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• Homozygous loss-of-function variants in European cosmopolitan and isolate populations

  Homozygous loss of function (HLOF) variants provide a valuable window on gene function in humans, as well as an inventory of the human genes that are not essential for survival and reproduction. All humans carry at least a few HLOF variants, but the exact number of inactivated genes that can be tolerated is currently unknown-as are the phenotypic effects of losing function for most human genes. Here, we make use of 1432 whole exome sequences from five European populations to expand the catalogue of known human HLOF mutations; after stringent filtering of variants in our dataset, we identify a total of 173 HLOF mutations, 76 (44%) of which have not been observed previously. We find that population isolates are particularly well suited to surveys of novel HLOF genes because individuals in such populations carry extensive runs of homozygosity, which we show are enriched for novel, rare HLOF variants. Further, we make use of extensive phenotypic data to show that most HLOFs, ascertained in population-based samples, appear to have little detectable effect on the phenotype. On the contrary, we document several genes directly implicated in disease that seem to tolerate HLOF variants. Overall HLOF genes are enriched for olfactory receptor function and are expressed in testes more often than expected, consistent with reduced purifying selection and incipient pseudogenisation.

  Study EGAS00001001606

• Landscape of somatic mutations and clonal evolution in mantle cell lymphoma

  Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive tumor, but a subset of patients may follow an indolent clinical course. To understand the mechanisms underlying this biological heterogeneity, we performed whole-genome and/or whole-exome sequencing on 29 MCL cases and their respective matched normal DNA, as well as 6 MCL cell lines. Recurrently mutated genes were investigated by targeted sequencing in an independent cohort of 172 MCL patients. We identified 25 significantly mutated genes, including known drivers such as ataxia-telangectasia mutated (ATM), cyclin D1 (CCND1), and the tumor suppressor TP53; mutated genes encoding the anti-apoptotic protein BIRC3 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2); and the chromatin modifiers WHSC1, MLL2, and MEF2B. We also found NOTCH2 mutations as an alternative phenomenon to NOTCH1 mutations in aggressive tumors with a dismal prognosis. Analysis of two simultaneous or subsequent MCL samples by whole-genome/whole-exome (n = 8) or targeted (n = 19) sequencing revealed subclonal heterogeneity at diagnosis in samples from different topographic sites and modulation of the initial mutational profile at the progression of the disease. Some mutations were predominantly clonal or subclonal, indicating an early or late event in tumor evolution, respectively. Our study identifies molecular mechanisms contributing to MCL pathogenesis and offers potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

  Study EGAS00001000510

• Chromothripsis in human breast cancer (HIPO K26K/H017/A017)

  Chromothripsis is a form of genome instability, by which a presumably single catastrophic event generates extensive genomic rearrangements of one or a few chromosome(s). Widely assumed to be an early event in tumor development, this phenomenon plays a prominent role in tumor onset. We analyzed chromothripsis in 252 human breast cancers from two patient cohorts (149 metastatic breast cancers, 63 untreated primary tumors, 29 local relapses, 11 longitudinal pairs) using whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing. We showed that chromothripsis affects a substantial proportion of human breast cancers, with a prevalence over 60% in a cohort of metastatic cases and 25% in a cohort comprising predominantly luminal breast cancers (cohorts from HIPO K26K and H017 and A017). In the vast majority of cases, multiple chromosomes per tumor are affected, with most chromothriptic events on chromosomes 11 and 17 including, among other significantly altered drivers, CCND1, ERBB2, CDK12 and BRCA1. Importantly, chromothripsis generates recurrent fusions that drive tumor development. Chromothripsis-related rearrangements are linked with univocal mutational signatures, with clusters of point mutations due to kataegis in close proximity to the genomic breakpoints, and with the activation of specific signaling pathways. Analysis of the temporal order of events in tumors with and without chromothripsis as well as longitudinal analysis of chromothriptic patterns in tumor pairs revealed important insights on the role of chromothriptic chromosomes in tumor evolution.

  Study EGAS00001004662

• Characterization_of_genomic_landscape_of_Peripheral_T_cell_Lymphomas__not_otherwise_specified__PTCL_NOS_

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

  Study EGAS00001002057

• Integrated analysis of relapsed B-cell precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia identifies subtype-specific cytokine and metabolic signatures

  Recent efforts reclassified B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (BCP-ALL) into more refined subtypes. Nevertheless, outcomes of relapsed BCP-ALL remain unsatisfactory, particularly in adult patients where the molecular basis of relapse is still poorly understood. To elucidate the evolution of relapse in BCP-ALL, we established a comprehensive multi-omics dataset including DNA-sequencing, RNA-sequencing, DNA methylation array and proteome MASS-spec data from matched diagnosis and relapse samples of BCP-ALL patients (n = 50) including the subtypes DUX4, Ph-like and two aneuploid subtypes. Relapse-specific alterations were enriched for chromatin modifiers, nucleotide and steroid metabolism including the novel candidates FPGS, AGBL and ZNF483. The proteome expression analysis unraveled deregulation of metabolic pathways at relapse including the key proteins G6PD, TKT, GPI and PGD. Moreover, we identified a novel relapse-specific gene signature specific for DUX4 BCP-ALL patients highlighting chemotaxis and cytokine environment as a possible driver event at relapse. This study presents novel insights at distinct molecular levels of relapsed BCP-ALL based on a comprehensive multi-omics integrated data set including a valuable proteomics data set. The relapse specific aberrations reveal metabolic signatures on genomic and proteomic levels in BCP-ALL relapse. Furthermore, the chemokine expression signature in DUX4 relapse underscores the distinct status of DUX4-fusion BCP-ALL.

  Study EGAS00001002856

• Mutational signatures of aflatoxin

  Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mutagen and IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) Group 1 carcinogen that causes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we present the first whole genome data on the mutational signatures of AFB1 exposure from a total of > 40,000 mutations in four experimental systems: two different human cell lines, and in liver tumors in wild-type mice and in mice that carried a hepatitis B surface antigen transgene – this to model the multiplicative effects of aflatoxin exposure and hepatitis B in causing HCC. AFB1 mutational signatures from all four experimental systems were remarkably similar. We integrated the experimental mutational signatures with data from newly-sequenced HCCs from Qidong County, China, a region of well-studied aflatoxin exposure. This indicated that COSMIC mutational signature 24, previously hypothesized to stem from aflatoxin exposure, indeed likely represents AFB1 exposure, possibly combined with other exposures. Among published somatic mutation data, we found evidence of AFB1 exposure in 0.7% of HCCs treated in North America, 1% of HCCs from Japan, but 16% of HCCs from Hong Kong. Thus, aflatoxin exposure apparently remains a substantial public health issue in some areas. This aspect of our study exemplifies the promise of future widespread resequencing of tumor genomes in providing new insights into the contribution of mutagenic exposures to cancer incidence.

  Study EGAS00001002490

• Small_molecule_inhibitors_in_melanoma___Kenski___Kong___WES

  Small-molecule inhibitors targeting the most commonly activated pathway in melanoma, MAPK pathway (either alone or in combination) are already given to melanoma patients for few years, and initially reduce tumour burden dramatically, eventually melanomas become resistant and tumours progress while on treatment. Resistance to this treatment occurs by acquisition of additional mutations or other alterations that affect the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by either direct or indirect signalling. Many resistance mechanisms somehow lead to reactivation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), thereby restoring signalling of the oncogenic BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway. In addition, PI3K pathway activation contributes to resistance to BRAF inhibition. Less frequent but equally important to the phenomenon of targeted drug resistance is the observation that B15–20% of BRAF mutant melanoma patients fail to respond to BRAF inhibition already early on treatment, owing to intrinsic resistance. These patients have little therapeutic options, unless immunotherapy can be given. To better understand the resistance mechanisms in MAPK inhibitor-treated melanoma patients and melanoma biology, our lab generated a big panel of MAPK inhibitor resistant melanoma cell lines by continuous drug exposure. The understanding of the genetic landscape and gene expression as well as cross resistance to other treatment regimens, and other aspects of melanoma biology such as phenotype switch, will allow us to better exploit new therapeutic strategies for melanoma patients.

  Study EGAS00001002863

• scRNA-seq data of human nuclei collected from the temporal cortex of 17 individuals.

  Transcriptome analysis of single cells has tremendously increased our understanding of cellular heterogeneity in complex tissues. However, whole-cell transcriptomics cannot be applied to frozen tissue due to poor cell recovery after freezing. Human tissue is usually limited to tissue banks containing frozen material, and since single nuclei can be readily isolated from frozen tissues, human cell nuclei can substitute whole-cell analysis to extract single cell transcriptomes from human cells. Despite the importance of human tissue analysis, single-nucleus RNA-sequencing protocols are less developed than those for whole cells. SMARTSeq, either in form of custom-made SMARTSeq2 or as part of the Fluidigm C1 platform, provides a high resolution view of the transcriptome, has proven effective for whole-cell analysis and has recently been adapted to nuclei. Here, we show that the standard SMARTSeq2 protocol applied to single nuclei biases the amplification of single-nucleus transcriptomes due to unspecific capturing of transcripts, which can comprise the majority of reads in single-nucleus RNA-sequencing libraries. We demonstrate that modification of the SMARTSeq2 protocol with respect to template switching and cDNA amplification conditions generates sequencing libraries of higher complexity, allows for detection of more genes and reduces biases of the amplified transcriptome. In addition, modification of SMARTSeq2 chemistry allows for gene detection at shallower sequencing depth, thus increasing efficiency and decreasing cost.

  Study EGAS00001002882

• Deep multi-region whole-genome sequencing reveals heterogeneity and gene-by-environment interactions in treatment-naive, metastatic lung cancer

  Our understanding of genomic heterogeneity in lung cancer is largely based on the analysis of early-stage surgical specimens. Here we used endoscopic sampling of paired primary and intrathoracic metastatic tumors from 11 lung cancer patients to map genomic heterogeneity inoperable lung cancer with deep whole-genome sequencing. Intra-patient heterogeneity in driver or targetable mutations was predominantly in the form of copy number gain. Private mutation signatures, including patterns consistent with defects in homologous recombination, were highly variable both within and between patients. Irrespective of histotype, we observed a smaller than expected number of private mutations, suggesting that ancestral clones accumulated large mutation burdens immediately prior to metastasis. Single-region whole-genome sequencing of from 20 patients showed that tumors in ever-smokers with the strongest tobacco signatures were associated with germline variants in genes implicated in the repair of cigarette-induced DNA damage. Our results suggest that lung cancer precursors in ever-smokers accumulate large numbers of mutations prior to the formation of frank malignancy followed by rapid metastatic spread. In advanced lung cancer, germline variants in DNA repair genes may interact with the airway environment to influence the pattern of founder mutations, whereas similar interactions with the tumor microenvironment may play a role in the acquisition of mutations following metastasis.

  Study EGAS00001003830

• Sequence Data from the phase 2 PrE0505 trial of Durvalumab with First Line Platinum-Pemetrexed for Unresectable Pleural Mesothelioma

  Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal cancer with limited therapeutic options until the recent approval of combination immune checkpoint blockade. We report the results of the phase 2 PrE0505 trial (NCT02899195) of the anti-PD-L1 antibody, durvalumab, plus platinum-based and pemetrexed chemotherapy for patients with previously untreated unresectable pleural mesothelioma. The primary endpoint was overall survival compared to historic control with cisplatin and pemetrexed chemotherapy. The combination of durvalumab with chemotherapy met the pre-specified primary endpoint reaching a median survival of 20.4 months vs. 12.1 months with historic control. Treatment emergent adverse events were consistent with known side effects of chemotherapy and all adverse events due to immunotherapy were grade ≤2. Integrated genomic and immune cell repertoire analyses revealed that a higher immunogenic mutation burden coupled with a more diverse T cell repertoire were linked with favorable clinical outcome. Structural genome-wide analyses demonstrated a higher degree of genomic instability in responding tumors of epithelioid histology. Patients with germline alterations in cancer predisposing genes, especially those involved in DNA repair, were more likely to attain long term survival. Our findings indicate that concurrent durvalumab with platinum-based chemotherapy has promising clinical activity and that responses are driven by the complex genomic background of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

  Study EGAS00001005426

• Patient-derived tumor organoids for personalized medicine in a rare case of hepatocellular carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation.

  We report the case of a 74-year-old man with a very rare subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation (HCC-NED). The patient presented with two independent tumors, a gastrointestinal stromal tumor in the stomach and a hepatocellular carcinoma in the liver. Both tumors were surgically removed in curative intent. Histopathological work-up of the liver tumor revealed poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (Edmondson-Steiner grade IV) with diffuse expression of neuroendocrine markers synaptophysin (SYP) and chromogranin (CHGA). Three months after resection, multifocal recurrence of the HCC with neuroendocrine differentiation (HCC-NED) was observed. In the meantime, tumor organoids have been generated from the resected HCC-NED and extensively characterized. Sensitivity to a number of drugs approved for the treatment of HCC or neuroendocrine carcinomas was tested in vitro. Based on their in vitro efficacy, etoposide and carboplatin were used as first line palliative combination treatment. Because genomic analysis revealed a NTRK1-mutation (kinase domain) and tumor organoids were sensitive to entrectinib, a pan-TRK inhibitor, the patient received entrectinib as second line therapy. After only two weeks, treatment had to be discontinued due to deterioration of the patient’s general condition. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that preclinical drug testing using organoids is feasible in selected HCC cases.

  Study EGAS00001005887

• Bulk-tissue RNA-sequencing paired nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of anterior prefrontal cortex, cerebellar cortex and putamen tissues from post-mortem neuropathologically-confirmed control individuals.

  Gaining insight into the genetic regulation of gene expression in human brain is key to the interpretation of genome-wide association studies for major neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analyses have largely been used to achieve this, providing valuable insights into the genetic regulation of steady-state RNA in human brain, but not distinguishing between molecular processes regulating transcription and stability. RNA quantification within cellular fractions can disentangle these processes in cell types and tissues which are challenging to model in vitro. We investigated the underlying molecular processes driving the genetic regulation of gene expression specific to a cellular fraction using allele-specific expression (ASE). Applying ASE analysis to genomic and transcriptomic data from paired nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of anterior prefrontal cortex, cerebellar cortex and putamen tissues from 4 post-mortem neuropathologically-confirmed control human brains, we demonstrate that a significant proportion of genetic regulation of gene expression occurs post-transcriptionally in the cytoplasm, with genes undergoing this form of regulation more likely to be synaptic. These findings have implications for understanding the structure of gene expression regulation in human brain, and importantly the interpretation of rapidly growing single-nucleus brain RNA-sequencing and eQTL datasets, where cytoplasm-specific regulatory events could be missed.

