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Archive for the ‘Gene Regulation’ Category

Opinion on the use of Germline Genome Editing in IVF

Posted in Gene Regulation, Gene Therapy & Gene Editing Development, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genome Biology, Genomic Testing: Methodology for Diagnosis, Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Reproductive Andrology, Embryology, Genomic Endocrinology, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Reproductive Genomics, Reproductive Biology & Bio Instrumentation on February 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

 

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) is now regarded as a huge clinical success which has benefitted an estimated 16 million parents, at the time the development not only sparked moral outrage but led to political and legislative constraints. Patients undergoing IVF may be presented with numerous assisted reproductive treatments purportedly increasing the chances of pregnancy. Such commercialised “IVF add-ons” often come at high costs without clinical evidence of validity. Additionally, long-term studies of children born through IVF have historically been scarce and inconsistent in their data collection. This has meant that potential genetic predispositions, such as increased body fat composition and blood pressure, as well as congenital abnormalities long associated with IVF births, lack proof of causality.

 

With Preimplantation genetic testing mutated embryos are automatically discarded, whereas CRISPR could correct mutations to increase the number of viable embryos for implantation. Moreover, in instances where all embryos in a given cycle are destined to develop with severe or lethal mutations, CRISPR could bring success for otherwise doomed IVF treatments. Genetic screening programs offered to couples in hot-spot areas of carrier frequency of monogenic disorders have had huge success in alleviating regional disease burdens. Carried out since the 1970s these programs have altered the course of natural evolution, but few would dispute their benefits in preventing heritable disease transmission.

 

Mutations are as inevitable as death and taxes. Whilst age is considered one of the largest factors in de-novo mutation generation, it appears that these are inherited primarily from the paternal line. Thus, the paternal age of conception predominantly determines the mutation frequency inherited by children. Whereas advanced maternal age is not associated with mutagenic allele frequency but chromosomal abnormalities. The risk of aneuploidy rises steadily in mothers over the age of 26. Although embryos are screened for aneuploidy prior to implantation, with so many other factors simultaneously being screened the probability of having enough embryos remaining to allow for 50% rate of blastocyte development in-vitro are often fairly low.

 

Despite IVF being used routinely for over 40 years now, it’s not abundantly clear if, or how often, IVF may introduce genomic alternations or off-target affects in embryos. Likewise, scientists and clinicians are often unable to scrutinise changes produced through natural cellular processes including recombination and aging. So, it may be OK to do controlled experiments on using CRISPR to try and prevent multi-generational suffering. But, there has to be a long term investigation on the side effects of germline genome editing. Science has advanced a lot but still there are lot of things that are yet to be described or discovered by science. Trying to reduce human suffering should not give rise to new bigger sufferings and care must be taken not to create a Frankenstein.

 

References:

 

http://www.frontlinegenomics.com/news/29321/opinion-piece-morally-is-germline-genome-editing-all-that-different-to-ivf/

 

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Evolution of the Human Cell Genome Biology Field of Gene Expression, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulatory Networks and Application of Machine Learning Algorithms in Large-Scale Biological Data Analysis

Posted in Advanced Computing Platform, Big Data, BioIT: BioInformatics, NGS, Clinical & Translational, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Clinical Genomics, Cancer Informatics, Biological Networks, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Computational Biology/Systems and Bioinformatics, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Intelligent Information Systems, Single Cell Genomics, Single-cell sequencing, Variation in human protein-coding regions on December 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Evolution of the Human Cell Genome Biology Field of Gene Expression, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulatory Networks and Application of Machine Learning Algorithms in Large-Scale Biological Data Analysis

Curator & Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

Subjects:

The Scientific Frontier is presented in Deciphering eukaryotic gene-regulatory logic with 100 million random promoters

Boer, C.G., Vaishnav, E.D., Sadeh, R. et al. Deciphering eukaryotic gene-regulatory logic with 100 million random promoters. Nat Biotechnol (2019) doi:10.1038/s41587-019-0315-8

Abstract

How transcription factors (TFs) interpret cis-regulatory DNA sequence to control gene expression remains unclear, largely because past studies using native and engineered sequences had insufficient scale. Here, we measure the expression output of >100 million synthetic yeast promoter sequences that are fully random. These sequences yield diverse, reproducible expression levels that can be explained by their chance inclusion of functional TF binding sites. We use machine learning to build interpretable models of transcriptional regulation that predict ~94% of the expression driven from independent test promoters and ~89% of the expression driven from native yeast promoter fragments. These models allow us to characterize each TF’s specificity, activity and interactions with chromatin. TF activity depends on binding-site strand, position, DNA helical face and chromatin context. Notably, expression level is influenced by weak regulatory interactions, which confound designed-sequence studies. Our analyses show that massive-throughput assays of fully random DNA can provide the big data necessary to develop complex, predictive models of gene regulation.

