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Andhika NS, Biswas S, Hardcastle C, Green DJ, Ramsden SC, Birney E, Black GC, Sergouniotis PI. Using computational approaches to enhance the interpretation of missense variants in the PAX6 gene. Eur J Hum Genet 2024:10.1038/s41431-024-01638-3. [PMID: 38849599 DOI: 10.1038/s41431-024-01638-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The PAX6 gene encodes a highly-conserved transcription factor involved in eye development. Heterozygous loss-of-function variants in PAX6 can cause a range of ophthalmic disorders including aniridia. A key molecular diagnostic challenge is that many PAX6 missense changes are presently classified as variants of uncertain significance. While computational tools can be used to assess the effect of genetic alterations, the accuracy of their predictions varies. Here, we evaluated and optimised the performance of computational prediction tools in relation to PAX6 missense variants. Through inspection of publicly available resources (including HGMD, ClinVar, LOVD and gnomAD), we identified 241 PAX6 missense variants that were used for model training and evaluation. The performance of ten commonly used computational tools was assessed and a threshold optimization approach was utilized to determine optimal cut-off values. Validation studies were subsequently undertaken using PAX6 variants from a local database. AlphaMissense, SIFT4G and REVEL emerged as the best-performing predictors; the optimized thresholds of these tools were 0.967, 0.025, and 0.772, respectively. Combining the prediction from these top-three tools resulted in lower performance compared to using AlphaMissense alone. Tailoring the use of computational tools by employing optimized thresholds specific to PAX6 can enhance algorithmic performance. Our findings have implications for PAX6 variant interpretation in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadya S Andhika
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Susmito Biswas
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Claire Hardcastle
- Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - David J Green
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Simon C Ramsden
- Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Ewan Birney
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Graeme C Black
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Panagiotis I Sergouniotis
- Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
- Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK.
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Boujemaa M, Nouira F, Jandoubi N, Mejri N, Bouaziz H, Charfeddine C, Ben Nasr S, Labidi S, El Benna H, Berrazega Y, Rachdi H, Daoud N, Benna F, Haddaoui A, Abdelhak S, Samir Boubaker M, Boussen H, Hamdi Y. Uncovering the clinical relevance of unclassified variants in DNA repair genes: a focus on BRCA negative Tunisian cancer families. Front Genet 2024; 15:1327894. [PMID: 38313678 PMCID: PMC10834681 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1327894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Recent advances in sequencing technologies have significantly increased our capability to acquire large amounts of genetic data. However, the clinical relevance of the generated data continues to be challenging particularly with the identification of Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUSs) whose pathogenicity remains unclear. In the current report, we aim to evaluate the clinical relevance and the pathogenicity of VUSs in DNA repair genes among Tunisian breast cancer families. Methods: A total of 67 unsolved breast cancer cases have been investigated. The pathogenicity of VUSs identified within 26 DNA repair genes was assessed using different in silico prediction tools including SIFT, PolyPhen2, Align-GVGD and VarSEAK. Effects on the 3D structure were evaluated using the stability predictor DynaMut and molecular dynamics simulation with NAMD. Family segregation analysis was also performed. Results: Among a total of 37 VUSs identified, 11 variants are likely deleterious affecting ATM, BLM, CHEK2, ERCC3, FANCC, FANCG, MSH2, PMS2 and RAD50 genes. The BLM variant, c.3254dupT, is novel and seems to be associated with increased risk of breast, endometrial and colon cancer. Moreover, c.6115G>A in ATM and c.592+3A>T in CHEK2 were of keen interest identified in families with multiple breast cancer cases and their familial cosegregation with disease has been also confirmed. In addition, functional in silico analyses revealed that the ATM variant may lead to protein immobilization and rigidification thus decreasing its activity. We have also shown that FANCC and FANCG variants may lead to protein destabilization and alteration of the structure compactness which may affect FANCC and FANCG protein activity. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that VUSs in DNA repair genes might be associated with increased cancer risk and highlight the need for variant reclassification for better disease management. This will help to improve the genetic diagnosis and therapeutic strategies of cancer patients not only in Tunisia but also in neighboring countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maroua Boujemaa
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Fatma Nouira
- Laboratory of Bioactive Substances, Center of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, University of Tunis El Manar, Hamam, Tunisia
| | - Nouha Jandoubi
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Nesrine Mejri
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Hanen Bouaziz
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Surgical Oncology Department, Salah Azaiez Institute of Cancer, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Cherine Charfeddine
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- High Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet, Biotechpole of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Ariana, Tunisia
| | - Sonia Ben Nasr
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Military Hospital of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Soumaya Labidi
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Houda El Benna
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Yosra Berrazega
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Haifa Rachdi
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Nouha Daoud
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Farouk Benna
- Radiation Oncology Department, Salah Azaiez Institute, Tunis, Tunisia
| | | | - Sonia Abdelhak
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Samir Boubaker
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Laboratory of Human and Experimental Pathology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Hamouda Boussen
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Medical Oncology Department, Abderrahman Mami Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Tunis, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Yosr Hamdi
- Laboratory of Biomedical Genomics and Oncogenetics, LR20IPT05, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Laboratory of Human and Experimental Pathology, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
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Tam B, Qin Z, Zhao B, Sinha S, Lei CL, Wang SM. Classification of MLH1 Missense VUS Using Protein Structure-Based Deep Learning-Ramachandran Plot-Molecular Dynamics Simulations Method. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:850. [PMID: 38255924 PMCID: PMC10815254 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic variation in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene MLH1 is associated with Lynch syndrome (LS), an autosomal dominant hereditary cancer. Of the 3798 MLH1 germline variants collected in the ClinVar database, 38.7% (1469) were missense variants, of which 81.6% (1199) were classified as Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUS) due to the lack of functional evidence. Further determination of the impact of VUS on MLH1 function is important for the VUS carriers to take preventive action. We recently developed a protein structure-based method named "Deep Learning-Ramachandran Plot-Molecular Dynamics Simulation (DL-RP-MDS)" to evaluate the deleteriousness of MLH1 missense VUS. The method extracts protein structural information by using the Ramachandran plot-molecular dynamics simulation (RP-MDS) method, then combines the variation data with an unsupervised learning model composed of auto-encoder and neural network classifier to identify the variants causing significant change in protein structure. In this report, we applied the method to classify 447 MLH1 missense VUS. We predicted 126/447 (28.2%) MLH1 missense VUS were deleterious. Our study demonstrates that DL-RP-MDS is able to classify the missense VUS based solely on their impact on protein structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Tam
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Zixin Qin
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Bojin Zhao
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Siddharth Sinha
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - Chon Lok Lei
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
| | - San Ming Wang
- Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Cancer Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
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4
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Cevik S, Zhao P, Zorluer A, Pir MS, Bian W, Kaplan OI. Matching variants for functional characterization of genetic variants. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad227. [PMID: 37933433 PMCID: PMC10700107 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Rapid and low-cost sequencing, as well as computer analysis, have facilitated the diagnosis of many genetic diseases, resulting in a substantial rise in the number of disease-associated genes. However, genetic diagnosis of many disorders remains problematic due to the lack of interpretation for many genetic variants, especially missenses, the infeasibility of high-throughput experiments on mammals, and the shortcomings of computational prediction technologies. Additionally, the available mutant databases are not well-utilized. Toward this end, we used Caenorhabditis elegans mutant resources to delineate the functions of eight missense variants (V444I, V517D, E610K, L732F, E817K, H873P, R1105K, and G1205E) and two stop codons (W937stop and Q1434stop), including several matching variants (MatchVar) with human in ciliopathy associated IFT-140 (also called CHE-11)//IFT140 (intraflagellar transport protein 140). Moreover, MatchVars carrying C. elegans mutants, including IFT-140(G680S) and IFT-140(P702A) for the human (G704S) (dbSNP: rs150745099) and P726A (dbSNP: rs1057518064 and a conflicting variation) were created using CRISPR/Cas9. IFT140 is a key component of IFT complex A (IFT-A), which is involved in the retrograde transport of IFT along cilia and the entrance of G protein-coupled receptors into cilia. Functional analysis of all 10 variants revealed that P702A and W937stop, but not others phenocopied the ciliary phenotypes (short cilia, IFT accumulations, mislocalization of membrane proteins, and cilia entry of nonciliary proteins) of the IFT-140 null mutant, indicating that both P702A and W937stop are phenotypic in C. elegans. Our functional data offered experimental support for interpreting human variants, by using ready-to-use mutants carrying MatchVars and generating MatchVars with CRISPR/Cas9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebiha Cevik
- Rare Disease Laboratory, School of Life and Natural Sciences, Abdullah Gul University, Kayseri 38080, Turkey
| | - Pei Zhao
- School of Applied Science and Engineering, Fuzhou Institute of Technology, Fuzhou 350014, China
- SunyBiotech Co., Ltd., Fuzhou 35000, China
| | - Atiyye Zorluer
- Rare Disease Laboratory, School of Life and Natural Sciences, Abdullah Gul University, Kayseri 38080, Turkey
| | - Mustafa S Pir
- Rare Disease Laboratory, School of Life and Natural Sciences, Abdullah Gul University, Kayseri 38080, Turkey
| | | | - Oktay I Kaplan
- Rare Disease Laboratory, School of Life and Natural Sciences, Abdullah Gul University, Kayseri 38080, Turkey
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5
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Khazaal NM, Alghetaa HF, Al-Shuhaib MBS, Al-Thuwaini TM, Alkhammas AH. A novel deleterious oxytocin variant is associated with the lower twinning ratio in Awassi ewes. Anim Biotechnol 2023; 34:3404-3415. [PMID: 36449364 DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2022.2152038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the possible association of oxytocin (OXT) gene with reproductive traits in two groups of Awassi ewes that differ in their reproductive potentials. Sheep were genotyped using PCR-single-stranded conformation polymorphism approach. Three genotypes were detected in exon 2, CC, CA, and AA, and a novel SNP was identified with a missense effect on oxytocin (c.188C > A → p.Arg55Leu). A significant (p < 0.01) association of p.Arg55Leu with the twinning rate was found as ewes with AA and CA genotypes exhibited, respectively a lower twinning ratio than those with the wild-type CC genotype. The deleterious impact of p.Arg55Leu was demonstrated by all in silico tools that were utilized to assess the effect of this variant on the structure, function, and stability of oxytocin. Molecular docking showed that p.Arg55Leu caused a dramatic alteration in the binding of oxytocin with its receptor and reduced the number of interacted amino acids between them. Our study suggests that ewes with AA and CA genotypes showed a lower reproductive performance due to the presence of p.Arg55Leu, which caused damaging impacts on oxytocin and is binding with the OXT receptor. The utilization of the p.Arg55Leu could be useful for improving Awassi reproductive potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neam M Khazaal
- Department of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Hasan F Alghetaa
- Department of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
| | | | - Tahreer M Al-Thuwaini
- Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture, Al-Qasim Green University, Al-Qasim, Iraq
| | - Ahmed H Alkhammas
- Department of Animal Production, College of Agriculture, Al-Qasim Green University, Al-Qasim, Iraq
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6
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Ahmad RM, Ali BR, Al-Jasmi F, Sinnott RO, Al Dhaheri N, Mohamad MS. A review of genetic variant databases and machine learning tools for predicting the pathogenicity of breast cancer. Brief Bioinform 2023; 25:bbad479. [PMID: 38149678 PMCID: PMC10782903 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies continue to uncover contributing risk factors for breast cancer (BC) development including genetic variants. Advances in machine learning and big data generated from genetic sequencing can now be used for predicting BC pathogenicity. However, it is unclear which tool developed for pathogenicity prediction is most suited for predicting the impact and pathogenicity of variant effects. A significant challenge is to determine the most suitable data source for each tool since different tools can yield different prediction results with different data inputs. To this end, this work reviews genetic variant databases and tools used specifically for the prediction of BC pathogenicity. We provide a description of existing genetic variants databases and, where appropriate, the diseases for which they have been established. Through example, we illustrate how they can be used for prediction of BC pathogenicity and discuss their associated advantages and disadvantages. We conclude that the tools that are specialized by training on multiple diverse datasets from different databases for the same disease have enhanced accuracy and specificity and are thereby more helpful to the clinicians in predicting and diagnosing BC as early as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahaf M Ahmad
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Tawam road, Al Maqam district, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bassam R Ali
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Tawam road, Al Maqam district, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Fatma Al-Jasmi