  Study EGAS00001006380

• Genetic insights into the biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing

  Reproductive longevity is critical for fertility and impacts healthy ageing in women, yet insights into the underlying biological mechanisms and treatments to preserve it are limited. Here, we identify 290 genetic determinants of ovarian ageing, assessed using normal variation in age at natural menopause (ANM) in ~200,000 women of European ancestry. These common alleles influence clinical extremes of ANM; women in the top 1% of genetic susceptibility have an equivalent risk of premature ovarian insufficiency to those carrying monogenic FMR1 premutations. Identified loci implicate a broad range of DNA damage response (DDR) processes and include loss-of-function variants in key DDR genes. Integration with experimental models demonstrates that these DDR processes act across the life-course to shape the ovarian reserve and its rate of depletion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that experimental manipulation of DDR pathways highlighted by human genetics increase fertility and extend reproductive life in mice. Causal inference analyses using the identified genetic variants indicates that extending reproductive life in women improves bone health and reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, but increases risks of hormone-sensitive cancers. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms governing ovarian ageing, when they act across the life-course, and how they might be targeted by therapeutic approaches to extend fertility and prevent disease.

  Study EGAS00001004947

• Control of Focal Adhesion Kinase Activation by RUNX1-regulated miRNAs in high-risk AML

  We recently described a 16-gene expression signature for improved risk stratification of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients called the AML Prognostic Score (APS). A subset of APS high-risk AML patients showed increased levels of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), encoded by the Protein Tyrosine Kinase 2 (PTK2) gene, which was correlated with RUNX1 mutations. RUNX1 mutant cells are more sensitive to PTK2 inhibitors. As we were not able to detect RUNX1 binding sites in the PTK2 promoter, we hypothesized that RUNX1 might regulate micro(mi)RNAs that repress PTK2, such that loss-of-function RUNX1 mutations would result in reduced miRNA expression and derepression of PTK2. Examination of paired RNA-seq and miRNA-seq data from 301 AML cases revealed two miRNAs that positively correlated with RUNX1 expression, contained RUNX1 binding sites in their promoters and were predicted to target PTK2. We show that the hsa-let7a-2-3p and hsa-miR-135a-5p promoters are regulated by RUNX1, and that PTK2 is a direct target of both miRNAs. Even in the absence of RUNX1 mutations, hsa-let7a-2-3p and hsa-miR-135a-5p regulate PTK2 expression, and reduced expression of these two miRNAs sensitizes AML cells to PTK2 inhibition. These data explain how RUNX1 regulates PTK2, and identify potential miRNA biomarkers for targeting AML with PTK2 inhibitors.

  Study EGAS00001006491

• BinDel: software tool for detecting clinically significant microdeletions in low-coverage WGS-based NIPT samples

  Clinically pathogenic chromosomal microdeletions causing genetic disorders such as DiGeorge syndrome are rare genetic aberrations that can cause clinically relevant fetal and childhood developmental deficiencies. Clinical severity of such deficiencies depend on the exact genomic location and genes affected by the fetal chromosomal aberration. Here we present the BinDel, a novel region-aware microdeletion detection software package developed to infer clinically relevant microdeletion risk in low-coverage whole-genome sequencing NIPT data. To test BinDel, we quantified the impact of sequencing coverage, fetal DNA fraction, and region length on microdeletion risk detection accuracy. We also estimated BinDel accuracy on known microdeletion samples and clinically validated aneuploidy samples. BinDel identified each positive control sample as high risk. We also determined that it is critical to take into account that the sample with a detected high microdeletion risk does not have a full chromosome aneuploidy, as the latter can cause erroneous high microdeletion risk findings. We observed that lower sequencing coverage resulted in reduced microdeletion detection accuracy, and higher fetal fractions considerably increased the microdeletion detection accuracy, with coverage becoming increasingly relevant as fetal DNA fraction decreased. In conclusion, we developed an R package-based software tool BinDel for inferring fetal microdeletion risks, which accurately identified all positive control samples with microdeletion or -duplication aberrations as high-risk samples.

  Study EGAS00001006663

• Uncovering tumor intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate hepatocellular carcinoma growth using patient derived xenograft assays

  Several major factors limit our understanding of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). First, human HCCs are infrequently biopsied for diagnosis and thus are not often biologically interrogated. Second, HCC initiation and progression are strongly influenced by the cirrhotic microenvironment, and the exact contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic tumor factors are unclear. A powerful approach to examine the personalized biology of liver cancers and the influence of host tissues is with patient derived xenograft (PDX) models. In Asia, HCCs from hepatitis B virus patients have been efficiently converted into PDXs, but few parallel efforts from the west have been reported. In a large-scale analysis, we implanted 93 HCCs and 8 cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) to systematically analyze host factors and to define an optimized platform for PDX development from both surgical and biopsy samples. NSG mice that had undergone partial hepatectomy (PHx) represented the best combination of engraftability, growth, and passageability, but overall rates were low and indicative of a unique intrinsic biology for HCCs in the US. PDX models preserved the histology and genetic features of parental tumors, and ultimately, 9 new models were usable for pre-clinical studies. Intriguingly, HCC PDXs were differentially sensitive to regorafenib and sorafenib and CCA PDXs were also highly sensitive to regorafenib. PDX models functionalize early and advanced stage HCCs and revealed unique biological features of liver cancers from the US.

  Study EGAS00001004020

• Loss of LGR4/GPR48 causes severe neonatal salt-wasting due to disrupted WNT signaling altering adrenal zonation

  Disorders of isolated mineralocorticoid deficiency causing potentially life-threatening salt-wasting crisis early in life have been associated with gene variants of aldosterone biosynthesis or resistance, but in some patients no such variants are found. WNT/β-catenin signaling is crucial for differentiation and maintenance of the aldosterone producing adrenal zona glomerulosa (zG). We describe a highly consanguineous family with multiple perinatal deaths or infants presenting at birth with failure to thrive, severe salt-wasting crises associated with isolated hypoaldosteronism, nail anomalies, short stature, and deafness. Whole exome sequencing revealed a homozygous splice variant in the R-SPONDIN receptor LGR4 gene (c.618-1G>C) regulating WNT signaling. The resulting transcripts affected protein function and stability, and resulted in loss of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in vitro. The impact of LGR4 inactivation was analyzed by adrenal cortex specific ablation of Lgr4, using Lgr4Flox/Flox mated with Sf1:Cre mice. Inactivation of Lgr4 within the adrenal cortex in the mouse model caused decreased WNT signaling, aberrant zonation with deficient zG and reduced aldosterone production. Thus, human LGR4 mutations establish a direct link between LGR4 inactivation and decreased canonical WNT signaling with abnormal zG differentiation and endocrine function. Therefore, variants in WNT signaling and its regulators should systematically be considered in familial hyperreninemic hypoaldosteronism.

  Study EGAS00001006808

• CYP2C19 long-read sequencing

  Inter-individual differences in drug response based on genetic variations can lead to drug toxicity and treatment inefficacy. A large part of this variability is caused by genetic variants in pharmacogenes. Unfortunately, the Single Nucleotide Variant (SNV) panels currently used in clinical pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing are unable to detect all genetic variability in these genes. Long-read sequencing, on the other hand, has been shown to be able to resolve complex (pharmaco)genes. In this study we have assessed the added value of long-read sequencing for PGx focusing on the clinically important and highly polymorphic CYP2C19 gene. With a capture-based long-read sequencing panel we were able to characterize the entire region and assign variants to their allele of origin (phasing), resulting in the identification of 813 unique variants in 37 samples. To assess the clinical utility of this data we have compared the performance of three different *-allele tools (Aldy, PharmCat and PharmaKU) which are specifically designed to assign clinical haplotypes to pharmacogenes based on all input variants. We conclude that long-read sequencing can improve our ability to characterize the CYP2C19 locus, help to identify novel haplotypes and that *-allele tools are an useful asset in phenotype prediction. Ultimately, this approach could help to better predict an individual’s drug response and improve therapy outcomes.

  Study EGAS00001006929

• PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy rewires cancer-induced emergency myelopoiesis

  Introduction Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, demonstrating exceptional clinical responses in a wide range of cancers. Despite the success, a significant proportion of patients still fail to respond, highlighting the existence of unappreciated mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance. Delineating such mechanisms is paramount to minimize immunotherapy failures and optimize the clinical benefit. Methods In this study, we treated tumour-bearing mice with PD-L1 blockage antibody (aPD-L1) immunotherapy, to investigate its effects on cancer-induced emergency myelopoiesis, focusing on bone marrow HSPCs. We examined the impact of aPD-L1 treatment on HSPC quiescence, proliferation, transcriptomic profile, and functionality. Results Herein, we reveal that aPD-L1 in tumour-bearing mice targets the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the bone marrow (ΒΜ), mediating their exit from quiescence and promoting their proliferation. Notably, disruption of the PDL1/PD1 axis induces transcriptomic reprogramming in HSPCs, observed in both individuals with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and tumour-bearing mice, shifting towards an inflammatory state. Furthermore, HSPCs from aPDL1-treated mice demonstrated resistance to cancer-induced emergency myelopoiesis, evidenced by a lower generation of MDSCs compared to control-treated mice. Discussion: Our findings shed light on unrecognized mechanisms of action of ICB immunotherapy in cancer, which involves targeting of BM-driven HSPCs and reprogramming of cancer-induced emergency myelopoiesis.

  Study EGAS00001007873

• Genome wide variation in the Angolan Namib desert reveals unique Pre-Bantu ancestry

  The populations of the Angolan Namib Desert have been largely neglected in previous surveys of the genomic landscape of southern Africa. Although at present, the Namib is culturally dominated by Southwest Bantu-speaking cattle-herders, the region exhibits an extraordinary ethnographic diversity which includes an array of semi-nomadic peoples whose subsistence strategies fall outside the traditional division between foraging and food production and can thus be referred to as “peripatetic”. Among these small-scale populations are the last speakers of the Kwadi branch of the Khoe-Kwadi language family associated with the introduction of pastoralism into southern Africa (Kwepe), as well as a range of groups whose origins remain enigmatic (Kwisi, Twa and Tjimba). Using genome-wide data from 208 individuals belonging to nine ethnically diverse groups from the Angolan Namib and adjacent areas (Kwepe, Kwisi, Twa, Tjimba, !Xun, Kuvale, Himba, Nyaneka, Ovimbundu) in combination with published data from other regions of Africa, we reconstruct in detail the histories of contact emerging from pre-historic migrations to southern Africa and show that peripatetic groups from southwestern Angola stand out for exhibiting elevated levels of an unique, regionally-specific and highly divergent Pre-Bantu ancestry. These findings highlight the importance of the Namib for understanding the deep genetic structure of Africa.

  Study EGAS00001007011

• Machine Learning Signal Enrichment for Ultrasensitive Plasma Tumor Burden Monitoring

  In solid tumor oncology, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is poised to transform care through accurate assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) and therapeutic response monitoring. To overcome the sparsity of ctDNA fragments in low tumor fraction (TF) settings and increase MRD sensitivity, we previously leveraged genome-wide mutational integration through plasma whole genome sequencing (WGS). We now introduce MRD-EDGE, a composite machine learning-guided WGS ctDNA single nucleotide variant (SNV) and copy number variant (CNV) detection platform designed to increase signal enrichment. MRD-EDGESNV uses deep learning and a ctDNA-specific feature space to increase SNV signal-to-noise enrichment in WGS by 300X compared to previous WGS error suppression. MRD-EDGECNV also reduces the degree of aneuploidy needed for ultrasensitive CNV detection through WGS from 1 Gb to 200 Mb, thereby expanding its applicability to a wider range of solid tumors. We harness the improved performance to identify MRD following surgery in multiple cancer types, track changes in tumor burden in response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and demonstrate ctDNA shedding in precancerous colorectal adenomas. Finally, the radical signal-to-noise enrichment in MRD-EDGESNV enables de novo mutation calling in melanoma and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) without matched tumor, yielding clinically informative TF monitoring for patients on immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI).

  Study EGAS00001007451

• Machine learning guided signal enrichment for ultrasensitive plasma tumor burden monitoring

  In solid tumor oncology, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is poised to transform care through accurate assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) and therapeutic response monitoring. To overcome the sparsity of ctDNA fragments in low tumor fraction (TF) settings and increase MRD sensitivity, we previously leveraged genome-wide mutational integration through plasma whole genome sequencing (WGS). We now introduce MRD-EDGE, a composite machine learning-guided WGS ctDNA single nucleotide variant (SNV) and copy number variant (CNV) detection platform designed to increase signal enrichment. MRD-EDGESNV uses deep learning and a ctDNA-specific feature space to increase SNV signal-to-noise enrichment in WGS by 300X compared to previous WGS error suppression. MRD-EDGECNV also reduces the degree of aneuploidy needed for ultrasensitive CNV detection through WGS from 1 Gb to 200 Mb, thereby expanding its applicability to a wider range of solid tumors. We harness the improved performance to identify MRD following surgery in multiple cancer types, track changes in tumor burden in response to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and demonstrate ctDNA shedding in precancerous colorectal adenomas. Finally, the radical signal-to-noise enrichment in MRD-EDGESNV enables de novo mutation calling in melanoma and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) without matched tumor, yielding clinically informative TF monitoring for patients on immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI).

  Study EGAS00001007545

• Gene Expression and Regulatory Networks in Human Leukocytes - Immunological Variation Consortium

  Profiling of gene expression with microarrays holds great potential for human health, for illuminating disease pathways or providing biomarkers to monitor disease or its resolution. Using high-throughput approaches for genotyping, immunophenotyping and gene expression analysis, the project will examine the basis for the control of gene expression in human immune cells, and how it is influenced by natural genetic variation or aging. In practice, the project will combine several cross-informative approaches: 1) Building on the established sample/data pipelines and robust protocols of the Immunological Genome (ImmGen) project, and on established cohorts of ethnically diverse healthy volunteers at hand, microarray techniques will be used to generate whole-genome expression profiles from purified naive CD4+ lymphocytes and monocytes from 600 healthy volunteers. A dense genetic map will be established for all donors. The results will elucidate how variation in the human genome affects the expression of immune genes, of key importance in understanding gene variants that bring susceptibility to immune or inflammatory disease. Computational analysis of these rich data will allow the reconstruction of regulatory connections between genes, helping to establish general modules and those specific of a given immune cell type. These data will be complemented by an orthogonal data group, generated from a restricted subset of 10 individuals, in which we will profile a larger set of 28 carefully delineated cell populations that exist in human blood. This work will also benefit from powerful interspecies comparison with similar experiments being performed in mice by ImmGen. 2) In addition, RNA from the same set of 28 defined cell populations will be probed with microarrays that explore other aspects of the transcriptome: i) microRNAs and other non-coding RNAs; ii) exon or splice junction arrays that will establish a map of differential splicing in human blood leukocyte. 3) The composition and reactivity of blood cells from the same donors will be established at the time of sample collection using high-throughput flow cytometry, correlating immune phenotypes with gene expression and genetic variation. 4) Genetic variability conditions the baseline levels of gene expression, but also the responsiveness to activating challenges. With samples from the same donors, NanoString technology for transcript counting will be used to analyze the transcriptional response of defined gene sets, representing response signatures of T or dendritic cells, for a fine-grained dissection of responses to different triggers (different bacterial ligands for dendritic cells, different cytokine environment for T cells). In keeping with the resource aspect of this project, all data and interpretations will be made publicly available rapidly upon curation, allowing public querying and browsing of the data, by using and evolving the existing web architectures of the ImmGen project, of the Broad Institute, and of international repositories. RELEVANCE: Exploration with DNA chips of the genome's expression microarrays holds great potential for human health, to better understand disease and to serve as diagnostic tools. Using a combination of high-throughput genomic techniques and computational biology, we will perform a broad exploration of gene expression in human blood cells across groups of African-American, Asian and European ancestry, asking how these profiles are affected by genetic variation or by age. These results will provide an invaluable reference benchmark for the interpretation of genetic and immunological studies. Additionally, over 90% of genetic variants associated with complex human traits map to non-coding regions, but little is understood about how they modulate gene regulation in health and disease. One possible mechanism is that genetic variants affect the activity of one or more cis-regulatory elements leading to gene expression variation in specific cell types. To identify such cases, in a second study we analyzed ATAC-seq and RNA-seq profiles from stimulated primary CD4+ T cells in up to 105 healthy donors. We found regions of accessible chromatin (ATAC-peaks) are co-accessible at kilobase and megabase resolution. 15% of genetic variants located within ATAC-peaks affected the accessibility of the corresponding peak (ATAC-QTLs). ATAC-QTLs have the largest effects on co-accessible peaks, are associated with gene expression, and are enriched for autoimmune disease variants. Our results provide insights into how natural genetic variants modulate cis-regulatory elements, in isolation or in concert, to influence gene expression. In another study we analyzed RNA-seq profiles from primary CD4+ T cells of two healthy donors at six time points from 0 to 72 hours after stimulation with bead-bound antibodies against CD3 and CD28.

