A Genome-Wide Association Study of Small Cell Lung Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) comprises 10-15% of all lung cancer cases and is the most aggressive histological type. Survival is poor and the molecular landscape of this disease is extraordinarily complex. The objective of this paper was to perform a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) of this disease using a case-control study specifically designed for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). METHODS: Incident cases were consecutively recruited from 8 hospitals from different regions of Spain. Controls were recruited from the same hospitals using a frequency sampling based on age and sex distribution of cases. Biological samples were obtained along with detailed information on cases and controls lifestyle, including tobacco and radon exposure. RESULTS: We included 271 SCLC cases and 557 controls. We found evidence (p-values<10-5) of an association in the complete dataset for several loci, while MAP4 showed a significant association in the gene-based analysis. Pathway analysis suggested that ATR, ATRIP, MCM4, MCM5, ORC4, RPA3 and CDC25A genes have a role on the onset of SCLC. CONCLUSION: This study provides biological evidence for pathways related to SCLC, offering novel loci for further research.

Multi-omics signatures of the human early life exposome.

Environmental exposures during early life play a critical role in life-course health, yet the molecular phenotypes underlying environmental effects on health are poorly understood. In the Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) project, a multi-centre cohort of 1301 mother-child pairs, we associate individual exposomes consisting of >100 chemical, outdoor, social and lifestyle exposures assessed in pregnancy and childhood, with multi-omics profiles (methylome, transcriptome, proteins and metabolites) in childhood. We identify 1170 associations, 249 in pregnancy and 921 in childhood, which reveal potential biological responses and sources of exposure. Pregnancy exposures, including maternal smoking, cadmium and molybdenum, are predominantly associated with child DNA methylation changes. In contrast, childhood exposures are associated with features across all omics layers, most frequently the serum metabolome, revealing signatures for diet, toxic chemical compounds, essential trace elements, and weather conditions, among others. Our comprehensive and unique resource of all associations ( https://helixomics.isglobal.org/ ) will serve to guide future investigation into the biological imprints of the early life exposome.

Differential admixture in Latin American populations and its impact on the study of colorectal cancer.

Genome-wide association studies focused on searching genes responsible for several diseases. Admixture mapping studies proposed a more efficient alternative capable of detecting polymorphisms contributing with a small effect on the disease risk. This method focuses on the higher values of linkage disequilibrium in admixed populations. To test this, we analyzed 10 genomic regions previously defined as related with colorectal cancer among nine populations and studied the variation pattern of haplotypic structures and heterozygosity values on seven categories of SNPs. Both analyses showed differences among chromosomal regions and studied populations. Admixed Latin-American samples generally show intermediate values. Heterozygosity of the SNPs grouped in categories varies more in each gene than in each population. African related populations have more blocks per chromosomal region, coherently with their antiquity. In sum, some similarities were found among Latin American populations, but each chromosomal region showed a particular behavior, despite the fact that the study refers to genes and regions related with one particular complex disease. This study strongly suggests the necessity of developing statistical methods to deal with di- or tri-hybrid populations, as well as to carefully analyze the different historic and demographic scenarios, and the different characteristics of particular chromosomal regions and evolutionary forces.

In utero and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke and multi-layer molecular signatures in children.

BACKGROUND: The adverse health effects of early life exposure to tobacco smoking have been widely reported. In spite of this, the underlying molecular mechanisms of in utero and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke are only partially understood. Here, we aimed to identify multi-layer molecular signatures associated with exposure to tobacco smoke in these two exposure windows. METHODS: We investigated the associations of maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure with molecular features measured in 1203 European children (mean age 8.1 years) from the Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) project. Molecular features, covering 4 layers, included blood DNA methylation and gene and miRNA transcription, plasma proteins, and sera and urinary metabolites. RESULTS: Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with DNA methylation changes at 18 loci in child blood. DNA methylation at 5 of these loci was related to expression of the nearby genes. However, the expression of these genes themselves was only weakly associated with maternal smoking. Conversely, childhood SHS was not associated with blood DNA methylation or transcription patterns, but with reduced levels of several serum metabolites and with increased plasma PAI1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), a protein that inhibits fibrinolysis. Some of the in utero and childhood smoking-related molecular marks showed dose-response trends, with stronger effects with higher dose or longer duration of the exposure. CONCLUSION: In this first study covering multi-layer molecular features, pregnancy and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke were associated with distinct molecular phenotypes in children. The persistent and dose-dependent changes in the methylome make CpGs good candidates to develop biomarkers of past exposure. Moreover, compared to methylation, the weak association of maternal smoking in pregnancy with gene expression suggests different reversal rates and a methylation-based memory to past exposures. Finally, certain metabolites and protein markers evidenced potential early biological effects of postnatal SHS, such as fibrinolysis.

