Multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation (MASQ) with application to minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia

Measuring minimal residual disease in cancer has applications for prognosis, monitoring treatment and detection of recurrence. Simple sequence-based methods to detect nucleotide substitution variants have error rates (about 10-3) that limit sensitive detection. We developed and characterized the performance of MASQ (multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation), a method with an error rate below 10-6. MASQ counts variant templates accurately in the presence of millions of host genomes by using tags to identify each template and demanding consensus over multiple reads. Since the MASQ protocol multiplexes 50 target loci, we can both integrate signal from multiple variants and capture subclonal response to treatment. Compared to existing methods for variant detection, MASQ achieves an excellent combination of sensitivity, specificity and yield. We tested MASQ in a pilot study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who entered complete remission. We detect leukemic variants in the blood and bone marrow samples of all five patients, after induction therapy, at levels ranging from 10-2 to nearly 10-6. We observe evidence of sub-clonal structure and find higher target variant frequencies in patients who go on to relapse, demonstrating the potential for MASQ to quantify residual disease in AML

A pathway-specific microarray analysis highlights the complex and co-ordinated transcriptional networks of the developing grain of field-grown barley

The aim of the study was to describe the molecular and biochemical interactions associated with amino acid biosynthesis and storage protein accumulation in the developing grains of field-grown barley. Our strategy was to analyse the transcription of genes associated with the biosynthesis of storage products during the development of field-grown barley grains using a grain-specific microarray assembled in our laboratory. To identify co-regulated genes, a distance matrix was constructed which enabled the identification of three clusters corresponding to early, middle, and late grain development. The gene expression pattern associated with the clusters was investigated using pathway-specific analysis with specific reference to the temporal expression levels of a range of genes involved mainly in the photosynthesis process, amino acid and storage protein metabolism. It is concluded that the grain-specific microarray is a reliable and cost-effective tool for monitoring temporal changes in the transcriptome of the major metabolic pathways in the barley grain. Moreover, it was sensitive enough to monitor differences in the gene expression profiles of different homologues from the storage protein families. The study described here should provide a strong complement to existing knowledge assisting further understanding of grain development and thereby provide a foundation for plant breeding towards storage proteins with improved nutritional quality

Cytosolic NADPH balancing in Penicillium chrysogenum cultivated on mixtures of glucose and ethanol

The in vivo flux through the oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway (oxPPP) in Penicillium chrysogenum was determined during growth in glucose/ethanol carbon-limited chemostat cultures, at the same growth rate. Non-stationary 13C flux analysis was used to measure the oxPPP flux. A nearly constant oxPPP flux was found for all glucose/ethanol ratios studied. This indicates that the cytosolic NADPH supply is independent of the amount of assimilated ethanol. The cofactor assignment in the model of van Gulik et al. (Biotechnol Bioeng 68(6):602–618, 2000) was supported using the published genome annotation of P. chrysogenum. Metabolic flux analysis showed that NADPH requirements in the cytosol remain nearly the same in these experiments due to constant biomass growth. Based on the cytosolic NADPH balance, it is known that the cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase in P. chrysogenum is NAD +  dependent. Metabolic modeling shows that changing the NAD + -aldehyde dehydrogenase to NADP + -aldehyde dehydrogenase can increase the penicillin yield on substrate

Multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation (MASQ) with application to minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia

AbstractMeasuring minimal residual disease in cancer has applications for prognosis, monitoring treatment and detection of recurrence. Simple sequence-based methods to detect nucleotide substitution variants have error rates (about 10−3) that limit sensitive detection. We developed and characterized the performance of MASQ (multiplex accurate sensitive quantitation), a method with an error rate below 10−6. MASQ counts variant templates accurately in the presence of millions of host genomes by using tags to identify each template and demanding consensus over multiple reads. Since the MASQ protocol multiplexes 50 target loci, we can both integrate signal from multiple variants and capture subclonal response to treatment. Compared to existing methods for variant detection, MASQ achieves an excellent combination of sensitivity, specificity and yield. We tested MASQ in a pilot study in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who entered complete remission. We detect leukemic variants in the blood and bone marrow samples of all five patients, after induction therapy, at levels ranging from 10−2 to nearly 10−6. We observe evidence of sub-clonal structure and find higher target variant frequencies in patients who go on to relapse, demonstrating the potential for MASQ to quantify residual disease in AML.</jats:p

Reconstruction of Arabidopsis metabolic network models accounting for subcellular compartmentalization and tissue-specificity

Plant metabolic engineering is commonly used in the production of functional foods and quality trait improvement. However, to date, computational model-based approaches have only been scarcely used in this important endeavor, in marked contrast to their prominent success in microbial metabolic engineering. In this study we present a computational pipeline for the reconstruction of fully compartmentalized tissue-specific models of Arabidopsis thaliana on a genome scale. This reconstruction involves automatic extraction of known biochemical reactions in Arabidopsis for both primary and secondary metabolism, automatic gap-filling, and the implementation of methods for determining subcellular localization and tissue assignment of enzymes. The reconstructed tissue models are amenable for constraint-based modeling analysis, and significantly extend upon previous model reconstructions. A set of computational validations (i.e., cross-validation tests, simulations of known metabolic functionalities) and experimental validations (comparison with experimental metabolomics datasets under various compartments and tissues) strongly testify to the predictive ability of the models. The utility of the derived models was demonstrated in the prediction of measured fluxes in metabolically engineered seed strains and the design of genetic manipulations that are expected to increase vitamin E content, a significant nutrient for human health. Overall, the reconstructed tissue models are expected to lay down the foundations for computational-based rational design of plant metabolic engineering. The reconstructed compartmentalized Arabidopsis tissue models are MIRIAM-compliant and are available upon request

De Novo Gene Disruptions in Children on the Autistic Spectrum

SummaryExome sequencing of 343 families, each with a single child on the autism spectrum and at least one unaffected sibling, reveal de novo small indels and point substitutions, which come mostly from the paternal line in an age-dependent manner. We do not see significantly greater numbers of de novo missense mutations in affected versus unaffected children, but gene-disrupting mutations (nonsense, splice site, and frame shifts) are twice as frequent, 59 to 28. Based on this differential and the number of recurrent and total targets of gene disruption found in our and similar studies, we estimate between 350 and 400 autism susceptibility genes. Many of the disrupted genes in these studies are associated with the fragile X protein, FMRP, reinforcing links between autism and synaptic plasticity. We find FMRP-associated genes are under greater purifying selection than the remainder of genes and suggest they are especially dosage-sensitive targets of cognitive disorders