  Study phs000815

• 300BCG study ATAC-seq data: human population variation of trained immunity

  ATAC-seq dataset for the paper: Title Multi-omics analysis of human population variation in immune function and in vivo response to BCG vaccination Abstract Immune responses are tightly regulated, yet highly variable between individuals. To investigate human population variation of trained immunity, we immunized healthy individuals with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). This live attenuated vaccine induces not only an adaptive immune response against tu-berculosis, but also triggers innate immune activation and memory. We established personal immune profiles and chromatin accessibility maps over a time course of BCG vaccination in 323 individuals. This large resource uncovered genetic and epigenetic predictors of baseline immunity and BCG vaccine response. We found that BCG vaccination enhances the innate immune response only in individuals with dormant immune states at baseline, suggesting that exogeneous induction of trained immunity is not a universal booster of innate immunity, but specifically elevates weak innate immune responses. This study advances our understanding of BCG’s heterologous immune-stimulatory effects and trained immunity in humans. Moreover, our results highlight the value of epigenetic cell states as an “endo-phenotype” that connects immune function with genotype and the environment.

  Dataset EGAD50000000123

• Proteomic predictors of individualized nutrient-specific insulin secretion in health and disease

  Population level variation and molecular mechanisms behind insulin secretion in response to carbohydrate, protein, and fat remain uncharacterized despite ramifications for personalized nutrition. We now define prototypical insulin secretion dynamics in response to the three macronutrients in islets from 140 cadaveric donors, including those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We leverage the insulin response heterogeneity and use transcriptomics and proteomics to identify molecular pathways of specific nutrient responsiveness. Surprisingly, we find robust insulin secretion to fatty acid stimulus in ~8% of donors, challenging the idea that fat has negligible effects on insulin release. Distinct islet proteomes with differences in metabolic signalling networks convey this hyper-responsiveness to fat relative to carbohydrate. By comparing human islets to human embryonic stem cell-derived islet clusters, we show that, unlike glucose-responsiveness, fat hyper-responsiveness is equivalent and may be a hallmark of functionally immature cells. Our study represents the first comparison of dynamic responses to nutrients and multi-omics analysis in human insulin secreting cells. Responses of different people’s islets to carbohydrate, protein, and fat lay the groundwork for personalized nutrition.

  Dataset EGAD50000000519

• TSO500 STJAN33, BRAF mutated CUP

  The data set contains FASTQ files (filetype) of a NEXTSEQ550DX run (instrument). De FASTQ files are from DNA and RNA sample. The Library prep is a NGS TSO500 library prep (Illumina) (technology). A Study to Examine the Clinical Value of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Performed by Belgian NGS Laboratories: a Belgian Precision Study of the BSMO in Collaboration With the Cancer Centre (BALLETT) This 2-year study involves the consortium of 9 cooperating Belgian NGS laboratories and will enroll 936 metastatic or locally advanced cancer patients coming from 13 different Belgian hospitals and cancer centers. Upon inclusion, all cancer patients will be offered 'comprehensive genomic profiling' (CGP) using Illumina's TSO500 NGS panel. This targeted NGS panel of 523 genes allows for the detection of single nucleotide variants, small indels, copy number variations and fusions, as well as for the determination of the 'tumor mutational burden' (TMB) and the 'microsatellite-instability' status (MSI). Both the wet lab execution of the CGP as well as the biological and clinical classification of the variants will be performed in a fully standardized way among the 9 participating Belgian local NGS laboratories.

  Dataset EGAD50000000689

• Spatial predictors of response to immunotherapy in microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer

  Microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancers (CRC) are largely unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI), prompting investigation into strategies to enhance sensitivity. The MAYA trial, which utilized temozolomide (TMZ) in MGMT-silenced MSS mCRC, hypothesized that TMZ-induced hypermutation could sensitize tumors to ICI. This phase II trial met its primary endpoint, demonstrating durable clinical responses with TMZ combined with ipilimumab and nivolumab. To elucidate factors in uencing response heterogeneity, we conducted multi-omic spatial pro ling of samples from patients who participated in the MAYA trial, including baseline and on-treatment tissue and blood specimens. While increased neoantigen load following TMZ exposure did not consistently predict for deep responses, spatial profiling revealed key determinants. Lymphocyte proportions, particularly CD8+KI67+ cells, within stromal and tumor compartments, along with macrophage composition (CD68+CD163+ cells) at the tumor-stromal interface, were predictive of response. Treatment pressures dynamically altered the tumor microenvironment composition and activated peripheral immune cells. This study is the first to identify spatial predictors of response to this promising novel treatment approach for MSS CRC.

  Dataset EGAD50000002244

• Analysis of the B cell receptor repertoire in six immune-mediated diseases

  Our understanding of the BCR repertoire in the context of immune-mediated diseases is incomplete, and defining this could provide new insights into pathogenesis and therapy. Here, we compared the BCR repertoire in systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, Crohn’s disease, Behçet’s disease, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) vasculitis by analysing BCR clonality, use of immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region (IGHV) genes and—in particular—isotype use. An increase in clonality in systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn’s disease that was dominated by the IgA isotype, together with skewed use of the IGHV genes in these and other diseases, suggested a microbial contribution to pathogenesis. Different immunosuppressive treatments had specific and distinct effects on the repertoire; B cells that persisted after treatment with rituximab were predominately isotype-switched and clonally expanded, whereas the inverse was true for B cells that persisted after treatment with mycophenolate mofetil. Our comparative analysis of the BCR repertoire in immune- mediated disease reveals a complex B cell architecture, providing a platform for understanding pathological mechanisms and designing treatment strategies.

  Dataset EGAD00001005431

• An Integrated Approach to Patient Stratification and Therapy Selection in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

  As more clinically-relevant genomic features of myeloid malignancies are revealed, it has become clear that targeted clinical genetic testing is inadequate for risk stratification. Here, we developed and validated a clinical transcriptome-based assay for stratification of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Comparison of RNA-Seq to whole genome and exome sequencing revealed that as a standalone assay, RNA-Seq offered the greatest diagnostic return, enabling identification of expressed gene fusions, single nucleotide and short insertion/deletion variants, and whole-transcriptome expression information. Expression data were used to develop a novel risk score which, when combined with molecular risk guidelines, allowed for the re-stratification of 22.1 to 25.3% of AML patients from three independent cohorts into correct risk groups. Within the adverse-risk subgroup, we identified a subset of patients characterized by dysregulated integrin signaling and RUNX1 or TP53 mutation. We show that these patients may benefit from therapy with inhibitors of focal adhesion kinase (PTK2), demonstrating additional utility of transcriptome-based testing for therapy selection in myeloid malignancy.

  Dataset EGAD00001006701

• PopCol 16S gut microbiome sequencing

  PopCol is a cohort study in Stockholm, Sweden that includes a data-rich set of individuals with data available from bowel symptoms questionnaires, gastroenterology visits and biospecimens (genotype and 16S sequencing from blood and stool samples, respectively). Genotyping was carried out using the Illumina HumanOmniExpressExome-8v1 arrays at the SciLifeLab NGI facility in Uppsala, Sweden. Fecal DNA was extracted from samples kept at -80°C using Qiagen 5 QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kits and analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (in the V1-V2 hypervariable region). This was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB) in Kiel, Germany. Of these, six PopCol participants were PPI users and 12 used antibiotics. The study was approved by the local Committee of Research Ethics (Forskningskommitté Syd) at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, in November 2001. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants

  Dataset EGAD00001007071

• Glioblastoma stem cell lines RNA-seq (Guilhamon et al.)

  RNA was extracted from GSCs using the Qiagen RNeasy Plus kit. RNA sample quality was measured by Qubit (Life Technologies) for concentration and by Agilent Bioanalyzer for RNA integrity. All samples had RIN above 9. Libraries were prepared using the TruSeq Stranded mRNA kit (Illumina). Two hundred nanograms from each sample were purified for polyA tail containing mRNA molecules using poly-T oligo attached magnetic beads, then fragmented post-purification. The cleaved RNA fragments were copied into first strand cDNA using reverse transcriptase and random primers. This is followed by second strand cDNA synthesis using RNase H and DNA Polymerase I. A single “A” base was added and adapter ligated followed by purification and enrichment with PCR to create cDNA libraries. Final cDNA libraries were verified by the Agilent Bioanalyzer for size and concentration quantified by qPCR. All libraries were pooled to a final concentration of 1.8nM, clustered and sequenced on the Illumina NextSeq500 as a pair-end 75 cycle sequencing run using v2 reagents to achieve a minimum of ~40 million reads per sample.

  Dataset EGAD00001006813

• bulk RNA sequencing, single cell RNA sequencing and nanopore sequencing of T-ALL patients with TCF7-SI1 fusion

  This dataset contains all sequencing data of the publication "Oncogenic cooperation between the TCF7-SPI1 fusion and NRAS(G12D) requires β-catenin activity to drive T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia." This is bulk RNA sequencing of 4 T-ALL patients (X09, XB37, XB41 and XB47) of which X09 has a TCF7-SPI1 fusion, single cell RNA sequencing of these 4 patients toghether with a PDX model of the X09 patient and two patients from another cohort (SJTALL030263 and SJTALL031201) which also have a TCF7-SPI1 fusion, and nanopore sequencing of all patients with the TCF7-SPI1 fusion. Moreover these patient samples with the fusion where treated with PKF 118-310, and bulk RNA sequencing was performed in triplicate to determine the differentially expressed genes.

  Dataset EGAD00001007010

• Neuroblastoma patient Total RNA Seq data

  Tumor Total RNA Seq data of primary neuroblastomas. This is an update of the „Berlin Neuroblastoma Dataset” (EGAS00001004022). This data was used for the analysis of circular RNA expression and regulation in neuroblastoma.

  Dataset EGAD00001008124

• Dataset for the Pearl study

  Biomarkers to identify patients without benefit from adding everolimus to endocrine treatment in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are needed. We report the results of the Pearl trial conducted in five Belgian centers assessing 18F-FDG-PET/CT non-response (n=45) and ctDNA detection (n=46) after 14 days of exemestane-everolimus (EXE-EVE) to identify MBC patients who will not benefit. Metabolic non-response rate was 66.6%. Median PFS in non-responding patients (using as cut-off 25% for SUVmax decrease) was 3.1 months compared to 6.0 months in those showing response (HR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.40-1.50, p=0.44). Difference was significant when using a “post-hoc” cut-off of 15% (PFS 2.2 months vs 6.4 months). ctDNA detection at D14 was associated with PFS: 2.1 months vs 5.0 months (HR-2.5, 95% CI: 1.3-5.0, p=0.012). Detection of ctDNA and/or the absence of 18F-FDG-PET/CT response after 14 days of EXE-EVE identifies patients with a low probability of benefiting from treatment. Independent validation is needed.

  Dataset EGAD00001007979

• An atlas of the developing human fetal spine

  The primitive streak emerges during the 14th day of human development and establishes dorsoventral and antero-posterior (craniocaudal) body axes. Segmentation along the craniocaudal axis is governed by Hox genes; four clusters of transcription factors whose 3’ to 5’ expression correlates with position along the axis. The precise utilisation of Hox genes in different cell types remains incompletely characterised in humans. In this study, we applied single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to contiguous regions of the human fetal spine between the 5th and 13th post-conception weeks. We built a detailed developmental atlas to examine the segmental expression of Hox genes across different cell types, observing that the Hox code was displayed by all anatomically fixed cell types along the craniocaudal axis. By contrast, mature derivatives of neural crest cells retained the anatomical Hox code of their origin within the crest, a pattern reproduced across neural crest derivatives in other human fetal organs. These findings indicate that scars of Hox gene expression persist in crest cells which may serve as barcodes of neural crest migration.

  Dataset EGAD00001009801

• Single-Cell Atlas of Common Variable Immunodeficiency shows germinal center-associated epigenetic dysregulation in B cell responses

  Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most prevalent primary immunodeficiency. Here the authors perform single cell omics analyses in CVID discordant monozygotic twins and show epigenetic and transcriptional alterations associated with activation in memory B cells.

  Dataset EGAD00001008575

• Somatic mutation and clonal evolution normal breast tissue WGS

  Cancer is a genetic disease caused by an accumulation of mutations, however many of these mutations have been identified in pathologically normal tissue. We aim to use laser-capture microscopy (LCM) to sample individual clones from breast tissue to identify whether cancer-associated mutations appear in this normal tissue, assess the mutational burden present, and identify the mutational processes causing these mutations. We will sample from a wide age range of individuals (<20 to >70 years old) to determine whether these processes differ in pre- and post-menopausal women. We will also be comparing the tissue from healthy individuals (samples from breast reduction surgery) to those at elevated risk of breast cancer (mastectomy from BRCA1/2 patients) and those who have breast cancer (adjacent normal, distal normal, and tumour tissue from mastectomy). This will allow us to determine how these processes are different between these groups of individuals, and gain insight into the earliest stages of tumour development. . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2023-03-09.

  Dataset EGAD00001010123

• The mutational landscape of human somatic and germline cells

  During the course of a lifetime normal human cells accumulate mutations. Here, using multiple samples from the same individuals we compared the mutational landscape in 29 anatomical structures from soma and the germline. Two ubiquitous mutational signatures, SBS1 and SBS5/40, accounted for the majority of acquired mutations in most cell types but their absolute and relative contributions varied substantially. SBS18, potentially reflecting oxidative damage, and several additional signatures attributed to exogenous and endogenous exposures contributed mutations to subsets of cell types. The mutation rate was lowest in spermatogonia, the stem cell from which sperm are generated and from which most genetic variation in the human population is thought to originate. This was due to low rates of ubiquitous mutation processes and may be partially attributable to a low cell division rate of basal spermatogonia. The results provide important insights into how mutational processes affect the soma and germline.

