case subjects) at a young age and matched control subjects.

  Study EGAS00001004071

• Identification of Somatic Changes in Tumors from Fanconi Anemia Patients

  This study focused on the identification of genomic signatures present in tumors from Fanconi anemia patients. Fanconi anemia is a rare hereditary disease caused by defects in DNA interstrand crosslink repair. The primary patient phenotypes are bone marrow failure and cancer predisposition. We concentrated on squamous cell carcinomas and used whole genome Illumina sequencing (22 tumor samples and 12 normal samples) , whole exome sequencing (37 tumor samples and 33 normal samples), PacBio long-read whole-genome (nine tumor and four normal samples),10X linked-read whole-genome sequencing, 10x single-cell/nuclei 3’ RNA sequencing (three tumor samples), 10x Visium spatial transcriptomics (one tumor sample), EPIC 850K methylation array (six samples), and bulk RNAseq (six tumor samples) to identify somatic changes present in tumors. The study aimed to identify changes that drive tumorigenesis in Fanconi anemia, give insight into the early development and aggressive nature of these tumors, and suggest therapeutic avenues for these patients. Another goal was to compare the genomic changes identified in tumors from Fanconi anemia patients with sporadic head and neck cancers. This study demonstrated that the tumors from Fanconi anemia individuals are generally not driven by HPV. Instead, they acquire mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor. The main characteristic of the tumors is the presence of a high number of structural variants in the form of small deletions, unbalanced translocations, and fold-back inversions, which often form complex rearrangements. These rearrangements result in amplifications and deletions of a multitude of oncogenes and tumor suppressors, respectively. The study also shows that lack of the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway leads to an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in a mouse model and in human samples that may influence the behavior of tumors in Fanconi anemia. Finally, comparing genomic changes in Fanconi anemia and sporadic tumors of the head and neck, we propose that the structural variants present in sporadic cancer result in a functional deficiency of the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway.

  Study phs002652

• Exome Sequencing to Define the Landscape of Plasma Cells in Systemic Light chain Amyloidosis

  Systemic light chain amyloidosis (AL) is characterized by the deposition of immunoglobulin light chains as amyloid fibrils in different organs, where they form toxic protein aggregates. The underlying disease is a plasma cell disorder, but limited whole exome data are available. We report the findings of an exome sequencing study in AL to define a plasma cell signature and compare this to monoclonal gammopathy of undefined significance (MGUS) and myeloma (MM). Twenty-four samples from unselected newly diagnosed untreated AL patients were analysed. CD138+ cells were isolated from bone marrow cells using MACSorting (Miltenyi Biotech, Bisley, UK). Cells were lysed in RLT+ buffer and DNA/RNA extracted using the AllPrep kit (Qiagen, Manchester, UK). Peripheral blood was isolated from patients, white blood cells purified by Ficoll-Pacque and DNA extracted using the QIAamp DNA mini kit (Qiagen). There were a median of 47 acquired nonsynonymous variants (range 4-253) per patient. Thirty percent of patients yielded a mutation in a myeloma driver gene. These mutations were either clonal or sub-clonal. There was evidence of MAPK activation with NRAS mutations, NF-κB activation and DNA repair pathway alterations. Exome data were used to determine the cytogenetic groups of AL samples and identified hyperdiploidy in 33% of cases and t(11;14) in 33% of cases. All translocations were generated via class switch recombination and breakpoints on chromosome 11 fell into the expected regions. A novel translocation, unlikely to be driving disease progression was identified involving RCC1. Finally, further analysis of the APCS gene encoding for the SAP protein did not show any biased genotype in the AL population in comparison to the general population. We conclude that exome sequencing identifies a genetic make-up of AL that is similar to other plasma cell disorders such as MM and MGUS. This not only includes copy number abnormalities and translocations but also nonsynonymous mutations.

  Study EGAS00001001418

• Single-Cell Mitochondrial Mutation Lineage Tracing of Non-Dysplastic and Dysplastic Barrett's Esophagus

  This study addresses a critical knowledge gap in understanding Barrett's esophagus (BE), a common metaplastic condition and precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma, by identifying lineage connections and cell states underlying its development and malignant transformation. We collected biopsies from 13 Barrett's esophagus patients undergoing routine surveillance endoscopy, sampling metaplastic tissue alongside normal squamous esophagus and gastric cardia tissues when clinically appropriate. Our novel approach integrated single-cell RNA sequencing of nearly 180,000 cells with mitochondrial DNA mutation analysis for lineage tracing, coupled with spatial transcriptomics and comprehensive whole-exome sequencing. For one patient with high-grade dysplasia, we performed detailed whole-exome sequencing analysis at 100x coverage on dissociated Barrett's esophagus cells alongside matched normal esophagus and gastric cardia tissues. This genomic profiling revealed critical genetic drivers of malignant transformation, including a truncating mutation in the mutation cluster region of APC (a negative WNT regulator), mutations in the tumor suppressor genes CDKN2A and TP53, and significant copy number alterations including loss of CDKN2A on chromosome 9. These genetic alterations corresponded with the transcriptional changes observed in our single-cell data, particularly WNT pathway dysregulation and the expansion of LGR5-expressing stem cells, providing molecular evidence for how single clones can initiate the dysplastic transformation. Data deposited in dbGaP consist specifically of the whole-exome sequencing raw files, processed variant calls, and copy number analyses from the single patient with high-grade dysplasia and matched normal esophagus and stomach control tissue. Whole exome sequencing was performed on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000. Sequencing data was preprocessed following the Genome Analysis Toolkit's (GATK) Best Practices. Sequencing data was analyzed with Mutect2 (GATK, v4.2.5.0) to identify short somatic mutations including single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions and deletions. The Barrett's esophagus sample was run with the two matched normals, as well as the publicly available germline resource somatic-hg38_af-only-gnomad.hg38.vcf.gz (GATK). Somatic variant calls were filtered using FilterMutectCalls (GATK) and loaded into the Integrative Genomics Viewer (v2.12.3) for identification of high-quality variants in known esophageal adenocarcinoma regulators. Copy number alterations in the Barrett's esophagus sample were estimated using CNVkit (v0.9.9). CNV, Mutect2, and SVC analyses will be made available through dbGAP. Copy number alterations in the Barrett's esophagus sample were estimated using CNVkit (v0.9.9) with the default run settings; a pooled reference was generated from the normal esophagus and stomach samples. Copy number results were plotted directly within CNVkit using the function scatter.

  Study phs003949

• Characterizing the Role of the Immune Microenvironment in Multiple Myeloma Progression at a Single Cell Level

  The plasma cell disease multiple myeloma (MM) is highly dependent on its bone marrow microenvironment (BMME). Early alterations within the bone marrow microenvironment that contribute to the progression of multiple myeloma (MM) from its precursor stages could hold the key to identifying novel therapeutic approaches, yet the intrinsic variability in cellular populations between patients together with differences in sample processing and analysis methods have made it difficult to identify consistent changes between datasets. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing of BM cells from precursor stages, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), smoldering MM (SMM) and newly diagnosed MM and analyzed our data in combination with a previously published dataset that used a similar patient population and sample processing. Despite vast interpatient heterogeneity, some alterations were seen consistently in both datasets. We identified changes in immune cell populations as disease progressed that were characterized by a substantial decrease in memory and naïve CD4 T cells and an increase in CD8+ effector T cells and T-regulatory cells. These alterations were further accompanied by an enrichment of non-clonal memory B cells and an increase of CD14 and CD16 monocytes in MM compared to its precursor stages. These results provide crucial information of the immune changes associated with the progression to clinical MM and can help to develop immune based strategies for patient stratification and early therapeutic intervention. 

  Study phs002756

• Multi-omics bulk and single-cell profiling of epithelioid sarcoma

  Epithelioid sarcoma (EpS) is an aggressive sarcoma, characterized by the loss of SMARCB1 expression. EpS is traditionally classified as distal or proximal according to clinicopathological features, but its molecular characteristics remain largely unknown. To establish an EpS molecular classification and uncover determinants of inter- and intra-patient heterogeneity in EpS, we used multi-omics profiling and integrated the genomic, transcriptional and methylome landscapes with single-cell RNA sequencing on fresh samples as well as spatial transcriptomics. We identified two molecular subtypes of EpS: “distal-like” and “proximal-like”, which were distinct from the histological subtypes. Distal-like tumors include all morphological distal subtypes and a subset of proximal and hybrid EpS. They express a specific molecular single-cell derived epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition signature, which associates with improved patient survival and includes Desmoglein 2 (DSG2), which we identify as a potential routine immunohistochemical biomarker to improve diagnosis. Distal-like EpS also display increased peri-tumoral CD8+ T cell infiltrates and specific tumor-immune cell interactions. Conversely, proximal-like EpS harbor a higher inter-tumoral molecular heterogeneity with some cases resembling other SMARCB1-deficient tumors by DNA methylation profiling, and increased intra-tumoral pro-tumoral macrophage infiltrates. Our study introduces a novel molecular classification of EpS with prognostic value, associated diagnostic biomarkers and distinct tumor immune microenvironments, which extends beyond traditional clinicopathological classification. This paves the way for precision medicine-based therapeutic strategies for patients with EpS.

  Study EGAS50000000973

• Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote drug resistance in ALK-driven lung adenocarcinoma cells by upregulating lipid biosynthesis

  Targeted therapy interventions using tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) provide encouraging treatment responses in ALK-rearranged lung adenocarcinomas, yet resistances occur almost inevitably. Apart from tumor cell-intrinsic resistance mechanisms, accumulating evidence supports a role of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in affecting the therapeutic vulnerability of lung cancer cells. Here, we aimed to investigate underlying molecular networks shaping the therapeutic susceptibility of ALK-driven lung adenocarcinoma cells via tumor microenvironmental cues using three-dimensional (3D) spheroid co-culture settings. We show that CAFs promote therapy resistance of lung tumor cells against ALK inhibition by reducing apoptotic cell death and increasing cell proliferation. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis, we show that genes involved in lipogenesis constitute the major transcriptional difference between TKI-treated homo- and heterotypic lung tumor spheroids. CAF-conditioned medium and CAF-secreted factors HGF and NRG1 were both able to promote resistance of 3D-cultured ALK-rearranged lung tumor cells via AKT signaling, which was accompanied by enhanced de novo lipogenesis and supression of lipid peroxidation. Notably, simultaneous targeting of ALK and SREBP-1 was able to overcome the established CAF-driven lipid metabolic-supportive niche of TKI-resistant lung tumor spheroids. Our findings highlight a crucial role of CAFs in mediating ALK-TKI resistance via lipid metabolic reprogramming and suggest new ways to overcome resistance towards molecular directed drugs by targeting vulnerabilities downstream of oncogenic signaling.

  Study EGAS50000000135

• Relapse CHL study

  Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (CHL) is characterized by a complex tumor microenvironment (TME) that supports disease progression. While immune cell recruitment by Hodgkin and Reed–Sternberg (HRS) cells is well-documented, the role of non-malignant B cells in relapse remains unclear. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on paired diagnostic and relapsed CHL samples, we identified distinct shifts in B cell populations, particularly an enrichment of naïve B cells and a reduction of memory B cells in early-relapse compared to late-relapse and newly diagnosed CHL. The enrichment of naïve B cells in early relapse biopsies was confirmed in independent validation cohorts using scRNA-seq and immunohistochemistry. Notably, naïve B cells in early-relapse samples exhibited high expression of LGALS9, an immunosuppressive molecule known to interact with T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) on regulatory T cells (Tregs). Cell-cell interaction analysis revealed the importance of interactions between LGALS9+ naïve B cells and TIM-3+ Tregs in the early-relapse setting. Spatial analysis by imaging mass cytometry confirmed close proximity of LGALS9+ naïve B cells with TIM-3⁺ CD4⁺ T cells and HRS cells, pointing to their role in shaping an immunosuppressive niche. Our findings highlight a previously unrecognized population of LGALS9⁺ naïve B cells with immunoregulatory potential in early-relapse CHL and provide new insights into the spatial and transcriptional architecture of the relapsed TME in CHL.

