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- 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(author)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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- Huyghe, Jeroen R., et al.
(author)
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Discovery of common and rare genetic risk variants for colorectal cancer
- 2019
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 51:1, s. 76-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To further dissect the genetic architecture of colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed whole-genome sequencing of 1,439 cases and 720 controls, imputed discovered sequence variants and Haplotype Reference Consortium panel variants into genome-wide association study data, and tested for association in 34,869 cases and 29,051 controls. Findings were followed up in an additional 23,262 cases and 38,296 controls. We discovered a strongly protective 0.3% frequency variant signal at CHD1. In a combined meta-analysis of 125,478 individuals, we identified 40 new independent signals at P < 5 x 10(-8), bringing the number of known independent signals for CRC to similar to 100. New signals implicate lower-frequency variants, Kruppel-like factors, Hedgehog signaling, Hippo-YAP signaling, long noncoding RNAs and somatic drivers, and support a role for immune function. Heritability analyses suggest that CRC risk is highly polygenic, and larger, more comprehensive studies enabling rare variant analysis will improve understanding of biology underlying this risk and influence personalized screening strategies and drug development.
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- Meyer, Peter A., et al.
(author)
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Data publication with the structural biology data grid supports live analysis
- 2016
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Access to experimental X-ray diffraction image data is fundamental for validation and reproduction of macromolecular models and indispensable for development of structural biology processing methods. Here, we established a diffraction data publication and dissemination system, Structural Biology Data Grid (SBDG; data. sbgrid. org), to preserve primary experimental data sets that support scientific publications. Data sets are accessible to researchers through a community driven data grid, which facilitates global data access. Our analysis of a pilot collection of crystallographic data sets demonstrates that the information archived by SBDG is sufficient to reprocess data to statistics that meet or exceed the quality of the original published structures. SBDG has extended its services to the entire community and is used to develop support for other types of biomedical data sets. It is anticipated that access to the experimental data sets will enhance the paradigm shift in the community towards a much more dynamic body of continuously improving data analysis.
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- Schafmayer, Clemens, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association analysis of diverticular disease points towards neuromuscular, connective tissue and epithelial pathomechanisms
- 2019
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In: Gut. - : BMJ. - 0017-5749 .- 1468-3288. ; 68:5, s. 854-865
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective Diverticular disease is a common complex disorder characterised by mucosal outpouchings of the colonic wall that manifests through complications such as diverticulitis, perforation and bleeding. We report the to date largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic risk factors for diverticular disease. Design Discovery GWAS analysis was performed on UK Biobank imputed genotypes using 31 964 cases and 419 135 controls of European descent. Associations were replicated in a European sample of 3893 cases and 2829 diverticula-free controls and evaluated for risk contribution to diverticulitis and uncomplicated diverticulosis. Transcripts at top 20 replicating loci were analysed by real-time quatitative PCR in preparations of the mucosal, submucosal and muscular layer of colon. The localisation of expressed protein at selected loci was investigated by immunohistochemistry. Results We discovered 48 risk loci, of which 12 are novel, with genome-wide significance and consistent OR in the replication sample. Nominal replication (p< 0.05) was observed for 27 loci, and additional 8 in meta-analysis with a population-based cohort. The most significant novel risk variant rs9960286 is located near CTAGE1 with a p value of 2.3x10-10 and 0.002 (OR allelic = 1.14 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.24)) in the replication analysis. Four loci showed stronger effects for diverticulitis, PHGR1 (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.56), FAM155A-2 (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.42), CALCB (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33) and S100A10 (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33). Conclusion I n silico analyses point to diverticulosis primarily as a disorder of intestinal neuromuscular function and of impaired connective fibre support, while an additional diverticulitis risk might be conferred by epithelial dysfunction.
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- Bien, Stephanie A., et al.
(author)
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Genetic variant predictors of gene expression provide new insight into risk of colorectal cancer
- 2019
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In: Human Genetics. - : Springer. - 0340-6717 .- 1432-1203. ; 138:4, s. 307-326
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies have reported 56 independently associated colorectal cancer (CRC) risk variants, most of which are non-coding and believed to exert their effects by modulating gene expression. The computational method PrediXcan uses cis-regulatory variant predictors to impute expression and perform gene-level association tests in GWAS without directly measured transcriptomes. In this study, we used reference datasets from colon (n=169) and whole blood (n=922) transcriptomes to test CRC association with genetically determined expression levels in a genome-wide analysis of 12,186 cases and 14,718 controls. Three novel associations were discovered from colon transverse models at FDR0.2 and further evaluated in an independent replication including 32,825 cases and 39,933 controls. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, we found statistically significant associations using colon transcriptome models with TRIM4 (discovery P=2.2x10(-4), replication P=0.01), and PYGL (discovery P=2.3x10(-4), replication P=6.7x10(-4)). Interestingly, both genes encode proteins that influence redox homeostasis and are related to cellular metabolic reprogramming in tumors, implicating a novel CRC pathway linked to cell growth and proliferation. Defining CRC risk regions as one megabase up- and downstream of one of the 56 independent risk variants, we defined 44 non-overlapping CRC-risk regions. Among these risk regions, we identified genes associated with CRC (P<0.05) in 34/44 CRC-risk regions. Importantly, CRC association was found for two genes in the previously reported 2q25 locus, CXCR1 and CXCR2, which are potential cancer therapeutic targets. These findings provide strong candidate genes to prioritize for subsequent laboratory follow-up of GWAS loci. This study is the first to implement PrediXcan in a large colorectal cancer study and findings highlight the utility of integrating transcriptome data in GWAS for discovery of, and biological insight into, risk loci.
