1. |
- Wang, Zhaoming, et al.
(author)
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Imputation and subset-based association analysis across different cancer types identifies multiple independent risk loci in the TERT-CLPTM1L region on chromosome 5p15.33
- 2014
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 23:24, s. 6616-6633
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have mapped risk alleles for at least 10 distinct cancers to a small region of 63 000 bp on chromosome 5p15.33. This region harbors the TERT and CLPTM1L genes; the former encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase reverse transcriptase and the latter may play a role in apoptosis. To investigate further the genetic architecture of common susceptibility alleles in this region, we conducted an agnostic subset-based meta-analysis (association analysis based on subsets) across six distinct cancers in 34 248 cases and 45 036 controls. Based on sequential conditional analysis, we identified as many as six independent risk loci marked by common single-nucleotide polymorphisms: five in the TERT gene (Region 1: rs7726159, P = 2.10 × 10(-39); Region 3: rs2853677, P = 3.30 × 10(-36) and PConditional = 2.36 × 10(-8); Region 4: rs2736098, P = 3.87 × 10(-12) and PConditional = 5.19 × 10(-6), Region 5: rs13172201, P = 0.041 and PConditional = 2.04 × 10(-6); and Region 6: rs10069690, P = 7.49 × 10(-15) and PConditional = 5.35 × 10(-7)) and one in the neighboring CLPTM1L gene (Region 2: rs451360; P = 1.90 × 10(-18) and PConditional = 7.06 × 10(-16)). Between three and five cancers mapped to each independent locus with both risk-enhancing and protective effects. Allele-specific effects on DNA methylation were seen for a subset of risk loci, indicating that methylation and subsequent effects on gene expression may contribute to the biology of risk variants on 5p15.33. Our results provide strong support for extensive pleiotropy across this region of 5p15.33, to an extent not previously observed in other cancer susceptibility loci.
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2. |
- Weinstein, John N., et al.
(author)
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The cancer genome atlas pan-cancer analysis project
- 2013
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 45:10, s. 1113-1120
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network has profiled and analyzed large numbers of human tumors to discover molecular aberrations at the DNA, RNA, protein and epigenetic levels. The resulting rich data provide a major opportunity to develop an integrated picture of commonalities, differences and emergent themes across tumor lineages. The Pan-Cancer initiative compares the first 12 tumor types profiled by TCGA. Analysis of the molecular aberrations and their functional roles across tumor types will teach us how to extend therapies effective in one cancer type to others with a similar genomic profile. © 2013 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.
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3. |
- Gallagher, Michael D., et al.
(author)
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TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions
- 2014
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In: Acta Neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-6322 .- 1432-0533. ; 127:3, s. 407-418
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) have recently been linked to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and may be the most common genetic cause of both neurodegenerative diseases. Genetic variants at TMEM106B influence risk for the most common neuropathological subtype of FTLD, characterized by inclusions of TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (FTLD-TDP). Previous reports have shown that TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of FTLD-TDP caused by progranulin (GRN) mutations, with the major (risk) allele of rs1990622 associating with earlier age at onset of disease. Here, we report that rs1990622 genotype affects age at death in a single-site discovery cohort of FTLD patients with C9orf72 expansions (n = 14), with the major allele correlated with later age at death (p = 0.024). We replicate this modifier effect in a 30-site international neuropathological cohort of FTLD-TDP patients with C9orf72 expansions (n = 75), again finding that the major allele associates with later age at death (p = 0.016), as well as later age at onset (p = 0.019). In contrast, TMEM106B genotype does not affect age at onset or death in 241 FTLD-TDP cases negative for GRN mutations or C9orf72 expansions. Thus, TMEM106B is a genetic modifier of FTLD with C9orf72 expansions. Intriguingly, the genotype that confers increased risk for developing FTLD-TDP (major, or T, allele of rs1990622) is associated with later age at onset and death in C9orf72 expansion carriers, providing an example of sign epistasis in human neurodegenerative disease.
