3333 results for "*geneti*"

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• Genetic Evaluation of Autoinflammatory Diseases

  Many pediatric patients with early-onset autoinflammatory disease (AID) phenotypes are mutation-negative for genetically known AIDs. Recent data suggest a role for Type-I interferon (IFN) dysregulation in causing AID phenotypes with clinical features that are distinct from those found in patients with IL-1 mediated AIDs. We screened patients for the presence of an IFN-response gene signature (IRS) to characterize their clinical phenotypes, IFN-related biomarkers, and genetic causes.

  Study phs001946

• Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): Mutational Landscape

  Multi-agent combination chemotherapy can be curative in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Still, patients with primary refractory disease or those with relapsed leukemia have a very poor prognosis. Here we report the mutational landscape of matched diagnostic and relapsed pediatric and adult ALL samples. Our data provides comprehensive annotation of genetic lesions acquired at relapse and reveals diagnostic and relapse-specific mutational mechanisms in ALL.

  Study phs001951

• NHLBI Recipient Epidemiology Donor Evaluation Study (REDS)-III - Red Blood Cell Omics (RBC-Omics) Study

  The Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III) is an initiative launched by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) with the goal to improve transfusion medicine practice, ensure safety and reduce risks. Extensive variation exists in donor iron metabolism, hemoglobin production, and hemolysis. Despite this variation, current blood banking guidelines regulating blood donation frequency, donation volume, and storage time and conditions remain uniform for all donors. The RBC-Omics study proposed to investigate if this approach is appropriate. Specifically, the RBC-Omics study: Established a multi-ethnic cohort of blood donors with well-characterized demographic, behavioral, and donation history. Developed a database linking donations from these blood donors to outcomes in transfusion recipients. Identify genetic factors impacting hemoglobin, donation history, ferritin, and iron metabolism. Identify markers and clinical factors associated with the iron-related disorders pica and restless leg syndrome (RLS). Define the genetic and metabolic basis for donor-specific differences in spontaneous, osmotic and oxidative hemolysis at the end of storage. RBC-Omics study has 13,403 blood donors over the age of 18 that were recruited from December 2013 to December 2015 at four REDS-III blood centers: the American Red Cross (Farmington, CT), the Institute for Transfusion Medicine (ITxM, Pittsburgh, PA), Blood Center of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI), and the Blood Centers of the Pacific (San Francisco, CA). All blood donors are healthy volunteers who passed donation screening and were not anemic. The samples were genotyped with a customized Affymetrix Axiom array called the TM-Array. The TM-array was specifically designed to cover genetic variations related to transfusion medicine. Also copy number polymorphisms in the alpha globin, beta globin and Rh gene clusters were added. The genetic variations among different ethnicity groups were considered as well.

  Study phs001955

• Investigation of Human DNA Replication Timing Variation by Whole Genome Sequencing

  To study inter-individual variation in human DNA replication timing, we performed whole-genome sequencing of human pluripotent stem cell lines. This data was used to infer replication timing and link them to genetic polymorphisms.

  Study phs001957

• Cell-Type Specific Effects of Genetic Variation on Chromatin Accessibility During Human Neuronal Differentiation

  Common genetic risk for neuropsychiatric disorders is enriched in regulatory elements active during cortical neurogenesis. However, the mechanisms mediating the effects of genetic variants on gene regulation are poorly understood. To determine the functional impact of common genetic variation on the non-coding genome longitudinally during human cortical development, we performed a chromatin accessibility quantitative trait loci (caQTL) analysis in neural progenitor cells and their differentiated neuronal progeny from 92 donors. We identified significant genetic effects on 988/1,839 neuron/progenitor regulatory elements, with highly cell-type and temporally specific effects. A subset (~30%) of caQTLs were also associated with changes in gene expression. Motif-disrupting alleles of transcriptional activators generally led to decreases in chromatin accessibility, whereas motif-disrupting alleles of repressors led to increases in chromatin accessibility. By integrating cell-type specific caQTLs and brain-relevant genome-wide association data, we were able to fine-map and identify regulatory mechanisms underlying non-coding neuropsychiatric disorder risk loci.

  Study phs001958

• Genomic Profiling of Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma

  Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are malignant and highly aggressive hematologic tumors arising from mature post-thymic T cells. The diagnosis of PTCL includes diverse lymphoma subgroups, altogether accounting for about 15% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Despite recent advances in uncovering the mutational landscape of PTCLs, the prognoses of most PTCLs remain poor. To overcome the limits of exome sequencing and identify new genomic abnormalities in PTCL, we performed RNAseq and whole genome sequencing. From our analyses, we identified a recurrent in-frame deletion (VAV1 Δ778-786) generated by a focal deletion-driven alternative splicing mechanism as well as novel VAV1 gene fusions (VAV1-THAP4, VAV1-MYO1F, and VAV1-S100A7). These genetic lesions result in increased activation of VAV1 catalytic-dependent (MAPK, JNK) and non-catalytic-dependent (nuclear factor of activated T cells, NFAT) VAV1 effector pathways. These results support an oncogenic role for VAV1 signaling in the pathogenesis of PTCL (Abate et al., 2017). Recently, we have also identified a novel chimeric oncogene, FYN-TRAF3IP2, in the RNA-seq and whole genome sequencing analyses. FYN-TRAF3IP2 leads to aberrant NF-κβ activity downstream of T-cell receptor signaling and induces NF-κβ-driven T-cell transformation when expressed in hematopoietic progenitors in mice. This novel gene fusion supports the oncogenic driver role of NF-κβ signaling in the pathogenesis of PTCL (Kim et al., in review).

  Study phs001962

• DEMENTIA-SEQ: WGS in Lewy Body Dementia and Frontotemporal Dementia

  Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia are age-related, neurodegenerative dementia syndromes that are poorly understood. Delineating the genetic risk that is driving the pathophysiology of these neurological diseases is fundamental for understanding disease mechanisms and for developing disease-modifying treatments. We performed a whole-genome sequencing study consisting of 7,403 total samples that included 2,633 genomes from patients with Lewy body dementia, 2,641 frontotemporal dementia patients, and 1,980 neurologically healthy controls. All subjects were of European ancestry.