  Dataset EGAD00001006641

• POETIC clinical Trial Ki67 Bookend Breast Cancer Targeted Exome and RNAseq Project

  Using RNAseq, we compare the 15% of poorest responders (PRs, n=177) as measured by proportional Ki67 changes after 2 weeks of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitors to good responders (GRs, n=190) selected from the top 50% responders in the POETIC trial and matched for baseline Ki67 categories. In the POETIC trial, 4,480 postmenopausal women with primary ER+ BC were randomised 2:1 to receive either treatment with a non-steroidal AI (letrozole or anastrozole) for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after surgery or to no perisurgical treatment. Only AI-treated patients with HER2- tumors, paired baseline and surgery Ki67 available, and baseline Ki67 immunohistochemistry (IHC) >10% (to minimise imprecision in proportional Ki67 falls) were included for selection. Data is baseline RNAseq and targeted exome DNA sequencing analysis of POETIC Good/Poor Responders to aromatase inhibitors based on change in Ki67.

  Dataset EGAD00001010919

• Ovarian Cancer Organoid Biobank - RNASeq data

  Ovarian cancer (OC) is a heterogeneous disease usually diagnosed at a late stage. Experimental in vitro models that faithfully capture the hallmarks and tumor heterogeneity of OC are limited and hard to establish. We present a novel protocol that enables efficient derivation and long-term expansion of OC organoids. Utilizing this protocol, we have established 56 organoid lines from 32 patients, representing the spectrum of ovarian neoplasms, including non-malignant borderline tumors, as well as mucinous, clear-cell, endometrioid, low- and high-grade serous carcinomas. OC organoids recapitulate histological and genomic features of the pertinent lesion from which they were derived, illustrating intra- and inter-patient heterogeneity, and can be genetically modified. We show that OC organoids can be used for drug screening assays and capture different tumor subtype responses to the gold standard platinum-based chemotherapy, including acquisition of chemoresistance in recurrent disease. Finally, OC organoids can be xenografted, enabling in vivo drug sensitivity assays. Taken together, this demonstrates their potential application for research and personalized medicine.

  Dataset EGAD00001004509

• Genetic landscape of SMM

  Identifying high risk smoldering myeloma patients and progression mechanism is a prerequisite to implement effective inception strategies and curve myeloma related morbidity and mortality. We hypothesize that genomics may help identify determinants of progression that may help predict outcome and offer effective chemo preventive targets. Eighty-two patients underwent a custom targeted panel sequencing with an additional capture for the translocation loci. These results were compared to 223 newly diagnosed patients (EGAS00001003223 and EGAD00001004117) and 17 MGUS and 10 early myeloma patients. DNA was obtained from either CD138+ cells from the bone marrow of multiple myeloma patients (tumor) or from stem cell harvests or peripheral blood cells from the same patient (control). 100 ng of DNA was fragmented, end-repaired, and adapters ligated using the HyperPlus kit (KAPA Biosystems). After PCR amplification the libraries were hybridized with probes against either a targeted panel consisting of 140 genes and chromosomal regions (Nimblegen) using SeqCap reagents (Nimblegen). Hybridized libraries underwent further amplification before being sequenced on a NextSeq500 (Illumina) using 75 bp paired end reads. Overall, these data highlight the importance of dysregulation of the MAPK pathway in the progression to MM.

  Dataset EGAD00001005285

• Chromatin accessibility maps of chronic lymphocytic leukemia identify subtype-specific epigenome signatures and transcription regulatory networks

  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by substantial clinical heterogeneity, despite relatively few genetic alterations. To provide a basis for studying epigenome deregulation in CLL, we established genome-wide chromatin accessibility maps for 88 CLL samples from 55 patients using the ATAC-seq assay, and we also performed ChIPmentation and RNA-seq profiling for ten representative samples. Based on the resulting dataset, we devised and applied a bioinformatic method that links chromatin profiles to clinical annotations. Our analysis identified sample-specific variation on top of a shared core of CLL regulatory regions. IGHV mutation status – which distinguishes the two major subtypes of CLL – was accurately predicted by the chromatin profiles, and gene regulatory networks inferred for IGHV-mutated vs. IGHV-unmutated samples identified characteristic differences between these two disease subtypes. In summary, we discovered widespread heterogeneity in the chromatin landscape of CLL, established a community resource for studying epigenome deregulation in leukemia, and demonstrated the feasibility of chromatin accessibility mapping in cancer cohorts and clinical research.

  Dataset EGAD00001002110

• Autozygosity pilot - Born in Bradford (2014-11-20)

  The offspring of first cousin marriages have ~6% of their genome autozygous, i.e. homozygous identical by descent, or even more if there was further consanguinity in their ancestry. In the UK there are large populations with very high first cousin marriage rates of 20-50%. Sequencing the exomes of a sample of these individuals has the potential both to support genetic health programmes in these populations, and to provide genetic research information about rare loss of function mutations. This pilot study based on existing cohort samples from the Born In Bradford study will identify homozygous individuals for almost all variants down to an allele frequency around 1%, plus individuals carrying hundreds of new homozygous rare loss-of-function variants, and will support development of community relations and ethics for a wider study currently being designed. The data deposited in the EGA consist of low coverage whole exome sequencing on these samples.Data Access is controlled by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute DAC and the Born In Bradford Executive Group. This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2014-11-20.

  Dataset EGAD00001001079

• Somatic mutation and clonal evolution normal breast tissue TGS (2020-01-15)

  Cancer is a genetic disease caused by an accumulation of mutations, however many of these mutations have been identified in pathologically normal tissue. We aim to use laser-capture microscopy (LCM) to sample individual clones from breast tissue to identify whether cancer-associated mutations appear in this normal tissue, assess the mutational burden present, and identify the mutational processes causing these mutations. We will sample from a wide age range of individuals (<20 to >70 years old) to determine whether these processes differ in pre- and post-menopausal women. We will also be comparing the tissue from healthy individuals (samples from breast reduction surgery) to those at elevated risk of breast cancer (mastectomy from BRCA1/2 patients) and those who have breast cancer (adjacent normal, distal normal, and tumour tissue from mastectomy). This will allow us to determine how these processes are different between these groups of individuals, and gain insight into the earliest stages of tumour development. . This dataset contains all the data available for this study on 2020-01-15.

  Dataset EGAD00001005787

• Selective advantage of mutant stem cells in human clonal hematopoiesis is associated with attenuated response to inflammation and aging

  In this study we characterised the consequences of DNMT3A- and TET2-mutations in human clonal haematopoiesis. We screened 195 bone marrow samples for mutations by targeted DNA sequencing, and sequenced 99 paired peripheral blood samples to compare mutation detection between bone marrow and blood. We performed single-cell analysis with TARGET-seq+ on 13 samples (4 controls and 9 clonal haematopoiesis samples), which combines single-cell genotyping for targeted mutations with whole transcriptome sequencing on FACS sorted cells. Single-cell genotyping and transcriptomes were sequenced separately and linked by common single-cell identifiers.

  Study EGAS00001007358

• REDS-IV-P Epidemiology, Surveillance and Preparedness of the Novel SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic (RESPONSE)

  Leveraging access to the blood supply and blood donors, the REDS-IV-P program began conducting the RESPONSE study (REDS-IV-P Epidemiology, Surveillance and Preparedness of the Novel SARS-CoV-2 Epidemic) in early 2020 in order to 1) evaluate if SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in blood donations in the U.S. using an assay that could potentially be used to screen the blood supply if evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transfusion-transmission became apparent 2) conduct serosurveys using optimized assays/algorithms to monitor antibody reactivity in blood donor populations over time, 3) enroll SARS-CoV-2 positive donors and others into a longitudinal cohort study to answer fundamental questions about the evolution of viremia and immune responses, and 4) establish a sharable biorepository that includes specimens collected early on in the infection and potentially large volumes of plasma from infected/convalescent donors.Screening for SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia was completed using a SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) performed on retained blood donor minipool samples from six geographic regions in the US. The study also included serosurveillance (i.e. testing for antibody directed against the SARS-CoV2 spike protein) of donations from the same six regions to document accruing seroincidence in blood donor populations and to project these rates in the general population. To enrich for donors with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, another part of the study focused on donors reporting post-donation information (PDI) consistent with COVID-19 by testing plasma from all available PDI donations for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by NAT. Subjects who were diagnosed with COVID-19 based on PDI reports or who tested positive by SARS-CoV-2 NAT on index donation plasma were enrolled into a longitudinal follow-up study which collected multiple samples for up to one-year post-infection. The longitudinal follow-up study also enrolled community members who reported a new positive SARS-CoV-2 NAT test in the prior 7-14 days. The specific aims of the RESPONSE study were to: Establish the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia in blood donations from the American Red Cross (ARC) regions in Los Angeles, Boston, and Minneapolis metropolitan areas, Bloodworks Northwest (BWNW), New York Blood Center (NYBC), and Vitalant San Francisco Bay Area, monthly between March and September of 2020 Conduct serosurveys to study antibody reactivity in same six areas as above monthly for March to August 2020 Document rates of Post Donation Information (PDI) reports to determine PDI rates relevant to SARS-CoV-2 clinical disease and test index donation plasma from PDI donors for SARS-CoV-2 RNA Enroll SARS-CoV-2 infected subjects into a longitudinal cohort study to answer fundamental questions on the evolution of viremia, early immune responses and waning of immunity over 3-12 months of follow-up Establish a sharable biorepository of samples from all of the above Aims for future research The data from Aims 3 and 4 above is being made available in BioData Catalyst.Biospecimens for these Aims are managed by Vitalant Research Institute (VRI). More information on biospecimens is available.

  Study phs003578

• Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) Trauma Epidemiologic Registry (Trauma Epistry) (ROC-Trauma Epistry-BioLINCC)

  Data Access NOTE: Please refer to the "Authorized Access" section below for information about how access to the data from this accession differs from many other dbGaP accessions.Available Data: This dataset only includes traumatic injury participants. For ROC cardiac arrest Epistry data please see: ROC-Cardiac Epistry 1 and 2 and ROC-Cardiac Epistry 3.Objectives: To build a prospective population-based registry of participants with out-of-hospital traumatic injury responded to by Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Specific aims included: to establish whether the results of Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) trials can be generalized to the larger population of people that experience traumatic injury; to more fully establish the burden of traumatic injury; and to examine the relationships between variation in EMS structure and process, regional and periodic factors, and participant outcomes.Background: Traumatic injury is a major public health problem generating substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic burden on society. The majority of seriously injured persons are initially evaluated and cared for by prehospital providers, however the effect of EMS systems, EMS clinical care, and EMS interventions on trauma patient outcomes is largely unknown. EMS factors such as service level, number of responding providers, use of procedures or drugs in the field, training, quality assurance/feedback, and response time intervals also vary significantly by region.The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) was established in 2004 to conduct clinical research in the areas of cardiopulmonary arrest and life-threatening traumatic injury with the overall goal of improving resuscitation outcomes. Previous trauma registries have generally focused primarily on hospitalized patients with limited prehospital information. Registries may also exclude trauma cases at far ends of the spectrum, such as those who die in the field or in a non-trauma center and/or patients that are treated and released. These limitations do not allow for detailed, outcome-based assessments of EMS system factors necessary to define prehospital resuscitation best practices. Therefore there was a need for standardized data collection of out-of-hospital traumatic injuries matched to hospital-based outcomes in diverse geographic locations in order to identify the independent effects of prognostic or treatment factors accounting for variations in survival. Participants: The registry included 13,830 traumatic events from 264 EMS agencies transporting to 287 acute care hospitals from the following regional centers: Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; Iowa City, Iowa; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; San Diego, California; Seattle/King County, Washington; Ottawa, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; and Vancouver, British Columbia.Design: ROC Epistry collected standardized data regarding episode-specific factors, participant demographics, clinical information, pre-hospital interventions and disposition, hospital information, and participant outcome for all out-of-hospital traumatic injuries in the ROC regions. Cases were identified through review of emergency response system records including dispatch centers, EMS ground agencies, and air medical services. Out-of-hospital data were extracted from existing databases whenever possible and augmented with targeted review of EMS reports. Hospital data were abstracted directly from the hospital file in most cases. Sites submitted data using a web-based interface or batch uploads (Newgard, et al., 2008, PMID: 18482792).

  Study phs003809

• The Role of E2F4 in Controlling Resistance to Irinotecan (CPT-11) in Human Colon Cancer

  This study reports the results of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments performed on three isogenic clones of the human HT29 colon cancer cell line, genetically engineered to achieve the selective inactivation of the adenovirus early 2 (E2) gene transcription factor 4 (E2F4) protein, a key functional component of the multimeric transcriptional repression complex known as the dimerization partner (DP), retinoblastoma-like (RB-like), E2F and multi-vulva class B (MuvB) complex (DREAM). In previous studies, we identified E2F4 as a key regulator of colorectal cancer (CRC) resistance to irinotecan (CPT-11), a cytotoxic agent that stands at the backbone of multiple chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of metastatic CRCs. The molecular mechanisms linking E2F4 to irinotecan resistance, however, remain poorly understood. The present study was designed to identify which genes are under the transcriptional control of E2F4, either at baseline or following exposure to SN38 (i.e., the active metabolite of irinotecan, generated in vivo by biotransformation in the liver) in order to clarify the role played by E2F4 in shaping colon cancer resistance to chemotherapy. The cell line used for this study (HT29) is aneuploid and contains three copies of the E2F4 gene, because of a trisomy of chromosome 16, where the E2F4 gene is located (Kawai et al., Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer, 34:1-8, 2002; PMID: 11921276). HT29 cells were infected with lentivirus vectors encoding for CRISPR/Cas9 constructs designed to selectively inactivate the E2F4 gene, using three distinct guide-RNAs (gRNAs), each targeting a different sequence within the proximal exons of the E2F4 gene (exon 1, exon 2). Lentivirus-infected cells were sub-cloned by single-cell fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), based on the differential expression of a fluorescent reporter (EGFP) expressed in tandem with the gRNAs. Isogenic clones (EGFP+) were then screened to identify those with a tri-allelic knock-out, as revealed by both genetic sequencing of the E2F4 gene (revealing the presence of three distinct frameshift mutations) and Western blot (revealing complete loss of E2F4 protein expression). The study includes twelve (n=12) RNA-seq experiments, representative of 3 experimental replicates (i.e., three distinct isogenic clones of the HT29 cell line, each displaying complete loss of E2F4 expression) and 3 negative controls (i.e., three independent preparations of the parent HT29 cell line, infected with a lentivirus vector encoding for a non-targeting gRNA) exposed to 2 distinct in vitro cell culture conditions: a) treatment with SN38 resuspended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO); or b) treatment with DMSO alone (negative control). The in vitro treatment regimen used for SN38 (32 nM, 24 hours) was designed so that the exposure to SN38 experienced in vitro by HT29 cells would mirror the exposure to SN38 experienced in vivo by malignant tissues, as measured, for example, in metastatic CRC patients receiving a standard dose of irinotecan (180 mg/m2) administered by intravenous infusion over 90 minutes (Deyme et al., Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 88:247-258, 2021; PMID: 33912999).

