Scientific Publications

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322 Results

2021

Maternal Smoking and Congenital Heart Defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011

Bolin EH, Gokun Y, Romitti PA, Tinker SC, Summers AD, Roberson PK, Hobbs CA, Malik S, Botto LD, Nembhard WN

J Pediatr. 2021 Sep 8:S0022-3476(21)00877-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.09.005. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: To assess associations between maternal smoking and congenital heart defects (CHDs) in offspring. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective case-control study using data for cases of CHD (n=8,339) and non-malformed controls (n=11,020) children from all years (1997-2011) of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Maternal self-reported smoking one month before through three months after conception was evaluated as a binary (none, any) and categorical (light, medium, heavy) exposure. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals. Stratified analyses were performed for septal defects according to maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and maternal race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Multiple CHDs displayed modest associations with any level of maternal periconceptional smoking independent of potential confounders; the strongest associations were for aggregated septal defects (OR 1.5 [1.3-1.7]), tricuspid atresia (OR 1.7 [1.0-2.7]), and double outlet right ventricle (DORV) (1.5 [1.1-2.1]). TA and DORV also displayed dose-response relationships. Among heavy smokers, the highest odds were again observed for TA (aOR 3.0 [1.5-6.1]) and DORV (aOR 1.5 [1.1-2.2]). Heavy smokers ≥35 years old more frequently had a child with a septal defect when compared with similarly aged non-smokers (aOR 2.3 [1.4-3.9]). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal periconceptional smoking is most strongly associated with septal defects, TA and DORV; the risk for septal defects is modified by maternal age. PMID:34508749 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.09.005

September 16, 2021
Rare Disease

Perspectives of Pediatric Providers Regarding Clinical Use of Pharmacogenetics

Avello K, Bell M, Stein Q, Bares V, Landsverk M, Salyakina D, McCafferty-Fernandez J, Kingsmore S, Bedrick A, Bhojwani D, Hoyme HE.

S D Med. 2021 Jul;74(7):294-301. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: A major goal of the current personalized medicine era is to utilize pharmacogenetics (PGx) in order to influence how medications and therapies are prescribed by providers. However, disparities for prescribing medications between adults and children exist. Research has shown that children are not just small adults and there are different challenges for pediatric providers in regards to ordering and interpreting PGx tests. The goal of this study was to obtain an initial understanding of current pharmacogenetic testing by pediatric providers, as well as determine perceived barriers. METHODS: We distributed an online survey to pediatric providers at six different institutions across the U.S. RESULTS: Of the 252 respondents who completed the survey, 24 percent reported previously ordering PGx tests, however, over 90 percent of respondents reported they would feel more comfortable ordering and interpreting results with the assistance of a pharmacist, geneticist, genetic counselor or PGx expert. Additionally, participants identified specific barriers towards the utilization of PGx testing, as well as suggested solutions to overcome these barriers, including increasing provider education regarding testing, collaboration through a multidisciplinary team approach and established PGx programs. CONCLUSION: As the pharmacogenetic field continues to demonstrate clinical utility in the pediatric population, it will be important to continuously identify and address barriers that exist for providers to allow for more successful implementation of PGx in the pediatric setting, as well as enhance patient care. PMID:34449988

August 31, 2021
RPM for NICU and PICU

Integrative genetic, genomic and transcriptomic analysis of heat shock protein and nuclear hormone receptor gene associations with spontaneous preterm birth

Huusko JM, Tiensuu H, Haapalainen AM, Pasanen A, Tissarinen P, Karjalainen MK, Zhang G, Christensen K, Ryckman KK, Jacobsson B, Murray JC, Kingsmore SF, Hallman M, Muglia LJ, Rämet M.

Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 24;11(1):17115. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-96374-9. ABSTRACT Heat shock proteins are involved in the response to stress including activation of the immune response. Elevated circulating heat shock proteins are associated with spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB). Intracellular heat shock proteins act as multifunctional molecular chaperones that regulate activity of nuclear hormone receptors. Since SPTB has a significant genetic predisposition, our objective was to identify genetic and transcriptomic evidence of heat shock proteins and nuclear hormone receptors that may affect risk for SPTB. We investigated all 97 genes encoding members of the heat shock protein families and all 49 genes encoding nuclear hormone receptors for their potential role in SPTB susceptibility. We used multiple genetic and genomic datasets including genome-wide association studies (GWASs), whole-exome sequencing (WES), and placental transcriptomics to identify SPTB predisposing factors from the mother, infant, and placenta. There were multiple associations of heat shock protein and nuclear hormone receptor genes with SPTB. Several orthogonal datasets supported roles for SEC63, HSPA1L, SACS, RORA, and AR in susceptibility to SPTB. We propose that suppression of specific heat shock proteins promotes maintenance of pregnancy, whereas activation of specific heat shock protein mediated signaling may disturb maternal-fetal tolerance and promote labor. PMID:34429451 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-96374-9

August 26, 2021
Gene Discovery

Detecting methylation quantitative trait loci using a methylation random field method

Lyu C, Huang M, Liu N, Chen Z, Lupo PJ, Tycko B, Witte JS, Hobbs CA, Li M.