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4. |
- Haiman, Christopher A., et al.
(author)
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A common variant at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus is associated with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer
- 2011
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 43:12, s. 61-1210
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer shows a higher incidence in women of African ancestry compared to women of European ancestry. In search of common risk alleles for ER-negative breast cancer, we combined genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from women of African ancestry (1,004 ER-negative cases and 2,745 controls) and European ancestry (1,718 ER-negative cases and 3,670 controls), with replication testing conducted in an additional 2,292 ER-negative cases and 16,901 controls of European ancestry. We identified a common risk variant for ER-negative breast cancer at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus on chromosome 5p15 (rs10069690: per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.18 per allele, P = 1.0 x 10(-10)). The variant was also significantly associated with triple-negative (ER-negative, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2)-negative) breast cancer (OR = 1.25, P = 1.1 x 10(-9)), particularly in younger women (<50 years of age) (OR = 1.48, P = 1.9 x 10(-9)). Our results identify a genetic locus associated with estrogen receptor negative breast cancer subtypes in multiple populations.
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5. |
- Jacobs, Kevin B, et al.
(author)
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Detectable clonal mosaicism and its relationship to aging and cancer.
- 2012
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In: Nature Genetics. - New York : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 44:6, s. 651-658
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In an analysis of 31,717 cancer cases and 26,136 cancer-free controls from 13 genome-wide association studies, we observed large chromosomal abnormalities in a subset of clones in DNA obtained from blood or buccal samples. We observed mosaic abnormalities, either aneuploidy or copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity, of >2 Mb in size in autosomes of 517 individuals (0.89%), with abnormal cell proportions of between 7% and 95%. In cancer-free individuals, frequency increased with age, from 0.23% under 50 years to 1.91% between 75 and 79 years (P = 4.8 × 10(-8)). Mosaic abnormalities were more frequent in individuals with solid tumors (0.97% versus 0.74% in cancer-free individuals; odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; P = 0.016), with stronger association with cases who had DNA collected before diagnosis or treatment (OR = 1.45; P = 0.0005). Detectable mosaicism was also more common in individuals for whom DNA was collected at least 1 year before diagnosis with leukemia compared to cancer-free individuals (OR = 35.4; P = 3.8 × 10(-11)). These findings underscore the time-dependent nature of somatic events in the etiology of cancer and potentially other late-onset diseases.
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6. |
- Van Deerlin, Vivian M, et al.
(author)
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Common variants at 7p21 are associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions
- 2010
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 42:3, s. 234-239
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is the second most common cause of presenile dementia. The predominant neuropathology is FTLD with TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) inclusions (FTLD-TDP). FTLD-TDP is frequently familial, resulting from mutations in GRN (which encodes progranulin). We assembled an international collaboration to identify susceptibility loci for FTLD-TDP through a genome-wide association study of 515 individuals with FTLD-TDP. We found that FTLD-TDP associates with multiple SNPs mapping to a single linkage disequilibrium block on 7p21 that contains TMEM106B. Three SNPs retained genome-wide significance following Bonferroni correction (top SNP rs1990622, P = 1.08 x 10(-11); odds ratio, minor allele (C) 0.61, 95% CI 0.53-0.71). The association replicated in 89 FTLD-TDP cases (rs1990622; P = 2 x 10(-4)). TMEM106B variants may confer risk of FTLD-TDP by increasing TMEM106B expression. TMEM106B variants also contribute to genetic risk for FTLD-TDP in individuals with mutations in GRN. Our data implicate variants in TMEM106B as a strong risk factor for FTLD-TDP, suggesting an underlying pathogenic mechanism.
