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1.
Cell ; 182(3): 672-684.e11, 2020 08 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32697969

ABSTRACT

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal cancers. We whole-genome sequenced 446 colonic crypts from 46 IBD patients and compared these to 412 crypts from 41 non-IBD controls from our previous publication on the mutation landscape of the normal colon. The average mutation rate of affected colonic epithelial cells is 2.4-fold that of healthy colon, and this increase is mostly driven by acceleration of mutational processes ubiquitously observed in normal colon. In contrast to the normal colon, where clonal expansions outside the confines of the crypt are rare, we observed widespread millimeter-scale clonal expansions. We discovered non-synonymous mutations in ARID1A, FBXW7, PIGR, ZC3H12A, and genes in the interleukin 17 and Toll-like receptor pathways, under positive selection in IBD. These results suggest distinct selection mechanisms in the colitis-affected colon and that somatic mutations potentially play a causal role in IBD pathogenesis.


Subject(s)
Clonal Evolution/genetics , Colitis/genetics , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/genetics , Mutation Rate , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Aging/genetics , Clonal Evolution/immunology , Colitis/metabolism , Colitis, Ulcerative/genetics , Colitis, Ulcerative/metabolism , Crohn Disease/genetics , Crohn Disease/metabolism , DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , Epithelial Cells/metabolism , Epithelial Cells/pathology , F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7/genetics , Female , Humans , INDEL Mutation , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/immunology , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/metabolism , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/pathology , Interleukin-17/metabolism , Intestinal Mucosa/metabolism , Intestinal Mucosa/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Phylogeny , Point Mutation , Receptors, Cell Surface/genetics , Ribonucleases/genetics , Toll-Like Receptors/genetics , Transcription Factors/genetics , Whole Genome Sequencing
2.
Cell ; 174(6): 1361-1372.e10, 2018 09 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30193110

ABSTRACT

A key aspect of genomic medicine is to make individualized clinical decisions from personal genomes. We developed a machine-learning framework to integrate personal genomes and electronic health record (EHR) data and used this framework to study abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a prevalent irreversible cardiovascular disease with unclear etiology. Performing whole-genome sequencing on AAA patients and controls, we demonstrated its predictive precision solely from personal genomes. By modeling personal genomes with EHRs, this framework quantitatively assessed the effectiveness of adjusting personal lifestyles given personal genome baselines, demonstrating its utility as a personal health management tool. We showed that this new framework agnostically identified genetic components involved in AAA, which were subsequently validated in human aortic tissues and in murine models. Our study presents a new framework for disease genome analysis, which can be used for both health management and understanding the biological architecture of complex diseases. VIDEO ABSTRACT.


Subject(s)
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/pathology , Genomics , Animals , Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/genetics , Area Under Curve , Disease Models, Animal , Gene Expression Regulation , Gene Regulatory Networks , Genome-Wide Association Study , Humans , Machine Learning , Mice , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Protein Interaction Maps , ROC Curve , Whole Genome Sequencing
3.
Mol Cell ; 82(9): 1643-1659.e10, 2022 05 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35334231

ABSTRACT

The NADase SARM1 (sterile alpha and TIR motif containing 1) is a key executioner of axon degeneration and a therapeutic target for several neurodegenerative conditions. We show that a potent SARM1 inhibitor undergoes base exchange with the nicotinamide moiety of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to produce the bona fide inhibitor 1AD. We report structures of SARM1 in complex with 1AD, NAD+ mimetics and the allosteric activator nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN). NMN binding triggers reorientation of the armadillo repeat (ARM) domains, which disrupts ARM:TIR interactions and leads to formation of a two-stranded TIR domain assembly. The active site spans two molecules in these assemblies, explaining the requirement of TIR domain self-association for NADase activity and axon degeneration. Our results reveal the mechanisms of SARM1 activation and substrate binding, providing rational avenues for the design of new therapeutics targeting SARM1.