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Tawam road, Al Maqam district, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Division of Metabolic Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Richard O Sinnott
- School of Computing and Information System, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Noura Al Dhaheri
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Tawam road, Al Maqam district, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Division of Metabolic Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Mohd Saberi Mohamad
- Health Data Science Lab, Department of Genetics and Genomics, College of Medical and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Tawam road, Al Maqam district, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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7
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Khan MA, Varma AK. In silico and structure-based assessment to classify VUS identified in the α-helical domain of BRCA2. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:9879-9889. [PMID: 36404616 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2148127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer type 2 susceptibility (BRCA2) protein plays a crucial role in DNA double-strand breaks repair mechanism by homologous recombination. Pathogenic mutations in the BRCA2 gene confer an increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). Different missense mutations are identified from a larger cohort of patient populations in the BRCA2. However, most missense mutations are classified as 'Variants of Uncertain Significance' (VUS) due to a lack of data from structural, functional, and clinical assessments. Therefore, this study focused on assessing VUS identified in the α-helical domain of h-BRCA2 using different in silico tools and structure-based molecular dynamics simulation. A total of 286 identified VUS were evaluated using Align-GVGD, PROVEAN and PANTHER servers and 18 variants were predicted to be pathogenic. Further, out of 18 variants analyzed using the ConSurf server, 16 variants were found to be evolutionary conserved. These 16 conserved variants were submitted to PremPS and Dynamut server to assess the effect of the mutation at the protein structure level; 12 mutations were predicted to have a destabilizing effect on the native protein structure. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations revealed 5 variants BRCA2 Cys2646Tyr, Asp2665Val, Trp2619Arg, Trp2619Ser and Tyr2660Cys can alter the folding pattern and need further validation using in vitro, structural and in vivo studies to classify as pathogenic.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mudassar Ali Khan
- Tata Memorial Centre, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ashok K Varma
- Tata Memorial Centre, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
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del Caño-Ochoa F, Ng BG, Rubio-del-Campo A, Mahajan S, Wilson MP, Vilar M, Rymen D, Sánchez-Pintos P, Kenny J, Martos ML, Campos T, Wortmann SB, Freeze HH, Ramón-Maiques S. Beyond genetics: Deciphering the impact of missense variants in CAD deficiency. J Inherit Metab Dis 2023; 46:1170-1185. [PMID: 37540500 PMCID: PMC10838372 DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
CAD is a large, 2225 amino acid multienzymatic protein required for de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Pathological CAD variants cause a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy which is highly responsive to uridine supplements. CAD deficiency is difficult to diagnose because symptoms are nonspecific, there is no biomarker, and the protein has over 1000 known variants. To improve diagnosis, we assessed the pathogenicity of 20 unreported missense CAD variants using a growth complementation assay that identified 11 pathogenic variants in seven affected individuals; they would benefit from uridine treatment. We also tested nine variants previously reported as pathogenic and confirmed the damaging effect of seven. However, we reclassified two variants as likely benign based on our assay, which is consistent with their long-term follow-up with uridine. We found that several computational methods are unreliable predictors of pathogenic CAD variants, so we extended the functional assay results by studying the impact of pathogenic variants at the protein level. We focused on CAD's dihydroorotase (DHO) domain because it accumulates the largest density of damaging missense changes. The atomic-resolution structures of eight DHO pathogenic variants, combined with functional and molecular dynamics analyses, provided a comprehensive structural and functional understanding of the activity, stability, and oligomerization of CAD's DHO domain. Combining our functional and protein structural analysis can help refine clinical diagnostic workflow for CAD variants in the genomics era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco del Caño-Ochoa
- Structure of Macromolecular Targets Unit. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV), CSIC. Valencia, Spain
| | - Bobby G. Ng
- Human Genetics Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Antonio Rubio-del-Campo
- Structure of Macromolecular Targets Unit. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV), CSIC. Valencia, Spain
| | - Sonal Mahajan
- Human Genetics Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Matthew P. Wilson
- Laboratory for Molecular Diagnosis, Center for Human Genetics, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marçal Vilar
- Molecular Basis of Neurodegeneration Unit. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV), CSIC. Valencia, Spain
| | - Daisy Rymen
- Department of Pediatrics - Center for Metabolic Diseases, University Hospitals of Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paula Sánchez-Pintos
- Unidad de Diagnóstico y Tratamiento de Enfermedades Metabólicas Congénitas. C.S.U.R. de Enfermedades Metabólicas. MetabERN. Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), La Coruña, Spain
| | - Janna Kenny
- Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin, Ireland
| | - Myriam Ley Martos
- Pediatric Neurology Unit. Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Teresa Campos
- Reference Center of Inherited Metabolic Diseases of Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal
| | - Saskia B. Wortmann
- University Children’s Hospital, Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), Salzburg, Austria
- Amalia Children’s Hospital, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Hudson H. Freeze
- Human Genetics Program, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Santiago Ramón-Maiques
- Structure of Macromolecular Targets Unit. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV), CSIC. Valencia, Spain
- Group 739, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER)–Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Valencia, Spain
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9
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Lyons EL, Watson D, Alodadi MS, Haugabook SJ, Tawa GJ, Hannah-Shmouni F, Porter FD, Collins JR, Ottinger EA, Mudunuri US. Rare disease variant curation from literature: assessing gaps with creatine transport deficiency in focus. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:460. [PMID: 37587458 PMCID: PMC10433598 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09561-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 4-8% of the world suffers from a rare disease. Rare diseases are often difficult to diagnose, and many do not have approved therapies. Genetic sequencing has the potential to shorten the current diagnostic process, increase mechanistic understanding, and facilitate research on therapeutic approaches but is limited by the difficulty of novel variant pathogenicity interpretation and the communication of known causative variants. It is unknown how many published rare disease variants are currently accessible in the public domain. RESULTS This study investigated the translation of knowledge of variants reported in published manuscripts to publicly accessible variant databases. Variants, symptoms, biochemical assay results, and protein function from literature on the SLC6A8 gene associated with X-linked Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD) were curated and reported as a highly annotated dataset of variants with clinical context and functional details. Variants were harmonized, their availability in existing variant databases was analyzed and pathogenicity assignments were compared with impact algorithm predictions. 24% of the pathogenic variants found in PubMed articles were not captured in any database used in this analysis while only 65% of the published variants received an accurate pathogenicity prediction from at least one impact prediction algorithm. CONCLUSIONS Despite being published in the literature, pathogenicity data on patient variants may remain inaccessible for genetic diagnosis, therapeutic target identification, mechanistic understanding, or hypothesis generation. Clinical and functional details presented in the literature are important to make pathogenicity assessments. Impact predictions remain imperfect but are improving, especially for single nucleotide exonic variants, however such predictions are less accurate or unavailable for intronic and multi-nucleotide variants. Developing text mining workflows that use natural language processing for identifying diseases, genes and variants, along with impact prediction algorithms and integrating with details on clinical phenotypes and functional assessments might be a promising approach to scale literature mining of variants and assigning correct pathogenicity. The curated variants list created by this effort includes context details to improve any such efforts on variant curation for rare diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica L Lyons
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Daniel Watson
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Mohammad S Alodadi
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Sharie J Haugabook
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, Therapeutic Development Branch, Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) Program, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Gregory J Tawa
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, Therapeutic Development Branch, Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) Program, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Fady Hannah-Shmouni
- Division of Translational Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Forbes D Porter
- Division of Translational Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Jack R Collins
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Ottinger
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, Therapeutic Development Branch, Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) Program, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Uma S Mudunuri
- Advanced Biomedical Computational Science, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA.
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10
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Aguirre J, Padilla N, Özkan S, Riera C, Feliubadaló L, de la Cruz X. Choosing Variant Interpretation Tools for Clinical Applications: Context Matters. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11872. [PMID: 37511631 PMCID: PMC10380979 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogenicity predictors are computational tools that classify genetic variants as benign or pathogenic; this is currently a major challenge in genomic medicine. With more than fifty such predictors available, selecting the most suitable tool for clinical applications like genetic screening, molecular diagnostics, and companion diagnostics has become increasingly challenging. To address this issue, we have developed a cost-based framework that naturally considers the various components of the problem. This framework encodes clinical scenarios using a minimal set of parameters and treats pathogenicity predictors as rejection classifiers, a common practice in clinical applications where low-confidence predictions are routinely rejected. We illustrate our approach in four examples where we compare different numbers of pathogenicity predictors for missense variants. Our results show that no single predictor is optimal for all clinical scenarios and that considering rejection yields a different perspective on classifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josu Aguirre
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, P/Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Natàlia Padilla
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, P/Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Selen Özkan
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, P/Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Casandra Riera
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, P/Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lídia Feliubadaló
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Program in Molecular Mechanisms and Experimental Therapy in Oncology (Oncobell), IDIBELL, Catalan Institute of Oncology, 08908 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), 28929 Madrid, Spain
| | - Xavier de la Cruz
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, P/Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
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11
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Trinidad M, Hong X, Froelich S, Daiker J, Sacco J, Nguyen HP, Campagna M, Suhr D, Suhr T, LeBowitz JH, Gelb MH, Clark WT. Predicting disease severity in metachromatic leukodystrophy using protein activity and a patient phenotype matrix. Genome Biol 2023; 24:172. [PMID: 37480112 PMCID: PMC10360315 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03001-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the arylsulfatase A gene (ARSA) and categorized into three subtypes according to age of onset. The functional effect of most ARSA mutants remains unknown; better understanding of the genotype-phenotype relationship is required to support newborn screening (NBS) and guide treatment. RESULTS We collected a patient data set from the literature that relates disease severity to ARSA genotype in 489 individuals with MLD. Patient-based data were used to develop a phenotype matrix that predicts MLD phenotype given ARSA alleles in a patient's genotype with 76% accuracy. We then employed a high-throughput enzyme activity assay using mass spectrometry to explore the function of ARSA variants from the curated patient data set and the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD). We observed evidence that 36% of variants of unknown significance (VUS) in ARSA may be pathogenic. By classifying functional effects for 251 VUS from gnomAD, we reduced the incidence of genotypes of unknown significance (GUS) by over 98.5% in the overall population. CONCLUSIONS These results provide an additional tool for clinicians to anticipate the disease course in MLD patients, identifying individuals at high risk of severe disease to support treatment access. Our results suggest that more than 1 in 3 VUS in ARSA may be pathogenic. We show that combining genetic and biochemical information increases diagnostic yield. Our strategy may apply to other recessive diseases, providing a tool to address the challenge of interpreting VUS within genotype-phenotype relationships and NBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marena Trinidad
- Translational Genomics Group, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Novato, CA, USA
| | - Xinying Hong
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Steven Froelich
- Translational Genomics Group, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Novato, CA, USA
| | - Jessica Daiker
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - James Sacco
- Translational Genomics Group, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Novato, CA, USA
| | - Hong Phuc Nguyen
- Translational Genomics Group, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Novato, CA, USA
| | - Madelynn Campagna
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Michael H Gelb
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Wyatt T Clark
- Translational Genomics Group, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Novato, CA, USA.
