@article{PrelogHilligardtSchmidtetal.2016, author = {Prelog, Martina and Hilligardt, Deborah and Schmidt, Christian A. and Przybylski, Grzegorz K. and Leierer, Johannes and Almanzar, Giovanni and El Hajj, Nady and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Arolt, Volker and Zwanzger, Peter and Haaf, Thomas and Domschke, Katharina}, title = {Hypermethylation of FOXP3 Promoter and Premature Aging of the Immune System in Female Patients with Panic Disorder?}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0157930}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-179684}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Immunological abnormalities associated with pathological conditions, such as higher infection rates, inflammatory diseases, cancer or cardiovascular events are common in patients with panic disorder. In the present study, T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), Forkhead-Box-Protein P3 gene (FOXP3) methylation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and relative telomere lengths (RTLs) were investigated in a total and subsamples of 131 patients with panic disorder as compared to 131 age- and sex-matched healthy controls in order to test for a potential dysfunction and premature aging of the immune system in anxiety disorders. Significantly lower TRECs (p = 0.004) as well as significant hypermethylation of the FOXP3 promoter region (p = 0.005) were observed in female (but not in male) patients with panic disorder as compared to healthy controls. No difference in relative telomere length was discerned between patients and controls, but significantly shorter telomeres in females, smokers and older persons within the patient group. The presently observed reduced TRECs in panic disorder patients and FOXP3 hypermethylation in female patients with panic disorder potentially reflect impaired thymus and immunosuppressive Treg function, which might partly account for the known increased morbidity and mortality of anxiety disorders conferred by e.g. cancer and cardiovascular disorders.}, language = {en} } @article{BauerMallyLiedtke2021, author = {Bauer, Benedikt and Mally, Angela and Liedtke, Daniel}, title = {Zebrafish embryos and larvae as alternative animal models for toxicity testing}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {22}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, number = {24}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms222413417}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284225}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Prerequisite to any biological laboratory assay employing living animals is consideration about its necessity, feasibility, ethics and the potential harm caused during an experiment. The imperative of these thoughts has led to the formulation of the 3R-principle, which today is a pivotal scientific standard of animal experimentation worldwide. The rising amount of laboratory investigations utilizing living animals throughout the last decades, either for regulatory concerns or for basic science, demands the development of alternative methods in accordance with 3R to help reduce experiments in mammals. This demand has resulted in investigation of additional vertebrate species displaying favourable biological properties. One prominent species among these is the zebrafish (Danio rerio), as these small laboratory ray-finned fish are well established in science today and feature outstanding biological characteristics. In this review, we highlight the advantages and general prerequisites of zebrafish embryos and larvae before free-feeding stages for toxicological testing, with a particular focus on cardio-, neuro, hepato- and nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, we discuss toxicokinetics, current advances in utilizing zebrafish for organ toxicity testing and highlight how advanced laboratory methods (such as automation, advanced imaging and genetic techniques) can refine future toxicological studies in this species.}, language = {en} } @article{DollVonaSchnappetal.2020, author = {Doll, Julia and Vona, Barbara and Schnapp, Linda and R{\"u}schendorf, Franz and Khan, Imran and Khan, Saadullah and Muhammad, Noor and Alam Khan, Sher and Nawaz, Hamed and Khan, Ajmal and Ahmad, Naseer and Kolb, Susanne M. and K{\"u}hlewein, Laura and Labonne, Jonathan D. J. and Layman, Lawrence C. and Hofrichter, Michaela A. H. and R{\"o}der, Tabea and Dittrich, Marcus and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Graves, Tyler D. and Kong, Il-Keun and Nanda, Indrajit and Kim, Hyung-Goo and Haaf, Thomas}, title = {Genetic Spectrum of Syndromic and Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss in Pakistani Families}, series = {Genes}, volume = {11}, journal = {Genes}, number = {11}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes11111329}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219293}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The current molecular genetic diagnostic rates for hereditary hearing loss (HL) vary considerably according to the population background. Pakistan and other countries with high rates of consanguineous marriages have served as a unique resource for studying rare and novel forms of recessive HL. A combined exome sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, and gene mapping approach for 21 consanguineous Pakistani families revealed 13 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in the genes GJB2, MYO7A, FGF3, CDC14A, SLITRK6, CDH23, and MYO15A, with an overall resolve rate of 61.9\%. GJB2 and MYO7A were the most frequently involved genes in this cohort. All the identified variants were either homozygous or compound heterozygous, with two of them not previously described in the literature (15.4\%). Overall, seven missense variants (53.8\%), three nonsense variants (23.1\%), two frameshift variants (15.4\%), and one splice-site variant (7.7\%) were observed. Syndromic HL was identified in five (23.8\%) of the 21 families studied. This study reflects the extreme genetic heterogeneity observed in HL and expands the spectrum of variants in deafness-associated genes.