| 1. |
- Brownstein, Catherine A., et al.
(författare)
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An international effort towards developing standards for best practices in analysis, interpretation and reporting of clinical genome sequencing results in the CLARITY Challenge
- 2014
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Ingår i: Genome Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 15:3, s. R53-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is tremendous potential for genome sequencing to improve clinical diagnosis and care once it becomes routinely accessible, but this will require formalizing research methods into clinical best practices in the areas of sequence data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. The CLARITY Challenge was designed to spur convergence in methods for diagnosing genetic disease starting from clinical case history and genome sequencing data. DNA samples were obtained from three families with heritable genetic disorders and genomic sequence data were donated by sequencing platform vendors. The challenge was to analyze and interpret these data with the goals of identifying disease-causing variants and reporting the findings in a clinically useful format. Participating contestant groups were solicited broadly, and an independent panel of judges evaluated their performance. Results: A total of 30 international groups were engaged. The entries reveal a general convergence of practices on most elements of the analysis and interpretation process. However, even given this commonality of approach, only two groups identified the consensus candidate variants in all disease cases, demonstrating a need for consistent fine-tuning of the generally accepted methods. There was greater diversity of the final clinical report content and in the patient consenting process, demonstrating that these areas require additional exploration and standardization. Conclusions: The CLARITY Challenge provides a comprehensive assessment of current practices for using genome sequencing to diagnose and report genetic diseases. There is remarkable convergence in bioinformatic techniques, but medical interpretation and reporting are areas that require further development by many groups.
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| 2. |
- Tehranchi, Ramin, et al.
(författare)
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Persistent malignant stem cells in del(5q) myelodysplasia in remission.
- 2010
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Ingår i: New England Journal of Medicine. - 0028-4793 .- 1533-4406. ; 363:11, s. 1025-1037
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The in vivo clinical significance of malignant stem cells remains unclear. METHODS: Patients who have the 5q deletion (del[5q]) myelodysplastic syndrome (interstitial deletions involving the long arm of chromosome 5) have complete clinical and cytogenetic remissions in response to lenalidomide treatment, but they often have relapse. To determine whether the persistence of rare but distinct malignant stem cells accounts for such relapses, we examined bone marrow specimens obtained from seven patients with the del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome who became transfusion-independent while receiving lenalidomide treatment and entered cytogenetic remission. RESULTS: Virtually all CD34+, CD38+ progenitor cells and stem cells that were positive for CD34 and CD90, with undetectable or low CD38 (CD38−/low), had the 5q deletion before treatment. Although lenalidomide efficiently reduced these progenitors in patients in complete remission, a larger fraction of the minor, quiescent, CD34+,CD38-/low, CD90+ del(5q) stem cells as well as functionally defined del(5q) stem cells remained distinctly resistant to lenalidomide. Over time, lenalidomide resistance developed in most of the patients in partial and complete remission, with recurrence or expansion of the del(5q) clone and clinical and cytogenetic progression. CONCLUSIONS: In these patients with the del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome, we identified rare and phenotypically distinct del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome stem cells that were also selectively resistant to therapeutic targeting at the time of complete clinical and cytogenetic remission. (Funded by the EuroCancerStemCell Consortium and others.)
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| 3. |
- Yang, Zhijian, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic Landscape of the ACE2 Coronavirus Receptor
- 2022
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Ingår i: Circulation. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 30:SUPPL 1, s. 36-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: SARS-CoV-2, the causal agent of COVID-19, enters human cells using the ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) protein as a receptor. ACE2 is thus key to the infection and treatment of the coronavirus. ACE2 is highly expressed in the heart and respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, playing important regulatory roles in the cardiovascular and other biological systems. However, the genetic basis of the ACE2 protein levels is not well understood.Methods: We have conducted the largest genome-wide association meta-analysis of plasma ACE2 levels in >28 000 individuals of the SCALLOP Consortium (Systematic and Combined Analysis of Olink Proteins). We summarize the cross-sectional epidemiological correlates of circulating ACE2. Using the summary statistics-based high-definition likelihood method, we estimate relevant genetic correlations with cardiometabolic phenotypes, COVID-19, and other human complex traits and diseases. We perform causal inference of soluble ACE2 on vascular disease outcomes and COVID-19 severity using mendelian randomization. We also perform in silico functional analysis by integrating with other types of omics data.Results: We identified 10 loci, including 8 novel, capturing 30% of the heritability of the protein. We detected that plasma ACE2 was genetically correlated with vascular diseases, severe COVID-19, and a wide range of human complex diseases and medications. An X-chromosome cis-protein quantitative trait loci-based mendelian randomization analysis suggested a causal effect of elevated ACE2 levels on COVID-19 severity (odds ratio, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.10-2.42]; P=0.01), hospitalization (odds ratio, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.05-2.21]; P=0.03), and infection (odds ratio, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.08-2.37]; P=0.02). Tissue- and cell type-specific transcriptomic and epigenomic analysis revealed that the ACE2 regulatory variants were enriched for DNA methylation sites in blood immune cells.Conclusions: Human plasma ACE2 shares a genetic basis with cardiovascular disease, COVID-19, and other related diseases. The genetic architecture of the ACE2 protein is mapped, providing a useful resource for further biological and clinical studies on this coronavirus receptor.
