The objective of this study is to resequence of targeted intervals containing autosomal recessive variants causing neurological disorders in consanguineous pedigrees. Using homozygosity mapping, three intervals of very different sizes have previously been unambiguously mapped for three different neurological diseases: 2.4Mb, 8Mb and 14.3Mb in size, for Microlissencephaly, Severe Mental Retardation and Complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia respectively. This study is a pilot to assess how well custom targeted resequencing performs across a broad size range of intervals. The study design is to use a different custom capture probe set for each interval, pulldown from a single patient from each family, and sequence 1 lane using Illumina paired-reads for each sample. Candidate variants will be followed up in the families themselves, and in patients with similar phenotypes from outbred populations
Endometrial carcinoma, the most common gynecologic cancer, develops from endometrial epithelium which is composed of secretory and ciliated cells. Pathologic classification is unreliable and there is a need for prognostic tools. We used single cell sequencing to study organoid model systems derived from normal endometrial endometrium to discover novel markers specific for endometrial ciliated or secretory cells. We performed single cell sequencing on endometrial and ovarian tumours, and on organoids both treated with DBZ and normal and found both secretory-like and ciliated-like tumour cells.
We have collected RNA samples from whole blood of Kenyan children exposed to malaria in the Kilifi region of Kenya. Collections were performed each year from 2015 until 2018. This is a follow-up study to that described in Bediako et al. (in preparation). The SIMS consortium is seeking to identifying the underlying reasons why some children are more susceptible to malaria than others. In this study we hope to track changes in children’s immune systems over time which relate to the number of malaria episodes they experience. 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/
The ELLIPSE Consortium is an international effort to discover risk loci for prostate cancer. It includes the meta-analysis of existing GWAS data as well as novel GWAS, exome, and iCOGS genotyping. The GWAS meta-analysis includes the following cases and controls from studies of European ancestry: UK GWAS stage 1 (Illumina Infinium HumanHap 550 Array: 1854 cases and 1894 controls), UK GWAS stage 2 (Illumina iSELECT: 3706 cases and 3884 controls), CAPS1 (Affymetrix GeneChip 500K: 474 cases and 482 controls), CAPS2 (Affymetrix GeneChip 5.0K: 1458 cases and 512 controls), BPC3 (Illumina Human610 Illumina: 2068 cases and 3011 controls), PEGASUS (HumanOmni2.5: 4600 cases and 2941 controls). The OMNI 2.5M genotyping was conducted for 977 prostate cancer cases from UKGPCS. The Exome SNP array genotyping was conducted for 4741 subjects from UKGPCS. The iCOGs genotyping was conducted for 10366 subjects which includes the Multiethnic Cohort (n=1648) and UKGPCS (n=8718). Below is a description of each study that contributed to the meta-analysis of men of European ancestry. Information about the studies that contributed to the multiethnic meta-analysis can be found on the associated study page and also in Conti et al (Nature Genetics, PMID:33398198). UK GWAS Stage 1 (UK1) and Stage 2 (UK2): The UK Genetic Prostate Cancer Study (UKGPCS) was first established in 1993 and is the largest prostate cancer study of its kind in the UK, involving nearly 189 hospitals. We are based at The Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey, and collaborate with the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Our aim is to find genetic changes which are associated with prostate cancer risk. Our target is to recruit 26,000 gentlemen into the UKGPCS by 2017. Men are eligible to take part if they fit into at least one of the following groups: They have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at 60 years of age or under (up to their 61st birthday). They have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and a first, second or third degree relative where at least one of these men were diagnosed with prostate cancer at 65 years of age or under. They are affected and have 3 or more cases of prostate cancer on one side of their family. They are a prostate cancer patient at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. We have to date recruited around 16,000 men on whom we have germline DNA and clinical data at diagnosis. The UK GWAS is based on genotyping of 541,129 SNPs in 1,854 individuals with clinically detected (non-PSA-screened) prostate cancer (cases) and 1,894 controls. 