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- Bonaïti, Bernard, et al.
(author)
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TTR familial amyloid polyneuropathy : does a mitochondrial polymorphism entirely explain the parent-of-origin difference in penetrance?
- 2010
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Val30Met transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-V30M-FAP) is the most frequent familial amyloidosis, with autosomal dominant transmission. This severe disease shows important differences in age of onset and penetrance. Recently, a difference in penetrance according to the gender of the transmitting parent was elicited in different geographic areas with a higher penetrance in case of maternal transmission of the trait. In addition, differences in mitochondrial haplogroup distribution in early and late onset Swedish and French cases of TTR-V30M-FAP suggested that a polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA could be one underlying mechanism of the phenotypic variation. We further investigated this hypothesis by modeling the penetrance function with a parent-of-origin and/or a mitochondrial polymorphism effect in samples of Portuguese (n=33) and Swedish families (n=86) with TTR-V30M-FAP in which several individuals had been tested for mitochondrial haplogroups. Our analysis showed that a mitochondrial polymorphism effect was sufficient to explain the observed difference in penetrance according to gender of the transmitting parent in the Portuguese sample, whereas, in the Swedish sample, a clear residual parent-of-origin effect remained. This study further supported the role of a mitochondrial polymorphism effect that might induce a higher penetrance in case of maternal inheritance of the disease. In clinical practice, these results might help to better delineate the individual disease risk and have a significant impact on the management of both patients and carriers.
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| 7. |
- Borry, Pascal, et al.
(author)
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Legislation on direct-to-consumer genetic testing in seven European countries.
- 2012
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 20:7, s. 715-21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An increasing number of private companies are now offering direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services. Although a lot of attention has been devoted to the regulatory framework of DTC genetic testing services in the USA, only limited information about the regulatory framework in Europe is available. We will report on the situation with regard to the national legislation on DTC genetic testing in seven European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, France, Germany, the United Kingdom). The paper will address whether these countries have legislation that specifically address the issue of DTC genetic testing or have relevant laws that is pertinent to the regulatory control of these services in their countries. The findings show that France, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland have specific legislation that defines that genetic tests can only be carried out by a medical doctor after the provision of sufficient information concerning the nature, meaning and consequences of the genetic test and after the consent of the person concerned. In the Netherlands, some DTC genetic tests could fall under legislation that provides the Minister the right to refuse to provide a license to operate if a test is scientifically unsound, not in accordance with the professional medical practice standards or if the expected benefit is not in balance with the (potential) health risks. Belgium and the United Kingdom allow the provision of DTC genetic tests.
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- Corcia, Philippe, et al.
(author)
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Homozygous SMN2 deletion is a protective factor in the Swedish ALS population
- 2012
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 20:5, s. 588-591
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abnormal survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1)-copy number has been associated with an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in French and Dutch population studies. The aim of this study was to determine whether SMN gene copy number increases the risk of ALS or modulates its phenotype in a cohort of Swedish sporadic ALS (SALS) patients. In all, 502 Swedes with SALS and 502 Swedish controls matched for gender and age were enrolled. SMN1 and SMN2 gene copy numbers were studied by a semi-quantitative PCR method. A genotype-phenotype comparison was performed in order to determine whether SMN genes modulate the phenotype of ALS. The results were also compared with our previously reported French cohort of ALS patients. There was no difference between Swedish patients and controls in the frequency of SMN1 and SMN2 copy numbers. The frequency of SMN1 gene copies differed significantly between the French and Swedish ALS populations. The duration of the disease was significantly longer in the Swedish cohort with homozygous deletions of SMN2 when compared with the French cohort. Abnormal SMN1 gene copy number cannot be considered as a universal genetic susceptibility factor for SALS and this result underlines the importance of reproducing association gene studies in groups from different origins. We also suggest that SMN2 gene copy number might have different effects on ALS progression in disparate human populations. European Journal of Human Genetics (2012) 20, 588-591; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2011.255; published online 25 January 2012
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| 11. |
- Demirkan, Ayse, et al.
(author)
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Genetic architecture of circulating lipid levels
- 2011
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 19:7, s. 813-819
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TGs) and total cholesterol (TC) are important heritable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of circulating lipid levels have identified numerous loci, a substantial portion of the heritability of these traits remains unexplained. Evidence of unexplained genetic variance can be detected by combining multiple independent markers into additive genetic risk scores. Such polygenic scores, constructed using results from the ENGAGE Consortium GWAS on serum lipids, were applied to predict lipid levels in an independent population-based study, the Rotterdam Study-II (RS-II). We additionally tested for evidence of a shared genetic basis for different lipid phenotypes. Finally, the polygenic score approach was used to identify an alternative genome-wide significance threshold before pathway analysis and those results were compared with those based on the classical genome-wide significance threshold. Our study provides evidence suggesting that many loci influencing circulating lipid levels remain undiscovered. Cross-prediction models suggested a small overlap between the polygenic backgrounds involved in determining LDL-C, HDL-C and TG levels. Pathway analysis utilizing the best polygenic score for TC uncovered extra information compared with using only genome-wide significant loci. These results suggest that the genetic architecture of circulating lipids involves a number of undiscovered variants with very small effects, and that increasing GWAS sample sizes will enable the identification of novel variants that regulate lipid levels.
