9926 results for "cancer rna-seq"

in 23.07 milliseconds.

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

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

  Study EGAS50000000012

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

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

  Study EGAS50000000230

• Parallel CRISPR Editing of Familial ALS Mutations Into a Healthy Control iPSC Line

  Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a modeling system for human disease within the critical context of the human genome. CRISPR editing of iPSCs allows the construction of isogenic pairs where the cells have nearly identical genomes except for the desired edited change. Here, we used CRISPR editing on a healthy control line to generate three new isogenic iPSC lines that each contains a different familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) mutation (TARDBP[G298S/+], SOD1[G85R/+], and PFN1[G118V/+]). As controls for each mutation, we retained iPSC lines that went through the editing process but did not have the desired heterozygous mutation. We have produced high-throughput sequencing data from these isogenic lines in two different studies:(1) In “Human sensorimotor organoids derived from healthy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stem cells form neuromuscular junctions” (Pereira et al. 2021), we performed exome sequencing to confirm the absence of off-target CRISPR events. We also performed single-cell sequencing on sensorimotor organoids from a second healthy control iPSC line, which is deposited alongside the exome sequencing data.(2) In “iPSC Motor Neurons, But Not Other Derived Cell Types, Capture Gene Expression Changes in Postmortem Sporadic ALS Motor Neurons” (Held et al. 2023), we differentiated these isogenic lines into motor neurons, sensory neurons, cortical neurons, and astrocytes and then performed bulk RNA-sequencing. We then assessed similarities between fALS mutations, differences between cell types, and the capacity of iPSC modeling to capture differentially expressed genes in postmortem sporadic ALS motor neurons.

  Study phs002440

• Transposable Elements in FTLD-TDP and ALS-TDP

  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease involving the rapid and progressive loss of motor neurons. While a number of inherited mutations have been identified as causing ALS, the vast majority of cases are sporadic with no family history of disease. This has led to the model that ALS may be a complex syndrome with an unknown number of causal molecular pathways. However, nearly all ALS patient tissues display aggregates of the RNA binding protein TDP-43 (TARDBP/TAR DNA-binding protein), and mutations in the gene encoding this protein are known to cause ALS. We show that one of the normal functions of TDP-43 is to bind and regulate retrotransposons, repetitive sequences in the genome that are normally silent, due in part to the function of TDP-43. Furthermore, we demonstrate that many ALS patients with TDP-43 pathology also display de-silencing of retrotransposon RNAs, consistent with a loss of normal TDP-43 function. Those ALS patients that exhibit high levels of retrotransposon expression form a distinct subset of ALS subjects that also show other correlated alterations to the transcriptome. Using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, we identified three distinct molecular subtypes from the whole genomes and transcriptomes of a large cohort of 148 ALS patient samples. The retrotransposon re-activated subset formed 20% of ALS samples; two additional groups displayed signatures of oxidative stress (61%), and glial dysfunction (19%), respectively. Together these results demonstrate that retrotransposon re-activation is common in a subset of ALS patients with TDP-43 pathology.

  Study phs001889

• 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

• Blood DNA Methylation in Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC): a Prospective Cohort Study

  Background: DNA methylation integrates environmental signals with transcriptional programs. COVID-19 infection induces changes in the host methylome. While post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is a long-term complication of acute illness, its association with DNA methylation is unknown. No universal blood marker of PASC, superseding single organ dysfunctions, has yet been identified. Methods: In this single center prospective cohort study, PASC, post-COVID without PASC, and healthy participants were enrolled to investigate their symptoms association with peripheral blood DNA methylation data generated with state-of-the-art whole genome sequencing (WGS). PASC-induced quality-of-life deterioration was scored with a validated instrument, SF-36. Analyses were conducted to identify potential functional roles of differentially methylated loci, and machine learning algorithms were used to resolve PASC severity. Findings: 103 patients with PASC (22.3% male, 77.7% female), 15 patients with previous COVID-19 infection but no PASC (40.0% male, 60.0% female), and 27 healthy volunteers (48.1% male, 51.9% female) were enrolled. Whole genome methylation sequencing revealed 39 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) specific to PASC, each harboring an average of 15 consecutive positions, that differentiate patients with PASC from the two control groups. Motif analyses of PASC-regulated DMRs identify binding domains for transcription factors regulating circadian rhythm and others. Some DMRs annotated to protein coding genes were associated with changes of RNA expression. Machine learning support vector algorithm and random forest hierarchical clustering reveal 28 unique differentially methylated positions (DMPs) in the genome discriminating patients with better and worse quality of life.

