16815 results for "sec+and+unspecified+malignant+neoplasm"

in 36.80 milliseconds.

• Acquisition_of_additional_mutations_drives_accelerated_progression_of_NPM1_positive_CMML_to_AML_

  This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/We performed exome sequencing on serial samples from a patient with CMML who progressed to AML. The exome sequencing suggests that NPM1, TET2 and DNMT3a mutations were present in the dominant clone in the CMML sample and that NRAS is a new subclonal mutation in the AML sample. Diagnostic data shows the presence of a FLT3-ITD mutation in the AML sample, which is likely to have driven progression. Here we are performing re-sequencing of the putative driver and some passenger mutations which appear to be in the same clone to validate these mutations and to verify the relative quantification of these abnormalities .

  Study EGAS00001000619

• ICGC Oesophageal adenocarcinoma - normal samples

  The oesophageal project will focus on adenocarcinoma which is increasing in incidence in the UK and other developed countries and has a very poor outcome. The primary aims of this project are to deeply sequence tumour and normal genomic DNA (including the precursor condition Barrett’s oesophagus when material is available) to provide a comprehensive catalogue of somatic mutations. This will be achieved through a UK-wide network of hospitals involved in a research collaboration called the OCCAMS consortium. The goal of this project is to use high quality clinical material with accurately annotated clinic-pathological, treatment and outcome data. - This study contains the Normal tissue samples.

  Study EGAS00001000723

• Targeted sequencing of 12 genes in patients with HLH

  Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rapid-onset, potentially fatal hyperinflammatory syndrome. A prompt molecular diagnosis is crucial for appropriate clinical management. Here, we validated and prospectively evaluated a targeted high-throughput sequencing approach for HLH diagnostics. We have carried out high-throughput sequencing of 12 genes linked to HLH in 58 HLH patients. We achieved a diagnosis in 22 out of 58 patients (38%). Genetically undiagnosed HLH patients had a later age at onset and manifested higher frequencies of known secondary HLH triggers. Rare, putatively pathogenic monoallelic variants were identified in 9 patients. Almost all cases with reduced natural killer (NK) cell function received a diagnosis, but the majority of the prospective cases remain genetically unexplained, highlighting genetic heterogeneity and environmental impact within HLH. A complete understanding of the genetic susceptibility to HLH thus requires further in-depth investigations, including genome sequencing and detailed immunological characterization.

  Study EGAS00001001605

• Profiling_molecular_heterogeneity_in_human_primary_microglia

  In the brain the cells that control inflammation are called a type of white blood cell called microglia. Microglia are located throughout the brain and spinal cord and account for 10–15% of all cells found within the brain. As the resident white blood cells, they are the main active immune defence in the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia are part of an important class of cells known as macrophages that have two main states: M1 and M2. M1 cells are pro- inflammatory, leading to more inflammation, while M2 are anti-inflammatory, and drive wound healing. In this study, we will collect primary microglia from surgical biospies of 100 individuals. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/

  Study EGAS00001002494

• A mechanistic classification of clinical phenotypes in neuroblastoma

  Clinical courses of the pediatric tumor neuroblastoma range from fatal progression to spontaneous regression. To gain insights into the pathogenesis of these divergent subtypes, we performed massively parallel sequencing of 416 pretreatment neuroblastomas and assessed telomere maintenance mechanisms in 208/416 cases. We observed that telomere maintenance and mutations in RAS or p53 pathway genes strongly affected disease courses. Fatal outcome occurred only in the presence of telomere maintenance, whereas patients whose tumors lacked such mechanisms had excellent outcome. In patients with telomere maintenance-positive tumors, survival was dramatically inferior when additional RAS/p53 pathway mutations were present. By contrast, spontaneous regression occurred both in the presence and absence of RAS/p53 pathway mutations in patients with telomere maintenance-negative tumors. Together, our data provide a precise mechanistic classification of clinical neuroblastoma phenotypes based on telomere maintenance mechanisms and genetic alterations of the tumor.

