17842 results for "the best way to get coins in fc 26 Navštivte Buyfc26coins.com Společnost známá transparentními transakcemi..CQ2q"

in 26.44 milliseconds.

• Ethiopia_Genome_Project__low_coverage_

  The Ethiopian area stands among the most ancient ones ever occupied by human populations and their ancestors. Particularly, according to archaeological evidences, it is possible to trace back the presence of Hominids up to at least 3 million years ago. Furthermore, the present day human populations show a great cultural, linguistic and historic diversity which makes them essential candidate to investigate a considerable part of the African variability. Following the typing of 300 Ethiopian samples on Illumina Omni 1M (see Human Variability in Ethiopia project, previously approved by the Genotyping committee) we now have a clearer idea on which populations living in the area include the most of the diversity.This project therefore aims to sequence the whole genome of 300 individuals at low (4-8x) depth belonging to the six most representative populations of the Ethiopian area to produce a unique catalogue of variants peculiar of the North East Africa. Furthermore 6 samples (one from each population) will also be sequenced at high (30x) depth to ensure full coverage of the diversity spectrum.The retrieved variants will be of great help in evaluating the demographic dynamics of those populations as well as shedding light on the migrations out of Africa.

  Study EGAS00001000238

• NHLBI TOPMed: My Life Our Future (MLOF) Research Repository of Patients with Hemophilia A (Factor VIII Deficiency) or Hemophilia B (Factor IX Deficiency)

  Hemophilia A and B are X-linked bleeding disorders resulting from a deficiency in coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) or factor IX (FIX), respectively. Hemophilia affects approximately 1/5000 male births worldwide, and results in premature death and disability due to bleeding if coagulation factor replacement therapy is not used effectively. Hemophilia is clinically categorized by coagulation factor activity levels and ranges in severity from mild (6% to 30%) to moderate (1-5%) to severe (<1%). Many female "carriers" of hemophilia also have decreased factor activity and morbidity from bleeding. Hemophilia A and B are almost always caused by identifiable mutations in the F8 and F9 genes, respectively, and these mutations are found throughout the structural genes. Although the hemophilias are monogenic disorders, there are wide variations in disease severity and therapeutic outcomes which are not readily explained by the disease causing mutations alone. The My Life Our Future (MLOF) project (www.mylifeourfuture.org) is a national resource developed by a partnership of BloodworksNW (BWNW, formerly the Puget Sound Blood Center), the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN), the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) and Bioverativ, to provide free F8 and F9 gene variant analysis to patients with hemophilia A or B, and to establish a research repository of DNA sequence, DNA, RNA, buffy coat, serum and plasma. The sequence analysis and serum samples are linked to a phenotypic database hosted by ATHN, with samples submitted and clinical data entered at ~100 hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) nationwide. (See ATHN Research Report Brief in the resource center at www.athn.org). MLOF has become the largest hemophilia genetic project worldwide. The roles of the MLOF partners are: BWNW, to serve as the central laboratory for the project and house the research repository; ATHN, to support and provide the administrative link with HTCs, to facilitate the collection of accurate phenotypic data, to conduct research review and approval for use of the repository and with BWNW to provide samples and data for research projects; NHF, to provide consumer education and facilitate consumer input into the project; and Bioverativ, to provide financial support and scientific input. The project is governed by a Steering Committee consisting of one representative from each organization. Subject samples chosen from the MLOF parent study for TOPMed and WGS were drawn from those who gave (or parents gave) informed consent for the Research Repository and included patients of all severities and type, but with an emphasis on those with severe hemophilia and others at increased risk of neutralizing antibody (inhibitor) formation and who had samples in the Research Repository (plasma, serum, RNA) for potential additional -omic studies. Also included were samples from subjects where a likely causative variant for hemophilia was not found in the F8 or F9 coding region, intron-exon boundaries or immediate upstream and downstream regions. Since hemophilia is an X-linked disorder, the majority of subjects are male. Racial distribution is similar to the overall population distribution.

  Study phs001515

• Characterizing TP53 and PPM1D Mutations as Resistance Drivers to Radiation Therapy in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas

  Pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGGs), encompassing diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) and hemispheric tumors, represent the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in children age 0-14 years. Over the last decade, several landmark papers have revealed recurrent single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the core histones H3.3 and H3.1, co-occurring with alterations in the TP53 signaling pathway and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). However, the contribution of structural variants (SVs) to gliomagenesis has not been systematically explored. We performed a comprehensive analysis of whole genome sequencing (WGS) data on pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGGs) from 179 children, including 61 hemispheric tumors and 118 diffuse midline gliomas, or DMGs, of which 61 are novel to this study. Among the DMGs, 84 (71%) were from pre-treatment biopsies including 33 obtained from the first multi-institutional North American clinical trial to incorporate diagnostic biopsies. This represents the largest cohort of pretreatment DMGs with whole genome sequencing to date. This large cohort of whole genome sequences provides an unparalleled opportunity to assess significantly recurrent structural variants in pHGG and their associations with driver SNVs and SCNAs. 

  Study phs002380

• Neurogenetic Investigations of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling early-onset neuropsychiatric disorder with a clear genetic contribution to risk but unclear underlying pathophysiology, which has hindered the development of new treatments and interventions. This study uses high-throughput sequencing approaches to identify OCD risk genes, detect gene expression differences in OCD, and determine epigenetic signatures driving gene expression in OCD brain. These studies will improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of OCD and identify points of traction for mechanistic studies in model systems, ultimately leading to novel therapeutics, and reducing the significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disabling illness. Furthermore, insights gained in these studies can inform gene discovery approaches to other complex neuropsychiatric disorders.

  Study phs001929

• Diversity of the immune microenvironment and response to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy in mucosal melanoma

  Mucosal melanoma (MucM) is a rare cancer with a poor prognosis and low response rate to immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM). To explore the immune microenvironment and potential drivers of MucM’s relative resistance to ICI drugs, we characterized 101 MucM tumors (43 head and neck, 31 female urogenital, 13 male urogenital, 11 anorectal, and 3 other gastro-intestinal) using bulk RNA-sequencing (RNAseq). The original publication is written by JL Vos, JJH Traets, et al. and published in JCI Insight in 2024.

