1. |
- Sawcer, Stephen, et al.
(författare)
-
Genetic risk and a primary role for cell-mediated immune mechanisms in multiple sclerosis
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 476:7359, s. 214-219
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multiple sclerosis is a common disease of the central nervous system in which the interplay between inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typically results in intermittent neurological disturbance followed by progressive accumulation of disability. Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are primarily responsible for the substantially increased frequency of the disease seen in the relatives of affected individuals, and systematic attempts to identify linkage in multiplex families have confirmed that variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exerts the greatest individual effect on risk. Modestly powered genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enabled more than 20 additional risk loci to be identified and have shown that multiple variants exerting modest individual effects have a key role in disease susceptibility. Most of the genetic architecture underlying susceptibility to the disease remains to be defined and is anticipated to require the analysis of sample sizes that are beyond the numbers currently available to individual research groups. In a collaborative GWAS involving 9,772 cases of European descent collected by 23 research groups working in 15 different countries, we have replicated almost all of the previously suggested associations and identified at least a further 29 novel susceptibility loci. Within the MHC we have refined the identity of the HLA-DRB1 risk alleles and confirmed that variation in the HLA-A gene underlies the independent protective effect attributable to the class I region. Immunologically relevant genes are significantly overrepresented among those mapping close to the identified loci and particularly implicate T-helper-cell differentiation in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis.
|
|
2. |
- Niemi, MEK, et al.
(författare)
-
- 2021
-
swepub:Mat__t
|
|
3. |
- Kanai, M, et al.
(författare)
-
- 2023
-
swepub:Mat__t
|
|
4. |
- Homann, Jan, et al.
(författare)
-
Genome-Wide Association Study of Alzheimer's Disease Brain Imaging Biomarkers and Neuropsychological Phenotypes in the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease Multimodal Biomarker Discovery Dataset.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in aging neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1663-4365. ; 14
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent neurodegenerative disease with an increasing prevalence in industrialized, aging populations. AD susceptibility has an established genetic basis which has been the focus of a large number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) published over the last decade. Most of these GWAS used dichotomized clinical diagnostic status, i.e., case vs. control classification, as outcome phenotypes, without the use of biomarkers. An alternative and potentially more powerful study design is afforded by using quantitative AD-related phenotypes as GWAS outcome traits, an analysis paradigm that we followed in this work. Specifically, we utilized genotype and phenotype data from n = 931 individuals collected under the auspices of the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease Multimodal Biomarker Discovery (EMIF-AD MBD) study to perform a total of 19 separate GWAS analyses. As outcomes we used five magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) traits and seven cognitive performance traits. For the latter, longitudinal data from at least two timepoints were available in addition to cross-sectional assessments at baseline. Our GWAS analyses revealed several genome-wide significant associations for the neuropsychological performance measures, in particular those assayed longitudinally. Among the most noteworthy signals were associations in or near EHBP1 (EH domain binding protein 1; on chromosome 2p15) and CEP112 (centrosomal protein 112; 17q24.1) with delayed recall as well as SMOC2 (SPARC related modular calcium binding 2; 6p27) with immediate recall in a memory performance test. On the X chromosome, which is often excluded in other GWAS, we identified a genome-wide significant signal near IL1RAPL1 (interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein like 1; Xp21.3). While polygenic score (PGS) analyses showed the expected strong associations with SNPs highlighted in relevant previous GWAS on hippocampal volume and cognitive function, they did not show noteworthy associations with recent AD risk GWAS findings. In summary, our study highlights the power of using quantitative endophenotypes as outcome traits in AD-related GWAS analyses and nominates several new loci not previously implicated in cognitive decline.
|
|
5. |
- Hong, Shengjun, et al.
(författare)
-
Genome-wide association study of Alzheimer's disease CSF biomarkers in the EMIF-AD Multimodal Biomarker Discovery dataset.
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Translational psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 10:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Susceptibility to AD is considerably determined by genetic factors which hitherto were primarily identified using case-control designs. Elucidating the genetic architecture of additional AD-related phenotypic traits, ideally those linked to the underlying disease process, holds great promise in gaining deeper insights into the genetic basis of AD and in developing better clinical prediction models. To this end, we generated genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data in 931 participants of the European Medical Information Framework Alzheimer's Disease Multimodal Biomarker Discovery (EMIF-AD MBD) sample to search for novel genetic determinants of AD biomarker variability. Specifically, we performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses on 16 traits, including 14 measures derived from quantifications of five separate amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau-protein species in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In addition to confirming the well-established effects of apolipoprotein E (APOE) on diagnostic outcome and phenotypes related to Aβ42, we detected novel potential signals in the zinc finger homeobox 3 (ZFHX3) for CSF-Aβ38 and CSF-Aβ40 levels, and confirmed the previously described sex-specific association between SNPs in geminin coiled-coil domain containing (GMNC) and CSF-tau. Utilizing the results from independent case-control AD GWAS to construct polygenic risk scores (PRS) revealed that AD risk variants only explain a small fraction of CSF biomarker variability. In conclusion, our study represents a detailed first account of GWAS analyses on CSF-Aβ and -tau-related traits in the EMIF-AD MBD dataset. In subsequent work, we will utilize the genomics data generated here in GWAS of other AD-relevant clinical outcomes ascertained in this unique dataset.
|
|
6. |
- Knief, Ulrich, et al.