Subject(s)
Armadillo Domain Proteins , NAD , Armadillo Domain Proteins/genetics , Cytoskeletal Proteins/chemistry , Cytoskeletal Proteins/genetics , NAD/metabolism , NAD+ Nucleosidase/metabolism , Protein Domains
4.
Nature ; 606(7916): 976-983, 2022 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35705807

ABSTRACT

Chromosomal instability (CIN) results in the accumulation of large-scale losses, gains and rearrangements of DNA1. The broad genomic complexity caused by CIN is a hallmark of cancer2; however, there is no systematic framework to measure different types of CIN and their effect on clinical phenotypes pan-cancer. Here we evaluate the extent, diversity and origin of CIN across 7,880 tumours representing 33 cancer types. We present a compendium of 17 copy number signatures that characterize specific types of CIN, with putative aetiologies supported by multiple independent data sources. The signatures predict drug response and identify new drug targets. Our framework refines the understanding of impaired homologous recombination, which is one of the most therapeutically targetable types of CIN. Our results illuminate a fundamental structure underlying genomic complexity in human cancers and provide a resource to guide future CIN research.


Subject(s)
Chromosomal Instability , Neoplasms , Chromosomal Instability/genetics , Homologous Recombination/drug effects , Humans , Molecular Targeted Therapy , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Neoplasms/genetics , Neoplasms/metabolism
5.
Nature ; 595(7865): 85-90, 2021 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33981037

ABSTRACT

The ontogeny of the human haematopoietic system during fetal development has previously been characterized mainly through careful microscopic observations1. Here we reconstruct a phylogenetic tree of blood development using whole-genome sequencing of 511 single-cell-derived haematopoietic colonies from healthy human fetuses at 8 and 18 weeks after conception, coupled with deep targeted sequencing of tissues of known embryonic origin. We found that, in healthy fetuses, individual haematopoietic progenitors acquire tens of somatic mutations by 18 weeks after conception. We used these mutations as barcodes and timed the divergence of embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues during development, and estimated the number of blood antecedents at different stages of embryonic development. Our data support a hypoblast origin of the extra-embryonic mesoderm and primitive blood in humans.


Subject(s)
Cell Lineage/genetics , Embryonic Development/genetics , Hematopoietic System/embryology , Hematopoietic System/metabolism , Mutation , Blood Cells/cytology , Blood Cells/metabolism , Clone Cells/cytology , Clone Cells/metabolism , DNA Mutational Analysis , Fetus/cytology , Fetus/embryology , Fetus/metabolism , Germ Layers/cytology , Germ Layers/metabolism , Health , Hematopoietic System/cytology , Humans , Karyotyping , Male , Mesoderm/cytology , Mesoderm/embryology , Mesoderm/metabolism , Mutation Rate , Organ Specificity/genetics , Time Factors , Whole Genome Sequencing , Workflow
6.
Nature ; 597(7876): 387-392, 2021 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34433963

ABSTRACT

Starting from the zygote, all cells in the human body continuously acquire mutations. Mutations shared between different cells imply a common progenitor and are thus naturally occurring markers for lineage tracing1,2. Here we reconstruct extensive phylogenies of normal tissues from three adult individuals using whole-genome sequencing of 511 laser capture microdissections. Reconstructed embryonic progenitors in the same generation of a phylogeny often contribute to different extents to the adult body. The degree of this asymmetry varies between individuals, with ratios between the two reconstructed daughter cells of the zygote ranging from 60:40 to 93:7. Asymmetries pervade subsequent generations and can differ between tissues in the same individual. The phylogenies resolve the spatial embryonic patterning of tissues, revealing contiguous patches of, on average, 301 crypts in the adult colonic epithelium derived from a most recent embryonic cell and also a spatial effect in brain development. Using data from ten additional men, we investigated the developmental split between soma and germline, with results suggesting an extraembryonic contribution to primordial germ cells. This research demonstrates that, despite reaching the same ultimate tissue patterns, early bottlenecks and lineage commitments lead to substantial variation in embryonic patterns both within and between individuals.


