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Amer K, Soliman NA, Soror S, Gad YZ, Moustafa A, Elmonem MA, Amer M, Ragheb A, Kotb A, Taha T, Ali W, Sakr M, Ghaffar KA. Egypt Genome: Towards an African new genomic era. J Adv Res 2024:S2090-1232(24)00227-3. [PMID: 38844121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2024.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studying the human genome is crucial to embrace precision medicine through tailoring treatment and prevention strategies to the unique genetic makeup and molecular information of individuals. After human genome project (1990-2003) generated the first full sequence of a human genome, there have been concerns towards Northern bias due to underrepresentation of other populations. Multiple countries have now established national genome projects aiming at the genomic knowledge that can be harnessed from their populations, which in turn can serve as a basis for their health care policies in the near future. AIM OF REVIEW The intention is to introduce the recently established Egypt Genome (EG) to delineate the genomics and genetics of both the modern and Ancient Egyptian populations. Leveraging genomic medicine to improve precision medicine strategies while building a solid foundation for large-scale genomic research capacity is the fundamental focus of EG. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS EG generated genomic knowledge is predicted to enrich the existing human genome and to expand its diversity by studying the underrepresented African/Middle Eastern populations. The insightful impact of EG goes beyond Egypt and Africa as it fills the knowledge gaps in health and disease genomics towards improved and sustainable genomic-driven healthcare systems for better outcomes. Promoting the integration of genomics into clinical practice and spearheading the implementation of genomic-driven healthcare and precision medicine is therefore a key focus of EG. Mining into the wealth of Ancient Egyptian Genomics to delineate the genetic bridge between the contemporary and Ancient Egyptian populations is another excitingly unique area of EG to realize the global vision of human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khaled Amer
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Neveen A Soliman
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt; Department of Pediatrics, Center of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Sameh Soror
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Yehia Z Gad
- Department of Medical Molecular Genetics, Human Genetics and Genome Research Institute, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt; Ancient DNA Laboratory, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Moustafa
- Department of Biology, and Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics Lab, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Elmonem
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt; Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - May Amer
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ameera Ragheb
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amira Kotb
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt; Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Tarek Taha
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Wael Ali
- Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud Sakr
- Academy of Scientific Research & Technology, Egypt
| | - Khaled Abdel Ghaffar
- Department of Oral Medicine, Periodontolgy and Diagnosis, Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, Egypt
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Chung CCY, Chu ATW, Chung BHY. Rare disease emerging as a global public health priority. Front Public Health 2022; 10:1028545. [PMID: 36339196 PMCID: PMC9632971 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1028545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The genomics revolution over the past three decades has led to great strides in rare disease (RD) research, which presents a major shift in global policy landscape. While RDs are individually rare, there are common challenges and unmet medical and social needs experienced by the RD population globally. The various disabilities arising from RDs as well as diagnostic and treatment uncertainty were demonstrated to have detrimental influence on the health, psychosocial, and economic aspects of RD families. Despite the collective large number of patients and families affected by RDs internationally, the general lack of public awareness and expertise constraints have neglected and marginalized the RD population in health systems and in health- and social-care policies. The current Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed the long-standing and fundamental challenges of the RD population, and has reminded us of the critical need of addressing the systemic inequalities and widespread disparities across populations and jurisdictions. Owing to the commonality in goals between RD movements and universal health coverage targets, the United Nations (UN) has highlighted the importance of recognizing RDs in policies, and has recently adopted the UN Resolution to promote greater integration of RDs in the UN agenda, advancing UN's commitment in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of "leav[ing] no one behind." Governments have also started to launch Genome Projects in their respective jurisdictions, aiming to integrate genomic medicine into mainstream healthcare. In this paper, we review the challenges experienced by the RD population, the establishment and adoption of RD policies, and the state of evidence in addressing these challenges from a global perspective. The Hong Kong Genome Project was illustrated as a case study to highlight the role of Genome Projects in enhancing clinical application of genomic medicine for personalized medicine and in improving equity of access and return in global genomics. Through reviewing what has been achieved to date, this paper will provide future directions as RD emerges as a global public health priority, in hopes of moving a step toward a more equitable and inclusive community for the RD population in times of pandemics and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Brian Hon Yin Chung
- Hong Kong Genome Institute, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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The genetic structure of the Turkish population reveals high levels of variation and admixture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2026076118. [PMID: 34426522 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2026076118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The construction of population-based variomes has contributed substantially to our understanding of the genetic basis of human inherited disease. Here, we investigated the genetic structure of Turkey from 3,362 unrelated subjects whose whole exomes (n = 2,589) or whole genomes (n = 773) were sequenced to generate a Turkish (TR) Variome that should serve to facilitate disease gene discovery in Turkey. Consistent with the history of present-day Turkey as a crossroads between Europe and Asia, we found extensive admixture between Balkan, Caucasus, Middle Eastern, and European populations with a closer genetic relationship of the TR population to Europeans than hitherto appreciated. We determined that 50% of TR individuals had high inbreeding coefficients (≥0.0156) with runs of homozygosity longer than 4 Mb being found exclusively in the TR population when compared to 1000 Genomes Project populations. We also found that 28% of exome and 49% of genome variants in the very rare range (allele frequency < 0.005) are unique to the modern TR population. We annotated these variants based on their functional consequences to establish a TR Variome containing alleles of potential medical relevance, a repository of homozygous loss-of-function variants and a TR reference panel for genotype imputation using high-quality haplotypes, to facilitate genome-wide association studies. In addition to providing information on the genetic structure of the modern TR population, these data provide an invaluable resource for future studies to identify variants that are associated with specific phenotypes as well as establishing the phenotypic consequences of mutations in specific genes.
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Yaylacioglu Tuncay F, Guntekin Ergun S, Oner A, Turan A, Ozmert E, Ergun MA, Ozdek S. Inherited eye diseases in Turkey: Current approaches and future directions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS PART C-SEMINARS IN MEDICAL GENETICS 2020; 184:773-781. [PMID: 32864844 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.c.31829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to reveal Turkey's current status of medical practice in inherited eye diseases and the necessary steps to improve healthcare services and research activities in this area. Since consanguinity rate is high, disease burden is estimated to be high in Turkey. Universal health insurance system, easily accessible medical specialists, increasing genetic test, and counseling opportunities are the key advantages of Turkey's healthcare system. However, specialized clinics for inherited eye diseases, low-vision rehabilitation services, training of ophthalmologists about the recent developments in ocular genetics, and multidisciplinary translational research are the main headlines needed to be focused for better health services and successful research in Turkey.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sezen Guntekin Ergun
- Department of Medical Biology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Ayse Oner
- Ophthalmology Clinic, Acıbadem Atakent Kayseri Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Ayse Turan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Yıldırım Beyazıt Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Emin Ozmert
- Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Mehmet Ali Ergun
- Department of Medical Genetics, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Sengul Ozdek
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Muenke
- National Human Genome Research InstituteNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMDUSA
| | - Suzanne Hart
- National Human Genome Research InstituteNational Institutes of HealthBethesdaMDUSA
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Özçelik T. Medical genetics and genomic medicine in Turkey: a bright future at a new era in life sciences. Mol Genet Genomic Med 2017; 5:466-472. [PMID: 28944230 PMCID: PMC5606892 DOI: 10.1002/mgg3.326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Medical genetics and genomic medicine in Turkey: a bright future at a new era in life sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tayfun Özçelik
- Department of Molecular Biology and GeneticsBilkent UniversityAnkaraTurkey
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