}, language = {en} } @article{DumontWeberLassalleJolyBeauparlantetal.2022, author = {Dumont, Martine and Weber-Lassalle, Nana and Joly-Beauparlant, Charles and Ernst, Corinna and Droit, Arnaud and Feng, Bing-Jian and Dubois, St{\´e}phane and Collin-Deschesnes, Annie-Claude and Soucy, Penny and Vall{\´e}e, Maxime and Fournier, Fr{\´e}d{\´e}ric and Lema{\c{c}}on, Audrey and Adank, Muriel A. and Allen, Jamie and Altm{\"u}ller, Janine and Arnold, Norbert and Ausems, Margreet G. E. M. and Berutti, Riccardo and Bolla, Manjeet K. and Bull, Shelley and Carvalho, Sara and Cornelissen, Sten and Dufault, Michael R. and Dunning, Alison M. and Engel, Christoph and Gehrig, Andrea and Geurts-Giele, Willemina R. R. and Gieger, Christian and Green, Jessica and Hackmann, Karl and Helmy, Mohamed and Hentschel, Julia and Hogervorst, Frans B. L. and Hollestelle, Antoinette and Hooning, Maartje J. and Horv{\´a}th, Judit and Ikram, M. Arfan and Kaulfuß, Silke and Keeman, Renske and Kuang, Da and Luccarini, Craig and Maier, Wolfgang and Martens, John W. M. and Niederacher, Dieter and N{\"u}rnberg, Peter and Ott, Claus-Eric and Peters, Annette and Pharoah, Paul D. P. and Ramirez, Alfredo and Ramser, Juliane and Riedel-Heller, Steffi and Schmidt, Gunnar and Shah, Mitul and Scherer, Martin and St{\"a}bler, Antje and Strom, Tim M. and Sutter, Christian and Thiele, Holger and van Asperen, Christi J. and van der Kolk, Lizet and van der Luijt, Rob B. and Volk, Alexander E. and Wagner, Michael and Waisfisz, Quinten and Wang, Qin and Wang-Gohrke, Shan and Weber, Bernhard H. F. and Devilee, Peter and Tavtigian, Sean and Bader, Gary D. and Meindl, Alfons and Goldgar, David E. and Andrulis, Irene L. and Schmutzler, Rita K. and Easton, Douglas F. and Schmidt, Marjanka K. and Hahnen, Eric and Simard, Jacques}, title = {Uncovering the contribution of moderate-penetrance susceptibility genes to breast cancer by whole-exome sequencing and targeted enrichment sequencing of candidate genes in women of European ancestry}, series = {Cancers}, volume = {14}, journal = {Cancers}, number = {14}, issn = {2072-6694}, doi = {10.3390/cancers14143363}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281768}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Rare variants in at least 10 genes, including BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2, are associated with increased risk of breast cancer; however, these variants, in combination with common variants identified through genome-wide association studies, explain only a fraction of the familial aggregation of the disease. To identify further susceptibility genes, we performed a two-stage whole-exome sequencing study. In the discovery stage, samples from 1528 breast cancer cases enriched for breast cancer susceptibility and 3733 geographically matched unaffected controls were sequenced. Using five different filtering and gene prioritization strategies, 198 genes were selected for further validation. These genes, and a panel of 32 known or suspected breast cancer susceptibility genes, were assessed in a validation set of 6211 cases and 6019 controls for their association with risk of breast cancer overall, and by estrogen receptor (ER) disease subtypes, using gene burden tests applied to loss-of-function and rare missense variants. Twenty genes showed nominal evidence of association (p-value < 0.05) with either overall or subtype-specific breast cancer. Our study had the statistical power to detect susceptibility genes with effect sizes similar to ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2, however, it was underpowered to identify genes in which susceptibility variants are rarer or confer smaller effect sizes. Larger sample sizes would be required in order to identify such genes.}, language = {en} } @article{EngelRhiemHahnenetal.2018, author = {Engel, Christoph and Rhiem, Kerstin and Hahnen, Eric and Loibl, Sibylle and Weber, Karsten E. and Seiler, Sabine and Zachariae, Silke and Hauke, Jan and Wappenschmidt, Barbara and Waha, Anke and Bl{\"u}mcke, Britta and Kiechle, Marion and Meindl, Alfons and Niederacher, Dieter and Bartram, Claus R. and Speiser, Dorothee and Schlegelberger, Brigitte and Arnold, Norbert and Wieacker, Peter and Leinert, Elena and Gehrig, Andrea and Briest, Susanne and Kast, Karin and Riess, Olaf and Emons, G{\"u}nter and Weber, Bernhard H. F. and Engel, Jutta and Schmutzler, Rita K.}, title = {Prevalence of pathogenic BRCA1/2 germline mutations among 802 women with unilateral triple-negative breast cancer without family cancer history}, series = {BMC Cancer}, volume = {18}, journal = {BMC Cancer}, organization = {German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC)}, doi = {10.1186/s12885-018-4029-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226763}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background There is no international consensus up to which age women with a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and no family history of breast or ovarian cancer should be offered genetic testing for germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 (gBRCA) mutations. Here, we explored the association of age at TNBC diagnosis with the prevalence of pathogenic gBRCA mutations in this patient group. Methods The study comprised 802 women (median age 40 years, range 19-76) with oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 negative breast cancers, who had no relatives with breast or ovarian cancer. All women were tested for pathogenic gBRCA mutations. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association between age at TNBC diagnosis and the presence of a pathogenic gBRCA mutation. Results A total of 127 women with TNBC(15.8\%) were gBRCA mutation carriers (BRCA1: n = 118, 14.7\%; BRCA2: n = 9, 1. 1\%). The mutation prevalence was 32.9\% in the age group 20-29 years compared to 6.9\% in the age group 60-69 years. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant increase of mutation frequency with decreasing age at diagnosis (odds ratio 1.87 per 10 year decrease, 95\% CI 1.50-2.32, p < 0.001). gBRCA mutation risk was predicted to be > 10\% for women diagnosed below approximately 50 years. Conclusions Based on the general understanding that a heterozygous mutation probability of 10\% or greater justifies gBRCA mutation screening, women with TNBC diagnosed before the age of 50 years and no familial history of breast and ovarian cancer should be tested for gBRCA mutations. In Germany, this would concern approximately 880 women with newly diagnosed TNBC per year, of whom approximately 150 are expected to be identified as carriers of a pathogenic gBRCA mutation.