Brief Bioinform. 2021 Aug 19:bbab323. doi: 10.1093/bib/bbab323. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT DNA methylation may be regulated by genetic variants within a genomic region, referred to as methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs). The changes of methylation levels can further lead to alterations of gene expression, and influence the risk of various complex human diseases. Detecting mQTLs may provide insights into the underlying mechanism of how genotypic variations may influence the disease risk. In this article, we propose a methylation random field (MRF) method to detect mQTLs by testing the association between the methylation level of a CpG site and a set of genetic variants within a genomic region. The proposed MRF has two major advantages over existing approaches. First, it uses a beta distribution to characterize the bimodal and interval properties of the methylation trait at a CpG site. Second, it considers multiple common and rare genetic variants within a genomic region to identify mQTLs. Through simulations, we demonstrated that the MRF had improved power over other existing methods in detecting rare variants of relatively large effect, especially when the sample size is small. We further applied our method to a study of congenital heart defects with 83 cardiac tissue samples and identified two mQTL regions, MRPS10 and PSORS1C1, which were colocalized with expression QTL in cardiac tissue. In conclusion, the proposed MRF is a useful tool to identify novel mQTLs, especially for studies with limited sample sizes. PMID:34414410 | DOI:10.1093/bib/bbab323

August 24, 2021
Gene Discovery

To Be or No B2: A Rare Cause of Stridor and Weakness in a Toddler

Aliya L. Frederick, MD, PhD, Jennifer H. Yang, MD, Sarah Schneider, MD, Alexis Quade, MD, Lucia Guidugli, PhD, CGMBS, Kristen Wigby, MD, Melissa Cameron, MD

Child Neurol Open. 2021 Aug 5;8:2329048X211030723. doi: 10.1177/2329048X211030723. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec. ABSTRACT We present a case of a young child with a rare metabolic disorder whose clinical presentation resembled that of autoimmune myasthenia gravis. The differential diagnosis was expanded when autoantibody testing was negative and the patient did not respond to standard immunomodulatory therapies. Rapid whole genome sequencing identified 2 rare variants of uncertain significance in the SLC52A3 gene shown to be in compound heterozygous state after parental testing. Biallelic mutations in SLC52A3 are associated with Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency, which in its untreated form, results in progressive neurodegeneration and death. Supplementation with oral riboflavin has been shown to limit disease progression and improve symptoms in some patients. When the diagnosis is suspected, patients should be started on supplementation immediately while awaiting results from genetic studies. PMID:34395718 | PMC:PMC8361551 | DOI:10.1177/2329048X211030723

August 17, 2021
Rare Disease

Rapid whole genome sequencing in critically ill children: Shifting from unease to evidence, education and equitable implementation

Linda S. Franck, RN, PhD, David Dimmock, MD, FACMG DABP, Charlotte Hobbs, MD, PhD, Stephen F. Kingsmore, MD, DSc

J Pediatr. 2021 Aug 11:S0022-3476(21)00761-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.08.006. Online ahead of print. NO ABSTRACT PMID:34390697 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.08.006

August 17, 2021
rWGSrWGS Efficacy

Developmental and temporal characteristics of clonal sperm mosaicism

Xiaoxu Yang, Martin W. Breuss, Xin Xu, Danny Antaki, Kiely N. James, Valentina Stanley, Laurel L. Ball, Renee D. George, Sara A. Wirth, Beibei Cao, An Nguyen, Jennifer McEvoy-Venneri, Guoliang Chai, Shareef Nahas, Lucitia Van Der Kraan, Yan Ding, Jonathan Sebat, Joseph G. Gleeson

Cell. 2021 Aug 7:S0092-8674(21)00883-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.024. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Throughout development and aging, human cells accumulate mutations resulting in genomic mosaicism and genetic diversity at the cellular level. Mosaic mutations present in the gonads can affect both the individual and the offspring and subsequent generations. Here, we explore patterns and temporal stability of clonal mosaic mutations in male gonads by sequencing ejaculated sperm. Through 300× whole-genome sequencing of blood and sperm from healthy men, we find each ejaculate carries on average 33.3 ± 12.1 (mean ± SD) clonal mosaic variants, nearly all of which are detected in serial sampling, with the majority absent from sampled somal tissues. Their temporal stability and mutational signature suggest origins during embryonic development from a largely immutable stem cell niche. Clonal mosaicism likely contributes a transmissible, predicted pathogenic exonic variant for 1 in 15 men, representing a life-long threat of transmission for these individuals and a significant burden on human population health. PMID:34388390 | DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.024

August 17, 2021

Exome sequencing of child-parent trios with bladder exstrophy: Findings in 26 children

Pitsava G, Feldkamp ML, Pankratz N, Lane J, Kay DM, Conway KM, Shaw GM, Reefhuis J, Jenkins MM, Almli LM, Olshan AF, Pangilinan F, Brody LC, Sicko RJ, Hobbs CA, Bamshad M, McGoldrick D, Nickerson DA, Finnell RH, Mullikin J, Romitti PA, Mills JL