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7. |
- Amos, Christopher I, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association study identifies novel loci predisposing to cutaneous melanoma
- 2011
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 20:24, s. 23-5012
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We performed a multistage genome-wide association study of melanoma. In a discovery cohort of 1804 melanoma cases and 1026 controls, we identified loci at chromosomes 15q13.1 (HERC2/OCA2 region) and 16q24.3 (MC1R) regions that reached genome-wide significance within this study and also found strong evidence for genetic effects on susceptibility to melanoma from markers on chromosome 9p21.3 in the p16/ARF region and on chromosome 1q21.3 (ARNT/LASS2/ANXA9 region). The most significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 15q13.1 locus (rs1129038 and rs12913832) lie within a genomic region that has profound effects on eye and skin color; notably, 50% of variability in eye color is associated with variation in the SNP rs12913832. Because eye and skin colors vary across European populations, we further evaluated the associations of the significant SNPs after carefully adjusting for European substructure. We also evaluated the top 10 most significant SNPs by using data from three other genome-wide scans. Additional in silico data provided replication of the findings from the most significant region on chromosome 1q21.3 rs7412746 (P = 6 × 10(-10)). Together, these data identified several candidate genes for additional studies to identify causal variants predisposing to increased risk for developing melanoma.
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8. |
- Barrdahl, Myrto, et al.
(author)
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Post-G WAS gene-environment interplay in breast cancer : results from the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium and a meta-analysis on 79 000 women
- 2014
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 23:19, s. 5260-5270
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We studied the interplay between 39 breast cancer (BC) risk SNPs and established BC risk (body mass index, height, age at menarche, parity, age at menopause, smoking, alcohol and family history of BC) and prognostic factors (TNM stage, tumor grade, tumor size, age at diagnosis, estrogen receptor status and progesterone receptor status) as joint determinants of BC risk. We used a nested case-control design within the National Cancer Institute's Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3), with 16 285 BC cases and 19 376 controls. We performed stratified analyses for both the risk and prognostic factors, testing for heterogeneity for the risk factors, and case-case comparisons for differential associations of polymorphisms by subgroups of the prognostic factors. We analyzed multiplicative interactions between the SNPs and the risk factors. Finally, we also performed a meta-analysis of the interaction ORs from BPC3 and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. After correction for multiple testing, no significant interaction between the SNPs and the established risk factors in the BPC3 study was found. The meta-analysis showed a suggestive interaction between smoking status and SLC4A7-rs4973768 (P-interaction = 8.84 x 10(-4)) which, although not significant after considering multiple comparison, has a plausible biological explanation. In conclusion, in this study of up to almost 79 000 women we can conclusively exclude any novel major interactions between genome-wide association studies hits and the epidemiologic risk factors taken into consideration, but we propose a suggestive interaction between smoking status and SLC4A7-rs4973768 that if further replicated could help our understanding in the etiology of BC.
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9. |
- Barrett, Jennifer H., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association study identifies three new melanoma susceptibility loci
- 2011
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 43:11, s. 1108-1113
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report a genome-wide association study for melanoma that was conducted by the GenoMEL Consortium. Our discovery phase included 2,981 individuals with melanoma and 1,982 study-specific control individuals of European ancestry, as well as an additional 6,426 control subjects from French or British populations, all of whom were genotyped for 317,000 or 610,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Our analysis replicated previously known melanoma susceptibility loci. Seven new regions with at least one SNP with P < 10(-5) and further local imputed or genotyped support were selected for replication using two other genome-wide studies (from Australia and Texas, USA). Additional replication came from case-control series from the UK and The Netherlands. Variants at three of the seven loci replicated at P < 10(-3): an SNP in ATM (rs1801516, overall P = 3.4 x 10(-9)), an SNP in MX2 (rs45430, P = 2.9 x 10-9) and an SNP adjacent to CASP8 (rs13016963, P = 8.6 x 10(-10)). A fourth locus near CCND1 remains of potential interest, showing suggestive but inconclusive evidence of replication (rs1485993, overall P = 4.6 x 10(-7) under a fixed-effects model and P = 1.2 x 10(-3) under a random-effects model). These newly associated variants showed no association with nevus or pigmentation phenotypes in a large British case-control series.
