Medical Specialties Commons^™

Rad51c-Xrcc3 Structure And Cancer Patient Mutations Define Dna Replication Roles, Michael A Longo, Sunetra Roy, Yue Chen, Karl-Heinz Tomaszowski, Andrew S Arvai, Jordan T Pepper, Rebecca A Boisvert, Selvi Kunnimalaiyaan, Caezanne Keshvani, David Schild, Albino Bacolla, Gareth J Williams, John A Tainer, Katharina Schlacher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

RAD51C is an enigmatic predisposition gene for breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. Currently, missing structural and related functional understanding limits patient mutation interpretation to homology-directed repair (HDR) function analysis. Here we report the RAD51C-XRCC3 (CX3) X-ray co-crystal structure with bound ATP analog and define separable RAD51C replication stability roles informed by its three-dimensional structure, assembly, and unappreciated polymerization motif. Mapping of cancer patient mutations as a functional guide confirms ATP-binding matching RAD51 recombinase, yet highlights distinct CX3 interfaces. Analyses of CRISPR/Cas9-edited human cells with RAD51C mutations combined with single-molecule, single-cell and biophysics measurements uncover discrete CX3 regions for DNA replication …

Resistance To Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 Infection Conferred By A Compound Ccr5Δ32 And Ccr5 C20s Heterozygote, Bashar Alkhatib, Mary Jabari, Shymaa Bilasy, Husni Abdul-Rahman, Kamal Sandhu, Stephen Lai, Ghalib Alkhatib

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We analyzed findings in a same-gender couple discordant in their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status. The HIV+ partner was homozygous for CCR5 while his receptive HIV- partner was a CCR5Δ32 heterozygote with a C20S missense mutation in his CCR5 allele. The cells from the HIV- partner showed significant resistance to R5 fusion/infection and had no chemotactic response to CCL4 (macrophage inflammatory protein 1β). We demonstrated abundant CCR5-specific RNA in the HIV- partner's cells but no detectable CCR5 protein. CCR5 promoter region cloned from each partner's DNA indicated no significant impact on RNA transcription. The compound effect of CCR5Δ32 and C20S …

Unique Transcriptional Profiles Underlie Osteosarcomagenesis Driven By Different P53 Mutants, Dhruv Chachad, Lalit R Patel, Carlos Vera Recio, Rasoul Pourebrahim, Elizabeth M Whitley, Wenyi Wang, Xiaoping Su, An Xu, Dung-Fang Lee, Guillermina Lozano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Missense mutations in the DNA binding domain of p53 are characterized as structural or contact mutations based on their effect on the conformation of the protein. These mutations show gain-of-function (GOF) activities, such as promoting increased metastatic incidence compared with p53 loss, often mediated by the interaction of mutant p53 with a set of transcription factors. These interactions are largely context specific. To understand the mechanisms by which p53 DNA binding domain mutations drive osteosarcoma progression, we created mouse models, in which either the p53 structural mutant p53R172H or the contact mutant p53R245W are expressed specifically in osteoblasts, yielding osteosarcoma …

Genomic Landscape Of Down Syndrome-Associated Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Zhenhua Li, Ti-Cheng Chang, Jacob J Junco, Meenakshi Devidas, Yizhen Li, Wenjian Yang, Xin Huang, Dale J Hedges, Zhongshan Cheng, Mary Shago, Andrew J Carroll, Nyla A Heerema, Julie Gastier-Foster, Brent L Wood, Michael J Borowitz, Lauren Sanclemente, Elizabeth A Raetz, Stephen P Hunger, Eleanor Feingold, Tracie C Rosser, Stephanie L Sherman, Mignon L Loh, Charles G Mullighan, Jiyang Yu, Gang Wu, Philip J Lupo, Karen R Rabin, Jun J Yang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Trisomy 21, the genetic cause of Down syndrome (DS), is the most common congenital chromosomal anomaly. It is associated with a 20-fold increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during childhood and results in distinctive leukemia biology. To comprehensively define the genomic landscape of DS-ALL, we performed whole-genome sequencing and whole-transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) on 295 cases. Our integrated genomic analyses identified 15 molecular subtypes of DS-ALL, with marked enrichment of CRLF2-r, IGH::IGF2BP1, and C/EBP altered (C/EBPalt) subtypes compared with 2257 non-DS-ALL cases. We observed abnormal activation of the CEBPD, CEBPA, and CEBPE genes in 10.5% of DS-ALL cases via a …

Mct4-Dependent Lactate Secretion Suppresses Antitumor Immunity In Lkb1-Deficient Lung Adenocarcinoma, Yu Qian, Ana Galan-Cobo, Irene Guijarro, Minghao Dang, David Molkentine, Alissa Poteete, Fahao Zhang, Qi Wang, Jing Wang, Edwin Parra, Apekshya Panda, Jacy Fang, Ferdinandos Skoulidis, Ignacio I Wistuba, Svena Verma, Taha Merghoub, Jedd D Wolchok, Kwok-Kin Wong, Ralph J Deberardinis, John D Minna, Natalie I Vokes, Catherine B Meador, Justin F Gainor, Linghua Wang, Alexandre Reuben, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Inactivating STK11/LKB1 mutations are genomic drivers of primary resistance to immunotherapy in KRAS-mutated lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), although the underlying mechanisms remain unelucidated. We find that LKB1 loss results in enhanced lactate production and secretion via the MCT4 transporter. Single-cell RNA profiling of murine models indicates that LKB1-deficient tumors have increased M2 macrophage polarization and hypofunctional T cells, effects that could be recapitulated by the addition of exogenous lactate and abrogated by MCT4 knockdown or therapeutic blockade of the lactate receptor GPR81 expressed on immune cells. Furthermore, MCT4 knockout reverses the resistance to PD-1 blockade induced by LKB1 loss in syngeneic …

Comutations And Krasg12c Inhibitor Efficacy In Advanced Nsclc, Marcelo V Negrao, Haniel A Araujo, Giuseppe Lamberti, Alissa J Cooper, Neal S Akhave, Teng Zhou, Lukas Delasos, J Kevin Hicks, Mihaela Aldea, Gabriele Minuti, Jacobi Hines, Jacqueline V Aredo, Michael J Dennis, Turja Chakrabarti, Susan C Scott, Paolo Bironzo, Matthias Scheffler, Petros Christopoulos, Albrecht Stenzinger, Jonathan W Riess, So Yeon Kim, Sarah B Goldberg, Mingjia Li, Qi Wang, Yun Qing, Ying Ni, Minh Truong Do, Richard Lee, Biagio Ricciuti, Joao Victor Alessi, Jing Wang, Blerina Resuli, Lorenza Landi, Shu-Chi Tseng, Mizuki Nishino, Subba R Digumarthy, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Vadeerat Rinsurongkawong, Ara A Vaporciyan, George R Blumenschein, Jianjun Zhang, Dwight H Owen, Collin M Blakely, Giannis Mountzios, Catherine A Shu, Christine M Bestvina, Marina Chiara Garassino, Kristen A Marrone, Jhanelle E Gray, Sandip Pravin Patel, Amy L Cummings, Heather A Wakelee, Juergen Wolf, Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti, Federico Cappuzzo, Fabrice Barlesi, Pradnya D Patil, Leylah Drusbosky, Don L Gibbons, Funda Meric-Bernstam, J Jack Lee, John V Heymach, David S Hong, Rebecca S Heist, Mark M Awad, Ferdinandos Skoulidis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Molecular modifiers of KRASG12C inhibitor (KRASG12Ci) efficacy in advanced KRASG12C-mutant NSCLC are poorly defined. In a large unbiased clinicogenomic analysis of 424 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we identified and validated coalterations in KEAP1, SMARCA4, and CDKN2A as major independent determinants of inferior clinical outcomes with KRASG12Ci monotherapy. Collectively, comutations in these three tumor suppressor genes segregated patients into distinct prognostic subgroups and captured ∼50% of those with early disease progression (progression-free survival ≤3 months) with KRASG12Ci. Pathway-level integration of less prevalent coalterations in functionally related genes nominated PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway and additional baseline RAS gene alterations, including amplifications, …

Phenotype And Genotype Heterogeneity Of Pla2g6-Associated Neurodegeneration In A Cohort Of Pediatric And Adult Patients, Ali Zare Dehnavi, Maryam Bemanalizadeh, Seyyed Mohammad Kahani, Mahmoud Reza Ashrafi, Mohammad Rohani, Mehran Beiraghi Toosi, Morteza Heidari, Sareh Hosseinpour, Behnam Amini, Shaghayegh Zokaei, Zahra Rezaei, Hajar Aryan, Man Amanat, Hassan Vahidnezhad, Pouria Mohammadi, Masoud Garshasbi, Ali Reza Tavasoli

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Phospholipase-associated neurodegeneration (PLAN) caused by mutations in the PLA2G6 gene is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that presents with four sub-groups. Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (INAD) and PLA2G6-related dystonia-parkinsonism are the main two subtypes. In this cohort, we reviewed clinical, imaging, and genetic features of 25 adult and pediatric patients harboring variants in the PLA2G6.