43,671 SNPs showing strong evidence of association in stage 1 were followed up by genotyping a further 3,268 cases and 3,366 controls from UK and Melbourne in stage2. CAPS1 and CAPS2: The CAPS (Cancer of the Prostate in Sweden) study represents a large Swedish population-based cancer study, comprising 3,161 cases and 2,149 controls, recruited between 2001 and 2003. Biopsy confirmed prostate cancer cases were identified and recruited from four out of six regional cancer registries in Sweden, diagnosed between July 2001 and October 2003. Clinical data including TNM stage, Gleason grade and PSA levels at time for diagnosis were retrieved through record linkage to the National Prostate Cancer Registry. Control subjects, who were recruited concurrently with case subjects, were randomly selected from the Swedish Population Registry and matched according to the expected age distribution of cases (groups of 5-year intervals) and geographic region. Whole blood was collected from all individuals for extraction of genomic DNA. A GWAS was conducted in two parts. In the first phase (CAPS1) 498 cases and 502 controls were genotyped, in the second phase 1,483 cases and 519 controls were genotyped. Genotyping was performed using the GeneChip Human Mapping 500K (CAPS1) and 5.0K (CAPS2) Array Set from Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA). The National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, BPC3: BPC3 was a consortium of prospective cohort studies investigating genetic and gene-environmental risk factors for breast and prostate cancer. Each study selected cases and controls for this study as described below. The clinical criteria defining advanced prostate cancer (Gleason = 8 or stage C/D) were either obtained from medical records or cancer registries. The Gleason score source was either surgical specimens (radical prostatectomy or autopsy) or the diagnostic biopsy (needle biopsy or TURP). When multiple Gleason scores were available the surgical value was used. PLCO was removed from the analysis as the samples were included in the Pegasus GWAS described below. In total 2,473 advanced prostate cancer cases and 3,534 controls were included in the analysis following QC. ATBC, Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study: ATBC was a randomized, placebo-controlled primary prevention trial to investigate whether α-tocopherol or ß-carotene supplementation reduced the incidence of lung or other cancers in male smokers. Between 1985 and 1988, 29,133 men ages 50 to 69 years were enrolled in the trial from Finland and randomized to supplementation (50 mg α-tocopherol, 20mg ß-carotene, or both) or placebo. Men with a prior history of cancer, other than non-melanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ, were excluded from participating. Incident cancer cases are identified through linkage with the Finnish Cancer Registry, which has ~100% ascertainment of cancer cases nationwide. Cases included 249 men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer (Gleason = 8 or stage C/D) from 1985 to 2003 with DNA available. Controls were 1,271 men selected previously for a GWAS of lung cancer in ATBC without a diagnosis of prostate cancer. CPSII, Cancer Prevention Study II: CPSII is a cohort study started in 1982 to investigate the relationship between dietary, lifestyle and other etiologic factors and cancer mortality. Approximately 1.2 million men and women enrolled in the study from 50 states in the U.S. In 1992, a subset of these participants (n= ~184,000) were enrolled in the CPSII Nutrition Cohort to examine the relationship between dietary and other exposures and cancer incidence. Blood samples were drawn from approximately 39,376 members of the Nutritional Cohort from 1998 to 2001, and buccal cells were collected from 69,467 members from 2001 to 2002. Cancer cases are identified by self-report through follow-up questionnaires followed by verification through medical records and/or linkage to state cancer registries as well as death certificates. A total of 660 advanced prostate cancer cases (Gleason = 8 or stage III/IV) with a source of DNA were identified for this study. Controls were 660 men matched on ethnicity, date of birth, sample collection date and DNA type. EPIC, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition: EPIC is a prospective study designed to investigate both genetic and non-genetic risk factors for different forms of cancer. Study participants were almost all white Europeans. Approximately 500,000 individuals (150,000 men) in EPIC were recruited between 1992 and 2000, from 23 centers in 10 European countries. Overall approximately 400,000 subjects also provided a blood sample at recruitment. The methods of recruitment and details of the study design are described in detail elsewhere. In brief, study participants completed an extensive questionnaire on both dietary and nondietary data at recruitment. The present study includes subjects from advanced prostate cancer cases (Gleason = 8 or stage III/IV) matched to controls based on study center, length of follow-up, age at enrollment (± 6 months), fasting and time of day of blood collection (± 1 hour). The advanced prostate cancer subjects were from 8 of the 10 participating countries: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK). France and Norway were not included in the current study because these cohorts only included female subjects. All participants gave written consent for the research and approval for the study was obtained from the ethical review board from all local institutions in the regions where participants had been recruited for the EPIC study. HPFS, Health Professionals Follow-up Study: HPFS began in 1986 and is an ongoing prospective cohort study of 51,529 United States male dentists, optometrists, osteopaths, podiatrists, pharmacists, and veterinarians 40 to 75 years of age. The baseline questionnaire provided information on age, marital status, height and weight, ancestry, medications, smoking history, disease history, physical activity, and diet. At baseline the cohort was 97% white, 2% Asian American, and 1% African American. The median follow-up through 2005 was 10.5 years (range 2-19 years). Self-reported prostate cancer diagnoses were