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Malignant melanoma is a difficult-to-treat skin cancer with increasing incidence worldwide. Although type-I interferon (IFN) is no longer part of guidelines, several melanoma patients are treated with type-I interferon (IFN) at some point of the disease, potentially affecting its genetic progression. We run genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) analysis on previously type-I IFN-treated (n = 17) and control (n = 11) visceral metastases of melanoma patients. Results were completed with data from the TCGA and MM500 databases. We identified metastasis- and brain metastasis-specific gene signatures mostly affected by CN gains. Some cases were genetically resistant to IFN showing characteristic gene alterations (e.g. ABCA4 or ZEB2 gain and alterations of DNA repair genes). Analysis of a previously identified type-I IFN resistance gene set indicates that only a proportion of these genes was exclusive for the IFN-treated metastases reflecting a possible selective genomic pressure of endogenous IFNs during progression. Our data suggest that previous type-I IFN treatment and/or endogenous IFN production by immune response affect genomic progression of melanoma which may have clinical relevance, potentially influence immune checkpoint regulation in the tumor microenvironment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐pass whole genome sequencing (LP‐WGS) has been applied as alternative method to detect copy number variants (CNVs) in the clinical setting. Compared with chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), the sequencing‐based approach provides a similar resolution of CNV detection at a lower cost. In this study, we assessed the efficiency and reliability of LP‐WGS as a more affordable alternative to CMA. A total of 1363 patients with unexplained neurodevelopmental delay/intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, and/or multiple congenital anomalies were enrolled. Those patients were referred from 15 nonprofit organizations and university centers located in different states in Brazil. The analysis of LP‐WGS at 1x coverage (>50kb) revealed a positive testing result in 22% of the cases (304/1363), in which 219 and 85 correspond to pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) CNVs and variants of uncertain significance (VUS), respectively. The 16% (219/1363) diagnostic yield observed in our cohort is comparable to the 15%–20% reported for CMA in the literature. The use of commercial software, as demonstrated in this study, simplifies the implementation of the test in clinical settings. Particularly for countries like Brazil, where the cost of CMA presents a substantial barrier to most of the population, LP‐WGS emerges as a cost‐effective alternative for investigating copy number changes in cytogenetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence challenges the belief that individuals who are Duffy-negative are resistant to Plasmodium vivax due to lacking the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines. Erythrocyte-binding protein (EBP/DBP2) has shown moderate binding to Duffy-negative erythrocytes in vitro. Reticulocyte-binding protein 2b (RBP2b) interactions with transferrin receptor 1 suggest involvement in Duffy-negative infections. Gene copy number variations in PvDBP1 , PvEBP / DBP2 , and PvRBP2b were investigated in Duffy-positive and Duffy-negative P vivax infections from Ethiopia. Among Duffy-positive samples, 34% displayed PvDBP1 duplications (Cambodian type). In Duffy-negative infections, 30% showed duplications, mostly Cambodian type. For PvEBP / DBP2 and PvRBP2b , Duffy-positive samples exhibited higher duplication rates (1–8 copies for PvEBP / DBP2 , 46%; 1–5 copies for PvRBP2b , 43%) as compared with Duffy-negative samples (20.8% and 26%, respectively). The range of copy number variations was lower in Duffy-negative infections. Demographic and clinical factors associated with gene multiplications in both Duffy types were explored, enhancing understanding of P vivax evolution in Africans who are Duffy negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repetitive genome regions, such as variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) or short tandem repeats (STR), are major constituents of the uncharted dark genome and evade conventional sequencing approaches. The protein-coding LPA kringle IV type-2 (KIV-2) VNTR (5.6 kb per unit, 1–40 units per allele) is a medically highly relevant example with a particularly intricate structure, multiple haplotypes, intragenic homologies, and an intra-VNTR STR. It is the primary regulator of plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations, an important cardiovascular risk factor. Lp(a) concentrations vary widely between individuals and ancestries. Multiple variants and functional haplotypes in the LPA gene and especially in the KIV-2 VNTR strongly contribute to this variance. Methods: We evaluated the performance of amplicon-based nanopore sequencing with unique molecular identifiers (UMI-ONT-Seq) for SNP detection, haplotype mapping, VNTR unit consensus sequence generation, and copy number estimation via coverage-corrected haplotypes quantification in the KIV-2 VNTR. We used 15 human samples and low-level mixtures (0.5 to 5%) of KIV-2 plasmids as a validation set. We then applied UMI-ONT-Seq to extract KIV-2 VNTR haplotypes in 48 multi-ancestry 1000 Genome samples and analyzed at scale a poorly characterized STR within the KIV-2 VNTR. Results: UMI-ONT-Seq detected KIV-2 SNPs down to 1% variant level with high sensitivity, specificity, and precision (0.977 ± 0.018; 1.000 ± 0.0005; 0.993 ± 0.02) and accurately retrieved the full-length haplotype of each VNTR unit. Human variant levels were highly correlated with next-generation sequencing (R2 = 0.983) without bias across the whole variant level range. Six reads per UMI produced sequences of each KIV-2 unit with Q40 quality. The KIV-2 repeat number determined by coverage-corrected unique haplotype counting was in close agreement with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), with 70% of the samples falling even within the narrow confidence interval of ddPCR. We then analyzed 62,679 intra-KIV-2 STR sequences and explored KIV-2 SNP haplotype patterns across five ancestries. Conclusions: UMI-ONT-Seq accurately retrieves the SNP haplotype and precisely quantifies the VNTR copy number of each repeat unit of the complex KIV-2 VNTR region across multiple ancestries. This study utilizes the KIV-2 VNTR, presenting a novel and potent tool for comprehensive characterization of medically relevant complex genome regions at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Invasive prenatal testing with chromosomal microarray analysis after first-trimester screening is a relevant option but there is still debate regarding the indications. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of numerical chromosomal aberrations detected by classic karyotype and clinically relevant copy number variants (CNVs) in prenatal samples using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) stratified to NT thickness: 4.5 mm, and by the presence/absence of associated structural anomalies detected by ultrasonography. Materials and Methods: Retrospective cohort study carried out at two tertiary Polish centers for prenatal diagnosis (national healthcare system) in central and south regions from January 2018 to December 2021. A total of 1746 prenatal samples were received. Indications for invasive prenatal testing included high risk of Down syndrome in the first-trimester combined test (n = 1484) and advanced maternal age (n = 69), and, in 193 cases, other reasons, such as parental request, family history of congenital defects, and genetic mutation carrier, were given. DNA was extracted directly from amniotic fluid (n = 1582) cells and chorionic villus samples (n = 164), and examined with classic karyotype and aCGH. Results: Of the entire cohort of 1746 fetuses, classical karyotype revealed numerical chromosomal aberrations in 334 fetuses (19.1%), and aCGH detected CNV in 5% (n = 87). The frequency of numerical chromosomal aberrations increased with NT thickness from 5.9% for fetuses with NT < p95th to 43.3% for those with NT > 4.5 mm. The highest rate of numerical aberrations was observed in fetuses with NT > 4.5 mm having at least one structural anomaly (50.2%). CNVs stratified by NT thickness were detected in 2.9%, 2.9%, 3.5%, 4.3%, 12.2%, and 9.0% of fetuses with NT < 95th percentile, 95th percentile–2.9 mm, 3.0–3.4 mm, 3.5–3.9 mm, 4.0–4.5 mm, and >4.5 mm, respectively. After exclusion of fetuses with structural anomalies and numerical aberrations, aCGH revealed CNVs in 2.0% of fetuses with NT < 95th percentile, 1.5% with NTp95–2.9 mm, 1.3% with NT 3.0–3.4 mm, 5.4% with NT 3.5–3.9 mm, 19.0% with NT 4.0–4.5 mm, and 14.8% with NT > 4.5 mm. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study indicates that performing aCGH in samples referred to invasive prenatal testing after first-trimester screening provides additional clinically valuable information over conventional karyotyping, even in cases with normal NT and anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Our aim was to examine the prenatal profiles of pregnancies affected by an atypical chromosomal aberration, focusing on pathogenic copy‐number variants (pCNVs). We also wanted to quantify the performance of combined first‐trimester screening (cFTS) and a second‐trimester anomaly scan in detecting these aberrations. Finally, we aimed to estimate the consequences of a policy of using non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) rather than invasive testing with chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) to manage pregnancies identified as high risk by cFTS. Methods: This was a retrospective review of the Danish Fetal Medicine Database of all pregnant women who underwent cFTS and a risk assessment for trisomy 21 between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2018. Chromosomal aberrations diagnosed prenatally, postnatally or from fetal tissue following pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy were identified. Chromosomal aberrations were grouped into one of six categories: triploidy; common trisomy (13, 18 or 21); monosomy X; other sex‐chromosome aberration (SCA); pCNV; and rare autosomal trisomy (RAT) or mosaicism. The prevalence of each aberration category was stratified by the individual cFTS markers and trisomy 21 risk estimate, and the size of each pCNV diagnosed by CMA was calculated. Results: We retrieved data on 565 708 pregnancies, of which 3982 (0.70%) were diagnosed with a fetal chromosomal aberration. cFTS identified 87% of the common trisomies, but it also performed well in identifying triploidies (86%), monosomy X (92%), atypical SCAs (58%) and RATs or mosaicisms (70%). pCNVs comprised 27% (n = 1091) of the chromosomal aberrations diagnosed overall, and the prevalence increased during the study period, as prenatal CMA was increasingly being performed. In pregnancies with a maternal age < 30 years, nuchal translucency (NT) thickness ≤ 95th centile, pregnancy‐associated plasma protein‐A (PAPP‐A) ≥ 1 multiple of the median, or trisomy 21 risk of ≤ 1 in 1000, the prevalence of pCNVs exceeded significantly the prevalence of trisomies 21, 18 and 13. Pregnancies affected by a pCNV had significantly increased NT and decreased levels of the maternal biomarkers PAPP‐A and β‐human chorionic gonadotropin compared with unaffected pregnancies. However, only 23% of these pregnancies screened positive on cFTS and 51% of pCNVs were not detected until after birth. Among high‐risk pregnancies, pCNVs comprised 14% of diagnosed aberrations, and when other atypical aberrations were considered, conventional NIPT (screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 and monosomy X) would miss 27% of all pathogenic aberrations diagnosed from invasive testing following a high‐risk cFTS result. Thus, 1 in 26 pregnancies at high risk following cFTS would be affected by a chromosomal aberration despite a normal result from conventional NIPT. In a contingent screening model using NIPT for the 'intermediate'‐risk group (trisomy 21 risk of 1 in 100–299), 50% of the aberrations would be missed. In our cohort, 79% of the pCNVs diagnosed were < 5Mb and therefore not detectable using current forms of 'genome‐wide' NIPT. Conclusions: As a by‐product of screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13, most triploidies and the majority of atypical SCAs, RATs and mosaicisms are detected before birth. However, only 23% of pCNVs are associated with a high‐risk result according to cFTS and only half are diagnosed before birth. Replacing invasive testing with NIPT for high‐risk pregnancies would substantially decrease the first‐trimester detection of pathogenic chromosomal anomalies. © 2024 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) disease stability after brolucizumab treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 31 patients (31 eyes) with recalcitrant nAMD who were switched to brolucizumab after conventional anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment. We divided patients into two groups by treatment extension (TE) period: group 1 with TE < 12 weeks (N = 16) and group 2 with TE ≥ 12 weeks (N = 15). We compared outcomes between the groups at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, including morphological characteristics of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Logistic regression analysis identified factors associated with TE ≥ 12 weeks. Results: Group 2 had a significantly greater proportion of patients with dry macula (subretinal and intraretinal fluids absent) than group 1 (60 vs. 12.5%) at 2 weeks (P < 0.05). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) did not differ significantly between groups at all timepoints. Central subfield retinal thickness (CST) was significantly lower in group 2 at 2 (237.1 vs. 280.8 μm; P < 0.05), 4 (224.0 vs. 262.9 μm; P < 0.05), and 8 weeks (216.8 vs. 331.1 μm; P < 0.05). Group 2 had less vessel area (0.63 vs. 1.27 mm2; P < 0.05) and total vessel length (0.22 vs. 0.42 mm; P < 0.05). Choriocapillaris flow deficit (CCFd) was significantly lower in group 2 (42.7 vs. 48.2%; P < 0.05). Dry macula at 2 weeks (odds ratio [OR] = 8.3; P < 0.05) and a lower CCFd (OR = 0.73; P < 0.05) were associated with TE ≥ 12 weeks. Conclusions: Early fluid-free status after switching to brolucizumab and choriocapillary function around CNV were prognostic factors for disease stability in nAMD refractory to anti-VEGF treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deception often occurs in response to a preceding cue (e.g., a precarious question) alerting us about the need to subsequently lie. Here, we simulate this process by adapting a previously established paradigm of intentionally false responding, now instructing participants about the need for deception (vs. truthful responses) by means of a simple cue occurring before each response‐relevant target. We analyzed event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) as well as cortical oscillations recorded from the scalp. In an experimental study (N = 44), we show that a cue signaling the need for deception involves increased attentional selection (P2, P3a, P3b). Moreover, in the period following the cue and leading up to the target, ERP and oscillatory signatures of anticipation and preparation (Contingent Negative Variation, alpha suppression) were found to be increased during trials requiring a deceptive as compared to a truthful response. Additionally, we replicated earlier findings that target processing involves enhanced motivated attention toward words requiring a deceptive response (LPC). Moreover, a signature of integration effort and semantic inhibition (N400) was observed to be larger for words to which responses have to be intentionally false as compared to those to which responses must be truthful. Our findings support the view of the involvement of a series of basic cognitive processes (especially attention and cognitive control) when responses are deliberately wrong instead of right. Moreover, preceding cues signaling the subsequent need for lying already elicit attentional and preparatory mechanisms facilitating the cognitive operations necessary for later successful lying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The ANGPT1 gene is crucial for angiogenesis and muscle growth. This study analyzed three ANGPT1 copy number variations (CNVs) in 417 Leizhou black goats using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Specifically, CNV-1 (ARS1_chr14:24950001-24953600), which overlaps with protein-coding regions, showed that a higher copy number (≥3) was significantly associated with increased ANGPT1 mRNA expression in muscle and improved traits such as carcass weight and muscle quality. These results suggest CNV-1's gain-of-copies genotype could be an effective marker for enhancing growth and meat quality in targeted breeding programs. The ANGPT1 gene plays a crucial role in the regulation of angiogenesis and muscle growth, with previous studies identifying copy number variations (CNVs) within this gene among Leizhou black goats. In this study, we investigated three ANGPT1 CNVs in 417 individuals of LZBG using quantitative PCR (qPCR), examining the impact of different CNV types on the ANGPT1 gene expression and their associations with growth and meat quality traits. Notably, the ANGPT1 CNV-1 (ARS1_chr14:24950001-24953600) overlaps with protein-coding regions and conserved domains; its gain-of-copies genotype (copies ≥ 3) was significantly correlated with ANGPT1 mRNA expression in muscle tissue (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the gain-of-copies genotype of CNV-1 demonstrated significant correlations with various phenotypic traits, including carcass weight, body weight, shear stress, chest circumference, and cross-sectional area of longissimus dorsi muscle. These findings indicate that the CNV-1 gain-of-copies genotype in the ANGPT1 gene may serve as a valuable marker for selecting Leizhou black goats exhibiting enhanced growth and muscular development characteristics, thereby holding potential applications in targeted breeding programs aimed at improving meat quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we conducted genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) analysis using next-generation sequencing data from Large White (LW) and Minzhu (MZ) pigs and integrated transcriptomic data from dorsal adipose tissues of 180-day-old LW and MZ pigs for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis. Among the identified CNVs, the transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 (TGFBR3) gene was found to be associated with back fat thickness (BFT), with a dose effect observed between the TGFBR3 gene at the genomic and transcriptomic levels. In vitro experiments further demonstrated that TGFBR3 expression is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of porcine preadipocytes. BFT is closely related to meat quality and lean meat percentage in pigs. The BFT traits of European LW pigs significantly differ from those of Chinese indigenous fatty MZ pigs. CNV is a prevalent genetic variation that plays an important role in economically important traits in pigs. However, the potential contribution of CNV to BFT in LW and MZ pigs remains unclear. In this study, whole-genome CNV detection was performed using next-generation sequencing data from LW and MZ pigs, and transcriptome data from back fat tissue of 180-day-old LW and MZ pigs were integrated for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis. We identified a copy number variation in the TGFBR3 gene associated with BFT, showing a dose effect between the genome and transcriptome levels of the TGFBR3 gene. In porcine preadipocytes, TGFBR3 expression continuously increased during differentiation. Knockdown of TGFBR3 using specific siRNA inhibited preadipocyte differentiation and proliferation. Our study provides insights into the genetic regulation of pork quality and offers a theoretical basis for improving carcass quality by modulating BFT in pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is a highly malignant and heterogeneous tumor. Exploring clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features of EwS is critical for prognosis and treatment regimen. Methods: Clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features of young (≤ 30y) and senior (> 30y) EwS patients were analyzed based on histology, phenotype, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) detection. Results: The young group (18/36) presented nontypical EwS histological morphology, whereas the senior group (18/36) presented typical morphology. The prognosis of the young group was found to be worse compared with the senior group for patients without metastasis at the initial diagnosis. DNA- and RNA-based NGS was conducted on 20 extraosseous EwS patients. 