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• Signatures of Aristolochic Acid Mutagenesis in Bladder Cancer

  This study looks at signatures of Aristolochic Acid mutagenesis in bladder cancer, based on exome and whole genome sequencing data. Thirteen bladder tumors and their matched normal DNAs were sequenced on Illumina platforms. Among them eleven were exome sequenced and two were whole genome sequenced.

  Study EGAS00001000975

• H3K27ac and RNA-seq data of neuroblastoma PDXs and/or primary tumors

  This study includes H3K27ac ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data of 6 neuroblastoma PDXs. It also contains RNA-seq data of 3 pairs of neuroblastoma tumors obtained at diagnosis and relapse. The MAP-GR-B25-NB-1 PDX was derived from the relapse of pair 1.

  Study EGAS00001002505

• Family-based GWAS for CRSwNP

  AbstractOur goal was to identify genetic markers and genes associated with susceptibility to chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps using a family-based genome-wide association study.MethodsPatients with CRSwNP and controls were recruited. SNP association values were generated using DFAM (implemented in PLINK) and Efficient Mixed Model Association eXpedited (EMMAX).

  Study EGAS00001002665

• Somatic_evolution_in_the_psoriatic_skin

  We will use laser capture microdissection to dissect groups of a few hundred cells, from which we will isolate and sequence nucleic acids. We aim to whole-genome, whole-exome and RNA sequence the samples in effort to understand the accumulation of somatic mutations in psoriasis and their effect on transcription.

  Study EGAS00001004882

• Chemotherapy accelerates genomic aging of normal blood in children treated for cancer

  Whole genome sequencing (WGS) data obtained from clonally expanded hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from pediatric cancer patients before and after therapy exposure. In addition, WGS data of cord-blood derived HSPCs clones exposed to various chemotherapeutics and radiation was obtained.

  Study EGAS00001005141

• Multiplexed quantification of four neuroblastoma DNA targets in a single droplet digital PCR reaction

  Evaluation of quadruplex ddPCR-based copy number assessment in blood plasma samples paired with genomic DNA from the corresponding primary neuroblastoma from three patients and comparison with copy numbers determined by duplex and triplex ddPCR and re-analyzed from whole-exome sequencing (WES) data.

  Study EGAS00001004275

• Cancer and germline exomes consisting of FASTQ reads from melanoma, lung and colon cancer samples

  Cancer and germline exomes consisting of FASTQ reads from 6 individuals (4 melanoma, 1 lung and 1 colon cancer). Exome sequencing was performed on illumina with a depth of 100x to 200x. 2 Melanoma datasets contain reads from 2 different tumor regions 2 Melanoma datasets contain reads from 1 tumor region and from a tumor derived cell line 1 Melanoma dataset contains reads from 2 healthy tissues Colon and lung datasets contain both 1 matched germline-tumor pair

  Dataset EGAD00001007950

• Small RNA-sequencing and RNA-sequencing data of tuberous sclerosis complex subependymal giant cell astrocytomas

  This data set contains small RNA-sequencing and RNA-sequencing data from subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGA) resected from tuberous sclerosis complex patients. Small RNA-sequencing and RNA-sequencing were performed on the same set of SEGAs (n=19) and periventricular controls (n=8). For full details on library preparation and patients please refer to the paper "The coding and non-coding transcriptional landscape of subependymal giant cell astrocytomas." (PMID: 31834371 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz370).

  Dataset EGAD00001005932

• Skin Microbiome in Disease States: Atopic Dermatitis and Immunodeficiency

  The NIH Intramural Skin Microbiome Consortium (NISMC) is a collaboration of investigators with primary expertise in genomics, bioinformatics, large-scale DNA sequencing, dermatology, immunology, allergy, infectious disease, and clinical microbiology. Atopic dermatitis (AD, "eczema") is a chronic relapsing skin disorder that affects ~15% of U.S. children and is associated with $1 billion of medical costs annually. AD is characterized by dry, itchy skin, infiltrated with immune cells. Colonization by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is ten-fold more common in AD patients and is associated with disease flares. We hypothesize that, in addition to S. aureus, AD may also be associated with additional novel microbes and/or selective shifts of commensal microbes that are relevant to disease progression. The NISMC seeks to define the microbiota that resides in and on the skin and nares of three patient groups, all of whom have eczematous lesions and are currently seen at the NIH Clinical Center: (1) AD patients; (2) Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) patients; and (3) Hyper IgE syndrome (HIES) syndrome patients. Examination of the microbiome of patients with WAS or HIES syndromes, both rare immunodeficiencies, will advance our understanding of how an individual's immune system shapes their cutaneous microbial community. We are performing a prospective longitudinal study that follows these groups of patient thorough the cycles of eczema flares, ascertaining clinical data and samples at each stage.

  Study phs000266

• Natural History, Pathogenesis and Outcome of Melorheostosis

  Melorheostosis is a rare osteosclerotic disease resulting in exuberant excessive bone growth with a characteristic radiographic appearance often described as "dripping candle wax". As a result of these bony formations, patients report mild to moderate pain that interferes with their routine activities. It is usually diagnosed on radiographs but bone biopsy may be performed to exclude other osteosclerotic diseases and/or osteosarcoma. Deformities, limb-length discrepancy, muscle atrophy, neurological deficit have been reported as complications. A subset of patients have somatic mutations in MAP2K1. The cause of this disease is not known in all patients, the natural history poorly described and there is no clearly-defined systemic therapy. We propose a prospective observational study to investigate the natural history and pathogenesis of the disease. Subjects will undergo standardized initial evaluation and medically indicated testing. Skin biopsies may be performed to test for known mutations related to melorheostosis, and if negative affected bone and/or skin may be sent for genetic testing for acquired somatic mutations in genes that control bone homeostasis. Enrolled subjects will be followed every two to three years for assessment of disease progression and receive clinically indicated testing and treatment. The study of this rare bone disease offers the potential to generate new insights, provide answers as well as generate new questions into the biology of the skeletal and mineral metabolism.

  Study phs001976

• Epigenomics of Human CD8 T cell Differentiation and Aging

  The efficacy of the adaptive immune response declines dramatically with age, but the cell-intrinsic mechanisms driving the changes characteristic of immune aging in humans remain poorly understood. One hallmark of immune aging is the loss of self-renewing naive cells and the accumulation of differentiated but dysfunctional cells within the CD8 T cell compartment. Using ATAC-seq, we first inferred the transcription factor binding activities that maintain the naive and central and effector memory CD8 T cell states in young adults. Integrating our results with RNA-seq, we determined that BATF, ETS1, Eomes, and Sp1 govern transcription networks associated with specific CD8 T cell subset properties, including activation and proliferative potential. Extending our analysis to aged humans, we found that the differences between memory and naive CD8 T cells were largely preserved across age, but that naive and central memory cells from older individuals exhibited a shift toward a more differentiated pattern of chromatin openness. Additionally, aged naive cells displayed a loss in chromatin openness at gene promoters, a phenomenon that appears to be due largely to a loss in binding by NRF1, leading to a marked drop-off in the ability of the naive cell to initiate transcription of mitochondrial genes. Our findings identify BATF- and NRF1-driven gene regulation as targets for delaying CD8 T cell aging and restoring T cell function.

  Study phs001187

• Targeted Sequencing of GWAS Loci in Cleft Lip and Palate

  Nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCL/P) is a complex disorder caused by both genetic and environmental factors and has been the focus of an extensive effort to identify genetic risk factors. A number of candidate gene studies have been performed but have not been widely replicated. To date, four independent genome wide association studies have been performed as well as a meta-analysis. Together these studies have identified many loci associated with NSCL/P. The goal of this project is to use targeted sequencing to further characterize these regions and to progress from the association signals identified by GWAS to the identification of causative genes and/or variants. This study is part of the GWASeq project, a collaboration of five disease studies, which will sequence genomic regions from GWAS to characterize the genetic variation underlying these diseases and to compare study design and methods for the follow-up of GWAS studies by sequencing. The goal of this study is to sequence 1000+ NSCL/P case-parent trios from China and the Philippines and 400 trios of European ancestry. Targeted sequencing was performed on intervals ranging between 60kb to 1Mb surrounding 13 genes/loci previously associated with NSCL/P including: IRF6, MAFB, ARHGAP29, 8q24, PAX7, VAX1, NTN1, NOG, FOXE1, MSX1, BMP4, FGFR2, PTCH1.

  Study phs000625

• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Autoimmune: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Exomes and Genomes

  The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has funded a collaborative large-scale genome sequencing effort to comprehensively identify rare risk and protective variants contributing to multiple common disease phenotypes. Called the Centers for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG), this initiative will explore a range of diseases with the ultimate goal of: undertaking variant discovery for enough different examples of disease architectures and study designs to better understand the general principles of the genomic architecture underlying common, complex inherited diseases; understanding how best to design rare variant studies for common disease; developing resources, informatics tools, and innovative approaches and technologies for multiple disease research communities and the wider biomedical research community. The initial focus of the CCDGs will be in cardiovascular disease (early-onset coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, hemorrhagic stroke), neuropsychiatric disease (epilepsy, autism), and autoimmune/inflammatory disease (type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease). The Broad Institute is one of four selected CCDG project centers. The overarching aim of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) program is to define the full allelic spectrum of protein-altering variation in genes associated to IBD, and assess their role in both Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) risk. The whole genome sequencing data generated here is comprised of samples from US-based diverse populations including African American, Puerto-Rican, Caribean and Cuban origins.

  Study phs001642

• Immune Responses in Checkpoint Myocarditis Across Heart, Blood, and Tumor

  Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used in anti-cancer therapies, but they can cause morbid and potentially fatal immune-related adverse events (irAEs), such as ICI-related myocarditis (irMyocarditis). The pathogenesis of irMyocarditis and its relationship to anti-tumor immunity remain poorly understood. We sought to define immune responses in heart, tumor, and blood in irMyocarditis patients and controls by leveraging single‐cell RNA sequencing (scRNA‐seq) coupled with T-cell Receptor Sequencing (TCR-Seq). Our analysis demonstrated increased frequencies of cytotoxic T cells, inflammatory mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs), conventional dendritic cells (cDCs), and inflammatory fibroblasts in irMyocarditis heart tissue. Additionally, we revealed decreased frequencies of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, cDCs, and B lineage cells but an increased frequency of MNPs in the blood of irMyocarditis patients. Raw data for heart and blood can be found in dbGaP. All processed data and raw TCRseq data from heart tissue and tumor samples for this study can be found in GEO (Accession number GSE228597).Subject IDs with the prefix "SIC" were collected by the Severe Immunotherapy Complications (SIC) service at MGH due to suspicion of immune-related adverse events. Subject IDs with the prefix "donor" were collected by the MGH Melanoma Biobank at scheduled timepoints; this biobank systematically collects samples from patients at MGH at clinically relevant timepoints.

  Study phs003413

• Genetic and Hormonal Contributions to Gene Expression in Immune Cells

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

  Study phs003860

• GoT2D: Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes, a study of the the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes using low pass whole genome sequencing and high density SNP genotyping in 2,657 individuals.

  The Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes Consortium (GoT2D) is a collaboration between the University of Michigan, the Broad Institute and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics. The overall aim is to extend upon recent efforts, such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and large scale meta-analyses. While they have proved successful at mapping genomic loci that influence human diseases, like type 2 diabetes, much of the heritability remains unexplained. In this study, we use next generation sequencing and genotyping technologies to query for lower frequency variants in the human genome. Thereby, allowing a deeper characterization of the spectrum of alleles associated with type 2 diabetes risk, and a better assessment of the genes that play a role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes development. We studied 1,326 T2D cases and 1,331 normoglycemic controls from Northern and Central Europe (Sweden, Finland, UK, and Germany). To efficiently characterize the entire genome sequence of each individual, we performed low-coverage (~5x) whole-genome sequencing, augmented by deep coverage (~100x) sequencing of the exome, and dense (2.5M) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping using the HumanOmni2.5 array. The data deposited in EGA will include all the Swedish, Finnish, UK, and German samples.

  Study EGAS00001001459

• Comprehensive analysis of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT) using genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic techniques.

  ATRTs (Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumours) represent one of the most aggressive pediatric brain cancers, but intriguingly exhibit few other recurrently mutated loci except for SMARCB1/hSNF5. We integrated whole genome (n=15), exome, copy number, gene expression and methylation analyses to comprehensively interrogate 64 ATRTs and observed that structural events were relatively frequent in the ATRT genome (~3 tumour). In addition to SMARCB1, which was targeted by structural events in a majority (49/64) of tumours, recurrent structural alterations targeting the LRP1B, CDH13, BCR and MKL1 loci were observed. We observed novel translocation events, including 2 targeting SMARCB1 which were detected only by NGS analyses. Significantly, integration of gene expression and methylation profiles with genomic analyses revealed ATRT comprise two sub-groups with distinct clinical and genetic features. Group 1 tumours were characterized by supra-tentorial brain location, focal intragenic alterations of SMARCB1 and a pro-neural gene expression signature with evidence of NOTCH pathway activation. While Group 2 ATRTs were characterized by infra-tentorial brain location, broad SMARCB1 alterations and an activation of the BMP signalling pathway. Our findings highlight epigenetic mechanisms as important determinants of ATRT tumour phenotypes, and demonstrate for the first time that ATRTs arising in different anatomical compartments comprise distinct molecular and therapeutic sub-groups.

  Study EGAS00001000506

• RNA-sequencing of human skin samples obtained from SSc patients and healthy controls.