  Study EGAS00001003244

• Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDD)

  The Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDD) study is a research collaboration between the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the NHS clinical genetics services and families across the UK and Ireland. The project aims to improve the diagnosis of children with developmental disorders by using high-resolution microarray and massively parallel sequencing technologies on 12,000 children and their parents. Genetic changes that explain the child's symptoms will be displayed in the DECIPHER database (https://decipher.sanger.ac.uk). Extended datasets generated by the DDD project will be available in the European Genome-Phenome Archive with access carefully managed by a Data Access Committee.

  Study EGAS00001000775

• Whole-genome sequencing across 449 samples spanning 47 ethnolinguistic groups provides insights into genetic diversity in Nigeria

  African populations have been drastically underrepresented in genomics research and failure to capture the genetic diversity across the numerous ethnolinguistic groups (ELGs) found in the continent has hindered the equity of precision medicine initiatives globally. Here, we describe the whole-genome sequencing of 449 Nigerian individuals across 47 unique self-reported ELGs. Population structure analysis reveals genetic differentiation amongst our ELGs, consistent with previous findings. From the 36 million SNPs and indels discovered in our dataset, we provide a high-level catalog of both novel and medically-relevant variation present across the ELGs. These results emphasize the value of this resource for genomics research, with added granularity by representing multiple ELGs from Nigeria. Our results also underscore the potential of using these cohorts with larger sample sizes to improve our understanding of human ancestry and health in Africa.

  Study EGAS00001007036

• Understanding_the_development_of_resident_memory_T_cells__Trm__in_the_human_small_intestine_using_integrative_multiomic_approaches__Adult_RNA

  Animal studies have demonstrated that resident memory T (Trm) cells provide enhanced protective responses to a broad array of tissue-tropic pathogens, thus making Trm cells promising targets for novel vaccination strategies. However, the biological pathways that enable the long-term survival of Trm cells are poorly understood in humans. Here, we will employ a unique human intestinal transplantation setting that allows us to study the retention of persistent T cells in the grafts and the temporal development of resident T-cell populations from recruited recipient T cells. We will integrate high resolution transcriptomics, epigenetics, proteomics and immune repertoire single-cell data from purified intestinal T cells. These single-cell multiomics approaches will uncover the diversity and differentiation of the T cell populations in the human intestine, allowing us to temporally resolve the generation and maintenance of gut resident T cells.

  Study EGAS00001008257

• Combination_Immune_Checkpoint_Inhibition_in_Australian_Rare_Cancers_WES

  Combination immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 blockade has demonstrated significant clinical activity across tumour types. Rare cancer patients have limited treatment options due to the scarcity of studies of novel treatment options, so they are often offered chemotherapies untested in their disease. ONJ2016-001/CA209-538 is a prospective, multicentre clinical trial of combination ICI (ipilimumab and nivolumab) in patients with advanced rare cancers, including biliary tract, adrenocortical, rare gynaecological and neuroendocrine cancers (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02923934). The primary endpoint is clinical benefit rate (complete response + partial response + stable disease >3 months) by RECIST 1.1. This study involves generation and analysis of pre-treatment formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumour DNA sequencing data, paired with germline DNA sequencing data, to potentially identify genomic biomarkers that may associate with clinical benefit or other clinical efficacy / toxicity metrics.

  Study EGAS00001005709

• Application of high-throughput, high-depth, targeted single-nucleus DNA sequencing in pancreatic cancer

  Despite insights gained by bulk DNA sequencing of cancer it remains challenging to resolve the admixture of normal and tumor cells, and/or of distinct tumor subclones; high throughput single-cell DNA sequencing circumvents these and brings cancer genomic studies to higher resolution. However, its application has been limited to liquid tumors or a small batch of solid tumors, mainly because of the lack of a scalable workflow to process solid tumor samples. Here we optimized a highly automated nuclei extraction workflow that achieved fast and reliable targeted single-nucleus DNA library preparation of 38 samples from 16 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, with an average library yield per sample of 2867 single nuclei. We demonstrate that this workflow not only performs well using low cellularity or low tumor purity samples but reveals novel genomic evolution patterns of PDAC as well.