16/20 samples demonstrated EWSR1-FLI1 fusion and 4/20 demonstrated EWSR1-ERG fusion. However, 13/16 EWSR1-FLI1fusions were detected both in DNA- and RNA-based NGS, 1/16 was detected only at the DNA level, and 2/16 were detected only at the RNA level. An analysis of the genetic profiles of the EWSR1-FLI1 cases revealed that the young group was inclined to couple with more copy number variations (CNV), such as CCND1, CDK4 amplification, and fusion variations, such as CHEK1-EWSR1, SLIT2-EWSR1, and EWSR1-FAM76B fusion. The senior group was more likely to have SNV or Indel mutations, such as EPHA3 and STAG2 mutations. Moreover, patients with more CNV abnormalities had a worse prognosis than those with predominantly SNP variants. In addition, compared with the senior group, the young group had significantly higher CyclinD1 protein expression. Conclusion: Clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features in young and senior EwS patients differed significantly. Targeting cell cycle dysregulation based on age subgroup may be a potential therapeutic strategy for Ewing sarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whole exome sequencing (WES) has been recommended to investigate the genetic cause of fetal structural anomalies. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of WES in our cohort of families with pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy due to structural anomalies. Methods: As aneuploidy, triploidy and copy number variations (CNVs) could be detected by exome-based CNV analysis, only WES is performed in this study. And the results of 375 cases assessed by WES were analyzed. Results: The overall detection rate was 32.3% (121/375), including aneuploidy and triploidy (7.5%, 28/375), CNVs (5.1%, 19/375) and single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) /insertions or deletions (Indels) (19.7%, 74/375). Among these, the diagnostic yield for likely pathogenic (LP) or pathogenic (P) CNVs is 4.8% (18/375), and the diagnostic yield for LP or P SNVs/Indels is 15.2% (57/375). And an additional 4.8% (18/375) of cases had CNVs or SNVs/Indels classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS) with potential clinical significance. Conclusions: Our findings expand the known mutation spectrum of genetic variants related to fetal abnormalities, increase our understanding of prenatal phenotypes, and enable more accurate counseling of recurrence risk for future pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic neuromuscular disease. It results from mutations in the SMN1 (survival of motor neuron) gene, which leads to the degeneration of the motor neurons of the spinal cord. The SMN2 gene, an almost identical copy of the SMN1 gene, plays a crucial role in the prognosis and treatment guidance for patients with SMA. There is a well-established relationship between the number of copies of the SMN2 gene and the type of SMA. The SMN2 gene produces approximately 10% of the functional SMN protein, and more copies of the SMN2 gene are associated with milder forms of the disease. This is because additional SMN2 genes produce more functional protein, partially compensating for the SMN1 deficiency and thus modulating the severity of the disease. Objective: To determine the CNVs of the SMN2 gene in patients with SMA for classification of the type and eligibility for modifier therapies. Materials and Methods: The study involved the molecular-genetic analysis of a group of 53 patients diagnosed at the Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory of IMC, R. Moldova. DNA extracted from these patients was analyzed using the MLPA technique with the P021 kit, designed to detect deletions or duplications in the SMN1 and SMN2 genes. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the Chi-square test. Results: Following the genetic analysis, all patients in the biobank were retested using the MLPA P021 kit (sensitivity and specificity >99%). For all patients, the deletion of SMN1 exon 7 was confirmed, and the distribution of SMN2 copy numbers across the entire cohort was: 1 copy = 10 patients, 2 copies = 25 patients, 3 copies = 16 patients, 4 copies = 2 patients. Therefore, the distribution of SMA types among the 53 affected patients was as follows: SMA Type 1 (SMN2 = 1): 18.9%, the most severe form; SMA Type 2 (SMN2 = 2): 47.2%, the most common form; SMA Type 3 (SMN2 = 3): 30.2%; SMA Type 4 (SMN2 = 4): 3.7%, the rarest form. The Chi-square test results for the association between the number of SMN2 copies and the distribution of SMA types showed a χ² value of 12.62 and a p-value of 0.005. Conclusions: The analysis identified SMN1 gene mutations and quantified the number of SMN2 gene copies in the patient group included in the study, thus confirming the presence of SMA and characterizing the patients from the Republic of Moldova by CNVs of SMN2 and SMA types. A significant association between the number of SMN2 copies and the type of SMA was demonstrated by the Chi-square test: χ² = 12.62, p = 0.005. The distribution of SMA types is not uniform, with most patients (77%) potentially benefiting from disease-modifying treatments, such as Nusinersen (Spinraza), given an early and detailed diagnosis. This highlights the necessity of implementing this type of therapy in the Republic of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) represent a frequent cause of pediatric kidney failure. CNVs, as a major class of genomic variations, can also affect miRNA regions. Common CNV corresponding miRNAs (cCNV-miRNAs) are functional variants regulating crucial processes which could affect urinary system development. Thus, we hypothesize that cCNV-miRNAs are associated with CAKUT occurrence and its expressivity. Methods: The extraction and filtering of common CNVs, identified in control samples deposited in publicly available databases gnomAD v2.1 and dbVar, were coupled with mapping of miRNA sequences using UCSC Genome Browser. After verification of the mapped miRNAs using referent miRBase V22.1, prioritization of cCNV-miRNA candidates has been performed using bioinformatic annotation and literature research. Genotyping of miRNA gene copy numbers for MIR9-3, MIR511, and MIR1299, was conducted on 221 CAKUT patients and 192 controls using TaqMan™ technology. Results: We observed significantly different MIR9-3 and MIR1299 gene copy number distribution between CAKUT patients and controls (Chi-square, P = 0.006 and P = 0.0002, respectively), while difference of MIR511 copy number distribution showed nominal significance (Chi-square, P = 0.027). The counts of less and more than two of MIR1299 copy numbers were more frequent within CAKUT patients compared to controls (P = 0.01 and P = 0.008, respectively) and also in cohort of patients with anomalies of the urinary tract compared to controls (P = 0.016 and P = 0.003, respectively). Conclusions: Copy number variations of miRNA genes represent a novel avenue in clarification of the inheritance complexity in CAKUT and provide potential evidence about the association of common genetic variation with CAKUT phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image preprocessing is a method to transform raw image data into clean image data. The objective of preprocessing is to improve the image data by suppressing undesired distortions. Enhancement of some image features which are relevant for further processing of image and analysis task is also done in preprocessing. Screening and diagnosis of various eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy, Choroidal Neovascularization(CNV), DRUSEN, etc. are possible using digital retinal images. This paper aims to provide a better understanding and knowledge of the computer algorithms used for retinal image preprocessing. In this paper, various image preprocessing techniques are incorporated such as color correction, color space selection, noise reduction, and contrast enhancement on retinal images. Retinal blood vessels are better seen in Green color space instead of Red or Blue color space. Noise reduction through Block matching and 3D(BM3D) techniques show a significant result as compared to Total Variation Filter (TVF) and Bilateral Filter (BLF). Contrast enhancement through Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) outperforms Global Equalization (GE) or Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE). Evaluation parameters such as Mean square error, Peak Signal Noise ratio, Structured similarity index measures, and Normalized root mean square error values for BM3D noise filtering are 0.0029, 25.3370, 0.6839 and 0.0998 respectively which shows that BM3D outperforms the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Malignant melanoma is a difficult-to-treat skin cancer with increasing incidence worldwide. Although type-I interferon (IFN) is no longer part of guidelines, several melanoma patients are treated with type-I interferon (IFN) at some point of the disease, potentially affecting its genetic progression. We run genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) analysis on previously type-I IFN-treated (n = 17) and control (n = 11) visceral metastases of melanoma patients. Results were completed with data from the TCGA and MM500 databases. We identified metastasis- and brain metastasis-specific gene signatures mostly affected by CN gains. Some cases were genetically resistant to IFN showing characteristic gene alterations (e.g. ABCA4 or ZEB2 gain and alterations of DNA repair genes). Analysis of a previously identified type-I IFN resistance gene set indicates that only a proportion of these genes was exclusive for the IFN-treated metastases reflecting a possible selective genomic pressure of endogenous IFNs during progression. Our data suggest that previous type-I IFN treatment and/or endogenous IFN production by immune response affect genomic progression of melanoma which may have clinical relevance, potentially influence immune checkpoint regulation in the tumor microenvironment.