  Patient information SSc patients were recruited at the Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Medical Center (Leiden, The Netherlands). All patients met the American Rheumatism Association classification criteria for SSc (Subcommittee for scleroderma criteria 1980), and were classified according to LeRoy and Medsger criteria as either limited or diffuse cutaneous disease (LeRoy EC, Black C, Fleischmajer R, Jablonska S, Krieg T, Medsger TA Jr, Rowell N 1988). Institutional review board approval and written informed consent was obtained before patients entered this study. Two 4 mm skin biopsies were taken from a standardized location on the most proximal part of the lower arm, distal from the elbow. In 10 patients the skin biopsy came from a clinically affected area and in 4 patients the skin was locally unaffected. One sample was used for RNA sequencing and one sample was used for immunohistochemistry. Skin biopsies from healthy individuals were commercially sourced (Tissue Solutions, UK) and collected from donors undergoing skin resection surgery and after informed consent. To match the healthy skin with patients as much as possible, skin biopsies from healthy controls were also taken from a similar position (the under-arm (for 4 controls) and leg (for 2 controls)). Healthy skin donors were selected to match the age and sex of the SSc patient cohort. Biopsies from patients and controls were equally treated and were both stored at -80°C until RNA isolation was performed. RNA from frozen skin biopsies was isolated using RNeasy kit from fibrous tissue (Qiagen, the Netherlands). RNA quantity was determined by using SimplyNano 2000 and quality was assessed on Tapestation (Agilent, the Netherlands). All samples included in the study had a RIN score above 7.0. Transcriptome characterisation and analysis RNA sequencing was performed using polyA selection and a stranded protocol using Ion Torrent next generation sequencing technology (Service XS, The Netherlands). The Ion PI Template OT2 200 Kit v3 and Ion PI Sequencing 200 Kit v3 were used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 20 samples were run on 11 PI chips. PI chip analyses, base calling and quality checks were performed using the Torrent Server Suite. An average of 42 million 100 bp reads was generated per sample. Following quality control, reads were aligned to the human genome (Homo sapiens GRh38.78) using Bowtie2 and STAR (Dobin et al. 2013; Langmead and Salzberg 2012). Reads were first aligned with STAR. For the unmapped reads from STAR, a second alignment step was performed using bowtie2 (local very sensitive options)

  Dataset EGAD00001003832

• Enrichment of oral-derived bacteria in inflamed colorectal tumors and distinct associations of Fusobacterium in the mesenchymal subtype

  The association between colorectal cancer (CRC) clinical variables and Fusobacterium, but not other intra-tumoral bacteria, has been extensively studied. Here we leveraged whole-transcriptome sequencing from 807 CRC tumor samples from the AVANT phase III trial to dually characterize tumor gene expression and intra-tumoral bacteria. After stringent filtering, 74 high-confidence taxa were identified. 17 of these species, including 4 Fusobacterium spp., were classified as orally-derived and had a robust signal within right-sided, MSI-H, and BRAF mutant tumors. Across consensus molecular subtypes (CMS), integration of Fusobacterium animalis presence and tumor gene expression revealed that F. animalis had the greatest number of associations in mesenchymal CMS4 tumors, despite an overall lower prevalence than in immune CMS1 tumors. Pathway analysis within CMS4 revealed that F. animalis, but not other highly prevalent species, was uniquely associated with pathways for collagen degradation and formation as well as IL-6 and IL-1 cytokine signaling. These associations could explain in part why Fusobacterium has been previously associated with reduced survival in mesenchymal populations. Overall, this study identified oral-derived bacteria, including Fusobacterium, as broadly more prevalent in inflamed CRC tumors compared to the other subtypes, and the association of intra-tumoral bacteria on tumor gene expression is context- and species-specific.

  Study EGAS00001006757

• Mutated H3 Histones Drive Human Pre-Leukemic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion And Promote Leukemic Aggressiveness

  Leukemogenesis is a stepwise progression from mutated, pre-neoplastic hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to full-blown leukemia. Our ability to prevent or treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is limited by our incomplete understanding of the epigenetic disruption that is central to this process, including improper histone methylation. Comprehensive analysis of 16 histone H3 genes in 434 primary AML samples identified Q69H, A26P, R2Q, R8H and K27M/I mutations (1.6%), and a higher incidence in secondary AML (s-AML) (9%). We establish that these mutations are important early events in leukemogenesis. They occur in pre-leukemic HSCs, increase the frequency of functional human HSCs, and alter differentiation. The mutations are present in the major leukemic clones in primary samples, and the mutant histones amplify leukemic aggressiveness with increased proliferation, expansion of leukemic progenitor and blast cells, and superior competitiveness in vivo. These effects are dependent on the specific mutation. Genome-wide analysis of K27 mutants revealed increased expression of genes involved in erythrocyte and myeloid differentiation with a corresponding decrease in histone H3 K27 tri-methylation and increase in K27 acetylation. The functional impact of histone mutations is independent of RUNX1 mutations, although they can co-occur. These data establish the involvement of H3 mutations as initial drivers of pre-cancerous stem cell expansion and leukemogenesis.

  Study EGAS00001003288

• Kids First: Genomic Studies of Orofacial Cleft Birth Defects

  The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) is a trans-NIH effort initiated in response to the 2014 Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act and supported by the NIH Common Fund. This program focuses on gene discovery in pediatric cancers and structural birth defects and the development of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Data Resource (Kids First Data Resource). Both childhood cancers and structural birth defects are critical and costly conditions associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Elucidating the underlying genetic etiology of these diseases has the potential to profoundly improve preventative measures, diagnostics, and therapeutic interventions. WGS and phenotypic data from this study are accessible through dbGaP and kidsfirstdrc.org, where other Kids First datasets can also be accessed. The Kids First study of nonsyndromic orofacial cleft birth defects (OFCs) is a whole genome sequencing study of 415 White parent-case trios drawn from ongoing collaborations led by Dr. Mary L. Marazita of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, including collaborations with Dr. George Wehby of the University of Iowa, Dr. Jacqueline Hecht of the University of Texas, and Dr. Terri Beaty of Johns Hopkins University. Sequencing was done by the Washington University McDonell Genome Institute. The case in each of the Kids First trios has cleft lip (CL, Figure A), cleft palate (CP, Figure B), or both (CL+CP, Figure C): OFCs are genetically complex structural birth defects caused by genetic factors, environmental exposures, and their interactions. OFCs are the most common craniofacial anomalies in humans, affecting approximately 1 in 700 newborns, and are one of the most common structural birth defects worldwide. On average a child with an OFC initially faces feeding difficulties, undergoes 6 surgeries, spends 30 days in hospital, receives 5 years of orthodontic treatment, and participates in ongoing speech therapy, leading to an estimated total lifetime treatment cost of about $200,000. Further, individuals born with an OFC have higher infant mortality, higher mortality rates at all other stages of life, increased incidence of mental health problems, and higher risk for other disorders (notably including breast, brain, and colon cancers). Prior genome-wide linkage and association studies have now identified at least 18 genomic regions likely to contribute to the risk for nonsyndromic OFCs. Despite this substantial progress, the functional/pathogenic variants at OFC-associated regions are mostly still unknown. Because previous OFC genomic studies (genome-wide linkage, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and targeted sequencing) are based on relatively sparse genotyping data, they cannot distinguish between causal variants and variants in linkage disequilibrium with unobserved causal variants. Moreover, it is unknown whether the association or linkage signals are due to single common variants, haplotypes of multiple common variants, clusters of multiple rare variants, or some combination. Finally, we cannot yet attribute specific genetic risk to individual cases and case families. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to identify specific OFC risk variants in Whites by performing whole genome sequencing of parent-case trios.

  Study phs001168

• Somatic mutations of non-malignant T cells

  Somatic mutations in T cells can cause cancer but also have implications for immunological diseases and cell therapies. The mutation spectrum in non-malignant T cells is unclear. Here, we examined somatic mutations in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from 90 patients with hematological and immunological disorders and used T cell receptor (TCR) and single-cell sequencing to link mutations with T cell expansions and phenotypes. CD8+ cells had higher mutation burden than CD4+ cells. Notably, the biggest variant allele frequency (VAF) of non-synonymous variants was higher than synonymous variants in CD8+ T cells, indicating non-random occurrence. The non-synonymous VAF in CD8+ T cells strongly correlated with the TCR frequency, but not age. We identified mutations in pathways essential for T cell function and often affected in lymphoid neoplasia. Single-cell sequencing revealed cytotoxic Temra phenotypes of mutated T cells. Our findings suggest that somatic mutations contribute to CD8+ T cell expansions without malignant transformation.

  Study EGAS50000000237

• Human Brain Small Extracellular Vesicles Contain Selectively-Packaged, Full-Length mRNA

  Brain cells release and take up small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) containing bioactive nucleic acids. sEV exchange is hypothesized to contribute to stereotyped spread of neuropathological changes in the diseased brain. We assessed mRNA from sEVs of non-diseased (ND) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) human postmortem brain, using short- and long-read sequencing. sEV transcriptomes were distinct from bulk tissue, showing enrichment for multiple genes including mRNAs encoding ribosomal proteins and L1Hs transposable elements. AD versus ND sEVs showed enrichment of inflammation-related and depletion of synaptic signaling mRNAs. sEV mRNA from cultured murine primary neurons, astrocytes, or microglia showed similarities with human brain sEVs and revealed cell-type specific packaging. Nearly 80% of human brain sEV transcripts sequenced using long-read sequencing were full-length. Motif analyses of sEV-enriched full-length isoforms revealed RNA-binding proteins that may be associated with sEV loading. Collectively, we show that mRNA in brain sEVs is selectively-packaged and altered by disease state.

  Study EGAS50000000029

• Exploiting New Patterns of Genome Damage in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

  Genomic instability, a feature of triple negative breast cancers (TNBC), represents an opportunity for discovery of biologic and clinically relevant subgroups of patients. Owing to TP53 mutation in the majority of cases, DNA repair deficiency through loss of BRCA1 and BRCA2, and by expression features patterning a basal cell of origin, TNBC represents a molecularly and clinically distinct group of breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, targetable molecular features of TNBC remain elusive and TNBC patients suffer the poorest outcomes amongst clinical subgroups. Within TNBC patients, responses to treatment vary and although gene expression patterns within TNBC have been identified, little progress has been made in developing biomarkers; effective stratification as a route to directing patients to more targeted therapy is lacking. In this study, we exploit mutational processes in TNBC as a new opportunity to stratify patients and to understand the evolutionary progression of TNBC cells harboring specific DNA repair properties.

  Study phs003038

• Molecular and Clinical Analyses of PHF6 Mutant Myeloid Neoplasia Provide Clues as to Their Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Targeting

  PHF6 mutations (PHF6MT) are identified in various myeloid neoplasms (MN). However, little is known about the precise function and consequences of PHF6 in MN. Our comprehensive genomic analyses yielded three main findings. Firstly, we revealed a different pattern of genes correlating with PHF6MT in male and female cases. When analyzing male and female cases separately, in only male cases, RUNX1 and U2AF1 were co-mutated with PHF6. In contrast, female cases revealed co-occurrence of ASXL1 mutations and X-chromosome deletions with PHF6MT. Next, proteomics analysis revealed a direct interaction between PHF6 and the pioneer transcription factor RUNX1. Both proteins co-localize in active enhancer regions that define the context of lineage differentiation. Finally, we demonstrated a negative prognostic role of PHF6MT, especially in association with RUNX1. The negative effects on survival were additive as PHF6MT cases with RUNX1 mutations had worse outcomes when compared to cases carrying single mutation or wild-type.

  Study phs003303

• Analysis of AR Gene Rearrangements in Prostate Cancer

  Molecularly-targeted therapies for advanced prostate cancer include castration modalities that suppress ligand-dependent transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor (AR). However, persistent AR signaling undermines therapeutic efficacy and promotes progression to lethal castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), even when patients are treated with potent second-generation AR-targeted therapies abiraterone and enzalutamide. Here we define diverse AR genomic structural rearrangements (AR-GSRs) as a class of molecular alterations occurring in one third of CRPC-stage tumors. AR-GSRs occur in the context of copy-neutral and amplified AR and display heterogeneity in breakpoint location, rearrangement class, and sub-clonal enrichment in tumors within and between patients. Despite this heterogeneity, one common outcome in tumors with high sub-clonal enrichment of AR-GSRs is outlier expression of diverse AR variant species lacking the ligand binding domain and possessing ligand-independent transcriptional activity. Collectively, these findings reveal AR-GSRs as important drivers of persistent AR signaling in CRPC.

  Study phs001223

• The Finland-United States Investigation of NIDDM Genetics (FUSION) Study

  The Finland-United States Investigation of NIDDM Genetics (FUSION) study is a long-term effort to identify genetic variants that predispose to type 2 diabetes (T2D) or that impact the variability of T2D-related quantitative traits. The initial effort involved linkage analysis of affected-sibling-pair (ASP) families based on over 5,000 individuals living in Finland, and association fine mapping based on these family members and additional T2D cases and controls. We completed a genome-wide association scan on 1161 T2D cases and 1174 normal glucose tolerant (NGT) controls. Individual-level data is available for the 919 T2D cases and 787 NGT controls who reconsented to the use of their data or are deceased (phs000100). In addition, we selected these 919 T2D cases and a matched set of 919 NGT controls (774 overlapping with GWAS) for targeted sequencing of 78 genes associated with glucose, insulin, and/or lipids. 400 of these T2D cases were also chosen for whole-exome sequencing (phs000702).

