GWAS meta-analysis of over 29,000 people with epilepsy identifies 26 risk loci and subtype-specific genetic architecture

Epilepsy is a highly heritable disorder affecting over 50 million people worldwide, of which about one-third are resistant to current treatments. Here we report a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study including 29,944 cases, stratified into three broad categories and seven subtypes of epilepsy, and 52,538 controls. We identify 26 genome-wide significant loci, 19 of which are specific to genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE). We implicate 29 likely causal genes underlying these 26 loci. SNP-based heritability analyses show that common variants explain between 39.6% and 90% of genetic risk for GGE and its subtypes. Subtype analysis revealed markedly different genetic architectures between focal and generalized epilepsies. Gene-set analyses of GGE signals implicate synaptic processes in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the brain. Prioritized candidate genes overlap with monogenic epilepsy genes and with targets of current antiseizure medications. Finally, we leverage our results to identify alternate drugs with predicted efficacy if repurposed for epilepsy treatment

Improved Prediction of Endoxifen Metabolism by CYP2D6 Genotype in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Tamoxifen

10.3389/fphar.2017.00582Frontiers in Pharmacology8AUG58

miRNA as potential biomarkers of breast cancer in the Lebanese population and in young women: a pilot study.

Relative to western populations, the percentage of women diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age in Lebanon is high. While the younger age of the Lebanese population compared to the West certainly contributes to this difference, potential genetic, reproductive and/or biological factors likely play an important role. The objective of this study is to investigate the contribution of miRNAs in this setting through the analysis of the expression of five reported dysregulated miRNAs, miR-148b, miR-10b, miR-21, miR-221, and miR-155 in 20 normal and 57 cancerous breast tissues from Lebanese breast cancer patients. After finding their relative expression by quantitative reverse transcription real time PCR, the results were analyzed with respect to the patients' clinical and histopathology presentations. Compared to normal breast tissues, significant upregulation of miR-155, miR-21 and miR-148b, notable downregulation of miR-10b and non-significant expression of miR-221 were observed in tumor tissues. Moreover, miR-10b was significantly underexpressed in estrogen/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) negative tumors relative to ER/PR positive tumor tissues. miR-155 was also significantly overexpressed in postmenopausal patients and in those of age at diagnosis greater than 40 years old as well as in PR negative or in human epidermal growth factor 2 (Her2) positive tissues. This study is the first one to report miRNA expression patterns in Lebanese breast cancer patients. We found that differential miRNA expression in breast cancer could be variable between Lebanese and Western populations. miR-10b was positively correlated with the ER and PR status and miR-155 could be a noteworthy biomarker for the menopausal state, age at diagnosis, PR and Her2 status. Hence, miRNA can be used as biomarkers for early breast cancer detection

A Signature of Four Circulating microRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Diagnosing Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most predominant type of cancer among women. The aim of this study is to find new biomarkers that can help in early detection of BC, especially for those who are too young to be screened using mammography as per guidelines. Using microRNA microarray, we previously showed dysregulation of 74 microRNAs in tumors from early BC patients as compared with normal adjacent tissues, which we were interested in studying in blood circulation. In this study, we investigated the expression of 12 microRNA (miR-21/miR-155/miR-23a/miR-130a/miR-145/miR-425-5p/miR-139-5p/miR-451/miR-195/miR-125b/miR-100, and miR-182) in the plasma of 41 newly diagnosed Lebanese BC patients with early invasive ductal carcinoma as compared with 32 healthy controls. Total RNA was extracted from plasma, and expression levels of miRNA of interest were measured using RT-qPCR followed by statistical analysis; miR-21, miR-155, miR-23a, miR-130a, miR-145, miR-425-5p, and miR-139-5p were significantly upregulated and miR-451 was significantly downregulated, in the plasma of BC patients as compared with healthy controls. The positively correlated miR-23a, miR-21, and miR-130a had a high diagnostic accuracy (86%). Importantly, the combination of miR-145/miR-425-5p/miR-139-5p/miR-130a scored the highest diagnostic accuracy of 95% with AUC = 0.97 (sensitivity 97% and specificity 91%). MicroRNAs are promising non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for early-stage BC with the panel of miR-145/miR-425-5p/miR-139-5p/miR-130a having the highest diagnostic accuracy