(författare)
-
Association mapping of morphological traits in wild and captive zebra finches : reliable within, but not between populations
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 26:5, s. 1285-1305
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identifying causal genetic variants underlying heritable phenotypic variation is a long-standing goal in evolutionary genetics. We previously identified several quantitative trait loci (QTL) for five morphological traits in a captive population of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) by whole-genome linkage mapping. We here follow up on these studies with the aim to narrow down on the quantitative trait variants (QTN) in one wild and three captive populations. First, we performed an association study using 672 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within candidate genes located in the previously identified QTL regions in a sample of 939 wild-caught zebra finches. Then, we validated the most promising SNP-phenotype associations (n=25 SNPs) in 5228 birds from four populations. Genotype-phenotype associations were generally weak in the wild population, where linkage disequilibrium (LD) spans only short genomic distances. In contrast, in captive populations, where LD blocks are large, apparent SNP effects on morphological traits (i.e. associations) were highly repeatable with independent data from the same population. Most of those SNPs also showed significant associations with the same trait in other captive populations, but the direction and magnitude of these effects varied among populations. This suggests that the tested SNPs are not the causal QTN but rather physically linked to them, and that LD between SNPs and causal variants differs between populations due to founder effects. While the identification of QTN remains challenging in nonmodel organisms, we illustrate that it is indeed possible to confirm the location and magnitude of QTL in a population with stable linkage between markers and causal variants.
|
|
7. |
- Smith, Rebecca G., et al.
(författare)
-
Blood DNA methylomic signatures associated with CSF biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in the EMIF-AD study
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Alzheimer's & Dementia. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: We investigated blood DNA methylation patterns associated with 15 well-established cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration.METHODS: We assessed DNA methylation in 885 blood samples from the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease (EMIF-AD) study using the EPIC array.RESULTS: We identified Bonferroni-significant differential methylation associated with CSF YKL-40 (five loci) and neurofilament light chain (NfL; seven loci) levels, with two of the loci associated with CSF YKL-40 levels correlating with plasma YKL-40 levels. A co-localization analysis showed shared genetic variants underlying YKL-40 DNA methylation and CSF protein levels, with evidence that DNA methylation mediates the association between genotype and protein levels. Weighted gene correlation network analysis identified two modules of co-methylated loci correlated with several amyloid measures and enriched in pathways associated with lipoproteins and development.DISCUSSION: We conducted the most comprehensive epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of AD-relevant CSF biomarkers to date. Future work should explore the relationship between YKL-40 genotype, DNA methylation, and protein levels in the brain.HIGHLIGHTS: Blood DNA methylation was assessed in the EMIF-AD MBD study. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) were performed for 15 Alzheimer's disease (AD)-relevant cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker measures. Five Bonferroni-significant loci were associated with YKL-40 levels and seven with neurofilament light chain (NfL). DNA methylation in YKL-40 co-localized with previously reported genetic variation. DNA methylation potentially mediates the effect of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in YKL-40 on CSF protein levels.
|
|
8. |
- Wittig, Cornelius, 1994-, et al.
(författare)
-
The role of fluid friction in streamer formation and biofilm growth
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bacillus subtilis biofilms were grown in laminar channel flow at wall shear stress spanning one order of magnitude (tau_w = 0.068 Pa to tau_w = 0.67 Pa). We monitor, non-invasively, the evolution of the three-dimensional distribution of biofilm over seven days using optical coherence tomography (OCT). The obtained biofilms consist of many microcolonies where the characteristic colony has a base structure in the form of a leaning pillar and a streamer in the form of a thin filament that originates near the tip of the pillar. While the shape, size and distribution of these microcolonies depend on the imposed shear stress, the same structural features appear consistently for all shear stress values. The formation of streamers seems to occur after the development of a base structure, suggesting that the latter induces a curved secondary flow that triggers the formation of the streamers. Moreover, we observe that the biofilm volume grows approximately linearly over seven days for all the shear stress values, with a growth rate that is inversely proportional to the wall shear stress. We develop a simple model of friction-limited growth, which agrees with the experimental observations. The model provides physical insight into growth mechanisms and can be used to develop accurate continuum models of bacterial biofilm growth.
|
|