Subject(s)
Cell Lineage/genetics , Embryo, Mammalian/cytology , Embryo, Mammalian/metabolism , Embryonic Development/genetics , Mutation , Brain/metabolism , Chromosomes, Human, Y/genetics , Clone Cells/metabolism , Germ-Line Mutation/genetics , Humans , Male , Mosaicism , Organ Specificity/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics
7.
Am J Hum Genet ; 110(7): 1138-1161, 2023 07 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37339630

ABSTRACT

Autoimmunity and cancer represent two different aspects of immune dysfunction. Autoimmunity is characterized by breakdowns in immune self-tolerance, while impaired immune surveillance can allow for tumorigenesis. The class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I), which displays derivatives of the cellular peptidome for immune surveillance by CD8+ T cells, serves as a common genetic link between these conditions. As melanoma-specific CD8+ T cells have been shown to target melanocyte-specific peptide antigens more often than melanoma-specific antigens, we investigated whether vitiligo- and psoriasis-predisposing MHC-I alleles conferred a melanoma-protective effect. In individuals with cutaneous melanoma from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (n = 451) and an independent validation set (n = 586), MHC-I autoimmune-allele carrier status was significantly associated with a later age of melanoma diagnosis. Furthermore, MHC-I autoimmune-allele carriers were significantly associated with decreased risk of developing melanoma in the Million Veteran Program (OR = 0.962, p = 0.024). Existing melanoma polygenic risk scores (PRSs) did not predict autoimmune-allele carrier status, suggesting these alleles provide orthogonal risk-relevant information. Mechanisms of autoimmune protection were neither associated with improved melanoma-driver mutation association nor improved gene-level conserved antigen presentation relative to common alleles. However, autoimmune alleles showed higher affinity relative to common alleles for particular windows of melanocyte-conserved antigens and loss of heterozygosity of autoimmune alleles caused the greatest reduction in presentation for several conserved antigens across individuals with loss of HLA alleles. Overall, this study presents evidence that MHC-I autoimmune-risk alleles modulate melanoma risk unaccounted for by current PRSs.


Subject(s)
Melanoma , Skin Neoplasms , Humans , Alleles , Melanoma/genetics , Melanoma/metabolism , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , Skin Neoplasms/genetics , Histocompatibility , Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/genetics
8.
Plant J ; 118(2): 457-468, 2024 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38198228

ABSTRACT

Carotenoids perform a broad range of important functions in humans; therefore, carotenoid biofortification of maize (Zea mays L.), one of the most highly produced cereal crops worldwide, would have a global impact on human health. PLASTID TERMINAL OXIDASE (PTOX) genes play an important role in carotenoid metabolism; however, the possible function of PTOX in carotenoid biosynthesis in maize has not yet been explored. In this study, we characterized the maize PTOX locus by forward- and reverse-genetic analyses. While most higher plant species possess a single copy of the PTOX gene, maize carries two tandemly duplicated copies. Characterization of mutants revealed that disruption of either copy resulted in a carotenoid-deficient phenotype. We identified mutations in the PTOX genes as being causal of the classic maize mutant, albescent1. Remarkably, overexpression of ZmPTOX1 significantly improved the content of carotenoids, especially ß-carotene (provitamin A), which was increased by ~threefold, in maize kernels. Overall, our study shows that maize PTOX locus plays an important role in carotenoid biosynthesis in maize kernels and suggests that fine-tuning the expression of this gene could improve the nutritional value of cereal grains.