  Study EGAS00001008222

• Characterization of HCV-specific CD4 T cells during DAA-Therapy

  Background: Chronic HCV-infection is characterized by a severe impairment of HCV-specific CD4 T cell help that is driven by chronic antigen stimulation. We aimed to study the fate of HCV-specific CD4 T cells after viral elimination. Methods: HCV-specific CD4 T cell responses were longitudinally analyzed using MHC class II tetramer-technology, multicolor flow cytometry and RNA sequencing in a cohort of chronically HCV-infected patients undergoing therapy with direct-acting antivirals. In addition, HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies and CXCL13 levels were analyzed. Results: We observed that the frequency of HCV-specific CD4 T cells increased within two weeks after initiation of DAA therapy. Multicolor flow cytometry revealed a downregulation of exhaustion and activation markers and an upregulation of memory-associated markers. While cells with a Th1 phenotype were the predominant subset at baseline, cells with phenotypic and transcriptional characteristics of follicular T helper cells increasingly shaped the circulating HCV-specific CD4 T cell repertoire, suggesting antigen-independent survival of this subset. These changes were accompanied by a decline of HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies and the germinal center activity. Conclusion: We identified a population of HCV-specific CD4 T cells with a follicular T helper cell signature that is maintained after therapy-induced elimination of persistent infection and may constitute an important target population for vaccination efforts to prevent re-infection and immunotherapeutic approaches for persistent viral infections.

  Study EGAS00001003950

• 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

• 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

• Influence of the Microbiome on Epigenetic Mechanisms in IBD

  Live CD4 T cells were sorted from inflamed and non-inflamed tissue samples of IBD patients or from healthy and IBD blood samples. ATAC-Seq libraries were generated from live CD4 T cells sorted from i) inflamed and non-inflamed tissue samples, ii) healthy and IBD blood samples, or from iii) CD4 T cell subsets polarised from healthy blood samples. After isolating crude nuclei, live CD4+ T cells were treated with Tagment DNA buffer and Tagment DNA Enzyme (Nextera DNA Library Prep Kit, Illumina), and then the DNA was purified by MinElute PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen). Transposed DNA fragments were amplified using specific adapters followed by purification with MinElute PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen). Fragments from 240-360pb were selected in the PippinHT system (Sage Science). The quality of the library and its DNA concentration were assessed by Bioanalyzer instruments (Agilent Technologies) and ultimately submitted for sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencer, V4 chemistry. On the other hand, single cell RNA-Seq libraries were generated exclusively from inflamed and non-inflamed tissue samples of Crohn’s disease patients. Briefly, live CD4 T cells were captured and encapsulated before cDNA amplification using the 10X Genomics Chromium Platform. Samples were prepared as outlined by 10x genomics Single Cell 3’ Reagent Kits v2 user guide. Samples were sequenced on a HiSeq 2500 with the following run parameters: Read 1 – 26 cycles, read 2 – 98 cycles, index 1 – 8 cycles.

  Dataset EGAD00001011066

• The Role of CDX2 in Controlling ABCB1 Expression and Chemosensitivity in Human Colon Cancer

  This study reports the results of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments performed on two human colon cancer cell lines (HT-29, DLD-1) that were genetically engineered to achieve either the constitutive expression (in HT-29 cells) or the selective inactivation (in DLD-1 cells) of the transcription factor CDX2, a master regulator of embryonic gut development and a key regulator of multi-lineage differentiation in adult colon epithelial cells. Our previous studies had identified lack of CDX2 expression as a prognostic biomarker of poor prognosis and a predictive biomarker of benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy in Stage-II and Stage-III colon cancer patients (Dalerba et al., NEJM, 374:211-222, 2016; PMID: 26789870). The molecular basis of these associations, however, remained poorly understood. The present study was designed to identify which genes are under the transcriptional control of CDX2, in order to clarify their role in shaping colon cancer resistance to chemotherapy. Of the two lines included in this study, the first (HT-29) is CDX2-negative at baseline, and was infected with a lentivirus vector encoding for the cDNA of the human CDX2 gene under the control of a constitutive promoter (CMV). The second line (DLD-1) is CDX2-positive at baseline, and was infected with a series of lentivirus vectors encoding for CRISPR/Cas9 constructs designed to selectively inactivate the CDX2 gene. In both cases, infected cells were purified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), based on the differential expression of a green fluorescent reporter (EGFP) that was also encoded by the lentivirus vectors, and transcribed in tandem with either the CDX2 cDNA (HT-29) or CRISPR/Cas9 gRNAs targeting CDX2 (DLD-1). The experiments were designed to include 3 experimental replicates per condition, and to compare the transcriptional profile of genetically engineered cells with that of autologous controls (i.e., HT-29 cells infected with an "empty" version of the same lentivirus vector used to over-express CDX2, DLD-1 cells engineered with a "non-targeting" CRISPR/Cas9 gRNA). In the specific case of DLD-1 cells engineered with CRIPSR-Cas9 constructs targeting CDX2, infected cells were sorted based on the differential expression of EGFP and then plated as single-cells, in order to sub-culture three isogenic clones, all of which were genetically sequenced to confirm bi-allelic knock-out of the CDX2 gene, and confirmed to lack CDX2 protein expression by Western blot. The results of our experiments demonstrate that, in human colon epithelial cells, CDX2 controls the expression of the ABCB1 efflux pump, by positively regulating the transcription of the corresponding gene.

  Study phs002903

• Gene Expression in an African American Schizophrenia Dataset

  Schizophrenia is a common and severe psychotic disorder. While some common SNPs and rare copy number variants have been identified as being significantly associated with disease risk, the biological mechanisms remain largely undefined. To identify gene expression abnormalities in schizophrenia, we generated whole-genome gene expression profiles using RNAseq on lymphoblastoid cell lines from schizophrenia cases and controls of African American ancestry. Genes related to immune processes were enriched in the genes differentially expressed in the schizophrenia cases. Approximately half of the differentially expressed genes in this African American dataset were also differentially expressed by affection status in our previously studied European ancestry dataset (PMID: 28418402).

  Study phs002842

• Epigenome maps of time-resolved monocyte to macrophage differentiation and innate immune memory

  Innate immune memory is the phenomenon whereby innate immune cells such as monocytes or macrophages undergo functional reprogramming after exposure to microbial components such as LPS. We apply an integrated epigenomic approach to characterize the molecular events involved in LPS-induced tolerance in a time dependent manner. ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, WGBS and ATAC-seq data were generated. This analysis identified epigenetic programs in tolerance and trained macrophages, and the potential transcription factors involved. Experimental set-up Time-course in vitro culture of human monocytes. Two innate immune memory states can be induced in culture through an initial exposure of primary human monocytes to either LPS or BG for 24 hours, followed by removal of stimulus and differentiation to macrophages for an additional 5 days. Cells were collected at baseline (day 0), 1 hour, 4 hour, 24 hour and 6 days.

  Dataset EGAD00001002693

• Integrated single-cell profiling dissects cell-state-specific enhancer landscapes of human tumor infiltrating T cells.

  Despite extensive studies on the chromatin landscape of exhausted T cells, the transcriptional wiring underlying functional and dysfunctional states of human tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is incompletely understood. Here, we identify tissue-specific and general gene-regulatory landscapes in the wide breadth of CD8+ TIL functional states covering four cancer entities using single-cell chromatin profiling. We map enhancer-promoter interactions in human TILs by integrating single-cell chromatin accessibility with single-cell RNA-seq data from tumor entity-matching samples and prioritize key elements by super enhancer analysis. Our analysis reveals a human core chromatin trajectory to TIL dysfunction and identifies key enhancers, transcriptional regulators, and deregulated target genes involved in this process. Finally, we validate enhancer regulation at loci encoding PD1, TCF1, and TIM3 by targeting non-coding regulatory elements with potent CRISPR activators and repressors. In summary, our study advances the understanding of molecular regulation of TIL (dys-)function and provides a framework for modulating immunotherapeutic relevant TIL genes via their enhancers.

  Dataset EGAD00001008662

• Mapping Cells and Interactions in the Thymus Across Development and Aging (2025-07-28)

  Single cell RNA sequencing on thymic cells from children with syndromic diseases such as Trisomy 21 and inflammatory/autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis. Our group has previously performed atlasing of the healthy human thymus using single cell transcriptomics and obtained an unprecedented understanding of human thymus throughout development. In this study, we intend to survey diseased human thymus and compare this to healthy to obtain a better understanding of thymic dysfunction in human diseases. The diseases we will survey include congenital conditions such as Down's syndrome, CHARGE syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome as well as acquired diseases such as myasthenia gravis and thymic hyperplasia. We intend to perform genetic and genomic study on the samples, including expression analysis. This will not only help us to understand the cells and molecular pathways affected in dysfunctional thymus; but may also lead to generalisable understandings in human genetic diseases and inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. 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 (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/ . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2025-07-28.

  Dataset EGAD00001015660

• Multi-Modal Single-Cell, Spatial, and Genomic Analyses of Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases

  We performed single nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) with matched T cell receptor sequencing (TCR-seq), and pool matched low pass whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 12 treatment-naive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) primary tumors (PTs) and 31 treatment-naive NSCLC brain metastases (BMs). In total, we recovered 277,206 cell transcriptomes in 43 samples. Single-nuclei suspension from frozen NSCLC metastases were generated using methods published in Slyper et al. (Nature Medicine, 2020, PMID:32405060) with modifications. The tissue was first cut in 20 µm sections using a cryostat and stored on dry ice until the next step. Then the tissue was put on wet ice and washed once with 5 ml PBS to remove OCT. After this step nuclei were extracted by vigorous pipetting in salt-tris buffer with Tween-20 (TST) followed by a high-volume wash in salt-tris buffer (ST). Nuclei were counted and 10,000-14,000 and were loaded using a Chromium controller (10X genomics) and Chromium Single Cell 5' Reagents (V1.1 and V2). Complementary DNA libraries were generated according to manufacturer's instructions, with the modification of one additional cycle of amplification. Matched single nuclei T cell receptor (snTCR) sequencing libraries were prepared from amplified cDNA libraries using either Chromium Single Cell V(D)J Enrichment Kit for human T cells Reagent Kit, v1.1, or single cell human TCR amplification kit. Final snTCR sequencing libraries were prepared using Single Index Kit T Set A for V1.1 libraries or Library construction kit and Dual Index Kit TT set A for V2 libraries. Sequencing libraries were quantified using Tapestation D5000 reagents and a 2200 TapeStation and pooled for sequencing. Pool matched low pass whole-genome sequencing (lp-WGS) was performed in addition to snRNA-seq to improve the identification of the malignant and non-malignant cell compartments. Nuclei from snRNA-seq sample preparations were collected by centrifugation (500g, 5 min), snap frozen after removing excess ST buffer, and stored at -200C until further processing. If insufficient nuclei (0C for 9 minutes. Adapters were not diluted, and the optional PCR (5 cycles) and cleanup were performed. After library cleanup with AMPure beads (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA), libraries were quantified with Tapestation D5000 HS tapes (Agilent) and stored at -200C until sequencing.Using multiplexed immunofluorescence in an independent cohort of treatment-naïve pairs of primary tumors and brain metastases from the same patients with NSCLC, we validated genomic and tumor-microenvironmental findings and identified a cancer cell population characterized by neural features that strongly enriched in brain metastases. This comprehensive analysis provides insights into human NSCLC brain metastasis biology and serves as an important resource for additional discovery.

  Study phs003865

• Circulating Genomic Determinants of Treatment Failure in Hodgkin Lymphoma

  In this study, we show that the plasma representation of mutations exceeds the bulk tumor representation in most cases, making classic Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) particularly amenable to noninvasive profiling. Leveraging single-cell transcriptional profiles of cHL tumors, we demonstrate hazard ratios (HRs) circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) shedding to be shaped by DNASE1L3, whose increased tumor microenvironment-derived expression drives high ctDNA concentrations. Using this insight, we comprehensively profile 366 patients, revealing two distinct cHL genomic subtypes with characteristic clinical and prognostic correlates, as well as distinct transcriptional and immunological profiles. Furthermore, we identify a novel class of truncating IL4R-mutations that are dependent on IL13 signaling and therapeutically targetable with IL4R blocking antibodies. Finally, we demonstrate the clinical value of pre- and on-treatment ctDNA levels for longitudinally refining cHL risk prediction, and for detection of radiographically occult minimal residual disease. Collectively, these results support the utility of noninvasive strategies for genotyping and dynamic monitoring of cHL as well as capturing molecularly distinct subtypes with diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic potential.Methods utilized include a) targeted genotyping of baseline plasma samples, b) whole exome sequencing (WES) of baseline plasma samples, c) epigenetic expression inference from cell-free DNA-sequencing (EPIC-Seq) to infer gene expression from cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentation profiles, d) ctDNA tracking in on-treatment samples, e) RNA-Sequencing, and f) Phased variant Enrichment and Detection Sequencing (PhasED-Seq).All patients were treated at cancer centers across Europe and North America between 2011 and 2020. The following 3 cancer centers, Stanford (CA, USA), Bellinzona [Confoederatio Helvetica (CH) or Switzerland], and Leuven (Belgium), were included. The 6 clinical trial collectives included in this study are the Phase III trial AHOD1331 trial (NCT02166463) and the Phase II cHOD17 study (NCT03755804) for enrolled pediatric patients, the Phase III AHL2011 (NCT01358747), the Phase II BREACH trial (NCT02292979), a pilot study evaluating concurrent Pembrolizumab with AVD (Doxorubicin, also known as Adriamycin, Vinblastine, and Dacarbazine; NCT03331341), and a Phase II study evaluating PVAB (Prednisone, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin and Bendamustine; NCT02414568) in older patients (61 years and older). In addition, lymph node specimens from a biorepository at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (TN, USA) were included.

  Study phs003435

• Transcriptomic Analysis of HIV-Infected Cells

  Defining the attributes of rare CD4 T cells that harbor latent HIV under therapy with anti-retroviral agents has been challenging due to difficulties in identifying and isolating these cells. These cells represent an important barrier to cure, and characterizing them would aid the design and development of novel HIV cure strategies. In this study, we addressed this challenge using a custom microfluidic technology named Focused Interrogation of cells by Nucleic acid Detection and Sequencing (FIND-seq) that isolates HIV-infected cell transcriptomes, based on HIV DNA detection. We applied this method to HIV DNA+ memory CD4 T cells isolated from blood from five persons with HIV who were receiving anti-retroviral agents. After curating samples based on data quality, we proceeded with bioinformatics analysis from three persons. This analysis identified six transcriptomic pathways that were inhibited in HIV DNA+ cells compared to HIV DNA- cells. These included death receptor signaling, necroptosis signaling, and anti-proliferative G-alpha12/13 signaling. Furthermore, we identified two gene clusters, including 60 and 85 genes, that were significantly associated with HIV DNA+ cells identified by co-expression network analysis. These genes included negative regulators of HIV transcription that were higher in HIV DNA+ cells, positive regulators of HIV transcription that were lower in HIV DNA+ cells, and other genes involved in the negative regulation of mRNA translation, additional RNA processing functions, and the regulation of cellular state and fate. We further examined these signatures in transcriptomic data from CD4 T cell subsets sorted by flow cytometry from nine persons with HIV. We found a partial similarity between the smaller cluster of genes and the signature of CCR6- peripheral TFH cells. Raw sequencing data from all eleven human participant samples included in the study are available. These include samples from two participants who were studied only by FIND-seq, three participants who were studied by both FIND-seq and flow cytometry and six participants who were studied only by flow cytometry.

  Study phs003095

• Adult Eosinophilic Esophagitis Registry Atlas

  Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) arises in the setting of type 2 cytokine-driven inflammation, is characterized by the infiltration of eosinophils in the esophageal mucosa, and is associated with dysphagia and fibrostenotic complications. Disease development and progression involve complex interactions between epithelial cells, stromal cells and immune cells. Indeed, increased epithelial permeability is consistently found in EoE, potentially leading to increased antigen exposure and inflammation. Persistent inflammation can in turn lead to fibroblast activation and fibrosis, which, together with the mediators produced by eosinophils and mast cells, leads to dysmotility. To decipher the interactions between these cell types across distinct disease states, we obtained biopsies from 7 healthy controls and 15 EoE subjects, including both active disease and clinical remission, to perform single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq).Each biopsy sample was enzymatically digested within 3 hours of collection with collagenase/dispase to generate a single cell suspension. Suspensions were then loaded on a 10x Chromium controller, and libraries were generated with the 3' Chemistry pipeline (v2 or v3) before sequencing on an Illumina sequencer. The resulting sequence data was demultiplexed and analyzed with the CellRanger pipeline to generate raw fastq files and processed gene-count matrices for each sample. Altogether, our study generated transcriptomic profiles from 421,312 individual cells after quality control and filtering.Our analyses reveal 60 cell subsets and functional alterations in cell states, compositions, and interactions that highlight previously unknown features of EoE. Active disease displayed enrichment of ALOX15+ macrophages, novel PRDM16+ dendritic cells expressing the EoE risk gene ATP10A, and cycling mast cells, with concomitant reduction of TH17 cells. Receptor–ligand expression uncovered eosinophil recruitment programs, increased fibroblast interactions in disease, and IL-9+IL-4+IL-13+TH2 and endothelial cells as potential mast cell interactors. Resolution of inflammation-associated signatures included mast and CD4+ Tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cell contraction and cell type-specific downregulation of eosinophil chemoattractant, growth, and survival factors.

  Study phs003574

• Genomic Basis of Phenotypic Variability of Complex Disorders

  The 520-kbp deletion on chromosome 16p12.1 is associated with multiple neurodevelopmental outcomes, including intellectual disability/developmental delay (ID/DD), schizophrenia, autism, and epilepsy. This variant is inherited in >95% of cases from carrier parents manifesting neuropsychiatric features, while affected children with the deletion were more likely to carry another large Copy Number Variation (CNV) or rare deleterious mutation elsewhere in the genome, or "second-hits", compared to carrier parents. Thus, while the 16p12.1 deletion confers significant risk for a range of disorders, the ultimate phenotypic trajectory is determined by "second-hit" variants in the genetic background. However, outstanding questions remain about the genetic background in these disorders, including the functional effects of "second-hit" variants towards gene expression or developmental phenotypes, the full spectrum of "second-hit" variants, and the mechanisms driving accumulation of these variants.In version 1, we performed deep clinical phenotyping, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), SNP microarray analysis, and RNA-sequencing of lymphoblastoid cell lines of 32 individuals in five large families with the 16p12.1 deletion. We found that specific classes of rare single-nucleotide and structural variants in coding and non-coding regions contributed towards expression changes in affected children based on their inheritance patterns, including a subset of variants that acted synergistically with the deletion to alter expression. We further found that rare variant-mediated expression changes contribute to specific developmental phenotypes in the carrier children, suggesting a potential genetic mechanism for variable expressivity of the deletion.In version 2, we additionally analyzed genetic and phenotypic data from individuals with 16p12.1 deletion and their spouses to assess the role of assortative mating modulating phenotypic outcomes of the 16p12.1 deletion. We identified significant within- and cross- disorder phenotypic correlations between spouses, but observed no significant genetic correlations between spouses, in line with expectations.

  Study phs002450

• Exome and RNA sequencing data from 32 ocular and extraocular sebaceous carcinomas

  Sebaceous carcinomas (SeC) are cutaneous malignancies that, in rare cases, metastasize and prove fatal. Here we report whole exome sequencing on 32 SeC, revealing distinct mutational classes that explain both cancer ontogeny and clinical course. A UV-damage signature predominated 10/32 samples, while 9 were instead defined by microsatellite instability (MSI) mutations. UV-damage SeC exhibited poorly differentiated, infiltrative histopathologycompared to MSI signature SeC (p = 0.003), features previously associated with dissemination. Strikingly, UV-damage SeC transcriptomes and anatomic distributionclosely resembling those of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), implicating sun-exposed keratinocytes as a cell of origin. Like SCC, this UV-damage subclass harbors a high somatic mutation burden with >50 mutations/Mb, predicting immunotherapeutic response. In contrast, ocular SeC acquire far fewer mutations without a dominant signature, but show frequent truncating mutations in the ZNF750 epidermal differentiation regulator. Our data exemplify how different mutational processes convergently drive histopathologically related but clinically distinct cancers.

  Study EGAS00001002869

• Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma - CM066-WES

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Dataset EGAD00001006309

• CEBP-Beta/IL-1-Beta/ TNF-alpha Feedback Loop Drives Drug Resistance to BCL2 and MDM2 Inhibitors in Monocytic Leukemia Cells

  To uncover the mechanisms of MDM2 inhibitor resistance that are mediated by IL-1, we performed RNAseq on three primary AML patient cells treated with idasanutlin in the presence or absence of IL-1β. These three leukemia samples were chosen because they exhibit high blast counts and are protected by IL-1β when treated with idasanutlin, as determined by apoptosis assay. We observed that a majority of the major p53 pathway targets remained upregulated in the presence of IL-1β. We next performed differential expressed gene (DEG) analysis following IL-1β treatment with and without idasanutlin. IL-1β treatment upregulated 3295, 1353, and 680 genes with ≥1 Log2FC, in each of the three patient samples, and a significant majority of these genes (82%, 62.4%, and 47.6%) remained upregulated in the presence of idasanutlin. Pathway analysis showed that IL-1β upregulated genes were associated with NF-κB, Interleukin-1 family signaling pathways, immune and inflammatory associated genes and myeloid maturation markers. To identify downstream targets that contribute to the protective effect of IL-1β during idasanutlin treatment, we performed DEG analysis on IL-1β + idasanutlin treatment compared to idasanutlin treatment alone. Interestingly, IL-1β induces its own expression and other pro-survival cytokines including TNF, CSF2 (GMCSF), IL-6, CSF3 (GCSF), as well as their respective receptors and/or coactivators, including IL1RL1 and multiple TNF receptors. We verified that IL-1β and TNF-α induce the upregulation of their own membrane-bound forms, their corresponding receptors, CSF2RB, and monocytic markers, as determined by flow cytometry immunophenotyping. Furthermore, IL-1β upregulated a number of pro-inflammatory chemokines, including CXCL13, CXCL2, etc. These findings highlight a pleiotropic role of IL-1β. The RNA expression of these three samples in the presence and absence of IL-1β and idasanutlin treatment will be deposited in dbGaP.

  Study phs003479

• Deep single-cell RNA sequencing data for 11138 T cells from tumour, adjacent normal tissue and peripheral blood of treatment-naive CRC patients. The DATA ACCESS AGREEMENT is provided at https://github.com/zhangyybio/single-T-cell-data-access. Applicants can request access to the data by directly downloading it or by sending an email to cancerpku@pku.edu.cn. The process that is used to approve an application includes verifying the institution, participants and research purposes of the application. In general this process will take about two weeks. In principal, any scientific research program complying with the laws and bioethic regulation policies of China will be approved.

  T cells are central players in cancer immunotherapy1, yet some of their fundamental properties such as development and migration within tumours remain elusive. The enormous T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, required for recognising foreign and self-antigens2,3, could serve as lineage tags to track these T cells in tumours4. Here, we obtained transcriptomes of 11,138 single T cells from 12 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and developed STARTRAC (Single T-cell Analysis by Rna-seq and Tcr TRACking) indices to quantitatively analyse dynamic relationships among 20 identified T cell subsets with distinct functions and clonalities. While both CD8+ effector and “exhausted” T cells exhibited high clonal expansion, they were independently connected with tumour-resident CD8+ effector memory cells, implicating a TCR-based fate decision. Of the CD4+ T cells, the majority of tumour-infiltrating Tregs showed clonal exclusivity, whereas certain Treg clones were developmentally linked to multiple TH clones. Notably, we identified two IFNG+ TH1-like clusters in tumours, the GZMK+ TEM and CXCL13+ TH1-like clusters, which were associated with distinct IFN-γ-regulating transcription factors, EOMES/RUNX3 and BHLHE40, respectively. Only CXCL13+BHLHE40+ TH1-like cells were preferentially enriched in tumours of microsatellite-instable (MSI) patients, which might explain their favourable response rates to immune-checkpoint blockade. Furthermore, we found IGFLR1 to be highly expressed in both CXCL13+BHLHE40+ TH1-like and CD8+ exhausted T cells and possessed co-stimulatory functions. Our integrated STARTRAC analyses provides a powerful avenue to comprehensively dissect the T cell properties in CRC, which could shed new insights into the dynamic relationships of T cells in other cancers

  Study EGAS00001002791

• RNA-seq consisting of FASTQ paired-end reads from cancer samples

  Efforts to precisely identify tumor human leukocyte antigen presented peptides (HLAp) capable of mediating T cell based tumor rejection still face important challenges. Recent reports suggest that non-canonical cancer HLAp could be immunogenic but their identification requires highly sensitive and accurate mass-spectrometry (MS)-based proteogenomics approaches. Here, we present a MS-based analytical pipeline that can precisely characterize the non-canonical HLAp repertoire, incorporating whole exome sequencing, bulk and single cell transcriptomics, ribosome profiling, and a combination of two MS/MS search tools. This approach results in the accurate identification of hundreds of shared and tumor-specific non-canonical HLAp. Albeit often at low levels and in distinct subpopulations of cells, numerous non-canonical HLAp are shared across tumors. This analytical platform holds great promise for the discovery of novel cancer antigens for cancer immunotherapy.