  Study phs000867

• Nasopharynx Cancer Whole Exome Sequencing

  Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an aggressive head and neck cancer characterized by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and dense lymphocyte infiltration. The scarcity of NPC genomic data hinders the understanding of NPC biology, disease progression, and rational therapy design. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on 111 micro-dissected EBV-positive NPCs, with 15 cases subjected to further whole-genome sequencing (WGS), to determine its mutational landscape. We identified enrichment for genomic aberrations of multiple negative regulators of the NF-kB pathway in a total of 41% of cases including CYLD, TRAF3, NFKBIA and NLRC5. Functional analysis confirmed novel inactivating CYLD mutations as drivers for NPC cell growth. The EBV oncoprotein latent member protein 1 (LMP1) functions to constitutively activate NF-kB signaling, and we observed mutual exclusivity among somatic NF-kB pathway aberrations and LMP1-overexpression, suggesting that NF-kB activation is selected for by both somatic and viral events during NPC pathogenesis.

  Study phs001244

• Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Populations - Psychosis (NeuroGAP-Psychosis)

  The NeuroGAP-Psychosis study was conducted in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia as a response to the lack of genetic diversity in large genomic studies of psychiatric disorders. The study aims to expand knowledge of the genetic and environmental risk factors for neuropsychiatric disorders in Africa through large-scale sample collection and analysis. The initial design is a case-control study in which cases are individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and controls are age, sex and ancestry matched with individuals from the same geographic location. Cases are patients who are recruited from clinical facilities, both inpatient and outpatient. Controls are people who present for treatment for general medical conditions at health facilities. Data on phenotype, mental disorders, history of physical health problems, substance use and history of past traumatic events was collected from all participants. Additionally, a sample of saliva is collected for DNA extraction. DNA samples were sent to the Broad Institute for genotyping using Illumina Infinium Global Screening Array.  

  Study phs002528

• Genetics of Inherited Muscle Disease

  The samples are drawn from a collection of patients with a heterogeneous set of neuromuscular disorders, including congenital muscular dystrophy, congenital myopathy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, and arthrogryposis, along with unaffected parents and siblings in some cases. The samples were collected by the following clinicians affiliated with the associated institutes: Kathryn North and Nigel Clarke (Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia) Hanns Lochmuller and Kate Bushby (The Newcastle Muscle Centre, Newcastle University, UK) Peter Kang (Boston Children's Hospital) Carsten Bonnemann (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) Nigel Laing (University of Western Australia) All exome sequencing was performed at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; samples sequence capture was performed using Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon Kit v2 or Illumina's Rapid Capture Exome enrichment kit and sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2000. In addition some samples were whole genome sequenced on Illumina HiSeq X Ten.

  Study phs000655

• Multimodal Analysis for Human Ex Vivo Studies Shows Extensive Molecular Changes from Delays in Blood Processing

  Multi-omic profiling of human peripheral blood is increasingly utilized to identify biomarkers and pathophysiologic mechanisms of disease. The importance of these platforms in clinical and translational studies led us to investigate the impact of delayed blood processing on the numbers and state of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and on the plasma proteome. Similar to previous studies, we show minimal effects of delayed processing on the numbers and general phenotype of PBMCs up to 18 hours. In contrast, profound changes in the single-cell transcriptome and composition of the plasma proteome become evident as early as 6 hours after blood draw. These reflect patterns of cellular activation across diverse cell types that lead to progressive distancing of the gene expression state and plasma proteome from native in vivo biology. Differences accumulating during an overnight rest (18 hours) could confound relevant biologic variance related to many underlying disease states.

  Study phs002280

• Kids First: Genomic Analysis of Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistulas and Associated Congenital Anomalies

  The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) is a trans-NIH effort initiated in response to the 2014 Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act and supported by the NIH Common Fund. This program focuses on gene discovery in pediatric cancers and structural birth defects and the development of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Data Resource (Kids First Data Resource). All of the WGS and phenotypic data from this study are accessible through dbGaP and kidsfirstdrc.org, where other Kids First datasets can also be accessed. Esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) is a rare and complex aerodigestive congenital anomaly with an estimated incidence of 1 in 2500 to 1 in 4000 live births. We propose to elucidate the underlying genomic architecture of EA/TEF by performing whole genome sequencing to characterize new clinical syndromes associated with EA/TEF to provide more accurate clinical prognostic information.

  Study phs002161

• Genome Sequencing Reveals That RAD50 Hypomorphism Results in Enhanced Sensitivity to Checkpoint Kinase Inhibition Combined with Chemotherapy

  Outlier analyses represent a versatile method to identify predictive biomarkers of response to both targeted agents and chemotherapy. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of tumor and germline blood from a patient with metastatic small cell carcinoma of the ureter who experienced a durable complete response to a combination of irinotecan plus AZD7762, a checkpoint kinase inhibitor. The patient initially had resection of the ureter followed by metastatic recurrence within the kidney and lymph nodes and underwent nephrectomy with lymph node dissection. Through WGS of tissue from the second surgery, we detected a hypomorphic L1237F mutation within RAD50, a component of the Mre11 double strand break repair complex, which resulted in heightened sensitivity to the combination of checkpoint inhibition and clastogenic chemotherapy. We validated the WGS findings using a combination of an exon capture assay and validation in model systems. The tumor samples sequenced by exon capture were derived from tissue taken from both the initial and second surgeries.

  Study phs000706

• Discovery of Novel Melanoma Predisposing Mutations by Exome Sequencing

  Melanoma risk shows clear heritability, but the inherited genetic factors remain largely unknown. Rare high risk mutations in CDKN2A, CDK4, BAP1 and TERT have been described but these variants, in aggregate, account for less than 50% of the kindreds reporting a family history of melanoma. This project will seek to identify new genes which may confer melanoma susceptibility. Identifying melanoma predisposing mutations can provide new biological insights and may impact important clinical decision making regarding treatment, surveillance and preventive approaches. Hereditary melanoma patients (defined as those individuals with multiple primary melanomas and those patients with a family history of melanoma) were collected from melanoma clinics at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the A. Sygrous Hospital in Athens, Greece. All exome sequencing was performed at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; samples sequence capture was performed using Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon Kit v2 and sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2000 or 2500.

  Study phs000823

• iRHOM2 Deficiency Causes Environmentally Directed Immunodysregulatory Disease

  We have conducted a study of two kindreds each with a unique mutation in the gene RHBDF2 that encodes the protein iRHOM2. Whole exome (kindred 1) and whole genome sequencing (kindred 2) have uncovered the first human loss-of-function mutations of RHBDF2 in 4 individuals. The affected patients are all children, 8 years old or younger, and were brought to our attention initially due to their suffering recurrent infections. Sequencing of their family members revealed parents with heterozygous RHBDF2 mutations, and heterozygous and wild type siblings – all of which were unaffected by this disease. A comprehensive investigation of this gene mutation through in vivo and in vitro experiments revealed that a loss of the protein iRHOM2 impairs the activity of the protease ADAM17 and subsequently compromises immune responses. This condition leads to the afflicted patients becoming vulnerable to different infections based on their unique environment and presenting with diverse clinical phenotypes. 

  Study phs002478

• The Genomic Landscape of Interval Colorectal Cancers

  Interval colorectal cancers (CRC), cancers diagnosed after a screening/surveillance exam in which no cancer is detected, and before the date of the next recommended exam, reflect an unprecedented challenge in CRC detection and prevention. To better understand this poorly characterized CRC variant, we examined the clinical and mutational characteristics of interval CRCs in comparison to screen-detected CRCs. We used data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer randomized controlled trial (RCT) of flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) screening, which enrolled 154,900 men and women aged 55 to 74 years between 1993 and 2001. Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) was performed on 323 samples from 168 participants (data available through dbGaP). We found colorectal cancers diagnosed between screening exams (interval cancers) had significantly increased risk of death than screen detected cancers although no significant molecular differences were observed between screen-detected and interval CRC at the whole exome sequencing level.

  Study phs003093

• Unraveling the Genetic Architecture of Diabetic Retinopathy in South India

  This study aims to understand the genetic architecture of diabetic retinopathy in the South Indian population by examining participants with South Indian ancestry and type 2 diabetes (T2D) from two sources: the Sankara Nethralaya-Diabetic Retinopathy Epidemiology and Molecular Genetic Study (SN-DREAMS) and prospective recruitment at Sankara Nethralaya affiliates. A total of 2393 patients were recruited and included in the genetic analysis, with 1588 patients having no diabetic retinopathy (DR) serving as the controls and 805 patients with any level of DR serving as the cases. Enrolled individuals had genome-wide genotyping from DNA extracted from blood samples. In addition, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed on 31 members from 2 families. Clinical data, such as age, duration of diabetes, and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) were recorded for study participants. Diabetic retinopathy was assessed by clinical exam and/or fundus photography. The grading of diabetic retinopathy followed the International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale.

  Study phs002116

• Using NGS to Sequence Whole Genomes to Identify Genes Underlying ALS

  Our ALS Consortium - a partnership of clinicians, basic scientists, geneticists, and computational biologists from 48 institutions (4 of which are industry partners) across 5 countries - establishes a framework to apply whole genome sequencing (WGS) and functional genomics to the study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Because ALS-causing mutations tend to be of moderate impact and are relatively rare in the population (reviewed in Al-Chalabi et al., 2017, PMID: 27982040), identification of new mutations require several thousand samples, which need to be obtained from multiple sites (even the busiest ALS clinics see only 200-400 patients per year). ALS Consortium is using genomics technologies to study the causes and mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease, and the contribution of various cell types within the brain and spinal cord. Much of this work is done and continues to be done in collaboration with the members of the NYGC ALS Consortium.

  Study phs003067

• Multiplexing cortical brain organoids for the longitudinal dissection of developmental traits at single cell resolution

  Dissecting human neurobiology at high resolution and with mechanistic precision requires a major leap in scalability, given the need for experimental designs to multiple individuals and, prospectively, population cohorts. To lay the foundation for this, we have implemented and benchmarked complementary strategies to multiplex brain organoids by pooling cells from different pluripotent stem cell lines (PSC) either during organoid generation (mosaic models) or before single cell-RNAseq library preparation (downstream multiplexing). We have also developed a new computational method, SCanSNP, and a consensus call to deconvolve cell identities, overcoming current criticalities in doublets prediction and low quality cells identification. We validated both multiplexing methods for charting neurodevelopmental trajectories at high resolution, thus linking specificity to genetic variation. Finally, we modelled their scalability across different multiplexing combinations and showed that mosaic organoids represent an enabling method for high-throughput settings. Together, this multiplexing suite of experimental and computational methods provides a highly scalable resource for disease modelling.

  Study EGAS50000000698

• MP2PRT: Genomic and Molecular Characterization of Biomarkers Associated with Tumor Angiogenesis, DNA Repair, and Immunologic Tolerance using Samples from the NRG Oncology Phase 3 Randomized Trial, GOG-0240 (NCT00803062)

  The Molecular Profiling to Predict Response to Treatment (MP2PRT) program is part of the NCI's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The aim of this program is the retrospective characterization and analysis of biospecimens collected from completed NCI-sponsored trials of the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. This study is one of the selected studies under this program. For this study, genomic characterization (WGS, WXS, Total RNAseq, miRNAseq) has been performed on cervical tumor tissue from patients with advanced disease (persistent, recurrent, and metastatic) and matching germline samples. It is hypothesized that the characterization of these tissues using next generation sequencing will lead to the identification of relevant novel genetic aberrations within the immunologic, DNA repair, and tumor angiogenesis domains that dichotomize the study population into exceptional responders and non-responders to systemic therapy, with a spectrum of response manifesting between the two extremes.

  Study phs002293

• Single cell sequencing data of PBMC and CSF from a cohort of Multiple Sclerosis patients and other neurological disease controls

  Neuroinflammation is often characterised by immune cell infiltrates in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Here we apply single-cell RNA sequencing to explore the functional characteristics of these cells in patients with various inflammatory, infectious and non-inflammatory neurological disorders. We show that CSF is distinct from the peripheral blood in terms of both cellular composition and gene expression. We report that the cellular and transcriptional landscape of CSF is altered in neuroinflammation, but is strikingly similar across different neuroinflammatory disorders. We find clonal expansion of CSF B and T cells in all disorders but most pronounced in inflammatory diseases, and we functionally characterise the transcriptional features of these cells. Finally, we explore the genetic control of gene expression in CSF lymphocytes. Our results highlight the common features of immune cells in the CSF compartment across diverse neurological diseases and may help to identify new targets for drug development or repurposing in Multiple Sclerosis.

  Study EGAS50000000739

• MP2PRT-MNG: Identifying Novel Molecular Markers of Response to Radiotherapy in Meningiomas Using Samples from the RTOG-0539 (NCT00895622)

  The Molecular Profiling to Predict Response to Treatment (MP2PRT) program is part of the NCI's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The aim of this program is the retrospective characterization and analysis of biospecimens collected from completed NCI-sponsored trials of the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. NRG RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group)-0539, which was a nonrandomized phase II cooperative group trial in 2009, was selected for inclusion in this program. NRG RTOG-0539 assigned patients with histologically confirmed diagnosis of meningioma to 1 of 3 risk groups based on 2007 WHO grade, resection extent, and recurrence status, and radiotherapy was given per protocol to the intermediate- and high-risk cases. Under the MP2PRT program, DNA methylation profiling, RNA sequencing, and whole exome sequencing were performed on clinical trial cases with available tissue for molecular analyte extraction and subsequent sequencing. Raw molecular data with metadata are available for this study.