  Study phs001963

• MP2PRT: Identification of Genetic Changes Associated with Relapse and/or Adaptive Resistance in Patients Registered as Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor on AREN03B2

  The Molecular Profiling to Predict Response to Treatment (MP2PRT) program is part of the NCI's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The aim of this program is the retrospective characterization and analysis of biospecimens collected from completed NCI-sponsored trials of the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. This study, titled "Identification of Genetic Changes Associated with Relapse and/or Adaptive Resistance in Patients Registered as Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor on AREN03B2", performs genomic characterization (WGS 30X, Total RNAseq, miRNAseq) on a discovery set of 70 trio cases (normal tissue, tumor tissue at time of diagnosis, tumor tissue at time of relapse) from patients who relapsed with Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor. Prioritized findings from the discovery set will be validated using Targeted Sequencing in an independent validation set of 47 relapse samples.

  Study phs001965

• IGNITE: Implementing GeNomics In practice: Genomic Medicine Implementation - The Personalized Medicine Program

  IGNITE is an NIH-funded network dedicated to supporting the implementation of genomics in healthcare. IGNITE was created to enhance the use of genomic medicine by supporting the development of methods for incorporating genomic information into clinical care and exploration of the methods for effective implementation, diffusion and sustainability in diverse clinical settings. As part of the IGNITE network, the University of Florida Health Personalized Medicine Program partners with health professionals and patients at UF Health and across the state to develop, implement, study and refine methods that allow genetic information to be used as a routine part of patient care. The program's initial focus is on pharmacogenetics. We also aimed to develop and implement innovative genomic medicine educational programs for health-care providers, health professions students, patients.

  Study phs001978

• Molecular Biomarkers in Glioma (Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications of Hypermutation in Gliomas)

  This study seeks to genomically and mechanistically examine the basis for resistance of glioblastoma to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy including immunotherapies. The study design addresses two Aims. In Aim 1, we will test the hypothesis that treatment with radiation and temozolomide or other therapies leads to consistent genetic changes in human tumors using whole exome sequencing of paired pre- and post-treatment tumor samples to determine large-scale changes in population structures and single cell whole genome sequencing to evaluate the effects of these treatments on microheterogeneity. In Aim 2, we will test the hypothesis that genetic changes identified in post-treatment glioblastomas (GBMs) functionally contribute to various forms of resistance in GBM using patient derived cell lines (PDCL) and patient derived xenografts (PDX). These studies will create a comprehensive understanding of genetic evolution during standard-of-care therapy for GBM. They will inform diagnostic approaches for assignment of targeted therapeutics in the recurrent setting and identify genetic changes driving resistance. Therapeutic targeting of these novel resistance drivers could represent a rational approach to substantially improve our existing standard of care for GBM patients.

  Study phs001967

• Cellular Origins and Genetic Landscape of Cutaneous GD T Cell Lymphoma

  Cutaneous gamma-delta T cell lymphomas are a rare and aggressive subtype of cutaneous lymphoma. In the present study, we analyzed these cancers by DNA and RNA sequencing in order to illuminate the genetic landscape for this rare disease. We obtained tumor samples from multiple institutions, including Northwestern University (Chicago, IL), University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA), and Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA).

  Study phs001969

• Kidney Two-Hit Mapping

  Germ-line genetic variants identified thus far generally account for only part of the genetic risk predicted for most cancers. A component of the remaining risk may be explained by functionally consequent genetic variants that are individually very rare (or private to that individual's family). While their identification may be highly informative for cancer etiology and biological knowledge, strategies that allow for agnostic (genome-wide) identification of such genes are not straight forward. This is particularly true for rare cancers where sufficient numbers of patients may simply not be available for appropriate statistically powered studies. In this project we have explored a study design based around the concept of "two-hit mapping" using the co-occurrence of germ-line and somatic mutations in the same gene to assist in the identification of susceptibility genes. The dataset includes 54 kidney cancer patients selected for enrichment of genetic disease, that is patients with: early age of onset and/or family history and/or bilateral disease. Germ-line and somatic (kidney cancer) tumor sequencing was carried out. These data may improve our understanding of kidney cancer.

  Study phs001971

• NHLBI Recipient Epidemiology Donor Evaluation Study (REDS)-III - Brazil Sickle Cell Disease Cohort (REDS-BSCDC)

  The Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study (REDS)-III program established a Brazilian Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Cohort to identify molecular determinants of response to transfusions, alloimmunization and risk factors associated with HIV infection. The Brazil population presents a complex admixture of African, European, Asian and Indigenous heritage and will provide insights into genetic, demographic, social, and healthcare system determinates of SCD outcomes. The REDS-III Brazil SCD cohort began in the Fall of 2013 and aimed to: Establish a cohort of SCD patients with a comprehensive centralized electronic database of detailed clinical, laboratory and transfusion information, as well as establish a repository of blood samples to support biological studies relevant to SCD pathogenesis and transfusion complications; Characterize changes in markers of inflammation in response to transfusion by analyzing chemokine/cytokine panels in serial post transfusion specimens; Identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that contribute to the risk of red blood cell alloimmunization in SCD by performing a genome-wide association (GWA) study in transfused SCD patients; Characterize risk of HIV and HIV outcomes in the Brazilian SCD population and compare SCD outcomes among HIV sero-positive and sero-negative SCD patients.

  Study phs001972

• NHLBI TOPMed: Genomic Summary Results for the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Program

  The NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program aims to identify the genetic basis of variation in biomedical phenotypes, with emphasis on those related to heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders, as part of a broader Precision Medicine Initiative. The TOPMed program has provided whole genome sequencing (WGS) to over 80 different studies that had previously recruited participants and collected extensive phenotype data. Many TOPMed investigators affiliated with these studies have organized their activities into phenotype-focused Working Groups and have developed genotype-phenotype association projects. These analyses have resulted in valuable cross-study Genomic Summary Results (GSR) that include whole genome association test results of both common and rare variants. Most of the analyses include data from multiple studies, some of which are based on sensitive populations, precluding public sharing of GSR. This dbGaP accession provides a mechanism for sharing sensitive GSR, using the controlled-access mechanisms of dbGaP to provide protections for sensitive populations.

  Study phs001974

• SNP array analysis of spondylocostal dysostosis patient iPSCs and gene edited isogenic controls

  This study, "SNP Array Analysis of Gene Edited SDV Patient iPSCs" is part of a larger study where we applied our recently established experimental in vitro model system of the human segmentation clock, for the analysis of human segmentation defects of the vertebrae (SDV) including spondylocostal dysostosis (SCD). To this end we generated patient-derived iPSC lines, identified putative disease-causing mutations and corrected these mutations using CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing technology. We identified in the patient-sample originally obtained from the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research (#: GM13539) heterozygous compound mutations in MESP2. These mutations were corrected accordingly and the resulting clones were genotyped by SNP array analysis.