  Study phs003658

• 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

• Characterization_of_genomic_landscape_of_Peripheral_T_cell_Lymphomas__not_otherwise_specified__PTCL_NOS_

  Peripheral T-cell lymphomas not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) represent a heterogeneous group of nodal and extra-nodal mature T-cell lymphomas, with a low prevalence in Western countries. PTCL-NOSs account for about 25% of all PTCLs and are currently diagnosed based on exclusion criteria, as this lymphomas lack unifying morphological, phenotypic and genomic features. Cytogenetic and FISH analysis of PTCL-NOS samples have not revealed recurrent pathogenetic abnormalities, while gene expression profiling has shown only partial ability to segregate cases representing homogeneous clinic-pathological entities. This underscores the need to look at PTCL-NOS with innovative and high-throughput approaches to identify recurrent genetic lesions that could further our understanding of the biology of this heterogeneous group of diseases, provide better diagnostic tools and perhaps new targets for innovative treatments. Our aim is to study ~15 patients affected by PTCL-NOS. Out study will be funded by a private, non-profit Italian cancer research fund (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, www.airc.it) based on a grant owned by Anna Dodero and Cristiana Carniti, hematologists at INT. Samples will be analysed by whole genome sequencing using Illumina X10 machines, on a 150bp-PE protocol. Data will be analysed using the pipeline available in Team 78, under the supervision of Peter Campbell, the WTSI faculty who will oversee the project, and by Francesco Maura, visiting scientist at the WTSI.

  Study EGAS00001002057

• Dynamics of sequence and structural cell-free DNA landscapes in small-cell lung cancer

  Patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) have an exceptionally poor prognosis, calling for improved real-time non-invasive biomarkers of therapeutic response. We performed targeted error-correction sequencing on 171 serial plasmas and matched white blood cell (WBC) DNA from 33 patients with metastatic SCLC who received systemic treatment with chemotherapy or immunotherapy-containing regimens. Tumor-derived sequence alterations and plasma aneuploidy were evaluated serially and combined to assess changes in total cell-free tumor load (cfTL). Longitudinal dynamic changes in cfTL were monitored to determine circulating cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) molecular response during therapy. Combined tiered analyses of tumor-derived sequence alterations and plasma aneuploidy allowed for assessment of ctDNA molecular response in all patients. Molecular responses captured the therapeutic effect and long-term clinical outcomes in a more accurate and rapid manner compared to radiographic imaging. Patients with sustained molecular responses had longer overall (log-rank p=0.0006) and progression-free (log-rank p<0.0001) survival, with molecular responses detected on average 4 weeks earlier than imaging. ctDNA analyses provide a rapid approach for the assessment of early on-therapy molecular responses and have important implications for the management of patients with SCLC, including the development of improved strategies for real-time tumor burden monitoring.

  Study EGAS00001006831

• Immune heterogeneity in small cell lung cancer and vulnerability to immune checkpoint blockade

  Following the pivotal Phase III IMpower133 study, atezolizumab (anti–PD-L1), combined with carboplatin and etoposide (CE), was the first immune checkpoint inhibitor approved for first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and is now a standard of care. A clearer understanding of therapeutically relevant SCLC subsets is needed to improve outcomes and to identify rational combination strategies. Transcriptomic analyses and nonnegative matrix factorization were conducted on 271 pre-treatment patient tumor samples from IMpower133 and four subsets with general concordance to previously reported SCLC subtypes were identified. Deeper investigation into the immune heterogeneity relevant to clinical outcomes uncover two subsets with differing neuroendocrine (NE) versus non-neuroendocrine (non-NE) phenotypes that demonstrated hallmarks of immune cell infiltration. The balance of tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) to T-effector signals distinguished these inflamed subsets. Tumors with low TAM but high T-effector signals had a NE phenotype and demonstrated longer overall survival with PD-L1 blockade and CE versus CE alone than did tumors with high TAM and high T-effector signal, which had a non-NE phenotype. The delineation of SCLC immune heterogeneity offers a clinically relevant approach to discriminate SCLC patients likely to benefit most from immunotherapeutic approaches and highlights the complex mechanisms underlying response and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. 

  Study EGAS50000000138

• Towards standardized whole exome sequencing (WES) for cancer patients: lessons from a multicentric pilot study

  A growing number of druggable targets and national initiatives for precision oncology necessitate broader genomic profiling for many cancer patients. Whole exome sequencing (WES) offers unbiased analysis of the entire coding sequence, segmentation-based detection of copy number alterations (CNAs), and accurate determination of complex biomarkers including tumor mutational burden (TMB), homologous recombination repair deficiency (HRD), and microsatellite instability (MSI). To assess the inter-institution variability of clinical WES, we performed a comparative pilot study between German Centers of Personalized Medicine (ZPMs) from five participating institutions. Tumor and matched normal DNA from 30 patients were analyzed using custom sequencing protocols and bioinformatic pipelines. Calling of somatic variants was highly concordant with a sensitivity between 91-95% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 82-95% compared with a three-institution consensus and full agreement for 16 of 17 druggable targets. Deviations were observed for cases with low VAF or coverage, differing annotations, and different filter protocols. CNAs showed overall agreement in 76% for the genomic sequence with high wet-lab variability. Complex biomarkers correlated strongly between institutions (HRD: 0.79-1, TMB: 0.97-0.99) and all institutions agreed on microsatellite instability. This study will contribute to the development of quality control frameworks for comprehensive genomic profiling and sheds light onto parameters that require stringent standardization.

  Study EGAS00001007363

• Foregut Microbiome and Risk of Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia, and Gastric Cancer Risk

  The study is composed of two sub-studies. The first study, conducted by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, is a case-control study of 89 cases with gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) and 89 matched controls who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at three sites affiliated with NYU Langone Health. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing using oral wash samples from the 89 case-control pairs and antral mucosal brushing samples from 55 case-control pairs were conducted. The other study, conducted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is a prospective case-control study on the oral microbiome and gastric cancer risk, utilizing shotgun metagenomic sequencing data of pre-diagnostic buccal samples from 319 Asians, 118 African Americans and 51 European Americans. This study includes data from three population-based studies: the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS), and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS). The SWHS and SMHS include 74,941 women aged 40-70 years and 61,480 men aged 40-74 years, respectively, who were permanent residents of Shanghai and recruited to the cohorts between 1997 and 2006. The SCCS is an ongoing prospective cohort study, including ~86,000 participants recruited during 2002 and 2009 from 12 Southeastern states. Nearly 67% of study participants are African Americans (AAs) and the remaining are European American (EA) subjects.

  Study phs002566

• Novel mutations in TOP2A in gliomas

  High grade gliomas (HGGs) are aggressive, primary brain tumors with poor clinical outcomes. To better understand glioma pathobiology and find potential therapeutic susceptibilities, we designed a custom- panel 664 cancer- and epigenetics-related genes and employed targeted next generation sequencing to study the genomic landscape of somatic and germline variants in 182 glioma samples of different malignancy grades. Besides known alterations in TP53, IDH1, ATRX, EGFR genes, we found several novel variants that can be potential drivers in gliomas. In four patients from the Polish glioma cohort, we identified a novel recurrent mutation in the TOP2A gene coding for Topoisomerase 2A in glioblastomas (GBM, WHO grade IV gliomas). The mutation results in a substitution of glutamic acid (E) 948 to glutamine (Q) of TOP2 A and we predicted this E948Q substitution may affect DNA binding and a TOP2A enzymatic activity.

  Study EGAS00001004556

• Frequent mutations in chromatin-remodelling genes in pulmonary carcinoids

  Pulmonary carcinoids are rare neuroendocrine tumours of the lung. The molecular alterations underlying the pathogenesis of these tumours have not been systematically studied so far. Here we perform gene copy number analysis (n¼54), genome/exome (n¼44) and transcriptome (n¼69) sequencing of pulmonary carcinoids and observe frequent mutations in chromatin-remodelling genes. Covalent histone modifiers and subunits of the SWI/SNF complex are mutated in 40 and 22.2% of the cases, respectively, with MEN1, PSIP1 and ARID1A being recurrently affected. In contrast to small-cell lung cancer and large-cell neuroendocrine tumours, TP53 and RB1 mutations are rare events, suggesting that pulmonary carcinoids are not early progenitor lesions of the highly aggressive lung neuroendocrine tumors but arise through independent cellular mechanisms. These data also suggest that inactivation of chromatinremodelling genes is sufficient to drive transformation in pulmonary carcinoids.

  Study EGAS00001000650

• Therapeutic Targeting of Ependymoma as Informed by Oncogenic Enhancer Profiling

  Genomic sequencing has driven precision-based oncology therapy; however, genetic drivers remain unknown or non-targetable for many malignancies, demanding alternative approaches to identify therapeutic leads. Ependymomas are chemotherapy-resistant brain tumours, which, despite genomic sequencing, lack effective molecular targets. Here, we mapped active chromatin landscapes in 42 primary ependymomas in two non-overlapping primary ependymoma cohorts. Enhancer regions revealed novel oncogenes, molecular targets, and pathways, which when subjected to small molecule inhibitor or shRNA treatment, increased survival and slowed proliferation in mouse and neurosphere patient-derived models of ependymomas. This study represents one of the largest enhancer mapping study of any cancer type to date, and provides a framework for target and drug discovery for other cancers recalcitrant to therapeutic development because of their lack of known genetic drivers.