Abstract Background Repetitive genome regions, such as variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) or short tandem repeats (STR), are major constituents of the uncharted dark genome and evade conventional sequencing approaches. The protein-coding LPA kringle IV type-2 (KIV-2) VNTR (5.6 kb per unit, 1–40 units per allele) is a medically highly relevant example with a particularly intricate structure, multiple haplotypes, intragenic homologies, and an intra-VNTR STR. It is the primary regulator of plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations, an important cardiovascular risk factor. Lp(a) concentrations vary widely between individuals and ancestries. Multiple variants and functional haplotypes in the LPA gene and especially in the KIV-2 VNTR strongly contribute to this variance. Methods We evaluated the performance of amplicon-based nanopore sequencing with unique molecular identifiers (UMI-ONT-Seq) for SNP detection, haplotype mapping, VNTR unit consensus sequence generation, and copy number estimation via coverage-corrected haplotypes quantification in the KIV-2 VNTR. We used 15 human samples and low-level mixtures (0.5 to 5%) of KIV-2 plasmids as a validation set. We then applied UMI-ONT-Seq to extract KIV-2 VNTR haplotypes in 48 multi-ancestry 1000 Genome samples and analyzed at scale a poorly characterized STR within the KIV-2 VNTR. Results UMI-ONT-Seq detected KIV-2 SNPs down to 1% variant level with high sensitivity, specificity, and precision (0.977 ± 0.018; 1.000 ± 0.0005; 0.993 ± 0.02) and accurately retrieved the full-length haplotype of each VNTR unit. Human variant levels were highly correlated with next-generation sequencing (R 2 = 0.983) without bias across the whole variant level range. Six reads per UMI produced sequences of each KIV-2 unit with Q40 quality. The KIV-2 repeat number determined by coverage-corrected unique haplotype counting was in close agreement with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), with 70% of the samples falling even within the narrow confidence interval of ddPCR. We then analyzed 62,679 intra-KIV-2 STR sequences and explored KIV-2 SNP haplotype patterns across five ancestries. Conclusions UMI-ONT-Seq accurately retrieves the SNP haplotype and precisely quantifies the VNTR copy number of each repeat unit of the complex KIV-2 VNTR region across multiple ancestries. This study utilizes the KIV-2 VNTR, presenting a novel and potent tool for comprehensive characterization of medically relevant complex genome regions at scale.

Abstract Background Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is a highly malignant and heterogeneous tumor. Exploring clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features of EwS is critical for prognosis and treatment regimen. Methods Clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features of young (≤ 30y) and senior (> 30y) EwS patients were analyzed based on histology, phenotype, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) detection. Results The young group (18/36) presented nontypical EwS histological morphology, whereas the senior group (18/36) presented typical morphology. The prognosis of the young group was found to be worse compared with the senior group for patients without metastasis at the initial diagnosis. DNA- and RNA-based NGS was conducted on 20 extraosseous EwS patients. 16/20 samples demonstrated EWSR1-FLI1 fusion and 4/20 demonstrated EWSR1-ERG fusion. However, 13/16 EWSR1-FLI1fusions were detected both in DNA- and RNA-based NGS, 1/16 was detected only at the DNA level, and 2/16 were detected only at the RNA level. An analysis of the genetic profiles of the EWSR1-FLI1 cases revealed that the young group was inclined to couple with more copy number variations (CNV), such as CCND1, CDK4 amplification, and fusion variations, such as CHEK1-EWSR1, SLIT2-EWSR1, and EWSR1-FAM76B fusion. The senior group was more likely to have SNV or Indel mutations, such as EPHA3 and STAG2 mutations. Moreover, patients with more CNV abnormalities had a worse prognosis than those with predominantly SNP variants. In addition, compared with the senior group, the young group had significantly higher CyclinD1 protein expression. Conclusion Clinicopathological characteristics and genetic features in young and senior EwS patients differed significantly. Targeting cell cycle dysregulation based on age subgroup may be a potential therapeutic strategy for Ewing sarcoma.

Abstract Background Whole exome sequencing (WES) has been recommended to investigate the genetic cause of fetal structural anomalies. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of WES in our cohort of families with pregnancy loss or termination of pregnancy due to structural anomalies. Methods As aneuploidy, triploidy and copy number variations (CNVs) could be detected by exome-based CNV analysis, only WES is performed in this study. And the results of 375 cases assessed by WES were analyzed. Results The overall detection rate was 32.3% (121/375), including aneuploidy and triploidy (7.5%, 28/375), CNVs (5.1%, 19/375) and single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) /insertions or deletions (Indels) (19.7%, 74/375). Among these, the diagnostic yield for likely pathogenic (LP) or pathogenic (P) CNVs is 4.8% (18/375), and the diagnostic yield for LP or P SNVs/Indels is 15.2% (57/375). And an additional 4.8% (18/375) of cases had CNVs or SNVs/Indels classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS) with potential clinical significance. Conclusions Our findings expand the known mutation spectrum of genetic variants related to fetal abnormalities, increase our understanding of prenatal phenotypes, and enable more accurate counseling of recurrence risk for future pregnancies.

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) disease stability after brolucizumab treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 31 patients (31 eyes) with recalcitrant nAMD who were switched to brolucizumab after conventional anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment. We divided patients into two groups by treatment extension (TE) period: group 1 with TE

The accurate identification of the primary tumor origin in metastatic cancer cases is crucial for guiding treatment decisions and improving patient outcomes. Copy number alterations (CNAs) and copy number variation (CNV) have emerged as valuable genomic markers for predicting the origin of metastases. However, current models that predict cancer type based on CNV or CNA suffer from low AUC values. To address this challenge, we employed a cutting-edge neural network approach utilizing a dataset comprising CNA profiles from twenty different cancer types. We developed two workflows: the first evaluated the performance of two deep neural networks—one ReLU-based and the other a 2D convolutional network. In the second workflow, we stratified cancer types based on anatomical and physiological classifications, constructing shallow neural networks to differentiate between cancer types within the same cluster. Both approaches demonstrated high AUC values, with deep neural networks achieving a precision of 60%, suggesting a mathematical relationship between CNV type, location, and cancer type. Our findings highlight the potential of using CNA/CNV to aid pathologists in accurately identifying cancer origins with accessible clinical tests.

