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• Deep sequencing of the gut microbiome from 946 healthy donors of the Milieu Intérieur cohort

  In this study, we aim to determine, in a thousand healthy donors, how the profile and dynamics of the gut microbiome are affected by host factors such as sex, age and lifestyle parameters.

  Study EGAS00001004437

• STAMPEED: Whole Genome Association Analysis of Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT) Outcomes

  This retrospective cohort study was designed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with complications after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Validated discoveries provide information to improve risk assessment, counseling and treatment planning and to direct future mechanistic studies of the genes and pathways that influence outcomes, thereby providing insight and rationale for new targeted therapies. The study was conducted with the use of 3 different approaches. (1) We used GWAS discovery and replication analyses to identify SNPs variants associated with outcomes after HCT. (2) We tested SNP alleles in HLA-matched sibling donors and recipients to determine whether mismatching in the recipient is associated with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or the risk of recurrent malignancy after HCT. Such associations would suggest that the peptide encoded by the SNP allele functions as a minor histocompatibility antigen. (3) We performed in silico candidate SNP studies to determine the validity of previously published results showing associations with outcomes after HCT. The study population represents a large cohort from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and consists of 4,471 recipients and 4,628 donors containing 4,258 recipient-donor pairs. Recipients suffered from a hematologic malignancy or myelodysplastic syndrome and were treated in a highly structured clinical research environment with comprehensive monitoring and systematic data recording. We used proportional hazards analyses to test for associations with acute and chronic GVHD, acute kidney injury, gram-negative bacteremia, invasive fungal disease, CMV infection and disease, recurrent malignancy, death not attributable to recurrent malignancy, and death after recurrent or progressive malignancy.

  Study phs001918

• National Children's Study Vanguard Study Formative Research Study (NCS)

  The National Children's Study (NCS) is a multi-year prospective epidemiological study tasked with identifying a nationally representative sample of 100,000 children and following them from pregnancy through age 21 to study environmental impacts on growth, development, and health. Determination of NCS enrollee ancestry is important for assessing the diversity of study enrollees and for examining the effect of ancestry on various health outcomes. We estimated the genetic ancestry of a convenience sample of 641 parents enrolled at the 7 original NCS Vanguard sites by analyzing 29,972 markers on exome arrays, using the participants of the 1000 Genomes Project (1KG) super populations (e.g. European, East Asian) as reference populations, and compared this to self-reported ethnicity and race. Self-reported ethnicity and race agreed with predicted super population in 98.9% of individuals. NCS individuals identified as Asian by self-report had genetic ancestry of either South Asian or Asian groups, while those reporting as either Hispanic White or Hispanic Other had similar genetic ancestry. Of the 33 individuals who self-reported as Multiracial or Non-Hispanic Other, 11 (33%) matched the South Asian and Asian groups, while these groups were less represented in the other reported categories (27/609, 4.4%). Our data suggest that self-reported ethnicity and race categories have some limitations in accurately capturing this information for Hispanic and South Asian populations. Overall, our data indicate that despite the complexity of the U.S. population, individuals know their ancestral origins and that self-reported ethnicity and race is a reliable indicator of genetic ancestry.

  Study phs000662

• Somatic Genome Dynamics of Barrett's Esophagus Patients with Non-Cancer and Cancer Outcomes

  A case-control study was designed with 80 participants diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus (BE) selected from a larger case-cohort study (Li et al., 2014, PMID: 24253313) within the Seattle Barrett's Esophagus Program (SBEP) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The study included 40 cases with BE with non-cancer outcomes, "NCO", who did not progress to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA), and 40 controls who progressed to an endoscopically detected, incident EA (cancer outcome, "CO"). For each patient, two timepoints were evaluated (T1 and T2). NCO were matched to CO based on age at T1 (T1=first endoscopy with sufficient sample availability), and time between T1 and T2 (T2 in CO=time of diagnosis of incident EA). In 10 NCO, a third time point (T3), a mean of 13.2 years after T1, was also sequenced. Mapped endoscopic biopsies, at 1/3 and 2/3 annotated distances from the gastroesophageal junction within the Barrett's segment, were sampled per patient at each timepoint. Each biopsy was purified to separate BE epithelium from stroma, and DNA was extracted from purified epithelium for 60X WGS and 2.5M SNP array; normal control blood (N=62) or normal gastric sample (N=18) were analyzed by 30X WGS and 2.5M SNP array. An additional seven normal gastric biopsy samples in seven patients with normal control blood were also sequenced at 60X as controls. All research participants contributing clinical data and esophageal samples to this study provided written informed consent, subject to oversight by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center IRB Committee D (Reg ID 5619).

  Study phs001912

• Strabismus, CCDD and other anomalies

  Strabismus is one of the most common ophthalmological diseases affecting our population. It has many detrimental effects for affected individuals, including functional visual loss from amblyopia, secondary psychosocial difficulties, and limited employment opportunities. Strabismus also imposes a significant economical burden on society from the cost of screening programs, surgical correction, and lost productivity. Congenital incomitant strabismus is a broad term that encompasses congenital ocular motility disorders with restricted movement in one or more directions of gaze, and includes various forms of Duane's retraction syndrome, horizontal gaze palsy, congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles, and Moebius syndrome. Incomitant strabismus together with a group of related disorders such as congenital ptosis and congenital facial palsy have been collectively redefined as congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs). This redefinition stemmed from previous studies in the Engle lab showing that these disorders can be caused by mutations in genes encoding transcription factors critical to ocular cranial motor neuron development and by genes that encode proteins essential to the proper growth and guidance of developing axons. Thus, while these disorders account for only a small percent of strabismus, understanding their genetic etiology has led to our ability to provide genetic testing and counseling, and has provided the first insights into the molecular etiologies of strabismus. While the Engle lab has identified all seven CCDD genes published to date, our cohort still includes >100 familial CCDD pedigrees that are mutation-negative. We continue to utilize co-segregation analysis and whole exome or whole genome sequencing technologies to identify new disease genes in this mutation-negative cohort.

  Study phs000478

• NHLBI GO-ESP: Family Studies (Familial Atrial Fibrillation)

  The NHLBI "Grand Opportunity" Exome Sequencing Project (GO-ESP), a signature project of the NHLBI Recovery Act investment, was designed to identify genetic variants in coding regions (exons) of the human genome (the "exome") that are associated with heart, lung and blood diseases. These and related diseases that are of high impact to public health and individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups will be studied. These data may help researchers understand the causes of disease, contributing to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, as well as determine whether to tailor prevention and treatments to specific populations. This could lead to more effective treatments and reduce the likelihood of side effects. GO-ESP is comprised of five collaborative components: 3 cohort consortia - HeartGO, LungGO, and WHISP - and 2 sequencing centers - BroadGO and SeattleGO. Large epidemiological studies have demonstrated a significant heritable component in atrial fibrillation (AF), especially the Lone forms, suggesting a monogenic syndrome. Although substantial genetic contribution has been made to the etiology of AF, the specific genes have not yet been identified. The familial form of this disease remains poorly characterized and largely undetermined. Here we seek to identify, characterize and determine the natural course of AF in our clinical practice. We identified four large multi-generation families (FAF 1-4). In FAF 1-2, most family members have symptomatic paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and were adequately treated with a combination of rate and rhythm therapies. By contrast, the AF substrate in FAF 3 and 4 was resistant to anti-arrhythmic drugs and ablation therapies.