  Study EGAS50000000631

• Cell culture differentiation and proliferation conditions influence the in vitro regeneration of the human airway epithelium

  The human airway mucociliary epithelium can be recapitulated in vitro using primary cells cultured in an Air-Liquid Interface (ALI), a reliable surrogate to perform pathophysiological studies. As tremendous variations exist between media used for ALI-cultured human airway epithelial cells, our study aimed to evaluate at a single-cell level the impact of several media (e.g. BEGMTM, PneumaCultTM, “Half&Half” and “Clancy”) on cell type distribution. Our work revealed the impact of these media on cell composition, gene expression profile, cell signaling or epithelial shape. We found higher proportions of multiciliated cells in PneumaCultTM-ALI and Half&Half, stronger EGF signaling from basal cells in BEGMTM-ALI, differential expression of the SARS-CoV-2 entry factor ACE2, and distinct secretomes transcripts depending on media used. We also established that proliferation in PneumaCultTM-Ex Plus favored secretory cells fate, showing the key influence of proliferation media on late differentiation epithelial characteristics. Altogether, our data offer a comprehensive repertoire for evaluating the effects of culture conditions on airway epithelial differentiation and will help to choose the most relevant medium according to the phenomenon to be investigated such as cilia or mucus biology or viral infection. We detail useful parameters that should be explored to document airway epithelial cell fate and shaping.

  Study EGAS00001007572

• A prognostic human brain network for diffuse midline glioma

  Diffuse midline glioma (DMG) are near-universally lethal tumours of the paediatric central nervous system. In animal models, DMG form brain-wide, integrated networks through neuron-to-glioma synapses and glioma-to-glioma gap junctional coupling. This extensive connectivity robustly promotes the growth and invasion of DMG and other glial malignancies through paracrine mechanisms and direct neuron-to-glioma synapses. The organisation and clinical implications of these connections in the living human brain, however, remain to be elucidated. Here, we develop tumour network mapping to compute the brain-wide connectivity profile of DMG: defining a conserved brain network across pontine and thalamic DMG associated with patient short-term survival (DMG network). Tumour functional connectivity with the DMG network was independently predictive of patient overall survival across two external validation cohorts. Tumour growth mapped to DMG network-specific trajectories and peak, in-network neurometabolic changes across development spatiotemporally aligned with the peak age incidence of DMG. Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing confirmed diverse synaptic gene enrichment in high-connectivity DMG. Strikingly, incidental surgical resection of high-connectivity thalamic DMG tissue conferred a significant survival advantage. Collectively, these data define a conserved and prognostically important brain network in children with DMG, consistent with the hypothesis that DMG exploit otherwise healthy brain circuits to promote tumour growth.

  Study EGAS50000001752

• Breast Cancer in Blacks: Impact of Genomics, Healthcare Use and Lifestyle on Outcomes (BRIGHT)

  Young Black females bear a disproportionate burden of breast cancer (BC) mortality compared to White females and are underrepresented in clinical studies. It remains critical to understand factors that contribute to the high mortality from BC among young Black females in order to improve outcomes. The higher BC mortality rate among young Black females with breast cancer is partially attributed to the disproportionately higher proportions who develop the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In addition to biologic factors, timely access to care, and lifestyle factors contribute to this disparity. Consequently, we sought to evaluate the interplay between biologic and non-biologic contributors to BC outcomes (i.e., BC disease-free survival (DFS)), and to better characterize the highly aggressive TNBC among young Black females based on distinct molecular subtypes. Ultimately, it is critical to assess both biologic and non-biologic factors to fully understand and address existing health disparities in this population. Through prior and subsequent recruitment of a population-based study of young Black females diagnosed with invasive breast cancer spanning 2009-2016, we: 1) assessed the contribution of biologic and non-biologic factors on BC-DFS observed among young Black females with BC, and 2) investigated molecular features of the subgroup with TNBC. Through this study, consented participants were asked to provide a saliva sample from which DNA was extracted for germline analyses, including germline inherited cancer genetic testing and Infinium Expanded Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array. Breast cancer tumor specimens were also collected, and tumor RNA was extracted from viable FFPE tumor samples. Tumor RNA analyses included gene expression profiling through NanoString PAM50.Data that will be available through dbGaP for this study include SNP array data and PAM50 data.

  Study phs003466

• Immune Response to Life-Threatening Respiratory Infections in Children and Young Adults

  This is a cross sectional study describing age-related differences in the nasal mucosal immune response to SARS-CoV-2. We collected nasal mucosal samples from six groups: healthy children, children infected with SARS-CoV-2, children infected with respiratory syncytial virus, children infected with influenza virus, healthy adults, and adults infected with SARS-CoV-2. Samples were obtained by mucosal scrape biopsy of the inferior turbinate using a sterile plastic curette. We performed bulk RNA-sequencing to obtain gene expression data. Clinical data was extracted from the electronic health record including: demographics, medical history, clinical presentation, duration of symptoms, intensive care unit admission, hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, type and duration of respiratory support at sample collection and peak illness. Our analysis described the host response to SARS-CoV-2 in the nasal mucosa in children and adults and compared it to the host response to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus.

  Study phs002579

• CIRdb: Array genotype data

  The current inhabitants of the Canary Islands have a unique genetic makeup in the European diversity landscape due to the existence of African footprints from recent admixture events, especially of North African components (>20%). The underrepresentation of non-Europeans in genetic studies and the sizable North African ancestry, which is nearly absent from all existing catalogs of worldwide genetic diversity, justify the need to develop CIRdb, a population-specific reference catalog of natural genetic variation in the Canary Islanders. Based on array genotyping of the selected unrelated donors and comparisons against available datasets from European, sub-Saharan, and North African populations, we illustrate the intermediate genetic differentiation of Canary Islanders between Europeans and North Africans and the existence of within-population differences that are likely driven by genetic isolation. In addition, here we describe the overall design and the methods that are being implemented to develop CIRdb.

  Study EGAS00001006050

• Genetic makeup of agnospheres

  Agnospheres are cultures of cancer stem cells isolated from tissue biopsies from patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUPs). The latter is a lethal malignancy (median survival <1 year), representing approximately the 3% of all cancers, and characterized by metastatic dissemination in the absence of a primary tumor recognizable by a standardized protocol including thorough body imaging and histopathological analysis. Agnospheres are long-term propagated in culture and, after subcutaneous injection into immunocompromised mice, they display high tumorigenicity and quickly reproduce the clinical presentation of the original tumor, featuring a multi-organ metastatic pattern and poorly differentiated histology. The goal of the project is to analyse the mutational profile of agnospheres in detail, as to verify its correspondance with that of the original tumors. Genetic information will be exploited to investigate the genetic drivers of the CUP phenotype, in particular the hypermetastatic ability and the differentiative block.