Abstract Background Structural variations play an important role in bacterial genomes. They can mediate genome adaptation quickly in response to the external environment and thus can also play a role in antibiotic resistance. The detection of structural variations in bacteria is challenging, and the recognition of even small rearrangements can be important. Even though most detection tools are aimed at and benchmarked on eukaryotic genomes, they can also be used on prokaryotic genomes. The key features of detection are the ability to detect small rearrangements and support haploid genomes. Because of the limiting performance of a single detection tool, combining the detection abilities of multiple tools can lead to more robust results. There are already available workflows for structural variation detection for long-reads technologies and for the detection of single-nucleotide variation and indels, both aimed at bacteria. Yet we are unaware of structural variations detection workflows for the short-reads sequencing platform. Motivated by this gap we created our workflow. Further, we were interested in increasing the detection performance and providing more robust results. Results We developed an open-source bioinformatics pipeline, ProcaryaSV, for the detection of structural variations in bacterial isolates from paired-end short sequencing reads. Multiple tools, starting with quality control and trimming of sequencing data, alignment to the reference genome, and multiple structural variation detection tools, are integrated. All the partial results are then processed and merged with an in-house merging algorithm. Compared with a single detection approach, ProcaryaSV has improved detection performance and is a reproducible easy-to-use tool. Conclusions The ProcaryaSV pipeline provides an integrative approach to structural variation detection from paired-end next-generation sequencing of bacterial samples. It can be easily installed and used on Linux machines. It is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/robinjugas/ProcaryaSV .

In some situations, for example, when we expect to gain a reward in case of good performance, goal‐driven top‐down attention is particularly strong. Little is known about the task specificity of such increases of top‐down attention due to environmental factors. To understand to what extent performance‐contingent reward prospects can result in specific and unspecific changes in cognitive processing, we here investigate reward effects under different levels of task specification. Thirty‐two participants performed a visual or an auditory discrimination task cued by two consecutive visual stimuli: First, a reward cue indicated if good performance was rewarded. Second, a task cue announced either which of the two tasks would follow (precise cue) or that both tasks would follow equally likely (imprecise cue). Reward and task cue preciseness both significantly improved performance. Moreover, the response time difference between precisely and imprecisely cued trials was significantly stronger in rewarded than in unrewarded trials. These effects were reflected in event‐related potential (ERP) slow wave amplitudes: Reward and preciseness both significantly enhanced the contingent negative variation (CNV) prior to the task stimulus. In an early CNV time interval, both factors also showed an interaction. A negative slow wave prior to the task cue was also significantly enhanced for rewarded trials. This effect correlated with the reward difference in response times. These results indicate that reward prospects trigger task‐specific changes in preparatory top‐down attention which can flexibly adapt over time and across different task requirements. This highlights that a reward‐induced increase of cognitive control can occur on different specificity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musculoskeletal trauma often leads to lasting psychological impacts stemming from concerns of future injuries. Often referred to as kinesiophobia or re-injury anxiety, such concerns have been shown to hinder return to physical activity and are believed to increase the risk for secondary injuries. Screening for re-injury anxiety is currently restricted to subjective questionnaires, which are prone to self-report bias. We introduce a novel approach to objectively identify electrocortical activity associated with the threat of destabilising perturbations. We aimed to explore its feasibility among non-injured persons, with potential future implementation for screening of re-injury anxiety. Twenty-three participants stood blindfolded on a translational balance perturbation platform. Consecutive auditory stimuli were provided as low (neutral stimulus [CS–]) or high (conditioned stimulus [CS+]) tones. For the main experimental protocol (Protocol I), half of the high tones were followed by a perturbation in one of eight unpredictable directions. A separate validation protocol (Protocol II) requiring voluntary squatting without perturbations was performed with 12 participants. Event-related potentials (ERP) were computed from electroencephalography recordings and significant time-domain components were detected using an interval-wise testing procedure. High-amplitude early contingent negative variation (CNV) waves were significantly greater for CS+ compared with CS– trials in all channels for Protocol I (> 521-800ms), most prominently over frontal and central midline locations (P ≤ 0.001). For Protocol II, shorter frontal ERP components were observed (541-609ms). Our test paradigm revealed electrocortical activation possibly associated with movement-related fear. Exploring the discriminative validity of the paradigm among individuals with and without self-reported re-injury anxiety is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability characterised by the impairment of social interaction and communication ability. The alarming increase in its prevalence in children urged researchers to obtain a better understanding of the causes of this disease. Genetic factors are considered to be crucial, as ASD has a tendency to run in families. In recent years, with technological advances, the importance of structural variations (SVs) in ASD began to emerge. Most of these studies, however, focus on the Caucasian population. As a populated ethnicity, ASD shall be a significant health issue in China. This systematic review aims to summarise current case-control studies of SVs associated with ASD in the Chinese population. A list of genes identified in the nine included studies is provided. It also reveals that similar research focusing on other genetic backgrounds is demanded to manifest the disease etiology in different ethnic groups, and assist the development of accurate ethnic-oriented genetic diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate time perception is a crucial element in a wide range of cognitive tasks, including decision‐making, memory, and motor control. One commonly observed phenomenon is that when given a range of time intervals to consider, people's estimates often cluster around the midpoint of those intervals. Previous studies have suggested that the range of these intervals can also influence our judgments, but the neural mechanisms behind this "range effect" are not yet understood. We used both behavioral tests and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures to understand how the range of sample time intervals affects the accuracy of people's subsequent time estimates. Study participants were exposed to two different setups: In the "blocked‐range" (BR) session, short and long intervals were presented in separate blocks, whereas in the "interleaved‐range" (IR) session, intervals of various lengths were presented randomly. Our findings indicated that the BR context led to more accurate time estimates compared to the IR context. In terms of EEG data, the BR context resulted in quicker buildup of contingent negative variation (CNV), which also reached higher amplitude levels and dissolved more rapidly during the encoding stage. We also observed an enhanced amplitude in the offset P2 component of the EEG signal. Overall, our results suggest that the variability in time intervals, as defined by their range, influences the neural processes that underlie time estimation. Our study elucidates the neural underpinnings of the sample distribution range effect in temporal reproduction. The EEG data reveal that all timing‐related components (CNV, P2, and LPCt) are sensitive to the target duration, whereas only CNV and P2 are modulated by the range effect. This possibly shows higher anticipation and prior precision in the narrow‐range context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Structural variations play an important role in bacterial genomes. They can mediate genome adaptation quickly in response to the external environment and thus can also play a role in antibiotic resistance. The detection of structural variations in bacteria is challenging, and the recognition of even small rearrangements can be important. Even though most detection tools are aimed at and benchmarked on eukaryotic genomes, they can also be used on prokaryotic genomes. The key features of detection are the ability to detect small rearrangements and support haploid genomes. Because of the limiting performance of a single detection tool, combining the detection abilities of multiple tools can lead to more robust results. There are already available workflows for structural variation detection for long-reads technologies and for the detection of single-nucleotide variation and indels, both aimed at bacteria. Yet we are unaware of structural variations detection workflows for the short-reads sequencing platform. Motivated by this gap we created our workflow. Further, we were interested in increasing the detection performance and providing more robust results. Results: We developed an open-source bioinformatics pipeline, ProcaryaSV, for the detection of structural variations in bacterial isolates from paired-end short sequencing reads. Multiple tools, starting with quality control and trimming of sequencing data, alignment to the reference genome, and multiple structural variation detection tools, are integrated. All the partial results are then processed and merged with an in-house merging algorithm. Compared with a single detection approach, ProcaryaSV has improved detection