METHODS: An extensive review of the patients' data was carried out. Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy Rating Scale (INAD-RS) was used for evaluating the severity and progression of INAD patients. Whole-exome sequencing was used to determine the disease's underlying etiology followed by co-segregation analysis using Sanger sequencing. In …

Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia Associated With Parg183trp Homozygous Variant In Exosc1 Gene: A Case Report, Nadirah S Damseh, Ali N Obeidat, Khondakar Sayef Ahammed, Motee Al-Ashhab, Motee Abu Awad, Ambro Van Hoof

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) is a heterogeneous group of rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by a wide phenotypic range including severe motor and cognitive impairments, microcephaly, distinctive facial features, and other features according to the type. Several classes of PCH1 have been linked to mutations in the evolutionarily conserved RNA exosome complex that consists of nine subunits (EXOSC1 to EXOSC9) and facilitates the degradation and processing of cytoplasmic and nuclear RNA from the 3' end. Only a single individual with an EXOSC1 mutation was reported with clinical features of PCH type 1 (PCH1F). Here, we report a 3-month-old female with PCH and …

De Novo Variants In Cnot9 Cause A Neurodevelopmental Disorder With Or Without Epilepsy, Lydia Von Wintzingerode, Bruria Ben-Zeev, Claudia Cesario, Katie M Chan, Christel Depienne, Orly Elpeleg, Maria Iascone, Whitley V Kelley, Marie-Cécile Nassogne, Marcello Niceta, Lidia Pezzani, Nils Rahner, Nicole Revencu, Mir Reza Bekheirnia, Teresa Santiago-Sim, Marco Tartaglia, Michelle L Thompson, Marina Trivisano, Julia Hentschel, Heinrich Sticht, Rami Abou Jamra, Henry Oppermann

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: The study aimed to clinically and molecularly characterize the neurodevelopmental disorder associated with heterozygous de novo variants in CNOT9.

Methods: Individuals were clinically examined. Variants were identified using exome or genome sequencing. These variants were evaluated using in silico predictions, and their functional relevance was further assessed by molecular models and research in the literature. The variants have been classified according to the criteria of the American College of Medical Genetics.

Results: We report on 7 individuals carrying de novo missense variants in CNOT9, p.(Arg46Gly), p.(Pro131Leu), and p.(Arg227His), and, recurrent in 4 unrelated individuals, p.(Arg292Trp). All affected persons have …

Plasma Cell Myeloma With Ras/Braf Mutations Is Frequently Associated With A Complex Karyotype, Advanced Stage Disease, And Poorer Prognosis, Nianyi Li, Pei Lin, Zhuang Zuo, M James You, Wen Shuai, Robert Orlowski, Elisabet E Manasanch, Shaoying Li, Jie Xu, Sofia Garces, Fatima Zahra Jelloul, Zhenya Tang, Wei Wang, L Jeffrey Medeiros, C Cameron Yin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the RAS-MAPK pathway, such as KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF, are known as high-risk factors associated with poor prognosis in patients with various cancers, but studies in myeloma have yielded mixed results.

METHODS: We describe the clinicopathologic, cytogenetic, molecular features, and outcomes of 68 patients with RAS/BRAF-mutated myeloma, and compare with 79 patients without any mutations.

RESULTS: We show that KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF were mutated in 16%, 11%, and 5% of cases, respectively. RAS/BRAF-mutated patients had lower hemoglobin and platelet counts, higher levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase and calcium, higher percentage of bone marrow plasma cells, and …

Biallelic Variants In Cript Cause A Rothmund-Thomson-Like Syndrome With Increased Cellular Senescence, Luisa Averdunk, Maxim A Huetzen, Daniel Moreno-Andrés, Reinhard Kalb, Shane Mckee, Tzung-Chien Hsieh, Annette Seibt, Marten Schouwink, Seema Lalani, Eissa Ali Faqeih, Theresa Brunet, Peter Boor, Kornelia Neveling, Alexander Hoischen, Barbara Hildebrandt, Elisabeth Graf, Linchao Lu, Weidong Jin, Joerg Schaper, Jamal A Omer, Tanguy Demaret, Nicole Fleischer, Detlev Schindler, Peter Krawitz, Ertan Mayatepek, Dagmar Wieczorek, Lisa L Wang, Wolfram Antonin, Ron D Jachimowicz, Verena Von Felbert, Felix Distelmaier