  Study phs000362

• Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing of Circulating Cell-Free (CCF) DNA and its Cellular Contributors

  Background: Circulating cell free (ccf) fetal DNA has enabled non-invasive prenatal fetal aneuploidy testing without direct discrimination of the genetically distinct maternal and fetal DNA. Current testing may be improved by specifically enriching the sample material for fetal DNA. DNA methylation may allow for such a separation of DNA and thus support additional clinical opportunities; however, this depends on knowledge of the methylomes of ccf DNA and its cellular contributors. Results: Whole genome bisulfite sequencing was performed on a set of unmatched samples including ccf DNA from 8 non-pregnant (NP) and 7 pregnant female donors and genomic DNA from 7 buffy coat and 5 placenta samples. We found CpG cytosines within longer fragments were more likely to be methylated, linking DNA methylation and fragment size in ccf DNA. Comparison of the methylomes of placenta and NP ccf DNA revealed many of the 51,259 identified differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were located in domains exhibiting consistent placenta hypomethylation across millions of consecutive bases, regions we termed placenta hypomethylated domains. DMRs identified when comparing placenta to NP ccf DNA were recapitulated in pregnant ccf DNA, confirming the ability to detect differential methylation in ccf DNA mixtures. Conclusions: We generated methylome maps for four sample types at single base resolution, identified a link between DNA methylation and fragment length in ccf DNA, identified DMRs between sample groups, and uncovered the presence of megabase-size placenta hypomethylated domains. Furthermore, we anticipate these results to provide a foundation to which future studies using discriminatory DNA methylation may be compared.

  Study phs000846

• Stand Up To Cancer East Coast Prostate Cancer Research Group

  Most prostate cancer deaths are caused by metastatic, castration resistant disease (mCRPC). To develop a precision medicine framework for mCRPC, we established a multi-institutional, international clinical sequencing infrastructure to enroll and carry out prospective whole exome and transcriptome sequencing of tumors from a cohort of mCRPC patients. We obtained high quality DNA and RNA sequence data from 150 bone or soft tissue biopsies. Central pathology revealed high-grade adenocarcinoma with only four cases (3.6%) showing neuroendocrine differentiation. Aberrations of AR, ETS genes, TP53 and PTEN were frequent (40-60% of cases), with TP53 and AR alterations being the most enriched in mCRPC compared to primary prostate cancer. We identified novel genomic alterations in PIK3CA/B (fusions and mutations); R-spondin, BRAF and RAF1 (fusions); APC (inactivating mutations); delta-catenin (missense mutations); and ZBTB16/PLZF (homozygous deletions). Aberrations of BRCA2, BRCA1 and ATM were observed at substantially higher frequencies (19.3% overall) than seen in primary prostate cancers, with 56% of these being exclusively somatic. Putative driver gene alterations were identified in nearly all patients, and over half also harbored driver gene fusions, homozygous deletions and/or amplifications. Moreover, 89% of patients harbored a clinically actionable aberration including 62.7% with aberrations in AR, 65% in other cancer-related genes, and 8% with actionable pathogenic germline alterations. Overall, integrative clinical sequencing analysis can be safely and efficiently performed in mCRPC, yields findings that may be actionable for enrolling patients in clinical trials of targeted therapies, and may inform the basis of individual clinical responses.

  Study phs000915

• Genetics of Prostate Cancer in Africa

  African Americans (AA) suffer from the highest rates of Prostate Cancer (CaP) in the world, but while men of African descent around the world suffer disproportionately from CaP compared to men of other races or ethnicities, our understanding of the reasons for these disparities remains incomplete. To date, few exposure, lifestyle, or environmental influences have been identified in CaP etiology. In contrast, CaP is among the most heritable of common cancers, and over 290 susceptibility loci have been identified. However, many of these loci have not been replicated in AA, in part because of limited African descent sample sizes, incomplete capture of African alleles, and a limited understanding of African genomic architecture. To better understand the etiology of CaP in African descent men, we established a large, multicenter consortium known as “Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate” (MADCaP). Using resources of this consortium, we have undertaken a multicenter study of CaP in Sub-Saharan Africa, enrolling CaP cases from 7 institutions in 4 countries in Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and South Africa) and age matched controls from the same institutions. We designed a novel genotyping array, in partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific, leveraging its Applied BiosystemTM AxiomTM Genotyping solution, to provide good coverage of African genomic variation, as well as incorporating cancer loci, with the goal of being able to fine-map existing prostate cancer loci, as well as mapping novel loci. The data available encompasses genotyping our Africa cohort on this array.

  Study phs002718

• VCRC - Giant Cell Arteritis Longitudinal Study

  The development and validation of accurate biological markers and predictors of disease activity and outcome for Giant Cell Arteritis, a form of idiopathic vasculitis, would have a major positive impact on the clinical care of patients with this rare disease, be an important insight into the design of clinical trials and feasibility of new drug development, and provide important insight into the pathogenesis of this condition. Current measures of disease activity, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), while helpful in selected settings, are mostly considered highly flawed and markers whose poor correlation with disease flares makes them inadequate to help guide therapy. Similarly, ESR and CRP are clearly unhelpful as diagnostic tests for vasculitis. The current state of clinical investigation for vasculitis relies heavily upon determination of disease status solely by clinical presentation and investigator opinion. Thus, discovery and validation of more precise markers that quantifiably measure activity, predict disease course, and correlate with an important biological process, would be of great importance. Knowledge to be gained from this study could potentially be highly important. Discovery of effective biomarkers of vasculitis and assessment of long term disease course and complications by the collection of clinical and diagnostic imaging studies proposed could lead to better care and less toxic treatment regimens. Furthermore, insight into the pathophysiology of vasculitis could be gained and this might lead to better treatments and improved outcomes in terms of reduction of vascular and treatment related complications. Ideally, excellent biomarkers reflect a sophisticated understanding of the pathophysiology of a disease.

  Study phs000588

• Genetic Modifiers of Syndromic Orofacial Clefts

  Reduced penetrance and variable expressivity are common, but poorly understood, features of most monogenic diseases. Genetic modifiers are possible factors to contribute to this phenotypic variability and blur the traditional distinction between monogenic and complex disease. This study focuses on the most common orofacial cleft syndrome (Van der Woude syndrome, VWS) and nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (OFCs), which intersect both in phenotype and in genetic etiology, as a model to understand reduced penetrance and variable expressivity. VWS occurs in 1 in 35,000 individuals and accounts for 2% of all OFCs. The features of VWS include an OFC and/or lower lip pits, but 15% of VWS patients present with an isolated OFC, making them indistinguishable from nonsyndromic OFC patients. Mutations in the genes IRF6 or GRHL3 cause VWS, but approximately 20% of VWS patients currently lack a molecular diagnosis. Furthermore, there are few genotype-phenotype correlations for known mutations and patient phenotypes. By contrast, GWAS of nonsyndromic OFCs have identified a number of risk factors, some of which we have shown increase risk for specific types of OFCs or act as modifiers of OFC subtypes. Whole genome sequencing will be used to identify the remaining genetic mutations for VWS, determine the relationship between those genes/regions with nonsyndromic OFCs, and identify rare and common modifiers of VWS and OFC phenotypes. These analyses will provide further insight into the genetic architecture of VWS and OFCs and will serve as a model for exploring links between other Mendelian disorders that share phenotypes with complex traits.

  Study phs002221

• Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study DNA Methylation Studies

  This dataset contains raw Illumina 450K blood DNA methylation data from a subset of participants in the Melbourne Cohort Study (MCCS), a prospective study of 41,513 healthy adult volunteers (24,469 women) aged between 27 and 76 years when recruited between 1990 and 1994. Nested case-control studies: DNA methylation data were generated as part of cancer case-control studies nested in the MCCS. Participants were cancer-free at blood draw; blood samples were taken at baseline (1990-1994) for 97% of participants; and for 3% of participants at the second wave of follow-up (2003-2007). Eight separate studies were conducted of breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, kidney, urothelial and gastric cancer and B-cell lymphoma, for a total of > 3,500 cancer cases. Controls were individually matched to cases on age, sex, and country of birth using incidence density sampling. Additional matching on smoking history was made for the study of lung cancer. Longitudinal study: For a subset of 1,100 participants with baseline DNA methylation measures (from dried blood spots) who were selected as controls in the nested case-control studies, repeated methylation measures were made using wave 2 follow-up samples (also from dried blood spots) to study longitudinal DNA methylation changes. Project aims: 1. Nested case-control studies: To assess prospective associations between peripheral blood DNA methylation and risk of eight cancer types (breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, kidney, urothelial cell and gastric cancer, and mature B-cell neoplasms). 2. Longitudinal study: To assess associations between lifestyle changes and changes in peripheral blood DNA methylation.