  Study EGAS00001006024

• The impact of mutational clonality in predicting the response to anti-PD-L1/PD-L1 in advanced urothelial cancer

  The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has radically changed the management and therapeutic treatment landscape for patients with cancer. It has been shown that the use of these inhibitors can result in long-term complete remissions even in cases with advanced stages of the disease. However, only a small fraction of patients respond to the treatment. A better understanding of which factors could drive this clinical benefit is fundamental to building more accurate predictive biomarkers and developing alternative therapeutic options for patients who are unlikely to benefit. In order to address this issue, we have generated and analyzed whole exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNASeq) data from a cohort of metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients (N = 27) treated with ICI such as anti-PD-(L)1 monoclonal antibodies.

  Study EGAS00001007086

• Distinct evolutionary trajectories of primary high grade serous ovarian cancers revealed through spatial mutational profiling

  High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) is characterized by poor outcome, often attributed to emergence of treatment-resistant sub-clones. We sought to measure the degree of genomic diversity within primary, untreated HGSC to examine the natural state of tumor evolution prior to therapy. We performed exome sequencing, copy number analysis, targeted amplicon deep sequencing and gene expression profiling on thirty-one spatially and temporally separated HGSC tumor specimens (six patients) including ovarian masses, distant metastases, and fallopian tube lesions. We found widespread intra-tumoral variation in mutation, copy number, and gene expression profiles, with key driver alterations in genes present in only a subset of samples (e.g. PIK3CA, CTNNB1, NF1). On average, only 51.5% of mutations were present in every sample of a given case (range: 10.2% to 91.4%), with TP53 as the only somatic mutation consistently present in all samples. Complex segmental aneuploidies, such as whole genome doubling, were present in a subset of samples from the same individual, with divergent copy number changes segregating independently of point mutation acquisition. Reconstruction of evolutionary histories showed one patient with mixed HGSC and endometrioid histology with common etiologic origin in the fallopian tube and subsequent selection of different driver mutations in the histologically distinct samples. In this patient, we observed mixed cell populations in the early fallopian tube lesion, indicating diversity arises at early stages of tumorigenesis. Our results reveal that HGSC exhibit highly individual evolutionary trajectories and diverse genomic tapestries prior to therapy, exposing an essential biological characteristic to inform future design of personalized therapeutic solutions and investigation of drug resistance mechanisms.

  Dataset EGAD00001000974

• Distinct evolutionary trajectories of primary high grade serous ovarian cancers revealed through spatial mutational profiling

  High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) is characterized by poor outcome, often attributed to the emergence of treatment-resistant subclones. We sought to measure the degree of genomic diversity within primary, untreated HGSCs to examine the natural state of tumour evolution prior to therapy. We performed exome sequencing, copy number analysis, targeted amplicon deep sequencing and gene expression profiling on 31 spatially and temporally separated HGSC tumour specimens (six patients), including ovarian masses, distant metastases and fallopian tube lesions. We found widespread intratumoural variation in mutation, copy number and gene expression profiles, with key driver alterations in genes present in only a subset of samples (eg PIK3CA, CTNNB1, NF1). On average, only 51.5% of mutations were present in every sample of a given case (range 10.2 to 91.4%), with TP53 as the only somatic mutation consistently present in all samples. Complex segmental aneuploidies, such as whole-genome doubling, were present in a subset of samples from the same individual, with divergent copy number changes segregating independently of point mutation acquisition. Reconstruction of evolutionary histories showed one patient with mixed HGSC and endometrioid histology, with common aetiologic origin in the fallopian tube and subsequent selection of different driver mutations in the histologically distinct samples. In this patient, we observed mixed cell populations in the early fallopian tube lesion, indicating that diversity arises at early stages of tumourigenesis. Our results revealed that HGSCs exhibit highly individual evolutionary trajectories and diverse genomic tapestries prior to therapy, exposing an essential biological characteristic to inform future design of personalized therapeutic solutions and investigation of drug-resistance mechanisms

  Dataset EGAD00001000669

• WGS and WTS data of patients diagnosed with MEITL.

