Genome-wide analyses implicate 33 loci in heritable dog osteosarcoma, including regulatory variants near CDKN2A/B

Background: Canine osteosarcoma is clinically nearly identical to the human disease, but is common and highly heritable, making genetic dissection feasible. Results: Through genome-wide association analyses in three breeds (greyhounds, Rottweilers, and Irish wolfhounds), we identify 33 inherited risk loci explaining 55% to 85% of phenotype variance in each breed. The greyhound locus exhibiting the strongest association, located 150 kilobases upstream of the genes CDKN2A/B, is also the most rearranged locus in canine osteosarcoma tumors. The top germline candidate variant is found at a >90% frequency in Rottweilers and Irish wolfhounds, and alters an evolutionarily constrained element that we show has strong enhancer activity in human osteosarcoma cells. In all three breeds, osteosarcoma-associated loci and regions of reduced heterozygosity are enriched for genes in pathways connected to bone differentiation and growth. Several pathways, including one of genes regulated by miR124, are also enriched for somatic copy-number changes in tumors. Conclusions: Mapping a complex cancer in multiple dog breeds reveals a polygenic spectrum of germline risk factors pointing to specific pathways as drivers of disease

Systematic investigation of electron impact excitation-autoionization from the groud state of highly charged GaI-like ions through. Delta. N=1 transitions

A systematic variation in the line intensity ratios of GaI-like and ZnI-like ions of rare earth elements has been recently observed in spectra emitted in a low density, high temperature tokamak plasma. This variation is shown to be correlated with the gradual opening of autoionizing channels through inner-shell excited configurations of the GaI-like charge-state. These channels enhance the indirect ionization rate of GaI-like ions through excitation-autoionization (EA), effecting the ionization balance and temperatures of greatest abundance. We present a systematic investigation of EA and direct impact ionization (DI) in the GaI-like isoelectronic sequence from Mo (Z = 42) to Dy (Z = 66). As Z decreases from Dy to Pr (Z = 59) the levels of the configuration 3d{sup 9}4p4f, which are excited from the ground state by strong dipole collisional transitions, gradually cross the first ionization limit of the ion and are responsible for this ionization enhancement. When Z decreases further an additional channel is opened through the configuration 3d{sup 9}4p4d. 9 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab