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- Piotrowski, Arkadiusz, et al.
(author)
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Somatic mosaicism for copy number variation in differentiated human tissues
- 2008
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In: Human Mutation. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1059-7794 .- 1098-1004. ; 29:9, s. 1118-24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two major types of genetic variation are known: single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and a more recently discovered structural variation, involving changes in copy number (CNVs) of kilobase- to megabase-sized chromosomal segments. It is unknown whether CNVs arise in somatic cells, but it is, however, generally assumed that normal cells are genetically identical. We tested 34 tissue samples from three subjects and, having analyzed for each tissue < or =10(-6) of all cells expected in an adult human, we observed at least six CNVs, affecting a single organ or one or more tissues of the same subject. The CNVs ranged from 82 to 176 kb, often encompassing known genes, potentially affecting gene function. Our results indicate that humans are commonly affected by somatic mosaicism for stochastic CNVs, which occur in a substantial fraction of cells. The majority of described CNVs were previously shown to be polymorphic between unrelated subjects, suggesting that some CNVs previously reported as germline might represent somatic events, since in most studies of this kind, only one tissue is typically examined and analysis of parents for the studied subjects is not routinely performed. A considerable number of human phenotypes are a consequence of a somatic process. Thus, our conclusions will be important for the delineation of genetic factors behind these phenotypes. Consequently, biobanks should consider sampling multiple tissues to better address mosaicism in the studies of somatic disorders.
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3. |
- Poplawski, Andrzej B., et al.
(author)
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Frequent genetic differences between matched primary and metastatic breast cancer provide an approach to identification of biomarkers for disease progression
- 2010
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 18:5, s. 560-568
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in women and its metastatic spread is the principal reason behind the fatal outcome. Metastasis-related research of breast cancer is however underdeveloped when compared with the abundant literature on primary tumors. We applied an unexplored approach comparing at high resolution the genomic profiles of primary tumors and synchronous axillary lymph node metastases from 13 patients with breast cancer. Overall, primary tumors displayed 20% higher number of aberrations than metastases. In all but two patients, we detected in total 157 statistically significant differences between primary lesions and matched metastases. We further observed differences that can be linked to metastatic disease and there was also an overlapping pattern of changes between different patients. Many of the differences described here have been previously linked to poor patient survival, suggesting that this is a viable approach toward finding biomarkers for disease progression and definition of new targets useful for development of anticancer drugs. Frequent genetic differences between primary tumors and metastases in breast cancer also question, at least to some extent, the role of primary tumors as a surrogate subject of study for the systemic disease. European Journal of Human Genetics (2010) 18, 560-568; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2009.230; published online 6 January 2010
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