  Study EGAS00001004868

• Oral microbiome metagenomic sequencing - Human Phenotype Project (HPP)

  This study characterizes the oral microbiome of participants enrolled in the Weizmann Institute Human Phenotype Project (HPP), a longitudinal cohort study. Oral swab samples were collected and subjected to shallow whole-genome sequencing using the Gencove low-pass sequencing platform. Raw reads include residual human host sequences in addition to microbial sequences. The dataset comprises metagenomic FASTQ files from [N] participants. Data access is restricted in accordance with participant informed consent and Weizmann IRB approval

  Study EGAS50000001763

• PRDM9_loss_of_function_follow_up_from_Born_in_Bradford_Autozygosity_sequencing

  In the autozygosity exome sequencing of Born-in-Bradford samples of Pakistani origin thereis a mother who is homozygous for an apparent truncating stop codon in PRDM9, the generesponsible for localising recombination during meiosis. We plan to deep sequence motherand child with X10, and physically phase the mother with PacBio sequencing.We will use this data to identify recombination locations, and test whether these areconsistent with the known fine scale recombination map.

  Study EGAS00001001301

• Breast Cancer - immune clusters - RNA-seq

  In this study we use expression data from breast cancer tumors to define immune clusters in breast cancer. Immune clusters have gradual levels of immune infiltration. In the intermediate immune infiltration cluster, we found a worse prognosis which is independent of known clinicopathological features. We also found the immune clusters associated with treatment response. Further using gene expression data and deconvolution algorithms to dissect the immune contexture of the clusters.

  Study EGAS00001003631

• Phase 2 Study of Nivolumab and Entinostat in Unresectable or Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma and Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

  The study was a single-center, open-label, phase II trial (registration no. NCT03250273) designed to evaluate the efficacy of entinostat in combination with nivolumab in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The aim was to assess the objective response rate using RECIST v1.1 criteria as the primary endpoint. A total of 27 patients with advanced PDA were enrolled from November 2017 to November 2020. Their treatment involved a 14-day lead-in with entinostat monotherapy, followed by a combination with nivolumab. The study utilized several molecular technologies to assess immune profiles and tumor microenvironment (TME) changes: high-dimensional mass cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF), Luminex for chemokine analysis in plasma, multiplexed immunohistochemistry (mIHC), image cytometry-based quantification, bulk RNA sequencing analysis. The objective response rate (ORR) was 11% with three patients showing a partial response (PR). The median duration of response was 10.2 months. Grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 63% of patients, with the most common being decreased lymphocyte count, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hyponatremia. Gene expression analysis showed an enrichment in inflammatory response signaling pathways with the combination treatment. RNA sequencing data with clinical and demographic patient information will be available through dbGaP. For expression summaries, please refer to GEO submission GSE248014.

  Study phs003615

• MGA-NUTM1 fusion in high grade spindle cell sarcoma

  NUT carcinoma (NC) with mesenchymal differentiation have rarely been described in the literature. In this report, we describe the characterization of two cases of high grade spindle cell sarcoma harboring a novel MGA-NUTM1 fusion. Whole genome sequencing identified the presence of complex rearrangements resulting in a MGA-NUTM1 fusion gene in the absence of other significant somatic mutations. The fusion protein was predicted to retain nearly the entire protein sequence of both MGA (exons 1-22) and NUTM1 (exons 3-8). In contrast to typical cases of NC, these cases were successfully treated with aggressive local control measures (surgery and radiation) and both patients remain alive without disease. These cases describe a new subtype of NUTM1-rearranged tumors warranting expansion of diagnostic testing to evaluate for the presence of MGA-NUTM1 or alternative NUTM1 gene fusions in the diagnostic workup of high grade spindle cell sarcomas or small round blue cell tumors of ambiguous lineage.

  Study EGAS00001003341

• Recursive splicing in long vertebrate genes

  Recent studies have shown that expression of many genes with exceptionally long introns in the mammalian brain can be perturbed by regulatory factors linked to neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative disorders1-3, suggesting unique regulatory mechanisms. Here we identify functional recursive splice sites (RSS) in long introns of genes expressed in the brain. These RSS are highly conserved in genes with extreme length across diverse vertebrate species and permit step-wise removal of long introns via recursive splicing. Recursive splicing requires initial definition of a “recursive exon” that is located downstream of RSS, and most often contains premature stop codons. Moreover, we show that RSS create a splicing switch driven by splice site competition in order to distinguish primary mRNA isoforms from alternative isoforms that are prevalent in long genes. The recursive exon is not detectable in the dominant mRNA isoform due to recursive splicing, but is completely included when cryptic promoters or other cryptic exons are used. Thus, by coupling inclusion of recursive exons with the use of cryptic elements, RSS act to distinguish new mRNA isoforms emerging from long genes.

  Study EGAS00001001170

• HG_Retroduplications_in_Neurodevelopmental_Disorders

  Mobile genetic Elements (MEs) are pieces of DNA which, through an RNA intermediate, can generate new copies of themselves elsewhere in the host genome. Additionally, MEs can facilitate the duplication of non-ME transcripts, typically genes, through the mechanism of retroduplication. In humans, several disorders have been directly attributed to ME-derived mutagenesis but not to retroduplication events. We propose to whole genome sequence the 7 individuals with putative de novo gene retroduplications in order to identify the site of insertion. This sequencing will serve two primary purposes: 1.) Identify the first documented case of a de novo retrogene insertion event causing a disease in humans 2.) provide additional whole genome sequencing of undiagnosed probands recruited into the DDD 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 EGAS00001002907

• Orthotopic Patient-Derived Xenografts of Pediatric Solid Tumors

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

  Study EGAS00001002528

• A Phase 2 Study of Tipifarnib in Large Granular Lymphocyte (LGL) Leukemia

  LGL leukemia can be divided into three subsets including the following: αβ or γδT-LGL and NK-LGL leukemia. All three subtypes will be enrolled using a two-stage design. The primary endpoint of the study is assessment of overall clinical response. Correlative laboratory studies will be performed aimed at determining the mechanism of response to treatment. Thirteen participants will be accrued in the first stage at a dose of 300 mg BID administered intermittently every other week (i.e., 7 days on and 7 days off). If there are two or more responders, the protocol will be extended to a second stage of the study and accrual will be extended to 25 evaluable participants. Allowing for 10% rate of ineligibility due to unexpected events and dropout, we will accrue 14 patients in the first stage and 27 patients in total. Participants that withdraw from the study for reason unrelated to toxicity, will be replaced. There are two potential stopping rules for toxicity. If 3 or more participants out of the 13 enrolled in the first stage experiences grade IV neurotoxicity, the study will be stopped due to excessive toxicity. Dose reductions have been incorporated for hematologic toxicity. Treatment of T and NK LGL leukemia with immunosuppressive agents such as low-dose methotrexate generally require from four to six months for a clinical response and sometimes much longer. Therefore, in participants who show clinical improvement with less than grade three toxicity, tipifarnib treatment will be continued for as many as four additional months (12 months total). After the first 8 months, response will be assessed. The protocol treatment will be discontinued in participants with progression of disease. A long-term follow up will be performed for five years in patients that receive a complete clinical response. The long-term follow up will consist of vital signs, weight, CBCs, serum chemistries, and physical examination at six month intervals.

