scholarly journals Factors Associated with Mutations: Their Matching Rates to Cardiovascular and Neurological Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5057
Author(s):  
Hannah B. Lucas ◽  
Ian McKnight ◽  
Regan Raines ◽  
Abdullah Hijazi ◽  
Christoph Hart ◽  
...  

Monogenic hypertension is rare and caused by genetic mutations, but whether factors associated with mutations are disease-specific remains uncertain. Given two factors associated with high mutation rates, we tested how many previously known genes match with (i) proximity to telomeres or (ii) high adenine and thymine content in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) related to vascular stiffening. We extracted genomic information using a genome data viewer. In human chromosomes, 64 of 79 genetic loci involving >25 rare mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms satisfied (i) or (ii), resulting in an 81% matching rate. However, this high matching rate was no longer observed as we checked the two factors in genes associated with essential hypertension (EH), thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), and congenital heart disease (CHD), resulting in matching rates of 53%, 70%, and 75%, respectively. A matching of telomere proximity or high adenine and thymine content projects the list of loci involving rare mutations of monogenic hypertension better than those of other CVDs, likely due to adoption of rigorous criteria for true-positive signals. Our data suggest that the factor–disease matching rate is an accurate tool that can explain deleterious mutations of monogenic hypertension at a >80% match—unlike the relatively lower matching rates found in human genes of EH, TAA, CHD, and familial Parkinson’s disease.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaida Ning ◽  
Ben A. Duffy ◽  
Meredith Franklin ◽  
Will Matloff ◽  
Lu Zhao ◽  
...  

AbstractBrain aging trajectories among those of the same chronological age can vary significantly. Statistical models have been created for estimating the apparent age of the brain, or predicted brain age, with imaging data. Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown the potential to more accurately predict brain age. We trained a CNN on 16,998 UK Biobank subjects, and in validation tests found that it was more accurate than a regression model for predicting brain age. A genome-wide association study was conducted on CNN-derived predicted brain age whereby we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms from four independent loci significantly associated with brain aging. One locus has been previously reported to be associated with brain aging. The three other loci were novel. Our results suggest that a more accurate brain age prediction enables the discovery of novel genetic associations, which may be valuable for identifying other lifestyle factors associated with brain aging.


Hypertension ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McKnight ◽  
Regan Raines ◽  
Hunter White ◽  
Joon W Shim

Hypertension remains the single biggest risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease and mortality. Despite the prevalence of individuals with elevated blood pressure, the role of genetics in hypertension is poorly understood. We have recently demonstrated that mutations causative to the congenital disorder can be projected by a stochastic approach centered on chromosomal characteristics of proximity to telomeres (F(i)) and adenine and thymine (A+T) content (F(ii)). Here, we investigated the two chromosomal factors, F(i) and F(ii), to determine whether they are associated with high mutation rates in human genes related to essential and monogenic hypertension (MH). In essential hypertension, the mismatch of two factors and the disease as well as the correlation between the full-length size of the genes and A+T content was either unexpectedly low (~53%) or statistically insignificant. When we examined 79 genes susceptible to MH and contributing to the genetic architecture of hypertension focusing on the factor-disease matching rate, 64 of 79 genes exclusively satisfied either the F(i) or F(ii) condition. Unlike the previous study on essential hypertension, a quarter of these genes displayed high A+T content at higher than 59%. 16% of genes (13 of 79) associated with hypertension met neither F(i) nor F(ii). Furthermore, 2 of 79 genes met both F(i) and F(ii). Our analysis suggests that these two factors can explain the cause of genetic mutations in 79 loci proposed in MH roughly at an 80% rate. In comparison, these two factors proposed can only explain the cause of idiopathic disease such as essential hypertension at a rate comparable to flipping a coin (50 %). The proposed genomic analyses demonstrate an intermediate matching rate or a mediocre predictability (~75% or less) between the cause of genetic mutations and the disease in the cases of congenital heart disease, thoracic aortic aneurysm, and age-related degenerative disorder.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174749302110062
Author(s):  
Bin Yan ◽  
Jian Yang ◽  
Li Qian ◽  
Fengjie Gao ◽  
Ling Bai ◽  
...  

Background: Observational studies have found an association between visceral adiposity and stroke. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and genetic effect of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) accumulation on stroke and its subtypes. Methods: In this two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study, genetic variants (221 single nucleotide polymorphisms; P<5×10-8) using as instrumental variables for MR analysis was obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of VAT. The outcome datasets for stroke and its subtypes were obtained from the MEGASTROKE consortium (up to 67,162 cases and 453,702 controls). MR standard analysis (inverse variance weighted method) was conducted to investigate the effect of genetic liability to visceral adiposity on stroke and its subtypes. Sensitivity analysis (MR-Egger, weighted median, MR-PRESSO) were also utilized to assess horizontal pleiotropy and remove outliers. Multi-variable MR analysis was employed to adjust potential confounders. Results: In the standard MR analysis, genetically determined visceral adiposity (per 1 SD) was significantly associated with a higher risk of stroke (odds ratio [OR] 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-1.41, P=1.48×10-11), ischemic stroke (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.20-1.41, P=4.01×10-10), and large artery stroke (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.22-1.83, P=1.16×10-4). The significant association was also found in sensitivity analysis and multi-variable MR analysis. Conclusions: Genetic liability to visceral adiposity was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke, ischemic stroke, and large artery stroke. The effect of genetic susceptibility to visceral adiposity on the stroke warrants further investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Misbah Razzaq ◽  
Maria Jesus Iglesias ◽  
Manal Ibrahim-Kosta ◽  
Louisa Goumidi ◽  
Omar Soukarieh ◽  
...  