}, language = {en} } @article{SathyanarayanaLeeWrightetal.2018, author = {Sathyanarayana, Vijaya and Lee, Beth and Wright, Neville B. and Santos, Rui and Bonney, Denise and Wynn, Robert and Patel, Leena and Chandler, Kate and Cheesman, Ed and Schindler, Detlev and Webb, Nicholas J. A. and Meyer, Stefan}, title = {Patterns and frequency of renal abnormalities in Fanconi anaemia: implications for long-term management}, series = {Pediatric Nephrology}, volume = {33}, journal = {Pediatric Nephrology}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1007/s00467-018-3952-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227400}, pages = {1547-1551}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Fanconi anaemia (FA) is an inherited disease with bone marrow failure, variable congenital and developmental abnormalities, and cancer predisposition. With improved survival, non-haematological manifestations of FA become increasingly important for long-term management. While renal abnormalities are recognized, detailed data on patterns and frequency and implications for long-term management are sparse. We reviewed clinical course and imaging findings of FA patients with respect to renal complications in our centre over a 25-year period to formulate some practical suggestions for guidelines for management of renal problems associated with FA. Thirty patients including four sibling sets were reviewed. On imaging, 14 had evidence of anatomical abnormalities of the kidneys. Two cases with severe phenotype, including renal abnormalities, had chronic kidney disease (CKD) at diagnosis. Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation was complicated by significant acute kidney injury (AKI) in three cases. In three patients, there was CKD at long-term follow-up. All patients had normal blood pressure. Evaluation of renal anatomy with ultrasound imaging is important at diagnostic workup of FA. While CKD is uncommon at diagnosis, our data suggests that the incidence of CKD increases with age, in particular after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Monitoring of renal function is essential for management of FA. Based on these long-term clinical observations, we formulate some practical guidelines for assessment and management of renal abnormalities in FA.}, language = {en} } @article{WeberLassalleHaukeRamseretal.2018, author = {Weber-Lassalle, Nana and Hauke, Jan and Ramser, Juliane and Richters, Lisa and Groß, Eva and Bl{\"u}mcke, Britta and Gehrig, Andrea and Kahlert, Anne-Karin and M{\"u}ller, Clemens R. and Hackmann, Karl and Honisch, Ellen and Weber-Lassalle, Konstantin and Niederacher, Dieter and Borde, Julika and Thiele, Holger and Ernst, Corinna and Altm{\"u}ller, Janine and Neidhardt, Guido and N{\"u}rnberg, Peter and Klaschik, Kristina and Schroeder, Christopher and Platzer, Konrad and Volk, Alexander E. and Wang-Gohrke, Shan and Just, Walter and Auber, Bernd and Kubisch, Christian and Schmidt, Gunnar and Horvath, Judit and Wappenschmidt, Barbara and Engel, Christoph and Arnold, Norbert and Dworniczak, Bernd and Rhiem, Kerstin and Meindl, Alfons and Schmutzler, Rita K. and Hahnen, Eric}, title = {BRIP1 loss-of-function mutations confer high risk for familial ovarian cancer, but not familial breast cancer}, series = {Breast Cancer Research}, volume = {20}, journal = {Breast Cancer Research}, doi = {10.1186/s13058-018-0935-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233433}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background Germline mutations in the BRIP1 gene have been described as conferring a moderate risk for ovarian cancer (OC), while the role of BRIP1 in breast cancer (BC) pathogenesis remains controversial. Methods To assess the role of deleterious BRIP1 germline mutations in BC/OC predisposition, 6341 well-characterized index patients with BC, 706 index patients with OC, and 2189 geographically matched female controls were screened for loss-of-function (LoF) mutations and potentially damaging missense variants. All index patients met the inclusion criteria of the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer for germline testing and tested negative for pathogenic BRCA1/2 variants. Results BRIP1 LoF mutations confer a high OC risk in familial index patients (odds ratio (OR) = 20.97, 95\% confidence interval (CI) = 12.02-36.57, P < 0.0001) and in the subgroup of index patients with late-onset OC (OR = 29.91, 95\% CI = 14.99-59.66, P < 0.0001). No significant association of BRIP1 LoF mutations with familial BC was observed (OR = 1.81 95\% CI = 1.00-3.30, P = 0.0623). In the subgroup of familial BC index patients without a family history of OC there was also no apparent association (OR = 1.42, 95\% CI = 0.70-2.90, P = 0.3030). In 1027 familial BC index patients with a family history of OC, the BRIP1 mutation prevalence was significantly higher than that observed in controls (OR = 3.59, 95\% CI = 1.43-9.01; P = 0.0168). Based on the negative association between BRIP1 LoF mutations and familial BC in the absence of an OC family history, we conclude that the elevated mutation prevalence in the latter cohort was driven by the occurrence of OC in these families. Compared with controls, predicted damaging rare missense variants were significantly more prevalent in OC (P = 0.0014) but not in BC (P = 0.0693) patients. Conclusions To avoid ambiguous results, studies aimed at assessing the impact of candidate predisposition gene mutations on BC risk might differentiate between BC index patients with an OC family history and those without. In familial cases, we suggest that BRIP1 is a high-risk gene for late-onset OC but not a BC predisposition gene, though minor effects cannot be excluded.}, language = {en} } @article{PlutaHoffjanZimmeretal.2022, author = {Pluta, Natalie and Hoffjan, Sabine and Zimmer, Frederic and K{\"o}hler, Cornelia and L{\"u}cke, Thomas and Mohr, Jennifer and Vorgerd, Matthias and Nguyen, Hoa Huu Phuc and Atlan, David and Wolf, Beat and Zaum, Ann-Kathrin and Rost, Simone}, title = {Homozygous inversion on chromosome 13 involving SGCG detected by short read whole genome sequencing in a patient suffering from limb-girdle muscular dystrophy}, series = {Genes}, volume = {13}, journal = {Genes}, number = {10}, issn = {2073-4425}, doi = {10.3390/genes13101752}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-288122}, year = {2022}, abstract = {New techniques in molecular genetic diagnostics now allow for accurate diagnosis in a large proportion of patients with muscular diseases. Nevertheless, many patients remain unsolved, although the clinical history and/or the muscle biopsy give a clear indication of the involved genes. In many cases, there is a strong suspicion that the cause must lie in unexplored gene areas, such as deep-intronic or other non-coding regions. In order to find these changes, next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods are constantly evolving, making it possible to sequence entire genomes to reveal these previously uninvestigated regions. Here, we present a young woman who was strongly suspected of having a so far genetically unsolved sarcoglycanopathy based on her clinical history and muscle biopsy. Using short read whole genome sequencing (WGS), a homozygous inversion on chromosome 13 involving SGCG and LINC00621 was detected. The breakpoint in intron 2 of SGCG led to the absence of γ-sarcoglycan, resulting in the manifestation of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 5 (LGMDR5) in the young woman.