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) is characterized by poikiloderma, sparse hair, small stature, skeletal defects, cancer, and cataracts, resembling features of premature aging. RECQL4 and ANAPC1 are the 2 known disease genes associated with RTS in >70% of cases. We describe RTS-like features in 5 individuals with biallelic variants in CRIPT (OMIM 615789).

Methods: Two newly identified and 4 published individuals with CRIPT variants were systematically compared with those with RTS using clinical data, computational analysis of photographs, histologic analysis of skin, and cellular studies on fibroblasts.

Results: All CRIPT individuals fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for RTS and additionally had neurodevelopmental …

The Genetics Of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia In Puerto Rico, Paolo Zanoni, Katharina Steindl, Heinrich Sticht, Beatrice Oneda, Pascal Joset, Ivan Ivanovski, Anselm H C Horn, Elena M Cabello, Julia Laube, Markus Zweier, Alessandra Baumer, Anita Rauch, Nadia Khan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pediatric Moyamoya Angiopathy (MMA) is a progressive intracranial occlusive arteriopathy that represents a leading cause of transient ischemic attacks and strokes in childhood. Despite this, up to now no large, exclusively pediatric MMA cohort has been subjected to systematic genetic investigation. In this study, we performed molecular karyotyping, exome sequencing and automated structural assessment of missense variants on a series of 88 pediatric MMA patients and correlated genetic, angiographic and clinical (stroke burden) findings. The two largest subgroups in our cohort consisted of RNF213 and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. While deleterious RNF213 variants were associated with a severe MMA …

Scanning Mutagenesis Of The Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Nav12 Using Base Editing, Juan Lorenzo B Pablo, Savannah L Cornett, Lei A Wang, Sooyeon Jo, Tobias Brünger, Nikita Budnik, Mudra Hegde, Jean-Marc Dekeyser, Christopher H Thompson, John G Doench, Dennis Lal, Alfred L George, Jen Q Pan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

It is challenging to apply traditional mutational scanning to voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) and functionally annotate the large number of coding variants in these genes. Using a cytosine base editor and a pooled viability assay, we screen a library of 368 guide RNAs (gRNAs) tiling NaV1.2 to identify more than 100 gRNAs that change NaV1.2 function. We sequence base edits made by a subset of these gRNAs to confirm specific variants that drive changes in channel function. Electrophysiological characterization of these channel variants validates the screen results and provides functional mechanisms of channel perturbation. Most of the changes caused by …

Drugging Evolution Of Antibiotic Resistance At A Regulatory Network Hub, Yin Zhai, John P Pribis, Sean W Dooling, Libertad Garcia-Villada, P J Minnick, Jun Xia, Jingjing Liu, Qian Mei, Devon M Fitzgerald, Christophe Herman, P J Hastings, Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Susan M Rosenberg

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Evolution of antibiotic resistance is a world health crisis, fueled by new mutations. Drugs to slow mutagenesis could, as cotherapies, prolong the shelf-life of antibiotics, yet evolution-slowing drugs and drug targets have been underexplored and ineffective. Here, we used a network-based strategy to identify drugs that block hubs of fluoroquinolone antibiotic-induced mutagenesis. We identify a U.S. Food and Drug Administration- and European Medicines Agency-approved drug, dequalinium chloride (DEQ), that inhibits activation of the