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- Engert, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research : a consensus document
- 2016
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In: Haematologica. - Pavia, Italy : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 0390-6078 .- 1592-8721. ; 101:2, s. 115-208
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at (sic)23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine 'sections' in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients.
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9. |
- Harrison, Tabitha A., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association study by colorectal carcinoma subtype
- 2018
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In: Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 0008-5472 .- 1538-7445. ; 78:13
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Over 50 genetic variants have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), yet these variants represent only a fraction of the total estimated heritability. CRC is a heterogenous disease with diverse tumor etiology. Assessing genetic risk in molecular subtypes may help to identify novel loci and characterize genetic risk among tumor subtypes. We used microsatellite instability (MSI), an established CRC classifier with etiological and therapeutic relevance, to define CRC subtypes for GWAS analyses. We conducted a case-case analysis to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for association of genome-wide variants with microsatellite stable (MSS) versus unstable (MSI) carcinomas. We ran an inverse-variance weighted fixed-effects meta-analysis across GWAS in a discovery set of 4,163 population-based CRC cases with harmonized microsatellite instability (MSI) marker and imputed genotype data. For each analysis, we used log-additive logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, and principal components to account for population substructure. We then followed up with replication of 102 SNPs that reached p-values less than 5x10-6 in 1,698 cases. A total of 845 (20.3%) cancer cases were microsatellite unstable in the discovery population and 174 (10.2%) were unstable in the replication population. No variants reached the genome-wide significance level of 5x10-8 in the discovery set. However, we identified two variants that reached a Bonferroni corrected p-value of 4.0x10-4 in the replication set. This included one variant in MLH1 (Replication: OR=1.74, 95% CI=1.53-1.98, p=1.63x10-5; Discovery+Replication: OR=1.45, 95% CI=1.37-1.54, p=9.76x10-11) and one variant in LOC105377645 (Replication: OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.49-1.94, p=5.13x10-5; Discovery+Replication: OR=1.45, 95% CI=1.37-1.54, p=9.76 x 10-11). The MLH1 gene is a DNA mismatch repair gene implicated in Lynch Syndrome, the hallmark of which is microsatellite instability. This is the first genome-wide scan to identify a common variant in MLH1 that is associated with CRC. This variant (minor allele frequency, MAF = 23% in this all European ancestry population) is located in the 5'-untranslated region of MLH1 and is thought to act as a long-range regulator of DCLK3, a potential tumor driver gene. The second variant, located in LOC105377645 with an MAF of 22%, is in an uncharacterized region of the genome and has not previously been implicated in cancer development. These findings suggest that accounting for molecular heterogeneity is important for discovery and characterization of genetic variants associated with CRC risk. We plan to run polytomous regression analyses, increase our sample size, and further investigate CRC subtypes by CIMP, BRAF mutation, KRAS mutation status.
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- Hellwig, Malte, et al.
(author)
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TCF4 (E2-2) harbors tumor suppressive functions in SHH medulloblastoma
- 2019
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In: Acta Neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-6322 .- 1432-0533. ; 137:4, s. 657-673
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The TCF4 gene encodes for the basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor 4 (TCF4), which plays an important role in the development of the central nervous system (CNS). Haploinsufficiency of TCF4 was found to cause Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS), a severe neurodevelopmental disorder. Recently, the screening of a large cohort of medulloblastoma (MB), a highly aggressive embryonal brain tumor, revealed almost 20% of adult patients with MB of the Sonic hedgehog (SHH) subtype carrying somatic TCF4 mutations. Interestingly, many of these mutations have previously been detected as germline mutations in patients with PTHS. We show here that overexpression of wild-type TCF4 in vitro significantly suppresses cell proliferation in MB cells, whereas mutant TCF4 proteins do not to the same extent. Furthermore, RNA sequencing revealed significant upregulation of multiple well-known tumor suppressors upon expression of wild-type TCF4. In vivo, a prenatal knockout of Tcf4 in mice caused a significant increase in apoptosis accompanied by a decreased proliferation and failed migration of cerebellar granule neuron precursor cells (CGNP), which are thought to be the cells of origin for SHH MB. In contrast, postnatal in vitro and in vivo knockouts of Tcf4 with and without an additional constitutive activation of the SHH pathway led to significantly increased proliferation of CGNP or MB cells. Finally, publicly available data from human MB show that relatively low expression levels of TCF4 significantly correlate with a worse clinical outcome. These results not only point to time-specific roles of Tcf4 during cerebellar development but also suggest a functional linkage between TCF4 mutations and the formation of SHH MB, proposing that TCF4 acts as a tumor suppressor during postnatal stages of cerebellar development.