The Evolution of the Human Cell Genome Biology Field of Gene Expression, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulatory Networks and Application of Machine Learning Algorithms in Large-Scale Biological Data Analysis is presented in the following Table

 

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9 Hughes, T. R. & de Boer, C. G. Mapping yeast transcriptional networks. Genetics 195, 9–36 (2013).
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29 Hartley, P. D. & Madhani, H. D. Mechanisms that specify promoter nucleosome location and identity. Cell 137, 445–458 (2009).
51 Gibson, D. G. et al. Enzymatic assembly of DNA molecules up to several hundred kilobases. Nat. Methods 6, 343–345 (2009).
58 Segal, E. & Widom, J. From DNA sequence to transcriptional behaviour: a quantitative approach. Nat. Rev. Genet. 10, 443–456 (2009).
2 Yuan, Y., Guo, L., Shen, L. & Liu, J. S. Predicting gene expression from sequence: a reexamination. PLoS Comput. Biol. 3, e243 (2007).
46 Hibbs, M. A. et al. Exploring the functional landscape of gene expression: directed search of large microarray compendia. Bioinformatics 23, 2692–2699 (2007).
25 Liu, X., Lee, C. K., Granek, J. A., Clarke, N. D. & Lieb, J. D. Whole-genome comparison of Leu3 binding in vitro and in vivo reveals the importance of nucleosome occupancy in target site selection. Genome Res. 16, 1517–1528 (2006).
34 Roberts, G. G. & Hudson, A. P. Transcriptome profiling of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during a transition from fermentative to glycerol-based respiratory growth reveals extensive metabolic and structural remodeling. Mol. Genet. Genomics 276, 170–186 (2006).
48 Tanay, A. Extensive low-affinity transcriptional interactions in the yeast genome. Gen. Res. 16, 962–972 (2006).
53 Tong, A. H. & Boone, C. Synthetic genetic array analysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Methods Mol. Biol. 313, 171–192 (2006).
57 Li, W. & Godzik, A. Cd-hit: a fast program for clustering and comparing large sets of protein or nucleotide sequences. Bioinformatics 22, 1658–1659 (2006).
62 Chua, G. et al. Identifying transcription factor functions and targets by phenotypic activation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 12045–12050 (2006).
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1 Beer, M. A. & Tavazoie, S. Predicting gene expression from sequence. Cell 117, 185–198 (2004).
28 Bernstein, B. E., Liu, C. L., Humphrey, E. L., Perlstein, E. O. & Schreiber, S. L. Global nucleosome occupancy in yeast. Genome Biol. 5, R62 (2004).
44 Kim, T. S., Kim, H. Y., Yoon, J. H. & Kang, H. S. Recruitment of the Swi/Snf complex by Ste12-Tec1 promotes Flo8-Mss11-mediated activation of STA1 expression. Mol. Cell. Biol. 24, 9542–9556 (2004).
45 Harbison, C. T. et al. Transcriptional regulatory code of a eukaryotic genome. Nature 431, 99–104 (2004).
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To access each reference as a live link, go to the number in the first column in the Table and look it up in the List of References in the Link, below

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-019-0315-8

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

    • Carl G. de Boer
    • , Eeshit Dhaval Vaishnav
    • , Nir Friedman
    •  & Aviv Regev

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    • Eeshit Dhaval Vaishnav
    •  & Aviv Regev

  3. School of Computer Science and Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    • Ronen Sadeh
    •  & Nir Friedman

  4. Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    • Esteban Luis Abeyta

Contributions

C.G.D. and A.R. drafted the manuscript, with all authors contributing. C.G.D. analyzed the data. C.G.D., E.D.V., E.L.A. and R.S. performed the experiments. A.R. and N.F. supervised the research.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Carl G. de Boer or Aviv Regev.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

A.R. is an SAB member of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Neogene Therapeutics, Asimov, and Syros Pharmaceuticals, an equity holder of Immunitas, and a founder of and equity holder in Celsius Therapeutics. All other authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Cite this article

Boer, C.G., Vaishnav, E.D., Sadeh, R. et al. Deciphering eukaryotic gene-regulatory logic with 100 million random promoters. Nat Biotechnol (2019) doi:10.1038/s41587-019-0315-8

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Nature Biotechnology

ISSN 1546-1696 (online)

Nature Research

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NSPR1 and DEC2 genes: Survival on 4.5 hours of Sleep per night: A mutation in the β1-adrenergic receptor gene in humans who require fewer hours of sleep than most, ADRB1 + neurons are active during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wakefulness

Posted in Circadian Rhythm and Sleep, Gene Regulation, Genome Biology, Variation in human protein-coding regions on October 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

NSPR1 and DEC2 genes: Survival on 4.5 hours of Sleep per night: A mutation in the β1-adrenergic receptor gene in humans who require fewer hours of sleep than most, ADRB1 + neurons are active during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wakefulness

 

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

10/2019 RESEARCH ARTICLE SLEEP

Mutant neuropeptide S receptor reduces sleep duration with preserved memory consolidation

 See all authors and affiliations

Science Translational Medicine  16 Oct 2019:
Vol. 11, Issue 514, eaax2014
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aax2014

Abstract

Sleep is a crucial physiological process for our survival and cognitive performance, yet the factors controlling human sleep regulation remain poorly understood. Here, we identified a missense mutation in a G protein–coupled neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1) that is associated with a natural short sleep phenotype in humans. Mice carrying the homologous mutation exhibited less sleep time despite increased sleep pressure. These animals were also resistant to contextual memory deficits associated with sleep deprivation. In vivo, the mutant receptors showed increased sensitivity to neuropeptide S exogenous activation. These results suggest that the NPS/NPSR1 pathway might play a critical role in regulating human sleep duration and in the link between sleep homeostasis and memory consolidation.

It is possible that drugs could be developed to target either the NSPR1 or DEC2 genes, as a treatment for insomnia or other sleep disorders. However, further understanding of exactly how these genes function would be required before this stage. Both are involved in brain function, so targeting them could lead to negative neural side effects.