}, language = {en} } @article{NandaSchroederSteinleinetal.2022, author = {Nanda, Indrajit and Schr{\"o}der, Sarah K. and Steinlein, Claus and Haaf, Thomas and Buhl, Eva M. and Grimm, Domink G. and Weiskirchen, Ralf}, title = {Rat hepatic stellate cell line CFSC-2G: genetic markers and short tandem repeat profile useful for cell line authentication}, series = {Cells}, volume = {11}, journal = {Cells}, number = {18}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells11182900}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-288067}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are also known as lipocytes, fat-storing cells, perisinusoidal cells, or Ito cells. These liver-specific mesenchymal cells represent about 5\% to 8\% of all liver cells, playing a key role in maintaining the microenvironment of the hepatic sinusoid. Upon chronic liver injury or in primary culture, these cells become activated and transdifferentiate into a contractile phenotype, i.e., the myofibroblast, capable of producing and secreting large quantities of extracellular matrix compounds. Based on their central role in the initiation and progression of chronic liver diseases, cultured HSCs are valuable in vitro tools to study molecular and cellular aspects of liver diseases. However, the isolation of these cells requires special equipment, trained personnel, and in some cases needs approval from respective authorities. To overcome these limitations, several immortalized HSC lines were established. One of these cell lines is CFSC, which was originally established from cirrhotic rat livers induced by carbon tetrachloride. First introduced in 1991, this cell line and derivatives thereof (i.e., CFSC-2G, CFSC-3H, CFSC-5H, and CFSC-8B) are now used in many laboratories as an established in vitro HSC model. We here describe molecular features that are suitable for cell authentication. Importantly, chromosome banding and multicolor spectral karyotyping (SKY) analysis demonstrate that the CFSC-2G genome has accumulated extensive chromosome rearrangements and most chromosomes exist in multiple copies producing a pseudo-triploid karyotype. Furthermore, our study documents a defined short tandem repeat (STR) profile including 31 species-specific markers, and a list of genes expressed in CFSC-2G established by bulk mRNA next-generation sequencing (NGS).}, language = {en} } @article{FerreiraGamazonAlEjehetal.2019, author = {Ferreira, Manuel A. and Gamazon, Eric R. and Al-Ejeh, Fares and Aittom{\"a}ki, Kristiina and Andrulis, Irene L. and Anton-Culver, Hoda and Arason, Adalgeir and Arndt, Volker and Aronson, Kristan J. and Arun, Banu K. and Asseryanis, Ella and Azzollini, Jacopo and Balma{\~n}a, Judith and Barnes, Daniel R. and Barrowdale, Daniel and Beckmann, Matthias W. and Behrens, Sabine and Benitez, Javier and Bermisheva, Marina and Bialkowska, Katarzyna and Blomqvist, Carl and Bogdanova, Natalia V. and Bojesen, Stig E. and Bolla, Manjeet K. and Borg, Ake and Brauch, Hiltrud and Brenner, Hermann and Broeks, Annegien and Burwinkel, Barbara and Cald{\´e}s, Trinidad and Caligo, Maria A. and Campa, Daniele and Campbell, Ian and Canzian, Federico and Carter, Jonathan and Carter, Brian D. and Castelao, Jose E. and Chang-Claude, Jenny and Chanock, Stephen J. and Christiansen, Hans and Chung, Wendy K. and Claes, Kathleen B. M. and Clarke, Christine L. and Couch, Fergus J. and Cox, Angela and Cross, Simon S. and Czene, Kamila and Daly, Mary B. and de la Hoya, Miguel and Dennis, Joe and Devilee, Peter and Diez, Orland and D{\"o}rk, Thilo and Dunning, Alison M. and Dwek, Miriam and Eccles, Diana M. and Ejlertsen, Bent and Ellberg, Carolina and Engel, Christoph and Eriksson, Mikael and Fasching, Peter A. and Fletcher, Olivia and Flyger, Henrik and Friedman, Eitan and Frost, Debra and Gabrielson, Marike and Gago-Dominguez, Manuela and Ganz, Patricia A. and Gapstur, Susan M. and Garber, Judy and Garc{\´i}a-Closas, Montserrat and Garc{\´i}a-S{\´a}enz, Jos{\´e} A. and Gaudet, Mia M. and Giles, Graham G. and Glendon, Gord and Godwin, Andrew K. and Goldberg, Mark S. and Goldgar, David E. and Gonz{\´a}lez-Neira, Anna and Greene, Mark H. and Gronwald, Jacek and Guen{\´e}l, Pascal and Haimann, Christopher A. and Hall, Per and Hamann, Ute and He, Wei and Heyworth, Jane and Hogervorst, Frans B. L. and Hollestelle, Antoinette and Hoover, Robert N. and Hopper, John L. and Hulick, Peter J. and Humphreys, Keith and Imyanitov, Evgeny N. and Isaacs, Claudine and Jakimovska, Milena and Jakubowska, Anna and James, Paul A. and Janavicius, Ramunas and Jankowitz, Rachel C. and John, Esther M. and Johnson, Nichola and Joseph, Vijai and Karlan, Beth Y. and Khusnutdinova, Elza and Kiiski, Johanna I. and Ko, Yon-Dschun and Jones, Michael E. and Konstantopoulou, Irene and Kristensen, Vessela N. and Laitman, Yael and Lambrechts, Diether and Lazaro, Conxi and Leslie, Goska and Lester, Jenny and Lesueur, Fabienne and Lindstr{\"o}m, Sara and Long, Jirong and Loud, Jennifer T. and Lubiński, Jan and Makalic, Enes and Mannermaa, Arto and Manoochehri, Mehdi and Margolin, Sara and Maurer, Tabea and Mavroudis, Dimitrios and McGuffog, Lesley and Meindl, Alfons and Menon, Usha and Michailidou, Kyriaki and Miller, Austin and Montagna, Marco and Moreno, Fernando and Moserle, Lidia and Mulligan, Anna Marie and Nathanson, Katherine L. and Neuhausen, Susan L. and Nevanlinna, Heli and Nevelsteen, Ines and Nielsen, Finn C. and Nikitina-Zake, Liene and Nussbaum, Robert L. and Offit, Kenneth and Olah, Edith and Olopade, Olufunmilayo I. and Olsson, H{\aa}kan and Osorio, Ana and Papp, Janos and Park-Simon, Tjoung-Won and Parsons, Michael T. and Pedersen, Inge Sokilde and Peixoto, Ana and Peterlongo, Paolo and Pharaoh, Paul D. P. and Plaseska-Karanfilska, Dijana and Poppe, Bruce and Presneau, Nadege and Radice, Paolo and Rantala, Johanna and Rennert, Gad and Risch, Harvey A. and Saloustros, Emmanouil and Sanden, Kristin and Sawyer, Elinor J. and Schmidt, Marjanka K. and Schmutzler, Rita K. and Sharma, Priyanka and Shu, Xiao-Ou and Simard, Jaques and Singer, Christian F. and Soucy, Penny and Southey, Melissa C. and Spinelli, John J. and Spurdle, Amanda B. and Stone, Jennifer and Swerdlow, Anthony J. and Tapper, William J. and Taylor, Jack A. and Teixeira, Manuel R. and Terry, Mary Beth and Teul{\´e}, Alex and Thomassen, Mads and Th{\"o}ne, Kathrin and Thull, Darcy L. and Tischkowitz, Marc and Toland, Amanda E. and Torres, Diana and Truong, Th{\´e}r{\`e}se and Tung, Nadine and Vachon, Celine M. and van Asperen, Christi J. and van den Ouweland, Ans M. W. and van Rensburg, Elizabeth J. and Vega, Ana and Viel, Alexandra and Wang, Qin and Wappenschmidt, Barbara and Weitzel, Jeffrey N. and Wendt, Camilla and Winqvist, Robert and Yang, Xiaohong R. and