  Study phs003213

• TARGET Trial Study Cohort

  In a randomized controlled clinical trial, investigators will compare the effects on [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) from two treatment regimens in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients deemed methotrexate inadequate responders (MTX-IRs). Two common RA treatments will be compared: triple therapy (sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine) versus tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor (etanercept or adalimumab, plus background methotrexate for all subjects and hydroxychloroquine for subjects who were taking this at screening). Consenting subjects will be screened for eligibility and randomized to a treatment arm. Subjects will be randomized to a treatment arm with either synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) [triple therapy: sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and hydroxychloroquine] or biologic DMARDs [etanercept or adalimumab, plus background methotrexate for all subjects and hydroxychloroquine for subjects who were taking this at screening]. Once randomized, a baseline visit will be conducted with each subject. Baseline data collection includes questionnaires, disease activity score, and the first FDG-PET/CT imaging. After the baseline at week 0, subjects will visit with their rheumatologist at weeks 6, 12, 18, and 24 for safety labs and further collection of disease activity scores and questionnaires. The second FDG-PET/CT will be performed at week 24. Blood specimens will be collected at weeks 0, 6, 18, and 24 for bioassays. Subject participation will end after the week 24 visit. Patients and care providers will be unblinded. The FDG-PET/CT image readers will be blinded to treatment arm as well as timepoint of image acquisition.

  Study phs003720

• Single Chromatin Fiber Profiling in the Human Brain

  We developed a human postmortem brain-applicable ‘Fiber-seq' protocol for genome-scale, PCR-free single molecule sequencing of on average 8-10kb long chromatin fibers, to map nucleosome positioning and nucleosome-depleted regions which include, for example, active promoters and enhancers. We generated two Fiber-seq reference sets, one from sorted non-neuronal NeuN- prefrontal cortex (PFC) nuclei from a 32 year old female donor, with total of 11,143,795 reads/fibers, and median of 30-fold genomic coverage. The other reference set was generated on sorted prefrontal NeuN+ neurons, from two 24 year old brain donors (1 female/1 male), with a combined total read/fiber count of 4,749,556 and median of 20-fold genomic coverage. Each of the peaks in the Fiber-seq libraries seq signal correlated with the ATAC peak levels in the neuronal and non-neuronal ATAC-seq libraries, respectively (promoters, clusters 1, 3; NeuN+, r = 0.574; NeuN-, r=0.683, PHowever, Fiber-seq detected 19,978 highly significant peaks which, while showing some non-significant/near-background ATAC-Seq alignments, lacked a corresponding site-specific enrichment in conventional short-read ATAC- and ChIP-seq datasets. However, 60% of these peaks were in repetitive DNA elements. Therefore, long read single chromatin fiber sequencing, which exceed the base pair length of conventional short-read libraries by two orders of magnitude, could capture many actively regulated repeat elements at the site of specific gene loci, that otherwise would remain unmappable by conventional ATAC-, and histone- ChiP-seq.

  Study phs003771

• Digitalis Investigation Group (DIG-BioLINCC)

  Data Access NOTE: Please refer to the “Authorized Access” section below for information about how access to the data from this accession differs from many other dbGaP accessions. Objectives To determine the effect of increasing age on mortality, hospitalizations, and digoxin side effects in patients with heart failure (HF), and to determine whether the effect of digoxin on clinical outcomes varies as a function of age. Background The incidence and prevalence of HF increase with advancing age, but there are limited data on the clinical course and response to specific interventions in elderly patients with HF. Participants A total of 302 centers in the United States and Canada enrolled 7,788 patients between February 1991 and September 1993. Design The Digitalis Investigation Group (DIG) study was a prospective, randomized clinical trial involving 7,788 patients with HF randomized to digoxin or placebo and followed for an average of 37 months. Interactions between age and the following clinical outcomes were examined: total mortality, all-cause hospitalizations, HF hospitalizations, the composite of HF death or HF hospitalizations, hospitalization for suspected digoxin toxicity and withdrawal from therapy because of side effects. Conclusions Increasing age is associated with progressively worse clinical outcomes in patients with HF. However, the beneficial effects of digoxin in reducing all-cause admissions, HF admissions, and HF death or hospitalization are independent of age. Thus, digoxin remains a useful agent to the adjunctive treatment of HF due to impaired left ventricular systolic function in patients of all ages.

  Study phs003872

• Cancer Moonshot Biobank

  The National Cancer Institute initiated the Cancer Moonshot Biobank to accelerate research through the collection and distribution of biospecimens for key research efforts. The Biobank will engage with over one thousand cancer patients, being treated with standard-of-care therapies, for longitudinal biospecimen and data collection. Cancer patients will be enrolled into the study from a diverse participant population engaged at medical institutions throughout the U.S. The biospecimens will be distributed to qualified scientists to accelerate research progress. The Biobank program, working closely with Leidos Biomedical, Inc. (LBR), will partner with community hospitals and other medical institutions, designated as Biospecimen Source Sites (BSS), to engage and consent eligible participants and collect biospecimens and associated clinical data; work with a central Biospecimen Core Resource (BCR) to support biospecimen collection, processing and storage activities and perform pathology quality control; work with LBR's Molecular Characterization (MoCha) lab to perform clinical tumor molecular characterization assays and return results to patients and their physicians; and make the biospecimens and associated data available to researchers to accelerate cancer research progress. Return of clinical results, a dedicated Patient and Provider Engagement (PPE) website, electronic informed consent, local participant engagement projects, and an embedded ethical, legal and social issues sub-study will together support patient and provider engagement in the program. Cancer Moonshot Biobank imaging data is being made available in The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) on a release schedule that is coordinated with the program releases of data to dbGaP. The imaging data can be found at the following link: Cancer Moonshot Biobank Imaging

  Study phs002192

• Singel-cell RNA sequencing and CUT&RUN sequencing of human RUNX2-deficient osteoblasts

  Runx2 is a master regulator of bone formation, and its dysfunction causes cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) in humans. When iPS cells were generated from patients with CCD and Runx2-deficient iPS cells were generated using gene-editing techniques, abnormal laminopathy-like nuclei were observed. Runx2-deficient cells showed reduced Lamin A/C expression, but not protein levels. However, in Runx2-deficient cells, both the gene expression and protein levels of Nesprin-1 were reduced, perinuclear actin fibers were sparser, and nuclear stiffness was reduced. Forced expression of Lamin A/C increased nuclear stiffness but did not improve nuclear morphology. In contrast, the induction of Nesprin-1 expression alone normalized nuclear stiffness and restored nuclear morphology and perinuclear actin distribution. In Runx2-null cells, mechanical stress-induced phosphorylation of emerin was not observed. In contrast, forced expression of nesprin-1 in Runx2-null cells resulted in phosphorylation of emerin, indicating the restoration of intracellular tension. These observations were confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Therefore, the intracellular tension was inferred to pull the nuclear membrane into its normal shape. CUT&RUN assay and single RNA-seq analysis showed that an aberrant nuclear membrane caused loss of nuclear lamina gene regulation machinery, making the progression of normal osteogenic differentiation impossible; however, supplementation with Nesprin-1 restored gene regulation mechanisms and promoted pre-osteoblast formation with normal nuclear morphology. Nesprin-1 expression induced by Runx2 is essential for epigenetic regulation of the nuclear lamina. We propose CCD as a new type of laminopathy involving defective expression of Nesprin-1 regulated by Runx2.