Targeted Therapy With The Mutant Idh2 Inhibitor Enasidenib For High-Risk Idh2-Mutant Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Courtney D Dinardo, Sangeetha Venugopal, Curtis Lachowiez, Koichi Takahashi, Sanam Loghavi, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Xuemei Wang, Hetty Carraway, Mikkael Sekeres, Ameenah Sukkur, Danielle Hammond, Kelly Chien, Abhishek Maiti, Lucia Masarova, Koji Sasaki, Yesid Alvarado, Tapan Kadia, Nicholas J Short, Naval Daver, Gautam Borthakur, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop M Kantarjian, Bhumika Patel, Amy Dezern, Gail Roboz, Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The isocitrate dehydrogenase enzyme 2 (IDH2) gene is mutated in ∼5% of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Enasidenib is an oral, selective, mutant IDH2 inhibitor approved for IDH2-mutated (mIDH2) relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia. We designed a 2-arm multicenter study to evaluate safety and efficacy of (A) the combination of enasidenib with azacitidine for newly diagnosed mIDH2 MDS, and (B) enasidenib monotherapy for mIDH2 MDS after prior hypomethylating agent (HMA) therapy. Fifty patients with mIDH2 MDS enrolled: 27 in arm A and 23 in arm B. Median age of patients was 73 years. The most common adverse events were neutropenia (40%), …

Whole Genome Analysis For 163 Grnas In Cas9-Edited Mice Reveals Minimal Off-Target Activity, Kevin A Peterson, Sam Khalouei, Nour Hanafi, Joshua A Wood, Denise G Lanza, Lauri G Lintott, Brandon J Willis, John R Seavitt, Robert E Braun, Mary E Dickinson, Jacqueline K White, K C Kent Lloyd, Jason D Heaney, Stephen A Murray, Arun Ramani, Lauryl M J Nutter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Genome editing with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins holds exceptional promise for "correcting" variants causing genetic disease. To realize this promise, off-target genomic changes cannot occur during the editing process. Here, we use whole genome sequencing to compare the genomes of 50 Cas9-edited founder mice to 28 untreated control mice to assess the occurrence of S. pyogenes Cas9-induced off-target mutagenesis. Computational analysis of whole-genome sequencing data detects 26 unique sequence variants at 23 predicted off-target sites for 18/163 guides used. While computationally detected variants are identified in 30% (15/50) of Cas9 gene-edited founder animals, only 38% (10/26) of the variants in 8/15 …

Systematic Assessment Of The Contribution Of Structural Variants To Inherited Retinal Diseases, Shu Wen, Meng Wang, Xinye Qian, Yumei Li, Keqing Wang, Jongsu Choi, Mark E Pennesi, Paul Yang, Molly Marra, Robert K Koenekoop, Irma Lopez, Anna Matynia, Michael Gorin, Ruifang Sui, Fengxia Yao, Kerry Goetz, Fernanda Belga Ottoni Porto, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite increasing success in determining genetic diagnosis for patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), mutations in about 30% of the IRD cases remain unclear or unsettled after targeted gene panel or whole exome sequencing. In this study, we aimed to investigate the contributions of structural variants (SVs) to settling the molecular diagnosis of IRD with whole-genome sequencing (WGS). A cohort of 755 IRD patients whose pathogenic mutations remain undefined were subjected to WGS. Four SV calling algorithms including include MANTA, DELLY, LUMPY and CNVnator were used to detect SVs throughout the genome. All SVs identified by any one of these …

Tubectomy With Delayed Oophorectomy As An Alternative To Risk-Reducing Salpingo-Oophorectomy In High-Risk Women To Assess The Safety Of Prevention: The Tuba-Wisp Ii Study Protocol, Miranda P Steenbeek, Majke H D Van Bommel, Joanna Inthout, Christine B Peterson, Michiel Simons, Kit C B Roes, Marleen Kets, Barbara M Norquist, Elizabeth M Swisher, Rosella P M G Hermens, Tuba-Wisp Ii Consortium, Karen H Lu, Joanne A De Hullu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Risk-reducing salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy has gained interest for individuals at high risk for tubo-ovarian cancer as there is compelling evidence that especially high-grade serous carcinoma originates in the fallopian tubes. Two studies have demonstrated a positive effect of salpingectomy on menopause-related quality of life and sexual health compared with standard risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy.

Primary objective: To investigate whether salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy is non-inferior to the current standard salpingo-oophorectomy for the prevention of tubo-ovarian cancer among individuals at high inherited risk.