  WGS from 4 patients, WTS from only 3 patients (insufficient tissue from 4th patient for WTS). Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed for 60 pairs of tumor-normal samples from patients diagnosed with NKTL. Genomic DNA from tumor tissue was extracted with QIAamp DNA Mini Kit. The DNA for the matching normal was obtained from blood or buccal swabs and purified by Blood and Cell Culture DNA Mini kit or E.Z.N.A. Tissue DNA Kit (Omega Bio-tek) according to manufacturer’s instructions. The quantity and quality were assessed by Quant-iT PicoGreen dsDNA Assay Kit (Invitrogen) and agarose gel electrophoresis. All sequencing libraries were prepared using TruSeq Nano DNA Library Prep Kit (Illumina). Paired-end sequencing was performed on Illumina HiSeq 2000. Whole-transcriptome sequencing (WTS): Total RNA from snap frozen EITL tumor samples was extracted using TRIzol (Invitrogen) and purified with RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to manufacturer’s instructions. The integrity of RNA was determined by electrophoresis using 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies). 500 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed with iScript cDNA Synthesis Kit (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). Quantification was performed using SsoFast EvaGreen Supermix and CFX96 Real-Time PCR System (both Bio-Rad). Sequencing libraries were prepared using the TruSeq Stranded Total RNA Library Prep Kit with Ribo-Zero (Illumina) and WTS was performed on Illumina HiSeq 2500 with 2x101 bp read length. Description of prefix used in filenames: T: Tumor samples N: Normal samples (Blood) P: PDX samples

  Dataset EGAD00001005341

• Determining genome-wide binding of ETS2 by CUT&RUN in primary human macrophages

  This dataset consists of sequencing data from an ETS2 CUT&RUN experiment in primary inflammatory (TPP) macrophages (n = 2). Pre-cultured TPP macrophages were harvested and processed immediately using the CUT&RUN Assay kit (Cell Signaling) according to the manufacturer’s instructions with the following modifications (essentially, avoiding the use of ConA-coated beads). Anti-ETS2 (ThermoFisher) or IgG control (Cell Signaling) antibodies were used for targeted digestion of chromatin. For each donor, 5x10^5 cells were pelleted, washed in Wash Buffer, and resuspended in Antibody Binding buffer. Cells were incubated with antibodies (1:100 dilution for anti-ETS2) for 2h at 4°C. After washing in Digitonin Buffer, cells were incubated with pA/G-MNase for 1h at 4°C. Cells were washed twice in Digitonin Buffer, resuspended in the same buffer and cooled for 5 minutes on ice. Calcium chloride was added to activate pA/G-MNase digestion and cells were incubated for 30 minutes at 4°C before Stop Buffer was added, and cells were incubated for 10 min at 37°C to release cleaved chromatin fragments. Supernatants were collected by centrifugation and DNA extracted using DNA Purification Buffers and Spin Columns (Cell Signaling). Library preparation was performed according to a protocols.IO protocol (dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.bagaibse) using the NEBNext Ultra II DNA Library Prep Kit. Size selection was performed using AMPure XP beads (Beckman Coulter) and fragment sizes were determined using an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (High Sensitivity DNA kit). Equimolar pools of indexed libraries were sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 (100bp PE reads). Raw data are provided as 100 bp paired-end Illumina reads.

  Dataset EGAD00001011349

• Single-nucleus brain transcriptomics reveals microglia dysfunction in Multiple System Atrophy

  Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare, age-related neurodegenerative disease that shares clinical and pathological features with Parkinson’s disease (PD) but presents a more devastating disease course. To elucidate the distinct cellular pathophysiology underlying multiple system atrophy (MSA) or Parkinson's disease (PD), we performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing on postmortem striatal brain tissue from 7 MSA and 12 PD patients, and 10 non-neurological cases. Using 10x Genomics Chromium Next GEM Single Cell 3' Reagent Kits v3.1, we isolated 130k nuclei covering all major cell types of the striatum. We performed state-of-the-art bioinformatic analyses on the data followed by orthogonal analyses to validate our findings. We identified a disease-specific activation of microglia cells distinguishing the two diseases and possibly explaining some of the detrimental effects observed in both.

