| 1. |
- Ramdas, S., et al.
(författare)
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A multi-layer functional genomic analysis to understand noncoding genetic variation in lipids
- 2022
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9297 .- 1537-6605. ; 109:8, s. 1366-1387
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major challenge of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) is to translate phenotypic associations into biological insights. Here, we integrate a large GWAS on blood lipids involving 1.6 million individuals from five ancestries with a wide array of functional genomic datasets to discover regulatory mechanisms underlying lipid associations. We first prioritize lipid-associated genes with expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) colocalizations and then add chromatin interaction data to narrow the search for functional genes. Polygenic enrichment analysis across 697 annotations from a host of tissues and cell types confirms the central role of the liver in lipid levels and highlights the selective enrichment of adipose-specific chromatin marks in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides. Overlapping transcription factor (TF) binding sites with lipid-associated loci identifies TFs relevant in lipid biology. In addition, we present an integrative framework to prioritize causal variants at GWAS loci, producing a comprehensive list of candidate causal genes and variants with multiple layers of functional evidence. We highlight two of the prioritized genes, CREBRF and RRBP1, which show convergent evidence across functional datasets supporting their roles in lipid biology.
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| 2. |
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- 2019
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 3. |
- Sliz, E., et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of a causal effect of genetic tendency to gain muscle mass on uterine leiomyomata
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Uterine leiomyomata (UL) are the most common tumours of the female genital tract and the primary cause of surgical removal of the uterus. Genetic factors contribute to UL susceptibility. To add understanding to the heritable genetic risk factors, we conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of UL in up to 426,558 European women from FinnGen and a previous UL meta-GWAS. In addition to the 50 known UL loci, we identify 22 loci that have not been associated with UL in prior studies. UL-associated loci harbour genes enriched for development, growth, and cellular senescence. Of particular interest are the smooth muscle cell differentiation and proliferation-regulating genes functioning on the myocardin-cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A pathway. Our results further suggest that genetic predisposition to increased fat-free mass may be causally related to higher UL risk, underscoring the involvement of altered muscle tissue biology in UL pathophysiology. Overall, our findings add to the understanding of the genetic pathways underlying UL, which may aid in developing novel therapeutics.
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| 4. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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| 5. |
- Munk, P., et al.
(författare)
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Genomic analysis of sewage from 101 countries reveals global landscape of antimicrobial resistance
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to global health. Understanding the emergence, evolution, and transmission of individual antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is essential to develop sustainable strategies combatting this threat. Here, we use metagenomic sequencing to analyse ARGs in 757 sewage samples from 243 cities in 101 countries, collected from 2016 to 2019. We find regional patterns in resistomes, and these differ between subsets corresponding to drug classes and are partly driven by taxonomic variation. The genetic environments of 49 common ARGs are highly diverse, with most common ARGs carried by multiple distinct genomic contexts globally and sometimes on plasmids. Analysis of flanking sequence revealed ARG-specific patterns of dispersal limitation and global transmission. Our data furthermore suggest certain geographies are more prone to transmission events and should receive additional attention.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Hageman, S., et al.
(författare)
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SCORE2 risk prediction algorithms: new models to estimate 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in Europe
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 42:25, s. 2439-2454
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims The aim of this study was to develop, validate, and illustrate an updated prediction model (SCORE2) to estimate 10-year fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in individuals without previous CVD or diabetes aged 40-69 years in Europe. Methods and results We derived risk prediction models using individual-participant data from 45 cohorts in 13 countries (677 684 individuals, 30 121 CVD events). We used sex-specific and competing risk-adjusted models, including age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, and total- and HDL-cholesterol. We defined four risk regions in Europe according to country-specific CVD mortality, recalibrating models to each region using expected incidences and risk factor distributions. Region-specific incidence was estimated using CVD mortality and incidence data on 10 776 466 individuals. For external validation, we analysed data from 25 additional cohorts in 15 European countries (1 133 181 individuals, 43 492 CVD events). After applying the derived risk prediction models to external validation cohorts, C-indices ranged from 0.67 (0.65-0.68) to 0.81 (0.76-0.86). Predicted CVD risk varied several-fold across European regions. For example, the estimated 10-year CVD risk for a 50-year-old smoker, with a systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg, total cholesterol of 5.5 mmol/L, and HDL-cholesterol of 1.3 mmol/L, ranged from 5.9% for men in low- risk countries to 14.0% for men in very high-risk countries, and from 4.2% for women in low-risk countries to 13.7% for women in very high-risk countries. Conclusion SCORE2-a new algorithm derived, calibrated, and validated to predict 10-year risk of first-onset CVD in European populations-enhances the identification of individuals at higher risk of developing CVD across Europe.