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12
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Kang M, Kim S, Lee DB, Hong C, Hwang KB. Gene-specific machine learning for pathogenicity prediction of rare BRCA1 and BRCA2 missense variants. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10478. [PMID: 37380723 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37698-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Machine learning-based pathogenicity prediction helps interpret rare missense variants of BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are associated with hereditary cancers. Recent studies have shown that classifiers trained using variants of a specific gene or a set of genes related to a particular disease perform better than those trained using all variants, due to their higher specificity, despite the smaller training dataset size. In this study, we further investigated the advantages of "gene-specific" machine learning compared to "disease-specific" machine learning. We used 1068 rare (gnomAD minor allele frequency (MAF) < 0.005) missense variants of 28 genes associated with hereditary cancers for our investigation. Popular machine learning classifiers were employed: regularized logistic regression, extreme gradient boosting, random forests, support vector machines, and deep neural networks. As features, we used MAFs from multiple populations, functional prediction and conservation scores, and positions of variants. The disease-specific training dataset included the gene-specific training dataset and was > 7 × larger. However, we observed that gene-specific training variants were sufficient to produce the optimal pathogenicity predictor if a suitable machine learning classifier was employed. Therefore, we recommend gene-specific over disease-specific machine learning as an efficient and effective method for predicting the pathogenicity of rare BRCA1 and BRCA2 missense variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moonjong Kang
- Research Center, Software Division, NGeneBio, Seoul, 08390, Korea
| | - Seonhwa Kim
- Research Center, Software Division, NGeneBio, Seoul, 08390, Korea
| | - Da-Bin Lee
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School, Soongsil University, Seoul, 06978, Korea
| | - Changbum Hong
- Research Center, Software Division, NGeneBio, Seoul, 08390, Korea.
| | - Kyu-Baek Hwang
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graduate School, Soongsil University, Seoul, 06978, Korea.
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13
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Vivekanandam V, Ellmers R, Jayaseelan D, Houlden H, Männikkö R, Hanna MG. In silico versus functional characterization of genetic variants: lessons from muscle channelopathies. Brain 2023; 146:1316-1321. [PMID: 36382348 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate determination of the pathogenicity of missense genetic variants of uncertain significance is a huge challenge for implementing genetic data in clinical practice. In silico predictive tools are used to score variants' pathogenicity. However, their value in clinical settings is often unclear, as they have not usually been validated against robust functional assays. We compared nine widely used in silico predictive tools, including more recently developed tools (EVE and REVEL) with detailed cell-based electrophysiology, for 126 CLCN1 variants discovered in patients with the skeletal muscle channelopathy myotonia congenita. We found poor accuracy for most tools. The highest accuracy was obtained with MutationTaster (84.58%) and REVEL (82.54%). Both of these scores showed poor specificity, although specificity was better using EVE. Combining methods based on concordance improved performance overall but still lacked specificity. Our calculated statistics for the predictive tools were different to reported values for other genes in the literature, suggesting that the utility of the tools varies between genes. Overall, current predictive tools for this chloride channel are not reliable for clinical use, and tools with better specificity are urgently required. Improving the accuracy of predictive tools is a wider issue and a huge challenge for effective clinical implementation of genetic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinojini Vivekanandam
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Rebecca Ellmers
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Dipa Jayaseelan
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Henry Houlden
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Roope Männikkö
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Michael G Hanna
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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14
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Anwaar A, Varma AK, Baruah R. In Silico-Based Structural Evaluation to Categorize the Pathogenicity of Mutations Identified in the RAD Class of Proteins. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:10266-10277. [PMID: 36969410 PMCID: PMC10034773 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c07802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
RAD genes, known as double-strand break repair proteins, play a major role in maintaining the genomic integrity of a cell by carrying out essential DNA repair functions via double-strand break repair pathways. Mutations in the RAD class of proteins show high susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancers; however, adequate research on the mutations identified in these genes has not been extensively reported for their deleterious effects. Changes in the folding pattern of RAD proteins play an important role in protein-protein interactions and also functions. Missense mutations identified from four cancer databases, cBioPortal, COSMIC, ClinVar, and gnomAD, cause aberrant conformations, which may lead to faulty DNA repair mechanisms. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the effects of pathogenic mutations of RAD proteins and their subsequent role in breast and ovarian cancers. In this study, we have used eight computational prediction servers to analyze pathogenic mutations and understand their effects on the protein structure and function. A total of 5122 missense mutations were identified from four different cancer databases, of which 1165 were predicted to be pathogenic using at least five pathogenicity prediction servers. These mutations were characterized as high-risk mutations based on their location in the conserved domains and subsequently subjected to structural stability characterization. The mutations included in the present study were selected from clinically relevant mutants in breast cancer pedigrees. Comparative folding patterns and intra-atomic interaction results showed alterations in the structural behavior of RAD proteins, specifically RAD51C triggered by mutations G125V and L138F and RAD51D triggered by mutations S207L and E233G.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaliya Anwaar
- Advanced
Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410210, Maharashtra, India
| | - Ashok K. Varma
- Advanced
Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410210, Maharashtra, India
- Homi
Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400094, Maharashtra, India
| | - Reshita Baruah
- Advanced
Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai 410210, Maharashtra, India
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15
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Abildgaard AB, Nielsen SV, Bernstein I, Stein A, Lindorff-Larsen K, Hartmann-Petersen R. Lynch syndrome, molecular mechanisms and variant classification. Br J Cancer 2023; 128:726-734. [PMID: 36434153 PMCID: PMC9978028 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-022-02059-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with the heritable cancer disease, Lynch syndrome, carry germline variants in the MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 genes, encoding the central components of the DNA mismatch repair system. Loss-of-function variants disrupt the DNA mismatch repair system and give rise to a detrimental increase in the cellular mutational burden and cancer development. The treatment prospects for Lynch syndrome rely heavily on early diagnosis; however, accurate diagnosis is inextricably linked to correct clinical interpretation of individual variants. Protein variant classification traditionally relies on cumulative information from occurrence in patients, as well as experimental testing of the individual variants. The complexity of variant classification is due to (1) that variants of unknown significance are rare in the population and phenotypic information on the specific variants is missing, and (2) that individual variant testing is challenging, costly and slow. Here, we summarise recent developments in high-throughput technologies and computational prediction tools for the assessment of variants of unknown significance in Lynch syndrome. These approaches may vastly increase the number of interpretable variants and could also provide important mechanistic insights into the disease. These insights may in turn pave the road towards developing personalised treatment approaches for Lynch syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda B Abildgaard
- The Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sofie V Nielsen
- The Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Inge Bernstein
- Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Amelie Stein
- The Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- The Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen
- The Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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16
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Mabuchi Y, Hamano Y, Minami S, Ota N, Ino K. HBOC syndrome with an uncharacterized variant in the BRCA1 gene in a patient diagnosed with endometrial cancer after surgery for bilateral breast cancer: A case report. Oncol Lett 2022; 24:325. [PMID: 35949594 PMCID: PMC9353767 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2022.13445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The association between endometrial cancer and the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is not fully understood, and the risk elevation of endometrial cancer in patients with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) is not understood. The present report examines a rare case of HBOC syndrome and an uncharacterized variant of the BRCA1 gene in a patient diagnosed with endometrial cancer. A 46-year-old woman, gravida 1 para 1, was referred to Wakayama Medical University Hospital (Wakayama, Japan) because positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) showed a high FDG uptake in the corpus uteri and the left ovary. PET/CT was performed just after mastectomy for left-sided breast cancer (triple negative). The patient had previously undergone partial mastectomy for right-sided breast cancer (triple negative) and was treated with radiation therapy to the right residual breast when she was 39 years old. Laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy were performed, and the histological diagnosis was endometrioid carcinoma, grade 1. Her germline BRCA status was tested by blood examination and the result was ‘NM_007294.4(BRCA1):c.49G>C (p.Ala17Pro)’. The variant was evaluated as ‘likely pathogenic’. The patient was diagnosed with HBOC syndrome and endometrial cancer, pT1ANxM0. The patient had no recurrence of breast or endometrial cancer 16 months after gynecologic surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasushi Mabuchi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wakayama Medical University, School of Medicine, Wakayama, Wakayama 641‑0012, Japan
| | - Yuta Hamano
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Wakayama Medical University, School of Medicine, Wakayama, Wakayama 641‑0012, Japan
| | - Sawako Minami
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wakayama Medical University, School of Medicine, Wakayama, Wakayama 641‑0012, Japan
| | - Nami Ota
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wakayama Medical University, School of Medicine, Wakayama, Wakayama 641‑0012, Japan
| | - Kazuhiko Ino
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wakayama Medical University, School of Medicine, Wakayama, Wakayama 641‑0012, Japan
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17
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A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Performance of Prediction Algorithms on Clinically Relevant Missense Variants. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23147946. [PMID: 35887294 PMCID: PMC9322961 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23147946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The rapid integration of genomic technologies in clinical diagnostics has resulted in the detection of a multitude of missense variants whose clinical significance is often unknown. As a result, a plethora of computational tools have been developed to facilitate variant interpretation. However, choosing an appropriate software from such a broad range of tools can be challenging; therefore, systematic benchmarking with high-quality, independent datasets is critical. Using three independent benchmarking datasets compiled from the ClinVar database, we evaluated the performance of ten widely used prediction algorithms with missense variants from 21 clinically relevant genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2. A fourth dataset consisting of 1053 missense variants was also used to investigate the impact of type 1 circularity on their performance. The performance of the prediction algorithms varied widely across datasets. Based on Matthews Correlation Coefficient and Area Under the Curve, SNPs&GO and PMut consistently displayed an overall above-average performance across the datasets. Most of the tools demonstrated greater sensitivity and negative predictive values at the expense of lower specificity and positive predictive values. We also demonstrated that type 1 circularity significantly impacts the performance of these tools and, if not accounted for, may confound the selection of the best performing algorithms.