  Study phs003560

• BLUE CORAL: Biology and Longitudinal Epidemiology of PETAL COVID-19 Observational Study

  Data Access NOTE: Please refer to the “Authorized Access” section below for information about how access to the data from this accession differs from many other dbGaP accessions.Available Data: Long Term Follow-up data has been added with version 2. Biospecimens: Access to Biospecimens is through the NHLBI Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center (BioLINCC). Biospecimens from PETAL BLUE CORAL include: Bronchial Lavage, Plasma, Tracheal Aspirate, Urine, Whole Blood Buffy Coat, DNA, Plasma, Serum, Urine, and Whole Blood. Please note that use of biospecimens is tiered for both non-genetic and genetic research.Objectives: To measure the incidence and changes over time in symptoms, disability, and financial status after COVID-19–related hospitalization.Background: For many individuals, the effects of COVID-19 persist after the acute phase and result in prolonged symptoms and disability. This has led to widespread efforts to characterize the epidemiologic characteristics of such post-COVID-19 sequelae. However, accurate data were limited, hindering the ability to counsel patients, caregivers, and policy makers and to plan relevant recovery-focused clinical research. Thus, the BLUE CORAL study was intended to address the knowledge gaps and provide critical data to help guide clinical care, public health, and scientific efforts.Participants: A total of 1376 COVID-19 patents were enrolled, with 825 (444 male, and 379 female) that completed at least one follow-up survey.A subset of the BLUE CORAL adult participants were enrolled in the extension study, FIRE CORAL. FIRE CORAL was a multicenter prospective cohort study of participants recovering from COVID-19 disease after discharge from the hospital. Design: BLUE CORAL was a prospective cohort study. Participants were enrolled between August 24, 2020, and July 20, 2021, with follow-up occurring through March 30, 2022. Posthospital surveys were administered by trained interviewers in English or Spanish to patients or their proxies at 1, 3, and 6 months after enrollment. Cardiopulmonary symptoms were assessed using the Airways Questionnaire 20, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, and the Seattle Angina Questionnaire. Fatigue was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Disability was assessed by self-report of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Financial problems were assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 question and questions regarding job changes, time off work, and insurance coverage developed with the Mi-COVID-19 study using qualitative interviews. Quality of life was measured using the European Quality of Life 5-dimension 5-level instrument.The primary outcomes were new or worsened cardiopulmonary symptoms, financial problems, functional impairments, perceived return to baseline health, and quality of life. Symptoms that were not present before hospitalization or specifically reported as increased in severity were counted as new or worsened. Conclusions: The findings of this cohort study of people discharged after COVID-19 hospitalization suggest that recovery in symptoms, functional status, and fatigue was limited at 6 months, and some participants reported new problems 6 months after hospital discharge.

  Study phs003419

• Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT-BioLINCC)

  Data Access NOTE: Please refer to the “Authorized Access” section below for information about how access to the data from this accession differs from many other dbGaP accessions. ObjectivesHypertension Study: To determine whether treatment with a calcium channel blocker or an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor lowers the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) or other cardiovascular disease (CVD) events vs treatment with a diuretic.Lipid Study: To determine whether pravastatin compared with usual care reduces all-cause mortality in older, moderately hypercholesterolemic, hypertensive participants with at least an additional CHD risk factor. BackgroundHypertension Study: Antihypertensive therapy is well established to reduce hypertension-related morbidity and mortality, but the optimal first-step therapy is unknown.Lipid Study: Studies have demonstrated that statins administered to individuals with risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) reduce CHD events. However, many of these studies were too small to assess all-cause mortality or outcomes in important subgroups.ParticipantsHypertension Study: A total of 33,357 participants. Lipid Study: A total of 10,355 participants. Baseline mean total cholesterol was 224 mg/dL; LDL-C, 146 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 48 mg/dL; and triglycerides, 152 mg/dL. Mean age was 66 years; 49% were women, 38% black and 23% Hispanic, 14% had a history of CHD, and 35% had type 2 diabetes. DesignHypertension Study: A randomized, double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial conducted from February 1994 through March 2002. Participants were randomly assigned to receive chlorthalidone, 12.5 to 25 mg/d (n = 15,255); amlodipine, 2.5 to 10 mg/d (n = 9048); or lisinopril, 10 to 40 mg/d (n = 9054) for planned follow-up of approximately 4 to 8 years. The primary outcome was combined fatal CHD or nonfatal myocardial infarction, analyzed by intent-to-treat. Secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, stroke, combined CHD (primary outcome, coronary revascularization, or angina with hospitalization), and combined CVD (combined CHD, stroke, treated angina without hospitalization, heart failure (HF), and peripheral arterial disease).Lipid Study: Multicenter (513 primarily community-based North American clinical centers), randomized, non-blinded trial conducted from 1994 through March 2002 in a subset of participants from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT). The interventions in the trial were pravastatin, 40 mg/d, vs usual care. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, with follow-up for up to 8 years. Secondary outcomes included non-fatal myocardial infarction or fatal CHD (CHD events) combined, cause-specific mortality, and cancer.ConclusionsHypertension Study: Thiazide-type diuretics are superior in preventing one or more major forms of CVD and are less expensive. They should be preferred for first-step antihypertensive therapy.Lipid Study: Pravastatin did not reduce either all-cause mortality or CHD significantly when compared with usual care in older participants with well-controlled hypertension and moderately elevated LDL-C. The results may be due to the modest differential in total cholesterol (9.6%) and LDL-C (16.7%) between pravastatin and usual care compared with prior statin trials supporting cardiovascular disease prevention.

  Study phs004021

• Characterizing the Role of the Immune Microenvironment in Multiple Myeloma Progression at a Single Cell Level

  The plasma cell disease multiple myeloma (MM) is highly dependent on its bone marrow microenvironment (BMME). Early alterations within the bone marrow microenvironment that contribute to the progression of multiple myeloma (MM) from its precursor stages could hold the key to identifying novel therapeutic approaches, yet the intrinsic variability in cellular populations between patients together with differences in sample processing and analysis methods have made it difficult to identify consistent changes between datasets. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing of BM cells from precursor stages, monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS), smoldering MM (SMM) and newly diagnosed MM and analyzed our data in combination with a previously published dataset that used a similar patient population and sample processing. Despite vast interpatient heterogeneity, some alterations were seen consistently in both datasets. We identified changes in immune cell populations as disease progressed that were characterized by a substantial decrease in memory and naïve CD4 T cells and an increase in CD8+ effector T cells and T-regulatory cells. These alterations were further accompanied by an enrichment of non-clonal memory B cells and an increase of CD14 and CD16 monocytes in MM compared to its precursor stages. These results provide crucial information of the immune changes associated with the progression to clinical MM and can help to develop immune based strategies for patient stratification and early therapeutic intervention. 

  Study phs002756

• NHLBI GO-ESP: Lung Cohorts Exome Sequencing Project (Lung Health Study of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

  The NHLBI "Grand Opportunity" Exome Sequencing Project (GO-ESP), a signature project of the NHLBI Recovery Act investment, was designed to identify genetic variants in coding regions (exons) of the human genome (the "exome") that are associated with heart, lung and blood diseases. These and related diseases that are of high impact to public health and individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups will be studied. These data may help researchers understand the causes of disease, contributing to better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, as well as determine whether to tailor prevention and treatments to specific populations. This could lead to more effective treatments and reduce the likelihood of side effects. GO-ESP is comprised of five collaborative components: 3 cohort consortia - HeartGO, LungGO, and WHISP - and 2 sequencing centers - BroadGO and SeattleGO. The Lung Health Study I was a randomized multicenter clinical trial with 5887 participants carried out from October 1986 to April 1994, designed to test the effectiveness of smoking cessation and bronchodilator administration in smokers aged 35 to 60 with mild lung function impairment. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: usual care, who received no intervention smoking intervention with the inhaled bronchodilator ipratroprium bromide smoking intervention with an inhaled placebo The effect of intervention was evaluated by the rate of decline of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).

  Study phs000291

• NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) De Novo Mutation Identification in Taiwanese Schizophrenia Trios

  The substantial reproductive impact of schizophrenia, for which affected individuals have fewer than half as many offspring as unaffected individuals do, implies that mutations of largest effect will frequently be de novo mutations. Ascertaining exome sequence variation in father-mother-offspring trios allows such mutations to be identified and distinguished from the far-larger amount of rare variation that is inherited by each individual. The pursuit of this approach in a large, well-powered cohort of trios can also provide lessons that inform the development of such gene discovery strategies more generally in human genetics. Schizophrenia trios from the Taiwanese population are being collected by Dr. Ming Tsuang (PI, UC San Diego, California) and investigators in Taiwan (PI, Dr. Hai Gwo Hwu; both funded by NIMH grant 1R01MH085560; Expanding Rapid Ascertainment Networks of Schizophrenia Families in Taiwan). A total of 3800 trios are anticipated to be collected by May 2013. This represents a highly homogenous national sample from the same ancestral population. DNA samples will be obtained from the NIMH Repository, Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (described below) and stored at the Broad Institute. Genetic and data analyses will be performed at the Broad Institute. We propose to sequence the whole exome of trios by hybrid capture and Illumina next generation sequencing and perform targeted genotyping and validation of variants (SNPs, indels and CNVs) using several molecular methods, to include emulsion-based PCR and Sanger sequencing.

  Study phs001196

• National Cancer Institute (NCI) Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) of Renal Cell Carcinoma in African Americans

  The NCI GWAS of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in African Americans was undertaken to provide insight into genetic loci affecting susceptibility to this malignancy in a racial group known to be at elevated risk. We genotyped 1,136,723 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 255 cases and 375 controls of African ancestry from the NCI Kidney Cancer Study, and further investigated 16 SNPs in a replication set consisting of 140 cases and 543 controls from a case-control study conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The variant rs10771279 located on 12p11, 77kb from a European-ancestry RCC risk marker, was associated with RCC risk in the GWAS (P=1.2 x 10-7) but did not replicate (P=0.99). The variant 7105934 on 11q13.3, previously associated with RCC in a GWAS using European-ancestry samples, was associated with risk in both studies [meta-analysis odds ratio (OR)=0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.64-0.91; P=0.0022]. The frequency of this allele was higher than that observed in the European-ancestry GWAS (0.56 and 0.07 respectively among controls). The rs7105934 association was stronger for clear cell RCC (ccRCC: OR=0.56; P=7.4 x 10-7) and absent for cases of other or unknown histology (OR=1.02; P=0.86). In conclusion, this study provides evidence that rs7105934 is a susceptibility locus for RCC, and clear-cell RCC in particular, among African Americans.

  Study phs000863

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Multimodal Developmental Neurogenetics of Females

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002043

• MAITS in HCC

  Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death and can be considered a prototype of inflammation-derived cancer arising from chronic liver injury. The cell composition of the HCC tumor immune microenvironment (TiME) has a major impact on cancer biology as the TiME can have divergent capacities on tumor initiation, progress, and response to therapy. Recent development of multi-omics and single-cell technologies help us to comprehensively quantify the cellular heterogeneity and spatial organization of the TiME and to further our understanding of antitumor immunity. We investigated the cellular composition of liver cancer patient samples (n=8) using single-cell RNA-seq. For this purpose, mononuclear cells were isolated from human liver cancer samples. Three locations within the tumor-bearing liver were used: adjacent liver, rim and tumor core. Then, cells were FACS sorted (either CD45+ cells or MAIT cells) and subjected to 10X Chromium-based scRNA-seq. We investigated immune cell changes and the cellular heterogeneity of the HCC TiME with a focus on MAIT cells. Annotated H5 files are provided. Clinical metadata including TMN stage, sex, gender, ethnicity, pretreatment, and histopathological reports are available for all patient samples. Further details on the study can be obtained in our paper once it’s published.A complementary dataset derived from ultrahighplex CO-Detection by indEXing (CODEX) from paired patient samples can be accessed through The Cancer Imaging Archives (TCIA) under DOI: https://doi.org/10.7937/bh0r-y074.

  Study phs003279

• Systems genetics in human endothelial cells identifies non-coding variants modifying enhancers, expression, and complex disease traits

  Identification of causal variants and mechanisms underlying complex disease traits in humans requires strategies to locate and fine-map functional regulatory variants in disease-relevant cell types. To discover functional regulatory variants in primary aortic endothelial cells (ECs) from humans, we collected genetic, transcriptomic, and four epigenomic phenotypes in a population of 153 human donors representing individuals of both sexes and three major ancestries. We found thousands of EC eQTLs that were not present in GTEx at all ranges of effect sizes, indicating novel functional variants not observable from tissue data. We performed several epigenetic assays across 53 donors' EC to enable molecular QTL mapping, which included chromatin accessibility, histone modification, and transcription factor binding of proteins ERG and NF-kB/p65 in two activation states. We discovered over 3000 regulatory elements where cis-regulatory variants associated to significant differences in epigenetic marks. Co-localization with our eQTLs, TF motif mutations, and 3D confirmation capture data in ECs enabled our discovery of hundreds of high-confidence functional regulatory elements that perturb endothelial molecular phenotypes. Furthermore, this set of variants is enriched at GWAS loci for Coronary Artery disease and other disease traits, with some SNPs demonstrating pleiotropic effects. Together, our dataset and analytical approach provide the genetics and vascular biology communities with specific variants affecting EC biology and serves as a proof-of-principle for how to detect functional regulatory variants in human cells with relevance to complex traits.

  Study phs002057

• International Consortium on the Genetics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLEGEN)

  The genetic makeup of an individual strongly influences the risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The identification of genes that predispose an individual to SLE will lead to earlier and better diagnosis, better treatments, and possibly prevention. To this end, the International Consortium on the Genetics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLEGEN) was formed in 2005 and is composed of lupus researchers who agreed to pool their knowledge and resources to search for genes that predispose to lupus. Eight laboratories contributed DNA samples for genotyping at the Broad Institute and association with SLE was performed by the Data Coordinating Center (Wake Forest University), as part of a four stage study design. Stages one and two of this design were graciously funded by the Alliance for Lupus Research (www.lupusresearch.org). In this stage of the study, approximately 767 SLE patients (cases) were compared to approximately 383 non-SLE patients (controls) for differences among the Illumina HumanHap300. The affected individuals are all females of European decent. 82% of the cases are the index case from multiplex pedigrees for SLE and the remaining 18% have self-reported first degree relatives with SLE. A detailed summary of the methods and results can be found in the manuscript in Nature Genetics February 2008 by SLEGEN "Genome-wide association scan in women with systemic lupus erythematosus identifies susceptibility variants ITGAM, PXK, KIAA1542 and other loci". (Please see also Study Accession: phs000202.v1.p1)

  Study phs000216

• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Neuropsychiatric: Genomics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (GASD)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of New York Genome Center (NYGC). WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal.An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002509

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Homozygosity Mapping Consortium for Autism (HMCA)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs001894

• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Neuropsychiatric: Simons Searchlight

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of New York Genome Center (NYGC). WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal.An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002512

• Indexing Genes Impacted by Copy Number Variation in Developmental Disorders

  A challenge in clinical genomics is to predict whether copy number variation (CNV) affecting a gene or multiple genes will manifest as disease. Increasing recognition of gene dosage effects in neurodevelopmental disorders prompted us to develop a computational approach based on critical-exon (highly expressed in brain, highly conserved) examination for potential etiologic effects. Using a large CNV dataset, our updated analyses revealed significant (P < 1.64 x 10-15) enrichment of critical-exons within rare CNVs in cases compared to controls. Separately, we used a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to construct an unbiased protein module from prenatal and adult tissues and found it significantly enriched for critical exons in prenatal (P < 1.15 x 10-50, OR = 2.11) and adult (P < 6.03 x 10-18, OR = 1.55) development. WGCNA yielded 1,206 proteins for which we prioritized the corresponding genes as likely to have a role in neurodevelopmental disorders. We compared the gene lists obtained from critical-exon and WGCNA analysis and found 438 candidate genes associated with CNVs annotated as pathogenic, or variants of uncertain significance (VOUS), from among 10,619 developmental delay cases. We identified genes containing CNVs previously considered to be VOUS, to be new candidate genes for neurodevelopmental disorders (GIT1, MVB12B and PPP1R9A) demonstrating the utility of this strategy to index the clinical effects of CNVs. Reprinted from Uddin et al, 2016, with permission from Scientific Reports.

