Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

Ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and spin-orbit torques in Pt\Co\AlOx

We report the thickness dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in Pt\Co(t)\AlOx, studied by current-induced domain wall (DW) motion and second-harmonic experiments. From the DW motion study, a monotonous decay of the effective DMI strength with increasing Co thickness is observed, in agreement with a DMI originating from the Pt\Co interface. The study of the ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of spin-orbit torques reveals a more complex behavior. The observed thickness dependence suggests the spin-Hall effect in Pt as the main origin of the SOTs, with the measured SOT-fields amplitudes resulting from the interplay between the varying thickness and the transverse spin diffusion length in the Co layer

Ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and spin-orbit torques in Pt\Co\AlOx

We report the thickness dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and spin-orbit torques (SOTs) in Pt\Co(t)\AlOx, studied by current-induced domain wall (DW) motion and second-harmonic experiments. From the DW motion study, a monotonous decay of the effective DMI strength with increasing Co thickness is observed, in agreement with a DMI originating from the Pt\Co interface. The study of the ferromagnetic layer thickness dependence of spin-orbit torques reveals a more complex behavior. The observed thickness dependence suggests the spin-Hall effect in Pt as the main origin of the SOTs, with the measured SOT-fields amplitudes resulting from the interplay between the varying thickness and the transverse spin diffusion length in the Co layer