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Xiang R, Liu Y, Ben-Eghan C, Ritchie S, Lambert SA, Xu Y, Takeuchi F, Inouye M. Genome-wide analyses of variance in blood cell phenotypes provide new insights into complex trait biology and prediction. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.15.24305830. [PMID: 38699308 PMCID: PMC11065006 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.15.24305830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Blood cell phenotypes are routinely tested in healthcare to inform clinical decisions. Genetic variants influencing mean blood cell phenotypes have been used to understand disease aetiology and improve prediction; however, additional information may be captured by genetic effects on observed variance. Here, we mapped variance quantitative trait loci (vQTL), i.e. genetic loci associated with trait variance, for 29 blood cell phenotypes from the UK Biobank (N~408,111). We discovered 176 independent blood cell vQTLs, of which 147 were not found by additive QTL mapping. vQTLs displayed on average 1.8-fold stronger negative selection than additive QTL, highlighting that selection acts to reduce extreme blood cell phenotypes. Variance polygenic scores (vPGSs) were constructed to stratify individuals in the INTERVAL cohort (N~40,466), where genetically less variable individuals (low vPGS) had increased conventional PGS accuracy (by ~19%) than genetically more variable individuals. Genetic prediction of blood cell traits improved by ~10% on average combining PGS with vPGS. Using Mendelian randomisation and vPGS association analyses, we found that alcohol consumption significantly increased blood cell trait variances highlighting the utility of blood cell vQTLs and vPGSs to provide novel insight into phenotype aetiology as well as improve prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruidong Xiang
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia
- Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Yang Liu
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Chief Ben-Eghan
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Scott Ritchie
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Samuel A. Lambert
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Yu Xu
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fumihiko Takeuchi
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Gene Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Research Institute, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Michael Inouye
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Bate T, Martin RM, Yarmolinsky J, Haycock PC. Investigating the association between genetically proxied circulating levels of immune checkpoint proteins and cancer survival: protocol for a Mendelian randomisation analysis. BMJ Open 2024; 14:e075981. [PMID: 38365286 PMCID: PMC10875531 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Compared with the traditional drug development pathway, investigating alternative uses for existing drugs (ie, drug repurposing) requires substantially less time, cost and resources. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are licensed for the treatment of certain breast, colorectal, head and neck, lung and melanoma cancers. These drugs target immune checkpoint proteins to reduce the suppression of T cell activation by cancer cells. As T cell suppression is a hallmark of cancer common across anatomical sites, we hypothesise that immune checkpoint inhibitors could be repurposed for the treatment of additional cancers beyond the ones already indicated. METHODS AND ANALYSIS We will use two-sample Mendelian randomisation to investigate the effect of genetically proxied levels of protein targets of two immune checkpoint inhibitors-programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death ligand 1-on survival of seven cancer types (breast, colorectal, head and neck, lung, melanoma, ovarian and prostate). Summary genetic association data will be obtained from prior genome-wide association studies of circulating protein levels and cancer survival in populations of European ancestry. Various sensitivity analyses will be performed to examine the robustness of findings to potential violations of Mendelian randomisation assumptions, collider bias and the impact of alternative genetic instrument construction strategies. The impact of treatment history and tumour stage on the findings will also be investigated using summary-level and individual-level genetic data where available. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION No separate ethics approval will be required for these analyses as we will be using data from previously published genome-wide association studies which individually gained ethical approval and participant consent. Results from analyses will be submitted as an open-access peer-reviewed publication and statistical code will be made freely available on the completion of the analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa Bate
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Richard M Martin
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, Bristol, UK
| | - James Yarmolinsky
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Philip C Haycock
- Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Wang Y, Zhao J, Xu H, Han C, Tao Z, Zhao D, Zhou D, Tong G, Liu D, Ji Z. A systematic evaluation of computation methods for cell segmentation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.28.577670. [PMID: 38352578 PMCID: PMC10862744 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.28.577670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Cell segmentation is a fundamental task in analyzing biomedical images. Many computational methods have been developed for cell segmentation, but their performances are not well understood in various scenarios. We systematically evaluated the performance of 18 segmentation methods to perform cell nuclei and whole cell segmentation using light microscopy and fluorescence staining images. We found that general-purpose methods incorporating the attention mechanism exhibit the best overall performance. We identified various factors influencing segmentation performances, including training data and cell morphology, and evaluated the generalizability of methods across image modalities. We also provide guidelines for choosing the optimal segmentation methods in various real application scenarios. We developed Seggal, an online resource for downloading segmentation models already pre-trained with various tissue and cell types, which substantially reduces the time and effort for training cell segmentation models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxing Wang
- Department of Computer Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Junhan Zhao
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hongye Xu
- Department of Computer Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Cheng Han
- Department of Computer Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Tao
- Department of Computer Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Dongfang Zhao
- Department of Computer Science & eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Dawei Zhou
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Gang Tong
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Dongfang Liu
- Department of Computer Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Zhicheng Ji
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
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Homilius M, Zhu W, Eddy SS, Thompson PC, Zheng H, Warren CN, Evans CG, Kim DD, Xuan LL, Nsubuga C, Strecker Z, Pettit CJ, Cho J, Howie MN, Thaler AS, Wilson E, Wollison B, Smith C, Nascimben JB, Nascimben DN, Lunati GM, Folks HC, Cupelo M, Sridaran S, Rheinstein C, McClennen T, Goto S, Truslow JG, Vandenwijngaert S, MacRae CA, Deo RC. Perturbational phenotyping of human blood cells reveals genetically determined latent traits associated with subsets of common diseases. Nat Genet 2024; 56:37-50. [PMID: 38049662 PMCID: PMC10786715 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01600-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully linked genetic risk loci to various disorders, identifying underlying cellular biological mechanisms remains challenging due to the complex nature of common diseases. We established a framework using human peripheral blood cells, physical, chemical and pharmacological perturbations, and flow cytometry-based functional readouts to reveal latent cellular processes and performed GWAS based on these evoked traits in up to 2,600 individuals. We identified 119 genomic loci implicating 96 genes associated with these cellular responses and discovered associations between evoked blood phenotypes and subsets of common diseases. We found a population of pro-inflammatory anti-apoptotic neutrophils prevalent in individuals with specific subsets of cardiometabolic disease. Multigenic models based on this trait predicted the risk of developing chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes patients. By expanding the phenotypic space for human genetic studies, we could identify variants associated with large effect response differences, stratify patients and efficiently characterize the underlying biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Homilius
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Wandi Zhu
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Samuel S Eddy
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Patrick C Thompson
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Huahua Zheng
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Caleb N Warren
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Chiara G Evans
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David D Kim
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lucius L Xuan
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cissy Nsubuga
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zachary Strecker
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christopher J Pettit
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jungwoo Cho
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mikayla N Howie
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra S Thaler
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Evan Wilson
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce Wollison
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney Smith
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia B Nascimben
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Diana N Nascimben
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gabriella M Lunati
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hassan C Folks
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matthew Cupelo
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Suriya Sridaran
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Carolyn Rheinstein
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Taylor McClennen
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Shinichi Goto
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James G Truslow
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sara Vandenwijngaert
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Calum A MacRae
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Rahul C Deo
- One Brave Idea and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Atman Health Inc, Needham, MA, USA.
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