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18
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Aljarf R, Shen M, Pires DEV, Ascher DB. Understanding and predicting the functional consequences of missense mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10458. [PMID: 35729312 PMCID: PMC9213547 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13508-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are tumour suppressor genes that play a critical role in maintaining genomic stability via the DNA repair mechanism. DNA repair defects caused by BRCA1 and BRCA2 missense variants increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. Accurate identification of these variants becomes clinically relevant, as means to guide personalized patient management and early detection. Next-generation sequencing efforts have significantly increased data availability but also the discovery of variants of uncertain significance that need interpretation. Experimental approaches used to measure the molecular consequences of these variants, however, are usually costly and time-consuming. Therefore, computational tools have emerged as faster alternatives for assisting in the interpretation of the clinical significance of newly discovered variants. To better understand and predict variant pathogenicity in BRCA1 and BRCA2, various machine learning algorithms have been proposed, however presented limited performance. Here we present BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene-specific models and a generic model for quantifying the functional impacts of single-point missense variants in these genes. Across tenfold cross-validation, our final models achieved a Matthew's Correlation Coefficient (MCC) of up to 0.98 and comparable performance of up to 0.89 across independent, non-redundant blind tests, outperforming alternative approaches. We believe our predictive tool will be a valuable resource for providing insights into understanding and interpreting the functional consequences of missense variants in these genes and as a tool for guiding the interpretation of newly discovered variants and prioritizing mutations for experimental validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raghad Aljarf
- Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.,Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.,Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
| | - Mengyuan Shen
- Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.,Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.,Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.,School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3053, Australia
| | - Douglas E V Pires
- Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia. .,Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia. .,Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia. .,School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3053, Australia.
| | - David B Ascher
- Computational Biology and Clinical Informatics, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia. .,Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia. .,Systems and Computational Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia. .,Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Ct Rd, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
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19
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Wang HH, Portincasa P, Liu M, Wang DQH. Genetic Analysis of ABCB4 Mutations and Variants Related to the Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology of Low Phospholipid-Associated Cholelithiasis. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:1047. [PMID: 35741809 PMCID: PMC9222727 DOI: 10.3390/genes13061047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Clinical studies have revealed that the ABCB4 gene encodes the phospholipid transporter on the canalicular membrane of hepatocytes, and its mutations and variants are the genetic basis of low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC), a rare type of gallstone disease caused by a single-gene mutation or variation. The main features of LPAC include a reduction or deficiency of phospholipids in bile, symptomatic cholelithiasis at <40 years of age, intrahepatic sludge and microlithiasis, mild chronic cholestasis, a high cholesterol/phospholipid ratio in bile, and recurrence of biliary symptoms after cholecystectomy. Needle-like cholesterol crystals, putatively “anhydrous” cholesterol crystallization at low phospholipid concentrations in model and native bile, are characterized in ABCB4 knockout mice, a unique animal model for LPAC. Gallbladder bile with only trace amounts of phospholipids in these mice is supersaturated with cholesterol, with lipid composition plotting in the left two-phase zone of the ternary phase diagram, consistent with “anhydrous” cholesterol crystallization. In this review, we summarize the molecular biology and physiological functions of ABCB4 and comprehensively discuss the latest advances in the genetic analysis of ABCB4 mutations and variations and their roles in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of LPAC in humans, based on the results from clinical studies and mouse experiments. To date, approximately 158 distinct LPAC-causing ABCB4 mutations and variants in humans have been reported in the literature, indicating that it is a monogenic risk factor for LPAC. The elucidation of the ABCB4 function in the liver, the identification of ABCB4 mutations and variants in LPAC patients, and the exploration of gene therapy for ABCB4 deficiency in animal models can help us to better understand the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms underlying the onset of the disease, and will pave the way for early diagnosis and prevention of susceptible subjects and effective intervention for LPAC in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen H. Wang
- Department of Medicine and Genetics, Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Einstein-Mount Sinai Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA;
| | - Piero Portincasa
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Min Liu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA;
| | - David Q.-H. Wang
- Department of Medicine and Genetics, Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Einstein-Mount Sinai Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA;
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20
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A machine learning approach based on ACMG/AMP guidelines for genomic variant classification and prioritization. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2517. [PMID: 35169226 PMCID: PMC8847497 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06547-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Genomic variant interpretation is a critical step of the diagnostic procedure, often supported by the application of tools that may predict the damaging impact of each variant or provide a guidelines-based classification. We propose the application of Machine Learning methodologies, in particular Penalized Logistic Regression, to support variant classification and prioritization. Our approach combines ACMG/AMP guidelines for germline variant interpretation as well as variant annotation features and provides a probabilistic score of pathogenicity, thus supporting the prioritization and classification of variants that would be interpreted as uncertain by the ACMG/AMP guidelines. We compared different approaches in terms of variant prioritization and classification on different datasets, showing that our data-driven approach is able to solve more variant of uncertain significance (VUS) cases in comparison with guidelines-based approaches and in silico prediction tools.
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21
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SWAAT Bioinformatics Workflow for Protein Structure-Based Annotation of ADME Gene Variants. J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12020263. [PMID: 35207751 PMCID: PMC8875676 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12020263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent genomic studies have revealed the critical impact of genetic diversity within small population groups in determining the way individuals respond to drugs. One of the biggest challenges is to accurately predict the effect of single nucleotide variants and to get the relevant information that allows for a better functional interpretation of genetic data. Different conformational scenarios upon the changing in amino acid sequences of pharmacologically important proteins might impact their stability and plasticity, which in turn might alter the interaction with the drug. Current sequence-based annotation methods have limited power to access this type of information. Motivated by these calls, we have developed the Structural Workflow for Annotating ADME Targets (SWAAT) that allows for the prediction of the variant effect based on structural properties. SWAAT annotates a panel of 36 ADME genes including 22 out of the 23 clinically important members identified by the PharmVar consortium. The workflow consists of a set of Python codes of which the execution is managed within Nextflow to annotate coding variants based on 37 criteria. SWAAT also includes an auxiliary workflow allowing a versatile use for genes other than ADME members. Our tool also includes a machine learning random forest binary classifier that showed an accuracy of 73%. Moreover, SWAAT outperformed six commonly used sequence-based variant prediction tools (PROVEAN, SIFT, PolyPhen-2, CADD, MetaSVM, and FATHMM) in terms of sensitivity and has comparable specificity. SWAAT is available as an open-source tool.
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22
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Fanale D, Pivetti A, Cancelliere D, Spera A, Bono M, Fiorino A, Pedone E, Barraco N, Brando C, Perez A, Guarneri MF, Russo TDB, Vieni S, Guarneri G, Russo A, Bazan V. BRCA1/2 variants of unknown significance in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome: looking for the hidden meaning. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2022; 172:103626. [PMID: 35150867 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2022.103626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome is caused by germline mutations in BRCA1/2 genes. These genes are very large and their mutations are heterogeneous and scattered throughout the coding sequence. In addition to the above-mentioned mutations, variants of uncertain/unknown significance (VUSs) have been identified in BRCA genes, which make more difficult the clinical management of the patient and risk assessment. In the last decades, several laboratories have developed different databases that contain more than 2000 variants for the two genes and integrated strategies which include multifactorial prediction models based on direct and indirect genetic evidence, to classify the VUS and attribute them a clinical significance associated with a deleterious, high-low or neutral risk. This review provides a comprehensive overview of literature studies concerning the VUSs, in order to assess their impact on the population and provide new insight for the appropriate patient management in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Fanale
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessia Pivetti
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Daniela Cancelliere
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Spera
- Department of Radiotherapy, San Giovanni di Dio Hospital, ASP of Agrigento, Agrigento, Italy
| | - Marco Bono
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessia Fiorino
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Erika Pedone
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Nadia Barraco
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Chiara Brando
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessandro Perez
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | | | - Tancredi Didier Bazan Russo
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Salvatore Vieni
- Division of General and Oncological Surgery, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy
| | - Girolamo Guarneri
- Gynecology Section, Mother - Child Department, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Russo
- Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
| | - Viviana Bazan
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
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23
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Rasool R, Ullah I, Mubeen B, Alshehri S, Imam SS, Ghoneim MM, Alzarea SI, Al-Abbasi FA, Murtaza BN, Kazmi I, Nadeem MS. Theranostic Interpolation of Genomic Instability in Breast Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031861. [PMID: 35163783 PMCID: PMC8836911 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is a diverse disease caused by mutations in multiple genes accompanying epigenetic aberrations of hazardous genes and protein pathways, which distress tumor-suppressor genes and the expression of oncogenes. Alteration in any of the several physiological mechanisms such as cell cycle checkpoints, DNA repair machinery, mitotic checkpoints, and telomere maintenance results in genomic instability. Theranostic has the potential to foretell and estimate therapy response, contributing a valuable opportunity to modify the ongoing treatments and has developed new treatment strategies in a personalized manner. “Omics” technologies play a key role while studying genomic instability in breast cancer, and broadly include various aspects of proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, and tumor grading. Certain computational techniques have been designed to facilitate the early diagnosis of cancer and predict disease-specific therapies, which can produce many effective results. Several diverse tools are used to investigate genomic instability and underlying mechanisms. The current review aimed to explore the genomic landscape, tumor heterogeneity, and possible mechanisms of genomic instability involved in initiating breast cancer. We also discuss the implications of computational biology regarding mutational and pathway analyses, identification of prognostic markers, and the development of strategies for precision medicine. We also review different technologies required for the investigation of genomic instability in breast cancer cells, including recent therapeutic and preventive advances in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rabia Rasool
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; (R.R.); (I.U.); (B.M.)
| | - Inam Ullah
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; (R.R.); (I.U.); (B.M.)
| | - Bismillah Mubeen
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; (R.R.); (I.U.); (B.M.)
| | - Sultan Alshehri
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; (S.A.); (S.S.I.)
| | - Syed Sarim Imam
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; (S.A.); (S.S.I.)
| | - Mohammed M. Ghoneim
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Ad Diriyah 13713, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Sami I. Alzarea
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Fahad A. Al-Abbasi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Bibi Nazia Murtaza
- Department of Zoology, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abbottabad 22310, Pakistan;
| | - Imran Kazmi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia;
- Correspondence: (I.K.); (M.S.N.)
| | - Muhammad Shahid Nadeem
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia;
- Correspondence: (I.K.); (M.S.N.)