Genome-wide association analysis implicates dysregulation of immunity genes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Several chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) susceptibility loci have been reported; however, much of the heritable risk remains unidentified. Here we perform a meta-analysis of six genome-wide association studies, imputed using a merged reference panel of 1,000 Genomes and UK10K data, totalling 6,200 cases and 17,598 controls after replication. We identify nine risk loci at 1p36.11 (rs34676223, P=5.04 × 10-13), 1q42.13 (rs41271473, P=1.06 × 10-10), 4q24 (rs71597109, P=1.37 × 10-10), 4q35.1 (rs57214277, P=3.69 × 10-8), 6p21.31 (rs3800461, P=1.97 × 10-8), 11q23.2 (rs61904987, P=2.64 × 10-11), 18q21.1 (rs1036935, P=3.27 × 10-8), 19p13.3 (rs7254272, P=4.67 × 10-8) and 22q13.33 (rs140522, P=2.70 × 10-9). These new and established risk loci map to areas of active chromatin and show an over-representation of transcription factor binding for the key determinants of B-cell development and immune response.

Thyroid cancer GWAS identifies 10q26.12 and 6q14.1 as novel susceptibility loci and reveals genetic heterogeneity among populations.

Thyroid cancer is the most heritable cancer of all those not displaying typical Mendelian inheritance. However, most of the genetic factors that would explain the high heritability remain unknown. Our aim was to identify additional common genetic variants associated with susceptibility to this disease. In order to do so, we performed a genome-wide association study in a series of 398 cases and 502 controls from Spain, followed by a replication in four well-defined Southern European case-control collections contributing a total of 1,422 cases and 1,908 controls. The association between the variation at the 9q22 locus near FOXE1 and thyroid cancer risk was consistent across all series, with several SNPs identified (rs7028661: OR = 1.64, p = 1.0 × 10(-22) , rs7037324: OR = 1.54, p = 1.2 × 10(-17) ). Moreover, the rare alleles of three SNPs (rs2997312, rs10788123 and rs1254167) at 10q26.12 showed suggestive evidence of association with higher risk of the disease (OR = 1.35, p = 1.2 × 10(-04) , OR = 1.26, p = 5.2 × 10(-04) and OR = 1.38, p = 5.9 × 10(-05) , respectively). Finally, the rare allele of rs4075570 at 6q14.1 conferred protection in the series studied (OR = 0.82, p = 2.0 × 10(-04) ). This study suggests that heterogeneity in genetic susceptibility between populations is a key feature to take into account when exploring genetic risk factors related to this disease.

A new approach to long QT syndrome mutation detection by Sequenom MassARRAY system.

Congenital long QT syndrome is an inherited cardiac disorder characterized by a prolonged QT interval and polymorphic ventricular arrhythmias that could result in recurrent syncope, seizures or sudden death as the most dramatic event. Until now QT interval mutations have been described in 12 genes, where the majority of mutations reside in three genes KCNQ1, KCNH2, and SCN5A. Diagnosis and prognosis are directly related with the gene and mutation involved. We have developed a diagnostic approach for long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome based on published mutations and Sequenom MassArray system. Three diagnostic tests have been developed, oriented to each of the three most prevalent genes in the long QT syndrome. A total of 433 mutations are analyzed in 38 multiplex reactions, allowing their detection in about 48 h. Tests were validated on 502 samples from individuals with different clinical conditions and family history. The average call rates obtained for each of the tests were 93, 83, and 73% in KCNQ1, KCNH2, and SCNA, respectively. Sequenom MassARRAY mutation detection is a reliable, highly flexible, and cost-efficient alternative to conventional methods for genetic testing in long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, facilitating flexible upgrades of the version of the test presented here with the inclusion of new mutations.