  Study EGAS00001002696

• Whole exome sequencing reveals the mutational spectrum of testicular germ cell tumours

  Testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs) are the most common cancer in young men. Here we perform whole exome sequencing of 42 TGCTs to comprehensively study the mutational profile of TGCT. The mutation rate is uniformly low in all of the tumours (mean 0.5 mutations per megabase [Mb]) as compared to the common cancers, consistent with the embryological origin of TGCT. In addition to expected copy number gain of chromosome 12p and mutation of KIT we identify recurrent mutations in the tumour suppressor gene CDC27 (11.9%). Copy number analysis reveals recurring amplification of the spermatocyte development gene FSIP2 (15.3%) and a 0.4Mb region at Xq28 (15.3%). Two treatment-refractory patients are shown to harbour XRCC2 mutations, a gene strongly implicated in defining cisplatin resistance. Our findings provide further insights into genes involved in the development and progression of TGCT.

  Study EGAS00001001084

• Whole exome sequencing data of germline and two independent primary leukemias of five patients

  The contribution of genetic predisposing factors to the development of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most frequently diagnosed cancer in childhood, has not been fully elucidated. Children presenting with multiple de novo leukemias are more likely to suffer from genetic predisposition. Here, we selected five of these patients and analyzed the mutational spectrum of normal and malignant tissues. In two patients, we identified germline mutations in TYK2, a member of the JAK tyrosine kinase family. These mutations were located in two adjacent codons of the pseudokinase domain (p.Pro760Leu and p.Gly761Val). In silico modeling revealed that both mutations affect the conformation of this auto-regulatory domain. Consistent with this notion, both germline mutations promote TYK2 autophosphorylation and activate downstream STAT family members, which could be blocked with the JAK kinase inhibitor I. These data indicate that germline activating TYK2 mutations predispose to the development of ALL.

  Study EGAS00001001889

• Oncogenic chimeric transcription factors drive tumor-specific transcription, processing, and translation of silent genomic regions

  Many cancers are characterized by gene fusions encoding oncogenic chimeric transcription factors (TFs) such as EWS::FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma (EwS). Here, we find that EWS::FLI1 induces the robust expression of a specific set of novel spliced and polyadenylated transcripts within otherwise transcriptionally silent regions of the genome. These neogenes (NGs) are virtually undetectable in large collections of normal tissues or non-EwS tumors and can be silenced by CRISPR interference at regulatory EWS::FLI1-bound microsatellites. Ribosome profiling and proteomics further show that some NGs are translated into highly EwS-specific peptides. More generally, we show that hundreds of NGs can be detected in diverse cancers characterized by chimeric TFs. Altogether, this study identifies the transcription, processing, and translation of novel, specific, highly expressed multi-exonic transcripts from otherwise silent regions of the genome as a new activity of aberrant TFs in cancer.

  Study EGAS00001006293

• Colorectal advanced adenomas NKI-AvL TGO COCOS series

  Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops from normal epithelium, through a benign precursor lesion called adenoma, by accumulation of genetic alterations affecting oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. About 5% of colorectal adenomas are estimated to progress to CRC. However, it is important to identify which adenomas actually carry a high-risk of progression, because these serve as intermediate endpoints for e.g. screening programs. In clinical practice, adenomas with a size of ≥10 mm, villous component and/or high-grade dysplasia, called advanced adenomas, are considered high-risk, although solid evidence for this classification is lacking. Specific DNA copy number changes are associated with adenoma-to-carcinoma progression.For this tissue dataset, we applied low-pass whole genome sequencing to 96 advanced adenomas. Advanced adenomas were classified as lesions with low-risk or high-risk of progression, according to the presence of specific DNA copy number changes (Carvalho et al, CancerPrevRes, 2018).

  Study EGAS00001002952

• Genomic Heterogeneity and the Small Renal Mass

  Tumor heterogeneity is believed to represent a barrier to pre-operative genomic characterization in kidney cancer. Previous studies of heterogeneity in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) evaluated only large and metastatic tumors. In small renal tumors in which multiple biopsies are not feasible, the extent of heterogeneity remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated how the extent of genomic heterogeneity in small and large ccRCC. A total of 23 small (<4cm ) and 24 large (>7cm ) ccRCC had 3 regions sampled for evaluation of copy number, clear-cell A/clear-cell B (ccA/ccB) classification, and cell cycle progression (CCP) score. Small tumors have less genomic complexity and significantly fewer subclonal events. Pre-treatment genomic characterization based on a single biopsy in small ccRCC can provide insight into biologic potential to make clinical decisions.