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| 12. |
- Eatough, Virginia, et al.
(author)
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The personal experience of parenting a child with Juvenile Huntington's Disease : perceptions across Europe
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 21:10, s. 1042-1048
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The study reported here presents a detailed description of what it is like to parent a child with juvenile Huntington's disease in families across four European countries. Its primary aim was to develop and extend findings from a previous UK study. The study recruited parents from four European countries: Holland, Italy, Poland and Sweden,. A secondary aim was to see the extent to which the findings from the UK study were repeated across Europe and the degree of commonality or divergence across the different countries. Fourteen parents who were the primary caregiver took part in a semistructured interview. These were analyzed using an established qualitative methodology, interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five analytic themes were derived from the analysis: the early signs of something wrong; parental understanding of juvenile Huntington's disease; living with the disease; other people's knowledge and understanding; and need for support. These are discussed in light of the considerable convergence between the experiences of families in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe.
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- Figueiredo, Joana, et al.
(author)
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The importance of E-cadherin binding partners to evaluate the pathogenicity of E-cadherin missense mutations associated to HDGC
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 21:3, s. 301-309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC), CDH1 germline gene alterations are causative events in 30% of the cases. In 20% of HDGC families, CDH1 germline mutations are of the missense type and the mutation carriers constitute a problem in terms of genetic counseling and surveillance. To access the pathogenic relevance of missense mutations, we have previously developed an in vitro method to functionally characterize them. Pathogenic E-cadherin missense mutants fail to aggregate and become more invasive, in comparison with cells expressing the wild-type (WT) protein. Herein, our aim was to develop a complementary method to unravel the pathogenic significance of E-cadherin missense mutations. We used cells stably expressing WT E-cadherin and seven HDGC-associated mutations (five intracellular and two extracellular) and studied by proximity ligation assays (PLA) how these mutants bind to fundamental regulators of E-cadherin function and trafficking. We focused our attention on the interaction with: p120, beta-catenin, PIPKI gamma and Hakai. We showed that cytoplasmic E-cadherin mutations affect the interaction of one or more binding partners, compromising the E-cadherin stability at the plasma membrane and likely affecting the adhesion complex competence. In the present work, we demonstrated that the study of the interplay between E-cadherin and its binding partners, using PLA, is an easy, rapid, quantitative and highly reproducible technique that can be applied in routine labs to verify the pathogenicity of E-cadherin missense mutants for HDGC diagnosis, especially those located in the intracellular domain of the protein.
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| 15. |
- Harris, JR, et al.
(author)
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Toward a roadmap in global biobanking for health
- 2012
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In: European journal of human genetics : EJHG. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5438 .- 1018-4813. ; 20:11, s. 1105-1111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 16. |
- Hedberg, Carola, 1969, et al.
(author)
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Autosomal dominant myofibrillar myopathy with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy 7 is caused by a DES mutation
- 2012
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 20:9, s. 984-985
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using exome sequencing we searched for the genetic cause of autosomal dominant myofibrillar myopathy with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in a Swedish family. A heterozygous C-to-T transition, c.1255C>T, p.Pro419Ser in the desmin gene on chromosome 2q35, was identified. Previous studies had demonstrated linkage to chromosome 10q22.3, but no causative mutation had been found in that region. Sanger sequencing of DNA from 17 family members confirmed the heterozygous c.1255C>T desmin mutation in seven out of ten family members that had been classified as affected in the previous study. Our new results demonstrate the usefulness of next-generation sequencing, and the diagnostic difficulties with some forms of dominantly inherited muscle diseases as they can display a wide clinical and morphological variability even within a given family. European Journal of Human Genetics (2012) 20, 984-985; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2012.39; published online 7 March 2012
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| 17. |
- Hedberg, Carola, 1969, et al.
(author)
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B3GALNT2 is a gene associated with congenital muscular dystrophy with brain malformations.