confirmed by obtaining medical and/or pathology records. Prostate cancer deaths are either reported by family members in response to follow-up questionnaires, discovered by the postal system, or the National Death Index. Questionnaires are sent every two years to surviving men to update exposure and medical history. In 1993 and 1994, a blood specimen was collected from 18,018 men without a prior diagnosis of cancer. Prostate cancer cases are matched to controls on birth year (+/-1) and ethnicity. Controls are selected from those who are cancer-free at the time of the case’s diagnosis, and had a prostate-specific antigen test after the date of blood draw. MEC, Multiethnic Cohort: The Multiethnic Cohort Study is a population-based prospective cohort study that was initiated between 1993 and 1996 and includes subjects from various ethnic groups - African Americans and Latinos primarily from Californian (great Los Angeles area) and Native Hawaiians, Japanese-Americans, and European Americans primarily from Hawaii. State drivers’ license files were the primary sources used to identify study subjects in Hawaii and California. Additionally, in Hawaii, state voter’s registration files were used, and, in California, Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) files were used to identify additional African American men. All participants (n=215,251) returned a 26-page self-administered baseline questionnaire that obtained general demographic, medical and risk factor information. In the cohort, incident cancer cases are identified annually through cohort linkage to population-based cancer Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries in Hawaii and Los Angeles County as well as to the California State cancer registry. Information on stage and grade of disease are also obtained through the SEER registries. Blood sample collection in the MEC began in 1994 and targeted incident prostate cancer cases and a random sample of study participants to serve as controls for genetic analyses. PHS, Physicians Health Study:PHS was a randomized trial of aspirin and ß carotene for cardiovascular disease and cancer among 22,071 U.S. male physicians ages 40-84 years at randomization; none had a cancer diagnosis at baseline. The original trial ended, but the men are followed. From 1982 to 1984, blood samples were collected from 14,916 physicians before randomization. Participants are sent yearly questionnaires to ascertain endpoints. Whenever a physician reports cancer, we request permission to obtain the medical records, and cancers are confirmed by pathology report. We obtain death certificates and pertinent medical records for all deaths. Follow-up for nonfatal outcomes in PHS is over 97% complete, and for mortality, over 99%. PLCO, Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial:PLCO is a multicenter, randomized trial to evaluate screening methods for the early detection of prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer. Between 1993 and 2001, over 150,000 men and women ages 55-74 years were recruited from ten centers in the United States (Birmingham, AL; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Honolulu, HI; Marshfield, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; St. Louis, MO; and Washington, D.C.). Men randomized to the screening arm underwent prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) annually for six years and digital rectal exam annually for four years. Blood specimens were collected from participants randomized to the screening arm of the trial, and buccal cell specimens were obtained from participants randomized to the control arm. Cases included 754 men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer (Gleason = 8 or stage III/IV) from either arm of the trial. Of these cases, 317 were genotyped previously as part of Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS), a GWAS for prostate cancer. Controls included 1,491 men without a diagnosis of prostate cancer from the screening arm of the PLCO trial. All subjects provided informed consent to participate in genetic etiology studies of cancer and other traits. This study was approved by the institutional review boards at the ten centers and the National Cancer Institute. PLCO was removed from the meta-analysis of the BPC3 studies as a consequence of PEGASUS below. PEGASUS, Prostate cancer Genome-wide Association Study of Uncommon Susceptibility loci: Pegasus is a genome-wide association nested within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. PLCO is a multicenter, randomized trial to evaluate screening methods for the early detection of prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer. Between 1993 and 2001, over 150,000 men and women ages 55-74 years were recruited from ten centers in the United States (Birmingham, AL; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Honolulu, HI; Marshfield, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; St. Louis, MO; and Washington, D.C.). Men randomized to the screening arm underwent prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen annually for six years and digital rectal exam annually for four years. Blood specimens were collected from participants randomized to the screening arm of the trial, and buccal cell specimens were obtained from participants randomized to the control arm. Cases included 4,598 men of European ancestry diagnosed with prostate cancer from either arm of the trial and controls included 2,941 men of