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24
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Artificial Selection Drives SNPs of Olfactory Receptor Genes into Different Working Traits in Labrador Retrievers. Genet Res (Camb) 2022; 2022:8319396. [PMID: 35185392 PMCID: PMC8828343 DOI: 10.1155/2022/8319396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Labs as guide dogs or sniffer dogs in usage have been introduced into China for more than 20 years. These two types of working dogs own blunt or acute olfactory senses, which have been obtained by artificial selection in relatively closed populations. In order to attain stable olfactory attributes and meet use-oriented demands, Chinese breeders keep doing the same artificial selection. Though olfactory behavior is canine genetic behavior, genotypes of OR genes formed by breeding schemes are largely unknown. Here, we characterized 26 SNPs, 2 deletions, and 2 insertions of 7 OR genes between sniffer dogs and guide dogs in order to find out the candidate alleles associated with working specific traits. The results showed that there were candidate functional SNP alleles in one locus that had statistically severely significant differences between the two subpopulations. Furthermore, the levels of polymorphism were not high in all loci and linkage disequilibrium only happened within one OR gene. Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) tests showed that there was a higher ratio not in HWE and lower FST within the two working dog populations. We conclude that artificial selection in working capacities has acted on SNP alleles of OR genes in a dog breed and driven the evolution in compliance with people's intentions though the changes are limited in decades of strategic breeding.
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25
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Tamana S, Xenophontos M, Minaidou A, Stephanou C, Harteveld CL, Bento C, Traeger-Synodinos J, Fylaktou I, Yasin NM, Abdul Hamid FS, Esa E, Halim-Fikri H, Zilfalil BA, Kakouri AC, Kleanthous M, Kountouris P. Evaluation of in silico predictors on short nucleotide variants in HBA1, HBA2, and HBB associated with haemoglobinopathies. eLife 2022; 11:79713. [PMID: 36453528 PMCID: PMC9731569 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Haemoglobinopathies are the commonest monogenic diseases worldwide and are caused by variants in the globin gene clusters. With over 2400 variants detected to date, their interpretation using the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG)/Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) guidelines is challenging and computational evidence can provide valuable input about their functional annotation. While many in silico predictors have already been developed, their performance varies for different genes and diseases. In this study, we evaluate 31 in silico predictors using a dataset of 1627 variants in HBA1, HBA2, and HBB. By varying the decision threshold for each tool, we analyse their performance (a) as binary classifiers of pathogenicity and (b) by using different non-overlapping pathogenic and benign thresholds for their optimal use in the ACMG/AMP framework. Our results show that CADD, Eigen-PC, and REVEL are the overall top performers, with the former reaching moderate strength level for pathogenic prediction. Eigen-PC and REVEL achieve the highest accuracies for missense variants, while CADD is also a reliable predictor of non-missense variants. Moreover, SpliceAI is the top performing splicing predictor, reaching strong level of evidence, while GERP++ and phyloP are the most accurate conservation tools. This study provides evidence about the optimal use of computational tools in globin gene clusters under the ACMG/AMP framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stella Tamana
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | - Maria Xenophontos
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | - Anna Minaidou
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | - Coralea Stephanou
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | - Cornelis L Harteveld
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus,Leiden University Medical CenterLeidenNetherlands
| | - Celeste Bento
- Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de CoimbraCoimbraPortugal
| | | | - Irene Fylaktou
- Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of AthensAthensGreece
| | - Norafiza Mohd Yasin
- Haematology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Health of Institutes (NIH), Ministry of Health MalaysiaSelangorMalaysia
| | - Faidatul Syazlin Abdul Hamid
- Haematology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Health of Institutes (NIH), Ministry of Health MalaysiaSelangorMalaysia
| | - Ezalia Esa
- Haematology Unit, Cancer Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Health of Institutes (NIH), Ministry of Health MalaysiaSelangorMalaysia
| | - Hashim Halim-Fikri
- Malaysian Node of the Human Variome Project, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains MalaysiaKelantanMalaysia
| | - Bin Alwi Zilfalil
- Human Genome Centre, School of Medical Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains MalaysiaKelantanMalaysia
| | - Andrea C Kakouri
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | | | - Marina Kleanthous
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
| | - Petros Kountouris
- Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosiaCyprus
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26
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Acharya R, Upadhyay K. End-stage renal disease in a child with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis associated with a homozygous NUP93 variant. Clin Case Rep 2021; 9:e05111. [PMID: 34815884 PMCID: PMC8593884 DOI: 10.1002/ccr3.5111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
This report highlights that the genetic causes of FSGS, including NUP93 gene variant, such as the one described in this report, progress to end-stage renal disease rapidly and that the risk of recurrence post-renal transplantation is less likely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratna Acharya
- Division of General PediatricsDepartment of PediatricsUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Kiran Upadhyay
- Division of Pediatric NephrologyDepartment of PediatricsUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
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27
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Pinheiro FC, Sperb-Ludwig F, Schwartz IVD. Epidemiological aspects of hereditary fructose intolerance: A database study. Hum Mutat 2021; 42:1548-1566. [PMID: 34524712 DOI: 10.1002/humu.24282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Hereditary fructose intolerance (HFI) is an inborn error of fructose metabolism of autosomal recessive inheritance caused by pathogenic variants in the ALDOB gene that lead to aldolase B deficiency in the liver, kidneys, and intestine. Patients manifest symptoms, such as ketotic hypoglycemia, vomiting, nausea, in addition to hepatomegaly and other liver and kidney dysfunctions. The treatment consists of a fructose-restricted diet, which results in a good prognosis. To analyze the distribution of ALDOB variants described in patients and to estimate the prevalence of HFI based on carrier frequency in the gnomAD database, a systematic review was conducted to assess ALDOB gene variants among patients with HFI. The prevalence of HFI was estimated from the carrier frequency of variants described in patients, as well as rare variants predicted as pathogenic by in silico tools. The p.(Ala150Pro) and p.(Ala175Asp) variants are the most frequent and are distributed worldwide. However, these variants have particular distribution patterns in Europe. The analysis of the prevalence of HFI showed that the inclusion of rare alleles predicted as pathogenic is a more informative approach for populations with few patients. The data show that HFI has a wide distribution and an estimated prevalence of ~1:10,000.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franciele C Pinheiro
- Post-Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,BRAIN Laboratory, Center of Experimental Research, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,Federal University of Pampa, Itaqui, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Sperb-Ludwig
- Post-Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,BRAIN Laboratory, Center of Experimental Research, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Ida V D Schwartz
- Post-Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,BRAIN Laboratory, Center of Experimental Research, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,Department of Genetics, Bioscience Institute, Federal University of do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.,Medical Genetics Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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28
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Reilly CR, Myllymäki M, Redd R, Padmanaban S, Karunakaran D, Tesmer V, Tsai FD, Gibson CJ, Rana HQ, Zhong L, Saber W, Spellman SR, Hu ZH, Orr EH, Chen MM, De Vivo I, DeAngelo DJ, Cutler C, Antin JH, Neuberg D, Garber JE, Nandakumar J, Agarwal S, Lindsley RC. The clinical and functional effects of TERT variants in myelodysplastic syndrome. Blood 2021; 138:898-911. [PMID: 34019641 PMCID: PMC8432045 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021011075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Germline pathogenic TERT variants are associated with short telomeres and an increased risk of developing myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) among patients with a telomere biology disorder. We identified TERT rare variants in 41 of 1514 MDS patients (2.7%) without a clinical diagnosis of a telomere biology disorder who underwent allogeneic transplantation. Patients with a TERT rare variant had shorter telomere length (P < .001) and younger age at MDS diagnosis (52 vs 59 years, P = .03) than patients without a TERT rare variant. In multivariable models, TERT rare variants were associated with inferior overall survival (P = .034) driven by an increased incidence of nonrelapse mortality (NRM; P = .015). Death from a noninfectious pulmonary cause was more frequent among patients with a TERT rare variant. Most variants were missense substitutions and classified as variants of unknown significance. Therefore, we cloned all rare missense variants and quantified their impact on telomere elongation in a cell-based assay. We found that 90% of TERT rare variants had severe or intermediate impairment in their capacity to elongate telomeres. Using a homology model of human TERT bound to the shelterin protein TPP1, we inferred that TERT rare variants disrupt domain-specific functions, including catalysis, protein-RNA interactions, and recruitment to telomeres. Our results indicate that the contribution of TERT rare variants to MDS pathogenesis and NRM risk is underrecognized. Routine screening for TERT rare variants in MDS patients regardless of age or clinical suspicion may identify clinically inapparent telomere biology disorders and improve transplant outcomes through risk-adapted approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mikko Myllymäki
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | - Robert Redd
- Department of Data Sciences, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
| | - Shilpa Padmanaban
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Druha Karunakaran
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | - Valerie Tesmer
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Frederick D Tsai
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | | | - Huma Q Rana
- Division of Population Sciences, Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, and
| | - Liang Zhong
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston MA
| | - Wael Saber
- Center for International Blood andMarrow Transplant Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
| | - Stephen R Spellman
- Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, National Marrow Donor Program/Be The Match, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Zhen-Huan Hu
- Center for International Blood andMarrow Transplant Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
| | - Esther H Orr
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; and
| | - Maxine M Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; and
| | - Immaculata De Vivo
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; and
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Daniel J DeAngelo
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | - Corey Cutler
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | - Joseph H Antin
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
| | - Donna Neuberg
- Department of Data Sciences, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
| | - Judy E Garber
- Division of Population Sciences, Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, and
| | - Jayakrishnan Nandakumar
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Suneet Agarwal
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston MA
| | - R Coleman Lindsley
- Division of Hematological Malignancies, Department of Medical Oncology, and
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29
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Reinisch M, Kuemmel S, Breit E, Theuerkauf I, Harrach H, Schindowski D, Moka D, Bettstetter M, Bruzas S, Chiari O. Two progressed malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast harbor alterations in genes frequently involved in other advanced cancers. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2021; 16:363. [PMID: 34399808 PMCID: PMC8365991 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-021-01986-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The genomic landscape of phyllodes tumors (PTs) of the breast is not well defined, especially in patients with advanced disease. To shed light on this topic, paired primary and progressed tumor samples from two patients with malignant PTs were subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) followed by functional analysis of genetic alterations using two prediction tools. Methods The DNA of both the primary tumor and distant metastases of Patient 1 and the primary and recurrent tumor of Patient 2 were subjected to molecular profiling. NGS with the FoundationOne® assay was performed in a commercial molecular pathology laboratory. Two in silico prediction tools were used to estimate the pathogenicity of indicated genetic alterations. Results In total, 38 genomic alterations were detected, of which 11 were predicted to be probably benign. In Patient 1, 14 aberrations were identified in the primary tumor and 17 in pulmonary metastases, 12 of which were identical. In the primary and recurrent tumor of Patient 2, 17 and 15 sequence variants, respectively, were found, with 13 overlapping findings. Affected genes included seven (TP53, TERT, APC, ARID1A, EGFR, KMT2D, and RB1) of the top 10 most frequently altered genes in other advanced cancer entities, as well as four actionable therapeutic targets (EGFR, KIT, PDGFRA, and BRIP1). Of note, seven genes coding for receptor tyrosine kinases were affected: three in Patient 1 and four in Patient 2. Several genes (e.g. EPHA3, EPHA7, and EPHB1) were shown to be altered for the first time in PTs. Conclusions The two progressed malignant PTs investigated here share some of the major genetic events occurring in other advanced cancers. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-021-01986-z.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sherko Kuemmel
- Breast Unit, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, 45136, Essen, Germany.,Department of Gynecology with Breast Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Hakima Harrach
- Breast Unit, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, 45136, Essen, Germany
| | | | - Detlef Moka
- Nuclear Medicine Centre, 45136, Essen, Germany
| | - Marcus Bettstetter
- Teilgemeinschaftspraxis Molekularpathologie Südbayern, 81539, München, Germany
| | - Simona Bruzas
- Breast Unit, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, 45136, Essen, Germany
| | - Ouafaa Chiari
- Breast Unit, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, 45136, Essen, Germany
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Abstract
Interpreting the effects of genetic variants is key to understanding individual susceptibility to disease and designing personalized therapeutic approaches. Modern experimental technologies are enabling the generation of massive compendia of human genome sequence data and associated molecular and phenotypic traits, together with genome-scale expression, epigenomics and other functional genomic data. Integrative computational models can leverage these data to understand variant impact, elucidate the effect of dysregulated genes on biological pathways in specific disease and tissue contexts, and interpret disease risk beyond what is feasible with experiments alone. In this Review, we discuss recent developments in machine learning algorithms for genome interpretation and for integrative molecular-level modelling of cells, tissues and organs relevant to disease. More specifically, we highlight existing methods and key challenges and opportunities in identifying specific disease-causing genetic variants and linking them to molecular pathways and, ultimately, to disease phenotypes.