  Study EGAS00001003724

• 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

• Colorectal cancer organoids expressing BRAF (fusion) genes

  Fusion genes may be oncogenic drivers and potential targets for personalized therapies in a variety of cancer types. The BRAF gene is frequently involved in oncogenic fusions, with fusion frequencies of 0.2-3% throughout different cancers. BRAF can be fused to a wide variety of genes, however, BRAF fusions rarely occur in the exact same gene configuration, making assessment of the fusion relevance and decision for drug treatment challenging. Here, we devised a colorectal cancer organoid-based platform to functionally characterize diverse BRAF fusions, containing various partner genes (AGAP3, DLG1 and TRIM24). We compared these BRAF fusions with respect to cellular behaviour, downstream signaling activation and response to targeted therapies. We found that 5’ partner choice of BRAF affects cellular localization and intracellular signaling capacities of the fusion genes. The DLG1-BRAF fusion gene showed distinct localization to the plasma membrane and exhibited increased levels of MAPK pathway activation under unperturbed conditions. Furthermore, the different BRAF fusions showed varying sensitivities to the targeted inhibition of ERK and BRAF, with the DLG1-BRAF fusion being the most sensitive. Additionally, RNA-sequencing identified distinct subsets of genes affected by the DLG1-BRAF fusion gene. Importantly, all fusion genes conveyed resistance to the clinically relevant EGFR/HER2/HER4-inhibitor afatinib, suggesting that BRAF fusions should be screened alongside other MAPK pathway alterations to identify mCRC patients amenable to cetuximab treatment. In summary, we developed a platform to efficiently assess molecular and cellular effects of fusion genes, and revealed that differential drug responses and distinct gene expression profiles can be induced by different BRAF fusions .

  Study EGAS00001003558

• Healthy_ageing_thymus

  Single cell RNA sequencing of immune and non-immune cells from healthy ageing thymus Thymus is a primary lymphoid organ that creates an environment for the T lymphocyte precursors differentiation into the naive T cells, which involves TCR gene rearrangement, negative and positive selection. Despite thymus critical function for the recognition of the pathogens it starts to atrophy very early in life. Thymic Epithelial Space (TES), where thymocyte education occurs, starts to decline rapidly just after birth, while with the onset of puberty thymus is also progressively replaced with adipose tissue. This leads to a reduced naive T cell output,which decreases an organism's ability to recognize pathogens. In our lab, we have already collected and characterized cell type composition and gene regulatory networks of the fetal tand adult human thymus (Park et al, Science 2020). In the current project we plan to expand the number of paediatric and adult samples in the study with the aim to understand how the process of thymic involution happens. We will use single-cell transcriptomics to zoom on changes that occur in immune and non-immune cell types in different phases of thymic involution with the hope to understand which gene expression changes are causal for the thymic involution process and how naïve T cell production can be increased in elderly. 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 (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001004311

• Transcriptomic intra-tumor heterogeneity of colorectal cancer varies depending on tumor location within the colorectum

  Background; Intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH) of colorectal cancer (CRC) complicates molecular tumor classification, such as transcriptional subtyping. Differences in cellular states, biopsy cell composition, and tumor microenvironment may all lead to ITH. Here we analyze ITH at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels to ascertain whether subtype discordance between multiregional biopsies reflects relevant biological ITH or lack of classifier robustness. Further, we study the impact of tumor location on ITH.MethodsMultiregional biopsies from stage II and III CRC tumors were analyzed by RNA sequencing (41 biopsies, 14 tumors) and multiplex immune protein analysis (89 biopsies, 29 tumors). CRC subtyping were performed using consensus molecular subtypes (CMS), CRC intrinsic subtypes (CRIS), and TUMOR types. ITH-scores and network maps were defined to determine the origin of heterogeneity. A validation cohort was used with one biopsy per tumor (162 tumors).ResultsOverall, inter-tumor transcriptional variation exceeded ITH, and subtyping calls were frequently concordant between multiregional biopsies. Still, some tumors had high ITH and were classified discordantly. Proximal tumors showed ITH related to differences in the microenvironment, while ITH within distal tumors were cancer-cell related. This subtype discordancy reflected actual molecular ITH within the tumors. The relevance of the subtypes was reflected at protein level where several inflammation markers were significantly increased in immune related transcriptional subtypes, which was verified in an independent cohort (Wilcoxon rank sum test; p<0.05).ConclusionOur transcriptomic and proteomic analyses show that the tumor location along the colorectum influence the ITH of CRC, which again influence the concordance of subtyping.

  Study EGAS00001004668

• RNA-Sequencing of cervical cancers

  Question: Can we identify cervical cancer patients who are at risk for distant metastatic (DM) recurrence following treatment with radiotherapy, concurrent weekly cisplatin and brachytherapy (RTCT). Findings: An immune-based 55 gene risk score was developed using a cohort of 81 patients treated with RTCT that was strongly predictive of DM and cause-specific survival (CSS). The risk score was validated in two independent patient cohorts. A high immune metastatic risk score was associated with a high tumor mutational burden and a ‘cold’, immune-excluded tumor microenvironment at diagnosis. Meaning: The immune gene expression risk score may help to identify patients at risk of DM and potential targets for mitigating this risk.

  Study EGAS50000000087

• Single-cell RNA-sequencing of CD34+ bone marrow cells from patients with SLE, healthy individuals and umbilical cord blood samples

  All immune cells that contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) derive from adult haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) within the bone marrow (BM). We reasoned that the fundamental abnormalities in the disease can be traced back to HSPCs. The aim of this study was to delineate human haematopoietic CD34+ progenitor subpopulations and to identify deregulated pathways in each subpopulation in SLE as compared to healthy controls and umbilical cord blood samples. This study revealed both quantitative-as evidenced by decreased numbers of non-proliferating early progenitors and qualitative differences- characterized by an IFN signature, which is known to drive loss of function and depletion of HSPCs.

  Study EGAS00001007317

• Clonal haematopoiesis in patients with AAA (2019-04-03)

  Recent advances in genomics have demonstrated that clonal haemopoiesis driven by leukaemia associated somatic mutations is a relatively common phenomenon that increases in frequency with advancing age. Whilst individuals with clonal haemopoiesis have an increased risk of developing haematological malignancies, they also have an increased mortality from other causes. Additionally, certain mutations are almost exclusively seen in individuals aged 70 years or older, whilst others are seen in individuals with non-haematological cancers including breast and ovarian. Recently, clonal haemopoiesis was found to be associated with a significantly increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This association is thought to be causative with clonally-derived macrophages showing elevated expression of several chemokine and cytokine genes that contribute to atherosclerosis. Another vascular pathology, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), increases with age and shares risk factors with atherosclerosis (including smoking, male sex, high cholesterol). However, the impact of these risk factors and the overlap between AAA and atherosclerosis is poorly understood. To investigate a possible link between clonal haemopoiesis and AAA, we will study DNA samples from 300 patients with AAA and up to 200 controls for evidence of clonal haemopoiesis. This will be done using target DNA enrichment with biotinylated RNA baits followed by high throughput sequencing. . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2019-04-03.

  Dataset EGAD00001004895

• RNA-seq of DF149 cells – a patient-derived xenograft model of ascites-derived, homologous recombination repair-proficient, high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma – cultured in vitro and isolated after 8 hours treatment with DMSO control (3 x biological replicates) and 2.5 µM CBL0137 (3 x biological replicates)

  Background: High-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSCs) are a heterogeneous subtype of epithelial ovarian cancers and include serous cancers arising in the fallopian tube and peritoneum. These cancers are now subdivided into homologous recombination repair (HR)-deficient and proficient subgroups as this classification impacts on management and prognosis. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) have shown significant clinical efficacy, particularly as maintenance therapy following response to platinum based chemotherapy in BRCA-mutant or homologous recombination (HR)-deficient HGSCs in both the 1st and 2nd line settings. However, PARPi have limited clinical benefit in HR-proficient HGSCs which make up almost 50% of HGSC and improving outcomes in these patients is now a high priority due to the poor prognosis with current standard of care. There are a number of potential lines of investigation including efforts in sensitizing HR-proficient tumors to PARPi. Herein, we aimed to develop a novel combination therapy by targeting SSRP1 using a small molecule inhibitor CBL0137 with PARPi in HR-proficient HGSOCs. Experimental design: We tested anti-cancer activity of CBL0137 monotherapy using a panel of HGSOC cell lines and patient-derived tumor cells in vitro. RNA sequencing was used to map global transcriptomic changes in CBL0137-treated patient-derived HR-proficient HGSOC cells. We tested efficacy of CBL0137 in combination with PARPi using HGSOC cell lines and patient-derived tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Results: We show that SSRP1 inhibition using a small molecule, CBL0137, that traps SSRP1 onto chromatin, exerts a significant anti-growth activity in vitro against HGSC cell lines and patient-derived tumor cells, and also reduces tumor burden in vivo. CBL0137 induced DNA repair deficiency via inhibition of the HR repair pathway and sensitized SSRP1-high HR-proficient HGSC cell lines and patient-derived tumor cells/xenografts to the PARPi, Olaparib in vitro and in vivo. CBL0137 also enhanced the efficacy of DNA damaging platinum-based chemotherapy in HGSC patient-derived xenografts. Conclusion: Our findings strongly suggest that combination of CBL0137 and PARP inhibition represents a novel therapeutic strategy for HR-proficient HGSCs that express high levels of SSRP1 and should be investigated in the clinic.

  Study EGAS00001006662

• Targeted_sequencing_of_genes_recurrently_mutated_in_AML

  Background Massively parallel sequencing technology has transformed cancer genomics. It is now feasible, in a clinically relevant time-frame, for a clinically manageable cost, to screen DNA from patient tumours for mutations essentially genome-wide. The challenge for personalised medicine will be to increase the sample size to thousands or tens of thousands of well-characterised cases in order to attain sufficient statistical power to stratify patients accurately across the complexity and genomic heterogeneity expected for most of the common tumour types. Currently, whole genome sequencing on this scale is not feasible, and targeted sequencing of relevant portions of the genome will be required. Pilot data We have developed protocols for large-scale, multiplexed sequencing of 100-200 genes in thousands of samples. Essentially, using robotic technology, genomic DNA from the cancer specimen is processed into sequencing libraries with unique DNA barcodes, thereby allowing sequencing reads to be attributed to the sample they derive from. Currently, these sequencing libraries can be generated in a 96-well format using fully automated protocols, and we are exploring methods to expand this to a 384-well format. The sequencing libraries are pooled and hybridized to custom sets of RNA baits representing the genomic regions of interest. Sequencing of the pulled-down libraries is done in pools of 48-96 samples per lane of an Illumina Hi-Seq. This protocol is already implemented at the Sanger Institute. We have published proof that somatic mutations in novel cancer genes can be identified from exome-wide sequencing. In unpublished pilot data, we have established the feasibility of robotic library production, custom pull-down, and multiplexed sequencing of barcoded libraries for 100 known myeloid cancer genes across 760 myelodysplasia samples. Highlights of the data thus far analysed reveal that the coverage is remarkably even between samples; when 96 samples are run, average coverage per lane of sequencing is ~250, with 90-95% of targeted exons covered by >25 reads; known mutations can be discovered in the data set; and the protocol is amenable to whole genome amplified DNA. The bioinformatic algorithms for identification of substitutions and indels in pull-down data are well-established; we have pilot data proving that copy number changes, LOH and genomic rearrangements in specific regions of interest can also be identified by tiling of baits across the relevant loci. Proposal We propose to apply this methodology to 10000 samples from patients with AML enrolled in clinical trials over the last 10-20 years. Oncogenic point mutations and potentially genomic rearrangements will be identified, and linked to clinical outcome data, with a view to undertaking the following sorts of analyses: • Identification of co-occurrence, mutual exclusivity and clusters of driver mutations. • Correlation of prognosis with driver mutations and potentially gene-gene interactions • Exploration of genomic markers of drug response Ultimately, we would like to be in a position to release the mutation data together with matched clinical outcome data to genuine medical researchers via a controlled access approach, possibly within the COSMIC framework (www.sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP/cosmic/). The vision here is to generate a portal whereby a clinician faced with an AML patient and his / her mutational profile can obtain a ‘personalised’ prediction of outcome, together with a fair assessment of the uncertainty of the estimate. With a sufficient sample size, there would also be the potential to develop decision support algorithms for therapeutic choices based on such data.