  Study JGAS000663

• Complex genotype-phenotype relationships shape the response to treatment of Down Syndrome Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

  Extensive genetic and epigenetic variegation has been demonstrated in many malignancies. Importantly, their interplay has the potential to contribute to disease progression and treatment resistance. To shed light on the complex relationships between these different sources of intra-tumour heterogeneity, we explored their relative contributions to the evolutionary dynamics of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in children with Down syndrome, which has particularly poor prognosis. We quantified the tumour propagating potential of genetically distinct sub-clones using serial transplantation assays and SNP-arrays. While most leukaemias were characterized by a single dominant subclone, others were highly heterogeneous. Importantly, we provide clear and direct evidence that genotypes and phenotypes with functional relevance to leukemic progression and treatment resistance can co-segregate within the disease. Hence, individual genetic lesions can be restricted to well-defined cell immunophenotypes, corresponding to different stages of the leukemic differentiation hierarchy and varied proliferation potentials. As a result of this difference in fitness, which can be accurately quantified via competitive transplantation assays, matching diagnostic, post-treatment, and relapse leukaemias can be dominated by different genotypes, including pre-leukemic clones persisting throughout the disease progression and treatment. Intriguingly, plasticity also appears to be a temporally defined property that can segregate with genotype. These results suggest that Down Syndrome ALL should be viewed as a complex matrix of cells exhibiting genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity that foster extensive clonal evolution and competition. Therapeutic intervention reshapes this ‘eco-system’ and may provide the right conditions for the preferential expansion of selected compartments and subsequently relapse.

  Study EGAS50000001287

• Identification of driver oncogenes in scirrhous-type gastric cancer cell lines

  Scirrhous type gastric cancer (SGC) is one of the most intractable cancer subtypes in human, and its therapeutic targets have been rarely identified to date. Exploration of somatic mutations in the SGC genome with the next generation sequencers has been hampered by low tumor contents by the markedly increased fibrous tissues. Thus, SGC cell lines may be useful resources to search for novel oncogenes in. Here we have conducted whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing on two SGC cell lines, OCUM-8 and OCUM-9. Interestingly, most of the mutations thus identified have not been reported. In OCUM-8 cells, a novel CD44-IGF1R fusion gene is discovered, the protein product of which ligates the amino-terminus of CD44 to the transmembrane and the tyrosine-kinase domains of IGF1R. Further, both of CD44 and IGF1R are markedly amplified in the OCUM-8 genome and abundantly expressed. CD44-IGF1R has a transforming ability, and the suppression of its kinase activity leads to rapid cell death of OCUM-8. On the other hand, OCUM-9 seems to possess multiple oncogenic events in its genome. The MET gene is highly amplified, and the treatment of OCUM-9 with crizotinib, a MET inhibitor, results in cell death. Further, a novel BORCS5-ETV6 fusion gene is identified in the OCUM-9 genome. BORCS5-ETV6 possesses oncogenic activity, and suppression of its message partially inhibits cell growth. Prevalence of these novel fusion genes among SGC awaits further investigation, but we validate the significance of cell lines as appropriate reagents for detailed genomic analyses of SGC.

  Study JGAS000179

• Sequencing data from triple-negative breast cancer tumors

  Autoimmunity and anti-cancer immunity lie on the same biological continuum1,2, but their link remains obscure. The paraneoplastic neurological syndrome anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis (ANRE) is a paradigm for their connectivity3 given that intratumoral NMDAR expression correlates with the generation of anti-NMDAR antibodies4,5. Here, we verify ectopic expression of GluN1 and GluN2B NMDAR sub-units in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)6 and model this using orthotopic TNBC tumors with inducible expression of GluN1-GluN2B NMDARs. We show that NMDAR expression is sufficient to induce B cell recruitment and their affinity maturation, consistent with an integrated adaptive immune response. Reconstruction of extended intratumoral B cell phylogenies and cryo-EM structural analyses demonstrated that affinity-matured hypermutated and class-switched antibodies emerged from pre-existing germline-configuration lower-affinity anti-NMDAR antibodies. Distinct matured antibodies targeted specific epitopes and induced conformational rearrangements within the NMDAR amino-terminal domain, predictive of their functional effects, ranging from inhibition to potentiation. Passive transfer of an NMDAR-potentiating antibody caused autonomic dysregulation and lowered the seizure threshold in healthy female mice, recapitulating key diagnostic criteria of ANRE4,5. We further identify a correlation between intratumoral NMDAR expression and anti-NMDAR antibody titers in TNBC patients. Taken together, our data establish a direct connection between intratumoral NMDAR expression, antibody maturation, and the onset of autoimmunity. These findings suggest that germline-encoded anti-NMDAR antibodies contribute to immune surveillance but can also trigger autoimmune disease upon maturation, revealing a mechanistic tradeoff between cancer immunity and neurotoxicity.

  Study EGAS50000001585

• Sequencing data from triple-negative breast cancer tumors

  Autoimmunity and anti-cancer immunity lie on the same biological continuum1,2, but their link remains obscure. The paraneoplastic neurological syndrome anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis (ANRE) is a paradigm for their connectivity3 given that intratumoral NMDAR expression correlates with the generation of anti-NMDAR antibodies4,5. Here, we verify ectopic expression of GluN1 and GluN2B NMDAR sub-units in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)6 and model this using orthotopic TNBC tumors with inducible expression of GluN1-GluN2B NMDARs. We show that NMDAR expression is sufficient to induce B cell recruitment and their affinity maturation, consistent with an integrated adaptive immune response. Reconstruction of extended intratumoral B cell phylogenies and cryo-EM structural analyses demonstrated that affinity-matured hypermutated and class-switched antibodies emerged from pre-existing germline-configuration lower-affinity anti-NMDAR antibodies. Distinct matured antibodies targeted specific epitopes and induced conformational rearrangements within the NMDAR amino-terminal domain, predictive of their functional effects, ranging from inhibition to potentiation. Passive transfer of an NMDAR-potentiating antibody caused autonomic dysregulation and lowered the seizure threshold in healthy female mice, recapitulating key diagnostic criteria of ANRE4,5. We further identify a correlation between intratumoral NMDAR expression and anti-NMDAR antibody titers in TNBC patients. Taken together, our data establish a direct connection between intratumoral NMDAR expression, antibody maturation, and the onset of autoimmunity. These findings suggest that germline-encoded anti-NMDAR antibodies contribute to immune surveillance but can also trigger autoimmune disease upon maturation, revealing a mechanistic tradeoff between cancer immunity and neurotoxicity.

  Study EGAS50000001598

• High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics Uncover Epidermal-Dermal Divergences in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Spatial Context Reshapes the Gene Expression Landscape

  Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive malignancy with neuroendocrine differentiation marked by high plasticity, often manifesting as rapid therapy resistance. Although the cell-of-origin is presumed to be epithelial, epidermal localization of MCC is rarely observed, largely because in situ MCC is typically an incidental finding. Nevertheless, a subset of MCC tumors exhibits epidermotropism, wherein tumor cells are present in the epidermis. The behavior of cancer cells is profoundly influenced by the tumor microenvironment and interactions with neighboring cells. Notably, the normal counterparts of the cancer’s cell-of-origin have been shown to attenuate tumor aggressiveness. Thus, epidermotropic MCC presents a unique opportunity to explore the potential role of surrounding keratinocytes in modulating tumor cell behavior. While the epidermotropic tumor nests share histological resemblance with their dermal counterparts, their transcriptomic profiles remain unexplored. Here, we employed high-definition spatial and single cell transcriptomics to dissect the gene expression profiles of epidermotropic MCC cells, comparing them to MCC cells in the tumor core and those adjacent to blood vessels. Notably, epidermotropic MCC cells exhibit a transcriptomic signature reminiscent of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, characterized by upregulation of genes encoding keratins, S100A proteins, as well as calmodulin-like proteins 3 and 5. Mechanistically, this keratinocytic differentiation is associated with enhanced p63 activity, leading to the upregulation of PERP. Collectively, our study demonstrates that MCC cells can adopt a keratinocytic differentiation program in response to microenvironmental cues, underscoring the remarkable phenotypic plasticity of this malignancy and the importance of the tumor microenvironment for tumor characteristics.