Study hypothesis: We hypothesize that postponement of oophorectomy after salpingectomy, to the age of 40-45 (BRCA1) …

The Role Of Native Cysteine Residues In The Oligomerization Of Kcnq1 Channels, Alison Bates, Rebecca B Stowe, Elizabeth M Travis, Lauryn E Cook, Carole Dabney-Smith, Gary A Lorigan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KCNQ1, the major component of the slow-delayed rectifier potassium channel, is responsible for repolarization of cardiac action potential. Mutations in this channel can lead to a variety of diseases, most notably long QT syndrome. It is currently unknown how many of these mutations change channel function and structure on a molecular level. Since tetramerization is key to proper function and structure of the channel, it is likely that mutations modify the stability of KCNQ1 oligomers. Presently, the C-terminal domain of KCNQ1 has been noted as the driving force for oligomer formation. However, truncated versions of this protein lacking the C-terminal …

Rare Penetrant Mutations Confer Severe Risk Of Common Diseases, Petko P Fiziev, Jeremy Mcrae, Jacob C Ulirsch, Jacqueline S Dron, Tobias Hamp, Yanshen Yang, Pierrick Wainschtein, Zijian Ni, Joshua G Schraiber, Hong Gao, Dylan Cable, Yair Field, Francois Aguet, Marc Fasnacht, Ahmed Metwally, Jeffrey Rogers, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Heidi L Rehm, Anne O'Donnell-Luria, Amit V Khera, Kyle Kai-How Farh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We examined 454,712 exomes for genes associated with a wide spectrum of complex traits and common diseases and observed that rare, penetrant mutations in genes implicated by genome-wide association studies confer ~10-fold larger effects than common variants in the same genes. Consequently, an individual at the phenotypic extreme and at the greatest risk for severe, early-onset disease is better identified by a few rare penetrant variants than by the collective action of many common variants with weak effects. By combining rare variants across phenotype-associated genes into a unified genetic risk model, we demonstrate superior portability across diverse global populations compared …

An Fbn1 Deep Intronic Variant Is Associated With Pseudoexon Formation And A Variable Marfan Phenotype In A Five Generation Family, Dong-Chuan Guo, Xueyan Duan, Kathleen Mimnagh, Alana C Cecchi, Isabella C Marin, Yang Yu, Walter V Velasco, Kwanghyuk Lee, Xue Zhu, David R Murdock, Suzanne M Leal, Marsha M Wheeler, Josh Smith, Michael J Bamshad, Dianna M Milewicz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Exome sequencing of genes associated with heritable thoracic aortic disease (HTAD) failed to identify a pathogenic variant in a large family with Marfan syndrome (MFS). A genome-wide linkage analysis for thoracic aortic disease identified a peak at 15q21.1, and genome sequencing identified a novel deep intronic FBN1 variant that segregated with thoracic aortic disease in the family (LOD score 2.7) and was predicted to alter splicing. RT-PCR and bulk RNA sequencing of RNA harvested from fibroblasts explanted from the affected proband revealed an insertion of a pseudoexon between exons 13 and 14 of the FBN1 transcript, predicted to lead to …

Genotypic And Phenotypic Spectrum Of Infantile Liver Failure Due To Pathogenic Trmu Variants, Georg F Vogel, Yael Mozer-Glassberg, Yuval E Landau, Lea D Schlieben, Holger Prokisch, René G Feichtinger, Johannes A Mayr, Heiko Brennenstuhl, Julian Schröter, Agnes Pechlaner, Fowzan S Alkuraya, Joshua J Baker, Giulia Barcia, Ivo Baric, Nancy Braverman, Birute Burnyte, John Christodoulou, Elzbieta Ciara, David Coman, Anibh M Das, Niklas Darin, Adela Della Marina, Felix Distelmaier, Erik A Eklund, Melike Ersoy, Weiyan Fang, Pauline Gaignard, Rebecca D Ganetzky, Emmanuel Gonzales, Caoimhe Howard, Joanne Hughes, Vassiliki Konstantopoulou, Melis Kose, Marina Kerr, Aneal Khan, Dominic Lenz, Robert Mcfarland, Merav Gil Margolis, Kevin Morrison, Thomas Müller, Kei Murayama, Emanuele Nicastro, Alessandra Pennisi, Heidi Peters, Dorota Piekutowska-Abramczuk, Agnès Rötig, René Santer, Fernando Scaglia, Manuel Schiff, Mohmmad Shagrani, Mark Sharrard, Claudia Soler-Alfonso, Christian Staufner, Imogen Storey, Michael Stormon, Robert W Taylor, David R Thorburn, Elisa Leao Teles, Jian-She Wang, Daniel Weghuber, Saskia Wortmann

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose: This study aimed to define the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of reversible acute liver failure (ALF) of infancy resulting from biallelic pathogenic TRMU variants and determine the role of cysteine supplementation in its treatment.