  Study phs000594

• Gut microbiome dynamics unravelled with metagenomics sequencing

  It has been already several years since we discovered that microbial therapeutics like Faecal Microbiota Transplantation can be used to treat Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with great success. The concept has challenged us to test the limits of our knowledge with the perspective to improve health in the most diverse conditions like Parkinson disease, depression, autism and obesity, just to mention a few. Note: the figure belongs to the original paper and is owned by the authors. Allyson L.Bird and colleagues from Genentech Inc. (San Francisco) recently published an interesting study building up on the key concept that “As microbial therapeutics are increasingly being tested in diverse patient populations, it is essential to understand the host and environmental factors influencing the microbiome.” The authors of this work analysed 1359 gut microbiome samples using shotgun metagenomics sequencing.  The results of the comparison done between microbiota composition across the different groups showed that biological sex is the strongest driver of diversity, while aging (age range studied: 20–69) appears to be the second factor. As smartly outlined in the authors’ own graphical abstract (figure to the left), Bacteroidota species consistently increased with donors' age while Actinobacteriota species, including Bifidobacterium, decreased. This study also integrated data from oncological patients to draw cancer-related evidences. After correcting the biases for technical and geographic differences, they found that cancer patients show significantly altered gut bacterial communities compared with their healthy counterparts. Eg. E.coli was found to be increased in cancer patients together with Bacteroidota/Firmicutes ratios. By comparing sequential samples taken from the same donors (413) within short-distance time points, the authors found that in the short term, intra-individual differences were less than the inter-individual ones, indicating a certain community stability being the norm. One of the pivotal points from this interesting study is that the data proceeds from extremely well-defined and selected donors. Specifically, the data for 949 selected healthy donors came from the Milieu Intérieur (MI) Consortium and extensive metadata, including demographic variables, serological measures, dietary information, and systemic immune profiles, are available. This precise stratification allowed for the robust detection of smaller changes, compared to former works. All sequencing data has been deposited in the EGA archive under the accession number EGAS00001004437. Enjoy this amazing open access paper published in the Experimental Journal of Medicine on January 2021.

  Blog gut-microbiome-dynamics-unravelled

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

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

  Study EGAS00001001838

• ChiLDReN/BA: Genetic Studies of Biliary Atresia in the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network

  Biliary atresia (BA) is a progressive necroinflammatory process initially involving the extra-hepatic biliary tree. Little is known about the factors that cause BA or the factors that influence disease progression. A variety of genetic, autoimmune, and environmental influences have been hypothesized to be important. Most studies to date have focused on the neonate and young child with BA, yet the older surviving child with BA can provide important information about genetics as well as natural history.The Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN) conducts two longitudinal and observational studies that include BA patients: Biliary Atresia Study in Infants and Children (BASIC) and A Prospective Database of Infants with Cholestasis (PROBE). Using samples from participants in these two protocols, we have formed the largest known data set of biliary atresia patients in the world. ChiLDReN is performing a series of genomic analyses, with subsequent analyses being released as subsequent versions of this registration, phs003356. Version 1 concerns PKD1L1.About the PKD1L1 Analysis (phs003356.v1): While multiple factors have been implicated in the perinatal biliary injuries that characterize BA, a definitive etiology has not yet been established. This study is part of a larger project to characterize the largest cohort of pediatric BA patients through whole-exome sequencing (WES). In this analysis, we examine the WES of those with various laterality defects to determine whether genetic factors could be identified to explicate the etiopathogenesis of BA in biliary atresia splenic malformation (BASM) syndrome. We specifically explored variations in the PKD1L1 gene, which recently has been identified in mouse models as playing a role in laterality.

  Study phs003356

• Viral Respiratory Pathogens Genetics

  The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the host genetic factors in response to influenza virus infection, with the focus on influenza vaccination in the first substudy "Adult Influenza Vaccine Genetics" and with the focus on influenza natural infection and other acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in the second substudy "Acute Viral Respiratory Infection Genetics". In the first substudy, healthy adults were enrolled in 2008 (male cohort) and 2010 (female cohort) and immunized with seasonal influenza vaccine. In the second substudy, healthy adults were invited to enroll to be followed for acute respiratory illness through two consecutive influenza seasons 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. Peripheral blood genomic DNA samples were collected from all the subjects, and time-series RNA and serum samples were obtained pre- and post- immunization/infection. Genotyping was carried out on peripheral blood genomic DNA samples using Illumina HumanOmniExpress-12 v1 arrays. Peripheral blood RNA samples obtained at each visit were analyzed using Illumina Human HT-12 (for all the samples) and HiSeq 2000 (for 130 samples in the "Acute Viral Respiratory Infection Genetics" study). Serum specimens were tested using hemagglutination-inhibition (HAI) antibody assay for Influenza H1N1, H3N2, and Influenza B strains. A detailed description of each substudy is provided under their own pages below and via the grouping tool in the right-hand box: phs000635 Adult Influenza Vaccine Genetics phs001031 Acute Viral Respiratory Infection Genetics

  Study phs001030

• The Surveillance Monitoring for ART Toxicities (SMARTT) and the Women and Infants Transmission Study (WITS)

  Zidovudine (ZDV) is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) which competitively inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase and is incorporated into the viral DNA, resulting in DNA chain termination. It was the first approved antiretroviral medication used for preventing HIV transmission from mother to child. However, in vitro and animal studies have suggested genotoxicity of ZDV and no study has evaluated potential impact of in utero ZDV exposure using genomic sequencing technologies. In this study, we investigate markers of genomic damage detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples obtained from 91 ZDV-exposed and, for comparison, 94 NRTI-unexposed HIV-uninfected children born to HIV-infected mothers during the first week after birth. We utilize high-throughput DNA sequencing (whole exome sequencing) and genotype array methods to comprehensively identify potential clonal somatic single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and large acquired copy number alterations (SCNAs) related to ZDV exposure.