  Study phs001975

• Natural History, Pathogenesis and Outcome of Melorheostosis

  Melorheostosis is a rare osteosclerotic disease resulting in exuberant excessive bone growth with a characteristic radiographic appearance often described as "dripping candle wax". As a result of these bony formations, patients report mild to moderate pain that interferes with their routine activities. It is usually diagnosed on radiographs but bone biopsy may be performed to exclude other osteosclerotic diseases and/or osteosarcoma. Deformities, limb-length discrepancy, muscle atrophy, neurological deficit have been reported as complications. A subset of patients have somatic mutations in MAP2K1. The cause of this disease is not known in all patients, the natural history poorly described and there is no clearly-defined systemic therapy. We propose a prospective observational study to investigate the natural history and pathogenesis of the disease. Subjects will undergo standardized initial evaluation and medically indicated testing. Skin biopsies may be performed to test for known mutations related to melorheostosis, and if negative affected bone and/or skin may be sent for genetic testing for acquired somatic mutations in genes that control bone homeostasis. Enrolled subjects will be followed every two to three years for assessment of disease progression and receive clinically indicated testing and treatment. The study of this rare bone disease offers the potential to generate new insights, provide answers as well as generate new questions into the biology of the skeletal and mineral metabolism.

  Study phs001976

• Genomic Landscape of Human Skin at a Single-Cell Resolution

  Every cell in the human body has a unique set of somatic mutations, yet it remains difficult to comprehensively genotype an individual cell. Here, we developed solutions to overcome this obstacle in the context of normal human skin, thus offering the first glimpse into the genomic landscapes of melanocytes at single-cell resolution. We comprehensively genotyped 133 melanocytes from 19 sites across 6 donors. As expected, sun-shielded melanocytes had fewer mutations than sun-exposed melanocytes. However, within sun-exposed sites, melanocytes on chronically sun-exposed skin (e.g. the face) displayed a lower mutation burden than melanocytes on intermittently sun-exposed skin (e.g. the back). Melanocytes from donors with a history of skin cancer had higher mutation burdens than melanocytes from donors without skin cancer, implying that the mutation burden of normal skin can be harnessed to measure cumulative sun damage and skin cancer risk. Moreover, melanocytes from healthy skin commonly harbor pathogenic mutations, likely explaining the origins of the melanomas that arise in the absence of a pre-existing nevus. Phylogenetic analyses identified groups of related melanocytes, suggesting that melanocytes spread throughout skin as fields of clonally related cells, invisible to the naked eye. Overall, our study offers an unprecedented view into the genomic landscapes of individual melanocytes, revealing key insights into the causes and origins of melanoma.

  Study phs001979

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex eQTL and mQTL Study

  Mapping expression and methylation quantitative trait loci (eQTLs and mQTLs) using genome-wide genotype, transcriptome, and DNA methylome data can provide an unbiased approach to identify novel functional variants. One critical issue of the eQTL/mQTL analysis is that the role of genetic variants in regulating gene expression (or DNA methylation) can be tissue- or cell-specific. To unravel causal variants from disease-associated loci, it would be necessary to map eQTLs and mQTLs in both patients and controls. Those eQTLs and mQTLs in patients are more likely to be causal variants for the disease. Identification of disease- and tissue-specific eQTLs and mQTLs will help disentangle the role of the specific tissue in disease development as well. In the present study, we mapped eQTLs and mQTLs in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with alcoholism or alcohol use disorder (AUD) and matched control subjects by integrative analyses of genome-wide SNP genotype, mRNA transcriptome, and DNA methylome data. As AUD is comorbid with schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BIP), major depressive disorder (MDD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we further examined the co-localization of PFC eQTLs/mQTLs and GWAS-identified SNPs (mainly noncoding SNPs) that were associated with AUD as well as comorbid SCZ, BIP, MDD, and ADHD. Our study demonstrated the enrichment of PFC eQTLs/mQTLs in the above psychiatric disorder-associated genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

  Study phs001981

• Rb and p53-Deficient Myxofibrosarcoma and Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma Require Skp2 for Survival

  Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) are highly genetically complex soft tissue sarcomas. Up to 50% of patients develop distant metastases, but current systemic therapies have limited efficacy. MFS and UPS have recently been shown to commonly harbor copy number alterations or mutations in the tumor suppressor genes RB1 and TP53. As these alterations have been shown to engender dependence on the oncogenic protein Skp2 for survival of transformed cells in mouse models, we sought to examine its function and potential as a therapeutic target in MFS/UPS. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) confirmed that a significant fraction of MFS and UPS patient samples (n=94) harbor chromosomal deletions and/or loss-of-function mutations in RB1 and TP53 (88% carry alterations in at least one gene; 60% carry alterations in both). Tissue microarray (TMA) analysis identified a correlation between absent Rb and p53 expression and positive expression of SKP2. Downregulation of SKP2 or treatment with Skp2 Inhibitor C1 revealed that Skp2 drives proliferation of patient-derived MFS/UPS cell lines deficient in both Rb and p53 by degrading p21 and p27. Inhibition of Skp2 using the neddylation-activating enzyme (NAE) inhibitor pevonedistat decreased growth of Rb/p53-negative patient-derived cell lines and mouse xenografts. These results demonstrate that loss of both Rb and p53 renders MFS and UPS dependent on Skp2, which can be therapeutically exploited and could provide the basis for promising novel systemic therapies for MFS and UPS.

  Study phs001982

• GWAS for Membranous Nephropathy

  Primary membranous nephropathy (MN) is a rare autoimmune cause of kidney failure. This dataset is from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) designed to identify novel genetic risk loci for MN. The provided cohort (named as European-1 Cohort) is composed of 611 cases of primary MN and 1,246 healthy controls of European ancestry. This cohort was used in the GWAS meta-analysis, as described in the manuscript entitled "Genetic architecture of membranous nephropathy and its potential diagnostic implications" (Nature Communications 2020, in press).The genome-wide summary statistics, including trans-ethnic meta-analysis across 8 GWAS cohorts of European and East Asian ancestry and ethnicity specific meta-analyses, are freely available for download on the Kiryluk lab website: http://www.columbiamedicine.org/divisions/kiryluk/resources.php.