Yannoukakos, Drakoulis and Ziogas, Argyrios and Kraft, Peter and Antoniou, Antonis C. and Zheng, Wei and Easton, Douglas F. and Milne, Roger L. and Beesley, Jonathan and Chenevix-Trench, Georgia}, title = {Genome-wide association and transcriptome studies identify target genes and risk loci for breast cancer}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, journal = {Nature Communications}, organization = {EMBRACE Collaborators, GC-HBOC Study Collaborators, GEMO Study Collaborators, ABCTB Investigators, HEBON Investigators, BCFR Investigators}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-08053-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228024}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 170 breast cancer susceptibility loci. Here we hypothesize that some risk-associated variants might act in non-breast tissues, specifically adipose tissue and immune cells from blood and spleen. Using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) reported in these tissues, we identify 26 previously unreported, likely target genes of overall breast cancer risk variants, and 17 for estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, several with a known immune function. We determine the directional effect of gene expression on disease risk measured based on single and multiple eQTL. In addition, using a gene-based test of association that considers eQTL from multiple tissues, we identify seven (and four) regions with variants associated with overall (and ER-negative) breast cancer risk, which were not reported in previous GWAS. Further investigation of the function of the implicated genes in breast and immune cells may provide insights into the etiology of breast cancer.}, language = {en} } @article{DubailHuberChantepieetal.2018, author = {Dubail, Johanne and Huber, C{\´e}line and Chantepie, Sandrine and Sonntag, Stephan and T{\"u}ys{\"u}z, Beyhan and Mihci, Ercan and Gordon, Christopher T. and Steichen-Gersdorf, Elisabeth and Amiel, Jeanne and Nur, Banu and Stolte-Dijkstra, Irene and van Eerde, Albertien M. and van Gassen, Koen L. and Breugem, Corstiaan C. and Stegmann, Alexander and Lekszas, Caroline and Maroofian, Reza and Karimiani, Ehsan Ghayoor and Bruneel, Arnaud and Seta, Nathalie and Munnich, Arnold and Papy-Garcia, Dulce and De La Dure-Molla, Muriel and Cormier-Daire, Val{\´e}rie}, title = {SLC10A7 mutations cause a skeletal dysplasia with amelogenesis imperfecta mediated by GAG biosynthesis defects}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {9}, journal = {Nature Communications}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-05191-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226377}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Skeletal dysplasia with multiple dislocations are severe disorders characterized by dislocations of large joints and short stature. The majority of them have been linked to pathogenic variants in genes encoding glycosyltransferases, sulfotransferases or epimerases required for glycosaminoglycan synthesis. Using exome sequencing, we identify homozygous mutations in SLC10A7 in six individuals with skeletal dysplasia with multiple dislocations and amelogenesis imperfecta. SLC10A7 encodes a 10-transmembrane-domain transporter located at the plasma membrane. Functional studies in vitro demonstrate that SLC10A7 mutations reduce SLC10A7 protein expression. We generate a Slc10a7-/- mouse model, which displays shortened long bones, growth plate disorganization and tooth enamel anomalies, recapitulating the human phenotype. Furthermore, we identify decreased heparan sulfate levels in Slc10a7-/- mouse cartilage and patient fibroblasts. Finally, we find an abnormal N-glycoprotein electrophoretic profile in patient blood samples. Together, our findings support the involvement of SLC10A7 in glycosaminoglycan synthesis and specifically in skeletal development.}, language = {en} } @article{HaertleMaierhoferBoecketal.2017, author = {Haertle, Larissa and Maierhofer, Anna and B{\"o}ck, Julia and Lehnen, Harald and B{\"o}ttcher, Yvonne and Bl{\"u}her, Matthias and Schorsch, Martin and Potabattula, Ramya and El Hajj, Nady and Appenzeller, Silke and Haaf, Thomas}, title = {Hypermethylation of the non-imprinted maternal MEG3 and paternal MEST alleles is highly variable among normal individuals}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0184030}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170433}, pages = {e0184030}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Imprinted genes show parent-specific activity (functional haploidy), which makes them particularly vulnerable to epigenetic dysregulation. Here we studied the methylation profiles of oppositely imprinted genes at single DNA molecule resolution by two independent parental allele-specific deep bisulfite sequencing (DBS) techniques. Using Roche (GSJunior) next generation sequencing technology, we analyzed the maternally imprinted MEST promoter and the paternally imprinted MEG3 intergenic (IG) differentially methylated region (DMR) in fetal cord blood, adult blood, and visceral adipose tissue. Epimutations were defined as paternal or maternal alleles with >50\% aberrantly (de)methylated CpG sites, showing the wrong methylation imprint. The epimutation rates (range 2-66\%) of the paternal MEST and the maternal MEG3 IG DMR allele, which should be completely unmethylated, were significantly higher than those (0-15\%) of the maternal MEST and paternal MEG3 alleles, which are expected to be fully methylated. This hypermethylation of the non-imprinted allele (HNA) was independent of parental origin. Very low epimutation rates in sperm suggest that HNA occurred after fertilization. DBS with Illumina (MiSeq) technology confirmed HNA for the MEST promoter and the MEG3 IG DMR, and to a lesser extent, for the paternally imprinted secondary MEG3 promoter and the maternally imprinted PEG3 promoter. HNA leads to biallelic methylation of imprinted genes in a considerable proportion of normal body cells (somatic mosaicism) and is highly variable between individuals. We propose that during development and differentiation maintenance of differential methylation at most imprinting control regions may become to some extent redundant. The accumulation of stochastic and environmentally-induced methylation errors on the non-imprinted allele may increase epigenetic diversity between cells and individuals.