While the aetiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-a major blinding disease-remains unknown, the disease is strongly associated with variants in the complement factor H (CFH) gene. CFH ...variants also confer susceptibility to invasive infection with several bacterial colonizers of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. This shared susceptibility locus implicates complement deregulation as a common disease mechanism, and suggests the possibility that microbial interactions with host complement may trigger AMD. In this study, we address this possibility by testing the hypothesis that AMD is associated with specific microbial colonization of the human nasopharynx.
High-throughput Illumina sequencing of the V3-V6 region of the microbial 16S ribosomal RNA gene was used to comprehensively and accurately describe the human pharyngeal microbiome, at genus level, in 245 AMD patients and 386 controls. Based on mean and differential microbial abundance analyses, we determined an overview of the pharyngeal microbiota, as well as candidate genera (Prevotella and Gemella) suggesting an association towards AMD health and disease conditions.
Utilizing an extensive study population from Singapore, our results provided an accurate description of the pharyngeal microbiota profiles in AMD health and disease conditions. Through identification of candidate genera that are different between conditions, we provide preliminary evidence for the existence of microbial triggers for AMD. Ethical approval for this study was obtained through the Singapore Health Clinical Institutional Review Board, reference numbers R799/63/2010 and 2010/585/A.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Kawasaki disease (KD) is a pediatric vasculitis that damages the coronary arteries in 25% of untreated and approximately 5% of treated children. Epidemiologic data suggest that KD is triggered by ...unidentified infection(s) in genetically susceptible children. To investigate genetic determinants of KD susceptibility, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 119 Caucasian KD cases and 135 matched controls with stringent correction for possible admixture, followed by replication in an independent cohort and subsequent fine-mapping, for a total of 893 KD cases plus population and family controls. Significant associations of 40 SNPs and six haplotypes, identifying 31 genes, were replicated in an independent cohort of 583 predominantly Caucasian KD families, with NAALADL2 (rs17531088, p(combined) = 1.13 x 10(-6)) and ZFHX3 (rs7199343, p(combined) = 2.37 x 10(-6)) most significantly associated. Sixteen associated variants with a minor allele frequency of >0.05 that lay within or close to known genes were fine-mapped with HapMap tagging SNPs in 781 KD cases, including 590 from the discovery and replication stages. Original or tagging SNPs in eight of these genes replicated the original findings, with seven genes having further significant markers in adjacent regions. In four genes (ZFHX3, NAALADL2, PPP1R14C, and TCP1), the neighboring markers were more significantly associated than the originally associated variants. Investigation of functional relationships between the eight fine-mapped genes using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified a single functional network (p = 10(-13)) containing five fine-mapped genes-LNX1, CAMK2D, ZFHX3, CSMD1, and TCP1-with functional relationships potentially related to inflammation, apoptosis, and cardiovascular pathology. Pair-wise blood transcript levels were measured during acute and convalescent KD for all fine-mapped genes, revealing a consistent trend of significantly reduced transcript levels prior to treatment. This is one of the first GWAS in an infectious disease. We have identified novel, plausible, and functionally related variants associated with KD susceptibility that may also be relevant to other cardiovascular diseases.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Despite high rates of exposure, only 5-10% of people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis will develop active tuberculosis (TB) disease, suggesting a significant role for genetic variation in the ...human immune response to this infection. Here, we studied TB association and expression of 18 genes involved in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. Initially, we genotyped 149 sequence polymorphisms in 375 pulmonary TB patients and 387 controls from Indonesia. We found that four polymorphisms in the TLR8 gene on chromosome X showed evidence of association with TB susceptibility in males, including a non-synonymous polymorphism rs3764880 (Met1Val; P = 0.007, odds ratio (OR) = 1.8, 95% c.i. = 1.2-2.7). We genotyped these four TLR8 polymorphisms in an independent collection of 1,837 pulmonary TB patients and 1,779 controls from Russia and again found evidence of association in males (for rs3764880 P = 0.03, OR = 1.2, 95% c.i. = 1.02-1.48). Combined evidence for association is P = 1.2x10(-3)-6x10(-4). In addition, a quantitative PCR analysis indicated that TLR8 transcript levels are significantly up-regulated in patients during the acute phase of disease (P = 9.36x10(-5)), relative to baseline levels following successful chemotherapy. A marked increase in TLR8 protein expression was also observed directly in differentiated macrophages upon infection with M. bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Taken together, our results provide evidence, for the first time, of a role for the TLR8 gene in susceptibility to pulmonary TB across different populations.