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10. |
- Campa, Daniele, et al.
(author)
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Interactions Between Genetic Variants and Breast Cancer Risk Factors in the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium
- 2011
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 103:16, s. 1252-1263
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Recently, several genome-wide association studies have identified various genetic susceptibility loci for breast cancer. Relatively little is known about the possible interactions between these loci and the established risk factors for breast cancer. Methods To assess interactions between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and established risk factors, we prospectively collected DNA samples and questionnaire data from 8576 breast cancer case subjects and 11 892 control subjects nested within the National Cancer Institute's Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). We genotyped 17 germline SNPs (FGFR2-rs2981582, FGFR2-rs3750817, TNRC9-rs3803662, 2q35-rs13387042, MAP3K1-rs889312, 8q24-rs13281615, CASP8-rs1045485, LSP1-rs3817198, COL1A1-rs2075555, COX11-rs6504950, RNF146-rs2180341, 6q25-rs2046210, SLC4A7-rs4973768, NOTCH2-rs11249433, 5p12-rs4415084, 5p12-rs10941679, RAD51L1-rs999737), and odds ratios were estimated by logistic regression to confirm previously reported associations with breast cancer risk. We performed likelihood ratio test to assess interactions between 17 SNPs and nine established risk factors (age at menarche, parity, age at menopause, use of hormone replacement therapy, family history, height, body mass index, smoking status, and alcohol consumption), and a correction for multiple testing of 153 tests (adjusted P value threshold = .05/153 = 3 x 10(-4)) was done. Casecase comparisons were performed for possible differential associations of polymorphisms by subgroups of tumor stage, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and age at diagnosis. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results We confirmed the association of 14 SNPs with breast cancer risk (P(trend) = 2.57 x 10(-3) -3.96 x 10(-19)). Three SNPs (LSP1-rs3817198, COL1A1-rs2075555, and RNF146-rs2180341) did not show association with breast cancer risk. After accounting for multiple testing, no statistically significant interactions were detected between the 17 SNPs and the nine risk factors. We also confirmed that SNPs in FGFR2 and TNRC9 were associated with greater risk of estrogen receptor-positive than estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer (P(heterogeneity) = .0016 for FGFR2-rs2981582 and P(heterogeneity) = .0053 for TNRC9-rs3803662). SNP 5p12-rs10941679 was statistically significantly associated with greater risk of progesterone receptor-positive than progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer (P(heterogeneity) = .0028). Conclusion This study does not support the hypothesis that known common breast cancer susceptibility loci strongly modify the associations between established risk factors and breast cancer.
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11. |
- Egelhofer, Thea A, et al.
(author)
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An assessment of histone-modification antibody quality
- 2011
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In: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 18:1, s. 91-93
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have tested the specificity and utility of more than 200 antibodies raised against 57 different histone modifications in Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and human cells. Although most antibodies performed well, more than 25% failed specificity tests by dot blot or western blot. Among specific antibodies, more than 20% failed in chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. We advise rigorous testing of histone-modification antibodies before use, and we provide a website for posting new test results (http://compbio.med.harvard.edu/antibodies/).
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12. |
- Gu, Fangyi, et al.