  Study EGAS00001008157

• Microsatellite data show recent demographic expansions in sedentary but not in nomadic human populations in Africa and Eurasia.

  The transition from hunting and gathering to plant and animal domestication was one of the most important cultural and technological revolutions in human history. According to archeologists and paleoanthropologists, this transition triggered major demographic expansions. However, few genetic studies have found traces of Neolithic expansions in the current repartition of genetic polymorphism, pointing rather toward Paleolithic expansions. Here, we used microsatellite autosomal data to investigate the past demographic history of 87 African and Eurasian human populations with contrasted lifestyles (nomadic hunter-gatherers, semi-nomadic herders and sedentary farmers). Likely due to the combination of a higher mutation rate and the possibility to analyze several loci as independent replicates of the coalescent process, the analysis of microsatellite data allowed us to infer more recent expansions than previous genetic studies, potentially resulting from the Neolithic transition. Despite the variability in their location and environment, we found consistent expansions for all sedentary farmers, while we inferred constant population sizes for all hunter-gatherers and most herders, which could result from constraints linked to a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle and/or competition for land between herders and farmers. As an exception, we inferred expansions for Central Asian herders. This might be linked with the arid environment of this area, which may have been more favorable to nomadic herders than to sedentary farmers. Alternatively, current Central Asian herders may descent from populations who have first experienced a transition from hunter-gathering to sedentary agropastoralism, and then a second transition to nomadic herding.

  Study EGAS00001000652

• Aging and genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation in an African rainforest hunter-gathering population

  Aging is associated with widespread changes in genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation. Thousands of CpG sites whose tissue-specific methylation levels are strongly correlated with chronological age have been previously identified. However, the majority of these studies have focused primarily on cosmopolitan populations living in the developed world; it is not known if age-related patterns of DNA methylation at these loci are similar across a broad range of human genetic and ecological diversity. We investigated genome-wide methylation patterns using saliva derived DNA from a traditionally hunting and gathering African populations: the Baka of the western Central African rainforest, together with the ≠Khomani San of the South African Kalahari Desert. We identify hundreds of CpG sites whose methylation levels are significantly associated with age, thousands that are significant in a meta-analysis, and replicate trends previously reported in populations of non-African descent. We confirm that an age associated site in the gene ELOVL2 shows a remarkably congruent relationship with aging in humans, despite extensive genetic and environmental variation across populations. We also demonstrate that genotype state at methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) can affect methylation trends at some known age-associated CpG sites. Our study explores the relationship between CpG methylation and chronological age in populations of African hunter-gatherers, who rely on different diets across diverse ecologies. While many age-related CpG sites replicate across populations, we show that considering common genetic variation at meQTLs further improves our ability to detect previously identified age associations.

  Study EGAS00001002226

• Exome Sequencing Of 75 Individuals From Multiply Affected Coeliac Families

  Coeliac disease is a highly heritable common autoimmune disease involving chronic small intestinal inflammation in response to dietary wheat. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and 40 newer regions identified by genome wide association studies (GWAS) and dense fine mapping, account for ~40% of the disease heritability. We hypothesized that in pedigrees with multiple individuals with coeliac disease rare [minor allele frequency (MAF) <0.5%] mutations of larger effect size (odds ratios of ~ 2 – 5) might exist. We sequenced the exomes of 75 coeliac individuals of European ancestry from 55 multiply affected families. We selected interesting variants and genes for further follow up using a combination of: an assessment of shared variants between related subjects, a model-free linkage test, and gene burden tests for multiple, potentially causal, variants. We next performed highly multiplexed amplicon resequencing of all RefSeq exons from 24 candidate genes selected on the basis of the exome sequencing data in 2,248 unrelated coeliac cases and 2,230 controls. 1,335 variants with a 99.9% genotyping call rate were observed in 4,478 samples, of which 939 were present in coding regions of 24 genes (Ti/Tv 2.99). 91.7% of coding variants were rare (MAF <0.5%) and 60% were novel. Gene burden tests performed on rare functional variants identified no significant associations (P<1x10-3) in the resequenced candidate genes. Our strategy of sequencing multiply affected families with deep follow up of candidate genes has not identified any new coeliac disease risk mutations.

  Study EGAS00001001093

• UK10K NEURO ASD SKUSE

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. This sample set of UK origin consists of clinically identified subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorders, mostly without intellectual disability (ie. Verbal IQs >70). The subjects represent children and adults with Autism, Asperger syndrome or Atypical Autism, identified according to standardized research criteria (ADI-algorithm, ADOS). A minority has identified comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. ADHD). Family histories are available, with measures of broader phenotype in first-degree relatives.For further information on this cohort please contact David Skuse (d.skuse@ucl.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000114

• UK10K_NEURO_MUIR

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches.The sample selection consists of subjects with schizophrenia (SZ), autism, or other psychoses all with mental retardation (learning disability). The samples were initially collected under the leadership of Walter J Muir (deceased), now with Prof. Blackwood, Dr McKechanie and Prof McIntosh as custodians. These subjects represent the intersection of severe forms of neurodevelopmental disorders, appear to have a higher rate of familiality of SZ than typical, and are likely to have more serious and penetrant forms of mutations.For further information on this cohort please contact Andrew McIntosh (andrew.mcintosh@ed.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000122

• Structure and evolution of double minutes in diagnosis and relapse brain tumors

  Double minute chromosomes are extrachromosomal circular DNA fragments frequently found in brain tumors. To understand their evolution, we characterized the double minutes in paired diagnosis and relapse tumors from a pediatric high-grade glioma and four adult glioblastoma patients. We determined the full structures of the major double minutes using a novel approach combining multiple types of supporting genomic evidence. Among the double minutes identified in the pediatric tumor, only one carrying EGFR was maintained at high abundance in both samples, whereas two others were resent in only trace amounts at diagnosis but abundant at relapse, and the rest were found either in the relapse sample only or in the diagnosis sample only. For the EGFR-carrying double minutes, we found a secondary somatic deletion in all copies at relapse, after erlotinib treatment, but this was rare at diagnosis, suggesting potential resistance to the EGFR inhibitor. This mutation caused an in-frame RNA transcript to skip exon 16, a novel transcript absent in EST database and in about 700 brain tumors that we reviewed. We observed similar patterns involving longitudinal copy number shift of double minutes in another four pairs (diagnosis / relapse) of adult glioblastoma. Overall, in three of five paired tumor samples, we found that although the same oncogenes were amplified at diagnosis and relapse, they were amplified on different double minutes. Our results suggest that double minutes readily evolve, increasing tumor heterogeneity rapidly. Understanding patterns of double minute evolution can shed light on future therapeutic solutions to brain tumors carrying such variants.

  Study EGAS00001003212

• MYCN Amplification and ATRX Mutations are Incompatible in Neuroblastoma

  Age and stage of disease at diagnosis is associated with outcome in neuroblastoma. A previous study identified ATRX point mutations and in-frame deletions in older patients with stage 4 disease. To validate the frequency of ATRX mutations and assess the relation of mutations and known prognostic variables, we collaborated with the Children’s Oncology Group and sequenced the entire ATRX genomic locus in 475 neuroblastoma tumor samples to validate the frequency of ATRX mutations and assess the relation of mutations and known prognostic variables. Older age at diagnosis, stage 4 disease, and unfavorable histology were significantly associated with mutations in the ATRX gene; MYCN amplification was mutually exclusive from ATRX mutations. To directly test if ATRX mutations and MYCN amplification are incompatible in neuroblastoma, we mutated the ATRX gene in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma cell lines and ectopically expressed MYCN in ATRX mutant neuroblastoma cell lines. Both approaches showed that ATRX and MYCN amplification are incompatible in neuroblastoma in culture and in vivo. To gain a better understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of this incompatibility, we performed a series of experiments including telomere analysis, epigenetic profiling, electron microscopic analysis and metabolic profiling. We discovered that induction of MYCN expression in ATRX mutant neuroblastomas cells leads to metabolic reprogramming, mitochondrial dysfunction, increased reactive oxygen species and replicative stress. We propose that this leads to synthetic lethality in ATRX mutant neuroblastomas because of the underlying replicative stress in those cells as a result of dysfunction of this essential histone chaperone.