European ancestry without a diagnosis of cancer from the screening arm, matched on age and year of randomization. All subjects provided informed consent, and the study approved by the institutional review board at the National Cancer Institute. Funding:This work was supported by the GAME-ON U19 initiative for prostate cancer (ELLIPSE): U19 CA148537. The BPC3 was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (cooperative agreements U01-CA98233, U01-CA98710, U01-CA98216, and U01-CA98758, and Intramural Research Program of NIH/National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics). The ATBC study and PEGASUS was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH and the National Cancer Institute. Additionally, this research was supported by U.S. Public Health Service contracts N01-CN-45165, N01-RC-45035, N01-RC-37004 and HHSN261201000006C from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Health and Human Services. CAPS: The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden was supported by the Cancer Risk Prediction Center (CRisP; www.crispcenter.org), a Linneus Centre (Contract ID 70867902) financed by the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Research Council (grant: K2010-70X-20430-04-3), the Swedish Cancer Foundation (grant: 09-0677), the Hedlund Foundation, the Söderberg Foundation, the Enqvist Foundation, ALF funds from the Stockholm County Council. Stiftelsen Johanna Hagstrand och Sigfrid Linnér’s Minne, Karlsson’s Fund for urological and surgical research. We thank and acknowledge all of the participants in the Stockholm-1 study. We thank Carin Cavalli-Björkman and Ami Rönnberg Karlsson for their dedicated work in the collection of data. Michael Broms is acknowledged for his skillful work with the databases. KI Biobank is acknowledged for handling the samples and for DNA extraction. Hans Wallinder at Aleris Medilab and Sven Gustafsson at Karolinska University Laboratory are thanked for their good cooperation in providing historical laboratory results. UKGPCS would like to acknowledge the NCRN nurses and Consultants for their work in the UKGPCS study. We thank all the patients who took part in this study. This work was supported by Cancer Research UK (grants: C5047/A7357, C1287/A10118, C1287/A5260, C5047/A3354, C5047/A10692, C16913/A6135 and C16913/A6835). We would also like to thank the following for funding support: Prostate Research Campaign UK (now Prostate Cancer UK), The Institute of Cancer Research and The Everyman Campaign, The National Cancer Research Network UK, The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) UK. We are grateful for support of NIHR funding to the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The MEC was supported by NIH grants CA63464, CA54281 and CA098758.
The Gut Health in Multiple Joint Osteoarthritis (MJOA) Study leverages data from parallel community-based cohorts in humans and in pet dogs to elucidate the role of altered microbiota in MJOA. One hundred Johnston County Health Study human participants were 35 to 70 years of age at enrollment (2022-2023), self-identified as Hispanic, White, or Black, and lived in Johnston County, North Carolina. Demographic, clinical information, multiple joint radiographs, and stool samples for microbiome profiling by 16S rRNA gene sequencing were obtained from all participants. Similar data were collected from an independent group of pet dogs (N=115) from the local community, at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine. The central hypothesis of the study is that intestinal permeability, with or without dysbiosis, is a major driver in the development and worsening of MJOA.
Mitochondria are the only cellular organelles harbouring their own DNA, which encodes for proteins essentials in its respiration process. Despite its discovery in 1960, Mitochondrial DNA is often overlooked compared to nuclear DNA. Indeed, not all sequencing technologies capture a good representation of mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA). Recently, Ed Reznik's team (The Ed Reznik Lab | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) carried out a massive analysis and reanalysis of single cells WGS (whole genome sequencing) produced with an amplification-free protocol (Direct library prep, DLP). As they demonstrated in the paper Single-cell mtDNA dynamics in tumors is driven by coregulation of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes - PMC, DLP is more effective in catching mtDNA compared to classical single-cell sequencing. These data allowed the team to unravel mtDNA dynamics in tumoral and normal samples, highlighting how mtDNA and nuclear DNA are co-regulated and their ratio is critical for phenotype. Data reuse to achieve the greatest results For this project, Reznik's team re-used data from 3 studies stored at the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGAS00001006343, EGAS00001004448 and EGAS00001003190) that comprised a total of 602 datasets. All of them were initially produced by the teams of Sam Aparicio and Sohrab P. Shah at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, where Ed Reznik is a promising group leader. This demonstrates, once again, that networking, collaboration and data sharing can achieve the greatest results when coupled with innovative and smart ideas. At the EGA we are proud to provide the scientific community with an infrastructure to enable all those very smart ideas out there to find the right data to be tested.