  Study EGAS00001002919

• multi-OMICs study of a pair of infant monozygotic twins with concordant B-cell ALL

  B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL) is the most common cancer in childhood. Studying identical twins with B-cell ALL provides a unique and tractable model for deciphering the developmental timing of pre- and post-natal mutations contributing to clonal evolution. To date, this has mainly focused on major cytogenetic subgroups of childhood B-cell ALL, including MLL fusions, ETV6-RUNX1, hyperdiploidy, and BCR-ABL1. However, formal demonstration of the prenatal origin and “backtracking” the natural history of the leukemia remains understudied in “B-other”/Normal Karyotype (NK) B-cell ALL. To characterize the genetic and the epigenetic landscape of this particular leukemia subtype, we performed whole genome DNA-, B-cell receptor (BCR)-, and DNA bisulfite-sequencing on a pair of 8-month-old monozygotic twins diagnosed with concordant “B-other”/NK B-cell ALL.

  Study EGAS00001003651

• Accurate mapping of mitochondrial DNA deletions and duplications using deep sequencing

  Deletions and duplications in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cause mitochondrial disease and accumulate in conditions such as cancer and age-related disorders, but validated high-throughput methodology that can readily detect and discriminate between these two types of events is lacking. Here we present MitoSAlt, a computational method for accurate identification, quantification and visualization of mtDNA deletions and duplications from whole genome, whole exome or transcriptome sequencing data. MitoSAlt was tested on simulated sequencing reads and human patient samples with single deletions and duplications to verify its accuracy. Application to mouse models of mtDNA maintenance disease further demonstrated the ability to detect deletions and duplications even at low levels of heteroplasmy. MitoSAlt paves the way for simple and reliable determination of mtDNA deletions and duplications across a wide range of relevant conditions and available sequencing datasets.  

  Study EGAS00001004380

• single-stranded DNA study

  A ssDNA library protocol was applied to cfDNA from plasma samples obtained from different DNA extraction methods and revealed significant differences in DNA fragmentation patterns in comparison to dsDNA-based protocols. In particular, a specific combination of methods revealed a population of ultrashort fragments, organized at ~50 bp. We observed significant differences in the relative abundance of these ultrashort DNA fragments in plasma from healthy individuals and cancer patients. Through shallow whole genome sequencing (sWGS, <0.5-fold coverage) and the analysis of somatic copy number aberrations (SCNA), we determined the landscape of genetic alterations in this newly identified population of cfDNA fragments. In addition, we studied their potential link with regulatory regions by investigating the genome-wide coverage patterns at transcription start sites (TSS). Furthermore, we demonstrated that the ultrashort cfDNA fragments map to regions associated with secondary DNA structures, G-quadruplexes (G4s).

  Study EGAS00001005093

• Epithelial, fibroblast, myeloid, T cell, primary prostate cancer

  The collection and use of tissue for this study had Melbourne Health institutional review board approval and patients provided written informed consent (Melbourne Health Local Project Number: 2016.087). Following the prostatectomy of 13 patients, ranging from 52 to 78 years of age and from CAPRA-S risk score of 0 (attributed to benign tissue samples, harvested from a site far from a low grade, low volume cancer) to 7 (Supplementary file 2), a four millimeter tissue core was collected from the prostate tumour site, conditional to histopathological verification66,67. If not otherwise specified, all procedures were carried out at 4 °C. Tissue blocks were washed in Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution for 2 minutes and minced for 2 minutes with a scalpel. Homogenised tissue was added to a solution (total volume of 7 ml) composed by of 1 mg/ml collagenase IV (Worthington Biochemical Corp, USA), 0.02 mg/ml DNase 1 (New England Biolabs, USA), 0.2 mg/ml dispase (Merck, USA). The tissue homogenised was serially digested at 37 °C at 180 rpm, through three steps of 5, 10 and 10 minutes of duration, with the final 3 minutes dedicated to sedimentation at 0 rpm. After each digestion step, the supernatant was aspirated and filtered through a 70 μm strainer into a pre-chilled tube, diluting the solution with 15 ml of 2% bovine serum PBS to quench the enzymatic reaction. The resulting cumulative solution was then centrifuged at 1500 rpm for five minutes, with the supernatant collected and the cell pellet resuspended into 1 ml 2% PBS-serum prior to labelling (Fig. S1).

  Dataset EGAD00001004948