 

Neuron

Volume 103, Issue 6, 25 September 2019, Pages 1044-1055.e7

A Rare Mutation of β1-Adrenergic Receptor Affects Sleep/Wake Behaviors

Published:August 28, 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.07.026
https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(19)30652-X

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Highlights

  • A mutation in ADRB1 leads to natural short sleep trait in humans
  • Mice engineered with same mutation have similar short sleep behavior as humans
  • Activity of dorsal pons ADRB1 + neurons associates with REM sleep and wakefulness
  • Mutation increases the population activity of dorsal pons ADRB1 + neurons

Summary

Sleep is crucial for our survival, and many diseases are linked to long-term poor sleep quality. Before we can use sleep to enhance our health and performance and alleviate diseases associated with poor sleep, a greater understanding of sleep regulation is necessary. We have identified a mutation in the β 1-adrenergic receptor gene in humans who require fewer hours of sleep than most. In vitro, this mutation leads to decreased protein stability and dampened signaling in response to agonist treatment. In vivo, the mice carrying the same mutation demonstrated short sleep behavior. We found that this receptor is highly expressed in the dorsal pons and that these ADRB1 + neurons are active during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wakefulness. Activating these neurons can lead to wakefulness, and the activity of these neurons is affected by the mutation. These results highlight the important role of β 1-adrenergic receptors in sleep/wake regulation.

Keywords

Additional SOURCES

http://www.frontlinegenomics.com/news/27962/second-gene-mutation-that-lets-people-survive-on-less-sleep/

 

Other related articles on Circadian Rhythm and Sleep published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

 

2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Jeffrey C. Hall (ex-Brandeis, University of Maine), Michael Rosbash (Brandeis University) and Michael W. Young (Rockefeller University in New York) for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/10/02/2017-nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-jointly-to-jeffrey-c-hall-michael-rosbash-and-michael-w-young-for-their-discoveries-of-molecular-mechanisms-controlling-the-circadian-rhythm/

 

Patient-Reported Outcomes Study, Presented at SLEEP 2018, Provides Confirmatory Real-World Evidence of the Previously Presented 7-hour Action of REMfresh®, the First Continuous Release and Absorption Melatonin™

Reporter: Gail S. Thornton, PhD(c)

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2018/06/10/patient-reported-outcomes-study-presented-at-sleep-2018-provides-confirmatory-real-world-evidence-of-the-previously-presented-7-hour-action-of-remfresh-the-first-continuous-release-and-absorp/

 

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2017 award recipients including Thomas S. Kilduff, PhD, Director, Center for Neuroscience at SRI International in Menlo Park, California

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/04/28/sleep-research-society-announces-2017-award-recipients-including-thomas-s-kilduff-phd-director-center-for-neuroscience-at-sri-international-in-menlo-park-california/

 

Sleep and Memory

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/03/26/sleep-and-memory/

 

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Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/03/16/sleep-science/

 

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/02/27/genetic-link-to-sleep-and-mood-disorders/

 

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/02/12/sleep-apnea-insular-glutamate-and-gaba-levels/

 

Fat, Sleep and the Gut

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/02/06/fat-sleep-and-the-gut/

 

23andMe Genome-Wide Association Study on Human propensity to Get up early or Sleep in the Morning

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2015/10/31/sleep-quality-amyloid-and-cognitive-decline/

 

Study Shows Learning Is Best Enhanced During Sleep – Jewish Business News

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2014/09/02/study-shows-learning-is-best-enhanced-during-sleep-jewish-business-news/

 

Beta-Blockers Cause Lack Of Restful Sleep – Life Extension

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2014/08/04/beta-blockers-cause-lack-of-restful-sleep-life-extension/

 

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2019 Warren Alpert Foundation Award goes to Four Scientists for Seminal Discoveries in OptoGenetics – Illuminating the Human Brain

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Cancer Genomics: Multiomic Analysis of Single Cells and Tumor Heterogeneity

Posted in Anticancer Resistance, Artificial Intelligence - General, Bio-MEMS, Biological Networks, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Cancer - General, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cancer Informatics, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Gene Regulation, Genome Biology, Methylation, Single Cell Genomics, Single-cell sequencing, tagged , , , , , , on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Cancer Genomics: Multiomic Analysis of Single Cells and Tumor Heterogeneity

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

4.3.7

4.3.7 Cancer Genomics: Multiomic Analysis of Single Cells and Tumor Heterogeneity, Volume 2 (Volume Two: Latest in Genomics Methodologies for Therapeutics: Gene Editing, NGS and BioInformatics, Simulations and the Genome Ontology), Part 4: Single Cell Genomics

scTrio-seq identifies colon cancer lineages

Single-cell multiomics sequencing and analyses of human colorectal cancer. Shuhui Bian et al. Science  30 Nov 2018:Vol. 362, Issue 6418, pp. 1060-1063

To better design treatments for cancer, it is important to understand the heterogeneity in tumors and how this contributes to metastasis. To examine this process, Bian et al. used a single-cell triple omics sequencing (scTrio-seq) technique to examine the mutations, transcriptome, and methylome within colorectal cancer tumors and metastases from 10 individual patients. The analysis provided insights into tumor evolution, linked DNA methylation to genetic lineages, and showed that DNA methylation levels are consistent within lineages but can differ substantially among clones.

