Combining the AKT inhibitor capivasertib and SERD fulvestrant is effective in palbociclib-resistant ER+ breast cancer preclinical models.

Combining the selective AKT inhibitor, capivasertib, and SERD, fulvestrant improved PFS in a Phase III clinical trial (CAPItello-291), treating HR+ breast cancer patients following aromatase inhibitors, with or without CDK4/6 inhibitors. However, clinical data suggests CDK4/6 treatment may reduce response to subsequent monotherapy endocrine treatment. To support understanding of trials such as CAPItello-291 and gain insight into this emerging population of patients, we explored how CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment influences ER+ breast tumour cell function and response to fulvestrant and capivasertib after CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment. In RB+, RB- T47D and MCF7 palbociclib-resistant cells ER pathway ER and Greb-1 expression were reduced versus naïve cells. PI3K-AKT pathway activation was also modified in RB+ cells, with capivasertib less effective at reducing pS6 in RB+ cells compared to parental cells. Expression profiling of parental versus palbociclib-resistant cells confirmed capivasertib, fulvestrant and the combination differentially impacted gene expression modulation in resistant cells, with different responses seen in T47D and MCF7 cells. Fulvestrant inhibition of ER-dependent genes was reduced. In resistant cells, the combination was less effective at reducing cell cycle genes, but a consistent reduction in cell fraction in S-phase was observed in naïve and resistant cells. Despite modified signalling responses, both RB+ and RB- resistant cells responded to combination treatment despite some reduction in relative efficacy and was effective in vivo in palbociclib-resistant PDX models. Collectively these findings demonstrate that simultaneous inhibition of AKT and ER signalling can be effective in models representing palbociclib resistance despite changes in pathway dependency.

Integrated analyses of growth differentiation factor-15 concentration and cardiometabolic diseases in humans.

Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF15) is a stress response cytokine that is elevated in several cardiometabolic diseases and has attracted interest as a potential therapeutic target. To further explore the association of GDF15 with human disease, we conducted a broad study into the phenotypic and genetic correlates of GDF15 concentration in up to 14,099 individuals. Assessment of 772 traits across 6610 participants in FINRISK identified associations of GDF15 concentration with a range of phenotypes including all-cause mortality, cardiometabolic disease, respiratory diseases and psychiatric disorders, as well as inflammatory markers. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of GDF15 concentration across three different assay platforms (n=14,099) confirmed significant heterogeneity due to a common missense variant (rs1058587; p.H202D) in GDF15, potentially due to epitope-binding artefacts. After conditioning on rs1058587, statistical fine mapping identified four independent putative causal signals at the locus. Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis found evidence of a causal relationship between GDF15 concentration and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) but not body mass index (BMI). Using reverse MR, we identified a potential causal association of BMI on GDF15 (IVW pFDR = 0.0040). Taken together, our data derived from human population cohorts do not support a role for moderately elevated GDF15 concentrations as a causal factor in human cardiometabolic disease but support its role as a biomarker of metabolic stress.

Identifying the Common Genetic Basis of Antidepressant Response.

Background: Antidepressants are a first-line treatment for depression. However, only a third of individuals experience remission after the first treatment. Common genetic variation, in part, likely regulates antidepressant response, yet the success of previous genome-wide association studies has been limited by sample size. This study performs the largest genetic analysis of prospectively assessed antidepressant response in major depressive disorder to gain insight into the underlying biology and enable out-of-sample prediction. Methods: Genome-wide analysis of remission (n remit = 1852, n nonremit = 3299) and percentage improvement (n = 5218) was performed. Single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability was estimated using genome-wide complex trait analysis. Genetic covariance with eight mental health phenotypes was estimated using polygenic scores/AVENGEME. Out-of-sample prediction of antidepressant response polygenic scores was assessed. Gene-level association analysis was performed using MAGMA and transcriptome-wide association study. Tissue, pathway, and drug binding enrichment were estimated using MAGMA. Results: Neither genome-wide association study identified genome-wide significant associations. Single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability was significantly different from zero for remission (h 2 = 0.132, SE = 0.056) but not for percentage improvement (h 2 = -0.018, SE = 0.032). Better antidepressant response was negatively associated with genetic risk for schizophrenia and positively associated with genetic propensity for educational attainment. Leave-one-out validation of antidepressant response polygenic scores demonstrated significant evidence of out-of-sample prediction, though results varied in external cohorts. Gene-based analyses identified ETV4 and DHX8 as significantly associated with antidepressant response. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that antidepressant response is influenced by common genetic variation, has a genetic overlap schizophrenia and educational attainment, and provides a useful resource for future research. Larger sample sizes are required to attain the potential of genetics for understanding and predicting antidepressant response.