Background Information: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is an age-related, intraocular pressure (IOP)-dependent progressive optic neuropathy that ultimately leads to irreversible blindness. Vision loss from POAG is a condition of public health significance. Current evidence suggests that POAG is a polygenetic disease modified by environmental influences. Despite the fact that a positive family history of disease is an important risk factor for POAG, conventional linkage and candidate gene approaches have revealed less than 5% of the genetic component of the disease. Furthermore, there is no consensus on environment risk factors for POAG. Elevated IOP is the only modifiable risk factor for POAG; yet, lowering IOP slows, but does not halt the disease process. Study Objectives: The overall goal of our research is to elucidate the pathogenesis of POAG so that cost-effective disease detection and primary prevention strategies can be implemented. The primary aim of the Glaucoma Gene Environment Initiative (GLAUGEN), funded by the Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), is to discover genetic loci associated with POAG. The secondary aim of GLAUGEN, funded by NHGRI and the National Eye Institute, is to discover gene environment interactions in POAG. Methods and study populations: For this study, we have assembled cases and controls from three studies: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) and the Genetic Etiologies of POAG (GEP) project based at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI). This case-control group includes 1057 unrelated cases and 1272 controls. Members of the NHS and HPFS also have repeated environmental exposure data collected prior to a diagnosis of POAG. NHS - The Nurses Health Study started in 1976 under the direction of Dr. Frank E. Speizer. With funding from the NIH, registered nurses from 11 US states were invited to complete a detailed questionnaire regarding lifestyle and health biennially. Initially, 121,000 women responded to the baseline questionnaire. Currently, Dr. Susan Hankinson serves as the program director for the NHS. HPFS - The Health Professionals Follow-up Study began in 1986 under the direction of Drs. Walter Willett and Meir Stampfer. Under the auspices of the NIH, they enlisted 51,529 male health professionals from throughout the US to complete similarly designed biennial questionnaires. Beginning in 1990, questions regarding ocular health were added to biennial questionaires completed by health professionals participating in the NHS and HPFS. This allowed us to formulate (PI: S. Hankinson; NEI) and maintain (PI: L. Pasquale; NEI) a cohort at risk for POAG derived from the respective general cohorts who were under ophthalmic care. We then developed a definition of POAG that allowed us to identify cases from a population that was geographically dispersed. The centerpiece of this definition is the presence of reproducible visual field loss consistent with nerve fiber layer (NFL) dropout (the NFL contains the axons that comprise the optic nerve) on reliable tests. Reproducible visual field loss occurred in the context of anterior segment findings that did not suggest a secondary cause of elevated IOP and posterior segment findings that did not suggest a secondary cause of visual field loss. We selected controls from the cohort at risk for POAG on the basis of age, gender and time period when cases were identified. GEP - The Genetic Etiologies of POAG was initiated in 1996 with funding from the National Eye Institute under the direction of Dr. Janey Wiggs. The purpose of this work was to discover novel genetic loci associated with POAG. In the GEP, cases were derived predominantly from the Glaucoma Service at MEEI. The majority of cases had an examination by a glaucoma specialist and met the definition for POAG used in NHS and HPFS. Cases with only one reliable visual field consistent with NFL dropout were included if there was a cup-disc ratio of 0.7 or more. The majority of controls were patients who presented to the MEEI comprehensive ophthalmology service for routine eye examination or from spouses of MEEI patients with secondary forms of glaucoma. Other controls were identified from regional glaucoma screenings held throughout Massachusetts. Members of GEP have detailed ocular phenotype data but limited information on environmental exposures. This study is part of the Gene Environment Association Studies initiative (GENEVA, http://www.genevastudy.org) funded by the trans-NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI). The overarching goal is to identify novel genetic factors that contribute to primary open-angle glaucoma through large-scale genome-wide association studies of three well-characterized cohorts of cases and controls, some in matched pairs. Genotyping was performed at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a GENEVA genotyping center. Data cleaning and harmonization were performed at the GEI-funded GENEVA Coordinating Center at the University of Washington.