  Study phs001984

• A panel of reference haplotypes for imputing complement component 4 (C4) gene structural variation

  Neuropsychiatric and autoimmune disorders have substantial epidemiological correlations (Benros et al., JAMA Psychiatry 2013, PMID: 23760347) and broad, genome-wide patterns of shared genetic risk (Pouget et al., Hum Mol Genet, PMID: 31211845; Tylee et al., Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2018, PMID: 30325587). Some cases of psychosis involve autoantibodies against the NMDA receptor, AMPA receptor, or other synaptic proteins (reviewed in Dalmau et al, Lancet Neurol 2011, PMID: 21163445). The related autoimmune conditions lupus and Sjogren's Syndrome also involve the development of autoantibodies. The possibility that neuropsychiatric disorders can have molecular mechanisms in common with autoimmune disorders - for example, that psychosis involves an inflammatory or autoimmune component in some patients, or that immune molecules are re-used in the brain to underlie other important biological activities (Stevens et al., Cell 2007, PMID: 18083105) - could open novel therapeutic possibilities for neuropsychiatric disorders. At a genetic level, the strongest genetic associations of schizophrenia, lupus, and Sjogren's Syndrome to common genetic variation involve associations to genetic markers in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) locus. Bipolar disorder in some studies also associates with variation in or near the MHC locus, though less strongly than schizophrenia does. Intriguingly, the same specific SNPs appear to associate strongly with schizophrenia, lupus, and Sjogren's; these strongly associating SNPs span a genomic segment that includes the HLA class II genes (which have an important role in antibody production) and the complement component 4 (C4) genes. The specific genes and alleles responsible for these associations need to be completely defined, and the extent to which they represent shared or distinct genetic influences in neuropsychiatric and autoimmune illnesses needs to be clarified. The complement component 4 (C4A and C4B) genes are present in the MHC locus, between the class I and class II HLA genes. C4A and C4B commonly vary in genomic copy number and encode complement proteins with distinct affinities for molecular targets. The complex genetic variation at C4 - arising from many alleles with different numbers of C4A and C4B genes - has been challenging to analyze in large cohorts. We recently developed an approach to this problem based on imputation: people share long haplotypes with the same combinations of SNP and C4 alleles, such that C4A and C4B gene copy numbers can be imputed from SNP data (Sekar et al., Nature 2016, PMID: 26814963). In the current work, to analyze C4 in large cohorts, we developed a way to identify C4 alleles from whole-genome sequence (WGS) data, then analyzed WGS data from 1,234 individuals to create a large multi-ancestry panel of 2,530 reference haplotypes of MHC SNPs and C4 alleles that can then be imputed into still-larger cohorts for which SNP data are available. With this dbGaP submission, we make this reference panel available for other studies. Protocols and software for imputing C4 alleles into genome-wide SNP data, and for performing molecular analyses on the C4 genes (such as direct measurement of copy number from genomic DNA), can be found on the McCarroll Lab web site (http://mccarrolllab.org/resources). We are also working to create additional reference panels for imputation of C4 alleles that will be based on still-larger and more diverse population samples; links to these will also be available on the McCarroll Lab web site as we create and validate them.

  Study phs001992

• Capturing the genetic diversity of the Himba population

  The Himba people are a semi-nomadic, Bantu-speaking pastoralist group from the northwestern Kunene region of Namibia. Because of their limited population size, restricted geographic distribution, and endogamy, founder populations represent an ideal system for genetic analyses due to reduction of the confounding environmental and cultural variables. This study uses genotype data and demographic interview data to understand family dynamics and ancestry in a population of Himba pastoralists. This combination of data will be used to understand the impact of social processes like paternity, cousin marriage and the choice of romantic partners. Only genotype data are available through dbGaP, which is relevant to broader studies of ancestry, allele frequencies and the relationship of Himba to other ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the Himba population provides a unique opportunity to study questions regarding extra-pair paternity because Himba culture allows both men and women, married and not, to take multiple partners. Previous estimates of extra-pair paternity rates in human populations have been very low, but these estimates lack global and cultural diversity in population representation. Thus, investigating the rate of extra-pair paternity in the Himba will greatly aid in understanding the global variation in non-paternity rates among human populations. Saliva samples were collected from parents and children, and were genotyped on Illumina SNP array platforms (MEGAex and H3Africa). In total, 678 individuals are deposited. Paternity results were de-identified and protected by a double blind protocol (no researcher has full knowledge of individual paternity results). Due to the sensitive nature of this study, paternity assertions are not available for access.

  Study phs001995

• Evolutionary Analysis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells During Relapse After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant

  We investigated the molecular dynamics driving relapse of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) through an integrated analysis of whole exome, bulk transcriptome, bulk methylome and single cell transcriptional data from paired leukemic samples representing 19 patients. We found that their clinical kinetics corresponded to distinct genetic and epigenetic evolutionary trajectories and suggest that the selection pressures of the post-transplant, immunologic bottleneck are distinct from those imposed by chemotherapy.In order to discover cancer antigens derived from annotated and unannotated protein-coding regions of the genome, we carried out ribosome profiling (Ribo-seq) and RNA-sequencing on CLL samples and isolated primary B cells from healthy donors. We discovered novel or unannotated open reading frames (nuORFs), their expression levels, as well as somatic mutations within them to predict potential neoantigens.

  Study phs001998

• Advanced Genetic and Molecular Analysis of Solid Tumors

  This study is designed to understand the role of immunosuppressive regulatory B cells (Breg) in pancreatic cancer. Breg and conventional B cells (Bcon) from patients are compared by RNA sequencing analysis. Bregs and Bcon were isolated from freshly isolated PBMCs in peripheral blood. These data represent the examination of differentially expressed genes in these two blood-derived B cell subsets from both healthy and pancreatic cancer patients.

  Study phs001999

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG)-Neuropsychiatric: A Study of the Genetic Causes of Complex Pediatric Disorders (CAG)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002004

• MP2PRT: Comprehensive Genomic Profiling to Identify Alterations Associated with Relapse for NCI Standard Risk (SR) B-Lineage ALL and NCI High Risk (HR) B-Lineage ALL with Favorable Genetic Features

  The Molecular Profiling to Predict Response to Treatment (MP2PRT) program is part of the NCI's Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The aim of this program is the retrospective characterization and analysis of biospecimens collected from completed NCI-sponsored trials of the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. This study, titled "Comprehensive Genomic Profiling to Identify Alterations Associated with Relapse for NCI Standard Risk (SR) B-Lineage ALL and NCI High Risk (HR) B-Lineage ALL with Favorable Genetic Features," is one of the selected studies under this program. For this study, genomic characterization (WGS 30X, WXS, Total RNAseq) was performed on NCI Standard Risk B-lineage ALL patients who relapse and subsets of NCI High Risk B-lineage ALL patients who relapse as well as two non-relapse control cases for each relapse case. It was hypothesized that the comprehensive characterization of these sample sets will allow the identification of somatic genetic features that will facilitate early intervention to improve cure rates for those enrolled on future trials. Data were generated and genetic subtype was integrated with clinical variables, including age, presenting white blood cell count, sex, race, and levels of minimal residual disease at the end of induction. Additional secondary alterations were identified and included if they occurred in more than 10 patients. The study has been completed and a manuscript has been prepared.