  Study phs003707

• DNA methylation and transposable element landscapes define human regulatory T cells in tissues and identify their blood recirculating counterpart

  Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in tissues can perform immunoregulatory and tissue-regenerative functions. Despite these important tasks, human-tissue Treg cells lack understanding, specifically, the epigenetic basis of their differentiation as well as re-circulating tissue-Treg cells are incompletely understood. Here, we performed genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of human Treg cells from skin and blood and embedded this in a multi-omic epigenetic framework including chromatin accessibility and gene-expression. We thereby revealed novel epigenetic programs defining human skin Treg cell differentiation and delineated how these are present on the different epigenetic levels. We discovered that transposable elements are an integral constituent of the demethylation landscape in skin Treg cells. Based on TCR-sequencing and DNA demethylation homologies, our data unveil that blood CCR8+ Treg cells are recirculatory human tissue-Treg cells. Our data provide novel insights in human tissue-Treg biology, required to harness these cells for therapeutic avenues.

  Study EGAS50000000738

• High Resolution Maps of the HeLa 3D Genome Using Hi-C

  We use in situ Hi-C to probe the three-dimensional architecture of genomes, constructing haploid and diploid maps of nine cell types (including HeLa). The densest, in human lymphoblastoid cells, contains 4.9 billion contacts, achieving 1-kilobase resolution. We find that genomes are partitioned into contact domains (median length, 185kb), which are associated with distinct patterns of histone marks and segregate into six subcompartments. We identify ~10,000 loops. These loops frequently link promoters and enhancers, correlate with gene activation, and show conservation across cell types and species. Loop anchors typically occur at domain boundaries and bind CTCF. CTCF sites at loop anchors occur predominantly (>90%) in a convergent orientation, with the asymmetric motifs 'facing' one another. The inactive X-chromosome splits into two massive domains and contains large loops anchored at CTCF-binding repeats. The data for the other (non-HeLa) cell types has been uploaded to GEO.

  Study phs001010

• Genomic Landscape of Apical Periodontitis

  We undertook the first genome-wide association (GWAS) study of apical periodontitis, enrolling 932 patients with deep carious lesions at UTHealth School of Dentistry and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. We used a case-control design to compare those with apical periodontitis to those without. Genotype data was generated for all participants and imputed using the TOPMed reference panel. We performed a single-variant association testing, a subphenotype analysis, and a genetically regulated expression association analysis, and generated a polygenic risk score and performed phenome-wide association analysis. We identified eight near-genome-wide significant loci for our primary outcome, eight genes where genetically regulated expression was associated with apical periodontitis status, and 33 phecodes that were associated with the generated polygenic risk score. We also replicated three loci previously reported in the literature. Genotype, phenotype, and results from the primary association analysis will be available via dbGaP.

  Study phs003252

• Pooled Mutant KRAS-Targeted Long Peptide Vaccine Combined with Nivolumab and Ipilimumab for Patients with Resected MMR-p Colorectal and Pancreatic Cancer

  We developed INtraCEllular Reverse Transcription with Sorting and sequencing (INCERTS), an approach to combine molecular indexing of receptor repertoires within intact cells and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We demonstrate that INCERTS enables efficient processing of millions of cells from pooled human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples while retaining robust association between T cell receptor (TCR) sequences and cellular phenotypes. We used INCERTS to discover antigen-specific TCRs from patients with cancer immunized with a novel mutant KRAS peptide vaccine. After ex vivo stimulation, 28 uniquely barcoded samples were pooled prior to FACS into peptide-reactive and non-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ populations. Combining complementary patient-matched single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data enabled retrieval of full-length, paired TCR alpha and beta chain sequences for future validation of therapeutic utility. Data available through dbGaP include scRNA-seq with matched TCR-seq.

  Study phs003425

• Efficient prediction of a spatial transcriptomics profile better characterizes breast cancer tissue sections without costly experimentation

  Spatial transcriptomics is an emerging technology requiring costly reagents and considerable skills, limiting the identification of transcriptional markers related to histology. Here, we show that predicted spatial gene-expressions in unmeasured regions and tissues can enhance biologists��� histological interpretations. We developed the Deep learning model for Spatial gene Clusters and Expression, DeepSpaCE and confirmed its performance using the spatial-transcriptome profiles and immunohistochemistry images of consecutive human breast cancer tissue sections. For example, the predicted expression patterns of SPARC, an invasion marker, highlighted a small tumor-invasion region that is difficult to identify using raw data of spatial transcriptome alone because of a lack of measurements. We further developed semi-supervised DeepSpaCE using unlabeled histology images and increased the imputation accuracy of consecutive sections, enhancing applicability for a small sample size. Our method enables users to derive hidden histological characters via spatial transcriptome and gene annotations, leading to accelerated biological discoveries without additional experiments.

  Study JGAS000290

• Reference epigenomes generated as part of the International Human Epigenomics Consortium (IHEC)

  The Centre for Epigenome Mapping Technologies (CEMT) is an epigenome sequencing platform funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Genome BC as part of the Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium (CEEHRC). CEMT aims to produce 100 human reference epigenomes, each comprising the following datasets: whole genome; whole genome bisulfite and oxidative bisulfite; transcriptome; microRNA; and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq for the core chromatin marks (H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27me3, H3K36me3, and H3K27ac).CEEHRC is a full member of the International Human Epigenomics Consortium (IHEC), which aims to coordinate the production of 1,000 reference maps of human epigenomes for key cellular states relevant to health and diseases. As such, all datasets submitted by the CEMT platform conform to IHEC assay standards and metadata guidelines.

  Study EGAS00001000552

• Exome Sequencing of Gastric Cancer

  GASTRIC cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease with multiple environmental etiologies and alternative pathways of carcinogenesis. Beyond mutations in TP53, alterations in other genes or pathways account only for small subsets of the disease. We performed exome sequencing of 22 GCs and identified mutated genes and pathway alterations previously unreported: genes involved in chromatin modification were commonly mutated. A downstream validation study confirmed frequent inactivating mutations and/or protein deficiency of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex gene ARID1A in 83% of GCs with microsatellite instability, 73% of GCs with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, and 11% of non-EBV microsatellite stable GCs. The mutation spectrum of ARID1A differs between molecular subtypes and the mutation prevalence is negatively associated with mutations in TP53. Clinically, ARID1A alterations were associated with better prognosis in a stage-independent manner. These results revealed the genomic landscape and highlighted the importance of chromatin remodeling in the molecular taxonomy of GCs.

  Study EGAS00001000153

• Exome_sequencing_of_blastic_plasmacytoid_dendritic_cell_neoplasms

  Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare and aggressive haematological malignancy derived from precursors of plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Due to the rarity of BPDCNs our knowledge of their molecular pathogenesis was until recently confined to observations describing reccurent chromosomal deletions involving chromosomes 5q, 12p, 13q, 6q, 15q and 9. A recent publication went on to delineate the common deleted regions using aCGH and demonstrated that these centred around known tumour suppressor genes including CDKN2A/B (9p21.3), RB1 (12p13.2-14.3), CDKN1B (13q11-q12) and IKZF1 (7p12.2).These mutations are found recurrently in several different cancers and in most cases are thought to be involved in tumour progression rather than initiation. However, the well-defined nature and cellular ontogeny of these neoplasms suggests strongly that they share one or a few characteristic mutations as has been demonstrated for other uncommon but well-defined neoplasms such as Hairy Cell Leukemia (BRAF) and ovarian Granulosa Cell tumours (FOXL2).

  Study EGAS00001000171

• Genome Landscape of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

  Patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) have experienced little improvement in overall survival, and standard treatment has not advanced beyond platinum-based combination chemotherapy, during the past 30 years. To understand the drivers of clinical phenotypes better, here we use whole-genome sequencing of tumour and germline DNA samples from 92 patients with primary refractory, resistant, sensitive and matched acquired resistant disease. We show that gene breakage commonly inactivates the tumour suppressors RB1, NF1, RAD51B and PTEN in HGSC, and contributes to acquired chemotherapy resistance. CCNE1 amplification was common in primary resistant and refractory disease. We observed several molecular events associated with acquired resistance, including multiple independent reversions of germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations in individual patients, loss of BRCA1 promoter methylation, an alteration in molecular subtype, and recurrent promoter fusion associated with overexpression of the drug efflux pump MDR1.

  Study EGAS00001000397

• Genetic_profiling_of_mucosal_melanoma

  Primary mucosal melanomas (MMs) arise from melanocytes located in mucosal membranes lining the respiratory, gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. MMs frequently present late and have a poor prognosis; the 5-year survival rate is only 14%. MM makes up only ~1.4% of all melanomas and it is this rarity that makes knowledge of the genetic changes that contribute to its pathogenesis limited to a small number of exome/genome studies and other targeted studies. Thus to investigate the somatic alterations and mutation spectra in MM genomes, we have extracted genomic DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) human MMs, and subjected them to whole exome sequencing. Given the propensity of MM to metastasize, we will also be sequencing metastatic MM lesions; primary and metastatic lesions from the same individual represent an excellent opportunity to identify potential drivers of metastasis in MM. Finally we will sequence ‘normal’ DNA from the same individual, where possible, to exclude germline variations.

  Study EGAS00001001115

• Integrated genomic characterization of IDH1 mutant Glioma malignant progression

  Gliomas represent approximately 30% of all central nervous system tumors, and 80% of malignant brain tumors. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the malignant progression of low-grade Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutant gliomas, we studied paired tumor samples from 41 patients, comparing higher-grade, progressed samples to their lower-grade counterparts. Integrated genomic analyses, including whole-exome sequencing, copy number, gene expression and DNA methylation profiling, demonstrated non-linear clonal expansion of the original tumors and identified oncogenic pathways driving progression. These include activation of the MYC and RTK-RAS-PI3K pathways, up-regulation of the FOXM1- and E2F2-mediated cell cycle transition genes, as well as epigenetic silencing of developmental transcriptional factors bound by Polycomb repressive complex 2 in human embryonic stem cells. Our results not only provide mechanistic insight into the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms driving glioma progression but also identify inhibition of the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family as a potential therapeutic approach.

  Study EGAS00001001588

• Genome-wide quantification of rare somatic mutations in normal human tissues using massively parallel sequencing

  We present Bottleneck Sequencing System (BotSeqS), a nextgeneration sequencing method that simultaneously quantifies rare somatic point mutations across the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. BotSeqS combines molecular barcoding with a simple dilution step immediately prior to library amplification. We use BotSeqS to show age and tissue-dependent accumulations of rare mutations and demonstrate that somatic mutational burden in normal tissues can vary by several orders of magnitude, depending on biologic and environmental factors. We further show major differences between the mutational patterns of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in normal tissues. Lastly, the mutation spectra of normal tissues were different from each other, but similar to those of the cancers that arose in them. This technology can provide insights into the number and nature of genetic alterations in normal tissues and can be used to address a variety of fundamental questions about the genomes of diseased tissues.

  Study EGAS00001001838

• The clinicopathologic spectrum and genomic landscape of de-/trans-differentiated melanoma

  De- and trans-differentiation is a rare and only poorly understood phenomenon in cutaneous melanoma. To study this disease more comprehensively we have retrieved 11 primary cutaneous melanomas from our pathology archives showing biphasic features characterized by a conventional melanoma and additional areas of de-/trans-differentiation as defined by a lack of immunohistochemical expression of all conventional melanocytic markers (S-100 protein, SOX10, Melan-A and HMB-45). The clinical, histologic and immunohistochemical findings were recorded and follow-up was obtained. The patients were mostly elderly (median: 81 years; range: 42-86 years) without significant gender predilection, and the sun-exposed skin of the head and neck area was most commonly affected. The tumors were deeply invasive with a mean tumor thickness of 7 mm (range: 4-80 mm). The dedifferentiated component showed atypical fibroxanthoma-like features in the majority (7), while additional rhabdomyosarcomatous and epithelial transdifferentiation was noted histologically and/or immunohistochemically in two tumors each. The background conventional melanoma component was of desmoplastic (4), superficial spreading (3), nodular (2), lentigo maligna (1) or spindle cell (1) types. For the 7 patients with available follow-up data (median follow-up period of 25 months; range: 8-36 months), 2 died from their disease and 3 developed metastases. Next-generation sequencing of the cohort revealed somatic mutation of established melanoma drivers including mainly NF1 mutations in the conventional component (5 cases), which were also detected in the corresponding de-/trans-differentiated components. In summary, the diagnosis of de-/trans-differentiated melanoma is challenging and depends on the morphologic identification of the conventional melanoma component. Molecular analysis is diagnostically helpful as the mutated gene profile is shared between the conventional and de-/trans-differentiated components. Importantly, de-/trans-differentiation does not appear to confer a more aggressive behavior.

  Dataset EGAD00001007033

• Preferential infiltration of unique Vγ9Jγ2‐Vδ2 T cells into glioblastoma multiforme

  Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is clinically highly aggressive as a result of evolutionary dynamics induced by cross-talk between cancer cells and a heterogeneous group of immune cells in tumor microenvironment. The brain harbors limited numbers of immune cells with few lymphocytes and macrophages; thus, innate‐like lymphocytes, such as γδ T cells, have important roles in antitumor immunity. Here, we characterized GBM‐infiltrating γδ T cells, which may have roles in regulating the GBM tumor microenvironment and cancer cell gene expression. V(D)J repertoires of tumor‐infiltrating and blood‐circulating γδ T cells from four patients were analyzed by next-generation sequencing-based T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing in addition to mutation and immune profiles in four GBM cases. In all tumor tissues, abundant innate and effector/memory lymphocytes were detected, accompanied by large numbers of tumor‐associated macrophages and closely located tumor‐infiltrating γδ T cells, which appear to have anti-tumor activity. The immune-related gene expression analysis using the TCGA database showed that the signature gene expression extent of γδ T cells were more associated with those of cytotoxic T and Th1 cells and M1 macrophages than those of Th2 cells and M2 macrophages. Although the most abundant γδ T cells were Vγ9Vδ2 T cells in both tumor tissues and blood, the repertoire of intratumoral Vγ9Vδ2 T cells was distinct from that of peripheral blood Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and was dominated by Vγ9Jγ2 sequences, not by canonical Vγ9JγP sequences that are mostly commonly found in blood γδ T cells. Collectively, unique GBM‐specific TCR clonotypes were identified by comparing TCR repertoires of peripheral blood and intra‐tumoral γδ T cells. These findings will be helpful for the elucidation of tumor-specific antigens and development of anticancer immunotherapies using tumor-infiltrating γδ T cells.