  Study phs002061

• Accurate mutation detection in leukemia by re-sequencing a cancer gene set

  With the advent of whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing, high-quality catalogs of recurrently mutated cancer genes are becoming available for many cancer types. Increasing access to sequencing technology, including bench-top sequencers, provide the opportunity to re-sequence a limited set of cancer genes across a patient cohort with limited processing time. Here, we re-sequenced a set of cancer genes in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) using the Roche/454 technology coupled with Nimblegen sequence capture. First, we investigated how a maximal sensitivity and specificity of mutation detection can be achieved through a benchmark study. We tested nine combinations of different mapping and variant-calling methods, varied the variant calling parameters, and compared the predicted mutations with a large independent validation set obtained by capillary re-sequencing. We found that the combination of two mapping algorithms, namely BWA-SW and SSAHA2, coupled with the variant calling algorithm Atlas-SNP2 yields the highest sensitivity (95%) and the highest specificity (93%). Next, we applied this analysis pipeline to identify mutations in a set of 58 cancer genes, in a panel of 18 T-ALL cell lines and 15 T-ALL patient samples. We confirmed mutations in known T-ALL drivers, including PHF6, NF1, FBXW7, NOTCH1, KRAS, NRAS, PIK3CA, and PTEN. Interestingly, we also found mutations in several cancer genes that had not been linked to T-ALL before, including JAK3. Finally, we re-sequenced a small set of 39 candidate genes and identified recurrent mutations in TET1, SPRY3 and SPRY4. In conclusion, we established an optimized analysis pipeline for Roche/454 data that can be applied to accurately detect gene mutations in cancer, which led to the identification of several new candidate T-ALL driver mutations.

  Study EGAS00001000268

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

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

  Study EGAS00001007017

• Spatial transcriptomics elucidates medulla niche supporting germinal center response in myasthenia gravis thymoma

  Myasthenia gravis (MG) is known to be epidemiologically associated with abnormalities of the thymus, an organ that maintains central tolerance. However, due to the complexity of the thymus, specific characteristics related to the pathogenesis of MG remain elusive. In our study, we attempted to narrow down the features associated with MG using spatial transcriptome analysis of thymoma and thymic hyperplasia samples. We found that the majority of thymomas were constituted by the cortical region, whereas the medullary region was localized in comparatively restricted areas. Moreover, the medullary region contained polygenic enrichment, MG-specific germinal center structures, and a supporting immune microenvironment. Additionally, neuromuscular medullary thymic epithelial cells (nmTECs), previously identified as MG-specific autoantigen-producing cells, were situated at the cortico-medullary junction. The immune microenvironment in the medulla was characterized by a specific chemokine pattern and specific immune cells, such as CCR7+ migratory dendritic cells (migDCs) and effector regulatory T (Treg) cells. Furthermore, similar germinal center structures and immune microenvironments were observed in the medulla during thymic hyperplasia. This study indicates that the medulla and junction areas are related to the pathology of MG, suggesting that these areas should be the focus of future studies on MG pathogenesis and drug targeting.

  Study JGAS000672

• The Intestinal Bacterial Metagenome in Pediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

  Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children in the United States. NAFLD is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome; however, there is limited understanding of the development and progression of NAFLD. There is evidence of abnormalities of bacterial colonization, and intestinal bacterial product-induced inflammation associated with NAFLD and disease progression. The goal of this study was to characterize the intestinal microbiome in pediatric participants with NAFLD and in both obese and normal weight controls to determine the relationship between alterations in the intestinal microbiome, inflammation, and the development of NAFLD. We hypothesized that alterations in the intestinal microbiome are associated with increased systemic inflammation and the development and severity of NAFLD.

  Study phs001837

• Use_of_Deep_Sequencing_to_Dectect_Clonal_Mutations_In_Sun_Exposed_Skin_Epidermis

  This study aims to define the landscape of somatic mutations in sun exposed human skin by deep sequencing, analyse their frequency and use the data to infer the effect of mutations on proliferating cell behaviour. The frequency of each mutation will reflect the size of the clone of cells in the tissue sample. By analyzing small samples, clones with as few as 100 cells will be detectable. Allele frequency distributions for each mutation will be used to infer cell fate using published methods (Klein et al. 2010). This study will shed unprecedented light on the early clonal events that lead to the emergence of cancer.

  Study EGAS00001000515

• Use_of_Deep_Sequencing_to_Dectect_Clonal_Mutations_In_Sun_Exposed_Skin_Epidermis_PART2

  This study aims to define the landscape of somatic mutations in sun exposed human skin by deep sequencing, analyse their frequency and use the data to infer the effect of mutations on proliferating cell behaviour. The frequency of each mutation will reflect the size of the clone of cells in the tissue sample. By analyzing small samples, clones with as few as 100 cells will be detectable. Allele frequency distributions for each mutation will be used to infer cell fate using published methods (Klein et al. 2010). This study will shed unprecedented light on the early clonal events that lead to the emergence of cancer.

  Study EGAS00001000603

• Determination of Cross-Reactive Immunological Material (CRIM) status and longitudinal follow-up of individuals with Pompe disease

  Infantile-onset Pompe disease is an inherited disorder that is normally diagnosed within the first months of life. It is caused by lack of or defect in an enzyme (a special protein that carries out normal chemical reactions within the body) called acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). GAA normally breaks down glycogen (stored sugar) in lysosomes (the part of the cell that digests food and other chemicals). Pompe disease is one of many lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). LSDs are diseases caused by the malfunction of the lysosome or one of their digestive enzymes. Patients with Pompe disease cannot break down lysosomal glycogen. This causes glycogen to build up and damage cells throughout the body, especially in the heart and muscles. Current treatment for Pompe disease involves enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). In this treatment, the drug alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme) is put into your blood. The drug provides a form of the GAA enzyme to replace the enzyme that is missing or not working properly in the patient's blood. This treatment has allowed babies to live longer and achieve developmental milestones. In this study, researchers will learn about the patient's ability to tolerate ERT. Cross-Reactive Immunological Material (CRIM) is a measurement of natural GAA production. A patient's CRIM status (either positive or negative) is an important factor that affects how he or she responds to ERT with Myozyme. Children who produce some natural GAA are classified as CRIM+, while children who do not produce any natural GAA are classified as CRIM-. Children who are CRIM+ generally tolerate ERT well. But, children who are CRIM-, and some children classified as CRIM+, have a poor response to ERT. Patients who have a poor response to ERT have complications because their body sees Myozyme as "foreign" and triggers an immune response to try to remove it from the body. Treatments are currently being developed to stop this immune response and prevent complications from ERT. We will enroll patients with Infantile Pompe disease in this longitudinal natural history (observational) study. The specific aims of this study are: To determine and correlate Cross-Reactive Immunological Material (CRIM) status with the GAA gene mutations found on these patients To validate an approach for determining CRIM status from whole blood sample, with the gold standard determination of CRIM status by skin fibroblasts and mutation analysis To explore the clinical treatment response and natural history of CRIM-positive and CRIM-negative Pompe disease patients with and without immune modulation To investigate the role of immune response to treatment

  Study phs001555

• Effects of 2DG, Galactose, or Oligomycin on the epigenome remodeling induce by T cells activation.