  Study EGAS00001000408

• Molecular Subtyping Reveals Immune Alterations Associated with Progression of Bronchial Premalignant Lesions

  Exposure to cigarette smoke creates a field of injury throughout the entire respiratory tract inducing genomic alterations that lead to an "at-risk" airway where lung cancers develop. Lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arises in the epithelial layer of the bronchial airways and is often preceded by the development of premalignant lesions (PMLs). Effective tools to identify and treat premalignant lesions at highest risk of progression to invasive carcinoma are not available. Endobronchial biopsies and brushings were obtained from high-risk subjects undergoing lung cancer screening at approximately 1-year intervals by white light and auto-fluorescence bronchoscopy and computed tomography at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. Subjects were selected that had biopsies collected in repeat locations via serial bronchoscopies. mRNA sequencing was performed on a discovery cohort (DC) of samples comprising endobronchial biopsies and brushes collected between 2010 and 2012 (n=30 subjects, n=197 biopsies, and n=91 brushings). mRNA sequencing was subsequently performed on a validation cohort (VC) of samples comprising endobronchial biopsies and brushes collected between 2010 and 2015 (n=20 subjects, n=111 biopsies, and n=49 brushings). Data analysis identified four distinct molecular subtypes (Proliferative, Inflammatory, Secretory, and Normal) in the bronchial biopsies that correspond to a spectrum of biological and morphological alterations. The Proliferative subtype was enriched with dysplastic PMLs from current smokers that exhibit up-regulation of metabolic and cell cycle pathways and down-regulation of cilium-associated processes. Molecular subtype classification in the validation cohort biopsies replicated these significant clinical and biological associations. Airway brushes from normal fluorescing areas of the large airway classified as the Proliferative subtype specifically predict the presence of biopsies of this same subtype. Within the Proliferative subtype, genes associated with interferon signaling and antigen processing and presentation were observed to be down-regulated among dysplastic biopsies that persist or progress in the future. Innate and adaptive immune cells were computationally predicted to be depleted in these biopsies and this was confirmed via immunofluorescence staining of adjacent biopsies. These findings provide a proof of concept that molecular biomarkers of endobronchial biopsies can enhance histopathological grading and that immunoprevention strategies are an important future direction in intercepting the progression of PMLs to lung cancer.FASTQ files from the RNA sequencing of these biopsies and brushings will be available via dbGaP.

  Study phs003185

• Genetic Aberrations and Subclonal Structure Impact Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

  Large-scale whole-exome sequencing (WES) of primary tumor samples enables the unbiased discovery of recurrent putative driver events and patterns of clonal evolution. We report the identification of 44 recurrently mutated genes and 11 recurrent CNVs through the WES of 538 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and matched germline DNAs. These include previously unrecognized cancer drivers (e.g., RPS15, IKZF3), and collectively identify nuclear export, MYC activity and MAPK signaling as central pathways affected by somatic mutation in CLL. A clonality analysis of this large dataset further enabled the reconstruction of temporal relationships between these driver events. Several drivers were associated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) in 280 samples that were collected prior to uniform treatment with front line chemo-immunotherapy, with mature follow up of greater than 10 years. Direct comparison between matched pretreatment and relapse CLL from 59 samples demonstrated marked clonal evolution occurring in more than 95% of these patients. Distinct patterns of clonal evolution in relationship to specific gene alteration were observed, suggesting a hierarchy of fitness amongst mutations. Thus, large WES datasets of clinically informative samples enable the discovery of novel driver genes as well as the network of relationships between the drivers and their impact on disease relapse and clinical outcome.Additionally, we performed RNA-seq for 268 CLL samples (including 26 follow-up samples) and used them to identify expression subtypes of CLL. RRBS for 30 of these samples was also generated. In an integrative analysis of genetic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic data, incorporating known and newly identified subtypes of CLL, we built new models to improve patient prognostication.

  Study phs000922

• ATAC-seq: Acquired non-permissive bone marrow microenvironment impairs hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and maintenance and B-cell development post-HSCT

  Defects in B-cell reconstitution upon hematopoietic stem-cell (HSC) transplantation (HSCT) are a common observation, yet the mechanism remains unexplained. The bone marrow (BM) stroma, including mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), guides HSC maintenance and B-lymphopoiesis by secreting crucial cytokines. We report acquired, permanent, selective and complete B-cell deficiency in the context of full donor-chimerism in a patient with X-linked lymphoproliferative disease and aimed to identify the contribution of the BM-microenvironment in disrupted B-cell reconstitution post-HSCT. We studied longitudinal BM samples from the patient and his identical twin, both of whom underwent HSCT with the same donor with opposite outcomes in B-cell reconstitution. In the index patient BM, we observed progressive loss of proliferation of HSCs and a selective block at the pre-BI cell stage. In vitro modeling studies showed limited survival of patient-HSCs and a relative accumulation of pre-B cells. Patient-derived MSCs failed to support survival and proliferation of HSCs and B-cell development of healthy-HSCs which was correlated with reduced CXCL12 levels. Using bulk RNA-sequencing of MSCs and in vitro functional studies, we showed global changes in the patients’ MSCs and a progressive loss of CXCL12 expression. Indeed, survival of patients HSCs improved supplementing in vitro development culture with CXCL12, suggesting a contribution of defective CXCL12 signaling to the phenotype. In summary, our data show that an acquired defect in the BM-stromal microenvironment and exhaustion of HSCs and committed progenitors may cause a permanent non-permissive state for normal B-cell development.

  Study EGAS50000001438

• DNA methylation-based prognostic subtypes of chordoma tumors in tissue

  Chordomas are rare malignant bone cancers of the skull-base and spine. Patient survival is variable and not reliably predicted using clinical factors or molecular features. This study identifies prognostic epigenetic chordoma subtypes that are detected noninvasively using plasma methylomes. Methylation profiles of 68 chordoma surgical samples were obtained between 1996 and 2018 across three international centers along with matched plasma methylomes where available. Consensus clustering identified two stable tissue clusters with a disease-specific survival difference that was independent of clinical factors in a multivariate Cox analysis (HR = 14.2, 95%CI: 2.1–94.8, P = 0.0063). Immune-related pathways with genes hypomethylated at promoters and increased immune cell abundance were observed in the poorperforming “Immune-infiltrated” subtype. Cell-to-cell interaction plus extracellular matrix pathway hypomethylation and higher tumor purity were observed in the better-performing “Cellular” subtype. The findings were validated in additional DNA methylation and RNA sequencing datasets as well as with immunohistochemical staining. Plasma methylomes distinguished chordomas from other clinical differential diagnoses by applying fifty chordoma-versusother binomial generalized linear models in random 20% testing sets (mean AUROC = 0.84, 95%CI: 0.52–1.00). Tissue-based and plasma-based methylation signals were highly correlated in both prognostic clusters. Additionally, leave-one-out models accurately classified all tumors into their correct cluster based on plasma methylation data. Here, we show the first identification of prognostic epigenetic chordoma subtypes and first use of plasma methylome based biomarkers to noninvasively diagnose and subtype chordomas. These results may transform patient management by allowing treatment aggressiveness to be balanced with patient risk according to prognosis.

  Study EGAS00001006406

• Multi-omic analysis of the tumor microenvironment shows clinical correlations in Ph1 study of atezolizumab +/- SoC in MM

  Multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable, and treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease is challenging. There is an unmet need for more targeted therapies in this setting; deep cellular and molecular phenotyping of the tumor and microenvironment in MM could help guide such therapies. This phase 1b study (NCT02431208) evaluated the safety and efficacy of the anti-programmed death-ligand 1 monoclonal antibody atezolizumab (Atezo) alone or in combination with the standard of care (SoC) treatments lenalidomide (Len) or pomalidomide (Pom) and/or daratumumab (Dara) in patients with R/R MM. Study endpoints included incidence of adverse events (AEs) and overall response rate (ORR). A novel unsupervised integrative multi-omic analysis was performed using RNA sequencing, mass cytometry immunophenotyping, and proteomic profiling of baseline and on-treatment bone marrow samples from patients receiving Atezo monotherapy or Atezo+Dara. A similarity network fusion (SNF) algorithm was applied to preprocessed data. Eighty-five patients were enrolled. Treatment-emergent deaths occurred in 2 patients; both deaths were considered unrelated to study treatment. ORRs ranged from 11.1% (Atezo+Len cohorts, n=18) to 83.3% (Atezo+Dara+Pom cohort, n=6). High-dimensional multi-omic profiling of the tumor microenvironment and integrative SNF analysis revealed novel correlations between cellular and molecular features of the tumor and immune microenvironment, patient selection criteria, and clinical outcome. Atezo monotherapy and SoC combinations were safe in this patient population and demonstrated some evidence of clinical efficacy. Integrative analysis of high dimensional genomics and immune data identified novel clinical correlations that may inform patient selection criteria and outcome assessment in future immunotherapy studies for myeloma.

  Study EGAS00001007286

• Genetic characterization of B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia: a hierarchical prognostic model involving MYC and TP53 abnormalities - WXS

  B-PLL is a rare disease, whose molecular pathology is largely unknown. We report here the cytogenetic and molecular findings in a large series of 34 B-PLL. Karyotype (K) was complex (≥3 abnormalities) in 73%, and highly complex (HCK≥5) in 45%. The most frequent chromosomal aberrations were: translocation targeting the MYC gene [t(MYC)] (62%), 17p deletion including TP53 gene (38%), trisomy 18/18q (30%), 13q14 deletion (29%), trisomy 3 (24%), trisomy 12 (24%) and 8p deletion (23%). Whole-Exome Sequencing performed in 16 patients revealed recurrent mutations in TP53 (6/16, 38%), MYD88 (n=4), BCOR (n=4), MYC (n=3), SF3B1 (n=3), FAT1 (n=3), SETD2 (n=2), CHD2 (n=2), CXCR4 (n=2) and BCLAF1 (n=2). The main group of patients (21/34, 62%) had a t(MYC) associated with a higher percentage of prolymphocytes (p=0.03), CD38 expression (p<0.001), lower K complexity (p=0.0004), mutations in MYC and in genes involved in RNA metabolism and chromatin remodeling. Principal component analysis of gene expression data showed that patients with t(MYC) clustered together. A second group with MYC gain (5/34, 15%), was associated with HCK≥5 (p=0,01) and trisomy 3 (p=0,008). Altogether, 26/34 patients (76%) had a MYC activation, translocation or gain, that were mutually exclusive. We identified 3 distinct cytogenetic prognostic groups (p=0.0006): lower risk: absence of MYC activation (median not reached); intermediate risk: MYC activation without del17p (125 months); high risk: MYC activation + del17p (11 months). Our results show that cytogenetic analysis is a useful diagnostic tool in B-PLL that improves prognostic stratification.