  Dataset EGAD00001004862

• The clinicopathologic spectrum and genomic landscape of de-/trans-differentiated melanoma

  De- and trans-differentiation is a rare and only poorly understood phenomenon in cutaneous melanoma. To study this disease more comprehensively we have retrieved 11 primary cutaneous melanomas from our pathology archives showing biphasic features characterized by a conventional melanoma and additional areas of de-/trans-differentiation as defined by a lack of immunohistochemical expression of all conventional melanocytic markers (S-100 protein, SOX10, Melan-A and HMB-45). The clinical, histologic and immunohistochemical findings were recorded and follow-up was obtained. The patients were mostly elderly (median: 81 years; range: 42-86 years) without significant gender predilection, and the sun-exposed skin of the head and neck area was most commonly affected. The tumors were deeply invasive with a mean tumor thickness of 7 mm (range: 4-80 mm). The dedifferentiated component showed atypical fibroxanthoma-like features in the majority (7), while additional rhabdomyosarcomatous and epithelial transdifferentiation was noted histologically and/or immunohistochemically in two tumors each. The background conventional melanoma component was of desmoplastic (4), superficial spreading (3), nodular (2), lentigo maligna (1) or spindle cell (1) types. For the 7 patients with available follow-up data (median follow-up period of 25 months; range: 8-36 months), 2 died from their disease and 3 developed metastases. Next-generation sequencing of the cohort revealed somatic mutation of established melanoma drivers including mainly NF1 mutations in the conventional component (5 cases), which were also detected in the corresponding de-/trans-differentiated components. In summary, the diagnosis of de-/trans-differentiated melanoma is challenging and depends on the morphologic identification of the conventional melanoma component. Molecular analysis is diagnostically helpful as the mutated gene profile is shared between the conventional and de-/trans-differentiated components. Importantly, de-/trans-differentiation does not appear to confer a more aggressive behavior.

  Dataset EGAD00001007034

• Determination of cell specific regulatory enhancers in hematopoetic models

  The BLUEPRINT project is a large-scale project investigating epigenetic mechanisms involved in blood formation, in health and disease. The human variation workpackage (WP10, led by NS) of the project seeks to characterize the effect of common sequence variation on the epigenome status of a cell. To do this, the project will use highly purified blood cells to minimise "experimental noise" and therefore enhance the power to discover modest effects. Two peripheral blood cell types, the CD14+CD16- monocyte (an important central orchestrator of adaptive immunity and a bridge between innate and adaptive immunity) and the CD65+CD9- neutrophilic granulocyte (the frontline cell for innate immunity) have been selected for this purpose. The two types of cells will be obtained at high purity from adult blood (AB) of 200 healthy males and females, respectively. Cells will be purified by using already validated and fully operational protocols that are based on density gradient centrifugation of the buffy coat obtained from whole blood, followed by magnetic bead-based purification using monoclonal antibodies against Cluster of Differentiation (CD) lineage-specific cell surface markers. Units of 475 ml of AB will be obtained from consenting volunteers of the Cambridge BioResource (CBR), a panel of 10,000 healthy volunteers local to Cambridge who have already consented to participate in biomedical research and of whom biological samples (DNA, plasma, serum) and lifestyle data have been deposited in a repository and database, respectively. We are requesting funding from the Human Diversity project to sequence the genomes of the 200 CBR volunteers at low pass (6x coverage). Nuclei, DNA and RNA will be recovered from the purified cells and made available for RNA-seq, DNA-seq and ChIP-seq and genomic DNA for entire genome sequencing will be recovered from the DNA repository.

  Dataset EGAD00001002205

• Adult granulosa cell tumor WGS data cohort with corresponding reference germline WGS data

  Adult granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) harbor a somatic FOXL2 c.402C>G mutation in ~95% of cases and are mainly surgically removed due to limited systemic treatment effect. In this study, potentially targetable genomic alterations in AGCTs were investigated by whole genome sequencing on 46 tumor samples and matched normal DNA. Copy number variant (CNV) analysis confirmed gain  of chromosome 12 and 14, and loss of 22. Pathogenic TP53 mutations were identified in three patients with highest tumor mutational burden and mitotic activity, defining a high-grade AGCT subgroup. Within-patient tumor comparisons showed 29-80% unique somatic mutations per sample, suggesting tumor heterogeneity. FOXL2-wildtype AGCTs had DICER1, TERT(C228T) and TP53 mutations and similar CNV profiles as FOXL2-mutant tumors. Our study confirms that absence of the FOXL2 c.402C>G mutation does not exclude AGCT diagnosis. The lack of overlapping variants in targetable cancer genes, indicates the need for personalized treatment for AGCT patients 

  Study EGAS00001004249

• Orthotopic Patient-Derived Xenografts of Pediatric Solid Tumors

  Pediatric solid tumors arise from endodermal, ectodermal, or mesodermal lineages. Although the overall survival of children with solid tumors is 75%-80%, that of children with recurrent disease is below 30%. To capture the complexity and diversity of pediatric solid tumors and establish new models of recurrent disease, we developed a protocol to produce orthotopic patient-derived xenografts (O-PDXs) at diagnosis, recurrence, and autopsy. Tumor specimens were received from 168 patients, and 64 O-PDXs were established for 12 types of pediatric solid tumors. The origins of the O-PDX tumors were reflected in their gene-expression profiles and epigenomes. Genomic profiling of the tumors, including detailed clonal analysis, was performed to determine whether the clonal population in the xenograft recapitulated the patient’s tumor. We identified several drug vulnerabilities and showed that the combination of a WEE1 inhibitor (AZD1775), irinotecan, and vincristine can lead to complete response in multiple rhabdomyosarcoma O-PDX tumors in vivo.

  Study EGAS00001002528

• Engineering large chromosomal deletions by CRISPR-Cas9

  Arm-level chromosomal deletions are a prevalent and defining feature of cancer. A high degree of tumor-type and subtype specific recurrencies suggest a selective oncogenic advantage. However, due to their large size it has been difficult to pinpoint the oncogenic drivers that confer this advantage. Suitable functional genomics approaches to study the oncogenic driving capacity of arm-level deletions are limited. Here we present an effective technique to engineer arm-level deletions by CRISPR-Cas9 and create isogenic cell line models. We simultaneously induce double-strand breaks (DSBs) at two ends of a chromosomal arm and select the cells that have lost the intermittent region. Using this technique, we induced arm-level deletions on chromosome 11q (65 MB) and chromosome 6q (53 MB) in neuroblastoma cell lines. Such isogenic models enable further research on the role of arm-level deletions in tumor development and growth, and their possible therapeutic potential.

  Study EGAS00001005134

• A biobank of patient-derived pediatric brain tumor models

  Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Genomic studies have provided insights into molecular subgroups and oncogenic drivers of pediatric brain tumors that may lead to novel therapeutic strategies. To evaluate new treatments, better preclinical models adequately reflecting the biological heterogeneity are needed. Through the Children’s Oncology Group ACNS02B3 study, we have generated and comprehensively characterized 30 patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models and 7 cell lines representing 14 molecular subgroups of pediatric brain tumors. Patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models were found to be representative of the human tumors they were derived from in terms of histology, immunohistochemistry, gene expression, DNA methylation, copy number, and mutational profiles. In vivo drug sensitivity of targeted therapeutics was associated with distinct molecular tumor subgroups and specific genetic alterations. These models and their molecular characterization provide an unprecedented resource for the cancer community to study key oncogenic drivers and to evaluate novel treatment strategies.

  Study EGAS00001002536

• Molecular Subtype-specific Biomarkers Improves Colorectal Cancer Prognostication

  Colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by major inter-tumor diversity that complicates the prediction of disease and treatment outcomes. Recent efforts help resolve this by sub-classification of CRC according to natural molecular subtypes, however, this strategy is not yet able to provide clinicians with improved tools for decision-making. We here present an extended framework for CRC stratification that specifically aims to improve patient prognostication. Using transcriptional profiles from 1,100 CRCs, including a novel set of >300 samples, we identify novel cancer cell and tumor archetypes and suggest the tumor microenvironment as a major prognostic determinant that can be influenced by the microbiome. Notably, our subtyping strategy allowed identification of novel archetype-specific prognostic biomarkers that provided information beyond and independent of UICC-TNM staging, MSI-status and consensus molecular subtyping. The results illustrate that our extended subtyping framework, combining subtyping and subtype-specific biomarkers, could contribute to improved patient prognostication and may form a strong basis for future studies.

  Study EGAS00001002376

• DONSON encodes a novel replication fork protection factor mutated in microcephalic dwarfism.

  To ensure efficient genome duplication, cells have evolved a multitude of factors that promote unperturbed DNA replication, and protect, repair and restart damaged forks. Here we identify DONSON as a novel fork protection factor, and report biallelic DONSON mutations in 29 individuals with microcephalic dwarfism. We demonstrate that DONSON is a component of the replisome that stabilises forks during normal genome replication. Loss of DONSON leads to severe replication-associated DNA damage arising from nucleolytic cleavage of stalled replication forks. Furthermore, ATR-dependent signalling in response to replication stress is impaired in DONSON-deficient cells, resulting in decreased checkpoint activity, and potentiating chromosomal instability. Hypomorphic mutations substantially reduce DONSON protein levels and impair fork stability in patient cells, consistent with defective DNA replication underlying the disease phenotype. In summary, we identify mutations in DONSON as a common cause of microcephalic dwarfism, and establish DONSON as a critical replication fork protein required for mammalian DNA replication and genome stability.

  Study EGAS00001002224

• Transcriptome analysis in very preterm infants with chronic lung disease after birth

  Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common complication of prematurity and is characterized by impaired alveolar and vascular development. The aim of the study was to identify early BPD-relevant pathways by applying whole genome transcriptional profiling combined with protein measurements from umbilical arterial blood samples of preterm infants with and without BPD. Only newborn infants <32 weeks gestational age (GA) were prospectively included in this study. Blood was obtained from an indwelling umbilical artery catheter at birth and after 72 hours after birth and subjected to gene expression analysis using the Codelink Human I 10k Bioarray and the the Codelink Human Whole Genome Bioarray. The study reveals a monocyte-centered immune response at birth characterizing preterm infants later developing BPD. The findings provide potential markers for early risk stratification in the preterm infant with respect to the development of chronic pulmonary disease and may subsequently enable the development of new treatment strategies in this high risk patient cohort.

  Study EGAS00001002586

• Single cell RNA sequencing and Whole Genome Sequencing on different cells from the same sample for a triple negative patient derived xenograft and ovarian cancer cell lines.

  Measuring gene expression of genomically defined tumour clones at single cell resolution would associate functional consequences to somatic alterations, as a prelude to elucidating pathways driving cell population growth, resistance and relapse. In the absence of scalable methods to simultaneously assay DNA and RNA from the same single cell, independent sampling of cell populations for parallel measurement of single cell DNA and single cell RNA must be computationally mapped for genome-transcriptome association. Here we present clonealign, a robust statistical framework to assign gene expression states to cancer clones using single-cell RNA-seq and DNA-seq independently sampled from an heterogeneous cancer cell population. We apply clonealign to triple-negative breast cancer patient derived xenografts and high-grade serous ovarian cancer cell lines and discover clone-specific dysregulated biological pathways not visible using either DNA-Seq or RNA-Seq alone.

  Study EGAS00001003387

• Gut metagenome associations with extensive digital health data in a volunteer-based EstMB cohort

  Microbiome research is starting to move beyond the exploratory phase towards interventional trials and therefore well-characterized cohorts will be instrumental for generating hypothesis and providing new knowledge. As part of the Estonian Biobank, we established the Estonian Microbiome Cohort which includes stool, oral and plasma samples from 2,509 participants and is supplemented with multi-omic measurements, questionnaires, and regular linkages to national electronic health records. In this study, we analyzed stool data from deep metagenomic sequencing together with rich phenotyping, including 71 diseases, 136 medications, 21 dietary questions, 5 procedures, and 19 other factors. The data revealed numerous relationships with different microbiome features. Additionally, the long-term antibiotic usage, independent from recent administration, has a significant impact on the microbiome composition, partly explaining the common associations between diseases. Overall, this study extends the understanding of microbiome–host interactions and facilitates the development of microbiome-related studies.

  Study EGAS00001005900

• X chromosomal genetic variants are associated with childhood obesity

  Current genetic association studies are usually focused on autosomal variants only, and the sex chromosomes are often neglected. In recent years, a number of statistical techniques and strategies have been widely described making much easier overcoming X-chromosome technical hurdles and including this region within genetic studies. Tenomodulin (TNMD) is a Xq22 chromosome anti angiogenic locus which has been recently linked to different obesity-related phenotypes. These results have not been replicated to date. Given these facts, we have conducted a genetic association analysis in Spanish children population including seven TNMD SNPs as potential candidate markers for obesity and metabolic dysfunctions. Additionally genotypes for another locus located in the X chromosome, the SLC6A14, have been included in the dataset. A total of 915 DNA samples from 258 normal weight, 177 overweight and 480 obese Spanish children (438 males, 477 females) were genotyped for seven TNMD SNPs and one SLC6A14 SNP. Associations with anthropometric measurements and glucose metabolism were investigated.

