A natural allelic series of complex structural variants and its influence on the risk of lupus and schizophrenia

The human genome's strongest influences on two common diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and schizophrenia, arise from genetic variation in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) locus. However, the genes and functional alleles driving these genetic relationships have remained unknown. We hypothesized that a complex, multi-allelic form of structural variation in the Complement component 4 (C4) gene, within the HLA locus, underlies these relationships. Loci that exist in many structural forms and vary widely in copy number have been difficult to analyze molecularly. As a result, we know little about their population genetic properties or their influence on phenotypes. In this work, we developed molecular and statistical methods to characterize such loci and to evaluate their contribution to phenotypes. Applying these methods to the C4 locus, we found that C4 segregates in four common and at least eleven low-frequency structural forms in human populations. Although there was only partial correlation between C4 structural variation and individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we developed an imputation approach to enable statistical prediction of C4 structural states from flanking SNP haplotypes. C4 structural variation associated to gene expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines and human brain tissue. Applying our imputation strategy to SLE and schizophrenia case-control cohorts totaling > 75,000 individuals, we found that structural variation in C4 contributes to risk of both phenotypes in a manner predicted by its effect on gene expression in relevant tissues, and with largely opposite directions of effect - alleles that were protective for schizophrenia increased risk for SLE, and vice versa. Leveraging a natural allelic series of C4 structural forms, we developed a novel form of association testing and showed that the association to C4 is unlikely to be caused by correlation with HLA SNPs. C4 was expressed in human neurons, whereas other upstream complement pathway genes were expressed primarily by microglia. Mice lacking C4 showed a deficit in synaptic pruning that was rescued by human C4. The methods developed in this thesis enable analysis of complex structural variation, and our results identify a novel form of genome variation as making a strong contribution to phenotypes

Systém navigace průmyslového robotu s využitím torque senzoru

This thesis details the design, implementation, and testing of a novel navigation system for the KUKA KR4 industrial robot, enhanced by integrating a force/torque (F/T) sensor. The system enables intuitive hand-guided navigation of the robot arm, representing a significant advancement in robotic control technology. The navigation system captures real-time force data from the F/T sensor connected to a PC via Ethernet, facilitating seamless data acquisition and processing. The processed data is used to update end coordinates in a variable within the robot’s workspace, which is controlled using a program written in Kuka Robot Language (KRL). This allows for precise, manual control of the robot’s movements, simulating a more natural interaction between humans and robots and increasing usability in various industrial settings. Extensive testing verified the system’s effectiveness and reliability, demonstrating the robot’s ability to perform complex navigation tasks with enhanced accuracy and reduced setup time. This successful implementation not only proves the feasibility of using torque sensors for real-time robotic navigation but also lays the foundation for future innovations in robot-human interaction technologies, offering insights into the transformative potential of F/T sensors in industrial robotics.Tato práce podrobně popisuje návrh, implementaci a testování nového navigačního systému pro průmyslový robot KUKA KR4, rozšířeného o integraci snímače síly/kroutícího momentu (F/T). Systém umožňuje intuitivní ručně řízenou navigaci ramene robota, což představuje významný pokrok v technologii robotického řízení. Navigační systém zachycuje data o síle v reálném čase ze senzoru F/T připojeného k PC přes Ethernet, což usnadňuje bezproblémový sběr a zpracování dat. Zpracovaná data slouží k aktualizaci koncových souřadnic v proměnné v rámci pracovního prostoru robota, která je řízena pomocí programu napsaného v Kuka Robot Language (KRL). To umožňuje přesné, ruční ovládání pohybů robota, simuluje přirozenější interakci mezi lidmi a roboty a zvyšuje použitelnost v různých průmyslových prostředích. Rozsáhlé testování ověřilo efektivitu a spolehlivost systému a prokázalo schopnost robota provádět složité navigační úkoly se zvýšenou přesností a zkrácenou dobou nastavení. Tato úspěšná implementace nejen dokazuje proveditelnost použití snímačů točivého momentu pro robotickou navigaci v reálném čase, ale také pokládá základy pro budoucí inovace v technologiích interakce mezi robotem a člověkem a nabízí pohled na transformační potenciál F/T snímačů v průmyslové robotice.450 - Katedra kybernetiky a biomedicínského inženýrstvívýborn

Complement genes contribute sex-biased vulnerability in diverse disorders

Many common illnesses, for reasons that have not been identified, differentially affect men and women. For instance, the autoimmune diseases systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren's syndrome affect nine times more women than men1, whereas schizophrenia affects men with greater frequency and severity relative to women(2). All three illnesses have their strongest common genetic associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus, an association that in SLE and Sjogren's syndrome has long been thought to arise from alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes at that locus(3-6). Here we show that variation of the complement component 4 (C4) genes C4A and C4B, which are also at the MHC locus and have been linked to increased risk for schizophrenia(7), generates 7-fold variation in risk for SLE and 16-fold variation in risk for Sjogren's syndrome among individuals with common C4 genotypes, with C4A protecting more strongly than C4B in both illnesses. The same alleles that increase risk for schizophrenia greatly reduce risk for SLE and Sjogren's syndrome. In all three illnesses, C4 alleles act more strongly in men than in women: common combinations of C4A and C4B generated 14-fold variation in risk for SLE, 31-fold variation in risk for Sjogren's syndrome, and 1.7-fold variation in schizophrenia risk among men (versus 6-fold, 15-fold and 1.26-fold variation in risk among women, respectively). At a protein level, both C4 and its effector C3 were present at higher levels in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma(8,9) in men than in women among adults aged between 20 and 50 years, corresponding to the ages of differential disease vulnerability. Sex differences in complement protein levels may help to explain the more potent effects of C4 alleles in men, women's greater risk of SLE and Sjogren's syndrome and men's greater vulnerability to schizophrenia. These results implicate the complement system as a source of sexual dimorphism in vulnerability to diverse illnesses.Peer reviewe

Complement genes contribute sex-biased vulnerability in diverse disorders.