Subject(s)
Oxidoreductases , Zea mays , Humans , Oxidoreductases/genetics , Oxidoreductases/metabolism , Zea mays/genetics , Zea mays/metabolism , Carotenoids/metabolism , beta Carotene/metabolism , Edible Grain/genetics , Edible Grain/metabolism , Plastids/genetics , Plastids/metabolism
9.
Am J Hum Genet ; 109(7): 1286-1297, 2022 07 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35716666

ABSTRACT

Despite the growing number of genome-wide association studies (GWASs), it remains unclear to what extent gene-by-gene and gene-by-environment interactions influence complex traits in humans. The magnitude of genetic interactions in complex traits has been difficult to quantify because GWASs are generally underpowered to detect individual interactions of small effect. Here, we develop a method to test for genetic interactions that aggregates information across all trait-associated loci. Specifically, we test whether SNPs in regions of European ancestry shared between European American and admixed African American individuals have the same causal effect sizes. We hypothesize that in African Americans, the presence of genetic interactions will drive the causal effect sizes of SNPs in regions of European ancestry to be more similar to those of SNPs in regions of African ancestry. We apply our method to two traits: gene expression in 296 African Americans and 482 European Americans in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in 74K African Americans and 296K European Americans in the Million Veteran Program (MVP). We find significant evidence for genetic interactions in our analysis of gene expression; for LDL-C, we observe a similar point estimate, although this is not significant, most likely due to lower statistical power. These results suggest that gene-by-gene or gene-by-environment interactions modify the effect sizes of causal variants in human complex traits.


Subject(s)
Genome-Wide Association Study , Multifactorial Inheritance , Cholesterol, LDL , Gene Expression , Humans , Multifactorial Inheritance/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , White People/genetics
10.
Development ; 149(21)2022 11 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36205097

ABSTRACT

Lymphangiogenesis is a dynamic process that involves the directed migration of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) to form lymphatic vessels. The molecular mechanisms that underpin lymphatic vessel patterning are not fully elucidated and, to date, no global regulator of lymphatic vessel guidance is known. In this study, we identify the transmembrane cell signalling receptor Plexin D1 (Plxnd1) as a negative regulator of both lymphatic vessel guidance and lymphangiogenesis in zebrafish. plxnd1 is expressed in developing lymphatics and is required for the guidance of both the trunk and facial lymphatic networks. Loss of plxnd1 is associated with misguided intersegmental lymphatic vessel growth and aberrant facial lymphatic branches. Lymphatic guidance in the trunk is mediated, at least in part, by the Plxnd1 ligands, Semaphorin 3AA and Semaphorin 3C. Finally, we show that Plxnd1 normally antagonises Vegfr/Erk signalling to ensure the correct number of facial LECs and that loss of plxnd1 results in facial lymphatic hyperplasia. As a global negative regulator of lymphatic vessel development, the Sema/Plxnd1 signalling pathway is a potential therapeutic target for treating diseases associated with dysregulated lymphatic growth.


Subject(s)
Lymphatic Vessels , Semaphorins , Animals , Zebrafish/genetics , Zebrafish/metabolism , Endothelial Cells/metabolism , Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics , Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism , Lymphangiogenesis/genetics , Lymphatic Vessels/metabolism , Semaphorins/genetics , Semaphorins/metabolism , Carrier Proteins/metabolism , Receptors, Cell Surface/genetics , Receptors, Cell Surface/metabolism , Zebrafish Proteins/genetics , Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism
11.
J Virol ; 98(6): e0082524, 2024 Jun 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38809027

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the importance of health literacy and trust in pandemic management. Collaborating with the community to prepare for pandemics is incredibly effective in fostering understanding and building trust in public health and scientific research.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Literacy , Public Health , Trust , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Pandemics/prevention & control
12.
J Virol ; 98(6): e0062624, 2024 Jun 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38747601