  Study EGAS00001002738

• Human Pancreatic Beta Cell lncRNAs Control Cell-Specific Regulatory Networks

  Recent studies have uncovered thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human pancreatic β cells. β cell lncRNAs are often cell type specific and exhibit dynamic regulation during differentiation or upon changing glucose concentrations. Although these features hint at a role of lncRNAs in β cell gene regulation and diabetes, the function of β cell lncRNAs remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of β cell-specific lncRNAs and transcription factors using transcript knockdowns and co-expression network analysis. This revealed lncRNAs that function in concert with transcription factors to regulate β cell-specific transcriptional networks. We further demonstrate that the lncRNA PLUTO affects local 3D chromatin structure and transcription of PDX1, encoding a key β cell transcription factor, and that both PLUTO and PDX1 are downregulated in islets from donors with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. These results implicate lncRNAs in the regulation of β cell-specific transcription factor networks.

  Study EGAS00001002865

• SG10K_Pilot - Large-scale whole-genome sequencing of three diverse Asian populations in Singapore

  Underrepresentation of Asian genomes has hindered population and medical genetics research on Asians, leading to population disparities in precision medicine. By whole-genome sequencing of 4,810 Singapore Chinese, Malays, and Indians, we found 98.3 million SNPs and small insertions/deletions, over half of which are novel. Population structure analysis demonstrated great representation of Asian genetic diversity by three ethnicities in Singapore, and revealed a Malay-related novel ancestry component. Furthermore, demographic inference suggested that Malays split from Chinese ~24,800 years ago, and experienced significant admixture with East Asians ~1,700 years ago, coinciding with the Austronesian expansion. Additionally, we identified 20 candidate loci for natural selection, among which 14 harbored robust associations with complex traits and diseases. Finally, we showed that our data can substantially improve genotype imputation in diverse Asian and Oceanian populations. These results highlight the value of our data as a resource to empower human genetics discovery across broad geographic regions.

  Study EGAS00001003875

• A Universal Gut Metagenomic-Derived Signature Predicts Cirrhosis

  Dysregulation of the gut microbiome has been implicated in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. To determine the diagnostic capacity of this association, stool microbiomes were compared across 163 well-characterized participants encompassing non-NAFLD controls, NAFLD-cirrhosis patients and their first-degree relatives. Interrogation of shotgun metagenomic and untargeted metabolomic profiles using the Random Forest machine learning algorithm and differential abundance analysis identified discrete metagenomic and metabolomic signatures that were similarly effective in detecting cirrhosis (diagnostic accuracy 0.91, AUC). Combining the metagenomic signature with age and serum albumin levels accurately distinguished cirrhosis in etiologically and genetically distinct cohorts from geographically separated regions. Additional inclusion of serum aspartate aminotransferase levels, which are increased in cirrhosis patients, enabled discrimination of cirrhosis from earlier stages of fibrosis. These findings demonstrate that a core set of gut microbiome species may offer universal utility as a non-invasive diagnostic test for cirrhosis.

  Study EGAS00001004600

• Uterine_Atlas_Endometriosis

  Uterine Atlas Endometriosis Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease driven by oestrogen, affecting around 10% of women of child-bearing again world-wide. It is described by the presence of endometrium-like tissue outside of the uterus (ectopic endometriosis tissue) and debilitating chronic pain. There is a lack of understanding of endometriosis pathogenesis, as well as cellular composition of both the eutopic endometrium and ectopic endometriosis tissue of endometriosis patients.There are therefore two main aims for this study. Using single cell genomics and spatial methods we aim to: I) characterise endometrial cellular census in women with and without endometriosis II) characterise cellular census of ectopic endometriosis tissue Furthermore, we aim to establish endometrial organoids and endometriosis organoids from the samples collected and characterise these using single cell genomics and spatial methods. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001004725

• DNA Methylation loss coupled with mitotic cell division promotes immune evasion of tumours with high mutation load

  Mitotic cell division increases tumour mutation burden and copy number load with a positive and inverse correlation, respectively, with the clinical benefit of immunotherapy. Markers of cell division correlate also with genomic demethylation involving methylation loss in late-replicating partial methylation domains. Here we find that immunomodulatory pathway genes are concentrated in these domains and transcriptionally repressed in demethylated tumours with CpG island promoter hypermethylation. Global methylation loss correlated with immune evasion signatures independently of mutation burden and aneuploidy. Methylome data of our cohort (n = 60) and a published cohort (n = 81) in lung cancer and a melanoma cohort (n = 40) consistently demonstrated that genomic methylation alterations counteract the contribution of high mutation burden and increase immunotherapeutic resistance. Higher predictive power was observed for methylation loss than mutation burden. We also found that genomic hypomethylation correlates with the immune escape signatures of aneuploid tumours. Hence, DNA methylation alterations implicate epigenetic modulation as a combination regimens for precision immunotherapy.

  Study EGAS00001003731

• Single_cell_analysis_of_cytokine_induced_T_cell_states

  We isolated T cells from healthy platelet donors and cultured them in resting and stimulated conditions with addition of a range of cytokines. We performed scRNA sequencing to assess the variability of polarization in different cytokines treated cells. Cytokines affect T cell responses by polarising them to different phenotypes. Given that the inflammation and and autoimmune tissue distruction is driven by the local production of cytokines, we investigated cytokine induced changes in T cells by using a combination of immunological and genomics approaches. To characterize, the efficacy of cytokine induced porization, here we stimulated naive and memory CD4+ T cells in the presence of cytokine polarizing coctails and profiled single cell transcriptome five days following polarization. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001003215

• The genomic landscape of early stage ovarian high grade serous carcinoma

  To determine whether early-stage ovarian high grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) represents a distinct genomic entity, we collected samples from 43 patients with stage IA-IIA HGSC to identify potential differences in short genomic variants and copy number aberrations, and compared them to a cohort of 52 late-stage (stage IIIC-IV) cases. We found no significant differences in somatic mutations or focal copy number alterations between early-stage and late-stage cohorts. There was, however, a significant difference in both ploidy and copy number signature exposure between early and late-stage samples, with higher ploidy and signature 4 exposure in late-stage cases. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering revealed three clusters, which were prognostic. Together, our data suggest that early and late-stage HGSC share fundamental genomic features, but that late- stage disease appears distinct from early-stage, with evidence of whole genome duplication that may provide evolutionary benefit.

  Study EGAS00001005567

• Whole genome sequencing data for 10 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and matched non-tumor liver tissues + optical mapping data for 4 HCC and 3 matched non-tumor liver tissues.

  Oncogene activation leads to replication stress and promotes genomic instability. Here we combine optical mapping and whole genome sequencing to explore in-depth the nature of structural variants (SVs) induced by replication stress in cyclin-activated hepatocellular carcinomas (CCN-HCC). In addition to classical tandem duplications, CCN-HCC display frequent intra- and inter-chromosomal templated insertion cycles (TIC) likely resulting from template switching events. Template switching preferentially involves active topologically associated domains that are close in the 3D genome organization. Template sizes depend on the type of cyclin activation and are coordinated within each TIC. Replication stress induces continuous accumulation of SVs during CCN-HCC progression, fostering the acquisition of new driver alterations and large-scale copy-number changes at TIC borders. Together, this analysis sheds light on the mechanisms, dynamics and consequences of SV accumulation in tumors with oncogene-induced replication stress.

  Study EGAS00001005629

• Single-cell RNA-seq of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of late stage severe COVID-19 patients

  COVID-19-induced ‘acute respiratory distress syndrome’ (ARDS) is associated with prolonged respiratory failure and high mortality, but the mechanistic basis of lung injury remains incompletely understood. Here, we analyzed pulmonary immune responses and lung pathology in two cohorts of patients with COVID-19 ARDS using functional single cell genomics, immunohistology and electron microscopy. We describe an accumulation of CD163-expressing monocyte-derived macrophages, that acquired a profibrotic transcriptional phenotype during COVID-19 ARDS. Gene set enrichment and computational data integration revealed a significant similarity between COVID-19-associated macrophages and profibrotic macrophage populations identified in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. COVID-19 ARDS was associated with clinical, radiographic, histopathological, and ultrastructural hallmarks of pulmonary fibrosis. Exposure of human monocytes to SARS-CoV-2, but not Influenza A virus or viral RNA analogs, was sufficient to induce a similar profibrotic phenotype in vitro. In conclusion, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 triggers profibrotic macrophage responses and pronounced fibroproliferative ARDS.

  Study EGAS00001005634

• A molecular signature for IL-10-producing Th1 cells in protozoan parasitic diseases

  Control of the intracellular parasites that cause malaria and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is dependent on the generation of pro-inflammatory, IFNγ+ Tbet+ CD4+ T (Th1) cells by infected hosts. Immunoregulatory IL-10 produced by Th1 cells serves to mitigate subsequent inflammation and related disease pathology. However, these IL-10-producing Th1 (Tr1) cells can also not only promote parasite persistence, but may impair immunity to re-infection and potential vaccine efficacy. Here, we identify molecular and phenotypic signatures that distinguish Th1 cells from Tr1 cells in both experimental VL, caused by infection of C57BL/6 mice with the human parasite Leishmania donovani, and in Plasmodium falciparum-infected humans participating in controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) studies. Such characterisations allow for the better understanding of Tr1 cell development and function in the context of these parasitic diseases, and for the identification of targets for immune modulation to improve anti-parasitic immunity.

  Study EGAS00001004454

• Fibroblast heterogeneity drives metastatic spread in breast cancer through distinct mechanisms

  The major cause of death among breast cancer patients is metastatic dissemination, suggesting that understanding the mechanisms driving this process remains an unmet medical need. Here, by concomitantly using 5 markers, we identify 4 Carcinoma-Associated Fibroblasts (CAF) subsets in primary tumors and corresponding metastatic lymph nodes (LN). Two CAF subsets, called CAF-S1 and CAF-S4, correlate with the proportion of cancer cells in invaded LN and exert distinct functions in tumor cell spread. CAF-S1 promote cancer cell migration and initiates an epithelial to mesenchymal transition through a CXCL12 / TGFb positive loop. For their part, the highly contractile CAF-S4 foster cancer cell motility and invasion in 3-dimensional matrix via Notch pathway activation. Finally, CAF-S1 and CAF-S4 accumulation in LN is a new prognostic factor at diagnostic, independent of breast cancer subtypes and LN status, strengthening the validity of our findings in human breast cancer pathophysiology.

  Study EGAS00001003238

• A Proteogenomic Analysis of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Chinese Population

  Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a common and aggressive subtype of renal cancer. Here we conduct a comprehensive proteogenomic analysis of 232 tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissue pairs from Chinese ccRCC patients. By comparing with tumor adjacent tissues, we find that ccRCC shows extensive metabolic dysregulation and an enhanced immune response. Molecular subtyping classifies ccRCC tumors into three subtypes (GP1–3), among which the most aggressive GP1 exhibits the strongest immune phenotype, increased metastasis, and metabolic imbalance, linking the multi-omics-derived phenotypes to clinical outcomes of ccRCC. Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), a one-carbon 38 metabolic enzyme, is identified as a potential marker of ccRCC and a drug target for GP1. We demonstrate that NNMT induces DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) homocysteinylation, increases DNA repair, and promotes ccRCC tumor growth. This study provides insights into the biological underpinnings and prognosis assessment of ccRCC, revealing targetable metabolic vulnerabilities.

  Study EGAS00001006005

• Enhanced cortical neural stem cell identity through SMAD/WNT inhibition in human cerebral organoids facilitates emergence of outer radial glial cells

  Cerebral organoids exhibit broad regional heterogeneity accompanied by limited cortical cellular diversity despite the tremendous upsurge in derivation methods, suggesting inadequate patterning of early neural stem cells (NSCs). Here we show that a short and early dual-SMAD/WNT inhibition course is necessary and sufficient for establishing robust and lasting cortical organoid NSC identity, efficiently suppressing of non-cortical NSC fates, while other widely used methods are inconsistent in their cortical NSC specification capacity. Accordingly, this method selectively enriches for outer radial glia (oRG) NSCs, which cytoarchitecturally demarcate well-defined outer sub-ventricular (oSVZ)-like regions propagating from superiorly radially organized, apical cortical rosette NSCs. Finally, this method culminates in the emergence of molecularly distinct deep and upper cortical layer neurons, and reliably uncovers cortex-specific microcephaly defects. Thus, a short SMAD/WNT inhibition is critical for establishing a rich cortical cell repertoire that enables mirroring fundamental molecular and cytoarchitectural features of cortical development and meaningful disease modeling.

  Study EGAS00001006063

• Human genome-wide variations in the Massim region

  The Massim, a cultural region encompassing the southeastern tip of mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG) and nearby islands, is famous for the Kula trading network, in which different valuables circulate in different directions among the islands. To explore Massim genetic history, we generated genome-wide data from across the region and found variable levels of Papuan-related (indigenous) ancestry, including a novel ancestry associated with Rossel Island, and Austronesian-related ancestry that arrived later. We find genetic evidence for different patterns of contact across PNG, the Massim, and the Bismarck and Solomon Archipelagoes for Austronesian-related vs. Papuan-related ancestry, with more geographic restriction for the latter. Moreover, Kula-practicing groups share more genetic similarity than do other groups, and this likely predates the origin of Kula, suggesting that high between-group contact facilitated the formation of Kula. Our study provides the first comprehensive genome-wide assessment of Massim inhabitants and new insights into the fascinating Kula system.