  T cell activation is known to require a metabolic shift towards glycolysis, triggered by TCR-engagement . To substantiate the role of glycolysis in transcriptional reprogramming during antigen-driven T cell activation, we utilized a well-established ex-vivo model to recapitulate the process of antigen stimulation without the requirement for additional antigen-presenting cells . We initially explored and validated the conditions for both metabolic and epigenetic reprogramming. Antigen-mediated CD4+ T cells activation initiates context-specific gene-expression programs that drive effector functions and cell fates through changes in the epigenetic landscape . To evaluate global changes in histone modifications, we isolated CD4+ T cells from peripheral blood (PB) of healthy control (HC) human donors and either maintained them in resting conditions or stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 for 24h. Rapid changes in the CD4+ epigenome and transcriptome were observed within 24h as measured by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and H3K27ac chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA-sequencing (ChIP-seq).To explore the requirement for metabolic reprogramming in regulating transcriptional responses after initial TCR engagement, CD4+ T cells from PB of healthy donors were isolated and activated in either the presence or absence of oligomycin (inhibitor of ATP synthase blocking the production of ATP by OXPHOS), 2-deoxyglucose (2DG; competitively inhibiting production of glucose-6-phosphate from glucose), or replacement of glucose with galactose. Galactose is metabolized through glycolysis, utilizing the Leloir pathway which is energy neutral, forcing cells to use all the pyruvate production to sustain the TCA cycle for OXPHOS and ATP synthesis at the expense of lactate production. Employing ChIP-seq and RNA-seq, inhibition of OXPHOS-mediated ATP production by oligomycin had only a limited effect on H3K27-acetylation or activation-induced transcription during the first 24h of activation. In contrast, inhibition of glycolysis by 2DG treatment compromised both H3K27-acetylation and transcriptional changes. However, under conditions of galactose-metabolism where lactate production is abrogated, activated CD4+ T cells were still able to globally remodel H3K27 acetylation and reprogram the transcriptome.

  Study EGAS00001007115

• Maturation of Human Intestinal Epithelial Cell Layers Fortifies the Apical Surface against Salmonella Attack

  Pathogen invasion of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) is a key gut infection event. The dynamics of this process in intact epithelia and the factors governing IEC susceptibility remain underexplored. We present a resource for live-cell infection imaging in human enteroid-/colonoid-derived IEC layers, across maturation states and in the presence or absence of soluble mucus production. Utilization of this resource shows how human IEC maturation fortifies the apical surface against invasion by Salmonella Typhimurium (S.Tm). Immature IEC layers appear permissive to S.Tm invasion, but maturation towards an enterocyte/colonocyte phenotype reduces the susceptibility by up to tenfold. This shift couples to downregulated expression of actin regulatory proteins exploited by the pathogen, an increased dependence on the S.Tm effector SipA, and the build-up of the apical IEC glycocalyx linked to surface-attached mucins like MUC13 and nullifiable by StcE-enzyme treatment. This underscores how the maturation state of human IECs governs susceptibility to bacterial invasion.

  Study EGAS50000001241

• MSI_Cancer_Models___RNAseq

  The study will use RNAseq to aid in define determinants of WRN dependency in MSI Cell lines.

  Study EGAS00001004180

• Exome_sequencing_in_patients_with_Calcific_Aortic_Valve_Stenosis

  The objective is to identify new genes involved in calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS) by screening the exome of at least 20 patients with familial CAVS. The recruitment of patients with CAVS has been achieved by l’institut du thorax (Nantes, France). DNA from the selected patients has been analysed by exome capture (Agilent SureSelect) and massively parallel sequencing (Illumina). The data generated by this project will lead to the identification of candidate genes involved in CAVS, which can be further screened for mutation in additional patients with CAVS.

  Study EGAS00001000049

• Transgenerational transmission of reproductive and metabolic dysfunction in the male progeny of polycystic ovary syndrome

  The transgenerational maternal effects of PCOS in female progeny have been revealed. As there are evidence that a male equivalent of PCOS may exist, we asked whether sons born to mother with PCOS (PCOS-sons) transmit reproductive and metabolic phenotypes to their male progeny. Here, in a Swedish nationwide register-based cohort and a clinical case-control study from Chile we found that PCOS-sons are more often obese and dyslipidemic. Their serum miRNAs are found to potentially regulate PCOS-risk genes. Our prenatal androgenized PCOS-like mouse model with or without diet-induced obesity confirmed that reproductive and metabolic dysfunctions in F1 male offspring are passed down to F3. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) sequencing of F1-F3 sperm revealed distinct differentially expressed (DE) sncRNAs across generations in the androgenized, obese, and obese and androgenized lineages, respectively. Notably, common targets between transgenerational DEsncRNAs in mouse sperm and in PCOS-sons serum indicate similar effects of maternal hyperandrogenism. These findings strengthen the translational relevance highlighting a previously underappreciated risk of reproductive and metabolic dysfunction via the male germline transmission and potential molecular markers to study in future generations.

  Study EGAS00001007079

• Tumor-derived exosomes modulate PD-L1 expression in monocytes

  In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), monocytes and macrophages are skewed toward protumorigenic phenotypes, including the release of tumor-supportive cytokines and the expression of immunosuppressive molecules such as programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1). To understand the mechanism driving protumorigenic skewing in CLL, we evaluated the role of tumor cell–derived exosomes in the cross-talk with monocytes. We carried out RNA sequencing and proteome analyses of CLL-derived exosomes and identified noncoding Y RNA hY4 as a highly abundant RNA species that is enriched in exosomes from plasma of CLL patients compared with healthy donor samples. Transfer of CLL-derived exosomes or hY4 alone to monocytes resulted in key CLL-associated phenotypes, including the release of cytokines, such as C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL4, and interleukin-6, and the expression of PD-L1. These responses were abolished in Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)–deficient monocytes, suggesting exosomal hY4 as a driver of TLR7 signaling. Pharmacologic inhibition of endosomal TLR signaling resulted in a substantially reduced activation of monocytes in vitro and attenuated CLL development in vivo. Our results indicate that exosome-mediated transfer of noncoding RNAs to monocytes contributes to cancer-related inflammation and concurrent immune escape via PD-L1 expression.