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| 9. |
- Wiessner, M., et al.
(författare)
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Biallelic variants in HPDL cause pure and complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia
- 2021
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Ingår i: Brain : a journal of neurology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-8950 .- 1460-2156. ; 144:5, s. 1422-1434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase-like (HPDL) is a putative iron-containing non-heme oxygenase of unknown specificity and biological significance. We report 25 families containing 34 individuals with neurological disease associated with biallelic HPDL variants. Phenotypes ranged from juvenile-onset pure hereditary spastic paraplegia to infantile-onset spasticity and global developmental delays, sometimes complicated by episodes of neurological and respiratory decompensation. Variants included bona fide pathogenic truncating changes, although most were missense substitutions. Functionality of variants could not be determined directly as the enzymatic specificity of HPDL is unknown; however, when HPDL missense substitutions were introduced into 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, an HPDL orthologue), they impaired the ability of HPPD to convert 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into homogentisate. Moreover, three additional sets of experiments provided evidence for a role of HPDL in the nervous system and further supported its link to neurological disease: (i) HPDL was expressed in the nervous system and expression increased during neural differentiation; (ii) knockdown of zebrafish hpdl led to abnormal motor behaviour, replicating aspects of the human disease; and (iii) HPDL localized to mitochondria, consistent with mitochondrial disease that is often associated with neurological manifestations. Our findings suggest that biallelic HPDL variants cause a syndrome varying from juvenile-onset pure hereditary spastic paraplegia to infantile-onset spastic tetraplegia associated with global developmental delays. © 2021 The Author(s).
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| 10. |
- Razavi-Shearer, Devin M., et al.
(författare)
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Adjusted estimate of the prevalence of hepatitis delta virus in 25 countries and territories
- 2024
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 80:2, s. 232-242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a satellite RNA virus that requires the hepatitis B virus (HBV) for assembly and propagation. Individuals infected with HDV progress to advanced liver disease faster than HBV-monoinfected individuals. Recent studies have estimated the global prevalence of anti-HDV antibodies among the HBV-infected population to be 5-15%. This study aimed to better understand HDV prevalence at the population level in 25 countries/territories. Methods: We conducted a literature review to determine the prevalence of anti-HDV and HDV RNA in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive individuals in 25 countries/territories. Virtual meetings were held with experts from each setting to discuss the findings and collect unpublished data. Data were weighted for patient segments and regional heterogeneity to estimate the prevalence in the HBV-infected population. The findings were then combined with The Polaris Observatory HBV data to estimate the anti-HDV and HDV RNA prevalence in each country/territory at the population level. Results: After adjusting for geographical distribution, disease stage and special populations, the anti-HDV prevalence among the HBsAg+ population changed from the literature estimate in 19 countries. The highest anti-HDV prevalence was 60.1% in Mongolia. Once adjusted for the size of the HBsAg+ population and HDV RNA positivity rate, China had the highest absolute number of HDV RNA+ cases. Conclusions: We found substantially lower HDV prevalence than previously reported, as prior meta-analyses primarily focused on studies conducted in groups/regions that have a higher probability of HBV infection: tertiary care centers, specific risk groups or geographical regions. There is large uncertainty in HDV prevalence estimates. The implementation of reflex testing would improve estimates, while also allowing earlier linkage to care for HDV RNA+ individuals. The logistical and economic burden of reflex testing on the health system would be limited, as only HBsAg+ cases would be screened.
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