Detecting, Quantifying, and Discriminating the Mechanism of Mosaic Chromosomal Aneuploidies Using MAD-seq

Current approaches to detect and characterize mosaic chromosomal aneuploidy are limited by sensitivity, efficiency, cost, or the need to culture cells. We describe the mosaic aneuploidy detection by massively parallel sequencing (MAD-seq) capture assay and the MADSEQ analytical approach that allow low

Genomic Profiling of Childhood Tumor Patient-Derived Xenograft Models to Enable Rational Clinical Trial Design.

Accelerating cures for children with cancer remains an immediate challenge as a result of extensive oncogenic heterogeneity between and within histologies, distinct molecular mechanisms evolving between diagnosis and relapsed disease, and limited therapeutic options. To systematically prioritize and rationally test novel agents in preclinical murine models, researchers within the Pediatric Preclinical Testing Consortium are continuously developing patient-derived xenografts (PDXs)-many of which are refractory to current standard-of-care treatments-from high-risk childhood cancers. Here, we genomically characterize 261 PDX models from 37 unique pediatric cancers; demonstrate faithful recapitulation of histologies and subtypes; and refine our understanding of relapsed disease. In addition, we use expression signatures to classify tumors for TP53 and NF1 pathway inactivation. We anticipate that these data will serve as a resource for pediatric oncology drug development and will guide rational clinical trial design for children with cancer

Circulating tumor DNA reveals mechanisms of lorlatinib resistance in patients with relapsed/refractory ALK-driven neuroblastoma

Abstract Activating point mutations in Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) have positioned ALK as the only mutated oncogene tractable for targeted therapy in neuroblastoma. Cells with these mutations respond to lorlatinib in pre-clinical studies, providing the rationale for a first-in-child Phase 1 trial (NCT03107988) in patients with ALK-driven neuroblastoma. To track evolutionary dynamics and heterogeneity of tumors, and to detect early emergence of lorlatinib resistance, we collected serial circulating tumor DNA samples from patients enrolled on this trial. Here we report the discovery of off-target resistance mutations in 11 patients (27%), predominantly in the RAS-MAPK pathway. We also identify newly acquired secondary compound ALK mutations in 6 (15%) patients, all acquired at disease progression. Functional cellular and biochemical assays and computational studies elucidate lorlatinib resistance mechanisms. Our results establish the clinical utility of serial circulating tumor DNA sampling to track response and progression and to discover acquired resistance mechanisms that can be leveraged to develop therapeutic strategies to overcome lorlatinib resistance

Mosaic Epigenetic Dysregulation of Ectodermal Cells in Autism Spectrum Disorder

<div><p>DNA mutational events are increasingly being identified in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the potential additional role of dysregulation of the epigenome in the pathogenesis of the condition remains unclear. The epigenome is of interest as a possible mediator of environmental effects during development, encoding a cellular memory reflected by altered function of progeny cells. Advanced maternal age (AMA) is associated with an increased risk of having a child with ASD for reasons that are not understood. To explore whether AMA involves covert aneuploidy or epigenetic dysregulation leading to ASD in the offspring, we tested a homogeneous ectodermal cell type from 47 individuals with ASD compared with 48 typically developing (TD) controls born to mothers of ≥35 years, using a quantitative genome-wide DNA methylation assay. We show that DNA methylation patterns are dysregulated in ectodermal cells in these individuals, having accounted for confounding effects due to subject age, sex and ancestral haplotype. We did not find mosaic aneuploidy or copy number variability to occur at differentially-methylated regions in these subjects. Of note, the loci with distinctive DNA methylation were found at genes expressed in the brain and encoding protein products significantly enriched for interactions with those produced by known ASD-causing genes, representing a perturbation by epigenomic dysregulation of the same networks compromised by DNA mutational mechanisms. The results indicate the presence of a mosaic subpopulation of epigenetically-dysregulated, ectodermally-derived cells in subjects with ASD. The epigenetic dysregulation observed in these ASD subjects born to older mothers may be associated with aging parental gametes, environmental influences during embryogenesis or could be the consequence of mutations of the chromatin regulatory genes increasingly implicated in ASD. The results indicate that epigenetic dysregulatory mechanisms may complement and interact with DNA mutations in the pathogenesis of the disorder.</p></div

Genes associated with the DMRs identified by bump-hunting.

<p>CNV: copy number variant.</p

Massively-parallel bisulphite sequencing testing of candidate differentially methylated regions.

<p>Differences in DNA methylation between ASD and TD cohorts are shown for <b>(a)</b><i>FAM134B</i> and <b>(b)</b><i>OR2L13</i>. Absolute methylation values are displayed in the top panels, with the –log₁₀ p-values as determined by bump-hunting (<i>dmrFind</i>). Differences in microarray mean β value (ASD-TD) and massively-parallel bisulphite sequencing data (ASD-TD) show concordance for decreased DNA methylation in the ASD subjects at both loci (middle panels). The Illumina 450 K Probes track displays CGs tiled by probes on the microarray. While the trends of DNA methylation changes were confirmed by the sequencing-based approaches, statistical significance testing was positive (p<0.05) for the <i>OR2L13</i> locus, with a trend towards significance at the <i>FAM134B</i> locus (split violin plots, lower panels). Of all the subjects tested, a CNV was found in only one individual at <i>OR2L13</i>, otherwise neither locus had CNVs present that could potentially affect interpretation of results.</p

Biological and technical confounders contribute to methylation value variation.

<p>The heat map displays the –log₁₀ p-values of the linear regressions of the top ten principal components onto each known covariate. The color key shows corresponding numeric values, with red indicating increased significance. The majority of variation is accounted for by experimental influences, with age and ancestry also contributing significantly to variation.</p