}, language = {en} } @article{KlughammerDittrichBlometal.2017, author = {Klughammer, Johanna and Dittrich, Marcus and Blom, Jochen and Mitesser, Vera and Vogel, Ulrich and Frosch, Matthias and Goesmann, Alexander and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Schoen, Christoph}, title = {Comparative genome sequencing reveals within-host genetic changes in Neisseria meningitidis during invasive disease}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0169892}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-159547}, pages = {e0169892}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Some members of the physiological human microbiome occasionally cause life-threatening disease even in immunocompetent individuals. A prime example of such a commensal pathogen is Neisseria meningitidis, which normally resides in the human nasopharynx but is also a leading cause of sepsis and epidemic meningitis. Using N. meningitidis as model organism, we tested the hypothesis that virulence of commensal pathogens is a consequence of within host evolution and selection of invasive variants due to mutations at contingency genes, a mechanism called phase variation. In line with the hypothesis that phase variation evolved as an adaptation to colonize diverse hosts, computational comparisons of all 27 to date completely sequenced and annotated meningococcal genomes retrieved from public databases showed that contingency genes are indeed enriched for genes involved in host interactions. To assess within-host genetic changes in meningococci, we further used ultra-deep whole-genome sequencing of throat-blood strain pairs isolated from four patients suffering from invasive meningococcal disease. We detected up to three mutations per strain pair, affecting predominantly contingency genes involved in type IV pilus biogenesis. However, there was not a single (set) of mutation(s) that could invariably be found in all four pairs of strains. Phenotypic assays further showed that these genetic changes were generally not associated with increased serum resistance, higher fitness in human blood ex vivo or differences in the interaction with human epithelial and endothelial cells in vitro. In conclusion, we hypothesize that virulence of meningococci results from accidental emergence of invasive variants during carriage and without within host evolution of invasive phenotypes during disease progression in vivo.}, language = {en} } @article{NandaSchoriesSimeonovetal.2022, author = {Nanda, Indrajit and Schories, Susanne and Simeonov, Ivan and Adolfi, Mateus Contar and Du, Kang and Steinlein, Claus and Alsheimer, Manfred and Haaf, Thomas and Schartl, Manfred}, title = {Evolution of the degenerated Y-chromosome of the swamp guppy, Micropoecilia picta}, series = {Cells}, volume = {11}, journal = {Cells}, number = {7}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells11071118}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267242}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The conspicuous colour sexual dimorphism of guppies has made them paradigmatic study objects for sex-linked traits and sex chromosome evolution. Both the X- and Y-chromosomes of the common guppy (Poecilia reticulata) are genetically active and homomorphic, with a large homologous part and a small sex specific region. This feature is considered to emulate the initial stage of sex chromosome evolution. A similar situation has been documented in the related Endler's and Oropuche guppies (P. wingei, P. obscura) indicating a common origin of the Y in this group. A recent molecular study in the swamp guppy (Micropoecilia. picta) reported a low SNP density on the Y, indicating Y-chromosome deterioration. We performed a series of cytological studies on M. picta to show that the Y-chromosome is quite small compared to the X and has accumulated a high content of heterochromatin. Furthermore, the Y-chromosome stands out in displaying CpG clusters around the centromeric region. These cytological findings evidently illustrate that the Y-chromosome in M. picta is indeed highly degenerated. Immunostaining for SYCP3 and MLH1 in pachytene meiocytes revealed that a substantial part of the Y remains associated with the X. A specific MLH1 hotspot site was persistently marked at the distal end of the associated XY structure. These results unveil a landmark of a recombining pseudoautosomal region on the otherwise strongly degenerated Y chromosome of M. picta. Hormone treatments of females revealed that, unexpectedly, no sexually antagonistic color gene is Y-linked in M. picta. All these differences to the Poecilia group of guppies indicate that the trajectories associated with the evolution of sex chromosomes are not in parallel.}, language = {en} } @article{PrellSenPotabattulaetal.2022, author = {Prell, Andreas and Sen, Mustafa Orkun and Potabattula, Ramya and Bernhardt, Laura and Dittrich, Marcus and Hahn, Thomas and Schorsch, Martin and Zacchini, Federica and Ptak, Grazyna Ewa and Niemann, Heiner and Haaf, Thomas}, title = {Species-specific paternal age effects and sperm methylation levels of developmentally important genes}, series = {Cells}, volume = {11}, journal = {Cells}, number = {4}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells11040731}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262301}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A growing number of sperm methylome analyses have identified genomic loci that are susceptible to paternal age effects in a variety of mammalian species, including human, bovine, and mouse. However, there is little overlap between different data sets. Here, we studied whether or not paternal age effects on the sperm epigenome have been conserved in mammalian evolution and compared methylation patterns of orthologous regulatory regions (mainly gene promoters) containing both conserved and non-conserved CpG sites in 94 human, 36 bovine, and 94 mouse sperm samples, using bisulfite pyrosequencing. We discovered three (NFKB2, RASGEF1C, and RPL6) age-related differentially methylated regions (ageDMRs) in humans, four (CHD7, HDAC11, PAK1, and PTK2B) in bovines, and three (Def6, Nrxn2, and Tbx19) in mice. Remarkably, the identified sperm ageDMRs were all species-specific. Most ageDMRs were in genomic regions with medium methylation levels and large methylation variation. Orthologous regions in species not showing this age effect were either hypermethylated (>80\%) or hypomethylated (<20\%). In humans and mice, ageDMRs lost methylation, whereas bovine ageDMRs gained methylation with age. Our results are in line with the hypothesis that sperm ageDMRs are in regions under epigenomic evolution and may be part of an epigenetic mechanism(s) for lineage-specific environmental adaptations and provide a solid basis for studies on downstream effects in the genes analyzed here.