  Study EGAS00001003257

• Sporadic and endemic Burkitt lymphoma have frequent FOXO1 mutations but distinct hotspots in the AKT recognition motif

  FOXO1 has an oncogenic role in adult germinal center derived lymphomas, in which mutations, predominately within the AKT recognition motif, cause nuclear retention of FOXO1 resulting in increased cell proliferation. To determine the prevalence and distribution of FOXO1 mutations in pediatric Burkitt lymphoma (BL), we sequenced a large number of sporadic and endemic BL patient samples. We report a high frequency of FOXO1 mutations in both sporadic and endemic BL at diagnosis, occurring in 23/78 (29%) and 48/89 (54%) samples respectively, as well as 8/16 (50%) cases at relapse. Mutations of T24 were the most common in sporadic BL but were rare in endemic cases, in which mutations of residue S22, also within the AKT recognition motif, were the most frequent. FOXO1 mutations were almost always present in the major tumor cell clone but were not associated with outcome. Analysis of other recurrent mutations reported in BL revealed that FOXO1 mutations were associated with mutations of DDX3X and ARID1A, but not MYC, TCF3/ID3 or members of the phosphatidylinositol 3’ OH kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway. We further show common nuclear retention of the FOXO1 protein, irrespective of mutation status, suggesting alternative unknown mechanisms for maintaining FOXO1 transcriptional activity in BL. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of FOXO1 in an endemic cell line produced a significant decrease in cell proliferation, supporting an oncogenic role for FOXO1 in endemic BL. Thus, FOXO1 is frequently mutated in both sporadic and endemic BL and may offer a potential therapeutic target for pediatric BL patients worldwide.

  Study EGAS00001003719

• 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

• MYO5B mutations in Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma promote cancer progression

  Identification of additional cancer-associated genes and secondary mutations driving the metastatic progression in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) is important. We recently reported novel recurrent nonsynonymous mutations in the MYO5B gene in metastatic PPGL. Here, we explored the functional impact of these MYO5B mutations, and analyzed MYO5B expression in primary PPGL tumor cases in relation to mutation status.Immunohistochemistry and mRNA expression analysis in 30 primary PPGL tumors revealed an increased MYO5B expression in metastatic compared to non-metastatic tumor cases. In addition, subcellular localization of MYO5B protein was altered from cytoplasmatic to membranous in some metastatic tumors, and the strongest and most abnormal expression pattern was observed in a PGL case harboring a MYO5B:p.G1611S mutation. Mutation analysis of additional PPGL tumors revealed additional, and hence recurrent, mutations in the paralog MYO5A. Three missense mutations in MYO5B were functionally studied using site directed mutagenesis and stable transfection into human neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-AS) and embryonic kidney cells (HEK293 cell line). Functional analysis of the mutants verified a significant increased proliferation rate in all MYO5B mutated clones (p.L587P, p.G1611S, and p.R1641C). The two somatically derived mutations p.L587P and p.G1611S were also found to increase the migration rate, and all three mutants affected intracellular transport by increased transferrin uptake. Downstream expression analysis of MYO5B mutants demonstrated a transcriptional activation of genes involved in glucose metabolism, proliferation, homeostasis, and migration. Our study validates the functional role of novel MYO5B mutations in proliferation and migration, and suggest the MYO5-pathway to be involved the malignant progression of PPGL tumors.

  Study EGAS00001003991

• Integrated clinical, whole genome, and transcriptome analysis of multisampled lethal metastatic prostate cancer

  We report the first combined analysis of whole genome sequence, detailed clinical history, and transcriptome sequence of multiple prostate cancer metastases in a single patient (A21). Whole genome and transcriptome sequence was obtained from 9 anatomically separate metastases, and targeted DNA sequencing was performed in cancerous and noncancerous foci within the primary tumor specimen removed 5 years prior to death. Transcriptome analysis revealed increased expression of AR-regulated genes in liver metastases that harbored an AR p.L702H mutation, suggesting a dominant effect by the mutation despite being present in only 1 of an estimated 16 copies per cell. The metastases harbored several alterations to the PI3K/AKT pathway, including a clonal truncal mutation in PIK3CG and present in all metastatic sites studied. The list of truncal genomic alterations shared by all metastases included homozygous deletion of TP53, hemizygous deletion of RB1 and CHD1, and amplification of FGFR1. If the patient were treated today given this knowledge, use of second-generation androgen-directed therapies, cessation of glucocorticoid administration, and therapeutic inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway or FGFR1 receptor could provide personalized benefit. Three previously unreported truncal clonal missense mutations (ABCC4 p.R891L, ALDH9A1 p.W89R, and ASNA1 p.P75R) were expressed at the RNA level and assessed as druggable. The truncal status of mutations is critical for actionability, and can only be determined through analysis of multiple sites of metastasis. Our findings suggest that a large set of deeply analyzed cases could serve as powerful guide to more effective prostate cancer basic science and personalized cancer medicine clinical trials.

  Study EGAS00001001659

• Detection and characterization of lung cancer using cell-free DNA fragmentomes

  Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death world-wide, largely due to its late diagnosis. Non-invasive approaches for assessment of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) provide an opportunity for detection and intervention that may have broader accessibility than current imaging approaches. Using a machine learning model for detecting tumor-derived cfDNA through genome-wide analyses of cfDNA fragmentation, we examined a prospective study of 365 individuals at risk for lung cancer (Lung Cancer Diagnostic Study, LUCAS), including 129 individuals ultimately diagnosed with lung cancer and 236 individuals determined to not have lung cancer. We externally validated the cancer detection model using an independent cohort of 385 non-cancer individuals and 46 predominantly early stage lung cancer patients. Combining fragmentation features with clinical risk factors and CEA levels followed by CT imaging detected 94% of patients with cancer across stages and subtypes, including 91% of stage I/II and 96% of stage III/IV, at 80% specificity. Genome-wide fragmentation profiles across ~13,000 ASCL1 transcription factor binding sites could be used to distinguish individuals with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) from those with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high accuracy (AUC=0.98). Among individuals with lung cancer, a higher cfDNA fragmentation score was associated with tumor size and invasion, and represented an independent prognostic indicator of survival. These studies provide a facile approach for non-invasive detection of lung cancer and clinical management of this disease.

  Study EGAS00001005340

• Novel optineurin frameshift insertion causing familial frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism without amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

  Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a common cause of Young Onset Dementia and has diverse clinical manifestations involving behaviour, executive function, language and motor function, including parkinsonism. Up to 50% of FTD patients report a positive family history, supporting a strong genetic basis, particularly in cases with both FTD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD-ALS). Mutations in three genes are associated with the majority of familial FTD (fFTD) cases - microtubule associated protein tau gene (MAPT), progranulin gene (PGRN), and hexanucleotide repeat expansions in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72), whilst mutations in other genes such as optineurin (OPTN) have rarely been reported. Mutations in OPTN have been reported mostly in familial and sporadic cases of ALS, or in rare cases of FTD-ALS, but not in association with pure or predominant FTD and/or parkinsonian phenotype. Here, we report for the first time, a family from the Philippines with 4 affected members harbouring the same OPTN frameshift insertion, presenting with FTD-related phenotypes, including one sibling with predominant parkinsonism resembling corticobasal syndrome. Notably, none of the affected members showed any evidence of motor neuron disease or ALS at the time of writing, both clinically and on electrophysiological testing, expanding the phenotypic spectrum of OPTN mutations. Close follow-up of mutation carriers for the development of new clinical features and wider investigation of additional family members with further genetic analyses will be conducted to investigate the possibility of other genetic modifiers in this family which could explain phenotypic heterogeneity.