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| 4. |
- Bar, N., et al.
(författare)
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A reference map of potential determinants for the human serum metabolome
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Research. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 588:7836, s. 135-140
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The serum metabolome contains a plethora of biomarkers and causative agents of various diseases, some of which are endogenously produced and some that have been taken up from the environment1. The origins of specific compounds are known, including metabolites that are highly heritable2,3, or those that are influenced by the gut microbiome4, by lifestyle choices such as smoking5, or by diet6. However, the key determinants of most metabolites are still poorly understood. Here we measured the levels of 1,251 metabolites in serum samples from a unique and deeply phenotyped healthy human cohort of 491 individuals. We applied machine-learning algorithms to predict metabolite levels in held-out individuals on the basis of host genetics, gut microbiome, clinical parameters, diet, lifestyle and anthropometric measurements, and obtained statistically significant predictions for more than 76% of the profiled metabolites. Diet and microbiome had the strongest predictive power, and each explained hundreds of metabolites—in some cases, explaining more than 50% of the observed variance. We further validated microbiome-related predictions by showing a high replication rate in two geographically independent cohorts7,8 that were not available to us when we trained the algorithms. We used feature attribution analysis9 to reveal specific dietary and bacterial interactions. We further demonstrate that some of these interactions might be causal, as some metabolites that we predicted to be positively associated with bread were found to increase after a randomized clinical trial of bread intervention. Overall, our results reveal potential determinants of more than 800 metabolites, paving the way towards a mechanistic understanding of alterations in metabolites under different conditions and to designing interventions for manipulating the levels of circulating metabolites.
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| 5. |
- Wilman, H. R., et al.
(författare)
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Genetic studies of abdominal MRI data identify genes regulating hepcidin as major determinants of liver iron concentration
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Hepatology. - : Elsevier. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 71:3, s. 594-602
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Excess liver iron content is common and is linked to the risk of hepatic and extrahepatic diseases. We aimed to identify genetic variants influencing liver iron content and use genetics to understand its link to other traits and diseases. Methods: First, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 8,289 individuals from UK Biobank, whose liver iron level had been quantified by magnetic resonance imaging, before validating our findings in an independent cohort (n = 1,513 from IMI DIRECT). Second, we used Mendelian randomisation to test the causal effects of 25 predominantly metabolic traits on liver iron content. Third, we tested phenome-wide associations between liver iron variants and 770 traits and disease outcomes. Results: We identified 3 independent genetic variants (rs1800562 [C282Y] and rs1799945 [H63D] in HFE and rs855791 [V736A] in TMPRSS6) associated with liver iron content that reached the GWAS significance threshold (p <5 × 10−8). The 2 HFE variants account for ∼85% of all cases of hereditary haemochromatosis. Mendelian randomisation analysis provided evidence that higher central obesity plays a causal role in increased liver iron content. Phenome-wide association analysis demonstrated shared aetiopathogenic mechanisms for elevated liver iron, high blood pressure, cirrhosis, malignancies, neuropsychiatric and rheumatological conditions, while also highlighting inverse associations with anaemias, lipidaemias and ischaemic heart disease. Conclusion: Our study provides genetic evidence that mechanisms underlying higher liver iron content are likely systemic rather than organ specific, that higher central obesity is causally associated with higher liver iron, and that liver iron shares common aetiology with multiple metabolic and non-metabolic diseases. Lay summary: Excess liver iron content is common and is associated with liver diseases and metabolic diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. We identified 3 genetic variants that are linked to an increased risk of developing higher liver iron content. We show that the same genetic variants are linked to higher risk of many diseases, but they may also be associated with some health advantages. Finally, we use genetic variants associated with waist-to-hip ratio as a tool to show that central obesity is causally associated with increased liver iron content.
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