AbstractVenous thromboembolism is the third common cardiovascular disease and is composed of two entities, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and its potential fatal form, pulmonary embolism (PE). While PE is observed in ~ 40% of patients with documented DVT, there is limited biomarkers that can help identifying patients at high PE risk. To fill this need, we implemented a two hidden-layers artificial neural networks (ANN) on 376 antibodies and 19 biological traits measured in the plasma of 1388 DVT patients, with or without PE, of the MARTHA study. We used the LIME algorithm to obtain a linear approximate of the resulting ANN prediction model. As MARTHA patients were typed for genotyping DNA arrays, a genome wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on the LIME estimate. Detected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were tested for association with PE risk in MARTHA. Main findings were replicated in the EOVT study composed of 143 PE patients and 196 DVT only patients. The derived ANN model for PE achieved an accuracy of 0.89 and 0.79 in our training and testing sets, respectively. A GWAS on the LIME approximate identified a strong statistical association peak (rs1424597: p = 5.3 × 10–7) at the PLXNA4 locus. Homozygote carriers for the rs1424597-A allele were then more frequently observed in PE than in DVT patients from the MARTHA (2% vs. 0.4%, p = 0.005) and the EOVT (3% vs. 0%, p = 0.013) studies. In a sample of 112 COVID-19 patients known to have endotheliopathy leading to acute lung injury and an increased risk of PE, decreased PLXNA4 levels were associated (p = 0.025) with worsened respiratory function. Using an original integrated proteomics and genetics strategy, we identified PLXNA4 as a new susceptibility gene for PE whose exact role now needs to be further elucidated.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Archana Khadgi ◽  
Courtney A. Weber

Red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is an expanding high-value berry crop worldwide. The presence of prickles, outgrowths of epidermal tissues lacking vasculature, on the canes, petioles, and undersides of leaves complicates both field management and harvest. The utilization of cultivars with fewer prickles or prickle-free canes simplifies production. A previously generated population segregating for prickles utilizing the s locus between the prickle-free cultivar Joan J (ss) and the prickled cultivar Caroline (Ss) was analyzed to identify the genomic region associated with prickle development in red raspberry. Genotype by sequencing (GBS) was combined with a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using fixed and random model circulating probability unification (FarmCPU) to analyze 8474 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and identify significant markers associated with the prickle-free trait. A total of four SNPs were identified on chromosome 4 that were associated with the phenotype and were located near or in annotated genes. This study demonstrates how association genetics can be used to decipher the genetic control of important horticultural traits in Rubus, and provides valuable information about the genomic region and potential genes underlying the prickle-free trait.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Xinghai Duan ◽  
Bingxing An ◽  
Lili Du ◽  
Tianpeng Chang ◽  
Mang Liang ◽  
...  

The objective of the present study was to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for growth curve parameters using nonlinear models that fit original weight–age records. In this study, data from 808 Chinese Simmental beef cattle that were weighed at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months of age were used to fit the growth curve. The Gompertz model showed the highest coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.954). The parameters’ mature body weight (A), time-scale parameter (b), and maturity rate (K) were treated as phenotypes for single-trait GWAS and multi-trait GWAS. In total, 9, 49, and 7 significant SNPs associated with A, b, and K were identified by single-trait GWAS; 22 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by multi-trait GWAS. Among them, we observed several candidate genes, including PLIN3, KCNS3, TMCO1, PRKAG3, ANGPTL2, IGF-1, SHISA9, and STK3, which were previously reported to associate with growth and development. Further research for these candidate genes may be useful for exploring the full genetic architecture underlying growth and development traits in livestock.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Camilo E. Valenzuela ◽  
Paulina Ballesta ◽  
Sunny Ahmar ◽  
Sajid Fiaz ◽  
Parviz Heidari ◽  
...  