ABSTRACT

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b were detected in North America in the winter of 2021/2022. These viruses have spread across the Americas, causing morbidity and mortality in both wild and domestic birds as well as some mammalian species, including cattle. Many surveillance programs for wildlife as well as commercial poultry operations have detected these viruses. In this study, we conducted surveillance of avian species in the urban environment in New York City. We detected highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses in six samples from four different bird species and performed whole-genome sequencing. Sequencing analysis showed the presence of multiple different genotypes. Our work highlights that the interface between animals and humans that may give rise to zoonotic infections or even pandemics is not limited to rural environments and commercial poultry operations but extends into the heart of our urban centers.IMPORTANCEWhile surveillance programs for avian influenza viruses are often focused on migratory routes and their associated stop-over locations or commercial poultry operations, many bird species-including migratory birds-frequent or live in urban green spaces and wetlands. This brings them into contact with a highly dense population of humans and pets, providing an extensive urban animal-human interface in which the general public may have little awareness of circulating infectious diseases. This study focuses on virus surveillance of this interface, combined with culturally responsive science education and community outreach.


Subject(s)
Animals, Wild , Birds , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype , Influenza in Birds , Animals , Humans , Animals, Wild/virology , Birds/virology , Genome, Viral/genetics , Genotype , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/genetics , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/isolation & purification , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/pathogenicity , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype/classification , Influenza in Birds/virology , Influenza in Birds/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/virology , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , New York City/epidemiology , Poultry/virology , Whole Genome Sequencing , Viral Zoonoses/virology
13.
Brief Bioinform ; 24(4)2023 07 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37401373

ABSTRACT

Recent advances and achievements of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as deep and graph learning models have established their usefulness in biomedical applications, especially in drug-drug interactions (DDIs). DDIs refer to a change in the effect of one drug to the presence of another drug in the human body, which plays an essential role in drug discovery and clinical research. DDIs prediction through traditional clinical trials and experiments is an expensive and time-consuming process. To correctly apply the advanced AI and deep learning, the developer and user meet various challenges such as the availability and encoding of data resources, and the design of computational methods. This review summarizes chemical structure based, network based, natural language processing based and hybrid methods, providing an updated and accessible guide to the broad researchers and development community with different domain knowledge. We introduce widely used molecular representation and describe the theoretical frameworks of graph neural network models for representing molecular structures. We present the advantages and disadvantages of deep and graph learning methods by performing comparative experiments. We discuss the potential technical challenges and highlight future directions of deep and graph learning models for accelerating DDIs prediction.


Subject(s)
Artificial Intelligence , Neural Networks, Computer , Humans , Drug Interactions , Natural Language Processing , Drug Discovery
14.
Nat Chem Biol ; 19(4): 488-497, 2023 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36522463

ABSTRACT

Synthetic biology has shown remarkable potential to program living microorganisms for applications. However, a notable discrepancy exists between the current engineering practice-which focuses predominantly on planktonic cells-and the ubiquitous observation of microbes in nature that constantly alternate their lifestyles on environmental variations. Here we present the de novo construction of a synthetic genetic program that regulates bacterial life cycle and enables phase-specific gene expression. The program is orthogonal, harnessing an engineered protein from 45 candidates as the biofilm matrix building block. It is also highly controllable, allowing directed biofilm assembly and decomposition as well as responsive autonomous planktonic-biofilm phase transition. Coupling to synthesis modules, it is further programmable for various functional realizations that conjugate phase-specific biomolecular production with lifestyle alteration. This work establishes a versatile platform for microbial engineering across physiological regimes, thereby shedding light on a promising path for gene circuit applications in complex contexts.


Subject(s)
Bacteria , Biofilms , Bacteria/metabolism , Synthetic Biology
15.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol ; 44(5): 1114-1123, 2024 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38545784