  Study EGAS50000001406

• Transcriptome Changes in ASD (NRXN1α+/-) iPSC-derived neurons

  NRXN1 deletions are identified as one of major rare risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. ASD has 30% co-morbidity with epilepsy and the latter is associated with excessive neuronal firing. NRXN1 encodes hundreds of presynaptic neuro-adhesion proteins categorized as NRXN1α/β/γ. Previous studies on cultured cells show that the short NRXN1β primarily exerts excitation effect, whereas the long NRXN1α which is more commonly deleted in patients involves in both excitation and inhibition. However, patient-derived models are essential for understanding functional consequences of NRXN1α deletions in human neurons Quantitative RNA sequencing was performed by BGI using 50bp single-end strategy with BGI-SEQ500 sequencing device on iPSC-derived cortical neurons from 6 control lines; (2VC1, 3VCX1, 3VC2, 4C3, 4CX1, NCRM-1) of 4 healthy donors, and 4 NRXN1α+/- lines; (ND1C1, ND2C11, ND2CX1, ND4-1C2) from 3 ASD patients.

  Study EGAS00001005536

• Genome-wide cell-free DNA biological patterns in patients with cancer

  The structure of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is altered in the blood of cancer patients. From whole genome sequencing we retrieved the cfDNA fragment-end composition using a new software (FrEIA), as well as the cfDNA size and tumor fraction in three independent cohorts (n=925 cancer from >10 types and 321 control samples). At 95% specificity, we detect 72% of cancer samples using at least one cfDNA measure, including 64% of early-stage cancer (n=220). cfDNA detection correlates with a shorter overall (p=0.018) and recurrence-free (p=0.006) survival in patients with resectable esophageal adenocarcinoma. Integrating cfDNA measures with machine learning in an independent test set (n=396 cancer, 90 controls) achieve a detection accuracy of 82% and AUROC of 96%. In conclusion, harnessing the biological features of cfDNA can improve at no-extra cost the diagnostic performance of liquid biopsies.

  Study EGAS00001007400

• The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded Next Generation Genetic Association Studies (NextGen) Consortium: Phenotyping Lipid traits in iPS derived hepatocytes Study (PhLiPS Study)

  The goal of the PhLiPS study is to create a library of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines and iPSC-derived hepatocytes of diverse genotypes for use in metabolic profiling and interrogating lipid phenotypes. These cell lines were created as a part of the Next Generation Genetic Association Studies (Next Gen) Program, which was a five-year, $80 million program to investigate functional genetic variation in humans by assessing cellular profiles that are surrogates for disease phenotypes. To achieve this, researchers from multiple institutions across the U.S. were awarded grants to derive iPSC lines from more than 1,500 individuals representing various conditions as well as healthy controls for use in functional genomic ("disease in a dish") research. This extensive panel includes a diverse set of age, gender, and ethnic backgrounds, and therefore will be an invaluable tool for evaluations across demographics. Further enhancing the utility of these cell lines are data sets such as phenotyping, GWAS, genome sequencing, gene expression and -omics analyses (e.g., lipidomic, proteomic, methylomic) that can be matched to the cell lines. The PhLiPS Study focuses on individuals free of cardiovascular disease or with lipoprotein metabolism disorders in the community served by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

  Study phs001341

• Identification and Targeting of Inflammatory Macrophage-Fibroblast Crosstalk in Rheumatoid Arthritis