Science, this issue p. 1060

Abstract

Although genomic instability, epigenetic abnormality, and gene expression dysregulation are hallmarks of colorectal cancer, these features have not been simultaneously analyzed at single-cell resolution. Using optimized single-cell multiomics sequencing together with multiregional sampling of the primary tumor and lymphatic and distant metastases, we developed insights beyond intratumoral heterogeneity. Genome-wide DNA methylation levels were relatively consistent within a single genetic sublineage. The genome-wide DNA demethylation patterns of cancer cells were consistent in all 10 patients whose DNA we sequenced. The cancer cells’ DNA demethylation degrees clearly correlated with the densities of the heterochromatin-associated histone modification H3K9me3 of normal tissue and those of repetitive element long interspersed nuclear element 1. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of reconstructing genetic lineages and tracing their epigenomic and transcriptomic dynamics with single-cell multiomics sequencing.

Fig. 1 Reconstruction of genetic lineages with scTrio-seq2.

Global SCNA patterns (250-kb resolution) of CRC01. Each row represents an individual cell. The subclonal SCNAs used for identifying genetic sublineages were marked and indexed; for details, see fig. S6B. On the top of the heatmap, the amplification or deletion frequency of each genomic bin (250 kb) of the non-hypermutated CRC samples from the TCGA Project and patient CRC01’s cancer cells are shown.

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Fig. 1 Reconstruction of genetic lineages with scTrio-seq2.

Global SCNA patterns (250-kb resolution) of CRC01. Each row represents an individual cell. The subclonal SCNAs used for identifying genetic sublineages were marked and indexed; for details, see fig. S6B. On the top of the heatmap, the amplification or deletion frequency of each genomic bin (250 kb) of the non-hypermutated CRC samples

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The second annual PureTech Health BIG (Brain-Immune-Gut) Summit 2019 – By invitation only – Selected Tweets from  #BIGAxisSummit  by @pharma_BI @AVIVA1950 for @pharmaceuticalintelligence.com 

Posted in #BIGAxisSummit, Biochemical pathways, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, CNS-Immune Interface, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Disease Biology, Disease Biology, Small Molecules in Development of Therapeutic Drugs, Drug Carrier Design, Drug Delivery Platform Technology, Exosomes: Natural Carriers for siRNA Delivery, Gastroenterology, Gene Regulation, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, Immuno-Oncology & Genomics, Immunodiagnostics, Immunology, Immunotherapy, Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Microbiologial genetics, Microbiology, microbiome, Molecular Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Neuronal Circuits, Single Cell Genomics, Single-cell sequencing, Synthetic Immunology: Hacking Immune Cells, Variation in human protein-coding regions, Virology on February 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The second annual PureTech Health BIG (Brain-Immune-Gut) Summit 2019 – By invitation only –

Selected Tweets from  #BIGAxisSummit

by @pharma_BI @AVIVA1950

for @pharmaceuticalintelligence.com

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

January 30 – February 1, 2019

The second annual PureTech Health BIG Summit brings together an elite ensemble of leading scientific researchers, investors, and CEOs and R&D leaders from major pharmaceutical, technology, and biotech companies.

The BIG Summit is designed to stimulate ideas that will have an impact on existing pipelines and catalyze future interactions among a group of delegates that represent leaders and innovators in their fields.

Please follow the discussion on Twitter using #BIGAxisSummit

By invitation only; registration is non-transferable.

For more information, please contact PureTechHealthSummit@PureTechHealth.com

 

HOST COMMITTEE

Participants

 

BIG SUMMIT AGENDA

(Subject to Change)

PureTech Health BIG Summit 2019 Agenda_FINALv2_WEBSITE.jpg

“Almost starting to understand immunology at this thought-provoking @PureTechh #BIGAxisSummit. Great Speakers.”

-tweet by Simone Fishburn, BioCentury @SimoneFishburn

SOURCE

https://bigsummit2019.com/agenda/

 

Selected Tweets from  #BIGAxisSummit

by @pharma_BI @AVIVA1950

for @pharmaceuticalintelligence.com

Gail S. Thornton Selections

Luke Timmerman‏ @ldtimmerman 7h7 hours ago

Back for final sessions at #BIGAxisSummit. @PureTechH Jim Harper of Sonde Health talking about how voice data — pacing, fine motor articulation, oscillation — can point the way to objective, quantitative measures for detecting and monitoring depression.

 

Eddie Martucci‏

 @EddieMartucci 5h5 hours ago

Paul Biondi at #BIGAxisSummit : What makes big deals happen is financial, and *deep conviction* of a big future fit. Disproportionate valuation from bidders is expected.

Love this. We often reduce everything to mathematical analyses to champion or ridicule deals. Not that simple

 

PureTech Health Plc‏ @PureTechH Jan 31

Bob Langer (@MIT) asks how #lymphatics affected by #aging. Santambrogio: typically blame aging #immune cells for increased disease, but aging affects lymphatics too (less efficient trafficking shown). Rejuvenating these could affect several aging-related diseases #BigAxisSummit

 

PureTech Health Plc‏ @PureTechH Jan 31

Viviane Labrie (@VAInstitute) discusses why the appendix has been identified as a potential starting point for #parkinsons #BIGAxisSummit

 

PureTech Health Plc‏ @PureTechH Jan 31

Chris Porter (@MIPS_Australia) notes #lymphatics is major route for trafficking #immune cells that surveil gut and respond to immune & #autoimmune stimuli. This is key in #BIGAxis interactions and why lymphatics-targeted therapies could enhance #immunomodulation #BIGAxisSummit

 

Dr. Stephen J. Williams Selections

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Dr. Irina Robu Selection

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Dr. Sudipta Saha Selection

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

 

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2,000 human brains yield clues to how genes raise risk for mental illnesses

Posted in Gene Regulation, Genome Biology, tagged , , , , on December 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

2,000 human brains yield clues to how genes raise risk for mental illnesses

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

It’s one thing to detect sites in the genome associated with mental disorders; it’s quite another to discover the biological mechanisms by which these changes in DNA work in the human brain to boost risk. In their first concerted effort to tackle the problem, 15 collaborating research teams of the National Institutes of Health-funded PsychENCODE Consortium evaluated data of 2000 human brains which might yield clues to how genes raise risk for mental illnesses.