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hundreds of biomarkers for peripheral artery disease (PAD) have been reported in the literature; however, the observational nature of these studies limits causal inference due to the potential of reverse causality and residual confounding. We sought to evaluate the potential causal impact of putative PAD biomarkers identified in human observational studies through genetic causal inference methods. METHODS: Putative circulating PAD biomarkers were identified from human observational studies through a comprehensive literature search based on terms related to PAD using PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase. Genetic instruments were generated from publicly available genome-wide association studies of circulating biomarkers. Two-sample Mendelian randomization was used to test the association of genetically determined biomarker levels with PAD using summary statistics from a genome-wide association study of 31 307 individuals with and 211 753 individuals without PAD in the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program and replicated in data from FinnGen comprised of 11 924 individuals with and 288 638 individuals without PAD. RESULTS: We identified 204 unique circulating biomarkers for PAD from the observational literature, of which 173 were genetically instrumented using genome-wide association study results. After accounting for multiple testing (false discovery rate, <0.05), 10 of 173 (5.8%) biomarkers had significant associations with PAD. These 10 biomarkers represented categories including plasma lipoprotein regulation, lipid homeostasis, and protein-lipid complex remodeling. Observational literature highlighted different pathways including inflammatory response, negative regulation of multicellular organismal processes, and regulation of response to external stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating human observational studies and genetic causal inference highlights several key pathways in PAD pathophysiology. This work demonstrates that a substantial portion of biomarkers identified in observational studies are not well supported by human genetic evidence and emphasizes the importance of triangulating evidence to understand PAD pathophysiology. Although the identified biomarkers offer insights into atherosclerotic development in the lower limb, their specificity to PAD compared with more widespread atherosclerosis requires further study.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers , Genome-Wide Association Study , Mendelian Randomization Analysis , Peripheral Arterial Disease , Humans , Peripheral Arterial Disease/genetics , Peripheral Arterial Disease/blood , Peripheral Arterial Disease/diagnosis , Biomarkers/blood , Observational Studies as Topic , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Risk Factors , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Predictive Value of Tests
16.
Brain ; 147(7): 2400-2413, 2024 Jul 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38654513

ABSTRACT

Memory clinic patients are a heterogeneous population representing various aetiologies of pathological ageing. It is not known whether divergent spatiotemporal progression patterns of brain atrophy, as previously described in Alzheimer's disease patients, are prevalent and clinically meaningful in this group of older adults. To uncover distinct atrophy subtypes, we applied the Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) algorithm to baseline structural MRI data from 813 participants enrolled in the DELCODE cohort (mean ± standard deviation, age = 70.67 ± 6.07 years, 52% females). Participants were cognitively unimpaired (n = 285) or fulfilled diagnostic criteria for subjective cognitive decline (n = 342), mild cognitive impairment (n = 118) or dementia of the Alzheimer's type (n = 68). Atrophy subtypes were compared in baseline demographics, fluid Alzheimer's disease biomarker levels, the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC-5) as well as episodic memory and executive functioning. PACC-5 trajectories over up to 240 weeks were examined. To test whether baseline atrophy subtype and stage predicted clinical trajectories before manifest cognitive impairment, we analysed PACC-5 trajectories and mild cognitive impairment conversion rates of cognitively unimpaired participants and those with subjective cognitive decline. Limbic-predominant and hippocampal-sparing atrophy subtypes were identified. Limbic-predominant atrophy initially affected the medial temporal lobes, followed by further temporal regions and, finally, the remaining cortical regions. At baseline, this subtype was related to older age, more pathological Alzheimer's disease biomarker levels, APOE ε4 carriership and an amnestic cognitive impairment. Hippocampal-sparing atrophy initially occurred outside the temporal lobe, with the medial temporal lobe spared up to advanced atrophy stages. This atrophy pattern also affected individuals with positive Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and was associated with more generalized cognitive impairment. Limbic-predominant atrophy, in all participants and in only unimpaired participants, was linked to more negative longitudinal PACC-5 slopes than observed in participants without or with hippocampal-sparing atrophy and increased the risk of mild cognitive impairment conversion. SuStaIn modelling was repeated in a sample from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 cohort. Highly similar atrophy progression patterns and associated cognitive profiles were identified. Cross-cohort model generalizability, at both the subject and the group level, was excellent, indicating reliable performance in previously unseen data. The proposed model is a promising tool for capturing heterogeneity among older adults at early at-risk states for Alzheimer's disease in applied settings. The implementation of atrophy subtype- and stage-specific end points might increase the statistical power of pharmacological trials targeting early Alzheimer's disease.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Atrophy , Cognitive Dysfunction , Disease Progression , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Female , Male , Atrophy/pathology , Aged , Cognitive Dysfunction/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Alzheimer Disease/pathology , Middle Aged , Brain/pathology , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Neuropsychological Tests , Cohort Studies , Aged, 80 and over , Memory, Episodic , Memory Disorders/pathology
17.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(1)2022 01 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34930827