Methods: Individuals with biallelic (likely) pathogenic variants in TRMU were studied within an international retrospective collection of de-identified patient data.

Results: In 62 individuals, including 30 previously unreported cases, we described 47 (likely) pathogenic TRMU variants, of which 17 were novel, and 1 intragenic deletion. Of these 62 individuals, 42 were alive at a median age of 6.8 (0.6-22) years after a median follow-up of …

Long Noncoding Rna Expression Independently Predicts Outcome In Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia., Jason E. Farrar, Jenny L. Smith, Megan Othus, Benjamin J. Huang, Yi-Cheng Wang, Rhonda Ries, Tiffany Hylkema, Era L. Pogosova-Agadjanyan, Sneha Challa, Amanda Leonti, Timothy I. Shaw, Timothy J. Triche, Alan S. Gamis, Richard Aplenc, E Anders Kolb, Xiaotu Ma, Derek L. Stirewalt, Todd A. Alonzo, Soheil Meshinchi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Purpose: Optimized strategies for risk classification are essential to tailor therapy for patients with biologically distinctive disease. Risk classification in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (pAML) relies on detection of translocations and gene mutations. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) transcripts have been shown to associate with and mediate malignant phenotypes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) but have not been comprehensively evaluated in pAML.

Methods: To identify lncRNA transcripts associated with outcomes, we evaluated the annotated lncRNA landscape by transcript sequencing of 1,298 pediatric and 96 adult AML specimens. Upregulated lncRNAs identified in the pAML training set were used to establish a regularized …

Metabolic Adaptation To Consume Butyrate Under Prolonged Resource Exhaustion, Sophia Katz, Claudia Grajeda-Iglesias, Bella Agranovich, Alia Ghrayeb, Ifat Abramovich, Sabrin Hilau, Eyal Gottlieb, Ruth Hershberg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bacteria must often survive following the exhaustion of their external growth resources. Fitting with this need, many bacterial species that cannot sporulate, can enter a state known as long term stationary phase (LTSP) in which they can persist for years within spent media. Several recent studies have revealed the dynamics of genetic adaptation of Escherichia coli under LTSP. Yet, the metabolic consequences of such genetic adaptation were not addressed. Here, we characterized the metabolic changes LTSP populations experience, over the first 32 days under LTSP. This allowed us to link genetic adaptations observed in a convergent manner across LTSP populations …

Causal Linkage Of Presence Of Mutant Npm1 To Efficacy Of Novel Therapeutic Agents Against Aml Cells With Mutant Npm1, Christopher P Mill, Warren Fiskus, Kaberi Das, John A Davis, Christine E Birdwell, Tapan M Kadia, Courtney D Dinardo, Naval Daver, Koichi Takahashi, Koji Sasaki, Gerard M Mcgeehan, Xinjia Ruan, Xiaoping Su, Sanam Loghavi, Hagop Kantarjian, Kapil N Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In AML with NPM1 mutation causing cytoplasmic dislocation of NPM1, treatments with Menin inhibitor (MI) and standard AML chemotherapy yield complete remissions. However, the causal and mechanistic linkage of mtNPM1 to the efficacy of these agents has not been definitively established. Utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 editing to knockout (KO) or knock-in a copy of mtNPM1 in AML cells, present studies demonstrate that KO of mtNPM1 from AML cells abrogates sensitivity to MI, selinexor (exportin-1 inhibitor), and cytarabine. Conversely, the knock-in of a copy of mtNPM1 markedly sensitized AML cells to treatment with MI or cytarabine. Following AML therapy, most elderly patients with …

Flt3 Inhibitors Upregulate Cxcr4 And E-Selectin Ligands Via Erk Suppression In Aml Cells And Cxcr4/E-Selectin Inhibition Enhances Anti-Leukemia Efficacy Of Flt3-Targeted Therapy In Aml, Yannan Jia, Weiguo Zhang, Mahesh Basyal, Kyung Hee Chang, Lauren Ostermann, Jared K Burks, Charlie Ly, Hong Mu-Mosley, Qi Zhang, Xin Han, William E Fogler, John L Magnani, Arnaud Lesegretain, Anna A Zal, Tomasz Zal, Michael Andreeff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Implications Of Tumor-Based Next-Generation Sequencing In High-Grade Epithelial Ovarian Cancer, Katherine I Foster, Kenna R M Shaw, Jeff Jin, Shannon N Westin, Timothy A Yap, Deanna M Glassman, Amir A Jazaeri, Jose A Rauh-Hain, Sanghoon Lee, Bryan M Fellman, Zhenlin Ju, Yuexin Liu, Nicole D Fleming, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Tumor-based next-generation sequencing is used inconsistently as a tool to tailor treatment of ovarian cancer, yet beyond detection of somatic BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, the clinical benefit is not well established. This study aimed to assess the clinical relevance of tumor-based next-generation sequencing (tbNGS) in patients with ovarian cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with high-grade epithelial ovarian carcinoma. tbNGS results were identified in the electronic medical record using optical character recognition and natural language processing. Genetic, clinical, and demographic information was collected. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were calculated and compared using log-rank tests. Multivariate Cox …