Applying newly uncovered secrets of the brain’s molecular architecture, they established an artificial intelligence model that is six times better than preceding ones at predicting risk for mental disorders. They also identified several hundred previously unknown risk genes for mental illnesses and linked many known risk variants to specific genes. In the brain tissue and single cells, the researchers identified patterns of gene expression, marks in gene regulation as well as genetic variants that can be linked to mental illnesses.

Dr. Nenad Sestan of Yale University explained that “ the consortium’s integrative genomic analyses elucidate the mechanisms by which cellular diversity and patterns of gene expression change throughout development and reveal how neuropsychiatric risk genes are concentrated into distinct co-expression modules and cell types”. The implicated variants are typically small-effect genetic variations that fall within regions of the genome that don’t code for proteins, but instead are thought to regulate gene expression and other aspects of gene function.

In addition to the 2000 postmortem human brains, researchers examined brain tissue from prenatal development as well as people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder,  and typical development compared findings with parallel data from non-human primates. Their findings indicate that gene variants linked to mental illnesses exert more effects when they jointly form “modules”, communicating genes with related functions and at specific developmental time points that seem to coincide with the course of illness. Variability in risk gene expression and cell types increases during formative stages in early prenatal development and again during the teen years. However, in postmortem brains of people with a mental illness, thousands of RNAs were found to have anomalies.

According to NIMH, Geetha Senthil the multi-omic data resource caused by the PsychENCODE collaboration will pave a path for building molecular models of disease and developmental processes and may offer a platform for target identification for pharmaceutical research.

SOURCE
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2000-human-brains-yield-clues-how-genes-raise-risk-mental-illnesses

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Individuals without angiographic CAD but with hiPRS remain at significantly elevated risk of mortality after cardiac catheterization

Posted in Atherogenic Processes & Pathology, Cardiovascular Research, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genetic Mutations in Congenital Heart Disease, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genome Biology, Origins of Cardiovascular Disease on November 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Individuals without angiographic CAD but with hiPRS remain at significantly elevated risk of mortality after cardiac catheterization

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

A genome-wide Polygenic risk scores (PRS) improves risk stratification when added to traditional risk factors and coronary angiography. Individuals without angiographic CAD but with hiPRS remain at significantly elevated risk of mortality.

 

Genomic Risk Stratification Predicts All-Cause Mortality After Cardiac Catheterization

Originally published12 Nov 2018 Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine. 2018;11:e002352

Abstract

Background:

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is influenced by genetic variation and traditional risk factors. Polygenic risk scores (PRS), which can be ascertained before the development of traditional risk factors, have been shown to identify individuals at elevated risk of CAD. Here, we demonstrate that a genome-wide PRS for CAD predicts all-cause mortality after accounting for not only traditional cardiovascular risk factors but also angiographic CAD itself.

Methods:

Individuals who underwent coronary angiography and were enrolled in an institutional biobank were included; those with prior myocardial infarction or heart transplant were excluded. Using a pruning-and-thresholding approach, a genome-wide PRS comprised of 139 239 variants was calculated for 1503 participants who underwent coronary angiography and genotyping. Individuals were categorized into high PRS (hiPRS) and low-PRS control groups using the maximally selected rank statistic. Stratified analysis based on angiographic findings was also performed. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality following the index coronary angiogram.

Results:

Individuals with hiPRS were younger than controls (66 years versus 69 years; P=2.1×10-5) but did not differ by sex, body mass index, or traditional risk-factor profiles. Individuals with hiPRS were at significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality after cardiac catheterization, adjusting for traditional risk factors and angiographic extent of CAD (hazard ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2–2.2; P=0.004). The strongest increase in risk of all-cause mortality conferred by hiPRS was seen among individuals without angiographic CAD (hazard ratio, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1–5.5; P=0.04). In the overall cohort, adding hiPRS to traditional risk assessment improved prediction of 5-year all-cause mortality (area under the receiver-operating curve 0.70; 95% CI, 0.66–0.75 versus 0.66; 95% CI, 0.61–0.70; P=0.001).

Conclusions:

A genome-wide PRS improves risk stratification when added to traditional risk factors and coronary angiography. Individuals without angiographic CAD but with hiPRS remain at significantly elevated risk of mortality.

Footnotes

https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/circgen

*A list of all Regeneron Genetics Center members is given in the Data Supplement.

Guest Editor for this article was Christopher Semsarian, MBBS, PhD, MPH.

The Data Supplement is available at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/suppl/10.1161/CIRCGEN.118.002352.