- 2014
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 22:5, s. 707-710
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Congenital muscular dystrophies associated with brain malformations are a group of disorders frequently associated with aberrant glycosylation of α-dystroglycan. They include disease entities such a Walker-Warburg syndrome, muscle-eye-brain disease and various other clinical phenotypes. Different genes involved in glycosylation of α-dystroglycan are associated with these dystroglycanopathies. We describe a 5-year-old girl with psychomotor retardation, ataxia, spasticity, muscle weakness and increased serum creatine kinase levels. Immunhistochemistry of skeletal muscle revealed reduced glycosylated α-dystroglycan. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain at 3.5 years of age showed increased T2 signal from supratentorial and infratentorial white matter, a hypoplastic pons and subcortical cerebellar cysts. By whole exome sequencing, the patient was identified to be compound heterozygous for a one-base duplication and a missense mutation in the gene B3GALNT2 (β-1,3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2; B3GalNAc-T2). This patient showed a milder phenotype than previously described patients with mutations in the B3GALNT2 gene.European Journal of Human Genetics advance online publication, 2 October 2013; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2013.223.
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| 19. |
- Hedberg, Carola, 1969, et al.
(author)
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Reply to Brodehl et al.
- 2013
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In: European journal of human genetics : EJHG. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5438 .- 1018-4813. ; 21:6
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 22. |
- Howard, H. C., et al.
(author)
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Are the kids really all right? Direct-to-consumer genetic testing in children : are company policies clashing with professional norms?
- 2011
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In: Eur J Hum Genet. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. ; 19:11, s. 1122-6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The genetic testing of minors within the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing (GT) context has been given relatively little attention. The issue of testing healthy children for diseases that would only develop in adulthood raises many important ethical, legal and social issues. As genetic testing is now available outside of the traditional health care system, often without even the intermediate of a health care professional, we surveyed 37 DTC GT companies regarding their policies for testing in children. Although the response rate is relatively low (35%, 13/37), our findings reveal that a clear majority of companies do perform genetic testing in minors. As such, companies testing for adult onset diseases are acting in contradiction of established professional guidelines, which state, among others, that, for predictive genetic testing, the availability of therapeutic or preventive measures is necessary for testing to be performed in asymptomatic minors. The community of stakeholders in children's health care and genetic testing should, therefore, decide which standards need to be upheld by DTC GT companies and ensure that these are met.
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| 24. |
- Huyghe, Jeroen R, et al.
(author)
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A genome-wide analysis of population structure in the Finnish Saami with implications for genetic association studies
- 2011
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In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 19:3, s. 347-352
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The understanding of patterns of genetic variation within and among human populations is a prerequisite for successful genetic association mapping studies of complex diseases and traits. Some populations are more favorable for association mapping studies than others. The Saami from northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula represent a population isolate that, among European populations, has been less extensively sampled, despite some early interest for association mapping studies. In this paper, we report the results of a first genome-wide SNP-based study of genetic population structure in the Finnish Saami. Using data from the HapMap and the human genome diversity project (HGDP-CEPH) and recently developed statistical methods, we studied individual genetic ancestry. We quantified genetic differentiation between the Saami population and the HGDP-CEPH populations by calculating pair-wise F-ST statistics and by characterizing identity-by-state sharing for pair-wise population comparisons. This study affirms an east Asian contribution to the predominantly European-derived Saami gene pool. Using model-based individual ancestry analysis, the median estimated percentage of the genome with east Asian ancestry was 6% (first and third quartiles: 5 and 8%, respectively). We found that genetic similarity between population pairs roughly correlated with geographic distance. Among the European HGDP-CEPH populations, F-ST was smallest for the comparison with the Russians (F-ST=0.0098), and estimates for the other population comparisons ranged from 0.0129 to 0.0263. Our analysis also revealed fine-scale substructure within the Finnish Saami and warns against the confounding effects of both hidden population structure and undocumented relatedness in genetic association studies of isolated populations.
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| 25. |
- Huyghe, Jeroen R., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide SNP analysis reveals no gain in power for association studies of common variants in the Finnish Saami
- 2010
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In: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 18:5, s. 569-574
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Saami from Fennoscandia are believed to represent an ancient, genetically isolated population with no evidence of population expansion. Theoretical work has indicated that under this demographic scenario, extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) is generated by genetic drift. Therefore, it has been suggested that the Saami would be particularly suited for genetic association studies, offering a substantial power advantage and allowing more economic study designs. However, no study has yet assessed this claim. As part of a GWAS for a complex trait, we evaluated the relative power for association studies of common variants in the Finnish Saami. LD patterns in the Saami were very similar to those in the non-African HapMap reference panels. Haplotype diversity was reduced and, on average, levels of LD were higher in the Saami as compared with those in the HapMap panels. However, using a 'hidden' SNP approach we show that this does not translate into a power gain in association studies. Contrary to earlier claims, we show that for a given set of common SNPs, genomic coverage attained in the Saami is similar to that in the non-African HapMap panels. Nevertheless, the reduced haplotype diversity could potentially facilitate gene identification, especially if multiple rare variants play a role in disease etiology. Our results further indicate that the HapMap is a useful resource for genetic studies in the Saami.
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