The agricultural and forestry productivity of Mediterranean ecosystems is strongly threatened by the adverse effects of climate change, including an increase in severe droughts and changes in rainfall distribution. In the present study, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotype blocks associated with the growth and wood quality of Eucalyptus cladocalyx, a tree species suitable for low-rainfall sites. The study was conducted in a progeny-provenance trial established in an arid site with Mediterranean patterns located in the southern Atacama Desert, Chile. A total of 87 SNPs and 3 haplotype blocks were significantly associated with the 6 traits under study (tree height, diameter at breast height, slenderness coefficient, first bifurcation height, stem straightness, and pilodyn penetration). In addition, 11 loci were identified as pleiotropic through Bayesian multivariate regression and were mainly associated with wood hardness, height, and diameter. In general, the GWAS revealed associations with genes related to primary metabolism and biosynthesis of cell wall components. Additionally, associations coinciding with stress response genes, such as GEM-related 5 and prohibitin-3, were detected. The findings of this study provide valuable information regarding genetic control of morphological traits related to adaptation to arid environments.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1231-1235 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Keers ◽  
A. E. Farmer ◽  
K. J. Aitchison

There is significant unmet need for more effective treatments for bipolar disorder. The drug discovery process is becoming prohibitively expensive. Hence, biomarker clues to assist or shortcut this process are now widely sought. Using the publicly available data from the whole genome association study conducted by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, we sought to identify groups of genetic markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in which each marker was independently associated with bipolar disorder, with a less stringent threshold than that set by the original investigators (p⩽1×10−4). We identified a group of markers occurring within the CACNA1C gene (encoding the alpha subunit of the calcium channel Cav1.2). We then ascertained that this locus had been previously associated with the disorder in both a smaller and a whole genome study, and that a number of drugs blocking this channel (including verapamil and diltiazem) had been trialled in the treatment of bipolar disorder. The dihydropyridine-based blockers such as nimodipine that bind specifically to Cav1.2 and are more penetrant to the central nervous system have shown some promising early results; however, further trials are indicated. In addition, migraine is commonly seen in affective disorder, and calcium channel antagonists are successfully used in the treatment of migraine. One such agent, flunarizine, is structurally related to other first-generation derivatives of antihistamines such as antipsychotics. This implies that flunarizine could be useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder, and, furthermore, that other currently licensed drugs should be investigated for antagonism of Cav1.2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin A. Solares ◽  
Yuan Tao ◽  
Anthony D. Long ◽  
Brandon S. Gaut

Abstract Background Despite marked recent improvements in long-read sequencing technology, the assembly of diploid genomes remains a difficult task. A major obstacle is distinguishing between alternative contigs that represent highly heterozygous regions. If primary and secondary contigs are not properly identified, the primary assembly will overrepresent both the size and complexity of the genome, which complicates downstream analysis such as scaffolding. Results Here we illustrate a new method, which we call HapSolo, that identifies secondary contigs and defines a primary assembly based on multiple pairwise contig alignment metrics. HapSolo evaluates candidate primary assemblies using BUSCO scores and then distinguishes among candidate assemblies using a cost function. The cost function can be defined by the user but by default considers the number of missing, duplicated and single BUSCO genes within the assembly. HapSolo performs hill climbing to minimize cost over thousands of candidate assemblies. We illustrate the performance of HapSolo on genome data from three species: the Chardonnay grape (Vitis vinifera), with a genome of 490 Mb, a mosquito (Anopheles funestus; 200 Mb) and the Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata; 2650 Mb). Conclusions HapSolo rapidly identified candidate assemblies that yield improvements in assembly metrics, including decreased genome size and improved N50 scores. Contig N50 scores improved by 35%, 9% and 9% for Chardonnay, mosquito and the thorny skate, respectively, relative to unreduced primary assemblies. The benefits of HapSolo were amplified by down-stream analyses, which we illustrated by scaffolding with Hi-C data. We found, for example, that prior to the application of HapSolo, only 52% of the Chardonnay genome was captured in the largest 19 scaffolds, corresponding to the number of chromosomes. After the application of HapSolo, this value increased to ~ 84%. The improvements for the mosquito’s largest three scaffolds, representing the number of chromosomes, were from 61 to 86%, and the improvement was even more pronounced for thorny skate. We compared the scaffolding results to assemblies that were based on PurgeDups for identifying secondary contigs, with generally superior results for HapSolo.


2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 863-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lindén ◽  
M Khademi ◽  
I Lima Bomfim ◽  
F Piehl ◽  
M Jagodic ◽  
...  

Background: The mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis are still largely unknown. The heterogeneity of disease manifestations make the prediction of prognosis and choice of appropriate treatment protocols challenging. Recently, increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of the B-cell chemokine CXCL13 was proposed as a possible marker for a more severe disease course and conversion from clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS). Objective: To investigate whether there are genetic susceptibility variants in MS that correlate with the levels of CXCL13 present in the CSF of MS patients. Methods: We genotyped the human leukocyte antigens HLA-DRB1 and HLA-A, plus a panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that have been associated with susceptibility to MS and then correlated the genotypes with the levels of CXCL13, as measured with ELISA in the CSF of a total of 663 patients with MS, CIS, other neurological diseases (OND) or OND with an inflammatory component (iOND). Results: Presence of the HLA-DRB1*15 and the MS risk genotypes for SNPs in the RGS1, IRF5 and OLIG3/TNFAIP3 gene regions correlated significantly with increased levels of CXCL13. Conclusion: Our results pointed towards a genetic predisposition for increased CXCL13 levels, which in MS patients correlates with the severity of the disease course. These findings encourage further investigation and replication, in an independent patient cohort.


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