ABSTRACT

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common degenerative cardiovascular disease whose pathobiology is not clearly understood. The cellular heterogeneity and cell-type-specific gene regulation of vascular cells in human AAA have not been well-characterized. Here, we performed analysis of whole-genome sequencing data in AAA patients versus controls with the aim of detecting disease-associated variants that may affect gene regulation in human aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMC) and human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC), two cell types of high relevance to AAA disease. To support this analysis, we generated H3K27ac HiChIP data for these cell types and inferred cell-type-specific gene regulatory networks. We observed that AAA-associated variants were most enriched in regulatory regions in AoSMC, compared with HAEC and CD4+ cells. The cell-type-specific regulation defined by this HiChIP data supported the importance of ERG and the KLF family of transcription factors in AAA disease. The analysis of regulatory elements that contain noncoding variants and also are differentially open between AAA patients and controls revealed the significance of the interleukin-6-mediated signaling pathway. This finding was further validated by including information from the deleteriousness effect of nonsynonymous single-nucleotide variants in AAA patients and additional control data from the Medical Genome Reference Bank dataset. These results shed important insights into AAA pathogenesis and provide a model for cell-type-specific analysis of disease-associated variants.


Subject(s)
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/genetics , Gene Regulatory Networks , Case-Control Studies , Cells, Cultured , Down-Regulation , Humans , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors/genetics , Transcriptional Regulator ERG/genetics
18.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(16): e2117465119, 2022 04 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35412890

ABSTRACT

Engineering N2-fixing symbioses between cereals and diazotrophic bacteria represents a promising strategy to sustainably deliver biologically fixed nitrogen (N) in agriculture. We previously developed novel transkingdom signaling between plants and bacteria, through plant production of the bacterial signal rhizopine, allowing control of bacterial gene expression in association with the plant. Here, we have developed both a homozygous rhizopine producing (RhiP) barley line and a hybrid rhizopine uptake system that conveys upon our model bacterium Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571 (Ac) 103-fold improved sensitivity for rhizopine perception. Using this improved genetic circuitry, we established tight rhizopine-dependent transcriptional control of the nitrogenase master regulator nifA and the N metabolism σ-factor rpoN, which drove nitrogenase expression and activity in vitro and in situ by bacteria colonizing RhiP barley roots. Although in situ nitrogenase activity was suboptimally effective relative to the wild-type strain, activation was specific to RhiP barley and was not observed on the roots of wild-type plants. This work represents a key milestone toward the development of a synthetic plant-controlled symbiosis in which the bacteria fix N2 only when in contact with the desired host plant and are prevented from interaction with nontarget plant species.


Subject(s)
Azorhizobium caulinodans , Edible Grain , Hordeum , Nitrogen Fixation , Nitrogenase , Plant Roots , Azorhizobium caulinodans/enzymology , Azorhizobium caulinodans/genetics , Edible Grain/microbiology , Hordeum/microbiology , Inositol/analogs & derivatives , Inositol/genetics , Inositol/metabolism , Nitrogenase/genetics , Nitrogenase/metabolism , Plant Roots/microbiology , Symbiosis
19.
PLoS Genet ; 18(6): e1010193, 2022 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35653334