  Study phs001154

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Autism Center of Excellence (ACE II)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002042

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Study of Autism Genetics Exploration (SAGE)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs001740

• Genomic Architecture of Progression and Treatment Response in AMD

  Numerous studies have identified common and rare genetic variation associated with risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, risk is just one facet of AMD disease architecture. Both disease progression and response to treatment are two critical elements that may also be influenced by genetic variation. The primary aim of this study was to identify genetic variation influencing progression and response to treatment for AMD, with a secondary aim of further elucidating the genetic etiology of AMD risk. We ascertained AMD cases and controls of European ancestry from Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI) and obtained blood samples from all participants. Eyes were examined using standard ophthalmological methods, and graded according the modified Age-Related Eye Disease Study scale (AREDS grades 1-5) using fundus photography. Individuals were re-examined in follow-up exams at regular intervals to assess any change in AMD grade. Eyes with advanced neovascular AMD that were examined using ocular coherence tomography imaging (OCT), treated with anti-angiogenesis therapy and monitored for response to treatment. All individuals ascertained for the study were exome-chipped for genome-wide single nucleotide variation coverage. To target rare genetic variation, whole exome sequencing was performed on individuals at the phenotypic extremes based on 1) AMD grade, 2) rate of progression from intermediate to advanced AMD and 3) response to anti-VEGF treatment for eyes with advanced neovascular AMD.

  Study phs001046

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG)-Neuropsychiatric: A Study of the Genetic Causes of Complex Pediatric Disorders (CAG)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002004

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Autism Genetic Resource Exchange

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs001766

• Detection and Targeting of Splicing Deregulation in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells

  This study evaluates the gene expression and splicing changes between pediatric patients with and without Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and pediatric and adult patients with AML. We obtained bone marrow or peripheral blood from patients and isolated CD34+ stem and/or progenitor cells from pediatric patients with AML (10) or without AML (6) and adult patients with AML (5). In parallel, a targeted analysis for known, deleterious, genetic mutations in the KRAS, NRAS, and KMT2C genes identified 2, 5, and 6 AML patients with alterations, respectively. Additionally, Tapestri analysis further identified a mutation in the intronic region of the SF3B1 gene in multiple pediatric AML patients. RNA-Seq was performed on the purified cell populations at The Scripps Research Institute Next Generation Core on an Illumina NextSeq 500 sequencer with 150bp paired-end reads.These datasets revealed that, similar to adult AML, pediatric AML samples were enriched for Leukemia Stem Cells (LSC) markers. A deeper analysis showed widespread dysregulation of splicing in pediatric AML samples compared to age-matched non-leukemic samples. In addition, the splicing regulator RBFOX2 was downregulated with an accompanying increase in specific CD47 splice isoforms in the pediatric AML samples. Thus, the increased presence of LSCs in pediatric AML is possibly driven by global splicing deregulation, and the treatment with splicing modulators like Rebecsinib has a potential therapeutic value for eradicating LSCs in these patients.

  Study phs003196

• Tumor Mutation Burden, Expressed Neoantigen and Immune Microenvironment in Diffuse Gliomas

  A consistent correlation between tumor mutation burden (TMB) and tumor immune microenvironment has not been observed in gliomas as in other cancers. Driver germline and somatic mutations, TMB, neoantigen, and immune cell signatures were analyzed using whole exome sequencing (WES) and transcriptome sequencing of tumor and WES of matched germline DNA in a cohort of 66 glioma samples (44 IDH-mutant and 22 IDH-wildtype). Fourteen samples revealed a hypermutator phenotype (HMP). Eight pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) germline variants were detected in 9 (19%) patients. Six of these 8 genes were DNA damage repair genes. P/LP germline variants were found in 22% of IDH-mutant gliomas and 12.5%of IDH-wildtype gliomas (p= 0.7). TMB was correlated with expressed neoantigen but showed an inverse correlation with immune score (R =−0.46, p= 0.03) in IDH-wildtype tumors and no correlation in IDH-mutant tumors. Antigen Processing and Presentation (APP) score correlates with immune score. The APP is higher in non-hypermutator phenotype (NHMP) samples versus HMP samples in the IDH-wildtype gliomas, but higher in HMP samples versus NHMP samples in the IDH-mutant gliomas. Conclusion: TMB was inversely correlated with the immune score in the IDH-wildtype gliomas, and showed no correlation in the IDH-mutant tumors. The APP was correlated with the immune score, and may be further investigated as a biomarker for response to immunotherapy in gliomas. Studies of germline variants in a large glioma cohort are warranted.

  Study phs002653

• Genetic Basis for Clinical Response to CTLA-4 Blockade in Melanoma

  Immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective cancer treatments, but molecular determinants of clinical benefit are unknown. Ipilimumab and tremelimumab are antibodies against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4). Anti-CTLA-4 treatment prolongs overall survival in patients with melanoma. CTLA-4 blockade activates T cells and enables them to destroy tumor cells. We obtained tumor tissue from patients with melanoma who were treated with ipilimumab or tremelimumab. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on tumors and matched blood samples. Somatic mutations and candidate neoantigens generated from these mutations were characterized. Neoantigen peptides were tested for the ability to activate lymphocytes from ipilimumab-treated patients. Malignant melanoma exomes from 64 patients treated with CTLA-4 blockade were characterized with the use of massively parallel sequencing. A discovery set consisted of 11 patients who derived a long-term clinical benefit and 14 patients who derived a minimal benefit or no benefit. Mutational load was associated with the degree of clinical benefit (P = 0.01) but alone was not sufficient to predict benefit. Using genomewide somatic neoepitope analysis and patient-specific HLA typing, we identified candidate tumor neoantigens for each patient. We elucidated a neo-antigen landscape that is specifically present in tumors with a strong response to CTLA-4 blockade. We validated this signature in a second set of 39 patients with melanoma who were treated with anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Predicted neoantigens activated T cells from the patients treated with ipilimumab.

  Study phs001041

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: The Autism Simplex Collection (TASC)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs001741

• NIAID Centralized Sequencing Program

  Investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) use next-generation sequencing technologies to help determine genetic contributions to immune diseases. These efforts have increased rates of molecular diagnosis for a subset of NIAID participants as well as uncovered fundamental insights into the cellular and signaling pathways in host defense and immune regulation. Despite these successes, analysis and interpretation of genomic data remain a substantial challenge. Simply, researchers do not understand the functional and clinical consequences of most human genetic variation. Making progress in this area requires a coordinated, systematic, and transparent approach to clinical genomics research. This protocol is specific to genetic testing and explicitly aims to both strengthen clinical care and enhance research. Probands provide biological specimens for genetic testing and primary clinical and research evaluations are completed via a research protocol at NIAID. This protocol serves as a vehicle for a programmatic effort that includes standardized phenotyping, test ordering through the Clinical Research Information System (CRIS) at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, sample collection and isolation, nucleic acid analysis, bioinformatics, clinical interpretation, reporting in CRIS, genetic counseling, and supporting effective use of genomics as a research tool throughout the institute. Overall, increased process standardization will support data integrity and efficiency while still accommodating the need for investigator flexibility. This study aims to generate and analyze evidence regarding the genetic contribution to diverse immune diseases studied by the NIAID intramural research program.

  Study phs001899

• Medulloblastoma exome sequence analysis

  Medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. Identifying and understanding the genetic events that drive these tumors is critical for the development of more effective diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategies. Recently, our group and others described distinct molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma based on transcriptional and copy number profiles. Here, we utilized whole exome hybrid capture and Illumina sequencing to identify somatic mutations across the coding regions of 92 primary medulloblastoma/normal pairs. Overall, medulloblastomas exhibit low mutation rates consistent with other pediatric tumors, with a median of 0.35 non-silent mutations per megabase. We identified twelve genes mutated at statistically significant frequencies, including previously known mutated genes in medulloblastoma such as CTNNB1, PTCH1, MLL2, SMARCA4 and TP53. Recurrent somatic mutations were identified in an RNA helicase gene, DDX3X, often concurrent with CTNNB1 mutations, and in the nuclear co-repressor (N-CoR) complex genes GPS2, BCOR, and LDB1, to our knowledge novel findings in medulloblastoma and all cancer. We show that mutant DDX3X potentiates transactivation of a TCF promoter and enhances cell viability in combination with mutant but not wild type beta-catenin. Together, our study reveals the alteration of Wnt, Hedgehog, histone methyltransferase and now N-CoR pathways across medulloblastomas and nominates the RNA helicase DDX3X as a component of pathogenic beta-catenin signaling in medulloblastoma. "Reprinted from 'MEDULLOBLASTOMA EXOME SEQUENCING UNCOVERS SUBTYPE-SPECIFIC SOMATIC MUTATION', with permission from Nature"

  Study phs000504

• The Chromatin Landscape of Pathogenic Transcriptional Cell States in Rheumatoid Arthritis

  In this study, we characterized 24 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial tissue chromatin classes (i.e., cell states defined by chromatin accessibility) across 5 cell types (T, B/plasma, myeloid, stromal, and endothelial). We also investigated the transcription factors that may regulate these chromatin classes, their connections to transcriptional cell states in a proposed superstate model, and their interplay with RA pathology through associations with histological parameters and risk variants.As part of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) network, we obtained 18 synovial tissue samples from 14 RA and 4 osteoarthritis (OA) patients for this study. Samples were collected from 7 clinical sites. We performed a 10x single cell ATAC-seq experiment on each sample.We further collected synovial tissue samples from 11 RA patients and 1 OA patient from 2 clinical sites; each sample was used for a 10x single cell multimodal ATAC and Gene Expression experiment.For additional support of the proposed superstate model, we also collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 4 RA patients, sorted for 4 populations (CD4+CD127-CD25hi Tregs, CD4+CD127-CD25int Tregs, CD4+CD25-PD1+CXCR5- TPH, CD4+CD25-PD1+CXCR5+ TFH), tagged each population with a hashing antibody, and pooled populations for one multimodal sequencing run.The FASTQ files are available for controlled access via dbGaP. Additional data can be found on Synapse.The presence of pooled subjects inflates the automatically-generated subject count; the actual consented subject count for this data is 34.

  Study phs003417

• Comprehensive Genomic Characterization of Translocation Renal Cell Carcinoma

  Xp11 translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) is a rare, female-predominant cancer driven by a fusion between the TFE3 gene on chromosome Xp11.2 and a partner gene on either chrX or an autosome. It remains unknown what types of rearrangements underlie TFE3 fusions, whether fusions can arise from both the active (chrXa) and inactive X (chrXi) chromosomes, and whether TFE3 fusions from chrXi translocations account for the female predominance of tRCC. To address these questions, we performed haplotype-specific analyses of chrX rearrangements in tRCC whole genomes. We show that TFE3 fusions universally arise as reciprocal translocations and that oncogenic TFE3 fusions can arise from chrXi:autosomal translocations. Female-specific chrXi:autosomal translocations result in a 2:1 female-to-male ratio of TFE3 fusions involving autosomal partner genes and account for the female predominance of tRCC. Our results highlight how X chromosome genetics uniquely constrains somatic chrX alterations and underlies cancer sex differences.This version of the dbGaP study provides a comprehensive set of whole genome data and tables with clinical information collected for the 16 patients (15 pateints as tRCC and 1 patient as ccRCC) in the study cohort. The data also contains 12 RNA-seq samples used in the study and analyses. We anticipate that this data will considerably advance our molecular and genetic understanding of oncogenic translocations in TFE3-tRCC involving inactive chromosome X and its role in cancer sex bias.

  Study phs003008

• METABRIC miRNA landscape

  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in cancer pathogenesis1. They display differential expression across breast cancer subtypes, and play oncogenic and tumor-suppressive roles2-6. A systematic study of the global miRNA landscape in breast cancer and the factors shaping it has not been undertaken. Here we report the results of profiling miRNA expression in 1,302 breast tumors with detailed clinical annotation and long-term follow-up, and for which matching genomic and mRNA expression data were available7. This provides a comprehensive view of the quantity, distribution and variation of the miRNA population and dissects how much genomic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional events contribute to miRNA expression architecture. The key clinical parameters and cellular pathways related to the miRNA landscape are identified, exemplified by context-dependent interaction with cell adhesion and Wnt signaling. Strikingly, in breast cancer miRNAs appear to act as modulators of mRNA-mRNA interactions rather than molecular switches. We demonstrate an important modulatory role for miRNAs in the biology of breast tumors devoid of somatic copy number aberrations, a common subtype where immune response is prominent. Remarkably, prognostic miRNA signatures derived in this subtype are consistently prognostic across several other subtypes and validate in external cohorts. These findings represent a new framework to study the biology of miRNA in human cancer.

  Study EGAS00000000122

• Risk Factors for Asymptomatic Diverticulosis

  Data for this analysis came from a prospective study of colonic diverticulosis at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (NIH R01DK094738). This is a case-control genetic and transcriptomic study to identify the genetic and cellular determinants underlying colonic diverticulosis and the relationship with other gastrointestinal disorders. The study inclusion and exclusion are described below. DNA and RNA sequencing were performed on colonic tissue from 404 patients with (N=172) and without (N=232) diverticulosis. We assessed variation in the transcriptome associated with diverticulosis and integrated this variation with human intestine single-cell RNA-seq data. We integrated our expression quantitative trait loci with GWAS using Mendelian Randomization. A polygenic risk score analysis examined associations between severity of diverticulosis and other gastrointestinal disorders. We identified 38 genes with differential expression and 17 genes with varied transcript usage linked to diverticulosis. Our results suggest tissue remodeling as a primary mechanism for diverticula formation. The presence of diverticulosis was linked to stromal and epithelial cells in the colon including endothelial cells, myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, goblet, tuft, enterocytes, neurons, and glia. MR highlighted five genes including CCN3, CRISPLD2, ENTPD7, PHGR1, and TNFSF13. In diverticulosis cases, ENTPD7 upregulation was confirmed. A greater burden of diverticula was positively correlated with genetic predisposition to diverticulitis. The data related to the study including total RNA-Seq, SNP array and imputed genotypes will be available through dbGaP.