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zaum2019, author = {Zaum, Ann-Kathrin}, title = {Erweiterte Diagnostik bei neuromuskul{\"a}ren Erkrankungen: vom Genpanel zum Whole Genome Sequencing}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176314}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Muskeln und Nerven bilden eine essentielle funktionelle Einheit f{\"u}r den Bewegungsapparat. Neuromuskul{\"a}re Erkrankungen lassen sich unterteilen in Krankheiten, denen ein muskul{\"a}res Problem zu Grunde liegt, wie zum Beispiel Muskeldystrophien (Muskeldystrophie Duchenne, DMD) und Myopathien (Myofibrill{\"a}re Myopathie, MFM), und in Erkrankungen aufgrund von Nervensch{\"a}digungen, wie zum Beispiel Neuropathien und spastische Paraplegien (SPG). In den vier Teilen der vorliegenden Arbeit konnte sowohl das genetische wie auch das ph{\"a}notypische Spektrum von neuromuskul{\"a}ren Krankheiten erweitert werden. Die daf{\"u}r verwendeten Methoden reichen von der Sanger-Sequenzierung einzelner Gene {\"u}ber Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-Panel-Diagnostik, zu Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) und schließlich zu Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). Zus{\"a}tzlich wurde cDNA zur Detektion von Ver{\"a}nderungen im Transkriptom sequenziert. Im ersten Teil wurde der klinische Ph{\"a}notyp der Seipinopathien erweitert, der jetzt auch amyotrophe Lateralsklerose (ALS) und multifokale motorische Neuropathie (MMN) beinhaltet. Daf{\"u}r wurde eine Panel-Analyse durchgef{\"u}hrt, die eine bekannte Mutation in BSCL2 aufdeckte. Aufgrund des hiermit erweiterten Ph{\"a}notyps der Seipinopathien sollten Mutationen in BSCL2 auch bei anderen Verdachtsdiagnosen, wie ALS oder MMN, ber{\"u}cksichtigt werden. Außerdem wurde gezeigt, dass in der Diagnostik SPGs und Charcot-Marie-Tooth Erkrankungen (CMTs) eine {\"U}berlappung zeigen und bei der Diagnose von Verdachtsf{\"a}llen Gene aus beiden Krankheitsbereichen ber{\"u}cksichtigt werden sollten. Die Suche mit Hilfe eines Ph{\"a}notyp-Filters hat sich dabei als erfolgreich erwiesen. Ungel{\"o}ste F{\"a}lle sollten aber in regelm{\"a}ßigen Abst{\"a}nden neu analysiert werden, da immer neue Gene mit den Ph{\"a}notypen assoziiert werden. Der zweite Teil befasst sich mit der Untersuchung von DMD-Patienten mit bisher ungekl{\"a}rtem Genotyp. Durch eine RNA-Analyse des gesamten DMD-Transkripts wurden tief-intronische Mutationen aufgedeckt, die Einfluss auf das Spleißen haben. Durch diese Mutationen wurden intronische Sequenzen als Pseudoexons in die mRNA eingef{\"u}gt. Diese Mutationsart scheint h{\"a}ufig unter ungekl{\"a}rten DMD-F{\"a}llen zu sein, in unserer Kohorte von 5 DMD-Patienten wurden in zwei F{\"a}llen Pseudoexons entdeckt. Eine Besonderheit besteht darin, dass in der RNA-Analyse immer noch ein Rest Wildtyp-Transkript vorhanden war, wodurch die Patienten vermutlich einen milderen Becker-Ph{\"a}notyp aufweisen. Ein weiterer ungekl{\"a}rter DMD-Fall konnte durch die Sequenzierung der gesamten genomischen Sequenz aufgekl{\"a}rt werden. Es wurde eine perizentrische Inversion entdeckt (46,Y,inv(X)(p21.1q13.3). Dies zeigt, dass WGS auch zur Detektion von großen Strukturvariationen geeignet ist. Im dritten Teil wurden Spleißmutationen untersucht. Spleißmutationen wurden bisher nicht in TMEM5-assoziierter alpha-Dystroglykanopathie beschrieben und somit als neue Mutationsart f{\"u}r diese Erkrankung nachgewiesen. Dabei wurde auch die funktionelle Exostosin-Dom{\"a}ne in TMEM5 best{\"a}tigt. Eine RNA-Untersuchung verschiedener Spleißmutationen zeigte, dass Spleißmutationen h{\"a}ufig zu einem ver{\"a}nderten Transkript f{\"u}hren, auch wenn diese Mutationen weiter von der Konsensussequenz entfernt sind. Spleißmutation sollten daher h{\"a}ufiger in der Diagnostik ber{\"u}cksichtig und {\"u}berpr{\"u}ft werden. Im letzten Teil wurde eine strukturierte Diagnostik von MFM-Patienten beschrieben und neue Kandidaten-Gene f{\"u}r MFM vorgestellt. Es ist zu vermuten, dass auch Mutationen in Genen, die bisher f{\"u}r Kardiomyopathien, Kollagen Typ VI-Myopathien und Neuropathien beschrieben sind, einen MFM-Ph{\"a}notyp verursachen k{\"o}nnen. Diese Ergebnisse erweitern das genetische Spektrum der MFM, was sich auf die Diagnostik dieser Erkrankungen auswirken sollte. Im Laufe dieser Arbeit konnten damit die neuromuskul{\"a}ren Erkrankungen vieler Patienten genetisch gekl{\"a}rt werden. Neue Ph{\"a}notypen und genetische Ursachen wurden beschrieben und es wurde gezeigt, dass sich WGS technisch f{\"u}r die Diagnostik, auch zur Detektion von großen Strukturvarianten, eignet.}, subject = {Neuromuskul{\"a}re Krankheit}, language = {de} } @article{LiedtkeHofmannJakobetal.2020, author = {Liedtke, Daniel and Hofmann, Christine and Jakob, Franz and Klopocki, Eva and Graser, Stephanie}, title = {Tissue-Nonspecific Alkaline Phosphatase—A Gatekeeper of Physiological Conditions in Health and a Modulator of Biological Environments in Disease}, series = {Biomolecules}, volume = {10}, journal = {Biomolecules}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2218-273X}, doi = {10.3390/biom10121648}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-220096}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme that is best known for its role during mineralization processes in bones and skeleton. The enzyme metabolizes phosphate compounds like inorganic pyrophosphate and pyridoxal-5′-phosphate to provide, among others, inorganic phosphate for the mineralization and transportable vitamin B6 molecules. Patients with inherited loss of function mutations in the ALPL gene and consequently altered TNAP activity are suffering from the rare metabolic disease hypophosphatasia (HPP). This systemic disease is mainly characterized by impaired bone and dental mineralization but may also be accompanied by neurological symptoms, like anxiety disorders, seizures, and depression. HPP characteristically affects all ages and shows a wide range of clinical symptoms and disease severity, which results in the classification into different clinical subtypes. This review describes the molecular function of TNAP during the mineralization of bones and teeth, further discusses the current knowledge on the enzyme's role in the nervous system and in sensory perception. An additional focus is set on the molecular role of TNAP in health and on functional observations reported in common laboratory vertebrate disease models, like rodents and zebrafish.