  Study EGAS00001002377

• ICGC Oesophageal adenocarcinoma - 100 tumour 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.

  Study EGAS00001000724

• Defining the metastasome in colorectal cancer: Implications for hypotheses on metastasis evolution and personalized therapy (HIPO-032)

  Personalized cancer therapy aims at individual genetic changes characterizing primary cancers. Still, however, metastasis is the major clinically unmet problem, also due to an incomplete understanding of its molecular evolution.This study is the first to define the metastasis-specific whole genome landscape of human colorectal primary vs. matched metastatic lesions.Protein coding, ncRNA genes and 3’UTRs harbored about a third each of single nucleotide variations (SNVs)/indels, 19% of them being metastasis-specific. We found novel mutational hills among ncRNAs and 3’UTRs, copy number changes able to explain changes in microRNA expression in metastases, and novel metastasis-specific mutations in the 3’UTRs on important cancer signalling genes. Some metastatic lesions showed targetable mutations not detected in the primaries. Analysis of mutual exclusivity patterns supported a model that has progressive alterations in important colorectal cancer genes and revealed new partners. Metastatic lesions were enriched in SNVs, specific structural variations, and alterations in genes affecting cell adhesion and extracellular matrix interaction.Furthermore, a hepatic stellate activation cascade was enriched in metastases, suggesting genetic programs for site-specific colonization. Allele frequency distribution and mutational signature analysis suggests a common ancestor clone to both the primary tumor and the metastasis, with additional mutagenesis ongoing in both sites independently. Taken together, our results significantly add to hypothesis generation on metastasis evolution, and suggest novel metastasis-specific genomic changes which would be missed by current personalized therapy concepts. (HIPO-032)

  Study EGAS00001002717

• Genome sequencing identifies splice-disrupting variants in childhood heart disease

  We used genome sequencing (GS) to identify cardiac specific splice disrupting variants that were subsequently validated in a subset of participants. In turn, we developed a heart-specific model for canonical and non-canonical splice variants, which was applied to patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). These included patients with two of the most common forms of cyanotic CHD i.e. tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and dextro-transposition of the great arteries (TGA). In addition to identifying canonical splice-disrupting variants in known CHD-related genes in 1% cases, this approach identified putatively damaging non-canonical splice-disrupting variants in 11% of isolated CHD, with deeply intronic variants representing 53% of non-canonical splice-disrupting variants in CHD genes. GS was critical for the identification of variants that would not be captured by routine clinical genetic tests including exome sequencing, while cardiac RNA-Seq allowed for high specificity in the interpretation of splice-disrupting effects in the heart.

  Study EGAS50000000586

• Rare occurrence of Aristolochic Acid Mutational Signatures in Oro-Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers

  Aristolochic Acids (AAs) are a family of carcinogenic phytochemical compounds commonly found in plants of Aristolochia and Asarum genus. Comprehensive genomic profiling of genitourinary and hepatobiliary cancers has highlighted the widespread prevalence of Aristolochic Acid (AA) signatures in cancer patients across parts of Asia, particularly in Taiwan. The aim of our study was to determine in Oro-Gastrointestinal Tract (OGITC) cancers, the prevalence, role and significance that AA plays as a driver of tumorigenesis as AA containing products are commonly administered orally. This would suggest a possible etiological relationship between cancers of OGITC. However, in this study the rarity of AA mutational signatures in OGITC suggests that AA is unlikely to drive carcinogenesis in OGITC through direct exposure. Our study is valuable to show that AA exposure is not an equal driver of tumorigenesis in different organs and represents an important piece of information in the field.

  Study EGAS00001005909

• Genome-Wide Association Study in Systemic Sclerosis

  The Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository (Registry) was initially developed as a registry and bio-specimen repository of patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), family members and unaffected healthy controls. A case-control design was later adopted due to the lack of availability of many parents in this adult-onset disease, which precluded a linkage approach. In addition to collecting demographic data, the registry included the collection of disease-pertinent, cross-sectional, clinical information from medical records of affected participants. Registry participants were >/= 18 years of age at enrollment. On the basis of medical record review, all cases were verified by the principal investigator to meet the eligibility criteria. 800+ blood samples from verified affected cases of European ancestry were selected for a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS). These genetic data, as well as phenotypic data, are available in dbGaP. DNA, serum and plasma from Registry participants, which are currently being stored in the University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston, Scleroderma Registry Genetic Repository, are available for research purposes. However, not all of the 800+ registry participants who submitted a blood sample currently have DNA available due to depletion of some samples. In addition to including SNP data from the genome-wide (first study release) and immunochip (second study release) scan on the 800+ samples, the dbGaP database provides a set of data tables with phenotypic information collected from the participants in the registry.

  Study phs000357

• Molecular_risk_stratification_in_patients_with_T1_colorectal_cancer_WES

  The introduction of bowel cancer screening has led to a significant increase in the proportion of patients being diagnosed with asymptomatic, early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC). Although the majority of these patients are successfully treated with surgery alone, a small proportion of patients have ‘born-to-be-bad’ aggressive lesions with early dissemination leading to distant metastases. Current standard of care histological assessment is unable to distinguish between these aggressive versus non-aggressive early lesions which is essential to provide appropriate clinical management decisions. This study aims to carry out molecular and histological profiling of approximately 300 T1 CRCs in order to develop a molecular stratifier based on the risk of relapse in early-invasive CRC. This novel T1 cohort will represent the world’s largest molecularly characterised T1 cohort of samples, with digital pathology assessment alongside whole exome sequencing, copy number variation analysis and 3’ RNA-seq. This data will be used to generate a robust panel of molecular and/or histological markers applicable to formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) archival tissue which discriminates between T1 lesions based on risk of relapse, which will ultimately be used to inform clinical management of CRC at the earliest stages of the disease.