performance and is a reproducible easy-to-use tool. Conclusions: The ProcaryaSV pipeline provides an integrative approach to structural variation detection from paired-end next-generation sequencing of bacterial samples. It can be easily installed and used on Linux machines. It is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/robinjugas/ProcaryaSV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aims to investigate the protective effect of Mingjing granule (MG) in a fibrovascular membrane rat model of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and explore the underlying mechanism. Methods: The nAMD fibrovascular membrane model was established by two-stage laser photocoagulation. BN rats were randomly divided into four groups: the model group was gavaged with distilled water, the anti-VEGF group was given an intravitreous injection of ranibizumab, theMG+ anti-VEGF group was gavaged with MG combined with an intravitreous injection of ranibizumab, and the normal group not modeled only fed conventionally. Lesions were evaluated by color fundus photograph, optical coherence tomography, fundus fluorescein angiography, and retinal pigment epithelial--choroid--sclera flat mount. The changes in the retinal structure were observed by histopathology. The expression of inflammatory cell markers F4/80, Iba-1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP); the fibrosis-related factors collagen-1, fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β); and the complement system-related factors C3a and C3aR in the retina were detected by immunofluorescence or qRT-PCR. Results: The current study revealed that MG + anti-VEGF administration more significantly reduced the thickness of fibrovascular lesions, suppressed vascular leakage (exudation area and mean density value), inhibited the area of fibrovascular lesions, and restrained the formation of the fibrovascular membrane than the anti-VEGF agent alone in the two-stage laser-induced rat model. The fluorescence intensities of F4/80, Iba-1, collagen-1, fibronectin, TGF- β, and C3aR showed more significant inhibition in MG + anti-VEGF-treated rats than the anti-VEGF agent alone. The mRNA expression levels of F4/80, Iba-1, GFAP, collagen-1, fibronectin, α-SMA, TGF-β, and C3a showed lower levels in rats treated with MG + anti-VEGF than the anti-VEGF agent alone. Conclusion: Combining MG with anti-VEGF treatment inhibits the growth of the fibrovascular membrane more effectively than using anti-VEGF treatment alone. The mechanism underlying this effect may involve limiting inflammatory cell aggregation, controlling complement system activation, and decreasing the expression of the fibrotic protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is a common clinical finding seen in a range of eye diseases. Current therapeutic approaches to treat corneal angiogenesis, in which vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A plays a central role, can cause a variety of adverse side effects. The technology of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 can edit VEGFA gene to suppress its expression. CRISPR offers a novel opportunity to treat CNV. This study shows that depletion of VEGFA with a novel CRISPR/Cas9 system inhibits proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Importantly, subconjunctival injection of this dual AAV‐SpCas9/sgRNA‐VEGFA system is demonstrated which blocks suture‐induced expression of VEGFA, CD31, and α‐smooth muscle actin as well as corneal neovascularization in mice. This study has established a strong foundation for the treatment of corneal neovascularization via a gene editing approach for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a case of vitreous haemorrhage and retinal neovascularization secondary to peripheral retinal ischemia associated with disseminated melanoma. A retrospective case report. A 48-year-old man presented with vitreous haemorrhage in the right eye, peripheral retinal ischemia, and retinal neovascularization in both eyes. CT and MRI scans were suggestive of disseminated malignancy and an ultrasound-guided biopsy of the abdominal mass confirmed metastatic melanoma. Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy with ipilimumab/nivolumab was initiated. Regarding his ocular status, the vitreous haemorrhage cleared spontaneously, visual acuity improved to 6/7.5 and the patient underwent bilateral peripheral scatter laser photocoagulation to stabilize the retinopathy. The patient passed away 1 year after the initial presentation. Our patient presented with melanoma and peripheral retinal ischaemia, leading to retinal neovascularization and vitreous haemorrhage. Therefore, melanoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis when investigating the aetiology of peripheral retinal ischaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study revealed a core regulator and common upstream mechanisms for the multifaceted pathological processes of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and provided proof-of-concept for this new therapeutic target. Methods: Comprehensive gene expression analysis was performed using RNA sequencing of eye cup from old mice as well as laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) mouse model. Through integrative analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, common pathways and key transcription factor was identified simultaneously engaged in age-related retinal degeneration and CNV, the two typical pathological process of AMD. Subsequently, the expression changes of Spi1, the key regulator, as well as the alternation of the downstream mechanisms were validated in both models through qRT-PCR, Elisa, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Further, we assessed the impact of Spi1 knockdown in vitro and in vivo using gene intervention vectors carried by adeno-associated virus or lentivirus to test its potential as a therapeutic target. Results: Compared to corresponding controls, we found 1,939 and 1,319 genes differentially expressed in eye cups of old and CNV mice respectively. The integrative analysis identified a total of 275 overlapping DEGs, of which 150 genes were co-upregulated. PPI analysis verified a central transcription factor, SPI1. The significant upregulation of Spi1 expression was then validated in both models, accompanied by macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype. Finally, SPI1 suppression significantly inhibited M1 polarization of BMDMs and attenuated neovascularization in CNV mice. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that SPI1 exerts a pivotal role in AMD by regulation of macrophage polarization and innate immune response, offering promise as an innovative target for treating AMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A turning point in cancer research is the introduction of massively parallel sequencing technology which greatly reduced the cost and time for genome sequencing. This enhanced the scope for detecting and analyzing the role of structural alterations in cancer. However, certain bias exists in NGS-based approaches, which badly affects the CNV identification process. Moreover, DNA repeats existing in CNV regions need special attention as they will degrade the performance of majority of the existing CNV detection tools, even after applying generalized bias correction method. This motivated this work, where a novel method has been designed to address the issue of DNA repeats and thereby mappability bias existing in regions of CNV. The method consists of three phases, where the first phase computes the alignment information of uniquely mapped DNA reads, considering the base quality and base mismatch parameters at nucleotide level precision. The second and the third phase use a novel approach to allocate the non-uniquely mapped reads to an optimal region of the DNA repeats based on a probabilistic membership model. The proposed method is capable of identifying CNVs present in coding, as well as non-coding region of the DNA, and is also capable of detecting CNVs existing in DNA repeat regions. The methodology achieves a sensitivity greater than 0. 9 9 during the performed simulations, and on real data, the detected variants are validated with the database of genomic variants, where the percentage overlap is also greater than 95%, and has achieved much better breakpoint prediction, as compared with other popular bias correction CNV detection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABCA4 is the most frequently mutated gene leading to inherited retinal disease (IRD) with over 2200 pathogenic variants reported to date. Of these, ~1% are copy number variants (CNVs) involving the deletion or duplication of genomic regions, typically >50 nucleotides in length. An in-depth assessment of the current literature based on the public database LOVD, regarding the presence of known CNVs and structural variants in ABCA4, and additional sequencing analysis of ABCA4 using single-molecule Molecular Inversion Probes (smMIPs) for 148 probands highlighted recurrent and novel CNVs associated with ABCA4-associated retinopathies. An analysis of the coverage depth in the sequencing data led to the identification of eleven deletions (six novel and five recurrent), three duplications (one novel and two recurrent) and one complex CNV. Of particular interest was the identification of a complex defect, i.e., a 15.3 kb duplicated segment encompassing exon 31 through intron 41 that was inserted at the junction of a downstream 2.7 kb deletion encompassing intron 44 through intron 47. In addition, we identified a 7.0 kb tandem duplication of intron 1 in three cases. The identification of CNVs in ABCA4 can provide patients and their families with a genetic diagnosis whilst expanding our understanding of the complexity of diseases caused by ABCA4 variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder with complex and elusive etiology with a significant role of genetic factors. The aim of this study was to identify structural variants that could be associated with familial GTS. The study group comprised 17 multiplex families with 80 patients. Structural variants were identified from whole-genome sequencing data and followed by co-segregation and bioinformatic analyses. The localization of these variants was used to select candidate genes and create gene sets, which were subsequently processed in gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis. Seventy putative pathogenic variants shared among affected individuals within one family but not present in the control group were identified. Only four private or rare deletions were exonic in LDLRAD4, B2M, USH2A, and ZNF765 genes. Notably, the USH2A gene is involved in cochlear development and sensory perception of sound, a process that was associated previously with familial GTS. In addition, two rare variants and three not present in the control group were co-segregating with the disease in two families, and uncommon insertions in GOLM1 and DISC1 were co-segregating in three families each. Enrichment analysis showed that identified structural variants affected synaptic vesicle endocytosis, cell leading-edge organization, and signaling for neurite outgrowth. The results further support the involvement of the regulation of neurotransmission, neuronal migration, and sound-sensing in GTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current registered report focused on the temporal dynamics of the relationship between expectancy and attention toward threat, to better understand the mechanisms underlying the prioritization of threat detection over expectancy. In the current event‐related potentials experiment, a‐priori expectancy was manipulated, and attention bias was measured, using a well‐validated paradigm. A visual search array was presented, with one of two targets: spiders (threatening) or birds (neutral). A verbal cue stating the likelihood of encountering a target preceded the array, creating congruent and incongruent trials. Following cue presentation, preparatory processes were examined using the contingent negative variation (CNV) component. Following target presentation, two components were measured: early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP), reflecting early and late stages of natural selective attention toward emotional stimuli, respectively. Behaviorally, spiders were found faster than birds, and congruency effects emerged for both targets. For the CNV, a non‐significant trend of more negative amplitudes following spider cues emerged. As expected, EPN and LPP amplitudes were larger for spider targets compared to bird targets. Data‐driven, exploratory, topographical analyses revealed different patterns of activation for bird cues compared to spider cues. Furthermore, 400–500 ms post‐target, a congruency effect was revealed only for bird targets. Together, these results demonstrate that while expectancy for spider appearance is evident in differential neural preparation, the actual appearance of spider target overrides this expectancy effect and only in later stages of processing does the cueing effect come again into play. This study examined online expectancy and subsequent emotional attention to threat at early as well as late processing stages using event‐related potentials and topographical analyses. This comprehensive study can facilitate the development of better treatments aimed at reducing attention bias and anxiety/phobia symptoms by focusing on the manipulation of expectancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fragile sites are specific chromosomal regions showing gaps, poor staining, contractions, or even breaks in the chromosomes. These spontaneous and heritable fragile sites are prone to structural variations which can lead to adverse reproductive outcomes. This paper aims to present a specific case study of a female patient, with a mosaic karyotype involving chromosome 16q22 fragile site which is very rare in clinic and her experience of infertility. Case Presentation: A 37-year-old woman is diagnosed with ten-year primary infertility. She worked in a factory, and she was occasionally exposed to paint. She underwent two cycles of follicular monitoring with intrauterine insemination (IUI) using her husband's sperm six years ago but failed. Most of her prepregnancy tests were normal, except a not smooth right fallopian tube. Her G-band karyotype of peripheral blood lymphocytes was mos 46, XX, del(16)(q22)[40]/46, XX, fra(16)(q22)[29]/46, XX, fra(16)tr(16)(q22)[3]/46, XX[28] which inherited from her mother. The SCE assay detected a significantly higher frequency of SCEs in the 16q region of the patient's chromosomes compared to her mother and a healthy control. However, the average SCEs per chromosome were quite close. Moreover, copy number variation (CNV) sequencing showed no deletion nor duplication at 16q22. Conclusion: Infertility cannot be completely attributed to the fragile site on chromosome 16q22. Assisted reproductive technology combined with preimplantation genetic testing may help in achieving a healthy live birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recognized as one of the most serious musculoskeletal deformities, occurring in 1–2 per 1000 newborns, 80% of clubfeet are idiopathic while 20% present with associated malformations. The etiopathogenesis of clubfoot is described as multifactorial, including both genetic and environmental risk factors. The aim of this study was to analyze possible genetic causes of isolated and syndromic clubfoot in Serbian children, as well as to correlate clinical and genetic characteristics that would provide insight into clubfoot etiopathogenesis and possibly contribute to global knowledge about clinical features of different genetically defined disorders. Methods: We evaluated 50 randomly selected, eligible children with clubfoot aged 3 to 16 years that were initially hospitalized and treated at University Children's Hospital between November 2006 and November 2022. The tested parameters were gender, age, dominant foot, affected foot, degree of deformity, treatment, neuromuscular disorders, positive family history, and maternal smoking. According to the presence of defined genetic mutation/s by whole exome sequencing (WES), patients were separated into two groups: positive (with genetic mutation/s) and negative (without genetic mutation/s). Results: Seven patients were found to be positive, i.e., with genetic mutation/s. A statistically significant difference between categorical variables was found for families with a history of clubfoot, where more than half (57.14%) of patients with confirmed genetic mutation/s also had a family history of genetic mutation/s (p = 0.023). Conclusions: The results from this study further expand the genetic epidemiology of clubfoot. This study contributes to the establishment of genetic diagnostic strategies in pediatric patients with this condition, which can lead to more efficient genetic diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A ~ 1 Mb inversion polymorphism exists within the 17q21.31 locus of the human genome as direct (H1) and inverted (H2) haplotype clades. This inversion region demonstrates high linkage disequilibrium, but the frequency of each haplotype differs across ancestries. While the H1 haplotype exists in all populations and shows a normal pattern of genetic variability and recombination, the H2 haplotype is enriched in European ancestry populations, is less frequent in African ancestry populations, and nearly absent in East Asian ancestry populations. H1 is a known risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases, and has been associated with many other traits, suggesting its importance in cellular phenotypes of the brain and entire body. Conversely, H2 is protective for these diseases, but is associated with predisposition to recurrent microdeletion syndromes and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Many single nucleotide variants and copy number variants define H1/H2 haplotypes and sub-haplotypes, but identifying the causal variant(s) for specific diseases and phenotypes is complex due to the extended linkage equilibrium. In this review, we assess the current knowledge of this inversion region regarding genomic structure, gene expression, cellular phenotypes, and disease association. We discuss recent discoveries and challenges, evaluate gaps in knowledge, and highlight the importance of understanding the effect of the 17q21.31 haplotypes to promote advances in precision medicine and drug discovery for several diseases. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Background Biallelic variants in EYS are the major cause of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) in certain populations, a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease that may lead to legal blindness. EYS is one of the largest genes (~ 2 Mb) expressed in the retina, in which structural variants (SVs) represent a common cause of disease. However, their identification using short-read sequencing (SRS) is not always feasible. Here, we conducted targeted long-read sequencing (T-LRS) using adaptive sampling of EYS on the MinION sequencing platform (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) to definitively diagnose an arRP family, whose affected individuals (n = 3) carried the heterozygous pathogenic deletion of exons 32–33 in the EYS gene. As this was a recurrent variant identified in three additional families in our cohort, we also aimed to characterize the known deletion at the nucleotide level to assess a possible founder effect. Results T-LRS in family A unveiled a heterozygous AluYa5 insertion in the coding exon 43 of EYS (chr6(GRCh37):g.64430524_64430525ins352), which segregated with the disease in compound heterozygosity with the previously identified deletion. Visual inspection of previous SRS alignments using IGV revealed several reads containing soft-clipped bases, accompanied by a slight drop in coverage at the Alu insertion site. This prompted us to develop a simplified program using grep command to investigate the recurrence of this variant in our cohort from SRS data. Moreover, LRS also allowed the characterization of the CNV as a ~ 56.4kb deletion spanning exons 32–33 of EYS (chr6(GRCh37):g.64764235_64820592del). The results of further characterization by Sanger sequencing and linkage analysis in the four families were consistent with a founder variant. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report of a mobile element insertion into the coding sequence of EYS, as a likely cause of arRP in a family. Our study highlights the value of LRS technology in characterizing and identifying hidden pathogenic SVs, such as retrotransposon insertions, whose contribution to the etiopathogenesis of rare diseases may be underestimated.