Identification of a missense variant in SPDL1 associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disorder characterised by progressive, destructive lung scarring. Despite substantial progress, the genetic determinants of this disease remain incompletely defined. Using whole genome and whole exome sequencing data from 752 individuals with sporadic IPF and 119,055 UK Biobank controls, we performed a variant-level exome-wide association study (ExWAS) and gene-level collapsing analyses. Our variant-level analysis revealed a novel association between a rare missense variant in SPDL1 and IPF (NM_017785.5:g.169588475 G > A p.Arg20Gln; p = 2.4 × 10-7, odds ratio = 2.87, 95% confidence interval: 2.03-4.07). This signal was independently replicated in the FinnGen cohort, which contains 1028 cases and 196,986 controls (combined p = 2.2 × 10-20), firmly associating this variant as an IPF risk allele. SPDL1 encodes Spindly, a protein involved in mitotic checkpoint signalling during cell division that has not been previously described in fibrosis. To the best of our knowledge, these results highlight a novel mechanism underlying IPF, providing the potential for new therapeutic discoveries in a disease of great unmet need.

Genome-wide association study of antidepressant treatment resistance in a population-based cohort using health service prescription data and meta-analysis with GENDEP.

Antidepressants demonstrate modest response rates in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of antidepressant treatment response, the underlying genetic factors are unknown. Using prescription data in a population and family-based cohort (Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study; GS:SFHS), we sought to define a measure of (a) antidepressant treatment resistance and (b) stages of antidepressant resistance by inferring antidepressant switching as non-response to treatment. GWAS were conducted separately for antidepressant treatment resistance in GS:SFHS and the Genome-based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP) study and then meta-analysed (meta-analysis n = 4213, cases = 358). For stages of antidepressant resistance, a GWAS on GS:SFHS only was performed (n = 3452). Additionally, we conducted gene-set enrichment, polygenic risk scoring (PRS) and genetic correlation analysis. We did not identify any significant loci, genes or gene sets associated with antidepressant treatment resistance or stages of resistance. Significant positive genetic correlations of antidepressant treatment resistance and stages of resistance with neuroticism, psychological distress, schizotypy and mood disorder traits were identified. These findings suggest that larger sample sizes are needed to identify the genetic architecture of antidepressant treatment response, and that population-based observational studies may provide a tractable approach to achieving the necessary statistical power.

Impact of Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia on Cortical Structure in UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with many genetic variants of individually small effect contributing to phenotypic variation. Lower cortical thickness (CT), surface area, and cortical volume have been demonstrated in people with schizophrenia. Furthermore, a range of obstetric complications (e.g., lower birth weight) are consistently associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia. We investigated whether a high polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PGRS-SCZ) is associated with CT, surface area, and cortical volume in UK Biobank, a population-based sample, and tested for interactions with birth weight. METHODS: Data were available for 2864 participants (nmale/nfemale = 1382/1482; mean age = 62.35 years, SD = 7.40). Linear mixed models were used to test for associations among PGRS-SCZ and cortical volume, surface area, and CT and between PGRS-SCZ and birth weight. Interaction effects of these variables on cortical structure were also tested. RESULTS: We found a significant negative association between PGRS-SCZ and global CT; a higher PGRS-SCZ was associated with lower CT across the whole brain. We also report a significant negative association between PGRS-SCZ and insular lobe CT. PGRS-SCZ was not associated with birth weight and no PGRS-SCZ × birth weight interactions were found. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that individual differences in CT are partly influenced by genetic variants and are most likely not due to factors downstream of disease onset. This approach may help to elucidate the genetic pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Further investigation in case-control and high-risk samples could help identify any localized effects of PGRS-SCZ, and other potential schizophrenia risk factors, on CT as symptoms develop.

Genome-wide meta-analysis of depression identifies 102 independent variants and highlights the importance of the prefrontal brain regions.

Major depression is a debilitating psychiatric illness that is typically associated with low mood and anhedonia. Depression has a heritable component that has remained difficult to elucidate with current sample sizes due to the polygenic nature of the disorder. To maximize sample size, we meta-analyzed data on 807,553 individuals (246,363 cases and 561,190 controls) from the three largest genome-wide association studies of depression. We identified 102 independent variants, 269 genes, and 15 genesets associated with depression, including both genes and gene pathways associated with synaptic structure and neurotransmission. An enrichment analysis provided further evidence of the importance of prefrontal brain regions. In an independent replication sample of 1,306,354 individuals (414,055 cases and 892,299 controls), 87 of the 102 associated variants were significant after multiple testing correction. These findings advance our understanding of the complex genetic architecture of depression and provide several future avenues for understanding etiology and developing new treatment approaches.

Pharmaco-epidemiology of antidepressant exposure in a UK cohort record-linkage study.

OBJECTIVES: Antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medication but concern has been raised about significant increases in their usage in high income countries. We aimed to quantify antidepressant prevalence, incidence, adherence and predictors of use in the adult population. METHODS: The study record-linked administrative prescribing and morbidity data to the Generation Scotland cohort ( N = 11,052), between 2009 and 2016. Prevalence and incidence of any antidepressant use was determined. Antidepressant adherence was measured using Proportion of Days Covered and Medication Possession Ratio. Time-to-event analysis for incident antidepressant use within 5 years of Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS:SFHS) recruitment was performed to reveal patient-level predictors of use. RESULTS: Almost one-third (28.0%, 95%CI 26.9-29.1) of the adults in our sample were prescribed at least one antidepressant in the 5-year period 2012-2016. There was a 36.2% increase in annual prevalence between 2010 and 2016. Incidence was 2.4(2.1-2.7)% per year. The majority of antidepressant episodes (57.6%) were greater than 9 months duration and adherence was generally high (69.0% with Proportion of Days Covered >80%). Predictors of new antidepressant use included history of affective disorder, being female, physical comorbidities, higher neuroticism scores, and lower cognitive function scores. CONCLUSIONS: Antidepressant prevalence is greater than previously reported but incidence remains relatively stable. We found the majority of antidepressant episodes to be of relatively long duration with good estimated adherence. Our study supports the hypothesis that increased long-term use among existing (and returning) users, along with wider ranges of indications for antidepressants, has significantly increased the prevalence of these medications.

Genome-wide association study of depression phenotypes in UK Biobank identifies variants in excitatory synaptic pathways.

Depression is a polygenic trait that causes extensive periods of disability. Previous genetic studies have identified common risk variants which have progressively increased in number with increasing sample sizes of the respective studies. Here, we conduct a genome-wide association study in 322,580 UK Biobank participants for three depression-related phenotypes: broad depression, probable major depressive disorder (MDD), and International Classification of Diseases (ICD, version 9 or 10)-coded MDD. We identify 17 independent loci that are significantly associated (P < 5 × 10-8) across the three phenotypes. The direction of effect of these loci is consistently replicated in an independent sample, with 14 loci likely representing novel findings. Gene sets are enriched in excitatory neurotransmission, mechanosensory behaviour, post synapse, neuron spine and dendrite functions. Our findings suggest that broad depression is the most tractable UK Biobank phenotype for discovering genes and gene sets that further our understanding of the biological pathways underlying depression.

Genome-wide meta-analyses of stratified depression in Generation Scotland and UK Biobank.

Few replicable genetic associations for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) have been identified. Recent studies of MDD have identified common risk variants by using a broader phenotype definition in very large samples, or by reducing phenotypic and ancestral heterogeneity. We sought to ascertain whether it is more informative to maximize the sample size using data from all available cases and controls, or to use a sex or recurrent stratified subset of affected individuals. To test this, we compared heritability estimates, genetic correlation with other traits, variance explained by MDD polygenic score, and variants identified by genome-wide meta-analysis for broad and narrow MDD classifications in two large British cohorts - Generation Scotland and UK Biobank. Genome-wide meta-analysis of MDD in males yielded one genome-wide significant locus on 3p22.3, with three genes in this region (CRTAP, GLB1, and TMPPE) demonstrating a significant association in gene-based tests. Meta-analyzed MDD, recurrent MDD and female MDD yielded equivalent heritability estimates, showed no detectable difference in association with polygenic scores, and were each genetically correlated with six health-correlated traits (neuroticism, depressive symptoms, subjective well-being, MDD, a cross-disorder phenotype and Bipolar Disorder). Whilst stratified GWAS analysis revealed a genome-wide significant locus for male MDD, the lack of independent replication, and the consistent pattern of results in other MDD classifications suggests that phenotypic stratification using recurrence or sex in currently available sample sizes is currently weakly justified. Based upon existing studies and our findings, the strategy of maximizing sample sizes is likely to provide the greater gain.

Haplotype-based association analysis of general cognitive ability in Generation Scotland, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive ability is a heritable trait with a polygenic architecture, for which several associated variants have been identified using genotype-based and candidate gene approaches. Haplotype-based analyses are a complementary technique that take phased genotype data into account, and potentially provide greater statistical power to detect lower frequency variants. METHODS: In the present analysis, three cohort studies (n total = 48,002) were utilised: Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS:SFHS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), and the UK Biobank. A genome-wide haplotype-based meta-analysis of cognitive ability was performed, as well as a targeted meta-analysis of several gene coding regions. RESULTS: None of the assessed haplotypes provided evidence of a statistically significant association with cognitive ability in either the individual cohorts or the meta-analysis. Within the meta-analysis, the haplotype with the lowest observed P-value overlapped with the D-amino acid oxidase activator ( DAOA) gene coding region. This coding region has previously been associated with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, which have all been shown to impact upon cognitive ability. Another potentially interesting region highlighted within the current genome-wide association analysis (GS:SFHS: P = 4.09 x 10 -7), was the butyrylcholinesterase ( BCHE) gene coding region. The protein encoded by BCHE has been shown to influence the progression of Alzheimer's disease and its role in cognitive ability merits further investigation. CONCLUSIONS: Although no evidence was found for any haplotypes with a statistically significant association with cognitive ability, our results did provide further evidence that the genetic variants contributing to the variance of cognitive ability are likely to be of small effect.