  Study EGAS00001005220

• 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

• PD-L1 blockade in combination with carboplatin as immune induction in metastatic lobular breast cancer: the GELATO-trial

  Invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC) is the second most common histological breast cancer subtype but published data on trials specific for ILC are so far lacking. Translational research revealed that a subset of ILCs may be immune-related and more sensitive to DNA-damaging agents such as platinum. In murine ILC models, synergy between immune checkpoint blockade and platinum has been observed. Here, we tested this concept in the phase II, GELATO-trial (NCT03147040), in which patients with metastatic ILC were treated with weekly carboplatin (AUC 1.5) as immune induction treatment for 12 weeks and atezolizumab (PD-L1 blockade; every three weeks) from the third week onwards until disease progression. Four out of 23 evaluable patients had a partial response (17%, 95%CI 5-39%) and two patients had stable disease for at least 24 weeks, resulting in a clinical benefit rate of 26% (95%CI 10-48%). Out of these six patients, four patients had triple-negative ILC (TN-ILC). In serial biopsies of metastatic lesions, we observed higher CD8 T-cell infiltration, expression of immune checkpoints, and exhausted T cells upon carboplatin/PD-L1 blockade. This is the first report of a clinical trial specifically for ILC and we demonstrate promising anti-tumor activity of atezolizumab with carboplatin as immune induction, in particular for TN-ILC. While activity of carboplatin/PD-L1 blockade in classical ER+ ILC was limited, our translational data yield important insights for the design of highly needed clinical trials in ILC.

  Study EGAS00001006902

• Epigenome-wide methylation analysis of colorectal carcinoma, adenoma and normal tissue reveals novel biomarkers addressing unmet clinical needs

  Studies about CRC biomarker discovery have focused on methylation patterns in normal and colorectal tumor tissue, leading to a lack of knowledge of methylation in adenomas. Therefore, we performed the first epigenome-wide study to compare the epigenomes of all three tissue types combined, and to identify discriminatory biomarkers. Public Illumina MethylEPIC® data was collected from 552 normal, 118 carcinoma and 116 adenoma samples. Pairwise analyses were performed for discovery of differentially methylated probes (DMPs). We identified 693 813, 620 643 and 558 897 DMPs when comparing normal vs carcinoma, normal vs adenoma and adenoma vs carcinoma respectively. To double evidence (DE) these DMPs, analysis of Illumina 450K data from public datasets was performed. Through this analysis, 13 DE DMPs with │Δβ│≥0.3 were identified for adenoma vs carcinoma. A binary logistic regression model was generated to evaluate the discriminatory potential of these DE DMPS. The model was validated in an in-house experimental methylation dataset of 13 adenoma and 9 carcinoma samples. Our classifier reached a cross-validated AUC of 0.996 and 0.855 in the discovery and validation datasets respectively. A sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 95% were reached, with an overall accuracy of 96%. Our analysis show that methylation biomarkers have the potential to discriminate between normal, precursor and carcinoma tissues of the colorectum. More importantly, we highlight the power of the methylome, showing that DMPs can be used as biomarkers in the clinic to identify colorectal adenoma and carcinoma. 

  Study EGAS00001007017

• RNA isoform repertoire of neuropsychiatric risk genes in human brain

  Neuropsychiatric disorders are highly complex conditions and the risk of developing a disorder has been tied to hundreds of genomic variants that alter the expression and/or products (isoforms) made by risk genes. However, how these genes contribute to disease risk and onset through altered expression and RNA splicing is not well understood. Here we show our current understanding of gene isoforms is far from complete and reveal the precise splicing profiles of neuropsychiatric disorder risk genes. Combining our new bioinformatic pipeline IsoLamp with nanopore long-read amplicon sequencing, we deeply profiled the RNA isoform repertoire of 31 high-confidence neuropsychiatric disorder risk genes in human brain. We show most risk genes are more complex than previously reported, identifying 443 novel isoforms and 28 novel exons, including isoforms which alter protein domains, and genes such as ATG13 and GATAD2A where most expression was from previously undiscovered isoforms. The greatest isoform diversity was present in the schizophrenia risk gene ITIH4. Mass spectrometry of brain protein isolates confirmed translation of a novel exon skipping event in ITIH4, suggesting a new regulatory mechanism for this gene in brain. Our results emphasize the widespread presence of previously undetected RNA and protein isoforms in brain and provide an effective approach to address this knowledge gap. Uncovering the isoform repertoire of neuropsychiatric risk genes will underpin future analyses of the functional impact these isoforms have on neuropsychiatric disorders, enabling the translation of genomic findings into a pathophysiological understanding of disease.

  Study EGAS00001007744

• University of Pennsylvania CAR T Cell Responding and Non-responding Patients

  The adoptive transfer of autologous T cells genetically modified to express a CD19-specific, 4-1BB/CD3zeta-signaling chimeric antigen receptor (CAR; CTL019) has shown remarkable activity in patients with B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Similar therapy can induce long-term remissions for relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, but in only a small subset of subjects. The determinants of response and resistance to CTL019 therapy of CLL are not fully understood. We employed next generation sequencing of RNA (RNA-seq) to identify predictive indicators of response to CTL019 treatment. We performed RNA-seq on leukapheresis and manufactured infusion product T cells from patients with heavily pre-treated and high-risk disease. To characterize potency, we also performed RNA-seq on the cellular infusion product after CAR-specific stimulation. Our findings indicate that durable remission in CLL is associated with gene expression signatures of early memory T cell differentiation (e.g., STAT3), while T cells from poorly- or non-responding patients exhibited elevated expression of key regulators of late memory as well as effector T cell differentiation, apoptosis, aerobic glycolysis, hypoxia and exhaustion. These gene expression signatures, along with additional immunological biomarkers, may be used to identify which patients are most likely to respond to cellular therapies and suggest manufacturing modifications that might potentiate the generation of maximally efficacious infusion products. In a follow-up study, we report multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing on T cells in humans to test the hypothesis that disrupting genes encoding the endogenous T cell receptor (TCR), TCRα (TRAC) and TCRβ (TRBC), as well as PD-1 (PDCD1) would enhance the efficacy of autologous T cells engineered to express a transgenic NY-ESO TCR. We used single cell RNA-seq to comprehensively characterize the transcriptomic phenotype of this T cell product and its evolution over time in a patient with sarcoma. Notably, this patient's transferred T cells that persisted in vivo demonstrated increases in expression of genes associated with a central memory state (IL7R, TCF7). These findings may guide future trials involving administration of genetically redirected, genome -edited T cells.In this follow-up study, we investigated whether CRISPR-Cas9-mediated disruption of PDCD1 and/or CTLA-4 could restore CART dysfunction in healthy donors and/or CLL patients. We show that depletion of CTLA-4 rescues the function of T cells from leukemia patients that previously failed CART cell treatment. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing and characterized the transcriptomic landscape of CTLA-4 KO CART19 cells that showed higher proliferation and anti-tumor efficacy by permitting unopposed CD28 signaling and maintenance of CAR expression on the T cell surface under stress-test conditions of chronic antigen exposure. Our findings reveal that selective disruption of CTLA-4 invigorates dysfunctional patient T cells, providing a strategy for increasing patient responses to CART cell therapy.