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31
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Fanale D, Fiorino A, Incorvaia L, Dimino A, Filorizzo C, Bono M, Cancelliere D, Calò V, Brando C, Corsini LR, Sciacchitano R, Magrin L, Pivetti A, Pedone E, Madonia G, Cucinella A, Badalamenti G, Russo A, Bazan V. Prevalence and Spectrum of Germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variants of Uncertain Significance in Breast/Ovarian Cancer: Mysterious Signals From the Genome. Front Oncol 2021; 11:682445. [PMID: 34178674 PMCID: PMC8226162 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.682445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
About 10–20% of breast/ovarian (BC/OC) cancer patients undergoing germline BRCA1/2 genetic testing have been shown to harbor Variants of Uncertain Significance (VUSs). Since little is known about the prevalence of germline BRCA1/2 VUS in Southern Italy, our study aimed at describing the spectrum of these variants detected in BC/OC patients in order to improve the identification of potentially high-risk BRCA variants helpful in patient clinical management. Eight hundred and seventy-four BC or OC patients, enrolled from October 2016 to December 2020 at the “Sicilian Regional Center for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Rare and Heredo-Familial Tumors” of University Hospital Policlinico “P. Giaccone” of Palermo, were genetically tested for germline BRCA1/2 variants through Next-Generation Sequencing analysis. The mutational screening showed that 639 (73.1%) out of 874 patients were BRCA-w.t., whereas 67 (7.7%) were carriers of germline BRCA1/2 VUSs, and 168 (19.2%) harbored germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants. Our analysis revealed the presence of 59 different VUSs detected in 67 patients, 46 of which were affected by BC and 21 by OC. Twenty-one (35.6%) out of 59 variants were located on BRCA1 gene, whereas 38 (64.4%) on BRCA2. We detected six alterations in BRCA1 and two in BRCA2 with unclear interpretation of clinical significance. Familial anamnesis of a patient harboring the BRCA1-c.3367G>T suggests for this variant a potential of pathogenicity, therefore it should be carefully investigated. Understanding clinical significance of germline BRCA1/2 VUS could improve, in future, the identification of potentially high-risk variants useful for clinical management of BC or OC patients and family members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Fanale
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessia Fiorino
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Lorena Incorvaia
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics (Bi.N.D.), Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessandra Dimino
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Clarissa Filorizzo
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Marco Bono
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Daniela Cancelliere
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Valentina Calò
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Chiara Brando
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Lidia Rita Corsini
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Roberta Sciacchitano
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Luigi Magrin
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessia Pivetti
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Erika Pedone
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giorgio Madonia
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Alessandra Cucinella
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Badalamenti
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Russo
- Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Viviana Bazan
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics (Bi.N.D.), Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Özkan S, Padilla N, de la Cruz X. Towards a New, Endophenotype-Based Strategy for Pathogenicity Prediction in BRCA1 and BRCA2: In Silico Modeling of the Outcome of HDR/SGE Assays for Missense Variants. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6226. [PMID: 34207612 PMCID: PMC8229251 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The present limitations in the pathogenicity prediction of BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) missense variants constitute an important problem with negative consequences for the diagnosis of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. However, it has been proposed that the use of endophenotype predictions, i.e., computational estimates of the outcomes of functional assays, can be a good option to address this bottleneck. The application of this idea to the BRCA1/2 variants in the CAGI 5-ENIGMA international challenge has shown promising results. Here, we developed this approach, exploring the predictive performances of the regression models applied to the BRCA1/2 variants for which the values of the homology-directed DNA repair and saturation genome editing assays are available. Our results first showed that we can generate endophenotype estimates using a few molecular-level properties. Second, we show that the accuracy of these estimates is enough to obtain pathogenicity predictions comparable to those of many standard tools. Third, endophenotype-based predictions are complementary to, but do not outperform, those of a Random Forest model trained using variant pathogenicity annotations instead of endophenotype values. In summary, our results confirmed the usefulness of the endophenotype approach for the pathogenicity prediction of the BRCA1/2 missense variants, suggesting different options for future improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selen Özkan
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (S.Ö.); (N.P.)
| | - Natàlia Padilla
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (S.Ö.); (N.P.)
| | - Xavier de la Cruz
- Research Unit in Clinical and Translational Bioinformatics, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (S.Ö.); (N.P.)
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010 Barcelona, Spain
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33
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Mahmood MS, Irshad S, Kalsoom U, Batool H, Batool S, Butt TA. In silico analysis of missense Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs) in HBB gene associated with the β-thalassemia. GENE REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.genrep.2021.101019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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34
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Martin LJ, Benson DW. Focused Strategies for Defining the Genetic Architecture of Congenital Heart Defects. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:827. [PMID: 34071175 PMCID: PMC8228798 DOI: 10.3390/genes12060827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are malformations present at birth that occur during heart development. Increasing evidence supports a genetic origin of CHD, but in the process important challenges have been identified. This review begins with information about CHD and the importance of detailed phenotyping of study subjects. To facilitate appropriate genetic study design, we review DNA structure, genetic variation in the human genome and tools to identify the genetic variation of interest. Analytic approaches powered for both common and rare variants are assessed. While the ideal outcome of genetic studies is to identify variants that have a causal role, a more realistic goal for genetic analytics is to identify variants in specific genes that influence the occurrence of a phenotype and which provide keys to open biologic doors that inform how the genetic variants modulate heart development. It has never been truer that good genetic studies start with good planning. Continued progress in unraveling the genetic underpinnings of CHD will require multidisciplinary collaboration between geneticists, quantitative scientists, clinicians, and developmental biologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J. Martin
- Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - D. Woodrow Benson
- Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, USA;
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35
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Poon KS. In silico analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 missense variants and the relevance in molecular genetic testing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11114. [PMID: 34045478 PMCID: PMC8160182 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88586-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the years since the genetic testing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 has been conducted for research and later introduced into clinical practice, a high number of missense variants have been reported in the literature and deposited in public databases. Polymorphism Phenotyping v2 (PolyPhen-2) and Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant (SIFT) are two widely applied bioinformatics tools used to assess the functional impacts of missense variants. A total of 2605 BRCA1 and 4763 BRCA2 variants from the ClinVar database were analysed with PolyPhen2 and SIFT. When SIFT was evaluated alongside PolyPhen-2 HumDiv and HumVar, it had shown top performance in terms of negative predictive value (NPV) (100%) and sensitivity (100%) for ClinVar classified benign and pathogenic BRCA1 variants. Both SIFT and PolyPhen-2 HumDiv achieved 100% NPV and 100% sensitivity in prediction of pathogenicity of the BRCA2 variants. Agreement was achieved in prediction outcomes from the three tested approaches in 55.04% and 68.97% of the variants of unknown significance (VUS) for BRCA1 and BRCA2, respectively. The performances of PolyPhen-2 and SIFT in predicting functional impacts varied across the two genes. Due to lack of high concordance in prediction outcomes among the two tested algorithms, their usefulness in classifying the pathogenicity of VUS identified through molecular testing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 is hence limited in the clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kok-Siong Poon
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital, NUH Main Building, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Singapore.
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36
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Arshad S, Ishaque I, Mumtaz S, Rashid MU, Malkani N. In-Silico Analyses of Nonsynonymous Variants in the BRCA1 Gene. Biochem Genet 2021; 59:1506-1526. [PMID: 33945048 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-021-10074-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BReast CAncer gene 1 (BRCA1)-a tumor suppressor gene plays an important role in the DNA repair mechanism. Several BRCA1 variants perturb its structure and function, including synonymous and nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In the present study, we performed in-silico analyses of nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) of the BRCA1 gene. In total, 122 nsSNPs were retrieved from the NCBI SNP database and in-silico analyses were performed using computational prediction tools: SIFT, PROVEAN, Mutation Taster, PolyPhen-2, MutPred, and ConSurf. Of these tools, SIFT, PROVEAN, and Mutation Taster predicted 61 out of 122 nsSNPs as "damaging", based on structural homology analysis. PolyPhen-2 classified 22 nsSNPs as "probably damaging". These nsSNPs were further analyzed by MutPred to predict basic molecular mechanisms of amino acid alteration. ConSurf analysis predicted eleven conserved amino acid residues with structural and functional consequences. We identified five amino acid residues in the RING finger domain (L22, C39, H41, C44, and C47) and two in the BRCT domain (P1771 and I1707) with the potential to deter the BRCA1 protein function. This study provides insights into the effect of nsSNPs and amino acid substitutions in BRCA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sidra Arshad
- Department of Zoology, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Irfan Ishaque
- Department of Zoology, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Sidra Mumtaz
- Department of Zoology, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Usman Rashid
- Department of Basic Sciences Research, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Naila Malkani
- Department of Zoology, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan.
