1,859 research outputs found
Exon skipping as a therapeutic strategy applied to an RYR1 mutation with pseudo-exon inclusion causing a severe core myopathy.
International audienceCentral core disease is a myopathy often arising from mutations in the type 1 ryanodine receptor (RYR1) gene, encoding the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release channel RyR1. No treatment is currently available for this disease. We studied the pathological situation of a severely affected child with two recessive mutations, which resulted in a massive reduction in the amount of RyR1. The paternal mutation induced the inclusion of a new in-frame pseudo-exon in RyR1 mRNA that resulted in the insertion of additional amino acids leading to the instability of the protein. We hypothesized that skipping this additional exon would be sufficient to restore RyR1 expression and to normalize calcium releases. We therefore developed U7-AON lentiviral vectors to force exon skipping on affected primary muscle cells. The efficiency of the exon skipping was evaluated at the mRNA level, at the protein level, and at the functional level using calcium imaging. In these affected cells, we observed a decreased inclusion of the pseudo-exon, an increased RyR1 protein expression, and a restoration of calcium releases of normal amplitude either upon direct RyR1 stimulation or in response to membrane depolarization. This study is the first demonstration of the potential of exon-skipping strategy for the therapy of central core disease, from the molecular to the functional level
LGR4 deficiency results in delayed puberty through impaired Wnt/beta-catenin signaling
The initiation of puberty is driven by an upsurge in hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion. In turn, GnRH secretion upsurge depends on the development of a complex GnRH neuroendocrine network during embryonic life. Although delayed puberty (DP) affects up to 2% of the population, is highly heritable, and is associated with adverse health outcomes, the genes underlying DP remain largely unknown. We aimed to discover regulators by whole-exome sequencing of 160 individuals of 67 multigenerational families in our large, accurately phenotyped DP cohort. LGR4 was the only gene remaining after analysis that was significantly enriched for potentially pathogenic, rare variants in 6 probands, Expression analysis identified specific Lgr4 expression at the site of GnRH neuron development. LGR4 mutant proteins showed impaired Wnt/beta-catenin signaling, owing to defective protein expression, trafficking, and degradation. Mice deficient in Lgr4 had significantly delayed onset of puberty and fewer GnRH neurons compared with WT, whereas lgr4 knockdown in zebrafish embryos prevented formation and migration of GnRH neurons. Further, genetic lineage tracing showed strong Lgr4-mediated Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway activation during GnRH neuron development. In conclusion, our results show that LGR4 deficiency impairs Wnt/beta-catenin signaling with observed defects in GnRH neuron development, resulting in a DP phenotype.Peer reviewe
The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in
operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from
this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release
Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first
two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14
is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all
data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14
is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the
Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2),
including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine
learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes
from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous
release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of
the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the
important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both
targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS
website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to
data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is
planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be
followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14
happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov
2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections
only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected
Association between the 2008â09 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine and Pandemic H1N1 Illness during SpringâSummer 2009: Four Observational Studies from Canada
In three case-control studies and a household transmission cohort, Danuta Skowronski and colleagues find an association between prior seasonal flu vaccination and increased risk of 2009 pandemic H1N1 flu
Identifying cost-competitive greenhouse gas mitigation potential of French agriculture
The agriculture, forestry and other land use sector are responsible for 24% (10â12 Pg CO2e per year) of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide, with concomitant opportunities for mitigation. A scientific panel used deliberative methods to identify ten technical measures comprising 26 sub-measures to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture in France. Their abatement potential and cost are compared. The proposed measures concern nitrogen (N) management, management practices that increase carbon stocks in soils and biomass, livestock diets, and energy production and consumption on farms. Results show that the total abatement potential can be divided into three parts. One third of the cumulated abatement potential corresponds to sub-measures that can be implemented at a negative technical cost. These sub-measures focus on increased efficiency in input use including N fertilisers, animal feed and energy. The second third are sub-measures with moderate cost (âŹ25 per metric Mg of avoided CO2e). These require investment with no direct financial return, the purchase of particular inputs, dedicated labour time or involve production losses. Assuming additivity, the cumulated abatement is 32.3 Tg CO2e per year in 2030, but only 10 Tg (i.e. 10% of current agricultural emissions) when calculated under current inventory rules. This study confirms that a significant abatement potential exists in the agricultural sector, with two thirds of this potential at low or even negative cost. This is likely to be an underestimated as it is based on a status quo of the current agricultural system. Results also emphasise the need to upgrade inventory rules so that efforts to reduce emissions can be accounted for