This study includes 1,220 cases with young onset stroke (stroke before age 60 years) who are participants of the larger RACE study. Risk Assessment of Cerebrovascular Events (RACE) is an on-going existing case-control study of stroke now involving over 5000 imaging confirmed cases of stroke and 5000 controls, recruited from seven centers in Pakistan. The study is aimed to investigate the genetic, biomarker and lifestyle determinants of stroke and its subtypes. Cases are eligible for inclusion in the study if they: (i) are aged at least 18 years; (ii) present with a sudden onset of neurological deficit respecting a vascular territory with sustained deficit at 24 hours verified by medical attention within 72 hours after onset (onset is defined by when the patient was last seen normal and not when found with deficit); and (iii) the diagnosis is supported by CT/MRI; and (iv) present with a Modified Rankin Score < 2 prior to the stroke. Findings from patient's history, 12-lead ECG and CT or MRI of the brain. The mandatory procedures for inclusion in this investigation are: (i) clinical verification of cerebrovascular event within 72 hours of onset; (ii) neuroimaging CT (non-contrast) or MRI (MRI is not a mandatory investigation but recorded whenever ordered by the attending physician); and (iii) 12-lead ECG. All other ancillary investigations ordered by the attending physician are recorded as well. The TOAST classification method is used to classify ischemic stroke based on aetiology whereas the Oxfordshire classification is used to classify stroke neuro-anatomically. Control participants for this subset of young onset stroke were individuals enrolled in the Pakistan Risk of Myocardial Infarction Study (PROMIS), a case-control study of acute MI based in Pakistan. RACE capitalizes on the genetic data (including information on GWAS) that has already been collected from the healthy participants enrolled in PROMIS. RACE and PROMIS share similar methodology of recruitment. Participants from both these investigations are derived from similar catchment areas, hence providing an attractive opportunity for RACE to utilize PROMIS controls as common controls for genetic investigations. Controls in PROMIS were recruited following procedures and inclusion criteria as adopted for RACE cases. In order to minimize any potential selection biases, PROMIS controls selected for this stroke substudy were frequency matched to RACE cases based on age and gender and were recruited in the following order of priority: (1) non-blood related or blood related visitors of patients of the out-patient department; (2) non-blood related visitors of stroke patients; (3) patients of the out-patient department presenting with minor complaints (e.g. back pain, minor gastric complaints). Control subjects from the PROMIS study were genotyped at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute on the Illumina 660W Quad array. The Center for Non-Communicable Diseases, Pakistan, serves as the coordinating center for both RACE and PROMIS. More information on these research investigations can be found at www.cncdpk.com. This young onset stroke component to the RACE study was funded through the Gene Environment Association Studies initiative (GENEVA, www.genevastudy.org as one of three studies designed to assess the genetics of young onset stroke and modification of genetic effects by smoking. GENEVA is part of the trans-NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI). Genotyping of 1,220 young onset stroke cases was performed at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR). Data cleaning and harmonization were done at the GEI-funded GENEVA Coordinating Center at the University of Washington. This study is part of the Gene Environment Association Studies initiative (GENEVA, http://www.genevastudy.org) funded by the trans-NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative (GEI). The overarching goal is to identify novel genetic factors that contribute to stroke through large-scale genome-wide association studies of cases and controls recruited within Pakistan. Genotyping was performed at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR). Data cleaning and harmonization were done at the GEI-funded GENEVA Coordinating Center at the University of Washington.
Our goal is to find genes responsible for non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss. Blood samples were collected from the JS6 family affected with hearing loss. The family is of Caribbean Hispanic ethnicity. Family JS6 consisted of two deaf siblings, JS6.001 (Male) and JS6.002 (Female) and healthy parents, JS6.100 (mother) and JS6.200 (father). The siblings had no other medical findings. Audiometry tests and Rinne and Weber tuning fork tests identified sensorineural hearing loss in the two siblings. We performed whole exome sequencing of the four individuals and identified a recessive mutation, p.(Arg186Trp), in the CIB2 gene in the two affected siblings. Both parents were unaffected carriers.
Personalized medicine requires that we first address the challenge of genetic heterogeneity, prominent in rare cancers to common disease. While current clinical DNA sequence data successfully identify novel genetic variants, the genomic data alone are insufficient biomarkers of clinical phenotype. There is an unmet need for systematic integration of specific functional genomic data with patient genetic data, in order to bridge the knowledge gap between genetic variation and clinical phenotype. This specific study is focused on functional genomic data from platelets as disease-specific cells that are also ideal for proof-of-principle transcriptomic investigation (being anucleate), and highly-relevant to multiple disease processes.