  Study phs001707

• Biological Determinants of Peritoneal Dialysis Outcomes

  Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) is a technique for treating kidney failure where fluid is instilled into the body's peritoneal cavity. Fluid and solutes travel across the peritoneum, and this is critical to successful PD. Studies have shown that certain demographic and clinical variables explain a small part of the variability in baseline peritoneal solute transfer rate and water transfer function across the peritoneum. This study sought to identify the common genetic variants associated with the baseline peritoneal function in patients starting treatment with PD and change in function upon treatment with PD. This study has two specific aims: Aim 1: To identify and validate genetic loci that influence the peritoneal solute transfer rate (PSTR) at start of PD. Aim 2: To identify and validate genetic loci in pre-specified biologic pathways with change in peritoneal ultrafiltration capacity. This study incorporates data from participants' peritoneal solute transfer rate in their first ever peritoneal equilibrium test (PET) and changes in the transfer of water across the peritoneal membrane over time in a sub-group of participants, demographic information, and results from laboratory analysis of DNA, blood, and dialysate. This study comprises patient populations from pre-existing biorepositories in Europe, and prospectively enrolled participants in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. Clinical data related to the participants' peritoneal solute transfer rate from their first ever Peritoneal Equilibrium Test (PET), demographic information, and change in ultrafiltration capacity over time, are correlated with various genetic markers of interest. For individuals enrolled prospectively, blood and dialysate were collected at the first study visit. Annually, subjects either underwent a PET as standard of care or perform an additional 4-hour dwell as part of the study. These subsequent measures were utilized to determine change in ultrafiltration capacity over time. Inclusion criteria included adults over the age of 20 who are able to provide consent and had a record of a PET within 6 months of starting PD. Subjects with missing outcome data and that did not pass genotyping QC were excluded. Genotyping was performed in two batches using the Illumina InfiniumOmni2-5-8v1-3_A1 array with 2,372,784 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the first batch (n=1957). The second genotyping batch (n=1053) was on the InfiniumOmni2-5-8v1-4_A1 array with 2,382,209 SNVs. Imputation was performed using the Michigan Imputation Server and the HRC1.1 genotype reference. The Institutional Review Board of the University of Washington has “dbGaP-certified” the consent forms used to enroll participants in Australia, Canada, and United States and the genotype-phenotype data from the participants (n=827) deposited in the public repository. Furthermore, it has been determined that under the EU-GDPR regulations, depositing data of participants enrolled in UK, Belgium, and Sweden (n=2,023) into dbGaP “serves no lawful purpose” as the consent form used for enrolling participants did not obtain explicit permission for depositing data in a public repository.

  Study phs002996

• Whole-Genome Sequencing in Multiplex Epilepsy Families

  Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders, affecting approximately 4% of individuals at some time in their lives. More than 30% of people with epilepsy continue to have seizures despite treatment, and improved approaches to treatment and prevention are sorely needed. In the search for new strategies to reduce the burden of disease, the discovery of specific genes that influence risk offers a novel opportunity to clarify pathogenic mechanisms, identify susceptible individuals prior to seizure onset, and treat and prevent seizures in people at risk. Despite clear evidence of the importance of genetics in susceptibility to epilepsy, only limited progress has been made in identifying the specific genes that influence risk. One of the greatest challenges for genetic research on this disorder is its extreme clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Although epilepsy is broadly defined by recurrent unprovoked seizures, it is so variable in its clinical manifestations, natural history, and treatment response that most epileptologists view it as a collection of different syndromes ("epilepsies") with distinct etiologies. The genetic effects on susceptibility are also likely to be extremely variable, ranging from rare variants with high penetrance (some of which produce Mendelian patterns of inheritance) to common variants with low penetrance. Recent findings strongly suggest that rare gene variants play a major role in the genetic architecture of the epilepsies. The purpose of this study was to discover new genetic risk factors for epilepsy. The primary approach was to use whole-genome sequencing to interrogate classes of genetic variants, including very rare variants, in multiplex families. Our main hypothesis was that, in at least some proportion of these families, a single variant would explain all instances of epilepsy. Variants identified within the families could then be tested for cosegregation within the family and also validated by seeing enrichment in sporadic epilepsy cases. Furthermore, understanding the impact of rare variation in epilepsy also has the potential to provide insight into the genetic architecture of other complex human diseases. Our analysis focused on families containing multiple individuals with non-acquired (idiopathic or unknown cause) epilepsy under the hypothesis that these would be enriched for genetic control. The families studied had been previously collected and phenotyped in detail, and contain an average of 3.8 individuals per family with a range of different types of epilepsy. We selected one or two affected individuals from each family for sequencing. This work has generated NGS data on 60 samples from 29 multiplex epilepsy families. We have established that, under a monogenic model of inheritance, sequencing pairs of distantly related relatives is an effective method for reducing the number of candidate variants. Critically, we have found that no single variant can explain a large proportion of these epilepsy families. This work emphasizes that identifying causal variants among the many genetic candidates found in this work will require very large sample sizes and gene-based analyses.

  Study phs000690

• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Cardiovascular: SWISS-AF/SWISS-AF-PVI/BEAT-AF

  This study is a part of NHGRI's Centers for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG), which is a collaborative large-scale genome sequencing effort to comprehensively identify rare risk and protective variants contributing to multiple common disease phenotypes. Current estimates anticipate that the CCDG program will sequence approximately 140K whole genomes and 225K whole exomes during the life of the project. The Cardiovascular Disease working group of the CCDG considered five diseases: early-onset coronary artery disease (EOCAD), stroke, atrial fibrillation (AF), congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes. AF will affect between 6-12 million individuals in the US by 2050. AF is also associated with increased risks of stroke, dementia, heart failure, death, and high health care costs. Many risk factors for AF have been identified, including advancing age, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and CVD risk factors. However, there is little knowledge how to prevent AF. Furthermore, therapies for AF are only partially effective, and are themselves associated with substantial morbidity. Previously, heritable forms of AF have been considered rare; yet in the last decade, it has been established that AF, and in particular early-onset forms of AF, are heritable. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) provide a powerful tool to identify common variants underlying disease risk. The AFGen Consortium currently consists of investigators from more than 25 studies with >20,000 individuals with AF and >100,000 without AF. In the latest analyses, 14 loci have been identified for AF1. Broadly, the loci implicate genes related to cardiopulmonary development, cardiac-expressed ion channels, and cell signaling molecules. Source: https://ccdg.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/CCDG_CVD_EOAF_FINAL_w_link.pdf Three collections were brought together to form Swiss atrial fibrillation cases: SWISS-AF, SWISS-AF-PVI, and BEAT-AF. SWISS-AF is a prospective observational, multicentric cohort study in Switzerland to increase our knowledge on structural brain damage and its changes over time in patients with atrial fibrillation. Overall, 2400 patients with documented atrial fibrillation aged >65 years will be included and followed on a yearly basis. SWISS-AF-PVI is a registry of patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing catheter-based ablation of atrial fibrillation (pulmonary vein isolation) to determine long-term success rates of catheter-based ablation of atrial fibrillation (pulmonary vein isolation) and to evaluate factors associated with long-term success of catheter-based ablation of atrial fibrillation (pulmonary vein isolation). BEAT-AF is a prospective observational, multicenter cohort study in Switzerland. Overall, 1550 patients with documented atrial fibrillation were enrolled in seven study centers. The main aim of this study is to investigate the therapy and the medical consequences of patients with atrial fibrillation. Samples from all three collections were sent to The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to generate genetic data using whole exome sequencing and whole genome genotyping (Infinium Global Screening Array); all cases with atrial fibrillation.

  Study phs002242

• DAC for "Detection of Gene Fusions using Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing – a Comparative Evaluation"

  Dac EGAC00001001905

• DAC Committee for the "PIK3CA mutation in a case of CTNNB1 mutant sinonasal glomangiopericytoma" study

  Dac EGAC00001002371

• NPY methylated ctDNA is a promising biomarker for treatment response monitoring in metastatic colorectal cancer

  Dac EGAC00001003001

• Biological and Therapeutic Implications of a Unique Subtype of NPM1 Mutated AML

  Study EGAS00001004872

• CRISPR-based adenine editors correct nonsense mutations in a cystic fibrosis organoid biobank.

  Study EGAS00001003951

• A method for multiplexed full-length single-molecule sequencing of the human mitochondrial genome

  Study EGAS00001006280

• Identification of IQCH as a calmodulin-associated protein required for sperm motility in humans

  Study EGAS00001007423