  Study phs003556

• The Dynamic Immune Behavior of Primary and Metastatic Ovarian Carcinoma

  Patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and often develop resistance to conventional therapy. Epithelial ovarian tumors have been shown to be rich in CD8+ lymphocytes, which infiltrate both primary and omental sites. In recent years, several prominent studies have highlighted a positive association between the presence of these immune cells and a good prognosis; however, clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors have so far shown unsatisfactory results in ovarian cancer. In this study, we used an innovative combination of single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to identify the molecular mechanisms that lead to immunosuppression in primary and metastatic HGSC. Primary tumors consistently showed a more active immune microenvironment than did omental tumors. In addition, while several immune cell subtypes were present in all samples, their relative abundance differed between primary and omental tumors. Finally, we found that primary tumors were mostly populated by dysfunctional CD4 and CD8 T cells in later stages of differentiation, while omental tumors were mostly populated by naïve immune cells; this, in turn, was correlated with expression changes in the interferon α and γ pathways in epithelial cells, showing that cross-communication between the epithelial and immune compartments is important for immune suppression in ovarian cancer. These findings can impact the timing and choice of immune-modulating drugs and should be considered when planning treatment for patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

  Study EGAS50000000038

• The Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of a HeLa Cell Line

  HeLa is the most widely used model cell line for studying human cellular and molecular biology. To date, no genomic reference for this cell line has been released, and experiments have relied on the human reference genome. Effective design and interpretation of molecular genetic studies performed using HeLa cells require accurate genomic information. Here we present a detailed genomic and transcriptomic characterization of a HeLa cell line. We performed DNA and RNA sequencing of a HeLa Kyoto cell line and analyzed its mutational portfolio and gene expression profile. Segmentation of the genome according to copy number revealed a remarkably high level of aneuploidy and numerous large structural variants at unprecedented resolution. Some of the extensive genomic rearrangements are indicative of catastrophic chromosome shattering, known as chromothripsis. Our analysis of the HeLa gene expression profile revealed that several pathways, including cell cycle and DNA repair, exhibit significantly different expression patterns from those in normal human tissues. Our results provide the first detailed account of genomic variants in the HeLa genome, yielding insight into their impact on gene expression and cellular function as well as their origins. This study underscores the importance of accounting for the strikingly aberrant characteristics of HeLa cells when designing and interpreting experiments, and has implications for the use of HeLa as a model of human biology. Copyright Landry et al., "The Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of a HeLa Cell Line," G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics (2013).

  Study phs000643

• HuBMAP: A Spatially Resolved Molecular Atlas of Human Endothelium

  The human circulatory system plays a vital role in the proper functioning of every organ in the human body. Because vascular related diseases, such as atherosclerosis, do not occur homogeneously throughout the vascular tree, differences in the endothelium of various organs must exist. There is even evidence of heterogeneity of adjacent endothelial cells. We are studying normal endothelium throughout the body and across individuals of different ages to characterize these differences. The first step will be to procure normal tissue samples from a wide range of organs. From disaggregated samples of these tissues, we will perform single cell combinatorial indexing (sci-) to generate chromatin accessibility (sci-ATAC-seq) and transcriptome (sci-RNA-seq) data from millions of single cells across hundreds of samples.  Molecular heterogeneity might correlate with multiple facets of the anatomical distribution of endothelium, including vascular vs. lymphatic, arteries vs. veins, capillaries vs. larger vessels, differences between organs, organ zonation, cell-to-cell differences, etc. Based on heterogeneous markers defined from deep profiling of disaggregated cells, we will employ seqFISH to spatially relate the distinct endothelial subpopulations arising from the single nuclei data to histologic preparations. For example, this will allow us to identify subpopulations with particular markers as arterial, capillary, venous, or lymphatic. The end product will include multiparameter images in which the complete gene expression and chromatin accessibility profile can be interactively visualized for every cell.

  Study phs002267

• Delineating pediatric brain tumor progression using single-nuclei sequencing

  Pediatric brain cancers are the most common solid tumors in children with varying survival rates depending on molecular features of cancer cells and associated microenvironment. Several studies have used single-cell RNA sequencing to define transcriptional programs active in cancer cells and highlighted supportive roles of non-cancerous cells embedded in these tumors. Although application of single-cell RNA sequencing technology has expanded our understanding of intratumoral heterogeneity and underlying transcriptional mechanisms in brain tumors at diagnosis, mechanisms of disease remains elusive. Therefore, the purpose of this proposal is to characterize cellular and transcriptional states of malignant and non-malignant compartments at primary diagnosis and at relapse. In this study, we performed single-nuclei sequencing of 42 patient samples taken at various disease stages (initial diagnosis, progressive disease, and relapsed disease) from 20 patients with low-grade glioma or Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT). Bulk whole genome and RNA-seq data for these samples are available from the Children’s Brain Tumor Network and the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center. Findings from our study will help define the mechanistic shifts of tumor and non-cancerous cells over course of disease progression. Collectively with the single-cell Pediatric Cancer Atlas funded, this project lays the foundation of an important data set focused on lethal relapsed cancers that can continue to be expanded to identify cancer-intrinsic and extrinsic microenvironmental factors supporting recurrence of pediatric brain tumors.

  Study EGAS50000001288

• Systematic Growth Factor Profiling Platform for 3D Tumor Models Reveals EstradiolResponsive Cellular Mechanisms of Immunotherapy Resistance

  Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) exhibits significant molecular heterogeneity, which is thought to be influenced by the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the specific factors driving this heterogeneity remain poorly understood. In this study, we integrated growth factoromics and genomic data to identify TME factors contributing to EOC heterogeneity and immunosuppression. Our analysis revealed distinct subgroups of EOC samples with differential responsiveness to specific growth factors, particularly estradiol and R-spondin. Notably, samples with high responsiveness to estradiol and Wnt (C1 cluster) were enriched in the Mesenchymal (MES) molecular subtype, while samples with high responsiveness to R-spondin (C2 cluster) were associated with the Differentiated (DIF) and Immunoreactive (IMR) subtypes. We discovered that the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), rather than the classical estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), was the key mediator of estrogen responsiveness and a determinant of molecular subtype classification. Single-cell sequencing analysis identified subsets of estrogen-responsive malignant cell (MAL.PDCD5) and cancer-associated fibroblast (FB.TNFSF10), which were associated with immunosuppressive patterns in the TCGA cohort. Importantly, the interaction between these cell populations significantly increased upon estrogen treatment, suggesting a potential mechanism by which estrogen signaling may contribute to the development of an immunosuppressive TME. Our findings highlight the critical role of estrogen signaling in shaping the molecular heterogeneity and immunosuppressive TME of EOC and provide novel insights into potential therapeutic targets for overcoming immunosuppression in this malignancy.

  Study EGAS50000000422

• CRISPR screening in human trophoblast stem cells reveals both shared and distinct aspects of human and mouse placental development

  The placenta serves as the interface between the mother and fetus, facilitating the exchange of gases and nutrients between their separate blood circulation systems. Trophoblasts in the placenta play a central role in this process. Our current understanding of mammalian trophoblast development relies largely on mouse models. However, given the diversification of mammalian placentas, findings from the mouse placenta cannot be readily extrapolated to other mammalian species, including humans. To fill this knowledge gap, we performed CRISPR knockout (KO) screening in human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs). We targeted genes essential for mouse placental development and identified more than 100 genes as critical regulators in both human hTSCs and mouse placentas. Among them, we further characterized in detail two transcription factors, DLX3 and GCM1, and revealed their essential roles in hTSC differentiation. Moreover, a gene function-based comparison between human and mouse trophoblast subtypes suggests that their relationship may differ significantly from previous assumptions based on tissue localization or cellular function. Notably, our data reveal that hTSCs may not be analogous to mouse TSCs or the extraembryonic ectoderm (ExE) in which in vivo TSCs reside. Instead, hTSCs may be analogous to progenitor cells in the mouse ectoplacental cone and chorion. This finding is consistent with the absence of ExE-like structures during human placental development. Our data not only deepen our understanding of human trophoblast development but also facilitate cross-species comparison of mammalian placentas.

  Study JGAS000659

• Identification of RNA biomarkers in Parkinson's disease patients

  Parkinson?s disease (PD) is an age-related, chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons and subsequent motor symptoms. These overt motor symptoms are often preceded by prodromal non-motor symptoms. Though a number of genetic and environmental factors have been identified to play a role in PD, more exact methods for both diagnosing and assessing prognosis are yet to be discovered. By analyzing the transcriptome of early-stage PD patients, this study aims to identify genes (including important non-coding RNAs) and pathways altered at disease onset that may be used as novel biomarkers for PD diagnosis as well as potential new drug targets. The study consists of three main sources of data: first year blood transcriptomes, second year blood transcriptome and matched neural stem cell (NSC)/neuron transcriptomes. All transcriptome libraries were synthesized and sequenced using no-amplification non-tagging cap analysis of gene expression (nAnT-iCAGE) on the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Resulting data was mapped to the human genome annotation (hg38), processed CAGE tags were clustered ready for differential expression analyses. First year blood sequencing consisted of 22 PD patients and 10 healthy controls across four lanes. In the second year, a further four lanes were sequenced containing 17 PD patients (12 patients from the first year and 5 new patients) along with 10 healthy controls and 5 first year blood samples matching the new second year patients.

  Study JGAS000119

• Evolution of the African pygmy phenotype

  The evolutionary history of the human ‘pygmy’ phenotype (small body size), a characteristic of African and Southeast Asian rainforest hunter-gatherers, is largely unknown. Here we use a genome-wide admixture mapping analysis to identify 16 genomic regions that are significantly associated with the pygmy phenotype in the Batwa, a rainforest hunter-gatherer population from Uganda (East Central Africa). The identified genomic regions have multiple attributes that provide supporting evidence of genuine association with the pygmy phenotype, including enrichments for SNPs previously associated with stature variation in Europeans and for genes with growth hormone receptor and regulation functions. To test adaptive evolutionary hypotheses we computed the haplotype-based iHS statistic and the level of population differentiation (FST) between the Batwa and their agricultural neighbors, the Bakiga, for each SNP. Both |iHS| and FST values were significantly higher for SNPs within the Batwa pygmy phenotype-associated regions than the remainder of the genome, a signature of polygenic adaptation. In contrast, when we expanded our analysis to include Baka rainforest hunter-gatherers from Cameroon and Gabon (West Central Africa) and Nzebi and Nzime neighboring agriculturalists, we did not observe elevated |iHS| or FST values in these genomic regions. Together, these results suggest adaptive and at least partially convergent origins of the pygmy phenotype even within Africa, supporting the hypothesis that small body size confers a selective advantage for tropical rainforest hunter-gatherers but raising questions about the antiquity of this behavior.

  Study EGAS00001000908

• Platelet RNAseq data for SLFN14 K219N patients

  Pathogenic missense variants in SLFN14, which encodes an RNA endoribonuclease protein that regulates rRNA degradation, are known to cause inherited thrombocytopenia with impaired platelet aggregation and ATP secretion. Despite rather mild laboratory defects, these patients display an obvious bleeding phenotype. The function of SLFN14 in megakaryocyte (MK) and platelet biology is unknown. This study aims to characterize the platelet transcriptome in patients with a SLFN14 K219N variant and model the disease in the immortalized megakaryocyte cell line imMKCL. Total platelet RNA was sequenced for two patients and 19 healthy controls. Differential gene expression analysis yielded a total of 2999 and 2888 significantly (|log2FC|>1, FDR<0.05) up- and downregulated genes, respectively. Remarkably, these downregulated genes were not enriched for any biological pathway while upregulated genes were enriched for pathways involved in (mitochondrial) translation and transcription with a significant upregulation of 134 ribosomal protein genes (RPG). Heterozygous and homozygous SLFN14 K219N imMKCL showed a defect in MK differentiation that aggravated during cell passaging of undifferentiated cells and in proplatelet formation. SLFN14 defective platelets and MK showed signs of rRNA degradation while this was absent in undifferentiated imMKCL cells. Upregulation of RPG through increased mTOR signaling in SLFN14 K219N MK seems to be a compensatory response for rRNA degradation. Indeed, mTOR inhibition with rapamycin resulted in further enhanced rRNA degradation in SLFN14 K219N MK. Taken together, our study indicates dysregulation of mTOR-regulated ribosomal biogenesis as the disease mechanism for SLFN14-related thrombocytopenia.

  Study EGAS00001006339

• Plasma-Seq of patients with metastatic prostate cancer

  Study 1 In this study we analysed patients with metastatic prostate cancer to scan their tumor genomes noninvasively in plasma DNA. We wanted to make whole-genome analysis from plasma DNA amenable to clinical routine applications and developed an approach based on a benchtop high-throughput platform, i.e. Illuminas MiSeq instrument. We performed whole-genome sequencing from plasma at a shallow sequencing depth to establish a genome-wide copy number profile of the tumor at low costs within 2 days. The genome-wide profiling in the plasma of our patients revealed multiple copy number aberrations including those previously reported in prostate tumors, such as losses in 8p and gains in 8q. High-level copy number gains in the AR locus were observed in patients with CRPC but not with CSPC disease. We identified the TMPRSS2-ERG rearrangement associated 3-Mbp deletion on chromosome 21 and found corresponding fusion plasma fragments in these cases. In an index case multiregional sequencing of the primary tumor identified different copy number changes in each sector, suggesting multifocal disease. Our plasma analyses of this index case, performed 13 years after resection of the primary tumor, revealed novel chromosomal rearrangements, which were stable in serial plasma analyses over a 9 months period, which is consistent with the presence of one metastatic clone. Our approach provides specific genomic signatures within 2 days which may therefore serve as “liquid biopsy”.

  Study EGAS00001000451

• Molecular Attributes Underlying Central Nervous System and Systemic Relapse in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

  Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma remains a significant conundrum. While clinical risk scores and biomarkers allow the identification of patients with higher risk of CNS relapse, their predictive ability is low. Herein, we report findings from a comprehensive study examining gene expression changes, mutations and clonal evolution. Firstly, considering diagnostic samples from patients with CNS relapse, systemic relapse or no relapse, we found a striking enrichment of gene expression changes reflecting protein biosynthesis in patients who experienced CNS or systemic relapse. Furthermore, diagnostic specimens of relapsing cases were characterized by low immune infiltrates. The most discriminative gene feature in our analysis was SLAMF1, high expression of which was associated with favourable outcomes. Next, we assessed whether specific gene mutations were associated with subsequent CNS or systemic relapse. Activated B-cell-like genes such as PIM1, CD79B and PRDM1 were more frequently mutated in cases with CNS relapse, whereas TP53, BCL2 and FOXO1 mutations were associated with systemic relapse. Lastly, we performed tumor evolution analysis in five patients, identifying significant clonal divergence that accompanied CNS relapse. In summary, we identified both common biology underlying both CNS and systemic relapse, independent of cell-of-origin (COO), and specific COO-enriched gene mutations that conferred a higher risk of either CNS or systemic relapse. Moreover, we identified a pattern of clonal evolution that can explain difficulties in both predicting and treating CNS relapse.

  Study EGAS00001004057

• UK10K_RARE_HYPERCHOL

  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.Familial Hypercholesterolemia is a condition where the affected person has a consistently high level of LDL which can lead to early clogging of the coronary arteries. All patients selected for this study will have been found not to carry the common APOB and PCSK9 mutations, and to have no detectable LDLR mutations by testing for 18 common mutations. For further information with regard to this cohort please contact Steve Humphries(steve.humphries@ucl.ac.uk).