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- Martinez-Ramirez, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Efficacy and Safety of Deep Brain Stimulation in Tourette Syndrome : The International Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain Stimulation Public Database and Registry
- 2018
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In: JAMA Neurology. - : American Medical Association. - 2168-6149 .- 2168-6157. ; 75:3, s. 353-359
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE Collective evidence has strongly suggested that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising therapy for Tourette syndrome.OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of DBS in a multinational cohort of patients with Tourette syndrome.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The prospective International Deep Brain Stimulation Database and Registry included 185 patients with medically refractory Tourette syndrome who underwent DBS implantation from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2016, at 31 institutions in 10 countries worldwide.EXPOSURES Patients with medically refractory symptoms received DBS implantation in the centromedian thalamic region (93 of 163 [57.1%]), the anterior globus pallidus internus (41 of 163 [25.2%]), the posterior globus pallidus internus (25 of 163 [15.3%]), and the anterior limb of the internal capsule (4 of 163 [2.5%]).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Scores on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale and adverse events.RESULTS The International Deep Brain Stimulation Database and Registry enrolled 185 patients (of 171 with available data, 37 females and 134 males; mean [SD] age at surgery, 29.1 [10.8] years [range, 13-58 years]). Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder were present in 97 of 151 patients (64.2%) and 32 of 148 (21.6%) had a history of self-injurious behavior. The mean (SD) total Yale Global Tic Severity Scale score improved from 75.01 (18.36) at baseline to 41.19 (20.00) at 1 year after DBS implantation (P<.001). The mean (SD) motor tic subscore improved from 21.00 (3.72) at baseline to 12.91 (5.78) after 1 year (P <.001), and the mean (SD) phonic tic subscore improved from 16.82 (6.56) at baseline to 9.63 (6.99) at 1 year (P <.001). The overall adverse event rate was 35.4%(56 of 158 patients), with intracranial hemorrhage occurring in 2 patients (1.3%), infection in 4 patients with 5 events (3.2%), and lead explantation in 1 patient (0.6%). The most common stimulation-induced adverse effects were dysarthria (10 [6.3%]) and paresthesia (13 [8.2%]).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Deep brain stimulationwas associated with symptomatic improvement in patients with Tourette syndrome but also with important adverse events. A publicly available website on outcomes of DBS in patients with Tourette syndrome has been provided.
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- Schmit, Stephanie L, et al.
(author)
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Novel Common Genetic Susceptibility Loci for Colorectal Cancer.
- 2019
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 111:2, s. 146-157
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 42 loci (P < 5 × 10-8) associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Expanded consortium efforts facilitating the discovery of additional susceptibility loci may capture unexplained familial risk.Methods: We conducted a GWAS in European descent CRC cases and control subjects using a discovery-replication design, followed by examination of novel findings in a multiethnic sample (cumulative n = 163 315). In the discovery stage (36 948 case subjects/30 864 control subjects), we identified genetic variants with a minor allele frequency of 1% or greater associated with risk of CRC using logistic regression followed by a fixed-effects inverse variance weighted meta-analysis. All novel independent variants reaching genome-wide statistical significance (two-sided P < 5 × 10-8) were tested for replication in separate European ancestry samples (12 952 case subjects/48 383 control subjects). Next, we examined the generalizability of discovered variants in East Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics (12 085 case subjects/22 083 control subjects). Finally, we examined the contributions of novel risk variants to familial relative risk and examined the prediction capabilities of a polygenic risk score. All statistical tests were two-sided.Results: The discovery GWAS identified 11 variants associated with CRC at P < 5 × 10-8, of which nine (at 4q22.2/5p15.33/5p13.1/6p21.31/6p12.1/10q11.23/12q24.21/16q24.1/20q13.13) independently replicated at a P value of less than .05. Multiethnic follow-up supported the generalizability of discovery findings. These results demonstrated a 14.7% increase in familial relative risk explained by common risk alleles from 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.9% to 13.7%; known variants) to 11.9% (95% CI = 9.2% to 15.5%; known and novel variants). A polygenic risk score identified 4.3% of the population at an odds ratio for developing CRC of at least 2.0.Conclusions: This study provides insight into the architecture of common genetic variation contributing to CRC etiology and improves risk prediction for individualized screening.
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