  Study EGAS00001005734

• Distribution of ctDNA levels in plasma of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients measured using personalised ctDNA analysis

  Blood-based assays have shown increasing ability to detect circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in patients with early-stage cancer. However, detection of ctDNA in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has continued to prove challenging. We performed retrospective analysis to quantify ctDNA levels in a cohort of 100 patients with early-stage NSCLC prior to treatment with curative intent. Where tumour tissue was available for whole exome sequencing, mutations identified were used to define patient-specific sequencing assays. For those 90 patients, plasma cell-free DNA was sequenced to high depth across capture panels targeting a median of 328 mutations specific to each patient. Data was analysed using Integration of Variant Reads (INVAR), detecting ctDNA in 66.7% of patients, including 52.7% (29 of 55) patients with stage I disease and >88% detection for patients with stage II and III disease (16/18 and 15/17). ctDNA was detected in plasma at fractional concentrations as low as 9.1x10-6, and in patients with tumour volumes as low as 0.23 cm3. A 36-gene sequencing panel (InVisionFirst-LungTM) was used to analyse plasma DNA in 27 samples including the 10 cases without tumour exome data, and detected ctDNA in 59% of samples tested (16 of 27). Across the entire cohort, detection rates were higher in squamous cell carcinoma patients compared to adenocarcinoma patients (81% vs. 59%). Detection of ctDNA prior to treatment was associated with significantly shorter time free from relapse, across all patients and in patient subgroups, with Hazard Ratios ranging from 2.25 to >11. Our analysis indicates that for patients with stage I NSCLC, the median ctDNA fraction in plasma is approx. 12 parts per million (0.0012%). This indicates the limits of detection that would be required for ctDNA-based liquid biopsies to detect ctDNA in the majority of patients with early-stage NSCLC.

  Dataset EGAD00001006230

• Clonal somatic copy number altered driver events inform drug sensitivity in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

  Chromosomal instability is a major challenge to patient stratification and targeted drug development for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC). Here we show that somatic copy number alterations (SCNAs) in frequently amplified HGSOC cancer genes significantly correlate with gene expression and methylation status. We identified five prevalent clonal driver SCNAs (chromosomal amplifications encompassing MYC, PIK3CA, CCNE1, KRAS and TERT) from multi-regional HGSOC data and reasoned that their strong selection should prioritise them as key biomarkers for targeted therapies. We used primary HGSOC spheroid models to test interactions between in vitro targeted therapy and SCNAs. MYC chromosomal copy number was associated with in-vitro and clinical response to paclitaxel and in-vitro response to mTORC1/2 inhibition. Activation of the mTOR survival pathway in the context of MYC-amplified HGSOC was statistically associated with increased prevalence of SCNAs in genes from the PI3K pathway. Co-occurrence of amplifications in MYC and genes from the PI3K pathway was independently observed in squamous lung cancer and triple negative breast cancer. These results suggest that identifying co-occurrence of clonal driver SCNA genes could be used to tailor therapeutics for precision medicine.

  Study EGAS00001006200

• Stressors and Health Study

  ObjectivesThe objectives of the Stressors and Health Study were to: (1) examine the prevalence of stressors and health outcomes and (2) assess differences in the associations between multi-level stressors and health outcomes, and (3) explore the protective and adaptive factors in the associations between multi-level stressors and health outcomes. Background Stressors have been posited to explain disparities in health. However, no surveys to our knowledge have simultaneously collected multiple stressors at various levels and the coping strategies used to deal with these stressors. Measuring these factors can provide a better understanding of the stressors experienced by specific groups and the impact that these experiences have on their health and health practices. In addition, exploring the various resilience and coping strategies employed to deal with stressors can help design appropriate interventions to reduce health disparities. Participants Participants included 1000 White, 1000 Black or African American, 1000 Latino or Hispanic, 1000 Asian, 500 American Indian or Alaska Native, 500 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 500 mixed or multi-race adults (≥18 years) across the United States. Design The Stressors and Health Study is a cross-sectional online survey of adults across the US. A sampling frame (target population) of US residents based on the American Community Survey (ACS) was constructed using a rigorous two-step sampling matching approach to establish national representation.

  Study phs004019

• Study on the consequences of prenatal famine exposure on DNA methylation.

  The potential of the epigenome to undergo environmentally-induced changes during early development is central to its postulated role in human disease. Here, we report a genome-scale view of DNA methylation differences after early gestational malnutrition that was caused by the Dutch Hunger Winter, a severe famine at the end of World War II. We adopted an annotation guided analysis of reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing data generated in 24 middle-aged individuals who had been exposed to famine in utero and 24 unexposed sibling controls. We observed differential DNA methylation primarily at genomic regions with regulatory potential, including enhancers active during early development. In-depth annotation of 181 prenatally-induced differentially methylated regions (P-DMRs) showed that they were predominantly located in gene bodies and co-occurred with histone marks denoting an active state. In line with the early gestational timing of the exposure, the P-DMRs mapped to genes that were enriched for differential expression patterns during blastocyst development and early organogenesis. Validation and further explorative analyses of 6 P-DMRs mapping to SMAD7, CDH23, INSR, RFTN1, CPT1A and KLF13 highlighted the critical role of gestational timing, indicated that differential methylation extended along pathways involved in growth, development and metabolism, and suggested associations with birth weight and serum LDL cholesterol in adulthood and confirmed an enhancer function for the INSR and CPT1A P-DMRs. Our results point toward a link between prenatal malnutrition and epigenetic modulation of growth and lipid metabolism that may underlie the adverse metabolic phenotype of exposed individuals in later life.

  Study EGAS00001000668

• Use of Whole Genome Sequencing for Diagnosis and Discovery in the Cancer Genetics Clinic

  Despite the potential of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to improve patient diagnosis and care, the empirical value of WGS in the cancer genetics clinic is unknown. We performed WGS on members of two cohorts of cancer genetics patients: those with BRCA1/2 mutations (n = 176) and those without (n = 82). Initial analysis of potentially pathogenic variants (PPVs, defined as nonsynonymous variants with allele frequency < 1% in ESP6500) in 163 clinically-relevant genes suggested that WGS will provide useful clinical results. This is despite the fact that a majority of PPVs were novel missense variants likely to be classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Furthermore, previously reported pathogenic missense variants did not always associate with their predicted diseases in our patients. This suggests that the clinical use of WGS will require large-scale efforts to consolidate WGS and patient data to improve accuracy of interpretation of rare variants. While loss-of-function (LoF) variants represented only a small fraction of PPVs, WGS identified additional cancer risk LoF PPVs in patients with known BRCA1/2 mutations and led to cancer risk diagnoses in 21% of non-BRCA cancer genetics patients after expanding our analysis to 3209 ClinVar genes. These data illustrate how WGS can be used to improve our ability to discover patients' cancer genetic risks. "Reprinted from doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2014.12.003, with permission from EBioMedicine."

  Study phs000942

• Whole exome sequencing and methylation profiling of uveal melanoma

  Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary cancer of the eye and frequently leads to metastatic death. Metastatic risk can be stratified into low, intermediate and high based on the presence of mutually exclusive mutations in EIF1AX, SF3B1 and BAP1, respectively. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively profile the genetic aberrations in a set of primary uveal melanomas using whole exome sequencing, as well as DNA methylation profiling of selected samples, to improve understanding of its pathogenesis.

  Study phs001421