| 1. |
- Arendt, Maja Louise, et al.
(author)
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PIK3CA is recurrently mutated in canine mammary tumors, similarly to in human mammary neoplasia
- 2023
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biological features of neoplastic disease affecting mammary gland tissue are shared between canines and humans. Research performed in either species has translational value and early phase clinical trials performed in canines with spontaneous disease could be informative for human trials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the somatic genetic aberrations occurring in canine mammary neoplasia by exome capture and next generation sequencing. Based on 55 tumor-normal pairs we identified the PIK3CA gene as the most commonly mutated gene in canine mammary tumors, with 25% of samples carrying mutations in this gene. A recurrent missense mutation was identified, p.H1047R, which is homologous to the human PIK3CA hotspot mutation found in different types of breast neoplasia. Mutations homologous to other known human mutation hotspots such as the PIK3CA p.E545K and the KRAS p.G12V/D were also identified. We identified copy number aberrations affecting important tumor suppressor and oncogenic pathways including deletions affecting the PTEN tumor suppressor gene. We suggest that activation of the KRAS or PIK3CA oncogenes or loss of the PTEN suppressor gene may be important for mammary tumor development in dogs. This data endorses the conservation of cancer across species and the validity of studying cancer in non-human species.
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| 2. |
- Cavalli, Marco, et al.
(author)
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Allele-specific transcription factor binding to common and rare variants associated with disease and gene expression
- 2016
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In: Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-6717 .- 1432-1203. ; 135:5, s. 485-497
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a large number of disease-associated SNPs, but in few cases the functional variant and the gene it controls have been identified. To systematically identify candidate regulatory variants, we sequenced ENCODE cell lines and used public ChIP-seq data to look for transcription factors binding preferentially to one allele. We found 9962 candidate regulatory SNPs, of which 16 % were rare and showed evidence of larger functional effect than common ones. Functionally rare variants may explain divergent GWAS results between populations and are candidates for a partial explanation of the missing heritability. The majority of allele-specific variants (96 %) were specific to a cell type. Furthermore, by examining GWAS loci we found >400 allele-specific candidate SNPs, 141 of which were highly relevant in our cell types. Functionally validated SNPs support identification of an SNP in SYNGR1 which may expose to the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and primary biliary cirrhosis, as well as an SNP in the last intron of COG6 exposing to the risk of psoriasis. We propose that by repeating the ChIP-seq experiments of 20 selected transcription factors in three to ten people, the most common polymorphisms can be interrogated for allele-specific binding. Our strategy may help to remove the current bottleneck in functional annotation of the genome.
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| 3. |
- Elvers, Ingegerd, et al.
(author)
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Exome sequencing of lymphomas from three dog breeds reveals somatic mutation patterns reflecting genetic background
- 2015
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In: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 25:11, s. 1634-1645
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lymphoma is the most common hematological malignancy in developed countries. Outcome is strongly determined by molecular subtype, reflecting a need for new and improved treatment options. Dogs spontaneously develop lymphoma, and the predisposition of certain breeds indicates genetic risk factors. Using the dog breed structure, we selected three lymphoma predisposed breeds developing primarily T-cell (boxer), primarily B-cell (cocker spaniel), and with equal distribution of B- and T-cell lymphoma (golden retriever), respectively. We investigated the somatic mutations in B- and T-cell lymphomas from these breeds by exome sequencing of tumor and normal pairs. Strong similarities were evident between B-cell lymphomas from golden retrievers and cocker spaniels, with recurrent mutations in TRAF3-MAP3K14 (28% of all cases), FBXW7 (25%), and POT1 (17%). The FBXW7 mutations recurrently occur in a specific codon; the corresponding codon is recurrently mutated in human cancer. In contrast, T-cell lymphomas from the predisposed breeds, boxers and golden retrievers, show little overlap in their mutation pattern, sharing only one of their 15 most recurrently mutated genes. Boxers, which develop aggressive T-cell lymphomas, are typically mutated in the PTEN-mTOR pathway. T-cell lymphomas in golden retrievers are often less aggressive, and their tumors typically showed mutations in genes involved in cellular metabolism. We identify genes with known involvement in human lymphoma and leukemia, genes implicated in other human cancers, as well as novel genes that could allow new therapeutic options.