  Macrophages tailor their function according to the signals found in tissue microenvironments, assuming a wide spectrum of phenotypes. A detailed understanding of macrophage phenotypes in human tissues is limited. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we defined distinct macrophage subsets in the joints of patients with the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects ~1% of the population. The subset we refer to as HBEGF+ inflammatory macrophages is enriched in RA tissues and is shaped by resident fibroblasts and the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). These macrophages promoted fibroblast invasiveness in an epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent manner, indicating that intercellular cross-talk in this inflamed setting reshapes both cell types and contributes to fibroblast-mediated joint destruction. In an ex vivo synovial tissue assay, most medications used to treat RA patients targeted HBEGF+ inflammatory macrophages; however, in some cases, redirecting them into a state is not expected to resolve inflammation. These data highlight how advances in our understanding of chronically inflamed human tissues and the effects of medications therein can be achieved by studies on local macrophage phenotypes and intercellular interactions. Reprinted from Kuo, Ding et al., Science Translational Medicine 2019, PMID: 31068444, with permission from American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  Study phs001340

• Single Cell and Tissue Level Functional Genomics Analysis of Astrocyte-Related Mechanisms in Taupathy

  This data is the first part of a larger single cell and tissue level functional genomics analysis of dementias with tau pathology.  Cellular resolution will clarify the role of glial genes and pathways in neurodegenerative disease. This includes understanding the role of microglia and astrocytes in neurodegenerative disorders characterized by Tau protein pathology. To achieve a refined view of microglial neuroinflammatory signaling in tau-associated neurodegeneration, we performed a functional genomic analysis that integrated time-course gene expression data from mouse models expressing human mutant MAPT (the tau gene) with single nuclear sequencing data obtained from patients with frontotemporal dementia with Tau protein pathology (Pick’s disease). This included microglia-specific gene expression data obtained from single nuclear sequencing of postmortem frozen precentral gyrus samples collected from 16 total individuals, including 8 subjects with clinical diagnosis of behavior variant frontotemporal dementia and neuropathological diagnosis of Pick’s disease (Tau protein pathology) and controls (n=8). Our findings present detailed molecular profiles of disease-associated microglial transitions over the course of tau-associated neurodegeneration. Furthermore, we demonstrate overlap between microglia profiles obtained from precentral gyrus of patients with Pick’s disease with those up-regulated during the neurodegenerative stage in mice expressing human MAPT mutations.

  Study phs002197

• Genomics and Epigenomics of the Elderly Response to Pneumococcal Vaccines

  Pneumococcal Vaccine Study: This is a study designed to develop a detailed transcriptional and cellular profile of the immune response to pneumococcal vaccination with conjugated and non-conjugated polysaccharide vaccines in the senescent immune system of older adults. In this study, 39 healthy adults ages 60 and older that have never received pneumococcal vaccination, have been randomized to receive Prevnar 13 (Pfizer), a conjugated 13-valent vaccine or Pneumovax 23 (Merck), a non-conjugated 23-valent vaccine. Four (4) study visits occurred over 70 days at Day -7 (baseline), day 1, day 10 and day 60 (± 5d) post vaccination.Bulk RNA-sequencing data are available on the 4 time points for 31 of the participants and 1 replicate. ATAC-Doublet Detector Study: We generated single nucleus ATAC-seq (snATAC-seq) data from PBMCs of 2 baseline blood samples from the pneumococcal study. Generated data was then used to benchmark a novel computational method for detecting multiplets in snATAC-seq data, namely, AMULET (https://github.com/UcarLab/AMULET). Multiplets confound downstream analyses by introducing combined epigenomic profiles from 2 or more cells/nuclei. AMULET detects multiplets by using unique snATAC-seq data features that allow it to reliably use read counts to detect multiplets for their removal from data analyses.