Scott M. Damrauer, MD, Department of Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St, Silverstein 4, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Email 
SOURCE

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The HFE H63D variant confers an increased risk for hypertension, no increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events or substantial left ventricular remodeling

Posted in Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, Gene Regulation, Genetic Mutations in Congenital Heart Disease, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, HTN, Origins of Cardiovascular Disease, Systemic Inflammatory Diseases as CVD Risk on November 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »

The HFE H63D variant confers an increased risk for hypertension, no increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events or substantial left ventricular remodeling

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Conclusion:

The HFE H63D variant confers an increased risk for hypertension per allele and, given its frequency, accounts for a significant number of cases of hypertension. However, there was no increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events or substantial left ventricular remodeling.

 

HFE H63D Polymorphism and the Risk for Systemic Hypertension, Myocardial Remodeling, and Adverse Cardiovascular Events in the ARIC Study

Originally published12 Nov 2018Hypertension. 2018;0:HYPERTENSIONAHA.118.11730

Abstract

H63D has been identified as a novel locus associated with the development of hypertension. The quantitative risks for hypertension, cardiac remodeling, and adverse events are not well studied. We analyzed white participants from the ARIC study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) with H63D genotyping (N=10 902). We related genotype status to prevalence of hypertension at each of 5 study visits and risk for adverse cardiovascular events. Among visit 5 participants (N=4507), we related genotype status to echocardiographic features. Frequencies of wild type (WT)/WT, H63D/WT, and H63D/H63D were 73%, 24.6%, and 2.4%. The average age at baseline was 54.9±5.7 years and 47% were men. Participants carrying the H63D variant had higher systolic blood pressure (P=0.004), diastolic blood pressure (0.012), and more frequently had hypertension (P<0.001). Compared with WT/WT, H63D/WT and H63D/H63D participants had a 2% to 4% and 4% to 7% absolute increase in hypertension risk at each visit, respectively. The population attributable risk of H63D for hypertension among individuals aged 45 to 64 was 3.2% (95% CI, 1.3–5.1%) and 1.3% (95% CI, 0.0–2.4%) among individuals >65 years. After 25 years of follow-up, there was no relationship between genotype status and any outcome (P>0.05). H63D/WT and H63D/H63D genotypes were associated with small differences in cardiac remodeling. In conclusion, the HFE H63D variant confers an increased risk for hypertension per allele and, given its frequency, accounts for a significant number of cases of hypertension. However, there was no increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events or substantial left ventricular remodeling.

Footnotes

The online-only Data Supplement is available with this article at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/suppl/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.118.11730.

Correspondence to Scott D. Solomon, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115. Email 
SOURCE

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Single-cell Genomics: Directions in Computational and Systems Biology – Contributions of Prof. Aviv Regev @Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cochair, the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee with Sarah Teichmann of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Posted in Cancer Informatics, Computational Biology/Systems and Bioinformatics, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, Genomic Testing: Methodology for Diagnosis, mRNA Therapeutics, Mutagenesis, Single Cell Genomics, Single-cell sequencing, Variation in human protein-coding regions on September 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Single-cell Genomics: Directions in Computational and Systems Biology – Contributions of Prof. Aviv Regev @Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cochair, the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee with Sarah Teichmann of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

4.1.3

4.1.3   Single-cell Genomics: Directions in Computational and Systems Biology – Contributions of Prof. Aviv Regev @Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cochair, the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee with Sarah Teichmann of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Volume 2 (Volume Two: Latest in Genomics Methodologies for Therapeutics: Gene Editing, NGS and BioInformatics, Simulations and the Genome Ontology), Part 4: Single Cell Genomics

Dana Pe’er, PhD, now chair of computational and systems biology at the Sloan Kettering Institute at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a member of the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee,

what really sets Regev apart is the elegance of her work. Regev, says Pe’er, “has a rare, innate ability of seeing complex biology and simplifying it and formalizing it into beautiful, abstract, describable principles.”

Dr. Aviv Regev, an MIT biology professor who is also chair of the faculty of the Broad and director of its Klarman Cell Observatory and Cell Circuits Program, was reviewing a newly published white paper detailing how the Human Cell Atlas is expected to change the way we diagnose, monitor, and treat disease at a gathering of international scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, 10/2017.

For Regev, the importance of the Human Cell Atlas goes beyond its promise to revolutionize biology and medicine. As she once put it, without an atlas of our cells, “we don’t really know what we’re made of.”

Regev, turned to a technique known as RNA interference (she now uses CRISPR), which allowed her to systematically shut genes down. Then she looked at which genes were expressed to determine how the cells’ response changed in each case. Her team singled out 100 different genes that were involved in regulating the response to the pathogens—some of which weren’t previously known to be involved in immune function. The study, published in Science, generated headlines.

The project, the Human Cell Atlas, aims to create a reference map that categorizes all the approximately 37 trillion cells that make up a human. The Human Cell Atlas is often compared to the Human Genome Project, the monumental scientific collaboration that gave us a complete readout of human DNA, or what might be considered the unabridged cookbook for human life. In a sense, the atlas is a continuation of that project’s work. But while the same DNA cookbook is found in every cell, each cell type reads only some of the recipes—that is, it expresses only certain genes, following their DNA instructions to produce the proteins that carry out a cell’s activities. The promise of the Human Cell Atlas is to reveal which specific genes are expressed in every cell type, and where the cells expressing those genes can be found.

Regev says,

The final product, will amount to nothing less than a “periodic table of our cells,” a tool that is designed not to answer one specific question but to make countless new discoveries possible.

Sequencing the RNA of the cells she’s studying can tell her only so much. To understand how the circuits change under different circumstances, Regev subjects cells to different stimuli, such as hormones or pathogens, to see how the resulting protein signals change.