  Study EGAS00001000129

• The evolutionary history of human colitis-associated colorectal cancer

  Inflammatory bowel disease confers an increased lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), and colitis-associated CRC (CA-CRC) is molecularly distinct from sporadic CRC (S-CRC). Here we have dissected the evolutionary history of CA-CRC using multi-region sequencing. Exome sequencing was performed on fresh-frozen multiple regions of carcinoma, adjacent non-cancerous mucosa and blood from 12 CA-CRC patients (n=55 exomes), and key variants were validated with orthogonal methods. Genome-wide copy number profiling was performed using SNP arrays and low-pass whole genome sequencing on archival non-dysplastic mucosa (n=9), low-grade dysplasia (LGD, n=30), high-grade dysplasia (HGD, n=13), mixed LGD/HGD (n=7) and CA-CRC (n=19). Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed, and evolutionary analysis used to reveal the temporal sequence of events leading to CA-CRC. 10/12 tumors were microsatellite stable with a median mutation burden of 3.0 single nucleotide alterations (SNAs) per Mb, around 20% higher than S-CRC (2.5 SNAs/Mb), and consistent with elevated aging-associated mutational processes. Non-dysplastic mucosa had considerable mutation burden (median 47 SNAs), including mutations shared with the neighboring CA-CRC, indicating a pre-cancer mutational field. CA-CRCs were often near-triploid (42%) or near-tetraploid (21%) and phylogenetic analysis revealed that copy number alterations (CNAs) began to accrue in non-dysplastic bowel, but the LGD/HGD transition often involved a punctuated catastrophic CNA increase.

  Study EGAS00001003028

• Whole genome sequencing with linked reads of pediatric glioblastoma samples

  Pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) is a lethal cancer with no effective therapies. To understand mechanisms of tumor evolution in this cancer, we performed whole genome sequencing with linked reads on longitudinally resected pGBM samples. Our analyses showed that all diagnostic and recurrent samples were collections of genetically diverse subclones. Clonal composition rapidly evolved at recurrence, with less than 8% of non-synonymous single nucleotide variants being shared in diagnostic-recurrent pairs. In order to track the origins of the mutational events we observed in pGBM, we generated whole genome datasets for two patients and their parents. These trios showed that genetic variants could be (i) somatic, (ii) inherited from a healthy parent, or (iii) arose de novo in the germlines of pGBM patients. Analysis of variant allele frequencies supported a model of tumor growth involving slow-cycling cancer stem cells that give rise to fast-proliferating progenitor-like cells and to non-dividing cells. Interestingly, radiation and anti-mitotic chemotherapeutics did not increase overall tumor burden upon recurrence. These findings support an important role for slow-cycling stem cell populations in contributing to recurrences, since slow-cycling cell populations are expected to be less prone to genotoxic stress induced by these treatments and to accumulate few mutations. Our results highlight the need for new targeted treatments that account for the complex functional hierarchies and genomic heterogeneity of pGBM.

  Study EGAS00001003432

• Genetic and epigenetic characterization of adenoid cystic carcinoma

  Translocation events are frequent in cancer and may create chimeric fusions or regulatory rearrangements that drive oncogene overexpression. Although regulatory rearrangements are increasingly recognized in hematopoietic and even solid tumors, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Here we identify super-enhancer translocations that drive overexpression of the oncogenic transcription factor MYB as a unifying theme in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). Whole genome sequencing data and chromatin state maps for 13 primary tumors and xenografts reveal distinct chromosomal rearrangements that juxtapose super-enhancer clusters to the MYB locus. Chromosome conformation capture confirms that the translocated enhancers physically interact with the MYB promoter. Remarkably, the MYB product itself binds to the translocated enhancers, thus creating a positive feedback loop that sustains its own expression. MYB also binds a large number of active enhancers that drive opposing regulatory programs in alternate cell lineages in ACC. MYB cooperates with the transcription factor TP63 in the myoepithelial component of the tumors, but promotes a Notch program in the luminal epithelial component. Bromodomain inhibitors, which disrupt enhancer function, slow tumor growth in ACC primagraft models in vivo, but are ineffective against high grade tumors that harbor activating mutations in the Notch pathway. Thus, our study identifies super-enhancer translocations as a unifying feature of ACC, and provides insight into the mechanism by which sustained MYB overexpression drives alternate cell fates in this disease.Processed ChIP-seq data is available on GEO under accession number GSE76465.

  Study EGAS00001001457

• Successful BRAF/MEK-inhibition in a young patient with BRAF V600E-mutated extrapancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (HIPO-021)

  Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PAC) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. Treatment options for metastatic PAC are limited and often follow chemotherapeutic regimens for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Although recurrent genomic alterations, such as BRAF fusions and defects in genes involved in homologous recombination DNA repair, have been described in PAC, data on the clinical efficacy of molecularly guided, targeted treatment are scarce. Here we describe the case of a 27-yr-old patient with BRAF V600E-mutated PAC who was successfully treated with a combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors. The patient presented to our clinic with abdominal pain and weight loss. Imaging showed extensive retroperitoneal disease as well as mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Because of elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and inconclusive histologic findings, a germ cell tumor was suspected; however, PEI chemotherapy was unsuccessful. A repeat biopsy yielded the diagnosis of PAC and treatment with FOLFIRINOX was initiated. Comprehensive molecular profiling within the MASTER (Molecularly Aided Stratification for Tumor Eradication Research) precision oncology program revealed a somatic BRAF V600E mutation and a germline PALB2 stop-gain mutation. Therapy was therefore switched to BRAF/MEK inhibition, resulting in almost complete remission and disease control for 12 mo and a remarkable improvement in the patient's general condition. These results indicate that BRAF alterations are a valid therapeutic target in PAC that should be routinely assessed in this patient population.

  Study EGAS00001004282

• UK10K NEURO ASD GALLAGHER

  In the UK10K project we propose a series of complementary genetic approaches to find new low frequency/rare variants contributing to disease phenotypes. These will be based on obtaining the genome wide sequence of 4000 samples from the TwinsUK and ALSPAC cohorts (at 6x sequence coverage), and the exome sequence (protein coding regions and related conserved sequence) of 6000 samples selected for extreme phenotypes. Our studies will focus primarily on cardiovascular-related quantitative traits, obesity and related metabolic traits, neurodevelopmental disorders and a limited number of extreme clinical phenotypes that will provide proof-of-concept for future familial trait sequencing. We will analyse directly quantitative traits in the cohorts and the selected traits in the extreme samples, and also use imputation down to 0.1% allele frequency to extend the analyses to further sample sets with genome wide genotype data. In each case we will investigate indels and larger structural variants as well as SNPs, and use statistical methods that combine rare variants in a locus or pathway as well as single-variant approaches. This is an Irish sample set of individuals with ASD (approximately 50% with comorbid intellectual disability). Individuals have been diagnosed with ADI/ ADOS, measures of cognition/ adaptive function. They represent a more severe, narrowly defined cohort of ASD subjects. Family histories are available for some with measures of broader phenotype. For further information on this cohort please contact Nadia Bolshakova (bolshakn@tcd.ie).

  Study EGAS00001000112

• The Medical Genome Reference Bank: a whole genome data resource of 4,000 healthy elderly individuals.

  Allele frequency data from human reference populations is of increasing value for filtering and assignment of pathogenicity to genetic variants. Aged and healthy populations are more likely to be selectively depleted of pathogenic alleles, and therefore particularly suitable as a reference populations for the major diseases of clinical and public health importance. However, reference studies of the healthy elderly have remained under represented in human genetics. We have developed the Medical Genome Reference Bank (MGRB), a large scale comprehensive whole genome dataset of confirmed healthy elderly individuals, to provide a publicly accessible resource for health related research, and for clinical genetics. It also represents a useful resource for studying the genetics of healthy aging. The MGRB comprises 4,000 healthy, older individuals with no reported history of cancer, cardiovascular disease or dementia, recruited from two Australian community based cohorts. DNA derived from blood samples will be subject to whole genome sequencing. The MGRB will measure genome wide genetic variation in 4,000 individuals, mostly of European decent, aged 60 to 95 years (mean age 75 years). The MGRB has committed to a policy of data sharing, employing a hierarchical data management system to maintain participant privacy and confidentiality, whilst maximizing research and clinical usage of the database. The MGRB will represent a dataset of international significance, broadly accessible to the clinical and genetic research community.

  Study EGAS00001003511

• Initial whole genome sequencing of plasma cell neoplasms in First Responders exposed to the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001

  The World Trade Center (WTC) attack of September 11, 2001 created an unprecedented environmental exposure to known and suspected carcinogens. High incidence of multiple myeloma (MM) and precursor conditions has been reported among first responders to the WTC disaster. To expand on our prior screening studies, and to characterize the genomic impact of the exposure to known and potential carcinogens in the WTC debris, we were motivated to perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) of WTC first responders and recovery workers who developed a plasma cell disorder after the attack. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed WGS of 9 CD138-positive bone marrow mononuclear samples from patients who were diagnosed with plasma cell disorders after the WTC disaster. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in comparing the post-WTC driver and mutational signatures landscape with 110 previously published WGS from 56 patients with MM and the CoMMpass WGS cohort (n=752). Leveraging constant activity of the single base substitution mutational signatures 1 and 5 over time, we estimated that tumor-initiating chromosomal gains were windowed to both pre- and post-WTC exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Although limitations in sample size preclude any definitive conclusions, our findings suggest that the observed increased incidence of plasma cell neoplasms in this population is due to complex and heterogeneous effects of the WTC exposure that may have initiated or contributed to progression of malignancy.

  Study EGAS00001004467

• Prostate cancer ancestral genomic disparity

  Prostate cancer is characterised by significant global disparity; mortality rates in SubSaharan Africa are double to quadruple those in Eurasia. Hypothesising unknown interplay between genetic and non-genetic factors, tumour genome profiling envisages contributing mutational processes. Through whole-genome sequencing of treatment-naïve prostate cancer from 183 ethnically/globally distinct patients (African versus European), we generate the largest cancer genomics resource for Sub-Saharan Africa. Identifying ~2 million somatic variants, Africans carried the greatest burden. We describe a new molecular taxonomy using all mutational types and ethno39 geographic identifiers, including Asian. Defined as Global Mutational Subtypes (GMS) A–D, although Africans presented within all subtypes, we found GMS-B to be ‘African-specific’ and GMS-D ‘African-predominant’, including Admixed and European Africans. Conversely, Europeans from Australia, Africa and Brazil predominated within ‘mutationally-quiet’ and ethnically/globally ‘universal’ GMS-A, while European Australians shared a higher mutational burden with Africans in GMS45 C. GMS predicts clinical outcomes; reconstructing cancer timelines suggests four evolutionary trajectories with different mutation rates (GMS-A, low 0.968/year versus D, highest 1.315/year). Our data suggest both common genetic factors across extant populations and regional environmental factors contributing to carcinogenesis, analogous to gene-environment interaction defined here as a different effect of an environmental surrounding in persons with different ancestries or vice versa. We anticipate GMS acting as a proxy to intrinsic and extrinsic mutational processes in cancers, promoting global inclusion in landmark studies.

  Study EGAS00001006425

• Direct Comparative Analysis of 10X Genomics Chromium and Smart-seq2

  Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is widely used for profiling transcriptomes of individual cells. The droplet-based 10X Genomics Chromium (10X) approach and the plate-based Smart-seq2 full-length method are two frequently-used scRNA-seq platforms, yet there are only a few thorough and systematic comparisons of their advantages and limitations. Here, by directly comparing the scRNA-seq data by the two platforms from the same samples of CD45- cells, we systematically evaluated their features using a wide spectrum of analysis. Smart-seq2 detected more genes in a cell, especially low abundance transcripts as well as alternatively spliced transcripts, but captured higher proportion of mitochondrial genes. The composite of Smart-seq2 data also resembled bulk RNA-seq data better. For 10X-based data, we observed higher noise for mRNA in the low expression level. Despite the poly(A) enrichment, approximately 10-30% of all detected transcripts by both platforms were from non-coding genes, with lncRNA accounting for a higher proportion in 10X. 10X-based data displayed more severe dropout problem, especially for genes with lower expression levels. However, 10X-data can better detect rare cell types given its ability to cover a large number of cells. In addition, each platform detected different sets of differentially expressed genes between cell clusters, indicating the complementary nature of these technologies. Our comprehensive benchmark analysis offers the basis for selecting the optimal scRNA-seq strategy based on the objectives of each study.

  Study EGAS00001003973

• Whole-genome sequencing of normal Singaporean volunteers

  Sleep is associated with various health outcomes. Despite their growing adoption, the potential for consumer wearables to contribute sleep metrics to sleep-related biomedical research remains largely uncharacterized. Here we analyzed sleep tracking data, along with questionnaire responses and multi-modal phenotypic data generated from 482 normal volunteers. First, we compared wearable-derived and self-reported sleep metrics, particularly total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE). We then identified demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with wearable-derived TST. Among others, male gender (β = -15.539, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -26.245 - -4.832, p = 0.005), older age (β = -0.493, CI = -0.941 - -0.044, p = 0.032) and manual labor (β = -26.856, CI = -49.715 - -3.997, p = 0.022) were associated with reduced TST, whereas alcohol consumption (β = 19.247, CI = 8.008 - 30.486, p = 8.54x10-04) was associated with increased TST. Multi-modal phenotypic data analysis showed that wearable-derived TST and SE were associated with various cardiovascular disease risk markers such as body mass index (β = -0.006, CI = -0.00 - -0.000, p = 0.040) and waist circumference (β = 0.001, CI = -0.015-0.017, p = 0.893), whereas self-reported measures were not. We then showed that insufficient sleep was associated with premature telomere attrition, using telomere length estimated using whole-genome sequencing (β = 1.275, CI = 0.187 - 2.363, p = 0.023) and quantitative PCR (β = 0.001, CI = 8.318x10-05 - 0.001, p = 0.028). Our study highlights the potential for sleep metrics from consumer wearables to provide novel insights into data generated from population cohort studies.

  Study EGAS00001004007

• The long term effects of chemotherapy on normal blood - WGS dataset

  In developed countries, ~10% of individuals are exposed to systemic chemotherapy for cancer and other diseases. Many chemotherapeutic agents act by increasing DNA damage in cancer cells, hence triggering cell death. However, there is limited understanding of the extent and consequences of collateral DNA damage to normal tissues. To investigate the impact of chemotherapy on mutation burdens and cell population structure of a normal tissue we sequenced blood cell genomes from 23 individuals, aged 3-80 years, treated with a range of chemotherapy regimens. Substantial additional mutation loads with characteristic mutational signatures were imposed by some chemotherapeutic agents, but there were differences in burden between different classes of agent, different agents of the same class and different blood cell types. Chemotherapy also induced premature changes in the cell population structure of normal blood, similar to those of normal ageing. The results constitute an initial survey of the long-term biological consequences of cytotoxic agents to which a substantial fraction of the population is exposed during the course of their disease management, raising mechanistic questions and highlighting opportunities for mitigation of adverse effects.

  Dataset EGAD00001015339