Am J Med Genet A. 2021 Aug 5. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.62439. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Bladder exstrophy (BE) is a rare, lower ventral midline defect with the bladder and part of the urethra exposed. The etiology of BE is unknown but thought to be influenced by genetic variation with more recent studies suggesting a role for rare variants. As such, we conducted paired-end exome sequencing in 26 child/mother/father trios. Three children had rare (allele frequency ≤ 0.0001 in several public databases) inherited variants in TSPAN4, one with a loss-of-function variant and two with missense variants. Two children had loss-of-function variants in TUBE1. Four children had rare missense or nonsense variants (one per child) in WNT3, CRKL, MYH9, or LZTR1, genes previously associated with BE. We detected 17 de novo missense variants in 13 children and three de novo loss-of-function variants (AKR1C2, PRRX1, PPM1D) in three children (one per child). We also detected rare compound heterozygous loss-of-function variants in PLCH2 and CLEC4M and rare inherited missense or loss-of-function variants in additional genes applying autosomal recessive (three genes) and X-linked recessive inheritance models (13 genes). Variants in two genes identified may implicate disruption in cell migration (TUBE1) and adhesion (TSPAN4) processes, mechanisms proposed for BE, and provide additional evidence for rare variants in the development of this defect. PMID:34355505 | DOI:10.1002/ajmg.a.62439

August 9, 2021
Gene DiscoveryRare Disease

Use of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing to Identify Pathogens in Pediatric Osteoarticular Infections

Ramchandar N, Burns J, Coufal NG, Pennock A, Briggs B, Stinnett R, Bradley J, Arnold J, Liu GY, Pring M, Upasani VV, Rickert K, Dimmock D, Chiu C, Farnaes L, Cannavino C.

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Jul 17;8(7):ofab346. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab346. eCollection 2021 Jul. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Osteoarticular infections (OAIs) are frequently encountered in children. Treatment may be guided by isolation of a pathogen; however, operative cultures are often negative. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) allows for broad and sensitive pathogen detection that is culture-independent. We sought to evaluate the diagnostic utility of mNGS in comparison to culture and usual care testing to detect pathogens in acute osteomyelitis and/or septic arthritis in children. METHODS: This was a single-site study to evaluate the use of mNGS in comparison to culture to detect pathogens in acute pediatric osteomyelitis and/or septic arthritis. Subjects admitted to a tertiary children’s hospital with suspected OAI were eligible for enrollment. We excluded subjects with bone or joint surgery within 30 days of admission or with chronic osteomyelitis. Operative samples were obtained at the surgeon’s discretion per standard care (fluid or tissue) and based on imaging and operative findings. We compared mNGS to culture and usual care testing (culture and polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) from the same site. RESULTS: We recruited 42 subjects over the enrollment period. mNGS of the operative samples identified a pathogen in 26 subjects compared to 19 subjects in whom culture identified a pathogen. In 4 subjects, mNGS identified a pathogen where combined usual care testing (culture and PCR) was negative. Positive predictive agreement and negative predictive agreement both were 93.0% for mNGS. CONCLUSIONS: In this single-site prospective study of pediatric OAI, we demonstrated the diagnostic utility of mNGS testing in comparison to culture and usual care (culture and PCR) from operative specimens. PMID:34322569 | PMC:PMC8314938 | DOI:10.1093/ofid/ofab346

July 30, 2021
Rare Disease

A human three-dimensional neural-perivascular ‘assembloid’ promotes astrocytic development and enables modeling of SARS-CoV-2 neuropathology

Lu Wang, David Sievert, Alex E. Clark, Sangmoon Lee, Hannah Federman, Benjamin D. Gastfriend, Eric V. Shusta, Sean P. Palecek, Aaron F. Carlin & Joseph G. Gleeson 

Nat Med. 2021 Jul 9. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01443-1. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Clinical evidence suggests the central nervous system is frequently impacted by SARS-CoV-2 infection, either directly or indirectly, although the mechanisms are unclear. Pericytes are perivascular cells within the brain that are proposed as SARS-CoV-2 infection points. Here we show that pericyte-like cells (PLCs), when integrated into a cortical organoid, are capable of infection with authentic SARS-CoV-2. Before infection, PLCs elicited astrocytic maturation and production of basement membrane components, features attributed to pericyte functions in vivo. While traditional cortical organoids showed little evidence of infection, PLCs within cortical organoids served as viral ‘replication hubs’, with virus spreading to astrocytes and mediating inflammatory type I interferon transcriptional responses. Therefore, PLC-containing cortical organoids (PCCOs) represent a new ‘assembloid’ model that supports astrocytic maturation as well as SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication in neural tissue; thus, PCCOs serve as an experimental model for neural infection. PMID:34244682 | DOI:10.1038/s41591-021-01443-1

July 12, 2021
Neurogenomics

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