  Study phs002005

• Segmental Overgrowth/Vascular Anomalies/Dermatologic Disorders

  This study was designed to determine the molecular etiology of disorders characterized by segmental overgrowth, vascular anomalies, or dermatologic conditions that are part of the diagnostic criteria for Proteus syndrome or PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS). Somatic variants in AKT1 or PIK3CA have been identified as causative for Proteus syndrome and PROS respectively, and this study aimed to determine the extent of allelic and genetic heterogeneity in individuals who fully met the diagnostic criteria, had some aspects of, or had isolated manifestations of either syndrome.

  Study phs002006

• The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital Genetics of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

  Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect, but the cause for the majority of cardiac birth defects remains unknown. Numerous epidemiologic studies have demonstrated evidence that genetic factors likely play a contributory, if not causative, role in CHD. A few genes have been identified by us and other investigators using traditional genetic approaches, but these genes only account for a small portion of the non-syndromic CHDs. Therefore, we are now utilizing whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), with the addition of more traditional genetic techniques such as chromosomal microarray or traditional linkage analysis, to identify genetic causes of familial and isolated CHD. With WES/WGS, we are able to sequence all of the genes of an individual and apply different data analysis techniques based on whether we are analyzing a multiplex family or a cohort of trios (mother, father and child with CHD) with a specific isolated CHD. Therefore, WES/WGS is a robust method for identification of novel genetic causes of CHD, which will have important diagnostic and therapeutic consequences for these children. Subjects provided blood samples, skin biopsy, or saliva samples for DNA extraction and creation of cell lines. Tissue remaining after surgical procedures was also collected. Medical records were searched for detailed phenotype data and subjects were followed longitudinally for outcome.

  Study phs002010

• National Eye Institute (NEI) Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2)

  The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) was a multi-center, randomized Phase III clinical trial designed to assess the effects of oral supplementation of high doses of lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] and eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA]) in reducing the risk of progression to late age-related macular degeneration (AMD), progression to cataract surgery, and/or progression to moderate vision loss in high-risk participants. The effect of the study supplements on cardiovascular outcomes and cognitive function were also examined. Other study goals included evaluation of eliminating beta-carotene and/or reducing zinc in the original AREDS formulation on the progression and development of late AMD. AREDS2 sought to validate the AREDS AMD scale developed from the photographic data obtained from AREDS, (Study Accession: phs000001).Eighty-two clinical sites across the United States enrolled 4,203 participants aged 50 to 85 (mean age 74 years) between October 2006 and September 2008. Enrollment was restricted to people at high risk of progression to late AMD with either bilateral large drusen or large drusen in 1 eye and late AMD in the fellow eye. Follow-up assessments in the clinic occurred on an annual basis for an average of 5 years, with telephone calls every six months during each year. Blood or saliva samples were also collected from 2,000+ AREDS2 participants for genetic research. Of these, samples from 1,800+ AREDS2 participants were included in the International Age-Related Macular Degeneration Genomics Consortium - Exome Chip Experiment, and have exome chip data available in the dbGaP (Study Accession: phs001039). In addition, samples from 1300+ AREDS2 participants were included in the International Age-Related Macular Degeneration Genomics Consortium - Whole Genome Sequencing Study in the dbGaP (Study Accession: TBD). Of 1363 AREDS2 participants with whole genome sequencing, 488 previously participated in AREDS.Please see "The Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Research Group" document for a full list of AREDS2 study contributors.

  Study phs002015

• Center Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Cardiovascular: Partners Biobank

  This study is a part of NHGRI's Center for Common Disease Genomics, a collaborative large-scale genome sequencing effort to comprehensively identify rare risk and protective variants contributing to multiple common disease phenotypes. Current estimates anticipate that the CCDG program will perform whole genome sequencing of 140K individuals and whole exome sequencing of 225K individuals over the course of the project. The Cardiovascular Disease working group of the CCDG considered five diseases: early-onset coronary artery disease (EOCAD), stroke, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes. CAD is the leading cause of death in the world and common variant association studies show that our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is incomplete (e.g, >2/3 of the 63 common variants previously mapped for CAD do not directly relate to known risk factors). CAD is representative of a class of common diseases with onset at middle age. When CAD occurs early in life, there is a stronger inherited component. In addition, there is empirical evidence that a burden of rare coding alleles in individual genes contribute to risk for CAD. Source: https://ccdg.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/CCDG_CVD_EOCAD_STROKE_FINAL.pdf For this study, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard generated genetic data for ~13,500 individuals from the Partners Biobank, including using whole exome sequencing and whole genome genotyping (Infinium Global Screening Array), with 550 samples from patients with myocardial infarction, a type of EOCAD. Partners Biobank, launched in 2010, is a biobank composed of samples from Partners hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Biobank has enrolled >100K individuals to study how genes, lifestyle, and other factors affect people's health and contribute to disease.

  Study phs002018

• Clinical and genetic analysis of retinopathy of prematurity - GWAS

  This project aims to identify genetic variants that contribute to the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is a leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide. We have performed a genome wide association study (GWAS) using Illumina Global Screening Array (GSA) BeadChip. For this GWAS design we assembled the largest group of ROP patients described to date: around 1000 ROP patients in total. Demographic and phenotypic information associated with each sample includes gestational age, gender, ethnicity, multiple birth status, presence of ROP, and birth weight. The results of this study will help advance our understanding of the genetic susceptibility to ROP and may result in novel treatment options to slow the progression of the disease.

  Study phs002020

• Genomic analysis of primary plasma cell leukemia reveals complex structural alterations and high risk mutational patterns

  Primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is a rare and aggressive form of multiple myeloma (MM) that is characterized by poor overall survival despite advances in anti-MM therapy. The disease biology as well as molecular mechanisms that distinguish pPCL from non-pPCL MM remain poorly understood. In an attempt to identify key biological mechanisms that result in the aggressive pPCL phenotype we performed whole exome sequencing in 23 patients with newly diagnosed pPCL. The results reveal an enrichment of complex structural changes and high risk mutational patterns in pPCL that explain, at least in part, the aggressive nature of the disease. In particular pPCL patients with traditional low risk features such as translocation t(11;14) or hyperdiploidy accumulated adverse risk genetic events that could account for the poor outcome in this group.