  Study EGAS00001003275

• Integrative genomic analysis reveals cancer-associated mutations at diagnosis of CML in patients with high risk disease

  Genomic events associated with poor outcome in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are poorly understood. We performed whole exome sequencing, copy number variation and/or RNA-Seq for 65 patients to discover mutations at diagnosis and blast crisis (BC). Forty-six chronic phase patients with the extremes of outcome were studied at diagnosis. Cancer gene variants were detected in 15/27 patients (56%) with subsequent BC or poor outcome and in 3/19 optimal responders (16%), P=.007. Frequently mutated genes at diagnosis were ASXL1, IKZF1 and RUNX1. The methyltransferase SETD1B was a novel recurrently mutated gene. A novel class of variant associated with the Philadelphia translocation was detected at diagnosis in 11/46 patients (24%) comprising fusions and/or rearrangement of genes on the translocated chromosomes, with evidence of fragmentation, inversion and imperfect sequence reassembly. These were more frequent at diagnosis in patients with poor outcome: 9/27 (33%) versus 2/19 optimal responders (11%), P=.07. Thirty-nine patients were tested at BC and all had cancer gene variants, including ABL1 kinase domain mutations in 58%. However, ABL1 mutations co-occurred with other mutated cancer genes in 89% of cases, and these predated ABL1 mutations in 62% of evaluable patients. Gene fusions not associated with the Philadelphia translocation occurred in 42% of patients at BC and commonly involved fusion partners that were known cancer genes (78%). Genomic analysis revealed numerous relevant variants at diagnosis in patients with poor outcome and all patients at BC. Future refined biomarker testing of specific variants will likely provide prognostic information to facilitate a risk-adapted therapeutic approach.

  Study EGAS00001003071

• Tumor-derived cell lines as pharmacogenomic models to predict therapeutic vulnerabilities in hepatocellular carcinoma

  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous aggressive malignancy with low efficacy of current therapies at advanced stages. We integrated molecular and pharmacological profiling of a large panel of liver cancer cell lines (LCCL) to assess their clinical relevance as HCC preclinical models and identify new effective therapies and biomarkers of response. We performed multi-omic analysis including whole-exome, RNA and miRNA sequencing and quantification of 126 proteins in a series 34 LCCL coupled with a screening of 29 anti-cancer agents. Molecular profiles of LCCL and primary HCC were compared and we searched for molecular features associated with drug response. Our panel of LCCL faithfully recapitulated the most aggressive molecular "proliferation class" of HCC. Genomic alterations of the RAS-MAPK pathway correlated with trametinib sensitivity that was more potent than FGFR4 inhibitors in tumor cells depending on the FGF19/FGFR4 pathway. Moreover, we showed that FGF19 amplification was only functional in tumor cells that retained a hepatocyte differentiation program with expression of FGFR4, KLB and NR1H4 highlighting the complex interplay between the genomic and transcriptomic context in drug response. We also identified drugs/combination that could target efficiently the transcriptomic "progenitor subclass of HCC", as well as specific genetic contexts such as inactivating mutations in TSC1/TSC2 and TP53 associated with higher sensitivity to the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin and the AURKA inhibitor alisertib, respectively. LCCL represent relevant preclinical models for drug-biomarker discovery in HCC and enabled to identify molecular contexts linked with particular therapeutic vulnerabilities that may be useful to stratify patients in future clinical trials

  Study EGAS00001003536

• Profiling the unique protective properties of intracranial arterial endothelial cells

  Cardiovascular disorders, like atherosclerosis and hypertension, are increasingly known to be associated with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). In particular, intracranial atherosclerosis is one of the main causes of VCI, although plaque development occurs later in time and is structurally different compared to atherosclerosis in extracranial arteries. Recent data suggest that endothelial cells (ECs) that line the intracranial arteries may exert anti-atherosclerotic effects due to yet unidentified pathways. To gain insights into underlying mechanisms, we isolated post-mortem endothelial cells from both the intracranial basilar artery (BA) and the extracranial common carotid artery (CCA) from the same individual (total of 15 individuals) with laser capture microdissection. RNA sequencing revealed a distinct molecular signature of the two endothelial cell populations of which the most prominent ones were validated by means of qPCR. Our data reveal for the first time that intracranial artery ECs exert an immune quiescent phenotype. Secondly, genes known to be involved in the response of ECs to damage (inflammation, differentiation, adhesion, proliferation, permeability and oxidative stress) are differentially expressed in intracranial ECs compared to extracranial ECs. Finally, Desmoplakin (DSP) and Hop Homeobox (HOPX), two genes expressed at a higher level in intracranial ECs, and Sodium Voltage-Gated Channel Beta Subunit 3 (SCN3B), a gene expressed at a lower level in intracranial ECs compared to extracranial ECs, were shown to be responsive to shear stress and/or hypoxia. With our data we present a set of intracranial-specific endothelial genes that may contribute to its protective phenotype, thereby supporting proper perfusion and consequently may preserve cognitive function. Deciphering the molecular regulation of the vascular bed in the brain may lead to the identification of novel potential intervention strategies to halt vascular associated disorders, such as atherosclerosis and vascular cognitive dysfunction.

  Study EGAS00001004479

• Stromal-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition induces drug resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

  Bone marrow (BM) microenvironment-induced drug resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is thought to be mediated by intercellular interaction of leukemic cells with BM niches, but the mechanistic basis of resistance is poorly understood. Here, we genomic and functional analyses, we show that ALL-BM mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) interactions encompass direct cell-cell adhesion via integrin α4β1, uni-directional secretion of soluble factors from MSC to ALL, and bidirectional transfer of cellular vesicles through tunneling nanotubes. We show that this crosstalk drives an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like program in ALL cells adhering to MSC, thereby triggering stem cell-like features including drug resistance and survival advantage. Moreover, single-cell RNA sequencing of cell line and primary ALL samples identified a hybrid cell state derived from B-ALL adhered to MSC, that exhibits both B-ALL and MSC gene signatures that are orchestrated by an EMT-like program. Multiple EMT-activating pathways including WNT/β-catenin, cytokine/STAT3, TGFβ, NOTCH1, and NF-κB-dependent signaling pathways are activated in MSC-adherent ALL cells; however, only the inhibition of either WNT/β-catenin or cytokine/STAT3 pathway could attenuate the survival and drug resistance of ALL cells adherent to MSC. Notably, we identified that this hybrid cell state exhibited elevated WNT/β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activity. Finally, we show that blocking of the interaction of β-catenin and CBP interaction abrogates the survival and drug resistance of ALL cells adhered to MSC, indicating that targeting of an EMT-like program is potential therapeutic regimen in targeting cell extrinsically acquired drug resistance in ALL.

  Study EGAS00001006120

• Molecular and clinical diversity in primary central nervous system lymphoma: a LOC Network study

  Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a distinct extranodal lymphoma presenting with limited stage disease but variable response rates to treatment despite homogenous pathological presentation. The likely underlying molecular heterogeneity and its clinical impact is poorly understood. We performed a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of 147 PCNSL from fresh-frozen tumor tissue from immunocompetent, treatment naïve PCNSL patients, employing whole-exome sequencing, assessment of somatic copy number alterations and DNA methylation, and RNA expression. These data were integrated and correlated with the clinico-radiological characteristics and outcomes of the patients. We validated our results in an independent series of 93 PCNSL formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. Consensus clustering of multi-omics data identified four robust, non-overlapping, prognostically significant clusters (CS) within PCNSL. The CS1 group, characterized by high proliferation and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) complex activity had an intermediate outcome between CS2/CS3 and CS4. Patients who had PCNSL with an “immune-hot” (CS4) profile had the most favorable clinical outcome. In contrast, patients with the immune-cold hypermethylated CS2 and the heterogenous-immune CS3 groups had a poor prognosis. Nearly all PCNSL patients with meningeal infiltration harbored HIST1H1E mutations, enriched in the CS3 group. The integrated analysis suggests that the CS4 group may be more susceptible to immunotherapy. The integration of genome-wide data from multi-omics data revealed four molecular patterns in PCNSL with a distinctive prognostic impact that significantly improved the current clinical stratification. This molecular classification using FFPE samples facilitates routine use in clinical practice and provides potential precision-medicine strategies in PCNSL.

  Study EGAS00001006191

• Identification of the dismal subtype of B-ALL with dysregulation of CDX2 and UBTF

  PURPOSE: Advance in the knowledge of genomic basis of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) has changed the treatment approaches and diagnostic assays and improved their outcome. Despite the recent development of next generation sequencing approaches, there are still some cases that their drivers are unknown. We aimed to define and describe the characteristics of an additional B-ALL subtype by integrating genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic approach. METHODS: More than 2,000 B-ALL cases of RNA-seq data from from Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) (n=764), the Children's Oncology Group (COG), Munich Leukemia Laboratory (MLL) (n=280), and other several collaborators were analyzed to identify the new subtype. Whole genome sequence was performed to detect mutations, stractural variants, and copy number alterations. The tridimentional analysis of chromatin was performed with HiChIP. RESULTS: We identified the new high-risk B-ALL subtype “CDX2/UBTF” that exhibited unique gene expression profiles, which is enriched in female (77.3%), adolescents and young adults (52.6%), and relapse cohort (3.3%). CD10 negativity and IgM positivity are hallmarks of this subtype with NTRK3 expression that can be an effective marker at diagnostic approach and a potential targeted therapy with TRK and mulkinase inbitors, larotrectinib and entrectinib. Genetically, two different alterations define CDX2/UBTF. One is UBTF-ATXN7L3 fusions caused by deletion of 17q21.31, and the other is extopic CDX2 expression through the enhancer hijacking mechanism induced by deletion of 13q12.2. Other genomic features include gain of 1q and PAX5 rearrangement (PAX5-ZCCHC7), might induce upregulation of histone cluster genes and PAX5. CONCLUSION: We described the novel B-ALL subtype “CDX2/UBTF” that has unique clinical and genomic characteristics.

  Study EGAS00001005863

• Comprehensive characterization of pre- and post-treatment samples of breast cancer reveal potential mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance

  When locally advanced breast cancer is treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the recurrence risk is significantly higher if no complete pathologic response is achieved. Identification of the underlying resistance mechanisms is essential to select treatments with maximal efficacy and minimal toxicity. Here we employed gene expression profiles derived from 317 HER2-negative treatment-naïve breast cancer biopsies of patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, deep whole exome and RNA-sequencing profiles of 22 matched pre- and post-treatment tumors, and treatment outcome data to identify biomarkers of response and resistance mechanisms. Molecular profiling of treatment-naïve breast cancer samples revealed that expression levels of proliferation, immune response and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization combined predict response to chemotherapy. Triple negative patients with high proliferation, high immune response and low ECM expression had a significantly better treatment response and survival benefit (HR 0.29, 95% CI 0.10-0.85; p=0.02), while in ER+ patients the opposite was seen (HR 4.73, 95% CI 1.51-14.8; 0=0.008). The characterization of paired pre-and post-treatment samples revealed that aberrations of known cancer genes were either only present in the pre-treatment sample (CDKN1B) or in the post-treatment sample(TP53, APC, CTNNB1). Proliferation-associated genes were frequently down-regulated in post-treatment ER+ tumors, but not in triple negative tumors. Genes involved in ECM were upregulated in the majority of post-chemotherapy samples. Genomic and transcriptomic differences between pre- and post-chemotherapy samples are common and may reveal potential mechanisms of therapy resistance. Our results show a wide range of distinct, but related mechanisms, with a prominent role for proliferation- and ECM-related genes.

  Study EGAS00001005876

• Influence of age on molecular changes and treatment stratification in multimodal glioblastoma therapy

  Background: The increasing life expectancy has led to a rise in high-grade gliomas, particularly in patients of older age. The impact of chronological age, associated molecular changes and contributing factors on therapy response, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) remain uncertain. Methods: Between January 1st, 2016, and December 31th, 2021, patients with glioblastoma IDH-wt (CNS WHO grade 4) were included. RNA- and T-cell receptor sequencing was performed in a subset of patients. Primary outcome parameters were extent of resection (EOR), progression free- and overall survival. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of survival. Results: A total of 286 patients were included. The mean age was 66.4 years. Chronological age did not correlate with overall survival (r=0.12). With age, tumor immune composition changed towards macrophages with M2 phenotype and decreased numbers of CD8+ and neutrophiles. Aging related genes were not enriched. Beyond 69.5 years of age, despite similar PFS (p=0.0783), OS (p<0.0001) was significantly shorter, compared to younger patients. Extent of resection and adjuvant radiochemotherapy were significant predictors of OS (p<0.0001). No difference in PFS and OS was found between younger and older patients treated with maximal safe resection, followed by concomitant RT and chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions: This study suggests that age alone should not be the sole determinant in therapeutic decision-making for glioblastoma patients. Gross total resection and adjuvant therapy, tailored to individual clinical status, significantly impact survival outcomes. Patient-specific treatment strategies are important to minimize undertreatment and optimize therapeutic outcomes in older patients.