Abstract Purpose The present study tested the hypothesis that repeated anti-VEGF injections are associated with reduced retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and minimum rim width (MRW) of the optic nerve head. Patients and methods Sixty-six patients with a history of intravitreal injections due to neovascular age-related macular degeneration were included. RNFL and MRW were measured using optical coherence tomography (Spectralis OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). Results Mean global RNFL was 90.62 μm and both RNFL as well as MRW significantly decreased with advanced age (p = 0.005 and p = 0.019, respectively). Correlating for the number of injections, no significant impact on RNFL was found globally (p = 0.642) or in any of the sectors. In contrast, however, global MRW was significantly reduced with increasing numbers of intravitreal injections (p = 0.012). The same holds true when adjusted for the confounding factor age (RNFL p = 0.566 and MRW p = 0.023). Conclusion Our study shows that repeated intravitreal injections due to choroidal neovascularization seem to have a deleterious effect on MRW but not on RNFL. This suggests that MRW is a more sensitive marker than RNFL for evaluating the effect of frequent intravitreal injections on the optic nerve head since it seems to be the first structure affected.

The Grey allele in horses is causing premature hair greying and susceptibility to melanoma. The causal mutation is a 4.6 kb tandem duplication in intron 6 of the Syntaxin 17 gene. A recent study demonstrated that the most common allele at the Grey locus (G3) involves three tandem copies of this sequence, whilst a more rare allele (G2) has two tandem copies and the wild-type allele (G1) only one copy. The G3 allele is causing fast greying and high incidence of skin melanoma, whereas the G2 allele is causing slow greying and no obvious increase in melanoma incidence. Further somatic copy number expansion has been documented in melanoma tissue from Grey horses. Functional studies showed that this intronic sequence acts as a weak melanocyte-specific enhancer that becomes substantially stronger by the copy number expansion. The Grey mutation is associated with upregulated expression of both Syntaxin 17 and the neighbouring NR4A3 gene in Grey horse melanomas. It is still an open question which of these genes is most important for the phenotypic effects or if causality is due to the combined effect of upregulation of both genes. Interestingly, RNAseq data in the Human Protein Atlas give support for a possible role of NR4A3 because it is particularly upregulated in human skin cancer, and it belongs to a cluster of genes associated with skin cancer and melanin biosynthesis. The Grey mutation and its association with melanoma provide a possibility to study the path to tumour development in numerous Grey horses carrying exactly the same predisposing mutation.

Abstract About 5–10% of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients exhibit large genomic germline deletions that remove the NF1 gene and its flanking regions. The most frequent NF1 large deletion is 1.4 Mb, resulting from homologous recombination between two low copy repeats. This “type-1” deletion is associated with a severe clinical phenotype in NF1 patients, with several phenotypic manifestations including learning disability, a much earlier development of cutaneous neurofibromas, an increased tumour risk, and cardiovascular malformations. NF1 adjacent co-deleted genes could act as modifier loci for the specific clinical manifestations observed in deleted NF1 patients. Furthermore, other genetic modifiers (such as CNVs) not located at the NF1 locus could also modulate the phenotype observed in patients with large deletions. In this study, we analysed 22 NF1 deletion patients by genome-wide array-CGH with the aim (1) to correlate deletion length to observed phenotypic features and their severity in NF1 deletion syndrome, and (2) to identify whether the deletion phenotype could also be modulated by copy number variations elsewhere in the genome. We then review the role of co-deleted genes in the 1.4 Mb interval of type-1 deletions, and their possible implication in the main clinical features observed in this high-risk group of NF1 patients.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in individuals over the age of 55. Approximately 10%–15% of AMD patients develop choroidal neovascularization (CNV), leading to wet AMD (wAMD), which accounts for nearly 90% of AMD-related blindness. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the standard treatment for wAMD. However, the frequent administration of the current treatment imposes a significant burden on wAMD patients. Therefore, there is an unmet need for treatments that require less-frequent administration. Here, we present findings on the safety and efficacy of NG101, a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector encoding aflibercept, an anti-VEGF agent, for wAMD therapy. A single subretinal injection of NG101 effectively reduced CNV lesion leakage and size at doses as low as 1 × 106 in mouse and 3 × 109 viral genomes per eye in cynomolgus monkeys. In cynomolgus monkeys, NG101-derived aflibercept expression in ocular tissues persisted for 1 year post-injection, indicating sustained therapeutic potential. Biodistribution analysis revealed that NG101 was primarily localized in ocular tissues. Only mild and transient ocular inflammatory responses were observed. Overall, these findings suggest that NG101, with its efficacy at low doses and sustained expression, is a promising therapeutic candidate for wAMD.

A ~ 1 Mb inversion polymorphism exists within the 17q21.31 locus of the human genome as direct (H1) and inverted (H2) haplotype clades. This inversion region demonstrates high linkage disequilibrium, but the frequency of each haplotype differs across ancestries. While the H1 haplotype exists in all populations and shows a normal pattern of genetic variability and recombination, the H2 haplotype is enriched in European ancestry populations, is less frequent in African ancestry populations, and nearly absent in East Asian ancestry populations. H1 is a known risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases, and has been associated with many other traits, suggesting its importance in cellular phenotypes of the brain and entire body. Conversely, H2 is protective for these diseases, but is associated with predisposition to recurrent microdeletion syndromes and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Many single nucleotide variants and copy number variants define H1/H2 haplotypes and sub-haplotypes, but identifying the causal variant(s) for specific diseases and phenotypes is complex due to the extended linkage equilibrium. In this review, we assess the current knowledge of this inversion region regarding genomic structure, gene expression, cellular phenotypes, and disease association. We discuss recent discoveries and challenges, evaluate gaps in knowledge, and highlight the importance of understanding the effect of the 17q21.31 haplotypes to promote advances in precision medicine and drug discovery for several diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biallelic variants in EYS are the major cause of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) in certain populations, a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease that may lead to legal blindness. EYS is one of the largest genes (~ 2 Mb) expressed in the retina, in which structural variants (SVs) represent a common cause of disease. However, their identification using short-read sequencing (SRS) is not always feasible. Here, we conducted targeted long-read sequencing (T-LRS) using adaptive sampling of EYS on the MinION sequencing platform (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) to definitively diagnose an arRP family, whose affected individuals (n = 3) carried the heterozygous pathogenic deletion of exons 32–33 in the EYS gene. As this was a recurrent variant identified in three additional families in our cohort, we also aimed to characterize the known deletion at the nucleotide level to assess a possible founder effect. Results: T-LRS in family A unveiled a heterozygous AluYa5 insertion in the coding exon 43 of EYS (chr6(GRCh37):g.64430524_64430525ins352), which segregated with the disease in compound heterozygosity with the previously identified deletion. Visual inspection of previous SRS alignments using IGV revealed several reads containing soft-clipped bases, accompanied by a slight drop in coverage at the Alu insertion site. This prompted us to develop a simplified program using grep command to investigate the recurrence of this variant in our cohort from SRS data. Moreover, LRS also allowed the characterization of the CNV as a ~ 56.4kb deletion spanning exons 32–33 of EYS (chr6(GRCh37):g.64764235_64820592del). The results of further characterization by Sanger sequencing and linkage analysis in the four families were consistent with a founder variant. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a mobile element insertion into the coding sequence of EYS, as a likely cause of arRP in a family. Our study highlights the value of LRS technology in characterizing and identifying hidden pathogenic SVs, such as retrotransposon insertions, whose contribution to the etiopathogenesis of rare diseases may be underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variations (CNVs) involving the α-globin gene cluster can lead to an imbalance in the proportion of α- and β-globin chains and consequently cause clinical symptoms of β-thalassemia. In our case, a 6-year-old boy, clinically diagnosed with β thalassemia intermedia, was admitted for further genetic diagnosis with his family. Targeted sequencing and third generation sequencing (TGS) were used to detect the possible variants of the thalassemia genes. Low-pass whole genome sequencing (lpWGS) was conducted to specify the exact location of relevant CNVs across the genome, which was then validated by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.The results revealed that the patient had a heterozygous β0 mutation of Codon17 (A > T) and a full duplication of the α-globin gene cluster, inherited from his mother and father, respectively. Besides, a novel point mutation within the 5′ untranslated region of β-Globin (HBB: c. −175 (G > A) was only detected in the patient. This study suggests that lpWGS seems a powerful alternative to detect large CNVs related to thalassemia with second intention for more information of the breakpoints and a simultaneous genome-scale detection of other pathogenic CNVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]