  Study phs002022

• DCCT/EDIC Epigenetics (DNA Methylation) Study

  Metabolic memory (persistent benefits of early glycemic control on preventing/delaying diabetic complications development) was observed in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and follow-up Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study, dbGaP phs000086.v3.p1, but mechanisms are unclear. We investigated the involvement of epigenetic DNA methylation (DNAme) by examining its associations with preceding glycemic history, and subsequent complications development over 18 years in blood DNAs of 499 randomly-selected DCCT/EDIC participants with type 1 diabetes. We found associations between DNAme near DCCT-closeout and mean-DCCT-HbA1c at 186 CpGs (FDR<15%, including 43 at FDR<5%), many located in complications-related genes. These CpGs are enriched in C/EBP motifs, enhancer/transcription regions in blood cells/progenitors, and open chromatin-states in myeloid cells. Remarkably, several CpGs in combination explain 68-97% of the mean-DCCT-HbA1c risk of complications development during EDIC. DNAme at key CpGs appears to mediate the association between hyperglycemia and complications in metabolic memory, through modifying myeloid cell enhancer activity.

  Study phs002024

• Early progression to active tuberculosis is a highly heritable trait driven by 3q23 in Peruvians

  In a genome-wide genetic study of early progression to active tuberculosis (TB), we genotyped 4,002 active TB cases and their household contacts in Lima, Peru. We first established TB progression has a strong genetic basis, and is comparable to traits with well-established genetic bases (h2g=0.212). We identified a novel association between early TB progression and variants located in a putative enhancer region on chromosome 3q23 (rs73226617, OR = 1.18; P = 3.93 x 10-8). With in silico and in vitro analyses we identified genetic variant rs73226617 or rs148722713 as the likely functional variant and ATP1B3 as a potential causal target gene with monocyte specific function.

  Study phs002025

• Decoding Human Heart Morphogenesis through Single-cell Multi-modal Analyses

  The heart, which is the first organ to develop, is highly dependent on its form to function. However, how diverse cardiac cell types spatially coordinate to create complex morphological structures critical for heart function remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that integration of single cell RNA-sequencing with high-resolution multiplexed error-robust fluorescent in situ hybridization (MERFISH) not only resolves the identity of cardiac cell types developing the human heart but also provides a spatial mapping of individual cells that enables illumination of their organization into cellular communities forming distinct cardiac structures. We discovered that many of these cardiac cell types further specified into subpopulations exclusive to specific communities, supporting their specialization according to cellular ecosystem and anatomic region. In particular, ventricular cardiomyocyte subpopulations displayed an unexpected complex laminar organization across the ventricular wall and formed, with other cell subpopulations, several cellular communities. Interrogating cell-cell interactions within these communities revealed signaling pathways orchestrating the spatial organization of cardiac cell subpopulations during ventricular wall morphogenesis. In vivo conditional genetic mouse models and in vitro human pluripotent stem cell studies confirmed an intricate multicellular PLXN-SEMA crosstalk among specific ventricular cardiomyocyte, fibroblast and endothelial cell subpopulations that directs the compaction of the ventricular wall layers. Thus, these detailed findings into the cellular social interactions and specialization of cardiac cell types constructing and remodeling the human heart offer new insights into structural heart diseases as well as engineering complex multi-cellular tissues for human heart repair. Reprinted from Farah et al. (In press), with permission from Nature.

  Study phs002031

• Genetic Neuroscience: How Human Genes and Alleles Shape Neuronal Phenotypes

  The goal of this collaborative, interdisciplinary project is to develop powerful, generalizable approaches for discovering how risk variants for psychiatric disorders shape neurobiological processes at multiple levels of analysis, and to identify the processes whose dysregulation underlies disease.Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were used towards the development of these new experimental and inferential systems bridging gaps between human genetics and experimental biology. The largest publicly available collection of iPSCs (2607 lines) has been generated from 2184 donors by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). To expand our donor collection, an additional 44 iPSC donors from the McLean_Levy cohort were identified. We wish to share the available SNP data for 2167 CIRM lines and whole genome sequence data generated at the Broad Institute for 473 of the CIRM and 44 McLean_Levy iPSC donors. These data can be used to identify (for experiments) lines with specific genotypes of interest and lines from donors with high or low polygenic risk scores for phenotypes of interest. The data can also be used to identify acquired mutations in the iPSC lines. The CIRM iPSC lines are available through Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics iPSC Repository (https://www.fujifilmcdi.com/cirm-ipsc-products/). The McLean_Levy lines are available through the NIMH Repository & Genomics Resource (https://www.nimhgenetics.org/).Additional project data registered with the study includes data from an iPSC line derived from an SMA patient (n=1), as well as single-cell RNA sequence data and supplemental processed genomic datasets in support of project publications.Molecular DatasetsSingle-cell RNA-seq: 10X Genomics, Illumina NovaSeqSupplemental "cell village" pooled genomic sequence data: Illumina NextSeqWhole Genome Genotyping: Infinium Global Screening Array-24 Kit, Illumina HumanCore chipWhole Genome Sequencing: Illumina NovaSeq

  Study phs002032

• National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Regulation of Motile Cilia Assembly in Lung Disease

  This study of 59 primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) patients utilized whole-exome capture sequencing to help identify variants that may be causative for PCD. Our goal was to provide insights into disease pathophysiology in samples, most of which had no obvious phenotype from transmission electron microscopy. This class of patients has been understudied. The patient samples were collected through UNC or under the auspices of Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Consortium (GDMCC), which consists of eight geographically diverse clinical research sites across North America. It collectively studies inherited respiratory diseases related to impaired mucociliary clearance and airway host defense, which result in chronic suppurative respiratory diseases. The goal is to enhance diagnostic capabilities as the Consortium has been pivotal in the identification and/or characterization of 34 primary ciliary dyskinesia-associated genes. In this phase of the work, we used immunocytochemistry in patient samples and in shRNA hTEC cultures to show the localization of the CFAP57 protein to cilia and the role of a short region in trafficking of CFAP57 into the cilia. This work was complemented by proteomic studies in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

  Study phs002035

• WGSPD Project 1: Whole Genome Sequencing for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

