Publications by authors named "Kathleen Barnes"

Mosaic loss of Y (mLOY) is the most common somatic chromosomal alteration detected in human blood. The presence of mLOY is associated with altered blood cell counts and increased risk of Alzheimer disease, solid tumors, and other age-related diseases. We sought to gain a better understanding of genetic drivers and associated phenotypes of mLOY through analyses of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of a large set of genetically diverse males from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program.

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In studies of individuals of primarily European genetic ancestry, common and low-frequency variants and rare coding variants have been found to be associated with the risk of bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ). However, less is known for individuals of other genetic ancestries or the role of rare non-coding variants in BD and SZ risk. We performed whole genome sequencing of African American individuals: 1,598 with BD, 3,295 with SZ, and 2,651 unaffected controls (InPSYght study).

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The following sections are included: Overview, Advancing multi-ancestry genetic research, Integrating social determinants of health to enhance genetic risk models, Methods to detect and mitigate disparities, Addressing Disparities in Adverse Drug Reactions, Conclusion, Acknowledgments,References.

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  • The relationship between patients and doctors is getting weaker, which is a big part of the problem with prescription opioids.
  • Patients dealing with pain often feel misunderstood and stigmatized, leading to a lack of trust in their doctors.
  • Doctors also face challenges, like not having enough resources, feeling pressured to reduce prescriptions quickly, and worrying about how patients see them, making it hard to connect and help effectively.
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  • The study investigates how rare non-coding genetic variations affect complex traits, specifically focusing on human height by analyzing data from over 333,100 individuals across three large datasets.
  • Researchers found 29 significant rare variants linked to height, with impacts ranging from a decrease of 7 cm to an increase of 4.7 cm, after considering previously known variants.
  • The team also identified specific non-coding variants near key genes associated with height, demonstrating a new method for understanding the effects of rare variants in regulatory regions using whole-genome sequencing.
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Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is heterogeneous and multifactorial, making its accurate characterization a complex process. Therefore, identifying the genetic variations associated with asthma and discovering the molecular interactions between the omics that confer risk of developing this disease will help us to unravel the biological pathways involved in its pathogenesis.

Objective: We sought to develop a predictive genetic panel for asthma using machine learning methods.

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  • Asthma shows significant differences in prevalence and characteristics among various ancestral groups, yet the reasons for these disparities are not well understood.
  • The Consortium on Asthma among African-ancestry Populations in the Americas (CAAPA) is analyzing genetic information from individuals of African ancestry to identify specific genes related to asthma.
  • In their findings, they discovered 389 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with key networks linked to immune response and wound healing, revealing three main areas of dysregulation important for understanding asthma within these populations.
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  • Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified genes linked to telomere length, but previous research hadn't validated these findings until now.
  • In a large analysis involving over 211,000 people, the study discovered five new signals linked to telomere length and highlighted the importance of blood/immune cells in this area.
  • The researchers confirmed that the genes KBTBD6 and POP5 truly affect telomere length by demonstrating that manipulating these genes can lengthen telomeres and that their regulation is crucial for understanding telomere biology.
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  • Pharmacogenomic testing is increasingly important for psychiatric care, but more research is needed to understand its practical benefits in real-world settings.
  • A study involving 15,000 patients revealed that 65% had potentially actionable genetic traits related to drug metabolism, particularly for the genes CYP2C19 and CYP2D6, with 87% showing some potential for actionable insights.
  • The use of advanced genetic sequencing helped identify significant genetic variations that could affect treatment decisions, suggesting that early pharmacogenomic testing might improve medication prescribing and patient outcomes in psychiatric care.
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Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is characterized by the acquisition of a somatic mutation in a hematopoietic stem cell that results in a clonal expansion. These driver mutations can be single nucleotide variants in cancer driver genes or larger structural rearrangements called mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs). The factors that influence the variations in mCA fitness and ultimately result in different clonal expansion rates are not well understood.

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Mosaic loss of Y (mLOY) is the most common somatic chromosomal alteration detected in human blood. The presence of mLOY is associated with altered blood cell counts and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, solid tumors, and other age-related diseases. We sought to gain a better understanding of genetic drivers and associated phenotypes of mLOY through analyses of whole genome sequencing of a large set of genetically diverse males from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program.

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Cornelia de Lange's syndrome (CDLS) is a multisystem genetic syndrome characterized by well-defined physical, intellectual, and behavioral characteristics. The diagnosis of CDLS is typically done clinically after birth; however, recent studies have demonstrated the ability to use prenatal ultrasound and whole-exome sequencing to diagnose CDLS prenatally. Here we present a prenatal case in which multiple fetal anomalies were identified on ultrasound at 20 weeks of gestation.