Concomitant Targeting Of Flt3 And Btk Overcomes Flt3 Inhibitor Resistance In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Through The Inhibition Of Autophagy, Weiguo Zhang, Guopan Yu, Hongying Zhang, Mahesh Basyal, Charlie Ly, Bin Yuan, Vivian Ruvolo, Sujan Piya, Seemana Bhattacharya, Qi Zhang, Gautam Borthakur, Venkata Battula, Marina Konopleva, William G Rice, Michael Andreeff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Strategies to overcome resistance to FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-targeted therapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are urgently needed. We identified autophagy as one of the resistance mechanisms, induced by hypoxia and the bone marrow microenvironment via activation of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). Suppressing autophagy/BTK sensitized FLT3- mutated AML to FLT3 inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, co-targeting FLT3/BTK/aurora kinases with a novel multikinase inhibitor CG-806 (luxeptinib) induced profound apoptosis in FLT3-mutated AML by co-suppressing FLT3/BTK, antagonizing autophagy, and causing leukemia cell death in FLT3-wildtype AML by aurora kinase-mediated G2/M arrest and polyploidy, in addition to FLT3 inhibition. Thus, CG-806 exerted profound anti-leukemia …

Circulating Succinate-Modifying Metabolites Accurately Classify And Reflect The Status Of Fumarate Hydratase-Deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma, Liang Zheng, Zi-Ran Zhu, Tal Sneh, Wei-Tuo Zhang, Zao-Yu Wang, Guang-Yu Wu, Wei He, Hong-Gang Qi, Hang Wang, Xiao-Yu Wu, Jonatan Fernández-García, Ifat Abramovich, Yun-Ze Xu, Jin Zhang, Eyal Gottlieb

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Germline or somatic loss-of-function mutations of fumarate hydratase (FH) predispose patients to an aggressive form of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Since other than tumor resection there is no effective therapy for metastatic FH-deficient RCC, an accurate method for early diagnosis is needed. Although MRI or CT scans are offered, they cannot differentiate FH-deficient tumors from other RCCs. Therefore, finding noninvasive plasma biomarkers suitable for rapid diagnosis, screening, and surveillance would improve clinical outcomes. Taking advantage of the robust metabolic rewiring that occurs in FH-deficient cells, we performed plasma metabolomics analysis and identified 2 tumor-derived metabolites, succinyl-adenosine and succinic-cysteine, as excellent …

Enhanced Evasion Of Neutralizing Antibody Response By Omicron Xbb15, Ch11, And Ca31 Variants, Panke Qu, Julia N Faraone, John P Evans, Yi-Min Zheng, Claire Carlin, Mirela Anghelina, Patrick Stevens, Soledad Fernandez, Daniel Jones, Ashish R Panchal, Linda J Saif, Eugene M Oltz, Baoshan Zhang, Tongqing Zhou, Kai Xu, Richard J Gumina, Shan-Lu Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Omicron subvariants continuingly challenge current vaccination strategies. Here, we demonstrate nearly complete escape of the XBB.1.5, CH.1.1, and CA.3.1 variants from neutralizing antibodies stimulated by three doses of mRNA vaccine or by BA.4/5 wave infection, but neutralization is rescued by a BA.5-containing bivalent booster. CH.1.1 and CA.3.1 show strong immune escape from monoclonal antibody S309. Additionally, XBB.1.5, CH.1.1, and CA.3.1 spike proteins exhibit increased fusogenicity and enhanced processing compared with BA.2. Homology modeling reveals the key roles of G252V and F486P in the neutralization resistance of XBB.1.5, with F486P also enhancing receptor binding. Further, K444T/M and L452R in CH.1.1 and …