Inactivation of TIF1Îł Cooperates with KrasG12D to Induce Cystic Tumors of the Pancreas
Inactivation of the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFÎČ) tumor suppressor pathway contributes to the progression of Pancreatic Ductal AdenoCarcinoma (PDAC) since it is inactivated in virtually all cases of this malignancy. Genetic lesions inactivating this pathway contribute to pancreatic tumor progression in mouse models. Transcriptional Intermediary Factor 1 gamma (TIF1Îł) has recently been proposed to be involved in TGFÎČ signaling, functioning as either a positive or negative regulator of the pathway. Here, we addressed the role of TIF1Îł in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Using conditional Tif1Îł knockout mice (Tif1Îłlox/lox), we selectively abrogated Tif1Îł expression in the pancreas of Pdx1-Cre;Tif1Îłlox/lox mice. We also generated Pdx1-Cre;LSL-KrasG12D;Tif1Îłlox/lox mice to address the effect of Tif1Îł loss-of-function in precancerous lesions induced by oncogenic KrasG12D. Finally, we analyzed TIF1Îł expression in human pancreatic tumors. In our mouse model, we showed that Tif1Îł was dispensable for normal pancreatic development but cooperated with Kras activation to induce pancreatic tumors reminiscent of human Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMNs). Interestingly, these cystic lesions resemble those observed in Pdx1-Cre;LSL-KrasG12D;Smad4lox/lox mice described by others. However, distinctive characteristics, such as the systematic presence of endocrine pseudo-islets within the papillary projections, suggest that SMAD4 and TIF1Îł don't have strictly redundant functions. Finally, we report that TIF1Îł expression is markedly down-regulated in human pancreatic tumors by quantitative RTâPCR and immunohistochemistry supporting the relevance of these findings to human malignancy. This study suggests that TIF1Îł is critical for tumor suppression in the pancreas, brings new insight into the genetics of pancreatic cancer, and constitutes a promising model to decipher the respective roles of SMAD4 and TIF1Îł in the multifaceted functions of TGFÎČ in carcinogenesis and development
Age-dependent impact of the major common genetic risk factor for COVID-19 on severity and mortality
AG has received support by NordForsk Nordic Trial Alliance (NTA) grant, by Academy of
Finland Fellow grant N. 323116 and the Academy of Finland for PREDICT consortium N.
340541.
The Richards research group is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR) (365825 and 409511), the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital, the
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the NIH Foundation, Cancer Research UK,
Genome Québec, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in
Infection and Immunity and the Fonds de Recherche Québec Santé (FRQS). TN is supported
by a research fellowship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young
Scientists. GBL is supported by a CIHR scholarship and a joint FRQS and Québec Ministry of
Health and Social Services scholarship. JBR is supported by an FRQS Clinical Research
Scholarship. Support from Calcul Québec and Compute Canada is acknowledged. TwinsUK is
funded by the Welcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the European Union, the
National Institute for Health Research-funded BioResource and the Clinical Research Facility
and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guyâs and St. Thomasâ NHS Foundation Trust in
partnership with Kingâs College London. The Biobanque QuĂ©bec COVID19 is funded by FRQS,
Genome Québec and the Public Health Agency of Canada, the McGill Interdisciplinary
Initiative in Infection and Immunity and the Fonds de Recherche Québec Santé. These funding
agencies had no role in the design, implementation or interpretation of this study.
The COVID19-Host(a)ge study received infrastructure support from the DFG Cluster of
Excellence 2167 âPrecision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation (PMI)â (DFG Grant: âEXC2167â).
The COVID19-Host(a)ge study was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the Computational Life Sciences funding
concept (CompLS grant 031L0165). Genotyping in COVID19-Host(a)ge was supported by a
philantropic donation from Stein Erik Hagen.
The COVID GWAs, Premed COVID-19 study (COVID19-Host(a)ge_3) was supported by
"Grupo de Trabajo en Medicina Personalizada contra el COVID-19 de Andalucia"and also by
the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERehd and CIBERER). Funding comes from
COVID-19-GWAS, COVID-PREMED initiatives. Both of them are supported by "Consejeria de
Salud y Familias" of the Andalusian Government. DMM is currently funded by the the
Andalussian government (Proyectos Estratégicos-Fondos Feder PE-0451-2018).
The Columbia University Biobank was supported by Columbia University and the National
Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH, through Grant Number UL1TR001873. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official
views of the NIH or Columbia University.