(author)
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Eighteen insulin-like growth factor pathway genes, circulating levels of IGF-I and its binding protein, and risk of prostate and breast cancer
- 2010
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 19:11, s. 2877-2887
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and its main binding protein, IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), have been associated with risk of several types of cancer. Heritable factors explain up to 60% of the variation in IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in studies of adult twins.Methods: We systematically examined common genetic variation in 18 genes in the IGF signaling pathway for associations with circulating levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3. A total of 302 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped in >5,500 Caucasian men and 5,500 Caucasian women from the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium.Results: After adjusting for multiple testing, SNPs in the IGF1 and SSTR5 genes were significantly associated with circulating IGF-I (P < 2.1 × 10−4); SNPs in the IGFBP3 and IGFALS genes were significantly associated with circulating IGFBP-3. Multi-SNP models explained R2 = 0.62% of the variation in circulating IGF-I and 3.9% of the variation in circulating IGFBP-3. We saw no significant association between these multi-SNP predictors of circulating IGF-I or IGFBP-3 and risk of prostate or breast cancers.Conclusion: Common genetic variation in the IGF1 and SSTR5 genes seems to influence circulating IGF-I levels, and variation in IGFBP3 and IGFALS seems to influence circulating IGFBP-3. However, these variants explain only a small percentage of the variation in circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in Caucasian men and women.Impact: Further studies are needed to explore contributions from other genetic factors such as rare variants in these genes and variation outside of these genes.
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13. |
- Ho, Joshua W. K., et al.
(author)
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Comparative analysis of metazoan chromatin organization
- 2014
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 512:7515, s. 449-U507
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome function is dynamically regulated in part by chromatin, which consists of the histones, non-histone proteins and RNA molecules that package DNA. Studies in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster have contributed substantially to our understanding of molecular mechanisms of genome function in humans, and have revealed conservation of chromatin components and mechanisms(1-3). Nevertheless, the three organisms have markedly different genome sizes, chromosome architecture and gene organization. On human and fly chromosomes, for example, pericentric heterochromatin flanks single centromeres, whereas worm chromosomes have dispersed heterochromatin-like regions enriched in the distal chromosomal 'arms', and centromeres distributed along their lengths(4,5). To systematically investigate chromatin organization and associated gene regulation across species, we generated and analysed a large collection of genome-wide chromatin data sets from cell lines and developmental stages in worm, fly and human. Here we present over 800 new data sets from our ENCODE and modENCODE consortia, bringing the total to over 1,400. Comparison of combinatorial patterns of histone modifications, nuclear lamina-associated domains, organization of large-scale topological domains, chromatin environment at promoters and enhancers, nucleosome positioning, and DNA replication patterns reveals many conserved features of chromatin organization among the three organisms. We also find notable differences in the composition and locations of repressive chromatin. These data sets and analyses provide a rich resource for comparative and species-specific investigations of chromatin composition, organization and function.
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14. |
- Huesing, Anika, et al.
(author)
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Prediction of breast cancer risk by genetic risk factors, overall and by hormone receptor status
- 2012
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In: Journal of Medical Genetics. - : BMJ. - 0022-2593 .- 1468-6244. ; 49:9, s. 601-608
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective There is increasing interest in adding common genetic variants identified through genome wide association studies (GWAS) to breast cancer risk prediction models. First results from such models showed modest benefits in terms of risk discrimination. Heterogeneity of breast cancer as defined by hormone-receptor status has not been considered in this context. In this study we investigated the predictive capacity of 32 GWAS-detected common variants for breast cancer risk, alone and in combination with classical risk factors, and for tumours with different hormone receptor status. Material and methods Within the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, we analysed 6009 invasive breast cancer cases and 7827 matched controls of European ancestry, with data on classical breast cancer risk factors and 32 common gene variants identified through GWAS. Discriminatory ability with respect to breast cancer of specific hormone receptor-status was assessed with the age adjusted and cohort-adjusted concordance statistic (AUROC(a)). Absolute risk scores were calculated with external reference data. Integrated discrimination improvement was used to measure improvements in risk prediction. Results We found a small but steady increase in discriminatory ability with increasing numbers of genetic variants included in the model (difference in AUROC(a) going from 2.7% to 4%). Discriminatory ability for all models varied strongly by hormone receptor status. Discussion and conclusions Adding information on common polymorphisms provides small but statistically significant improvements in the quality of breast cancer risk prediction models. We consistently observed better performance for receptor-positive cases, but the gain in discriminatory quality is not sufficient for clinical application.