Many common illnesses, for reasons that have not been identified, differentially affect men and women. For instance, the autoimmune diseases systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome affect nine times more women than men1, whereas schizophrenia affects men with greater frequency and severity relative to women2. All three illnesses have their strongest common genetic associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus, an association that in SLE and Sjögren's syndrome has long been thought to arise from alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes at that locus3-6. Here we show that variation of the complement component 4 (C4) genes C4A and C4B, which are also at the MHC locus and have been linked to increased risk for schizophrenia7, generates 7-fold variation in risk for SLE and 16-fold variation in risk for Sjögren's syndrome among individuals with common C4 genotypes, with C4A protecting more strongly than C4B in both illnesses. The same alleles that increase risk for schizophrenia greatly reduce risk for SLE and Sjögren's syndrome. In all three illnesses, C4 alleles act more strongly in men than in women: common combinations of C4A and C4B generated 14-fold variation in risk for SLE, 31-fold variation in risk for Sjögren's syndrome, and 1.7-fold variation in schizophrenia risk among men (versus 6-fold, 15-fold and 1.26-fold variation in risk among women, respectively). At a protein level, both C4 and its effector C3 were present at higher levels in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma8,9 in men than in women among adults aged between 20 and 50 years, corresponding to the ages of differential disease vulnerability. Sex differences in complement protein levels may help to explain the more potent effects of C4 alleles in men, women's greater risk of SLE and Sjögren's syndrome and men's greater vulnerability to schizophrenia. These results implicate the complement system as a source of sexual dimorphism in vulnerability to diverse illnesses

Fine mapping of regulatory loci for mammalian gene expression using radiation hybrids

We mapped regulatory loci for nearly all protein-coding genes in mammals using comparative genomic hybridization and expression array measurements from a panel of mouse–hamster radiation hybrid cell lines. The large number of breaks in the mouse chromosomes and the dense genotyping of the panel allowed extremely sharp mapping of loci. As the regulatory loci result from extra gene dosage, we call them copy number expression quantitative trait loci, or ceQTLs. The −2log(10)P support interval for the ceQTLs was <150 kb, containing an average of <2–3 genes. We identified 29,769 trans ceQTLs with −log(10)P > 4, including 13 hotspots each regulating >100 genes in trans. Further, this work identifies 2,761 trans ceQTLs harboring no known genes, and provides evidence for a mode of gene expression autoregulation specific to the X chromosome

Complement genes contribute sex-biased vulnerability in diverse disorders

Many common illnesses, for reasons that have not been identified, differentially affect men and women. For instance, the autoimmune diseases systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren’s syndrome affect nine times more women than men1, whereas schizophrenia affects men with greater frequency and severity relative to women2. All three illnesses have their strongest common genetic associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus, an association that in SLE and Sjögren’s syndrome has long been thought to arise from alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes at that locus3–6. Here we show that variation of the complement component 4 (C4) genes C4A and C4B, which are also at the MHC locus and have been linked to increased risk for schizophrenia7, generates 7-fold variation in risk for SLE and 16-fold variation in risk for Sjögren’s syndrome among individuals with common C4 genotypes, with C4A protecting more strongly than C4B in both illnesses. The same alleles that increase risk for schizophrenia greatly reduce risk for SLE and Sjögren’s syndrome. In all three illnesses, C4 alleles act more strongly in men than in women: common combinations of C4A and C4B generated 14-fold variation in risk for SLE, 31-fold variation in risk for Sjögren’s syndrome, and 1.7-fold variation in schizophrenia risk among men (versus 6-fold, 15-fold and 1.26-fold variation in risk among women, respectively). At a protein level, both C4 and its effector C3 were present at higher levels in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma8,9 in men than in women among adults aged between 20 and 50 years, corresponding to the ages of differential disease vulnerability. Sex differences in complement protein levels may help to explain the more potent effects of C4 alleles in men, women’s greater risk of SLE and Sjögren’s syndrome and men’s greater vulnerability to schizophrenia. These results implicate the complement system as a source of sexual dimorphism in vulnerability to diverse illnesses

Distinction of lymphoid and myeloid clonal hematopoiesis

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) results from somatic genomic alterations that drive clonal expansion of blood cells. Somatic gene mutations associated with hematologic malignancies detected in hematopoietic cells of healthy individuals, referred to as CH of indeterminate potential (CHIP), have been associated with myeloid malignancies, while mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) have been associated with lymphoid malignancies. Here, we analyzed CHIP in 55,383 individuals and autosomal mCAs in 420,969 individuals with no history of hematologic malignancies in the UK Biobank and Mass General Brigham Biobank. We distinguished myeloid and lymphoid somatic gene mutations, as well as myeloid and lymphoid mCAs, and found both to be associated with risk of lineage-specific hematologic malignancies. Further, we performed an integrated analysis of somatic alterations with peripheral blood count parameters to stratify the risk of incident myeloid and lymphoid malignancies. These genetic alterations can be readily detected in clinical sequencing panels and used with blood count parameters to identify individuals at high risk of developing hematologic malignancies