“the modeling step”—creating algorithms that try to decipher the most likely sequence of molecular events following a stimulus. And just as someone might study a computer by cutting out circuits and seeing how that changes the machine’s operation, Regev tests her model by seeing if it can predict what will happen when she silences specific genes and then exposes the cells to the same stimulus.

By sequencing the RNA of individual cancer cells in recent years—“Every cell is an experiment now,” she says—she has found remarkable differences between the cells of a single tumor, even when they have the same mutations. (Last year that work led to Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.) She found that while some cancers are thought to develop resistance to therapy, a subset of melanoma cells were resistant from the start. And she discovered that two types of brain cancer, oligodendroglioma and astrocytoma, harbor the same cancer stem cells, which could have important implications for how they’re treated.

As a 2017 overview of the Human Cell Atlas by the project’s organizing committee noted, an atlas “is a map that aims to show the relationships among its elements.” Just as corresponding coastlines seen in an atlas of Earth offer visual evidence of continental drift, compiling all the data about our cells in one place could reveal relationships among cells, tissues, and organs, including some that are entirely unexpected. And just as the periodic table made it possible to predict the existence of elements yet to be observed, the Human Cell Atlas, Regev says, could help us predict the existence of cells that haven’t been found.

This year alone it will fund 85 Human Cell Atlas grants. Early results are already pouring in.

  • In March, Swedish researchers working on cells related to human development announced they had sequenced 250,000 individual cells.
  • In May, a team at the Broad made a data set of more than 500,000 immune cells available on a preview site.

The goal, Regev says, is for researchers everywhere to be able to use the open-source platform of the Human Cell Atlas to perform joint analyses.

Eric Lander, PhD, the founding director and president of the Broad Institute and a member of the Human Cell Atlas Organizing Committee, likens it to genomics.

“People thought at the beginning they might use genomics for this application or that application,” he says. “Nothing has failed to be transformed by genomics, and nothing will fail to be transformed by having a cell atlas.”

“How did we ever imagine we were going to solve a problem without single-cell resolution?”

SOURCE

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611786/the-cartographer-of-cells/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=Alumni-Newsletter_Sep-Oct-2018&utm_medium=email

Other related articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

University of California Santa Cruz’s Genomics Institute will create a Map of Human Genetic Variations

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2015/01/13/university-of-california-santa-cruzs-genomics-institute-will-create-a-map-of-human-genetic-variations/

Recognitions for Contributions in Genomics by Dan David Prize Awards

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/07/31/recognitions-for-contributions-in-genomics-by-dan-david-prize-awards/

ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) program: ‘Tragic’ Sequestration Impact on NHGRI Programs

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2013/09/18/encode-encyclopedia-of-dna-elements-program-tragic-sequestration-impact-on-nhgri-programs/

Single-cell Sequencing

Genomic Diagnostics: Three Techniques to Perform Single Cell Gene Expression and Genome Sequencing Single Molecule DNA Sequencing

Curator: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/07/04/genomic-diagnostics-three-techniques-to-perform-single-cell-gene-expression-and-genome-sequencing-single-molecule-dna-sequencing/

LIVE – Real Time – 16th Annual Cancer Research Symposium, Koch Institute, Friday, June 16, 9AM – 5PM, Kresge Auditorium, MIT – See, Aviv Regev

REAL TIME PRESS COVERAGE & Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/03/13/16th-annual-cancer-research-symposium-koch-institute-friday-june-16-9am-5pm-kresge-auditorium-mit/

LIVE 11/3/2015 1:30PM @The 15th Annual EmTech MIT – MIT Media Lab: Top 10 Breakthrough Technologies & 2015 Innovators Under 35 – See, Gilead Evrony

REAL TIME PRESS COVERAGE & Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2015/11/03/live-1132015-130pm-the-15th-annual-emtech-mit-mit-media-lab-top-10-breakthrough-technologies-2015-innovators-under-35/

Cellular Guillotine Created for Studying Single-Cell Wound Repair

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2017/06/29/cellular-guillotine-created-for-studying-single-cell-wound-repair/

New subgroups of ILC immune cells discovered through single-cell RNA sequencing

Reporter: Stephen J Williams, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/02/17/new-subgroups-of-ilc-immune-cells-discovered-through-single-cell-rna-sequencing-from-karolinska-institute/

#JPM16: Illumina’s CEO on new genotyping array called Infinium XT and Bio-Rad Partnership for single-cell sequencing workflow

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/01/12/jpm16-illuminas-ceo-on-new-genotyping-array-called-infinium-xt-and-bio-rad-partnership-for-single-cell-sequencing-workflow/

Juno Acquires AbVitro for $125M: high-throughput and single-cell sequencing capabilities for Immune-Oncology Drug Discovery

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/01/12/juno-acquires-abvitro-for-125m-high-throughput-and-single-cell-sequencing-capabilities-for-immune-oncology-drug-discovery/

NIH to Award Up to $12M to Fund DNA, RNA Sequencing Research: single-cell genomics,  sample preparation,  transcriptomics and epigenomics, and  genome-wide functional analysis.