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Imputation is a computational method based on the principle of haplotype sharing allowing enrichment of genome-wide association study datasets. It depends on the haplotype structure of the population ...and density of the genotype data. The 1000 Genomes Project led to the generation of imputation reference panels which have been used globally. However, recent studies have shown that population-specific panels provide better enrichment of genome-wide variants. We compared the imputation accuracy using 1000 Genomes phase 3 reference panel and a panel generated from genome-wide data on 407 individuals from Western India (WIP). The concordance of imputed variants was cross-checked with next-generation re-sequencing data on a subset of genomic regions. Further, using the genome-wide data from 1880 individuals, we demonstrate that WIP works better than the 1000 Genomes phase 3 panel and when merged with it, significantly improves the imputation accuracy throughout the minor allele frequency range. We also show that imputation using only South Asian component of the 1000 Genomes phase 3 panel works as good as the merged panel, making it computationally less intensive job. Thus, our study stresses that imputation accuracy using 1000 Genomes phase 3 panel can be further improved by including population-specific reference panels from South Asia.
To identify the molecular cause in five unrelated families with a distinct autosomal dominant ocular systemic disorder we called ROSAH syndrome due to clinical features of retinal dystrophy, optic ...nerve edema, splenomegaly, anhidrosis, and migraine headache.
Independent discovery exome and genome sequencing in families 1, 2, and 3, and confirmation in families 4 and 5. Expression of wild-type messenger RNA and protein in human and mouse tissues and cell lines. Ciliary assays in fibroblasts from affected and unaffected family members.
We found the heterozygous missense variant in the ɑ-kinase gene, ALPK1, (c.710C>T, p.Thr237Met), segregated with disease in all five families. All patients shared the ROSAH phenotype with additional low-grade ocular inflammation, pancytopenia, recurrent infections, and mild renal impairment in some. ALPK1 was notably expressed in retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and optic nerve, with immunofluorescence indicating localization to the basal body of the connecting cilium of the photoreceptors, and presence in the sweat glands. Immunocytofluorescence revealed expression at the centrioles and spindle poles during metaphase, and at the base of the primary cilium. Affected family member fibroblasts demonstrated defective ciliogenesis.
Heterozygosity for ALPK1, p.Thr237Met leads to ROSAH syndrome, an autosomal dominant ocular systemic disorder.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to highlight the clinical and molecular features of 13
Raoultella ornithinolytica
strains isolated from clinical environments in Ecuador, and to perform ...comparative genomics with previously published genomes of
Raoultella
spp. As
Raoultella
is primarily found in environmental, clinical settings, we focused our work on identifying mechanisms of resistance that can provide this bacterium an advantage to establish and persist in hospital environments.
Methods
We analyzed 13 strains of
Raoultella ornithinolytica
isolated from patients with healthcare associated infections (HAI) in three hospitals in Quito and one in Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas, Ecuador, between November 2017 and April 2018. These isolates were subjected to phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing, end-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the presence of carbapenemases and whole-genome sequencing.
Results
Polymerase chain reaction revealed that seven isolates were positive isolates for
bla
OXA–48
and one for
bla
KPC–2
gene. Of the seven strains that presented the
bla
OXA–48
gene, six harbored it on an IncFII plasmid, one was inserted into the bacterial chromosome. The
bla
KPC
gene was detected in an IncM2/IncR plasmid. From the bioinformatics analysis, nine genomes had the gene
bla
OXA–48
, originating from Ecuador. Moreover, all
R. ornithinolytica
strains contained the ORN-1 gene, which confers resistance for β-lactams, such as penicillins and cephalosporins. Comparative genome analysis of the strains showed that the pangenome of
R. ornithinolytica
is considered an open pangenome, with 27.77% of core genes, which could be explained by the fact that the antibiotic resistance genes in the ancestral reconstruction are relatively new, suggesting that this genome is constantly incorporating new genes.