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15. |
- Iles, Mark M., et al.
(author)
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A variant in FTO shows association with melanoma risk not due to BMI
- 2013
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 45:4, s. 428-432
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the results of an association study of melanoma that is based on the genome-wide imputation of the genotypes of 1,353 cases and 3,566 controls of European origin conducted by the GenoMEL consortium. This revealed an association between several SNPs in intron 8 of the FTO gene, including rs16953002, which replicated using 12,313 cases and 55,667 controls of European ancestry from Europe, the USA and Australia (combined P = 3.6 x 10(-12), per-allele odds ratio for allele A = 1.16). In addition to identifying a new melanomasusceptibility locus, this is to our knowledge the first study to identify and replicate an association with SNPs in FTO not related to body mass index (BMI). These SNPs are not in intron 1 (the BMI-related region) and exhibit no association with BMI. This suggests FTO's function may be broader than the existing paradigm that FTO variants influence multiple traits only through their associations with BMI and obesity.
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16. |
- Joshi, Amit D., et al.
(author)
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Additive interactions between susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms identified in genome-wide association studies and breast cancer risk factors in the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium
- 2014
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In: American Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0002-9262 .- 1476-6256. ; 180:10, s. 1018-1027
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Additive interactions can have public health and etiological implications but are infrequently reported. We assessed departures from additivity on the absolute risk scale between 9 established breast cancer risk factors and 23 susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified from genome-wide association studies among 10,146 non-Hispanic white breast cancer cases and 12,760 controls within the National Cancer Institute's Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium. We estimated the relative excess risk due to interaction and its 95% confidence interval for each pairwise combination of SNPs and nongenetic risk factors using age- and cohort-adjusted logistic regression models. After correction for multiple comparisons, we identified a statistically significant relative excess risk due to interaction (uncorrected P = 4.51 x 10(-5)) between a SNP in the DNA repair protein RAD51 homolog 2 gene (RAD51L1; rs10483813) and body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)(2)). We also compared additive and multiplicative polygenic risk prediction models using per-allele odds ratio estimates from previous studies for breast-cancer susceptibility SNPs and observed that the multiplicative model had a substantially better goodness of fit than the additive model.
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17. |
- Keller, Emma, et al.
(author)
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Quantifying and managing GHG emissions in global agri-food supply chains: A case study on cocoa farming in Ghana.
- 2013
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In: 7th International Society for Industrial Ecology conference.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Agriculture contributes approximately a third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Increasingly, food manufacturers and retailers are looking to use their controlling position in the agri-food supply chain to promote sustainability through improved farm management practices. One important mechanism to achieve this is through promoting consumer products certified by schemes, such as Rainforest Alliance or Fair-trade, among others. These schemes provide an assurance that certain general management standards are being met. However, these forms of certification rarely cover specific impacts such as contribution to climate change. Understanding the GHG impact of different farm management practices requires reliable and quantitative tools based on information which farmers can readily supply and providing results in a readily intelligible form. Such a tool should ideally be universally applicable, not just to food production in the developed world.This contribution describes an application of the ‘Cool Farm Tool’ developed at the University of Aberdeen for a consortium of food manufacturers (Hillier et al., 2011) for quantifying farm-level GHG emissions, to test its applicability on the developing world, specifically on cocoa farms in Ghana with different experiences of ‘sustainability’ and certification. The results suggest that environmentally certified farms have a lower GHG emission profile than non-certified farms and also provide some indication into the key practices driving the difference, particularly land-use change and provision of shade trees which sequester carbon. Furthermore, the case study highlights the challenges of using the tool with smallholders and the complexities of modelling the cocoa production system. The key insights are used to provide recommendations for improving the tool, the replicability of the approach at scale in a global food chain and the possible implications for certification design.
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18. |
- Limdi, Nita A., et al.