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2015/10/27/nih-to-award-up-to-12m-to-fund-dna-rna-sequencing-research-single-cell-genomics-sample-preparation-transcriptomics-and-epigenomics-and-genome-wide-functional-analysis/

Genome-wide Single-Cell Analysis of Recombination Activity and De Novo Mutation Rates in Human Sperm

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/08/07/genome-wide-single-cell-analysis-of-recombination-activity-and-de-novo-mutation-rates-in-human-sperm/

REFERENCES to Original studies

In Science, 2018

Single-cell RNA-seq reveals new types of human blood dendritic cells, monocytes, and progenitors

 See all authors and affiliations

Science  21 Apr 2017:
Vol. 356, Issue 6335, eaah4573
DOI: 10.1126/science.aah4573
Single-cell reconstruction of developmental trajectories during zebrafish embryogenesis

See all authors and affiliations

Science  26 Apr 2018:
eaar3131
DOI: 10.1126/science.aar3131

In Nature, 2018 and 2017

How to build a human cell atlas

Aviv Regev is a maven of hard-core biological analyses. Now she is part of an effort to map every cell in the human body.

  1. Research | 

    A revised airway epithelial hierarchy includes CFTR-expressing ionocytes

    Nature 560, 319–324
    Rights & permissions

  2. Research | 

    Genetic determinants of co-accessible chromatin regions in activated T cells across humans

    Nature Genetics 50, 1140–1150
    Rights & permissions

  3. Research | 

    GeNets: a unified web platform for network-based genomic analyses

    Nature Methods 15, 543–546
    Rights & permissions

  4. Research | 

    Induction and transcriptional regulation of the co-inhibitory gene module in T cells

    Nature 558, 454–459
    Rights & permissions

  5. Research | 

    Comprehensive comparative analysis of 5′-end RNA-sequencing methods

    Nature Methods 15, 505–511
    Rights & permissions

  6. Amendments and Corrections | 

    Corrigendum: Landscape of X chromosome inactivation across human tissues

    Nature 555, 274
    Rights & permissions

  7. Research |  | OPEN

    Genome-scale identification of transcription factors that mediate an inflammatory network during breast cellular transformation

    Nature Communications 9, 2068
    Rights & permissions

  8. Research | 

    A molecular network of the aging human brain provides insights into the pathology and cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease

    Nature Neuroscience 21, 811–819
    Rights & permissions

  9. Amendments and Corrections | 

    Erratum: The neuropeptide NMU amplifies ILC2-driven allergic lung inflammation

    Nature 551, 658
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  10. Comments and Opinion | 

    The Human Cell Atlas: from vision to reality

    • …body gets officially under way, Aviv Regev, Sarah Teichmann and colleagues…
    Nature News 550, 451–453
    Rights & permissions
  11. Research | 

    Identification of transcriptional regulators in the mouse immune system

    Nature Immunology 14, 633–643
    Rights & permissions

  12. DroNc-seq step-by-step

    Protocol Exchange
    Rights & permissions

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New Liver Tissue Implants Showing Potential

Posted in Adaptive Immune Response to Biomaterials and Tissue Repair, Biological Engineering, CRISPR/Cas9 & Gene Editing, Gene Regulation, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Tissue Engineering, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, tagged , , , , , , , on August 31, 2018| Leave a Comment »

New Liver Tissue Implants Showing Potential

Reporter: Irina Robu,PhD

To develop new tissues, researchers at the Medical Research Council Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh have found that stem cells transformed into 3-D liver tissue can support liver function when implanted into the mice suffering with a liver disease.

The scientists stimulated human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells to mature pluripotent stem cells into liver cells, hepatocytes. Hepatocytes are the chief functional cells of the liver and perform an astonishing number of metabolic, endocrine and secretory functions. Hepatocytes are exceptionally active in synthesis of protein and lipids for export. The cells are grown in 3-D conditions as small spheres for over a year. However, keeping the stem cells as liver cells for a long time is very difficult, because the viability of hepatocytes decreases in-vitro conditions.

Succeeding the discovery, the team up with materials chemists and engineers to detect appropriate polymers that have already been approved for human use that can be developed into 3-D scaffolds. The best material to use a biodegradable polyester, called polycaprolactone (PCL).PCL is degraded by hydrolysis of its ester linkages in physiological conditions (such as in the human body) and it is especially interesting for the preparation of long term implantable devices, owing to its degradation which is even slower than that of polylactide. They spun the PCL into microscopic fibers that formed a scaffold one centimeter square and a few millimeters thick.

At the same time, hepatocytes derived from embryonic cells had been grown in culture for 20 days and were then loaded onto the scaffolds and implanted under the skin of mice.Blood vessels successfully grew on the scaffolds with the mice having human liver proteins in their blood, demonstrating that the tissue had successfully integrated with the circulatory system. The scaffolds were not rejected by the animals’ immune systems.

The scientists tested the liver tissue scaffolds in mice with tyrosinaemia,a potentially fatal genetic disorder where the enzymes in the liver that break down the amino acid tyrosine are defective, resulting in the accumulation of toxic metabolic products. The implanted liver tissue aided the mice with tyrosinaemia to break down tyrosine and the mice finally lost less weight, had less buildup of toxins in the blood and exhibited fewer signs of liver damage than the control group that received empty scaffolds.

According to Rob Buckle, PhD, Chief Science Officer at the MRC, “Showing that such stem cell-derived tissue is able to reproduce aspects of liver function in the lab also offers real potential to improve the testing of new drugs where more accurate models of human tissue are needed”. It is believed that the discovery could be the next step towards harnessing stem cell reprogramming technologies to provide renewable supplies of liver tissue products for transplantation.

SOURCE

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2018/08/new-liver-tissue-implants-showing-promise?et_cid=6438323

 

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