We set out to determine ctDNA abundance at de novo mCSPC diagnosis and whether ctDNA provides complementary clinically relevant information to a prostate biopsy. We collected and sequenced 77 plasma cell-free DNA samples from 53 newly diagnosed patients with mCSPC. Targeted sequencing was also performed on DNA from 48 diagnostic prostate tissue samples.
High-precision human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping is crucial for anti-cancer immunotherapy, but existing tools predicting HLA genotypes using next-generation sequencing (NGS) data are insufficiently accurate. We compared the availability and accuracy of eight HLA genotyping tools (OptiType, HLA-HD, PHLAT, seq2HLA, arcasHLA, HLAscan, HLA*LA, and Kourami) using 1,275 cases from the 1000 Genomes Project data and created a new HLA-genotyping algorithm combining tools. Then, we assessed the new algorithm’s performance in 39 in-house samples with normal whole-exome sequencing (WES) data and polymerase chain reaction–sequencing-based typing (PCR-SBT) results.
Current methods available for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos do not detect de novo. Detection of these types of mutations requires whole genome sequencing (WGS). In this study advanced massively parallel WGS was performed on three 5-10 cell biopsies from two blastocyst-stage embryos. Overall, greater than 95% of each genome was called and experimentally derived haplotypes and barcoded read data were used to detect and phase up to 82% of de novo single base mutations with a false positive rate of ~1 error per Gb. These results suggest that phased WGS using barcoded DNA could be used in the future as part of the PGD process to maximize comprehensiveness in detecting disease causing mutations and reduce the incidence of genetic diseases.
Samples from Magdalena de Cao, Peru
This study is part of the 'First 1,000 Days of Life and Beyond' study at the Inova Translational Medicine Institute. Whole-genome sequencing data from 1,291 parent-offspring trios was used to study the properties of clustered de novo mutations. The maternal clusters were found to be enriched in regions with accelerated maternal mutation rate and show distinct mutational signatures. For additional details, please refer to: "Germline de novo mutation clusters arise during oocyte aging in genomic regions with increased double-strand break incidence". Jakob M. Goldmann, Vladimir B. Seplyarskiy, Wendy S.W. Wong, Thierry Vilboux, Pieter B. Neerincx, Dale L. Bodian, Benjamin D. Solomon, Joris A. Veltman, John F. Deeken, Christian Gilissen, John E. Niederhuber. Nature Genetics.