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37
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Accetturo M, D'Uggento AM, Portincasa P, Stella A. Improvement of MEFV gene variants classification to aid treatment decision making in familial Mediterranean fever. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2020; 59:754-761. [PMID: 31411330 PMCID: PMC7188344 DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kez332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective FMF is an inherited autoinflammatory syndrome caused by mutations in the MEFV gene. MEFV variants are still largely classified as acvariant of uncertain significance, or with unresolved classification, posing significant challenges in FMF diagnosis. Rare Exome Variant Ensemble Learner (REVEL) is a recently developed variant metapredictor tool. To reduce the number of MEFV variants with ambiguous classification, we extracted REVEL scores for all missense variants present in the INFEVERS database, and analysed its correlation with expert-based classification and localization in the MEFV-encoded pyrin functional domains. Methods The data set of 216 MEFV missense variants was divided into four categories (likely benign, variant of uncertain significance, likely pathogenic and unresolved). Variants were plotted onto the pyrin protein, the distribution of REVEL scores in each category was computed and means, confidence intervals, and area under the receiver operating curve were calculated. Results We observed a non-random distribution of pathogenic variants along the pyrin functional domains. The REVEL scores demonstrated a good correlation with the consensus classification of the International Study Group for Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated for different cut-off values of REVEL scores and a gene-specific-threshold of 0.298 was computed with confidence boundary limits. This cut-off value allowed us to propose a reclassification of 96 MEFV gene variants, thus reducing the variant of uncertain significance proportion from 61.6% to 17.6%. Conclusion The combination of available expert information with sensitive predictor tools could result in a more accurate interpretation of clinical consequences of MEFV gene variants, and to a better genetic counselling and patient management.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Piero Portincasa
- Division of Internal Medicine, Clinica Medica A. Murri, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Italy
| | - Alessandro Stella
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, AOU Policlinico di Bari, Bari, Italy
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38
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Guéguen P, Dupuis A, Py JY, Desprès A, Masson E, Le Marechal C, Cooper DN, Gachet C, Chen JM, Férec C. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in at least five genes account for approximately 3% of mild isolated nonsyndromic thrombocytopenia. Transfusion 2020; 60:2419-2431. [PMID: 32757236 DOI: 10.1111/trf.15992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thrombocytopenia has a variety of different etiologies, both acquired and hereditary. Inherited thrombocytopenia may be associated with other symptoms (syndromic forms) or may be strictly isolated. To date, only about half of all the familial forms of thrombocytopenia have been accounted for in terms of well-defined genetic abnormalities. However, data are limited on the nature and frequency of the underlying causative genetic variants in individuals with mild isolated nonsyndromic thrombocytopenia. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Thirteen known or candidate genes for isolated thrombocytopenia were included in a gene panel analysis in which targeted next-generation sequencing was performed on 448 French blood donors with mild isolated nonsyndromic thrombocytopenia. RESULTS A total of 68 rare variants, including missense, splice site, frameshift, nonsense, and in-frame variants (all heterozygous) were identified in 11 of the 13 genes screened. Twenty-nine percent (N = 20) of the variants detected were absent from both the French Exome Project and gnomAD exome databases. Using stringent criteria and an unbiased approach, we classified seven predicted loss-of-function variants (three in ITGA2B and four in TUBB1) and four missense variants (one in GP1BA, two in ITGB3 and one in ACTN1) as being pathogenic or likely pathogenic. Altogether, they were found in 13 members (approx. 3%) of our studied cohort. CONCLUSION We present the results of gene panel sequencing of known and candidate thrombocytopenia genes in mild isolated nonsyndromic thrombocytopenia. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in five known thrombocytopenia genes were identified, accounting for approximately 3% of individuals with the condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Guéguen
- CHRU Brest, Brest, France.,EFS, Univ Brest, Inserm, UMR 1078, GGB, Brest, France
| | - Arnaud Dupuis
- Université de Strasbourg, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Etablissement Français du Sang Grand Est, Unité Mixte de Recherche-S 1255, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Yves Py
- EFS Centre-Pays de la Loire, Site d'Orléans, Orléans, France
| | | | - Emmanuelle Masson
- CHRU Brest, Brest, France.,EFS, Univ Brest, Inserm, UMR 1078, GGB, Brest, France
| | - Cédric Le Marechal
- CHRU Brest, Brest, France.,EFS, Univ Brest, Inserm, UMR 1078, GGB, Brest, France
| | - David N Cooper
- Institute of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Christian Gachet
- Université de Strasbourg, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Etablissement Français du Sang Grand Est, Unité Mixte de Recherche-S 1255, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Claude Férec
- CHRU Brest, Brest, France.,EFS, Univ Brest, Inserm, UMR 1078, GGB, Brest, France
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39
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Sirr A, Lo RS, Cromie GA, Scott AC, Ashmead J, Heyesus M, Dudley AM. A yeast-based complementation assay elucidates the functional impact of 200 missense variants in human PSAT1. J Inherit Metab Dis 2020; 43:758-769. [PMID: 32077105 PMCID: PMC7444316 DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Defects in serine biosynthesis resulting from loss of function mutations in PHGDH, PSAT1, and PSPH cause a set of rare, autosomal recessive diseases known as Neu-Laxova syndrome (NLS) or serine-deficiency disorders. The diseases present with a broad range of phenotypes including lethality, severe neurological manifestations, seizures, and intellectual disability. However, because L-serine supplementation, especially if started prenatally, can ameliorate and in some cases even prevent symptoms, knowledge of pathogenic variants is medically actionable. Here, we describe a functional assay that leverages the evolutionary conservation of an enzyme in the serine biosynthesis pathway, phosphoserine aminotransferase, and the ability of the human protein-coding sequence (PSAT1) to functionally replace its yeast ortholog (SER1). Results from our quantitative, yeast-based assay agree well with clinical annotations and expectations based on the disease literature. Using this assay, we have measured the functional impact of the 199 PSAT1 variants currently listed in ClinVar, gnomAD, and the literature. We anticipate that the assay could be used to comprehensively assess the functional impact of all SNP-accessible amino acid substitution mutations in PSAT1, a resource that could aid variant interpretation and identify potential NLS carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Sirr
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Russell S. Lo
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Adrian C. Scott
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Julee Ashmead
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Mirutse Heyesus
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Aimée M. Dudley
- Pacific Northwest Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Bouwman P, van der Heijden I, van der Gulden H, de Bruijn R, Braspenning ME, Moghadasi S, Wessels LFA, Vreeswijk MPG, Jonkers J. Functional Categorization of BRCA1 Variants of Uncertain Clinical Significance in Homologous Recombination Repair Complementation Assays. Clin Cancer Res 2020; 26:4559-4568. [PMID: 32546644 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-20-0255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Because BRCA1 is a high-risk breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA1 sequence variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS) complicate genetic counseling. As most VUS are rare, reliable classification based on clinical and genetic data is often impossible. However, all pathogenic BRCA1 variants analyzed result in defective homologous recombination DNA repair (HRR). Thus, BRCA1 VUS may be categorized based on their functional impact on this pathway. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Two hundred thirty-eight BRCA1 VUS-comprising most BRCA1 VUS known in the Netherlands and Belgium-were tested for their ability to complement Brca1-deficient mouse embryonic stem cells in HRR, using cisplatin and olaparib sensitivity assays and a direct repeat GFP (DR-GFP) HRR assay. Assays were validated using 25 known benign and 25 known pathogenic BRCA1 variants. For assessment of pathogenicity by a multifactorial likelihood analysis method, we collected clinical and genetic data for functionally deleterious VUS and VUS occurring in three or more families. RESULTS All three assays showed 100% sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval, 83%-100%). Out of 238 VUS, 45 showed functional defects, 26 of which were deleterious in all three assays. For 13 of these 26 variants, we could calculate the probability of pathogenicity using clinical and genetic data, resulting in the identification of 7 (likely) pathogenic variants. CONCLUSIONS We have functionally categorized 238 BRCA1 VUS using three different HRR-related assays. Classification based on clinical and genetic data alone for a subset of these variants confirmed the high sensitivity and specificity of our functional assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Bouwman
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Ingrid van der Heijden
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Hanneke van der Gulden
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Roebi de Bruijn
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Merel E Braspenning
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Setareh Moghadasi
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Lodewyk F A Wessels
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Maaike P G Vreeswijk
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jos Jonkers
- Oncode Institute and Division of Molecular Pathology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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41
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Eggermann T, Elbracht M, Kurth I, Juul A, Johannsen TH, Netchine I, Mastorakos G, Johannsson G, Musholt TJ, Zenker M, Prawitt D, Pereira AM, Hiort O. Genetic testing in inherited endocrine disorders: joint position paper of the European reference network on rare endocrine conditions (Endo-ERN). Orphanet J Rare Dis 2020; 15:144. [PMID: 32513286 PMCID: PMC7278165 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-020-01420-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background With the development of molecular high-throughput assays (i.e. next generation sequencing), the knowledge on the contribution of genetic and epigenetic alterations to the etiology of inherited endocrine disorders has massively expanded. However, the rapid implementation of these new molecular tools in the diagnostic settings makes the interpretation of diagnostic data increasingly complex. Main body This joint paper of the ENDO-ERN members aims to overview chances, challenges, limitations and relevance of comprehensive genetic diagnostic testing in rare endocrine conditions in order to achieve an early molecular diagnosis. This early diagnosis of a genetically based endocrine disorder contributes to a precise management and helps the patients and their families in their self-determined planning of life. Furthermore, the identification of a causative (epi)genetic alteration allows an accurate prognosis of recurrence risks for family planning as the basis of genetic counselling. Asymptomatic carriers of pathogenic variants can be identified, and prenatal testing might be offered, where appropriate. Conclusions The decision on genetic testing in the diagnostic workup of endocrine disorders should be based on their appropriateness to reliably detect the disease-causing and –modifying mutation, their informational value, and cost-effectiveness. The future assessment of data from different omic approaches should be embedded in interdisciplinary discussions using all available clinical and molecular data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Eggermann
- Institute of Human Genetics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Miriam Elbracht
- Institute of Human Genetics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ingo Kurth
- Institute of Human Genetics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Anders Juul
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,International Center for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Trine Holm Johannsen
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,International Center for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Irène Netchine
- INSERM, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, Sorbonne Université, UFR Médecine, AP-HP, Hôpital Armand Trousseau-Explorations Fonctionnelles Endocriniennes, Paris, France
| | - George Mastorakos
- Unit of Endocrinology, Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolism, ARETAIEION Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gudmundur Johannsson
- Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and Department of Endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Thomas J Musholt
- Section of Endocrine Surgery, Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - Martin Zenker
- Institute of Human Genetics, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Prawitt
- Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alberto M Pereira
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Olaf Hiort
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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42
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Rotunno M, Barajas R, Clyne M, Hoover E, Simonds NI, Lam TK, Mechanic LE, Goldstein AM, Gillanders EM. A Systematic Literature Review of Whole Exome and Genome Sequencing Population Studies of Genetic Susceptibility to Cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020; 29:1519-1534. [PMID: 32467344 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-19-1551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2019] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in cancer research has accelerated the discovery of somatic mutations; however, progress in the identification of germline variation associated with cancer risk is less clear. We conducted a systematic literature review of cancer genetic susceptibility studies that used NGS technologies at an exome/genome-wide scale to obtain a fuller understanding of the research landscape to date and to inform future studies. The variability across studies on methodologies and reporting was considerable. Most studies sequenced few high-risk (mainly European) families, used a candidate analysis approach, and identified potential cancer-related germline variants or genes in a small fraction of the sequenced cancer cases. This review highlights the importance of establishing consensus on standards for the application and reporting of variants filtering strategies. It also describes the progress in the identification of cancer-related germline variation to date. These findings point to the untapped potential in conducting studies with appropriately sized and racially diverse families and populations, combining results across studies and expanding beyond a candidate analysis approach to advance the discovery of genetic variation that accounts for the unexplained cancer heritability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Rotunno
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland.