  The Center for Genomic Psychiatry at the University of Southern California (USC) and an extensive network of academic medical centers have created the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC). The GPC consists of a large clinical cohort of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and healthy controls. The pilot phase of whole genome sequencing of the GPC has been done in collaboration with the USC and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Whole genome sequencing (20X) and analysis of 9,033 well-phenotyped individuals from the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC), divided among schizophrenia cases, bipolar disorder cases, and psychiatrically normal controls, and comprised of European-Ancestry (EA), African-Ancestry (AA), and Latino individuals. The combination of clinically well-characterized GPC participants and whole genome sequencing with rich functional annotation aims to identify functional variants associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder risk. Over half of the sequenced samples are patients with a diagnosis of either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The majority of the study participants are of African American ancestry, increasing the diversity of sampling for these important diseases in traditionally understudied populations. This data set also contains 545 samples that have undergone 10x Genomics Linked-Read Sequencing (169 participants overlapping with the 9,033 participant WGS 20X dataset). In addition to the benefits due to disease phenotyping and ancestry selection that apply to all of the WGSPD Project 1 samples, the 10x Genomics Linked-Read samples, through the use of barcodes that can identify the long input DNA fragment that each sequencing read was generated from, can be used to 1) identify structural variants that are difficult to call with standard short read data, 2) map short reads to repetitive regions of the genome that cannot be assayed with standard short reads, and provide highly accurate phasing information about genetic variants, including rare variants that are more difficult to phase using statistical phasing techniques.

  Study phs002041

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Autism Center of Excellence (ACE II)

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002042

• Drop-BS: High-Throughput Single-Cell Bisulfite Sequencing on a Microfluidic Droplet Platform

  We present a high-throughput droplet-based bisulfite sequencing library preparation platform. Our protocol allows the production of a BS library of 2,000-10,000 single cells within 2 days. In addition to validation using mixed cell lines, we also used the technology to profile various cell types in mouse and human brain samples.

  Study phs002123

• Center for Common Disease Genomics (CCDG) Neuropsychiatric: Multimodal Developmental Neurogenetics of Females

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants, both in coding and noncoding regions, will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases, pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002043

• Center for Common Disease Genomics [CCDG] - Neuropsychiatric: Victorian Collaborative AuTism Study (CATS): Family and Community Study of the Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorder

  In this study, we address the enormous challenges common complex diseases pose for genomic analysis and the enormous opportunities surmounting them offers for advancing healthcare. The common genetic disorders proposed for study here are believed to have extreme locus heterogeneity, requiring the analysis of large numbers of samples to comprehensively identify the genomic variants underlying them. We propose that a combination of deep population studies and joint analysis of SNPs, indels, and structural variants both in coding and noncoding regions will provide the next level of understanding of common genetic disorders. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) will be critical to this next-generation approach to the genomics of complex disease. WGS will need to be accompanied by the technical ability to generate and handle very large data sets, a particular focus and strength of NYGC. WGS will also need to be accompanied by new statistical tools and algorithms, which will be developed by the strong core group committed to this proposal. An overarching goal of this proposal, one that capitalizes on the power of WGS, is to identify disease-associated variants at the individual nucleotide level. In many cases pathogenic mutations fall in noncoding regions of the genome, which can only be fruitfully explored with WGS. A major effort was put into building new computational strategies to functionally annotate noncoding transcribed sequences, and to build new datasets to enable such strategies, opening new frontiers of understanding of disease-related regulatory variants.

  Study phs002044

• Grady Trauma Project (GTP)

  Not everyone exposed to traumatic experience develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Genetic background is one of the predisposing risk factors causing differential outcomes of trauma exposure. A primary goal of the Grady Trauma Project (GTP) is to pinpoint and understand genetic polymorphisms that contribute to development of PTSD. Both PTSD diagnosis binary labels and PTSD severity scores are studied as target phenotypes. Also, both candidate gene studies and genome-wide association studies are performed. Besides genetic variants, other measurements that are studied as risk factors for PTSD include lifetime history of trauma and peri-traumatic response. Study participants are primarily African American, trauma-exposed populations of low socioeconomic status recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

  Study phs002046

• Clinical and Genetic Analysis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

  Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness worldwide and is treated based on the presence of symptoms of "plus disease", a dilation and tortuosity of retinal vessels. This project aims to identify the genetic and clinical underpinnings of the disease by comparing the germline variants of ~1,400 premature babies. 100 samples have been selected for WES and all have been genotyped.

  Study phs002047

• OICR: Molecular Pathological Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer

  Colorectal cancer, the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, is a biologically heterogeneous disease. To characterize the molecular attributes of colorectal tumors, we conducted targeted sequencing at the Ontario Cancer Research Institution (OICR) of tumor and matched normal DNA samples from 2,542 colorectal cancer cases in the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO) [phs001078] and the Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR). These consortia are based on cohort and population-based case-control studies.

  Study phs002050

• Peripheral Blood Transcriptome Analysis of ALS Patients

  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are neurodegenerative disorders which overlap in their clinical presentation, pathology, and genetic origin. An over-representation of autoimmune disorders exists in both ALS and FTD, but this remains an unexplained epidemiologic observation. Expansions of a hexanucleotide repeat (GGGGCC) in the C9orf72 gene (GeneID:203228) are the most common cause of familial ALS and FTD (C9-ALS/FTD), leading to both repeat containing RNA and dipeptide accumulation coupled with decreased C9orf72 protein expression in brain and peripheral blood cells. Here we show that loss of C9orf72 in myeloid cells is sufficient to recapitulate the age dependent lymphoid hypertrophy and autoinflammation seen in complete C9orf72-/- mice. Dendritic cells isolated from C9orf72-/- mice showed marked early activation of the type I interferon response, and C9orf72-/- myeloid cells were primarily hyperresponsive to activators of stimulator of interferon gene (STING1 GeneID:340061), a key regulator of the innate immune response to cytosolic DNA. STING degradation through the autolysosomal pathway was diminished in C9orf72-/- mice myeloid cells, and blocking STING suppressed hyperactive type I interferon responses in C9orf72-/- myeloid cells and splenomegaly and inflammation in C9orf72-/- mice. Additionally, mice lacking one or both copies of C9orf72 were more susceptible to experimental autoimmune encephalitis, mirroring the susceptibility to autoimmune diseases seen in C9-ALS/FTD patients. Finally, we found that blood derived macrophages, peripheral blood monocytes, and brain tissue from C9-ALS/FTD patients all showed a hyperactive type I interferon signature compared to sporadic ALS/FTD subjects. Collectively, our results indicate that C9-ALS/FTD patients have an altered immunophenotype due to loss of C9orf72 regulation of STING mediated type I interferon activation.