  Study EGAS00001008246

• Kids First: Genomic Etiologies of CHARGE Syndrome, Related Conditions and Structural Anomalies

  Developmental disorders with structural birth defects account for the majority of morbidity and mortality in children's hospitals, and the genetic bases of many clinical phenotypes remain unknown. Genetic testing for individuals with structural malformations has uncovered the basis of many such birth defects; however, many more cases remain unsolved, posing challenges for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Multiple anomaly conditions are particularly challenging to diagnose, since they often present with unique combinations of clinical features that vary widely between affected individuals, even in the same family. CHARGE Syndrome (Coloboma of the eye, Heart Defects, Atresia of the choanae, Retardation of growth and development, Genital abnormalities including pubertal delay and infertility, Ear abnormalities with deafness and vestibular disorders) is a multiple anomaly condition that affects a wide variety of organ systems. CHARGE Syndrome is caused in most cases by monoallelic pathogenic variants in CHD7, the gene encoding ATP-dependent helicase chromodomain DNA binding protein 7. Both de novo and inherited variants in CHD7 have been reported in CHARGE, and a growing number of families present with individuals who test positive for a pathogenic CHD7 variant yet exhibit only mild features. Similarly, individuals with CHARGE Syndrome often exhibit broad variability and reduced penetrance of clinical features, consistent with pleiotropic roles for CHD7 during development and/or additional genetic contributors or modifying alleles. Recent work has also implicated RERE, KMT2D, EP300, and PUF60 in having a role in CHARGE Syndrome.We hypothesize that (1) some cases of CHARGE are due to other genetic etiologies including oligogenicity, and (2) genetic modifiers contribute to the broad clinical variability and reduced penetrance of CHARGE features. To address these hypotheses, we have generated a cohort of 223 deeply clinically phenotyped individuals with CHARGE Syndrome and related disorders and structural anomalies who tested negative by chromosomal microarray, single gene sequencing, next generation panel sequencing, or exome sequencing. These individuals exhibit clinical CHARGE-like features including structural birth defects affecting craniofacial, ocular, neurosensory, brain, heart, mediastinal, renal, genitourinary, and skeletal organs. Our cohort includes these 223 individuals as well as affected and unaffected family members who consented to clinical and research genetic testing and donated blood samples for DNA and RNA isolation and sequencing. Building on this valuable cohort, we propose to use exome and genome sequencing to identify novel genetic etiologies of CHARGE and related developmental disorders for which alternative genetic tests have been inconclusive. Identification of novel pathogenic genetic variants and contributing modifier alleles within the coding and non-coding portion of the genome of these individuals will improve genetic diagnosis and provide important insights toward understanding the developmental mechanisms of structural birth defects.

  Study phs002592

• RNA sequencing of CCO- and CCO+ human hepatocytes

  RNAseq data from Passman et al 2023. Clonal CCO-deficient hepatocyte patches and nearby CCO-proficient hepatocytes were identified in morphologically normal human livers and sampled at varying distances along the PT-CV axis. Samples are named according to their location within the liver lobule, with "PT" denoting samples abutting the portal triad, "CV" denoting samples abutting the central hepatic vein, and "Mid" sampled acquired midway between these structures. Normal human liver is thought to be generally quiescent, however clonal hepatocyte expansions have been observed but neither their cellular source nor their expansion dynamics have been determined. Knowing the hepatocyte cell of origin, and their subsequent dynamics and trajectory within the human liver will provide an important basis to understand disease-associated dysregulation. Here we use in vivo lineage tracing and a combination of methylation sequence analysis to demonstrate normal human hepatocyte ancestry. We exploit next generation mitochondrial sequencing to determine hepatocyte clonal expansion dynamics across spatially-distinct areas of laser-capture microdissected clones, in tandem with computational modelling in morphologically-normal human liver.

  Study EGAS00001006984

• Transcriptomic Analysis of Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Model of Human Amniogenesis

  The amniotic epithelium is the innermost layer of the amniochorionic membrane that physically divides the maternal and fetal environments. Amniogenesis is initiated during implantation in humans. In implanting blastocysts, the pluripotent epiblast cells undergo apical-basal polarization to form a cyst with a central lumen, the future amniotic cavity. This event is followed by the fate transition of pluripotent epiblast cells at the uterine-proximal pole of the cyst to squamous amniotic ectoderm, forming a sharp boundary between amnion and pluripotent epiblast portions of the cyst. To enable mechanistic investigations into amnion fate progression, several in vitro models based on human pluripotent stem cells were recently developed. In this study, transcriptomic features of human pluripotent stem cell-derived amniogenesis models were examined.

  Study phs002184

• Multi-omics profiling identifies two epithelioid sarcoma molecular subtypes with distinct signaling and immune characteristics

  Epithelioid sarcoma (EpS) is an aggressive sarcoma, characterized by the loss of SMARCB1 expression. EpS is traditionally classified as distal or proximal according to clinicopathological features, but its molecular characteristics remain largely unknown. To establish an EpS molecular classification and uncover determinants of inter- and intra-patient heterogeneity in EpS, we used multi-omics profiling and integrated the genomic, transcriptional and methylome landscapes with single-cell RNA sequencing on fresh samples as well as spatial transcriptomics. We identified two molecular subtypes of EpS: “distal-like” and “proximal-like”, which were distinct from the histological subtypes. Distal-like tumors include all morphological distal subtypes and a subset of proximal and hybrid EpS. They express a specific molecular single-cell derived epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition signature, which associates with improved patient survival and includes Desmoglein 2 (DSG2), which we identify as a potential routine immunohistochemical biomarker to improve diagnosis. Distal-like EpS also display increased peri-tumoral CD8+ T cell infiltrates and specific tumor-immune cell interactions. Conversely, proximal-like EpS harbor a higher inter-tumoral molecular heterogeneity with some cases resembling other SMARCB1-deficient tumors by DNA methylation profiling, and increased intra-tumoral pro-tumoral macrophage infiltrates. Our study introduces a novel molecular classification of EpS with prognostic value, associated diagnostic biomarkers and distinct tumor immune microenvironments, which extends beyond traditional clinicopathological classification. This paves the way for precision medicine-based therapeutic strategies for patients with EpS.

  Dac EGAC50000000552

• Single Cell and Tissue Level Functional Genomics Analysis of Astrocyte-Related Mechanisms in Taupathy

  This data is the first part of a larger single cell and tissue level functional genomics analysis of dementias with tau pathology.  Cellular resolution will clarify the role of glial genes and pathways in neurodegenerative disease. This includes understanding the role of microglia and astrocytes in neurodegenerative disorders characterized by Tau protein pathology. To achieve a refined view of microglial neuroinflammatory signaling in tau-associated neurodegeneration, we performed a functional genomic analysis that integrated time-course gene expression data from mouse models expressing human mutant MAPT (the tau gene) with single nuclear sequencing data obtained from patients with frontotemporal dementia with Tau protein pathology (Pick’s disease). This included microglia-specific gene expression data obtained from single nuclear sequencing of postmortem frozen precentral gyrus samples collected from 16 total individuals, including 8 subjects with clinical diagnosis of behavior variant frontotemporal dementia and neuropathological diagnosis of Pick’s disease (Tau protein pathology) and controls (n=8). Our findings present detailed molecular profiles of disease-associated microglial transitions over the course of tau-associated neurodegeneration. Furthermore, we demonstrate overlap between microglia profiles obtained from precentral gyrus of patients with Pick’s disease with those up-regulated during the neurodegenerative stage in mice expressing human MAPT mutations.

  Study phs002197

• Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI): Molecular Characterization across Pediatric Brain Tumors and Other Solid and Hematologic Malignancies for Research, Diagnostic, and Precision Medicine

  This study contains tumor and germline WGS, RNA-Seq, Clinical Panel Sequencing, and other omics and molecular data for patients with pediatric brain tumors and other solid and hematologic malignancies. This data has been collected from multiple organizations including the multi-institute Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN), the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Division for Genomic Diagnostics (CHOP DGD). In addition to being available pre-publication and without embargo via dbGaP and the NCI Cancer Research Data Commons, this data is made available via Cavatica, PedcBioPortal and the Kids First Data Resource Portal. Collectively, this availability strives to accelerate the research process and enable members of the scientific and patient communities to partner and make discoveries faster than ever before.In 2019, the CBTN launched the Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas, which now comprises the largest collection of childhood brain tumor data in the world. This resource is helping accelerate not only brain tumor research, but is also empowering discovery for other rare childhood conditions. Brain tumors are the most common form of cancer in children aged 0-19 in the United States, and are the largest cause of cancer-related deaths. The estimated number of new cases in 2019 is nearly 3,800, and thus brain tumors are a rare disease. Despite their relative rarity, the years of potential life lost due to brain tumors in 2009 was estimated at 47,631 years for children and adolescents aged 0-19 in the United States; this is a disproportionate amount of life lost compared to adult cancers and represents an unrecognized societal threat. There is an urgent need to improve therapies for these children. This sequencing cohort defines the largest, clinically annotated pediatric brain tumor cohort study to date and seeks to define the intersection of germline and somatic underpinnings of pediatric brain tumors across a shared developmental context of cancer and structural birth defects.

  Study phs002517

• Targeted sequencing of genes recurrently mutated in AML

  Background Massively parallel sequencing technology has transformed cancer genomics. It is now feasible, in a clinically relevant time-frame, for a clinically manageable cost, to screen DNA from patient tumours for mutations essentially genome-wide. The challenge for personalised medicine will be to increase the sample size to thousands or tens of thousands of well-characterised cases in order to attain sufficient statistical power to stratify patients accurately across the complexity and genomic heterogeneity expected for most of the common tumour types. Currently, whole genome sequencing on this scale is not feasible, and targeted sequencing of relevant portions of the genome will be required. Pilot data We have developed protocols for large-scale, multiplexed sequencing of 100-200 genes in thousands of samples. Essentially, using robotic technology, genomic DNA from the cancer specimen is processed into sequencing libraries with unique DNA barcodes, thereby allowing sequencing reads to be attributed to the sample they derive from. Currently, these sequencing libraries can be generated in a 96-well format using fully automated protocols, and we are exploring methods to expand this to a 384-well format. The sequencing libraries are pooled and hybridized to custom sets of RNA baits representing the genomic regions of interest. Sequencing of the pulled-down libraries is done in pools of 48-96 samples per lane of an Illumina Hi-Seq. This protocol is already implemented at the Sanger Institute. We have published proof that somatic mutations in novel cancer genes can be identified from exome-wide sequencing. In unpublished pilot data, we have established the feasibility of robotic library production, custom pull-down, and multiplexed sequencing of barcoded libraries for 100 known myeloid cancer genes across 760 myelodysplasia samples. Highlights of the data thus far analysed reveal that the coverage is remarkably even between samples; when 96 samples are run, average coverage per lane of sequencing is ~250, with 90-95% of targeted exons covered by >25 reads; known mutations can be discovered in the data set; and the protocol is amenable to whole genome amplified DNA. The bioinformatic algorithms for identification of substitutions and indels in pull-down data are well-established; we have pilot data proving that copy number changes, LOH and genomic rearrangements in specific regions of interest can also be identified by tiling of baits across the relevant loci. Proposal We propose to apply this methodology to 10000 samples from patients with AML enrolled in clinical trials over the last 10-20 years. Oncogenic point mutations and potentially genomic rearrangements will be identified, and linked to clinical outcome data, with a view to undertaking the following sorts of analyses: ? Identification of co-occurrence, mutual exclusivity and clusters of driver mutations. ? Correlation of prognosis with driver mutations and potentially gene-gene interactions ? Exploration of genomic markers of drug response Ultimately, we would like to be in a position to release the mutation data together with matched clinical outcome data to genuine medical researchers via a controlled access approach, possibly within the COSMIC framework (www.sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP/cosmic/). The vision here is to generate a portal whereby a clinician faced with an AML patient and his / her mutational profile can obtain a ?personalised? prediction of outcome, together with a fair assessment of the uncertainty of the estimate. With a sufficient sample size, there would also be the potential to develop decision support algorithms for therapeutic choices based on such data.