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Precision medicine initiatives across the globe have led to a revolution of repositories linking large-scale genomic data with electronic health records, enabling genomic analyses across the entire phenome. Many of these initiatives focus solely on research insights, leading to limited direct benefit to patients. We describe the biobank at the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM Biobank) that was jointly developed by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and UCHealth to serve as a unique, dual-purpose research and clinical resource accelerating personalized medicine.

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The following sections are included:OverviewDealing with the lack of diversity in current research datasetsDevelopment of fair machine learning algorithmsRace, genetic ancestry, and population structureConclusionAcknowledgments.

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Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is characterized by the acquisition of a somatic mutation in a hematopoietic stem cell that results in a clonal expansion. These driver mutations can be single nucleotide variants in cancer driver genes or larger structural rearrangements called mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs). The factors that influence the variations in mCA fitness and ultimately result in different clonal expansion rates are not well-understood.

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  • Megabase-scale mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) in blood can indicate the risk of various human diseases, and this study analyzes whole-genome sequencing data from 67,390 individuals to better understand mCA rates across different genetic backgrounds.
  • The research found that whole-genome sequencing is more effective than traditional methods for detecting mCAs, revealing that individuals of European ancestry have higher rates of autosomal mCAs and lower rates of chromosome X mCAs compared to those of African or Hispanic ancestry.
  • The study identifies three genetic loci linked to chromosome X loss and associates rare variants in specific genes (DCPS, ADM17, PPP1R16B, and TET2) with autosomal mCAs
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Background: Host genetic factors may be associated with COVID-19 unfavourable outcomes. The first genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted in individuals with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 revealed susceptibility loci close to six genes (, , , , and ) and the ABO blood-group gene. We aimed to investigate how polymorphisms in those genes could relate to lung function and severe asthma in a Brazilian population.

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  • Obesity poses a significant public health challenge and is linked to high mortality rates, with prior studies focusing mostly on European populations.
  • This research utilized whole-genome sequencing data from a diverse group of 88,873 individuals, finding 18 new signals associated with body mass index (BMI) and highlighting a novel SNP prevalent among people of African descent.
  • The study emphasizes the importance of diverse genetic data in identifying new obesity-related variants, moving us closer to personalized medical interventions for this crisis.
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Background: Sepsis and associated organ failures confer substantial morbidity and mortality. Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is implicated in the development of tissue oxidative damage in a wide variety of respiratory and cardiovascular disorders including sepsis and sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the XDH gene (encoding XOR) might influence susceptibility to and outcome in patients with sepsis.

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  • The study explored atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic skin condition, to link its severity with historical and clinical features as well as biomarkers.
  • A total of 2,862 participants were categorized into mild, moderate, and severe AD, with findings showing that severity is associated with several factors including a personal/family history of allergic disorders and certain skin conditions.
  • Key indicators of severity included high serum IgE levels, eosinophilia, and specific skin manifestations, along with a range of bacterial and viral skin infections, highlighting the complex nature of AD.
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  • A study analyzed over 43,000 blood genomes and discovered 7,131 recurrent non-missense somatic mutations (RNMSMs) that frequently occur in at least 50 individuals, challenging the idea that such mutations are rare and insignificant.
  • RNMSMs were found to increase with age, averaging 27 mutations in individuals around 50 years old, and were linked to inherited genetic variations affecting immune functions.
  • The presence of specific RNMSMs was associated with blood cell traits similar to the effects of inherited genetic mutations, suggesting that these somatic mutations have significant implications for human health.
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Mutations in a diverse set of driver genes increase the fitness of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), leading to clonal haematopoiesis. These lesions are precursors for blood cancers, but the basis of their fitness advantage remains largely unknown, partly owing to a paucity of large cohorts in which the clonal expansion rate has been assessed by longitudinal sampling. Here, to circumvent this limitation, we developed a method to infer the expansion rate from data from a single time point.

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Background: Serum troponin levels correlate with the extent of myocyte necrosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and predict adverse outcomes. However, thresholds of cardiac troponin elevation that could portend to poor outcomes have not been established.

Methods: In this cohort study, we characterized all cardiac troponin elevations > 0.

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Biobanks facilitate genome-wide association studies (GWASs), which have mapped genomic loci across a range of human diseases and traits. However, most biobanks are primarily composed of individuals of European ancestry. We introduce the Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative (GBMI)-a collaborative network of 23 biobanks from 4 continents representing more than 2.

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  • The study investigates the unexplored variations in DNA methylation at CpG sites in airway epithelial cells from children with and without allergic asthma, using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing.
  • Researchers designed a custom array to highlight these high-value CpGs and used it alongside existing arrays to analyze allergic sensitization in children from different birth cohorts.
  • Results showed that the custom array contained CpGs with intermediate methylation levels, which were significantly associated with allergic sensitization and gene expression regulation.
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