  Study phs002361

• Shedding light over COVID-19 susceptibility and severity

  “One of the most remarkable features of SARS-CoV-2 infection is the variation in consequence ranging from asymptomatic to life-threatening” state the authors of the majestic Nature paper released in accelerated pre-view on July 2021. This variation in consequences represent not only an issue of burning medical relevance, but also a scientific and intellectual challenge for scientists around the globe. Researchers are known to be easily triggered by a challenge, and they recently demonstrated to be even better at double their efforts to focus on an urgent societal need. In this work led and coordinated by the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (COVID-19 HGI), researchers gathered data from 49,562 cases and two million controls from 46 studies performed worldwide. The majority of the data has been deposited at the EGA, where 29 datasets have been collected under the study number EGAS00001005304. Data gathered from diverse sources conferred a huge robustness to the results. Genetic data from different ancestry origin were included in the analyses, even though data from patients with European origin was highly predominant (approx. 75%). Separated analysis of the different ancestries gave rise to relevant differences in the results, highlighting how important it is to take this aspect in consideration for future studies. Data from the individual studies was compiled into three categories according to COVID-19 severity for a meta-analysis: (a) critically ill cases (b) moderate or severe cases (c) all cases. They were paired with non-COVID-19-reported controls. All three analysis resulted in a total of 13 genetic loci associated with COVID-19 severity. Out of those, 9 loci associated specifically with critical illness, while 6 (a few overlapped) associated with moderated illness. Some genomic position matched previous findings. Interestingly, working with such an enormous amount of data allowed the depth to discriminate association with disease susceptibility vs severity, an issue of large medical relevance. Several loci mapped into biological relevant genes, like TYK2, PPP1R15A and FOXP4, previously implicated in immune response and/or lung functions. Researchers participating in the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative have worked in an unprecedented time-tight collaboration, prioritizing data sharing and collective results to tackle the pandemic affecting the world. The scientific community won’t miss any of the lessons to learn from this, and the EGA is ready to keep working to enable safe data sharing and fruitful collaborations.

  Blog covid-19-susceptibility-and-severity

• Assessing gene expression profiling from FFPE Patient Samples: A Comparison of Two Library Preparation Approaches and Recommendations

  Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has transformed cancer research and clinical practice, with Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) driving advances in mutational profiling and personalized oncology. Yet, transcriptomic signatures remain essential for understanding disease mechanisms, including therapy resistance pathways. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), however, faces unique challenges when dealing with low-input or degraded RNA, as often found in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Although previous studies have compared library preparation protocols, rapidly evolving technologies call for updated evaluations. Here, we present a direct comparison of two FFPE-compatible stranded RNA-seq library preparation kits: TaKaRa™ SMARTer® Stranded Total RNA-Seq Kit v2 (Kit A) and Illumina Stranded Total RNA Prep Ligation with Ribo-Zero Plus (Kit B). Both kits generated high-quality RNA-seq data, yet important differences emerged. Notably, Kit A achieved comparable gene expression quantification to Kit B while requiring 20-fold less RNA input, a crucial advantage for limited samples, albeit with increased sequencing depth. We critically discuss these results in relation to RNA availability, technical performance, cost-effectiveness, processing time, and automation potential, offering practical guidance for selecting optimal RNA-seq strategies in clinical and translational research settings

  Study EGAS50000001066

• Single-cell profiling reveals mechanisms of response to anti-PD-L1 versus anti-PD-L1 combined with anti-CTLA4 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

  Cancer patients often receive a combination of PD-(L)1 and CTLA4 inhibitors, but the mechanisms underlying their concerted actions remain unclear. We conducted a neoadjuvant study in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) involving anti-PD-L1 monotherapy versus anti-PD-L1/anti-CTLA4 combination. Single-cell profiling of on- versus pre-treatment biopsies confirmed T-cell expansion as response biomarker. We identified a type 1 immune response accompanying T-cell expansion on-treatment across treatment arms, and herein characterized co-localized IgG plasma cell expansion as important contributor. In pre-treatment biopsies, similar features correlated with expansion upon anti-PD-L1, but not anti-PD-L1/anti-CTLA4. By profiling tumor-draining lymph nodes, we found the addition of anti-CTLA4 to trigger activation and subsequent trafficking of CD4+ T-cells via the blood, to become T-helper 1 cells in the tumor. anti-PD-L1/anti-CTLA4 indeed facilitated co-localized expansion of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in tumors versus mostly CD8+ T-cells with anti-PD-L1 alone. Hence, we identify complimentary mechanisms underlying anti-PD-L1/anti-CTLA4 therapy in HNSCC.

  Study EGAS50000000037