  Study phs002055

• Genetic Factors associated with Conversion from Active Surveillance to Treatment for Prostate Cancer

  This is a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of conversion from active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer (PC) to treatment. AS is the monitoring with screening tests and/or biopsies over time of men usually with low-risk, early-stage PC to avoid harmful side effects of PC treatment. "Conversion" refers to patients who withdraw from AS (switch to active treatment) due to changes in their cancer development, anxiety about delayed treatment, or other reasons. Patients who converted because of anxiety alone were censored in the GWAS analysis. The overall goal of this study is to develop an easily measurable, germline-based panel of genetic variants to aid in selecting PC patients appropriate for AS and/or the intensity of monitoring. In total, 6,324 PC patients from 28 collaborating institutions are included in this study. Patients are those with PC who are either on AS or who have previously converted from AS to treatment. In this study, 70% of all subjects were diagnosed with very low-risk, low-risk, or low-volume intermediate-risk PC (Kryvenko and Epstein, 2016; PMID: 26709152) and have been enrolled in an AS program. DNA was extracted from blood, saliva, or formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue collected from the study subjects at the participating sites. Genotyping, quality control processes, and imputation were performed at the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) at Johns Hopkins University. CIDR used the Illumina Infinium Multi-Ethnic Global Array (MEGA) version 1, which included genome-wide tag SNPs and 10,000 SNPs selected with custom content. Quality control and assurance (QC/QA) checks on genotyped data involved four domains: sample-level checks, batch effects, SNP-level checks, and preliminary association tests. Samples and SNPs passing the QC/QA checks were imputed to appropriate reference panels (HRC r1.1 for patients of European ancestry) using the Michigan Imputation Server (PMID: 27571263). Unmeasured genetic variants were imputed using the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Imputation Server, with 97,256 reference samples and 308,107,085 SNPs. Variants with imputation quality (INFO) score < 0.3 were excluded, leaving a total of 22,691,641 SNPs successfully imputed. After QC steps, a total of 5,936 samples genotyped at CIDR remained for inclusion in the GWAS.

  Study phs002056

• Systems genetics in human endothelial cells identifies non-coding variants modifying enhancers, expression, and complex disease traits

  Identification of causal variants and mechanisms underlying complex disease traits in humans requires strategies to locate and fine-map functional regulatory variants in disease-relevant cell types. To discover functional regulatory variants in primary aortic endothelial cells (ECs) from humans, we collected genetic, transcriptomic, and four epigenomic phenotypes in a population of 153 human donors representing individuals of both sexes and three major ancestries. We found thousands of EC eQTLs that were not present in GTEx at all ranges of effect sizes, indicating novel functional variants not observable from tissue data. We performed several epigenetic assays across 53 donors' EC to enable molecular QTL mapping, which included chromatin accessibility, histone modification, and transcription factor binding of proteins ERG and NF-kB/p65 in two activation states. We discovered over 3000 regulatory elements where cis-regulatory variants associated to significant differences in epigenetic marks. Co-localization with our eQTLs, TF motif mutations, and 3D confirmation capture data in ECs enabled our discovery of hundreds of high-confidence functional regulatory elements that perturb endothelial molecular phenotypes. Furthermore, this set of variants is enriched at GWAS loci for Coronary Artery disease and other disease traits, with some SNPs demonstrating pleiotropic effects. Together, our dataset and analytical approach provide the genetics and vascular biology communities with specific variants affecting EC biology and serves as a proof-of-principle for how to detect functional regulatory variants in human cells with relevance to complex traits.

  Study phs002057

• Genes for Non-Syndromic Congenital Heart Disease

  Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common serious birth defect and a leading cause of infant mortality. Affected individuals who survive infancy require substantial medical care and experience lifelong morbidity and early mortality. Despite their prevalence and impact upon public health, the etiology of CHDs is poorly understood. Our long-term goal is to better define the genetic basis of CHDs and using this information, develop preventive measures and provide precise medical management based on genotype. As CHDs are a heterogeneous group of conditions, we have focused our studies on cases with conotruncal heart defects (CTDs) that comprise at least 36% of all CHDs and are a prominent feature of the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). We have conducted both SNP- and CNV-based genome-wide association studies as part of our previous and current P01 (HD070454). Our current analyses of genes and gene-sets provide new insights regarding the contribution of common and rare inherited genetic variants to CTDs. Specifically, based on the results from our studies as well as recently published findings, we hypothesize that: (1) CTDs are influenced by the full range of genetic variability (rare to common; de novo and inherited) in relevant gene-sets; (2) the number of disease-related variants within these gene-sets varies directly with CTD severity; and (3) gene-sets associated with CTDs in nonsyndromic individuals are also associated with CTDs in individuals with the 22q11DS. To augment our existing cohorts and thus substantially improve the statistical power of our proposed analyses, application was made to complete array genotyping of a set of patients with CTDs and in particular, those with mild disease represented by isolated aortic arch anomalies. The new cases with CTD and some with an isolated aortic arch anomaly were ascertained at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) while some of the cases with isolated aortic arch anomalies were ascertained by the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium (PCGC). A small group of cases with left-sided obstructive lesions from CHOP were included to combine with our existing datasets to serve as a comparison to those with CTD. The additional genotype data will augment the statistical power of the proposed common variant analyses. We anticipate that this work will reduce the gaps in our understanding of CTDs by identifying an explicit set of genes associated with CTD-risk by way of common variants. This work will also help define the genetic architecture for the full clinical spectrum of these common birth defects.

  Study phs002059

• Identification and Molecular Characterization of Somatic Mutations in Malformations of Cortical Development

  Genetic mutations causing disease may be inherited, newly acquired in parental gametes and present in the zygote or acquired as somatic events at some point in development after fertilization. The burden and localization of an acquired mutation depend on when the mutation arises. As is the case for inherited genetic variation, there is accumulating evidence that somatic mutations can lead to severe tissue-specific disease. Malformations of cortical development (MCD) represent a group of disorders characterized by a range of morphological and structural abnormalities of the cerebral cortex reflecting errors in embryonic cortical development. MCD are associated with intellectual disability, as well as refractory epilepsy, and may require the surgical removal of the affected tissue. Inherited gene mutations involved in neuronal development explain only a fraction of MCD cases. In this project we sought to evaluate the hypothesis that somatic mutations disrupt embryonic cortical development and are responsible for a substantial fraction of MCD. Using high coverage next generation sequencing of protein-coding regions in DNA extracted from abnormal brain tissue and unaffected tissue (leukocytes) from patients with three forms of MCD, we sought to identify somatic mutations within each patient with MCD. Exome sequence data from study participants are provided to facilitate research into the genetic underpinnings of MCD.

  Study phs002128