}, language = {en} } @article{HofrichterMojaradDolletal.2018, author = {Hofrichter, Michaela A. H. and Mojarad, Majid and Doll, Julia and Grimm, Clemens and Eslahi, Atiye and Hosseini, Neda Sadat and Rajati, Mohsen and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Dittrich, Marcus and Maroofian, Reza and Haaf, Thomas and Vona, Barbara}, title = {The conserved p.Arg108 residue in S1PR2 (DFNB68) is fundamental for proper hearing: evidence from a consanguineous Iranian family}, series = {BMC Medical Genetics}, volume = {19}, journal = {BMC Medical Genetics}, number = {81}, doi = {10.1186/s12881-018-0598-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175755}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: Genetic heterogeneity and consanguineous marriages make recessive inherited hearing loss in Iran the second most common genetic disorder. Only two reported pathogenic variants (c.323G>C, p.Arg108Pro and c.419A>G, p.Tyr140Cys) in the S1PR2 gene have previously been linked to autosomal recessive hearing loss (DFNB68) in two Pakistani families. We describe a segregating novel homozygous c.323G>A, p.Arg108Gln pathogenic variant in S1PR2 that was identified in four affected individuals from a consanguineous five generation Iranian family. Methods: Whole exome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of 116 hearing loss-associated genes was performed in an affected individual from a five generation Iranian family. Segregation analysis and 3D protein modeling of the p.Arg108 exchange was performed. Results: The two Pakistani families previously identified with S1PR2 pathogenic variants presented profound hearing loss that is also observed in the affected Iranian individuals described in the current study. Interestingly, we confirmed mixed hearing loss in one affected individual. 3D protein modeling suggests that the p.Arg108 position plays a key role in ligand receptor interaction, which is disturbed by the p.Arg108Gln change. Conclusion: In summary, we report the third overall mutation in S1PR2 and the first report outside the Pakistani population. Furthermore, we describe a novel variant that causes an amino acid exchange (p.Arg108Gln) in the same amino acid residue as one of the previously reported Pakistani families (p.Arg108Pro). This finding emphasizes the importance of the p.Arg108 amino acid in normal hearing and confirms and consolidates the role of S1PR2 in autosomal recessive hearing loss.}, language = {en} } @article{FiedlerHirschElHajjetal.2019, author = {Fiedler, David and Hirsch, Daniela and El Hajj, Nady and Yang, Howard H. and Hu, Yue and Sticht, Carsten and Nanda, Indrajit and Belle, Sebastian and Rueschoff, Josef and Lee, Maxwell P. and Ried, Thomas and Haaf, Thomas and Gaiser, Timo}, title = {Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of colorectal adenomas with and without recurrence reveals an association between cytosine-phosphate-guanine methylation and histological subtypes}, series = {Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer}, volume = {58}, journal = {Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1002/gcc.22787}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-212676}, pages = {783 -- 797}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Aberrant methylation of DNA is supposed to be a major and early driver of colonic adenoma development, which may result in colorectal cancer (CRC). Although gene methylation assays are used already for CRC screening, differential epigenetic alterations of recurring and nonrecurring colorectal adenomas have yet not been systematically investigated. Here, we collected a sample set of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded colorectal low-grade adenomas (n = 72) consisting of primary adenomas without and with recurrence (n = 59), recurrent adenomas (n = 10), and normal mucosa specimens (n = 3). We aimed to unveil differentially methylated CpG positions (DMPs) across the methylome comparing not only primary adenomas without recurrence vs primary adenomas with recurrence but also primary adenomas vs recurrent adenomas using the Illumina Human Methylation 450K BeadChip array. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering exhibited a significant association of methylation patterns with histological adenoma subtypes. No significant DMPs were identified comparing primary adenomas with and without recurrence. Despite that, a total of 5094 DMPs (false discovery rate <0.05; fold change >10\%) were identified in the comparisons of recurrent adenomas vs primary adenomas with recurrence (674; 98\% hypermethylated), recurrent adenomas vs primary adenomas with and without recurrence (241; 99\% hypermethylated) and colorectal adenomas vs normal mucosa (4179; 46\% hypermethylated). DMPs in cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) islands were frequently hypermethylated, whereas open sea- and shelf-regions exhibited hypomethylation. Gene ontology analysis revealed enrichment of genes associated with the immune system, inflammatory processes, and cancer pathways. In conclusion, our methylation data could assist in establishing a more robust and reproducible histological adenoma classification, which is a prerequisite for improving surveillance guidelines.}, language = {en} } @article{KolokotronisPlutaKlopockietal.2020, author = {Kolokotronis, Konstantinos and Pluta, Natalie and Klopocki, Eva and Kunstmann, Erdmute and Messroghli, Daniel and Maack, Christoph and Tejman-Yarden, Shai and Arad, Michael and Rost, Simone and Gerull, Brenda}, title = {New Insights on Genetic Diagnostics in Cardiomyopathy and Arrhythmia Patients Gained by Stepwise Exome Data Analysis}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {9}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {7}, doi = {10.3390/jcm9072168}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236094}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Inherited cardiomyopathies are characterized by clinical and genetic heterogeneity that challenge genetic diagnostics. In this study, we examined the diagnostic benefit of exome data compared to targeted gene panel analyses, and we propose new candidate genes. We performed exome sequencing in a cohort of 61 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy or primary arrhythmia, and we analyzed the data following a stepwise approach. Overall, in 64\% of patients, a variant of interest (VOI) was detected. The detection rate in the main sub-cohort consisting of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) was much higher than previously reported (25/36; 69\%). The majority of VOIs were found in disease-specific panels, while a further analysis of an extended panel and exome data led to an additional diagnostic yield of 13\% and 5\%, respectively. Exome data analysis also detected variants in candidate genes whose functional profile suggested a probable pathogenetic role, the strongest candidate being a truncating variant in STK38. In conclusion, although the diagnostic yield of gene panels is acceptable for routine diagnostics, the genetic heterogeneity of cardiomyopathies and the presence of still-unknown causes favor exome sequencing, which enables the detection of interesting phenotype-genotype correlations, as well as the identification of novel candidate genes.}, language = {en} }