  Dataset EGAD00001000606

• Single-cell RNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics data for the sarcoidosis baseline project

  Granulomas are lumps of immune cells that can form in various organs. Most granulomas appear unstructured, yet they have some resemblance to lymphoid organ formation. To better understand granuloma formation, we performed single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics on granulomas from patients with sarcoidosis and bioinformatically reconstructed the underlying gene-regulatory networks. We discovered an immune stimulatory environment in granulomas that repurposed transcriptional programs associated with lymphoid organ development. Granuloma formation followed characteristic spatial patterns and involved genes linked to immunometabolism, cytokine and chemokine signaling, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Three cell types emerged as key players in granuloma formation: metabolically reprogrammed macrophages, cytokine-producing Th17.1 cells, and fibroblasts with inflammatory and tissue remodeling phenotypes. Pharmacological inhibition of one of the identified processes attenuated granuloma formation in a sarcoidosis mouse model. We show that human granulomas adopt characteristic aspects of normal lymphoid organ development in aberrant combinations, indicating that granulomas constitute aberrant lymphoid organs.

  Study EGAS00001006970

• Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma RNA and Targeted Sequencing

  Pediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGG) are frequently driven by genetic alterations in the RAS/MAPK pathway yet show unexplained variability in their clinical outcome. To address this, we characterized a cohort of >1,000 clinically annotated pLGG. 84% of cases harbored a driver alteration, while those without an identified alteration also often exhibited up-regulation of the RAS/MAPK pathway. pLGG could be broadly classified based on their alteration type. Rearrangement-driven tumors were diagnosed at a younger age, enriched for WHO grade I histology, infrequently progressed, and rarely resulted in death as compared to SNV-driven tumors. Further sub-classification of clinical-molecular correlates stratified pLGG into risk categories. These data highlight the biological and clinical differences between pLGG subtypes and opens avenues for future treatment refinement.

  Study EGAS00001004242

• RNAseq dataset for MALT1 in MCL

  Manuscript Title: Co-targeting of BTK and MALT1 overcomes resistance to BTK inhibitors in mantle cell lymphoma Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation Authors Vivian Changying Jiang1, Yang Liu1, Junwei Lian1, Shengjian Huang1, Alexa Jordan1, Qingsong Cai1, Fangfang Yan3, Joseph Mitchell McIntosh1, Yijing Li1, Yuxuan Che1, Zhihong Chen1, Jovanny Vargas1, Maria Badillo1, JohnNelson Bigcal1, Heng-Huan Lee1, Wei Wang1, Yixin Yao1, Lei Nie1, Christopher Flowers1, and Michael Wang1, 2* Abstract Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a proven target in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, resistance to BTK inhibitors is a major clinical challenge. We here report that MALT1 is one of the top overexpressed genes in ibrutinib-resistant MCL cells, while expression of CARD11, which is upstream of MALT1, is decreased. MALT1 genetic knockout or inhibition produced dramatic defects in MCL cell growth regardless of ibrutinib sensitivity. Conversely, CARD11 knockout cells showed anti-tumor effects only in ibrutinib-sensitive cells, suggesting that MALT1 overexpression could drive ibrutinib resistance via bypassing BTK-CARD11 signaling. Additionally, BTK knockdown and MALT1 knockout markedly impaired MCL tumor migration and dissemination, and MALT1 pharmacological inhibition decreased MCL cell viability, adhesion, and migration by suppressing NF-κB, PI3K-ATK-mTOR, and integrin signaling. Importantly, co-targeting MALT1 with safimaltib and BTK with pirtobrutinib induced potent anti-MCL activity in ibrutinib-resistant MCL cell lines and patient-derived xenografts. Therefore, we conclude that MALT1 overexpression associates with resistance to BTK inhibitors in MCL, targeting abnormal MALT1 activity could be a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome BTK inhibitor resistance, and co-targeting of MALT1 and BTK should improve MCL treatment efficacy and durability as well as patient outcomes. Dataset description: The bulk RNA-seq dataset was generated for the cell lines below and used for two major purposes: 1. DEG analysis and GSEA analysis comparing IBN-R and IBN-S cells 2. DEG analysis and GSEA analysis comparing MCL cells with/without MI-2 treatment. sample Cell MI-2 Ibrutinib (IBN) Venetoclax (VEN) Used for IBN-R vs IBN-S comparison Used for MI-2 vs untreated (DMSO) H9 Granta519 - R S yes H21 Granta519 - R S yes H33 Granta519 - R S yes H10 Granta519-VEN-R - R R yes H22 Granta519-VEN-R - R R yes H34 Granta519-VEN-R - R R yes H3 JeKo BTK KD_1 - R R yes yes H15 JeKo BTK KD_1 - R R yes yes H27 JeKo BTK KD_1 - R R yes yes H5 JeKo BTK KD_2 - R R yes yes H17 JeKo BTK KD_2 - R R yes yes H29 JeKo BTK KD_2 - R R yes yes H1 JeKo-1 - S R yes yes H13 JeKo-1 - S R yes yes H25 JeKo-1 - S R yes yes H7 Mino - S S yes H19 Mino - S S yes H31 Mino - S S yes H8 Mino-VEN-R - S R yes H20 Mino-VEN-R - S R yes H32 Mino-VEN-R - S R yes H11 Rec-1 - S S yes H23 Rec-1 - S S yes H12 Rec-VEN-R - S S yes H24 Rec-VEN-R - S R yes H36 Rec-VEN-R - S R yes H35 Rec-1 -- S R yes H4 JeKo BTK KD_1 + MI-2 + yes H16 JeKo BTK KD_1 + MI-2 + yes H28 JeKo BTK KD_1 + MI-2 + yes H6 JeKo BTK KD_2 + MI-2 + yes H18 JeKo BTK KD_2 + MI-2 + yes H30 JeKo BTK KD_2 + MI-2 + yes H2 JeKo-1 + MI-2 + yes H14 JeKo-1 + MI-2 + yes H26 JeKo-1 + MI-2 + yes

  Dataset EGAD00001009771

• CM067 WES - Clinical Outcomes by Tumor Mutational Burden and Inflammatory Gene Expression With Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Advanced Melanoma

  Purpose Exploratory analyses of CheckMate 066 and 067 trials were conducted to investigate associations of tumor mutational burden (TMB), a 4-gene inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status with tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced melanoma. Patients and Methods Patients with known programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and BRAF mutation status received nivolumab (NIVO) or dacarbazine in CheckMate 066 and either NIVO, ipilimumab (IPI), or NIVO+IPI in CheckMate 067. Whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing were used to determine TMB and inflammatory gene expression signature scores, respectively. These biomarkers were evaluated in terms of their association with PFS and OS. Results In the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms of CheckMate 067, longer survival was associated with high (> median) versus low (≤ median) TMB with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for PFS of 0.45 (0.30–0.65), 0.55 (0.38–0.81), and 0.60 (0.43–0.82), and for OS of 0.46 (0.30–0.71), 0.53 (0.34–0.82), and 0.52 (0.36–0.74), respectively. For NIVO-treated patients, these results were confirmed in CheckMate 066. A survival benefit was observed with high TMB and absence of BRAF mutation. Survival was associated with high versus low inflammatory signature scores with HRs (95% CI) for PFS of 0.56 (0.34–0.94), 0.40 (0.23–0.72), and 0.43 (0.27–0.70), and for OS of 0.37 (0.20–0.66), 0.38 (0.19–0.74), and 0.46 (0.27–0.79), in the NIVO, NIVO+IPI, and IPI arms, respectively. Weak correlations were observed between PD-L1, TMB, and the inflammatory signature. Conclusions Combined assessment of TMB, inflammatory gene expression signature, and BRAF mutation status may be predictive for response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.

  Dataset EGAD00001007573

• Asthma in the Lives of Families Today (ALOFT)

  Social interactions and the overall psychosocial environment have a demonstrated impact on health, particularly for people living in disadvantaged urban areas. Here we investigated the effect of psychosocial experiences on gene expression in peripheral blood immune cells of 251 children with asthma in Metro Detroit. Participants were included from an ongoing longitudinal study Asthma in the Lives of Families Today (ALOFT; recruited from November 2010-July 2018. The ALOFT project was established to identify the behavioral and biological pathways through which family social environments impact youth with asthma.In version 1 we used RNA-sequencing and a new machine learning approach to identify transcriptional signatures of 19 variables including psychosocial factors, blood cell composition and asthma symptoms. Using longitudinal data collected from a subset of the participants we showed that transcriptional signatures track the longitudinal changes in measured phenotypes. Importantly, we found 169 genes associated with asthma that are regulated by psychosocial factors, and 344 significant gene-environment interactions for gene expression levels. These results demonstrate that immune gene expression mediates the link between negative psychosocial experiences and asthma risk.In version 2, we focused on pubertal development. We identified substantial gene expression changes associated with age and pubertal development. We showed that genetic effects on gene expression change dynamically during pubertal development. Gene expression changes during puberty are correlated with gene expression changes associated with asthma and may explain sex differences in prevalence. Our results show that molecular data used to study the genetics of early onset diseases should consider pubertal development as an important factor that modifies the transcriptome.Version 3 uses single cell RNA-seq to study the dynamics of the transcriptional response to glucocorticoids in activated Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from 96 African American children. We employed novel statistical approaches to calculate a mean-independent measure of gene expression variability and a measure of transcriptional response pseudotime. Using these approaches, we demonstrated that glucocorticoids reverse the effects of immune stimulation on both gene expression mean and variability. Our novel measure of gene expression response dynamics, based on the diagonal linear discriminant analysis, separated individual cells by response status on the basis of their transcriptional profiles and allowed us to identify different dynamic patterns of gene expression along the response pseudotime. We identified genetic variants regulating gene expression mean and variability, including treatment-specific effects, and demonstrated widespread genetic regulation of the transcriptional dynamics of the gene expression response.Version 4 adds scATAC-seq in activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 16 children with asthma with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and treated with dexamethasone (DEX), an anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid. We analyzed changes in chromatin accessibility, measured transcription factor motif activity, and identified treatment and cell-type specific transcription factors that drive changes in both gene expression mean and variability. We observed strong positive linear dependence between motif response and their target gene expression changes, but negative in variability changes. This result suggests that an increase of transcription factor binding tightens the variability of gene expression around the mean. We then annotated genetic variants in chromatin accessibility peaks and response motifs followed by computational fine-mapping of eQTL signals from a pediatric asthma cohort. We found that eQTLs were 5-fold enriched in peaks with response motifs and refined the credible set for 410 asthma risk genes, with 191 having the causal variant in response motifs. These results enhance the understanding of molecular mechanisms for asthma risk variants mediated by gene expression.

  Study phs002182

• Longitudinal Studies of Patients with Familial Platelet Disorder with Associated Myeloid Malignancy (FPDMM)

  FPDMM (OMIM #601399) is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by defective megakaryocytic development, thrombocytopenia, platelet functional defects, and a life-long risk of developing hematological malignancies. FPDMM is caused by germline mutations in the RUNX1 gene, which encodes a master regulator of hematopoiesis. The overall lifetime risk of hematological malignancies in FPDMM patients is 35 - 45%. It is hypothesized that mutations in other genes cooperate with the germline RUNX1 mutations for leukemia development. However, it is not clear which genes need to be mutated for leukemia to develop and which biomarkers or clinical tests can be used to predict which patients will progress to leukemia. Likewise, there are no treatments and/or preventative measures that can reduce or stop disease progression except for stem cell transplantation, which is not available for all patients and may be associated with significant complications. To address these questions, we launched a longitudinal natural history study of patients associated with RUNX1 germline mutations at the NIH Clinical Center in early 2019 (Trial Registration ID: NCT03854318). The goals of this study are to: (1) perform comprehensive longitudinal phenotyping of FPDMM patients to document the full spectrum of both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic manifestations of the disease; and (2) perform extensive genomic analyses of FPDMM patient samples to identify cooperating genomic variants, which may confer growth advantage that leads to clonal expansion of affected hematopoietic cells that may serve as the precursor to malignancies. The data available through dbGaP include exome sequencing and RNA-seq data from these patients. Diverse germline mutation types were identified in the RUNX1 gene, including splice site mutations and large deletions, in addition to nucleotide substitutions and small indels. Somatic mutations, especially in genes associated with clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), were found in a substantial proportion of FPDMM patients who were leukemia-free. The findings suggest that the genomes in these patients are prone to somatic mutations and monitoring the dynamic changes of these somatic mutations prospectively may provide a way to predict progression to malignancies.

  Study phs003075