  Study EGAS00001006010

• Spatial and temporal transcriptomics of medulloblastoma with chromothripsis identifies multiple genetic clones that resist to treatment and lead to relapse

  From all paediatric brain tumours, medulloblastomas with chromothripsis, a form of genome instability leading to massive genome rearrangements, are particularly aggressive. To dissect the complex biology underlying the aggressiveness of chromothriptic medulloblastomas, we applied spatial transcriptomics to i) chromothriptic and non-chromothriptic medulloblastomas from the same molecular subgroup (n=13) and ii) patient-derived xenografts from chromothriptic medulloblastoma, from the minimal residual disease stage to regrown tumours (n=11). Chromothriptic medulloblastomas showed higher spatial intra-tumour heterogeneity, proliferation and stemness, but lower immune infiltration and differentiation, as compared with non-chromothriptic medulloblastomas. Spatial mapping of genetic clones identified phenotypic features such as degree of differentiation, proliferation and immune infiltration enriched in specific clones. Cells from multiple genetic clones resisted treatment and gave rise to relapse in patient-derived xenografts of chromothriptic medulloblastoma. We identified a potential role of tumour microtubes in treatment resistance in chromothriptic medulloblastoma.

  Study EGAS00001007128

• RNAseq of Colorectal cancer organoid-stroma biobank cohort

  In colorectal cancers (CRC) the tumor microenvironment plays a key role for prognosis and therapy efficacy. Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) show enormous potential for preclinical testing, however, in purely epithelial cultures features including the ‘consensus molecular subtypes’ (CMS) are largely eradicated. To better reflect cell heterogeneity, we established the CRC organoid-stroma biobank of matched PDTOs and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from 30 patients. Context-specific phenotyping showed that xenotransplantation or co-culture with CAFs restores the individual transcriptomic status and instructs subtype-specific stromal gene expression. Furthermore, co-culture exposed CMS4-specific resistance to Gefitinib and SN-38 and revealed prognostic gene expression signatures. Chemogenomic library screening identified patient- and therapy-dependent mechanisms of stromal resistance including MET as common target. Our results demonstrate that CRC phenotypes are encrypted in the cancer epithelium in a plastic fashion that strongly depends on the context. Consequently, CAFs are essential for faithful representation of molecular subtypes and therapy responses ex vivo.

  Study EGAS00001007300

• WES of Colorectal cancer organoid-stroma biobank cohort

  In colorectal cancers (CRC) the tumor microenvironment plays a key role for prognosis and therapy efficacy. Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) show enormous potential for preclinical testing, however, in purely epithelial cultures features including the ‘consensus molecular subtypes’ (CMS) are largely eradicated. To better reflect cell heterogeneity, we established the CRC organoid-stroma biobank of matched PDTOs and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) from 30 patients. Context-specific phenotyping showed that xenotransplantation or co-culture with CAFs restores the individual transcriptomic status and instructs subtype-specific stromal gene expression. Furthermore, co-culture exposed CMS4-specific resistance to Gefitinib and SN-38 and revealed prognostic gene expression signatures. Chemogenomic library screening identified patient- and therapy-dependent mechanisms of stromal resistance including MET as common target. Our results demonstrate that CRC phenotypes are encrypted in the cancer epithelium in a plastic fashion that strongly depends on the context. Consequently, CAFs are essential for faithful representation of molecular subtypes and therapy responses ex vivo.

  Study EGAS00001007301

• Myeloid-specific KDM6B inhibition sensitizes Glioblastoma to PD1 blockade

  Glioblastoma (GBM) tumors are enriched in immune-suppressive myeloid cells and are refractory to immune checkpoint therapy (ICT). Targeting epigenetic pathways to reprogram the functional phenotype of immune-suppressive myeloid cells to overcome resistance to ICT remains unexplored. Single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses of human GBM tumors demonstrated high expression of an epigenetic enzyme - histone 3 lysine 27 demethylase (KDM6B) in intra-tumoral immune-suppressive myeloid cell subsets. Importantly, myeloid-cell specific Kdm6b deletion enhanced pro-inflammatory pathways and improved survival in GBM tumor-bearing mice. Mechanistic studies elucidated that the absence of Kdm6b enhances antigen-presentation, interferon response and phagocytosis in myeloid cells by inhibiting mediators of immune suppression including Mafb, Socs3 and Sirpa. Further, pharmacological inhibition of KDM6B mirrored the functional phenotype of Kdm6b deleted myeloid cells and enhanced anti-PD1 efficacy. Thus, this study identified KDM6B as an epigenetic regulator of the functional phenotype of myeloid cell subsets and a potential therapeutic target to improve response to ICT.

  Study EGAS00001007002

• Somatic mutation and selection at epidemiological scale - TwinsUK_TargetedNanoSeq_Blood

  Utilising Targeted NanoSeq, we hope to explore the driver landscape in unprecedented detail in donors from TwinsUK. These donors have paired buccal swabs and data from this will help contextualise that work. As we age, many tissues become colonised by microscopic clones carrying somatic driver mutations. Some of these clones represent a first step towards cancer whereas others may contribute to ageing and other diseases. However, our understanding of the clonal landscapes of human tissues, and their impact on cancer risk, ageing and disease, remains limited due to the challenge of detecting somatic mutations present in small numbers of cells. Here, we introduce a new version of nanorate sequencing (NanoSeq), a duplex sequencing method with error rates of less than 5 per billion base pairs, which is compatible with whole-exome and targeted gene sequencing. Deep sequencing of polyclonal samples with single-molecule sensitivity enables the simultaneous detection of mutations in large numbers of clones, yielding accurate somatic mutation rates, mutational signatures and driver mutation frequencies in any tissue. Applying targeted NanoSeq to 1,042 non-invasive samples of oral epithelium and 371 samples of blood from a twin cohort, we found an unprecedentedly rich landscape of selection, with 46 genes under positive selection driving clonal expansions in the oral epithelium, over 62,000 driver mutations, and evidence of negative selection in some genes. The high number of positively selected mutations in multiple genes provides high-resolution maps of selection across coding and non-coding sites, a form of in vivo saturation mutagenesis. Multivariate regression models enable mutational epidemiology studies on how carcinogenic exposures and cancer risk factors, such as age, tobacco or alcohol, alter the acquisition and selection of somatic mutations. Accurate single-molecule sequencing has the potential to unveil the polyclonal landscape of any tissue, providing a powerful tool to study early carcinogenesis, cancer prevention and the role of somatic mutations in ageing and disease.

  Dataset EGAD00001015619

• Metagenomic Analysis of the Structure and Function of the Human Gut Microbiota in Crohn's Disease

  Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease, are chronic, immunologically mediated disorders that have severe medical consequences. The current hypothesis is that these diseases are due to an overly aggressive immune response to a subset of commensal enteric bacteria. Studies to date on IBD have suggested that the disorder may be caused by a combination of bacteria and host susceptibility; however the etiologies of these diseases remain an enigma. In this application, we propose to develop and demonstrate the ability to profile Crohn's disease at an unprecedented molecular level by elucidation of specific biomarkers (bacterial strains, genes, or proteins) that correlate to disease symptoms. To achieve this goal, we will employ a multidisciplinary approach based on metagenomic and metaproteomic molecular tools to elucidate the composition of the commensal microbiota in monozygotic twins that are either healthy or exhibit Crohn's disease (for concordant, both are diseased; for discordant, one is healthy and one is diseased). The central hypotheses of this proposal are (1) that specific members and/or functional activities of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota differ in patients with Crohn's disease as compared to healthy individuals, and (2) that it will be possible to elucidate microbial signatures which correlate with the occurrence and progression of this disease by integration of data obtained from 16S rRNA-based molecular fingerprinting, metagenomics, and metaproteomics approaches. To address these hypotheses, three specific aims are proposed: 1) Obtain data on community gene content (metagenome) in a subset of healthy twins and twins with Crohn's Disease to assess potential differences in the metabolic capabilities of the gut microbiota associated with CD, 2) Obtain data on community protein content (metaproteome) in a subset of healthy twins and twins with Crohn's Disease to assess the state of expressed proteins associated with CD, 3) Apply various statistical clustering and classification methods to correlate/associate microbial community composition, gene and protein content with patient metadata, including metabolite profiles and clinical phenotype. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to identify novel biomarkers for non-invasive diagnostics of CD and to eventually identify drug targets (i.e. bacterial strains) for cure or suppression of disease symptoms. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study aims to unravel the contribution of the bacteria that normally inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract to Crohn's disease by using a multidisciplinary approach to study changes in the structure and function of gut microbial communities in three sets of patient cohorts who have Crohn's disease. These results will be compared with those obtained from the study of healthy individuals and have the potential to identify new biomarkers of disease severity, location, and progression.

  Study phs000257

• Characterization of Structural Variants in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

  Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults and is expected to increase in frequency as the population ages. Most subtypes of AML are difficult to treat, in part due to a lack of understanding of possible molecular targets. Furthermore, the peak incidence of AML is in the sixth decade, and patients over the age of 65 do not tolerate chemotherapeutic regimens well. Moreover, AML has been highly studied as a model for other cancers. An RNA Biology Program is established aiming to develop comprehensive datasets through the profiling of all different classes of RNA expression, RNA editing, alternative splicing, and non-coding RNAs in CD34+ normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), their differentiated progeny, and AML clinical samples that could be utilized to understand leukemia. These datasets will allow us to computationally identify and characterize various RNA species and processes to enable the development of effective therapeutics to AML, leukemia and other types of cancers. Epigenetic factors such as methylation and histone modifications will also be characterized from these clinical samples allowing for integrated dataset analysis to look at the cross-talk between RNA and DNA/epigenomics in leukemia. The following is a subsidiary study of the above study description where whole genome sequencing was performed on two collected AML patients' samples using Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies. The aim is to characterize the roles of structural variants (SV) in RNA biology which are potentially important for AML development using our own established long-read SV characterization tool, NanoVar. The advent of Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies has opened a new avenue for better SV characterization by having longer sequencing reads. NanoVar is an accurate and rapid SV characterization tool that utilizes low-depth Nanopore sequencing data. NanoVar makes use of split-reads and hard-clipped reads for SV discovery and employs a simulation-trained neural network classifier for true positive enrichment. NanoVar exhibited higher accuracy and faster computational speed amongst other long-read SV detection tools in simulated data. In AML patient data, NanoVar displayed excellent accuracy in SV characterization (16/16 SVs validated in two patients) by using only 4x depth sequencing data. In summary, NanoVar improves the accuracy and speed of SV characterization at a lower sequencing cost, an approach compatible with clinical studies.

  Study phs001847

• UK10K_OBESITY_SCOOP

  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 SCOOP samples are part of the Obesity group and will undergo exome sequencing. Severe Childhood Onset Obesity Project (SCOOP) is a sub-cohort of the Genetics Of Obesity Study (GOOS) cohort established by Sadaf Farooqi and Steve O’Rahilly at the University of Cambridge over the last 12 years. The GOOS cohort contains >4,000 patients of diverse geographic origin, many of whom have monogenic and syndromic forms of obesity, and includes patients that are offspring of consanguineous union. SCOOP is a subset of >1500 UK Caucasian patients with severe, early onset obesity (all patients have a BMI Standard Deviation Score (SDS) > 3 and obesity onset before the age of 10 years), in whom all known monogenic causes of obesity have been excluded. GWAS data on the SCOOP cohort will be available (WTCCC2 independent study) at the time of the start of this study. Data from this cohort has demonstrated that the prevalence of the common obesity risk alleles in FTO, MC4R and NEGR1 are amongst the highest within SCOOP, demonstrating its value also in the study of genetic variants with an impact on more common obesity. For further information with regard to this cohort please contact Sadaf Farooqi (isf20@medschl.cam.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000124

• Whole Genome Sequencing of a Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patient: Matched Primary Tumor, Normal, Metastasis and Xenograft samples

  Breast Cancer Subject Participant ID 700064 (Source Sample names: 6888 and 206). We used massively parallel DNA sequencing technologies to screen entire genomes, in an unbiased manner, for genetic changes associated with tumor growth and metastasis. We describe the complete genome sequence analysis of four DNA samples from a 44-year old African-American patient with basal-like breast cancer: peripheral blood, the primary tumor, a brain metastasis that developed within a year of initial therapy, and a first-passage xenograft derived from the primary tumor. A total of 50 validated mutations were discovered within coding, RNA, or splice site sequences. Of these, 20 mutations were abundantly present in all three tumors, including mutations in CSMD1 and JAK2. These two genes subsequently were found to be mutated in other breast tumors. The metastasis contained two de novo mutations not present in the primary tumor, and was significantly enriched for 20 shared mutations, suggesting that they may be involved in the metastatic process. The xenograft contained no unique coding, RNA, or splice site mutations and retained all primary tumor mutations, albeit at different frequencies. However, a significant increase in copy number alterations was observed in the xenograft as compared to the primary tumor. We validated 28 large deletions and six inversions, as well as seven translocations in at least one of the three tumor samples. Among them, a 26 kb deletion in MECR was solely identified, assembled, and validated in the brain metastasis and two overlapping large deletions on chromosome 5 encompassing CTNNA1, a potential tumor suppressor gene, were identified in all three tumors. The differential mutation frequencies and structural variation patterns between primary and metastatic tumors suggest that metastatic tumors may arise from minor subpopulations of cells within the primary. Namely, the metastatic and xenografting processes apparently select for cells harboring a distinct subset of the primary tumor mutation repertoire.