| | - Rolando Barajas
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Mindy Clyne
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Elise Hoover
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Tram Kim Lam
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Leah E Mechanic
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alisa M Goldstein
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Elizabeth M Gillanders
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland
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43
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High-throughput functional evaluation of BRCA2 variants of unknown significance. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2573. [PMID: 32444794 PMCID: PMC7244490 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16141-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous nontruncating missense variants of the BRCA2 gene have been identified, but there is a lack of convincing evidence, such as familial data, demonstrating their clinical relevance and they thus remain unactionable. To assess the pathogenicity of variants of unknown significance (VUSs) within BRCA2, here we develop a method, the MANO-B method, for high-throughput functional evaluation utilizing BRCA2-deficient cells and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. The estimated sensitivity and specificity of this assay compared to those of the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification system is 95% and 95% (95% confidence intervals: 77–100% and 82–99%), respectively. We classify the functional impact of 186 BRCA2 VUSs with our computational pipeline, resulting in the classification of 126 variants as normal/likely normal, 23 as intermediate, and 37 as abnormal/likely abnormal. We further describe a simplified, on-demand annotation system that could be used as a companion diagnostic for PARP inhibitors in patients with unknown BRCA2 VUSs. Many germline variants are found in the BRCA2 gene, some of which pre-dispose women to breast and ovarian cancer. Here, the authors develop a method to determine the functional significance of BRCA2 variants and show that it is comparable to the IARC system of classifying variants.
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44
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Jiang H, Liang S, He K, Hu J, Xu E, Lin T, Meng Y, Zhao J, Ma J, Gao R, Wang C, Yang F, Zhou X. Exome sequencing analysis identifies frequent oligogenic involvement and FLNB variants in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. J Med Genet 2020; 57:405-413. [PMID: 32381728 PMCID: PMC7279190 DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2019-106411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Background Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a genetically heterogeneous disease characterised by three-dimensional deformity of the spine in the absence of a congenital spinal anomaly or neurological musculoskeletal disorder. The clinical variability and incomplete penetrance of some genes linked with AIS indicate that this disease constitutes an oligogenic trait. Objective We aimed to explore the oligogenic nature of this disease and identify novel AIS genes. Methods We analysed rare damaging variants within AIS-associated genes by using exome sequencing in 40 AIS trios and 183 sporadic patients. Results Multiple variants within AIS-associated genes were identified in eight AIS trios, and five individuals harboured rare damaging variants in the FLNB gene. The patients showed more frequent oligogenicity than the controls. In the gene-based burden test, the top signal resided in FLNB. In functional studies, we found that the AIS-associated FLNB variants altered the protein’s conformation and subcellular localisation and its interaction with other proteins (TTC26 and OFD1) involved in AIS. The most compelling evidence of an oligogenic basis was that the number of rare damaging variants was recognised as an independent prognostic factor for curve progression in Cox regression analysis. Conclusion Our data indicate that AIS is an oligogenic disease and identify FLNB as a susceptibility gene for AIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Jiang
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shulun Liang
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kai He
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Jinghua Hu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Enjie Xu
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Lin
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yichen Meng
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianquan Zhao
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Ma
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rui Gao
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ce Wang
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fu Yang
- Department of Medical Genetics, Second Military Medical University, Shangahi, China.,Department of Cell Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuhui Zhou
- Department of Orthopedics, Changzheng hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
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45
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Monteiro AN, Bouwman P, Kousholt AN, Eccles DM, Millot GA, Masson JY, Schmidt MK, Sharan SK, Scully R, Wiesmüller L, Couch F, Vreeswijk MPG. Variants of uncertain clinical significance in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genes: best practices in functional analysis for clinical annotation. J Med Genet 2020; 57:509-518. [PMID: 32152249 DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2019-106368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro N Monteiro
- Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Peter Bouwman
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Arne N Kousholt
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Diana M Eccles
- Cancer Sciences, University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Southampton, UK
| | - Gael A Millot
- Hub-DBC, Institut Pasteur, USR 3756 CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Yves Masson
- CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Oncology Division, Laval University Cancer Research Center, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marjanka K Schmidt
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Shyam K Sharan
- National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Ralph Scully
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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46
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Li X, Warner JL. A Review of Precision Oncology Knowledgebases for Determining the Clinical Actionability of Genetic Variants. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:48. [PMID: 32117976 PMCID: PMC7026022 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The increased availability of tumor genetic testing and targeted cancer therapies contributes to the advancement of precision medicine in the field of oncology. Precision oncology knowledgebases provide a way of organizing clinically relevant genetic information in a way that is easily accessible for both oncologists and patients, facilitating the genetic-based clinical decision making. Many organizations and companies have built precision oncology knowledgebases, intended for multiple users. In general, these knowledgebases offer information on cancer-related genetic variants as well as their associated diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications, but they often differ in their information curations, designs, and user experiences. It is advisable that oncologists use multiple knowledgebases during their practice to have them complement each other. In the future, convergence toward common standards and formats is needed to ensure that the comprehensive knowledge across all sources can be unified to bring the oncology community closer to the achievement of the goal of precision oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyi Li
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Jeremy L. Warner
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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47
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Zeng J, Slodkowicz G, James LC. Rare missense variants in the human cytosolic antibody receptor preserve antiviral function. eLife 2019; 8:48339. [PMID: 31613747 PMCID: PMC6794091 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic basis of most human disease cannot be explained by common variants. One solution to this ‘missing heritability problem’ may be rare missense variants, which are individually scarce but collectively abundant. However, the phenotypic impact of rare variants is under-appreciated as gene function is normally studied in the context of a single ‘wild-type’ sequence. Here, we explore the impact of naturally occurring missense variants in the human population on the cytosolic antibody receptor TRIM21, using volunteer cells with variant haplotypes, CRISPR gene editing and functional reconstitution. In combination with data from a panel of computational predictors, the results suggest that protein robustness and purifying selection ensure that function is remarkably well-maintained despite coding variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwei Zeng
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Greg Slodkowicz
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Leo C James
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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48
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Shaik NA, Bokhari HA, Masoodi TA, Shetty PJ, Ajabnoor GMA, Elango R, Banaganapalli B. Molecular modelling and dynamics of CA2 missense mutations causative to carbonic anhydrase 2 deficiency syndrome. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2019; 38:4067-4080. [PMID: 31542996 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1671899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2) enzyme deficiency caused by CA2 gene mutations is an inherited disorder characterized by symptoms like osteopetrosis, renal tubular acidosis, and cerebral calcification. This study has collected the CA2 deficiency causal missense mutations and assessed their pathogenicity using diverse computational programs. The 3D protein models for all missense mutations were built, and analyzed for structural divergence, protein stability, and molecular dynamics properties. We found M-CAP as the most sensitive prediction method to measure the deleterious potential of CA2 missense mutations. Free energy dynamics of tertiary structure models of CA2 mutants with DUET, mCSM, and SDM based consensus methods predicted only 50% of the variants as destabilizing. Superimposition of native and mutant CA2 models revealed the minor structural fluctuations at the amino acid residue level but not at the whole protein structure level. Near native molecular dynamic simulation analysis indicated that CA2 causative missense variants result in residue level fluctuation pattern in the protein structure. This study expands the understanding of genotype-protein phenotype correlations underlying CA2 variant pathogenicity and presents a potential avenue for modifying the CA2 deficiency by targeting biophysical structural features of CA2 protein. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noor A Shaik
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hifaa A Bokhari
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tariq Ahmed Masoodi
- Human Cancer Genomic Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Preetha J Shetty
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE
| | - Ghada M A Ajabnoor
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ramu Elango
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Babajan Banaganapalli
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Princess Al-Jawhara Al-Brahim Center of Excellence in Research of Hereditary Disorders, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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49
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Martin LJ, Benson DW. Identifying Genetic Modifiers in the Age of Exome: Current Considerations. J Pediatr 2019; 213:8-10. [PMID: 31303336 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.06.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J Martin
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - D Woodrow Benson
- Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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50
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Intraventricular meningiomas frequently harbor NF2 mutations but lack common genetic alterations in TRAF7, AKT1, SMO, KLF4, PIK3CA, and TERT. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2019; 7:140. [PMID: 31470906 PMCID: PMC6716845 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-019-0793-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Intraventricular meningiomas (IVMs) account for less than 5% of all intracranial meningiomas; hence their molecular phenotype remains unknown. In this study, we were interested whether genetic alterations in IVMs differ from meningiomas in other locations and analyzed our institutional series with respect to clinical and molecular characteristics. A total of 25 patients with surgical removal of an IVM at our department between 1986 and 2018 were identified from our institutional database. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 79 months (range of 2–319 months) and PFS at 5 years was 86%. Corresponding tumor tissue was available for 18 patients including one matching recurrence and was subjected to targeted panel sequencing of 130 selected genes frequently mutated in brain cancers by applying a custom hybrid capture approach on a NextSeq500 instrument. Loss of chromosome 22q and 1p occurred frequently in 89 and 44% of cases. Deleterious NF2 mutations were found in 44% of IVMs (n = 8/18). In non-NF2-mutated IVMs, previously reported genetic alterations including TRAF7, AKT1, SMO, KLF4, PIK3CA, and TERT were lacking, suggesting alternative genes in the pathogenesis of non-NF2 IVMs. In silico analysis revealed possible damaging mutations of APC, GABRA6, GSE1, KDR, and two SMO missense mutations differing from previously reported ones. Interestingly, all WHO°II IVMs (n = 3) harbored SMARCB1 and SMARCA4 mutations, indicating a role of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in aggressive IVMs.
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