(author)
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Warfarin pharmacogenetics : a single VKORC1 polymorphism is predictive of dose across three racial groups
- 2010
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In: Blood. - : American Society of Hematology. - 0006-4971 .- 1528-0020. ; 115:18, s. 3827-3834
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Warfarin dosing algorithms incorporating CYP2C9 and VKORC1-1639G>A improve dose prediction compared to algorithms based solely on clinical and demographic factors. However these algorithms better capture dose variability among Whites compared to Asians or Blacks. Herein we evaluate whether other VKORC1 polymorphisms and haplotypes explain additional variation in warfarin dose beyond that explained by VKORC1-1639G>A among Asians (n=1103), Blacks (n=670) and Whites (n=3113). Participants were recruited from 11 countries as part of the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium effort. Evaluation of the effects of individual VKORC1 SNPs and haplotypes on warfarin dose employed both univariate and multivariable linear regression. VKORC1-1639G>A and 1173C>T individually explained the greatest variance in dose in all three racial groups. Incorporation of additional VKORC1 SNPs or haplotypes did not further improve dose prediction. VKORC1 explained greater variability in dose among Whites as compared to Blacks and Asians. Differences in the percent variance in dose explained by VKORC1 across race was largely accounted for by the frequency of the -1639 A (or 1173 T) allele. Thus, clinicians should recognize that although at a population level, the contribution of VKORC1 towards dose requirements is higher in Whites compared to non-whites; genotype predicts similar dose requirements across racial groups.
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19. |
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20. |
- Moretti, Rocco, et al.
(author)
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Community-wide evaluation of methods for predicting the effect of mutations on protein-protein interactions
- 2013
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In: Proteins. - : Wiley. - 0887-3585 .- 1097-0134. ; 81:11, s. 1980-1987
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Community-wide blind prediction experiments such as CAPRI and CASP provide an objective measure of the current state of predictive methodology. Here we describe a community-wide assessment of methods to predict the effects of mutations on protein-protein interactions. Twenty-two groups predicted the effects of comprehensive saturation mutagenesis for two designed influenza hemagglutinin binders and the results were compared with experimental yeast display enrichment data obtained using deep sequencing. The most successful methods explicitly considered the effects of mutation on monomer stability in addition to binding affinity, carried out explicit side-chain sampling and backbone relaxation, evaluated packing, electrostatic, and solvation effects, and correctly identified around a third of the beneficial mutations. Much room for improvement remains for even the best techniques, and large-scale fitness landscapes should continue to provide an excellent test bed for continued evaluation of both existing and new prediction methodologies. Proteins 2013; 81:1980-1987.
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21. |
- Soler, Lucile, et al.
(author)
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Comparative physical maps derived from BAC end sequences of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
- 2010
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In: BMC Genomics. - 1471-2164. ; 11, s. 636-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The Nile tilapia is the second most important fish in aquaculture. It is an excellent laboratory model, and is closely related to the African lake cichlids famous for their rapid rates of speciation. A suite of genomic resources has been developed for this species, including genetic maps and ESTs. Here we analyze BAC end-sequences to develop comparative physical maps, and estimate the number of genome rearrangements, between tilapia and other model fish species. RESULTS: We obtained sequence from one or both ends of 106,259 tilapia BACs. BLAST analysis against the genome assemblies of stickleback, medaka and pufferfish allowed identification of homologies for approximately 25,000 BACs for each species. We calculate that rearrangement breakpoints between tilapia and these species occur about every 3 Mb across the genome. Analysis of 35,000 clones previously assembled into contigs by restriction fingerprints allowed identification of longer-range syntenies. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that chromosomal evolution in recent teleosts is dominated by alternate loss of gene duplicates, and by intra-chromosomal rearrangements (~one per million years). These physical maps are a useful resource for comparative positional cloning of traits in cichlid fishes. The paired BAC end sequences from these clones will be an important resource for scaffolding forthcoming shotgun sequence assemblies of the tilapia genome.
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