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| 4. |
- Karlsson, Elinor K, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide analyses implicate 33 loci in heritable dog osteosarcoma, including regulatory variants near CDKN2A/B
- 2013
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In: Genome Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X .- 1474-7596. ; 14:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Canine osteosarcoma is clinically nearly identical to the human disease, but is common and highly heritable, making genetic dissection feasible.RESULTS: Through genome-wide association analyses in three breeds (greyhounds, Rottweilers, and Irish wolfhounds), we identify 33 inherited risk loci explaining 55% to 85% of phenotype variance in each breed. The greyhound locus exhibiting the strongest association, located 150 kilobases upstream of the genes CDKN2A/B, is also the most rearranged locus in canine osteosarcoma tumors. The top germline candidate variant is found at a >90% frequency in Rottweilers and Irish wolfhounds, and alters an evolutionarily constrained element that we show has strong enhancer activity in human osteosarcoma cells. In all three breeds, osteosarcoma-associated loci and regions of reduced heterozygosity are enriched for genes in pathways connected to bone differentiation and growth. Several pathways, including one of genes regulated by miR124, are also enriched for somatic copy-number changes in tumors.CONCLUSIONS: Mapping a complex cancer in multiple dog breeds reveals a polygenic spectrum of germline risk factors pointing to specific pathways as drivers of disease.
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| 5. |
- Kim, Jong Hyuk, et al.
(author)
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Genomically Complex Human Angiosarcoma and Canine Hemangiosarcoma Establish Convergent Angiogenic Transcriptional Programs Driven by Novel Gene Fusions
- 2021
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In: Molecular Cancer Research. - : American Association For Cancer Research (AACR). - 1541-7786 .- 1557-3125. ; 19:5, s. 847-861
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sporadic angiosarcomas are aggressive vascular sarcomas whose rarity and genomic complexity present significant obstacles in deciphering the pathogenic significance of individual genetic alterations. Numerous fusion genes have been identified across multiple types of cancers, but their existence and significance remain unclear in sporadic angiosarcomas. In this study, we leveraged RNA-sequencing data from 13 human angiosarcomas and 76 spontaneous canine hemangiosarcomas to identify fusion genes associated with spontaneous vascular malignancies. Ten novel protein-coding fusion genes, including TEX2-PECAM1 and ATP8A2-FLT1, were identified in seven of the 13 human tumors, with two tumors showing mutations of TP53. HRAS and NRAS mutations were found in angiosarcomas without fusions or TP53 mutations. We found 15 novel protein-coding fusion genes including MYO16-PTK2, GABRA3-FLT1, and AKT3-XPNPEP1 in 11 of the 76 canine hemangiosarcomas; these fusion genes were seen exclusively in tumors of the angiogenic molecular subtype that contained recurrent mutations in TP53, PIK3CA, PIK3R1, and NRAS. In particular, fusion genes and mutations of TP53 cooccurred in tumors with higher frequency than expected by random chance, and they enriched gene signatures predicting activation of angiogenic pathways. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of human angiosarcomas and canine hemangiosarcomas identified shared molecular signatures associated with activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways. Our data suggest that genome instability induced by TP53 mutations might create a predisposition for fusion events that may contribute to tumor progression by promoting selection and/or enhancing fitness through activation of convergent angiogenic pathways in this vascular malignancy. Implications: This study shows that, while drive events of malignant vasoformative tumors of humans and dogs include diverse mutations and stochastic rearrangements that create novel fusion genes, convergent transcriptional programs govern the highly conserved morphologic organization and biological behavior of these tumors in both species.