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Height has been associated with many clinical traits but whether such associations are causal versus secondary to confounding remains unclear in many cases. To systematically examine this question, we performed a Mendelian Randomization-Phenome-wide association study (MR-PheWAS) using clinical and genetic data from a national healthcare system biobank. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Analyses were performed using data from the US Veterans Affairs (VA) Million Veteran Program in non-Hispanic White (EA, n = 222,300) and non-Hispanic Black (AA, n = 58,151) adults in the US. We estimated height genetic risk based on 3290 height-associated variants from a recent European-ancestry genome-wide meta-analysis. We compared associations of measured and genetically-predicted height with phenome-wide traits derived from the VA electronic health record, adjusting for age, sex, and genetic principal components. We found 345 clinical traits associated with measured height in EA and an additional 17 in AA. Of these, 127 were associated with genetically-predicted height at phenome-wide significance in EA and 2 in AA. These associations were largely independent from body mass index. We confirmed several previously described MR associations between height and cardiovascular disease traits such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease (CHD), and atrial fibrillation, and further uncovered MR associations with venous circulatory disorders and peripheral neuropathy in the presence and absence of diabetes. As a number of traits associated with genetically-predicted height frequently co-occur with CHD, we evaluated effect modification by CHD status of genetically-predicted height associations with risk factors for and complications of CHD. We found modification of effects of MR associations by CHD status for atrial fibrillation/flutter but not for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or venous circulatory disorders. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that height may be an unrecognized but biologically plausible risk factor for several common conditions in adults. However, more studies are needed to reliably exclude horizontal pleiotropy as a driving force behind at least some of the MR associations observed in this study.


Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation , Hypertension , Veterans , Adult , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genome-Wide Association Study , Humans , Hypertension/epidemiology , Hypertension/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics
20.
PLoS Genet ; 18(4): e1010113, 2022 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35482673

ABSTRACT

The study aims to determine the shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 severity with existing medical conditions using electronic health record (EHR) data. We conducted a Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) of genetic variants associated with critical illness (n = 35) or hospitalization (n = 42) due to severe COVID-19 using genome-wide association summary data from the Host Genetics Initiative. PheWAS analysis was performed using genotype-phenotype data from the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (MVP). Phenotypes were defined by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes mapped to clinically relevant groups using published PheWAS methods. Among 658,582 Veterans, variants associated with severe COVID-19 were tested for association across 1,559 phenotypes. Variants at the ABO locus (rs495828, rs505922) associated with the largest number of phenotypes (nrs495828 = 53 and nrs505922 = 59); strongest association with venous embolism, odds ratio (ORrs495828 1.33 (p = 1.32 x 10-199), and thrombosis ORrs505922 1.33, p = 2.2 x10-265. Among 67 respiratory conditions tested, 11 had significant associations including MUC5B locus (rs35705950) with increased risk of idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis OR 2.83, p = 4.12 × 10-191; CRHR1 (rs61667602) associated with reduced risk of pulmonary fibrosis, OR 0.84, p = 2.26× 10-12. The TYK2 locus (rs11085727) associated with reduced risk for autoimmune conditions, e.g., psoriasis OR 0.88, p = 6.48 x10-23, lupus OR 0.84, p = 3.97 x 10-06. PheWAS stratified by ancestry demonstrated differences in genotype-phenotype associations. LMNA (rs581342) associated with neutropenia OR 1.29 p = 4.1 x 10-13 among Veterans of African and Hispanic ancestry but not European. Overall, we observed a shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 severity and conditions related to underlying risk factors for severe and poor COVID-19 outcomes. Differing associations between genotype-phenotype across ancestries may inform heterogenous outcomes observed with COVID-19. Divergent associations between risk for severe COVID-19 with autoimmune inflammatory conditions both respiratory and non-respiratory highlights the shared pathways and fine balance of immune host response and autoimmunity and caution required when considering treatment targets.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Veterans , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/genetics , Genetic Association Studies , Genome-Wide Association Study/methods , Humans , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics
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