Conclusion
These results reveal the genome plasticity of
R. ornithinolytica
, particularly in acquiring antibiotic-resistance genes. The genomic surveillance and infectious control of these uncommon species are important since they may contribute to the burden of antimicrobial resistance and human health.
Family history has traditionally been an essential part of clinical care to assess health risks. However, declining sequencing costs have precipitated a shift towards genomics-first approaches in ...population screening programs rendering the value of family history unknown. We evaluated the utility of incorporating family history information for genomic sequencing selection.
To ascertain the relationship between family histories on such population-level initiatives, we analysed whole genome sequences of 1750 research participants with no known pre-existing conditions, of which half received comprehensive family history assessment of up to four generations, focusing on 95 cancer genes.
Amongst the 1750 participants, 866 (49.5%) had high-quality standardised family history available. Within this group, 73 (8.4%) participants had an increased family history risk of cancer (increased FH risk cohort) and 1 in 7 participants (n = 10/73) carried a clinically actionable variant inferring a sixfold increase compared with 1 in 47 participants (n = 17/793) assessed at average family history cancer risk (average FH risk cohort) (p = 0.00001) and a sevenfold increase compared to 1 in 52 participants (n = 17/884) where family history was not available (FH not available cohort) (p = 0.00001). The enrichment was further pronounced (up to 18-fold) when assessing only the 25 cancer genes in the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) Secondary Findings (SF) genes. Furthermore, 63 (7.3%) participants had an increased family history cancer risk in the absence of an apparent clinically actionable variant.
These findings demonstrate that the collection and analysis of comprehensive family history and genomic data are complementary and in combination can prioritise individuals for genomic analysis. Thus, family history remains a critical component of health risk assessment, providing important actionable data when implementing genomics screening programs.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02791152 . Retrospectively registered on May 31, 2016.
The human Fc-gamma receptors (FcγRs) link adaptive and innate immunity by binding immunoglobulin G (IgG). All human low-affinity FcγRs are encoded by the
locus containing functional single nucleotide ...polymorphisms (SNPs) and gene copy number variants. This locus is notoriously difficult to genotype and high-throughput methods commonly used focus on only a few SNPs. We performed multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification for all relevant genetic variations at the
locus in >4,000 individuals to define linkage disequilibrium (LD) and allele frequencies in different populations. Strong LD and extensive ethnic variation in allele frequencies was found across the locus. LD was strongest for the
-ORF haplotype (rs759550223+rs76277413), which leads to expression of FcγRIIc. In Europeans, the
-ORF haplotype showed strong LD with, among others, rs201218628 (
-Q27W,
= 0.63). LD between these two variants was weaker (
= 0.17) in Africans, whereas the
-ORF haplotype was nearly absent in Asians (minor allele frequency <0.005%). The
-ORF haplotype and rs1801274 (
-H131R) were in weak LD (
= 0.08) in Europeans. We evaluated the importance of ethnic variation and LD in Kawasaki Disease (KD), an acute vasculitis in children with increased incidence in Asians. An association of rs1801274 with KD was previously shown in ethnically diverse genome-wide association studies. Now, we show in 1,028 European KD patients that the
-ORF haplotype, although nearly absent in Asians, was more strongly associated with susceptibility to KD than rs1801274 in Europeans. Our data illustrate the importance of interpreting findings of association studies concerning the
locus with knowledge of LD and ethnic variation.
Deep-sea vents microorganisms have been well characterized with defined typical taxonomic groups, principally composed of archaea, while shallow hydrothermal vents are considered to host a different ...community with bacteria as predominant prokaryotes. This work focuses on two shallow basins in the northern Gulf of California: Wagner and Consag basins which show evidence of early stages of rifting processes and host numerous submarine vents with intense gas discharge. The exploratory study of archaea and bacteria in six sediment samples from the shallow vents in those basins (average depths of 100 m), demonstrate that similar archaea phyla inhabit these vents. The phylum Thermoproteota with Nitrosopumilus as the most abundant genera in five sites. However, in the sample with the highest temperature, the phylum Asgardarchaeota was predominant, and also the occurrence of archaeal lineages typical of deep sea vents like Nanoarchaeota, Thermoproteota, Euryarchaeota, and members from phylum Asgardarchaeota, were identified. This work is the first report of the presence of a typically deep vent community of archaea in this shallow vent environment.
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