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- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(author)
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Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project
- 2007
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 447:7146, s. 799-816
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
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- Ding, Li, et al.
(author)
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Somatic mutations affect key pathways in lung adenocarcinoma
- 2008
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 455:7216, s. 1069-1075
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Determining the genetic basis of cancer requires comprehensive analyses of large collections of histopathologically well-classified primary tumours. Here we report the results of a collaborative study to discover somatic mutations in 188 human lung adenocarcinomas. DNA sequencing of 623 genes with known or potential relationships to cancer revealed more than 1,000 somatic mutations across the samples. Our analysis identified 26 genes that are mutated at significantly high frequencies and thus are probably involved in carcinogenesis. The frequently mutated genes include tyrosine kinases, among them the EGFR homologue ERBB4; multiple ephrin receptor genes, notably EPHA3; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor KDR; and NTRK genes. These data provide evidence of somatic mutations in primary lung adenocarcinoma for several tumour suppressor genes involved in other cancers--including NF1, APC, RB1 and ATM--and for sequence changes in PTPRD as well as the frequently deleted gene LRP1B. The observed mutational profiles correlate with clinical features, smoking status and DNA repair defects. These results are reinforced by data integration including single nucleotide polymorphism array and gene expression array. Our findings shed further light on several important signalling pathways involved in lung adenocarcinoma, and suggest new molecular targets for treatment.
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- Soranzo, Nicole, et al.
(author)
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A genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 22 loci associated with eight hematological parameters in the HaemGen consortium
- 2009
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 41:11, s. 38-1182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The number and volume of cells in the blood affect a wide range of disorders including cancer and cardiovascular, metabolic, infectious and immune conditions. We consider here the genetic variation in eight clinically relevant hematological parameters, including hemoglobin levels, red and white blood cell counts and platelet counts and volume. We describe common variants within 22 genetic loci reproducibly associated with these hematological parameters in 13,943 samples from six European population-based studies, including 6 associated with red blood cell parameters, 15 associated with platelet parameters and 1 associated with total white blood cell count. We further identified a long-range haplotype at 12q24 associated with coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction in 9,479 cases and 10,527 controls. We show that this haplotype demonstrates extensive disease pleiotropy, as it contains known risk loci for type 1 diabetes, hypertension and celiac disease and has been spread by a selective sweep specific to European and geographically nearby populations.
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- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(author)
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Prepublication data sharing
- 2009
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 461:7261, s. 168-170
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rapid release of prepublication data has served the field of genomics well. Attendees at a workshop in Toronto recommend extending the practice to other biological data sets.
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- Margulies, Elliott H, et al.
(author)
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Analyses of deep mammalian sequence alignments and constraint predictions for 1% of the human genome
- 2007
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In: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 17:6, s. 760-774
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A key component of the ongoing ENCODE project involves rigorous comparative sequence analyses for the initially targeted 1% of the human genome. Here, we present orthologous sequence generation, alignment, and evolutionary constraint analyses of 23 mammalian species for all ENCODE targets. Alignments were generated using four different methods; comparisons of these methods reveal large-scale consistency but substantial differences in terms of small genomic rearrangements, sensitivity (sequence coverage), and specificity (alignment accuracy). We describe the quantitative and qualitative trade-offs concomitant with alignment method choice and the levels of technical error that need to be accounted for in applications that require multisequence alignments. Using the generated alignments, we identified constrained regions using three different methods. While the different constraint-detecting methods are in general agreement, there are important discrepancies relating to both the underlying alignments and the specific algorithms. However, by integrating the results across the alignments and constraint-detecting methods, we produced constraint annotations that were found to be robust based on multiple independent measures. Analyses of these annotations illustrate that most classes of experimentally annotated functional elements are enriched for constrained sequences; however, large portions of each class (with the exception of protein-coding sequences) do not overlap constrained regions. The latter elements might not be under primary sequence constraint, might not be constrained across all mammals, or might have expendable molecular functions. Conversely, 40% of the constrained sequences do not overlap any of the functional elements that have been experimentally identified. Together, these findings demonstrate and quantify how many genomic functional elements await basic molecular characterization.
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- Bax, Marieke, et al.
(author)
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Dendritic cell maturation results in pronounced changes in glycan expression affecting recognition by siglecs and galectins
- 2007
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In: Journal of Immunology. - 1550-6606. ; 179:12, s. 8216-8224
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent APC in the organism. Immature dendritic cells (iDC) reside in the tissue where they capture pathogens whereas mature dendritic cells (mDC) are able to activate T cells in the lymph node. This dramatic functional change is mediated by an important genetic reprogramming. Glycosylation is the most common form of posttranslational modification of proteins and has been implicated in multiple aspects of the immune response. To investigate the involvement of glycosylation in the changes that occur during DC maturation, we have studied the differences in the glycan profile of iDC and mDC as well as their glycosylation machinery. For information relating to glycan biosynthesis, gene expression profiles of human monocyte-derived iDC and mDC were compared using a gene microarray and quantitative real-time PCR. This gene expression profiling showed a profound maturation-induced up-regulation of the glycosyltransferases involved in the expression of LacNAc, core 1 and sialylated structures and a down-regulation of genes involved in the synthesis of core 2 O-glycans. Glycosylation changes during DC maturation were corroborated by mass spectrometric analysis of N- and O-glycans and by flow cytometry using plant lectins and glycan-specific Abs. Interestingly, the binding of the LacNAc-specific lectins galectin-3 and -8 increased during maturation and up-regulation of sialic acid expression by mDC correlated with an increased binding of siglec-1, -2, and -7.
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- Chang, Yu-mei, et al.
(author)
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Sun exposure and melanoma risk at different latitudes: a pooled analysis of 5700 cases and 7216 controls
- 2009
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In: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1464-3685 .- 0300-5771. ; 38:3, s. 814-830
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Melanoma risk is related to sun exposure; we have investigated risk variation by tumour site and latitude. Methods We performed a pooled analysis of 15 case-control studies (5700 melanoma cases and 7216 controls), correlating patterns of sun exposure, sunburn and solar keratoses (three studies) with melanoma risk. Pooled odds ratios (pORs) and 95% Bayesian confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Bayesian unconditional polytomous logistic random-coefficients models. Results Recreational sun exposure was a risk factor for melanoma on the trunk (pOR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.4-2.2) and limbs (pOR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), but not head and neck (pOR 1.1; 95% CI: 0.8-1.4), across latitudes. Occupational sun exposure was associated with risk of melanoma on the head and neck at low latitudes (pOR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.0-3.0). Total sun exposure was associated with increased risk of melanoma on the limbs at low latitudes (pOR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2), but not at other body sites or other latitudes. The pORs for sunburn in childhood were 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3-1.7), 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3-1.7) and 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1-1.7) for melanoma on the trunk, limbs, and head and neck, respectively, showing little variation across latitudes. The presence of head and neck solar keratoses was associated with increased risk of melanoma on the head and neck (pOR 4.0; 95% CI: 1.7-9.1) and limbs (pOR 4.0; 95% CI: 1.9-8.4). Conclusion Melanoma risk at different body sites is associated with different amounts and patterns of sun exposure. Recreational sun exposure and sunburn are strong predictors of melanoma at all latitudes, whereas measures of occupational and total sun exposure appear to predict melanoma predominately at low latitudes. Keywords Melanoma, recreational sun exposure, occupational sun exposure, total sun exposure, sunburn, solar keratoses
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- Graham, Nicholas A. J., et al.
(author)
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Climate Warming, Marine Protected Areas and the Ocean-Scale Integrity of Coral Reef Ecosystems
- 2008
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 3:8, s. e3039-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.
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