  Study phs000245

• WGSPD Project 1: Whole Genome Sequencing for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

  The Center for Genomic Psychiatry at the University of Southern California (USC) and an extensive network of academic medical centers have created the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC). The GPC consists of a large clinical cohort of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and healthy controls. The pilot phase of whole genome sequencing of the GPC has been done in collaboration with the USC and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Whole genome sequencing (20X) and analysis of 9,033 well-phenotyped individuals from the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC), divided among schizophrenia cases, bipolar disorder cases, and psychiatrically normal controls, and comprised of European-Ancestry (EA), African-Ancestry (AA), and Latino individuals. The combination of clinically well-characterized GPC participants and whole genome sequencing with rich functional annotation aims to identify functional variants associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder risk. Over half of the sequenced samples are patients with a diagnosis of either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The majority of the study participants are of African American ancestry, increasing the diversity of sampling for these important diseases in traditionally understudied populations. This data set also contains 545 samples that have undergone 10x Genomics Linked-Read Sequencing (169 participants overlapping with the 9,033 participant WGS 20X dataset). In addition to the benefits due to disease phenotyping and ancestry selection that apply to all of the WGSPD Project 1 samples, the 10x Genomics Linked-Read samples, through the use of barcodes that can identify the long input DNA fragment that each sequencing read was generated from, can be used to 1) identify structural variants that are difficult to call with standard short read data, 2) map short reads to repetitive regions of the genome that cannot be assayed with standard short reads, and provide highly accurate phasing information about genetic variants, including rare variants that are more difficult to phase using statistical phasing techniques.

  Study phs002041

• Perceptions, Prevalence, and Patterns of Cannabis Use among Cancer Patients in NCI-Designated Cancer Centers

  This study aimed to better understand the evolving landscape of cannabis use among patients undergoing cancer treatment across diverse geographic regions. It sought to characterize patterns of use, patient perceptions, and contextual influences such as legal status and provider engagement that affect cannabis use. Given the shifting legal environment, this study addresses a critical gap in the literature by providing data on how cancer patients integrate cannabis into their care. The available delivery methods of cannabis have also undergone dramatic changes and now include edibles, oils, tinctures, topicals, and inhaled forms. State-based policy changes are rapidly changing. Yet research on cannabis use by cancer patients across a variety of geographic settings remains limited. The extent of cannabis use, the perceived and real benefits and risks of use, potential interactions with cancer treatment and other medications, and impact on comorbid conditions are uncertain. Clinicians should be aware of the extent of use in order to assess potential drug-drug interactions, side effects, and contraindications; hence, an understanding of how cancer patients and clinicians engage in discussions about cannabis use is essential. Twelve NCI-designated cancer centers were awarded supplemental funding to conduct surveys assessing cannabis use among recently diagnosed cancer patients. Selected sites were in 8 states with varied legal status for medical and recreational cannabis use at the time of the survey. The 12 cancer centers independently received approval from their institutional review boards (IRB) and collected data from September 2021 to August 2023. Eligible participants were cancer patients or survivors who resided in their respective cancer center's catchment area. Cancer centers were responsible for sampling patients within their catchment area with the goal of 1,000 completed surveys. Ten out of 12 cancer centers drew probability samples of patients from patient lists defining their catchment area with some stratifying the sample in various ways including by cancer type, by sex, by race/ethnicity or by a combination of demographic variables.

  Study phs004046

• Exploration of CNV’s and SNV’s in cancers with well-known genetic rearrangements: Identification of additional genetic changes in rearrangements-driven cancer

  Specific cancers are well known to have specific gene rearrangements. Representative cancer is chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) which is famous for BCR/ABL gene rearrangements. By the way, also genetic rearrangements are not infrequently found in acute leukemia, and those include CBFB/MYH11 rearrangements, PML/RARA rearrangements, AML/ETO rearrangements, and BCR/ABL rearrangements. The situation is same is for lung adenocarcinoma of non-smokers and prostate cancers, and ALK and RET gene rearrangements are recently found. However, not all these rearrangements are sufficient to develop cancer, and it is suggested that some genetic aberrations are required for the development and progression of cancer in addition to these genetic rearrangements. In this study, we have a plan to explore the existence of additional genetic changes including single nucleotide variants (SNV’s) and copy number variations (CNV’s) in cancers with specific genetic rearrangements so as to define additional genetic changes that confer full oncogenic potential to cancer cells. So as to look at SNV’s and small indels, we are going to use whole exome sequencing (WES) data. And as for CNV’s, we are going to use array-CGH data. Also, to check the functionality of these genetic changes, we are going to use whole transcriptome data (WTS). In addition, in samples with whole genome sequencing (WGS ) data, we are going to explore genetic changes in intronic regions also. In fact, we sequenced 10 AML samples which are known to have specific genetic rearrangements. Analysis of these WGS, WES and WTS data are under the way. If we have a chance to access WES, array-CGH and WTS data of other cancer samples with specific genetic rearrangements, we would be able to compare additional genetic changes required for oncogenesis in cancer cells with various genetic rearrangements. We hope this result will enlighten our understanding of cancer genetics further.

  Study EGAS00001000673

• Whole genome and whole exome sequencing of serial biopsies of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

  Purpose: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is cured in more than 60% of patients, but outcomes remain poor for patients experiencing disease progression or relapse (refractory or relapsed DLBCL [rrDLBCL]), particularly if these events occur early. Although previous studies examining cohorts of rrDLBCL have identified features that are enriched at relapse, few have directly compared serial biopsies to uncover biological and evolutionary dynamics driving rrDLBCL. Here, we sought to confirm the relationship between relapse timing and outcomes after second-line (immuno)chemotherapy and determine the evolutionary dynamics that underpin that relationship. Patients and methods: Outcomes were examined in a population-based cohort of 221 patients with DLBCL who experienced progression/relapse after frontline treatment and were treated with second-line (immuno)chemotherapy with an intention-to-treat with autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). Serial DLBCL biopsies from a partially overlapping cohort of 129 patients underwent molecular characterization, including whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing in 73 patients. Results: Outcomes to second-line therapy and ASCT are superior for late relapse (>2 years postdiagnosis) versus primary refractory (<9 months) or early relapse (9-24 months). Diagnostic and relapse biopsies were mostly concordant for cell-of-origin classification and genetics-based subgroup. Despite this concordance, the number of mutations exclusive to each biopsy increased with time since diagnosis, and late relapses shared few mutations with their diagnostic counterpart, demonstrating a branching evolution pattern. In patients with highly divergent tumors, many of the same genes acquired new mutations independently in each tumor, suggesting that the earliest mutations in a shared precursor cell constrain tumor evolution toward the same genetics-based subgroups at both diagnosis and relapse. Conclusion: These results suggest that late relapses commonly represent genetically distinct and chemotherapy-naïve disease and have implications for optimal patient management.

  Study EGAS00001007053

• TRanscriptomic ANalySis of left ventriCulaR gene Expression (TRANSCRibE)

  Myocardial ischemia occurs when there is a mismatch between coronary oxygen delivery and metabolic requirements of the myocardium, which may be clinically manifested during angina, coronary angioplasty or cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Myocardial ischemia may lead to a spectrum of myocardial stunning, hibernating myocardium, and ultimately cell death if the ischemic insult is severe. In the human heart, irreversible damage begins after approximately 20 to 40 minutes of oxygen deprivation. Observed molecular and cellular changes of myocardial ischemia are characteristic of an inflammatory response, but the exact mechanisms that underlie this pathological process are unclear and may not be full emulated by animal models of ischemia or infarction. Thus, we felt it valuable to investigate a human ischemia model. During cardiac surgery, CPB with aortic cross-clamping (AoXC) and cardioplegic arrest is associated with excellent clinical outcomes and suitable operative conditions. However, despite the use of cardioprotective strategies, AoXc during CPB is accompanied by a variable, yet obligate ischemic period lasting 1 to 3 hours, resulting in hypoxia, metabolic substrate depletion, reperfusion injury, apoptosis, and necrosis. Cardiac specific biomarkers of ischemia and infarction, including troponin, are elevated even after routine coronary artery bypass graft surgery and correlate with the duration of ischemia from AoXc.This process of CPB provides us with the ability to examine the transcriptional profile before and after an expected, consistent, and reproducible human ischemic event, albeit induced by cold cardioplegic arrest and not coronary occlusion. In addition, the absence of reperfusion in this time period allows us to examine the transcriptomic response to intermittent ischemia, without having to account for the perturbations of reperfusion injury. Although various animal models have been used to examine the effects of ischemia on cardiac function, no human data exist which examine the early transcriptomic response to a left ventricular (LV) ischemic insult. We therefore characterized the effect of cold cardioplegia induced acute ischemia on the transcriptional profile of the LV by performing whole transcriptome next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery by sampling human LV tissue prior to, and after, the obligate ischemia during AoXC. We hypothesized that the cold cardioplegia induced ischemic injury will dramatically alter transcription in the human myocardium, and that we would identify genes and pathways, which will identify interventional targets for pharmacological therapy. Methods:We have collected left ventricle tissue samples and blood sample from patients undergoing heart surgery. We obtained punch biopsies (~3-5μg total RNA content) from the site of a routinely placed surgical vent in the anterolateral apical left ventricular wall of patients undergoing elective aortic valve replacement surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. After an average of 79 minutes of aortic cross-clamping with intermittent cold blood cardioplegia for myocardial protection every 20 minutes, a second biopsy was obtained in the same manner. Tissue samples were immediately placed in RNAlater® (Ambion, ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, MA), and after 48 hours at +4°C were stored at -80°C until RNA extraction. Total RNA was isolated with Trizol and RNA quality was assessed using the Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA). Libraries were prepared by poly(A) mRNA isolation and reverse transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), then sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq2000 or HiSeq2500 (Illumina, San Diego, CA). As samples were analyzed at different times, different read lengths were employed, initially using single-end reads (n=20) and then transitioning to paired end reads (n=216), ranging from 36 - 100 base pairs. Raw sequencing files were processed using Sickle, Skewer, and STAR software, and aligned to GrCh37 or UCSC Hg19. DNA was isolated from whole blood using standard methods. SNP genotyping was performed using the Illumina Omni2.5Exome-8 BeadChip array with additional exome content (Illumina, San Diego, CA) chip, version 1.1. We first phased and imputed 93 subjects using a phasing tool called SHAPEIT and an imputation tool called MINIMAC, with 1000 Genomes phase 1 version 3 for the reference panel. We then phased and imputed 26 more subjects using SHAPEIT, an imputation tool called IMPUTE2, and 1000 Genomes phase 3 version 5.

  Study phs001679

• Somatic mutations, clonal architecture and genomic evolution in multiple myeloma

  Multiple myeloma is an incurable plasma cell malignancy whose molecular pathogenesis is incompletely understood. We used whole exome sequencing, copy number profiling and cytogenetic to analyses 84 samples from 67 patients with myeloma. In addition to known myeloma genes, we identify new candidate genes, including truncations of SP140, ROBO1 and FAT3 and clustered missense mutations in EGR1. We find oncogenic mutations in cancer genes not previously implicated in myeloma, including SF3B1, PI3KCA and PTEN. We define diverse processes contributing to the mutational repertoire, including kataegis and somatic hypermutation. Most cases have at least one cluster of subclonal variants, including subclonal driver mutations, implying on-going tumor evolution. Serial samples revealed diverse patterns of clonal evolution, including linear evolution, differential clonal response and branching evolution. Our findings reveal the myeloma genome to be heterogeneous across patients and, within individual patients, to exhibit diversity in clonal admixture and dynamics in response to therapy.

  Dataset EGAD00001000339

• Clinical and Genetic Analysis of Costa Rican Patients with Parkinson's Disease

  This study is a pilot study designed to describe the clinical and genetic landscape of Parkinson's disease in Costa Rica. While most genetic studies have been conducted on Europeans, few have examined Parkinson's disease in Costa Ricans. 118 patients and 97 controls were recruited at the Movement Disorders Unit of the Department of Neurology, Hospital San Juan de Dios, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, Costa Rica. Familial Parkinson's disease genes were sequenced using Next-Generation Sequencing. We also measured and obtained different sociodemographic and clinical information.

  Study phs002495

• Deep Sequencing of 3 Cancer Cell Lines on 2 Sequencing Platforms (Illumina HiSeqX and NovaSeq)

  To test the performance of a new sequencing platform, develop an updated somatic calling pipeline and establish a reference for future benchmarking experiments, we performed whole-genome sequencing of 3 common cancer cell lines (COLO-829, HCC-1143 and HCC-1187) along with their matched normal cell lines to great sequencing depths (up to 278X coverage) on both Illumina HiSeqX and NovaSeq sequencing instruments. This dataset can be used for benchmarking purposes by the genomic community and as a reference call set for scientists using these 3 cell lines.

  Study phs001839

• Molecular Genetics of Heterotaxy and Related Congenital Heart Defects

  Heterotaxy syndrome is a congenital anomaly syndrome accompanied by thoracic and abdominal situs abnormalities. The study cohort comprises of individuals with heterotaxy or related congenital heart disease (CHD) who have undergone exome sequencing. The purpose of the study is to elucidate the molecular genetics of the disorder as well as contribute to knowledge about the biology of normal and abnormal development of left-right anatomic asymmetry. These results will further help delineate genotype-phenotype associations and provide important information on the causes, management, and prognosis of heterotaxy syndrome.

  Study phs001814