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| 6. |
- Megquier, Kate
(author)
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Analysis of inherited and somatic variants to decipher canine complex traits
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis presents several investigations of the dog as a model for complex diseases, focusing on cancers and the effect of genetic risk factors on clinical presentation.In Papers I and II, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify germline risk factors predisposing US golden retrievers to hemangiosarcoma (HSA) and B-cell lymphoma (BLSA). Paper I identified two loci predisposing to both HSA and BLSA, approximately 4 megabases (Mb) apart on chromosome 5. Carrying the risk haplotype at these loci was associated with separate changes in gene expression, both relating to T-cell activation and proliferation.Paper II followed up on the HSA GWAS by performing a meta-analysis with additional cases and controls. This confirmed three previously reported GWAS loci for HSA and revealed three new loci, the most significant on chromosome 18. This locus contains several candidate genes with a clear role in carcinogenesis, including KMT5B and LRP5. Overall, carriers of the risk alleles at the top six loci are diagnosed with HSA earlier in life.In Paper III we investigated the somatic mutations which occur in HSA tumor tissue by performing tumor-normal exome sequencing of 47 golden retrievers. We identified 7 recurrently mutated genes, including the tumor suppressor TP53 (mutated in 59.6% of tumors) and oncogene PIK3CA (mutated in 29.8% of tumors). Additional somatically mutated genes overlap those found in human angiosarcomas, suggesting that angiosarcomas in dogs and humans are genetically very similar.In Paper IV, we investigated the variable penetrance of a SOD1 mutation in Pembroke Welsh corgis causing degenerative myelopathy (DM), a model of the human motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We discovered that regulatory variants near the SP110 gene were associated with an increased risk of DM and an earlier age at diagnosis, suggesting a role for immune response in the pathogenesis of the disease.Taken together, these findings provide new insight into the pathophysiology of both hemangiosarcoma and degenerative myelopathy, which could guide future diagnostics and therapeutic strategies both in humans and veterinary patients. In addition, they demonstrate the power of the dog as a biomedical model for human complex diseases.
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| 7. |
- Megquier, Katherine, et al.
(author)
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Comparative Genomics Reveals Shared Mutational Landscape in Canine Hemangiosarcoma and Human Angiosarcoma
- 2019
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In: Molecular Cancer Research. - 1541-7786 .- 1557-3125. ; 17:12, s. 2410-2421
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Angiosarcoma is a highly aggressive cancer of blood vessel-forming cells with few effective treatment options and high patient mortality. It is both rare and heterogenous, making large, well-powered genomic studies nearly impossible. Dogs commonly suffer from a similar cancer, called hemangiosarcoma, with breeds like the golden retriever carrying heritable genetic factors that put them at high risk. If the clinical similarity of canine hemangiosarcoma and human angiosarcoma reflects shared genomic etiology, dogs could be a critically needed model for advancing angiosarcoma research. We assessed the genomic landscape of canine hemangiosarcoma via whole-exome sequencing (47 golden retriever hemangiosarcomas) and RNA sequencing (74 hemangiosarcomas from multiple breeds). Somatic coding mutations occurred most frequently in the tumor suppressor TP53 (59.6% of cases) as well as two genes in the PI3K pathway: the oncogene PIK3CA (29.8%) and its regulatory subunit PIK3R1 (8.5%). The predominant mutational signature was the age-associated deamination of cytosine to thymine. As reported in human angiosarcoma, CDKN2A/B was recurrently deleted and VEGFA, KDR, and KIT recurrently gained. We compared the canine data to human data recently released by The Angiosarcoma Project, and found many of the same genes and pathways significantly enriched for somatic mutations, particularly in breast and visceral angiosarcomas. Canine hemangiosarcoma closely models the genomic landscape of human angiosarcoma of the breast and viscera, and is a powerful tool for investigating the pathogenesis of this devastating disease. IMPLICATIONS: We characterize the genomic landscape of canine hemangiosarcoma and demonstrate its similarity to human angiosarcoma.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Melin, Malin, et al.
(author)
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Genome-Wide Analysis Identifies Germ-Line Risk Factors Associated with Canine Mammary Tumours
- 2016
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 12:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Canine mammary tumours (CMT) are the most common neoplasia in unspayed female dogs. CMTs are suitable naturally occurring models for human breast cancer and share many characteristics, indicating that the genetic causes could also be shared. We have performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in English Springer Spaniel dogs and identified a genome-wide significant locus on chromosome 11 (p(raw) = 5.6x10(-7), p(perm) = 0.019). The most associated haplotype spans a 446 kb region overlapping the CDK5RAP2 gene. The CDK5RAP2 protein has a function in cell cycle regulation and could potentially have an impact on response to chemotherapy treatment. Two additional loci, both on chromosome 27, were nominally associated (p(raw) = 1.97x10(-5) and p(raw) = 8.30x10(-6)). The three loci explain 28.1 +/- 10.0% of the phenotypic variation seen in the cohort, whereas the top ten associated regions account for 38.2 +/- 10.8% of the risk. Furthermore, the ten GWAS loci and regions with reduced genetic variability are significantly enriched for snoRNAs and tumour-associated antigen genes, suggesting a role for these genes in CMT development. We have identified several candidate genes associated with canine mammary tumours, including CDK5RAP2. Our findings enable further comparative studies to investigate the genes and pathways in human breast cancer patients.
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