The SPGRX study was supported by the ConsejerĂa de EconomĂa, Conocimiento, Empresas y
Universidad #CV20-10150.
The GEN-COVID study was funded by: the MIUR grant âDipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018-2020â
to the Department of Medical Biotechnologies University of Siena, Italy; the âIntesa San Paolo
2020 charity fundâ dedicated to the project NB/2020/0119; and philanthropic donations to the
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena for the COVID-19 host genetics
research project (D.L n.18 of March 17, 2020). Part of this research project is also funded by
Tuscany Region âBando Ricerca COVID-19 Toscanaâ grant to the Azienda Ospedaliero
Universitaria Senese (CUP I49C20000280002). Authors are grateful to: the CINECA
consortium for providing computational resources; the Network for Italian Genomes (NIG)
(http://www.nig.cineca.it) for its support; the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative
(https://www.covid19hg.org/); the Genetic Biobank of Siena, member of BBMRI-IT, Telethon
Network of Genetic Biobanks (project no. GTB18001), EuroBioBank, and RD-Connect, for
managing specimens.
Genetics against coronavirus (GENIUS), Humanitas University (COVID19-Host(a)ge_4) was
supported by Ricerca Corrente (Italian Ministry of Health), intramural funding (Fondazione
Humanitas per la Ricerca). The generous contribution of Banca Intesa San Paolo and of the
Dolce&Gabbana Fashion Firm is gratefully acknowledged.
Data acquisition and sample processing was supported by COVID-19 Biobank, Fondazione
IRCCS CĂ Granda Milano; LV group was supported by MyFirst Grant AIRC n.16888, Ricerca
Finalizzata Ministero della Salute RF-2016-02364358, Ricerca corrente Fondazione IRCCS
Caâ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, the European Union (EU) Programme Horizon
2020 (under grant agreement No. 777377) for the project LITMUS- âLiver Investigation:
Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitisâ, Programme âPhotonicsâ under grant agreement
â101016726â for the project âREVEAL: Neuronal microscopy for cell behavioural examination
and manipulationâ, Fondazione Patrimonio Caâ Granda âLiver Bibleâ PR-0361. DP was
supported by Ricerca corrente Fondazione IRCCS Caâ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico,
CV PREVITAL âStrategie di prevenzione primaria nella popolazione Italianaâ Ministero della
Salute, and Associazione Italiana per la Prevenzione dellâEpatite Virale (COPEV).
Genetic modifiers for COVID-19 related illness (BeLCovid_1) was supported by the "Fonds
Erasme". The Host genetics and immune response in SARS-Cov-2 infection (BelCovid_2)
study was supported by grants from Fondation LĂ©on Fredericq and from Fonds de la
Recherche Scientifique (FNRS).
The INMUNGEN-CoV2 study was funded by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
CientĂficas.
KUL is supported by the German Research Foundation (LU 1944/3-1) SweCovid is funded by the SciLifeLab/KAW national COVID-19 research program project
grant to Michael Hultström (KAW 2020.0182) and the Swedish Research Council to Robert
Frithiof (2014-02569 and 2014-07606). HZ is supported by Jeansson Stiftelser, Magnus
Bergvalls Stiftelse.
The COMRI cohort is funded by Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Genotyping for the COMRI cohort was performed and funded by the Genotyping Laboratory of
Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM Technology Centre, University of Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland.
These funding agencies had no role in the design, implementation or interpretation of this
study.Background: There is considerable variability in COVID-19 outcomes amongst younger
adultsâand some of this variation may be due to genetic predisposition. We characterized the
clinical implications of the major genetic risk factor for COVID-19 severity, and its age-dependent
effect, using individual-level data in a large international multi-centre consortium.
Method: The major common COVID-19 genetic risk factor is a chromosome 3 locus, tagged by
the marker rs10490770. We combined individual level data for 13,424 COVID-19 positive
patients (N=6,689 hospitalized) from 17 cohorts in nine countries to assess the association of this
genetic marker with mortality, COVID-19-related complications and laboratory values. We next
examined if the magnitude of these associations varied by age and were independent from
known clinical COVID-19 risk factors.
Findings: We found that rs10490770 risk allele carriers experienced an increased risk of
all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1·4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1·2â1·6) and COVID-19
related mortality (HR 1·5, 95%CI 1·3â1·8). Risk allele carriers had increased odds of several
COVID-19 complications: severe respiratory failure (odds ratio [OR] 2·0, 95%CI 1·6-2·6),
venous thromboembolism (OR 1·7, 95%CI 1·2-2·4), and hepatic injury (OR 1·6, 95%CI
1·2-2·0). Risk allele carriers †60 years had higher odds of death or severe respiratory failure
(OR 2·6, 95%CI 1·8-3·9) compared to those > 60 years OR 1·5 (95%CI 1·3-1·9, interaction
p-value=0·04). Amongst individuals †60 years who died or experienced severe respiratory
COVID-19 outcome, we found that 31·8% (95%CI 27·6-36·2) were risk variant carriers,
compared to 13·9% (95%CI 12·6-15·2%) of those not experiencing these outcomes.
Prediction of death or severe respiratory failure among those †60 years improved when
including the risk allele (AUC 0·82 vs 0·84, p=0·016) and the prediction ability of rs10490770
risk allele was similar to, or better than, most established clinical risk factors.
Interpretation: The major common COVID-19 risk locus on chromosome 3 is associated with
increased risks of morbidity and mortalityâand these are more pronounced amongst individuals
†60 years. The effect on COVID-19 severity was similar to, or larger than most established risk
factors, suggesting potential implications for clinical risk management.Academy of
Finland Fellow grant N. 323116Academy of Finland for PREDICT consortium N.
340541.Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR) (365825 and 409511)Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General HospitalCanadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)NIH FoundationCancer Research UKGenome QuébecPublic Health Agency of CanadaMcGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in
Infection and Immunity and the Fonds de Recherche Québec Santé (FRQS)Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young
ScientistsCIHR scholarship and a joint FRQS and Québec Ministry of
Health and Social Services scholarshipFRQS Clinical Research
ScholarshipCalcul QuébecCompute CanadaWelcome TrustMedical Research CouncEuropean UnionNational Institute for Health Research-funded BioResourceClinical Research Facility
and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guyâs and St. Thomasâ NHS Foundation TrustKingâs College LondonGenome QuĂ©becPublic Health Agency of CanadaMcGill Interdisciplinary
Initiative in Infection and ImmunityFonds de Recherche QuĂ©bec SantĂ©(DFG Grant: âEXC2167â)(CompLS grant 031L0165)Stein Erik Hagen"Grupo de Trabajo en Medicina Personalizada contra el COVID-19 de Andalucia"Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CIBERehd and CIBERER)COVID-19-GWASCOVID-PREMED initiatives"Consejeria de
Salud y Familias" of the Andalusian GovernmentAndalusian government (Proyectos Estratégicos-Fondos Feder PE-0451-2018)Columbia UniversityNational
Center for Advancing Translational SciencesNIH Grant Number UL1TR001873ConsejerĂa de EconomĂa, Conocimiento, Empresas y
Universidad #CV20-10150MIUR grant âDipartimenti di Eccellenza 2018-2020ââIntesa San Paolo
2020 charity fundâ dedicated to the project NB/2020/0119Tuscany Region âBando Ricerca COVID-19 ToscanaâCINECA
consortiumNetwork for Italian Genomes (NIG)COVID-19 Host Genetics InitiativeGenetic Biobank of SienaEuroBioBankRD-ConnectRicerca Corrente (Italian Ministry of Health)Fondazione
Humanitas per la RicercaBanca Intesa San PaoloDolce&Gabbana Fashion FirmCOVID-19 BiobankFondazione
IRCCS CĂ Granda MilanoMyFirst Grant AIRC n.16888Ricerca
Finalizzata Ministero della Salute RF-2016-02364358Ricerca corrente Fondazione IRCCS
Caâ Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoEuropean Union (EU) Programme Horizon
2020 (under grant agreement No. 777377)âPhotonicsâ â101016726âFondazione Patrimonio Caâ Granda âLiver Bibleâ PR-0361CV PREVITAL âStrategie di prevenzione primaria nella popolazione Italianaâ Ministero della
Salute, and Associazione Italiana per la Prevenzione dellâEpatite Virale (COPEV)"Fonds
Erasme"Fondation LĂ©on FredericqFonds de la
Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
CientĂficasGerman Research Foundation (LU 1944/3-1)SciLifeLab/KAW national COVID-19 research program project (KAW 2020.0182)Swedish Research Council (2014-02569 and 2014-07606)Jeansson Stiftelser, Magnus
Bergvalls StiftelseTechnical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyGenotyping Laboratory of
Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM Technology Centre, University of Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finlan
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