Publications by authors named "Miertus J"

Article Synopsis
  • Anencephaly is a severe congenital defect of the central nervous system, characterized by a lack of significant brain structure and occurs due to improper closure of the neural tube around days 23 to 26 after fertilization.
  • Various factors including genetics, environment, and socioeconomic status contribute to its development, leading to ongoing health challenges and costs.
  • The study focuses on comparing the incidence of anencephaly in Slovakia and the Czech Republic from 2012 to 2020, investigating potential reasons for higher rates in Slovakia, the male predominance of the condition, and differences in prevention standards between countries.
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Nutritional genomics, also known as nutrigenomics, is the study of how a person's diet and genes interact with each other. The field of nutrigenomics aims to explain how common nutrients, food additives and preservatives can change the body's genetic balance towards either health or sickness. This study reviews the effects of SNPs on detoxification, antioxidant capacity, and longevity.

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Background: Nutrigenomics - the study of the interactions between genetics and nutrition - has emerged as a pivotal field in personalized nutrition. Among various genetic variations, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been extensively studied for their probable relationship with metabolic traits.

Methods: Throughout this review, we have employed a targeted research approach, carefully handpicking the most representative and relevant articles on the subject.

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Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics are two interrelated fields that explore the influence of genetic diversity on nutrient responses and function. While nutrigenetics investigates the effects of hereditary ge-netic variations on micronutrient metabolism, nutrigenomics examines the intricate relationship between diet and the genome, studying how genetic variants impact nutrient intake and gene expression. These disciplines offer valuable insights into predicting and managing chronic diseases through personalized nutritional approaches.

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Background: This article provides an overview of the application of omics sciences in melanoma research. The name omics sciences refers to the large-scale analysis of biological molecules like DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites.

Methods: In the course of this review, we have adopted a focu-sed research strategy, meticulously selecting the most pertinent and emblematic articles related to the topic.

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Background: Thyroid cancer, a heterogeneous disease originating from the thyroid gland, stands as the predominant endocrine malignan-cy worldwide. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, some patients still experience recurrence and mortality, which highlights the need for more personalized approaches to treatment. Omics sciences, encompassing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, offer a high-throughput and impartial methodology for investigating the molecular signatures of thyroid cancer.

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We have developed MAGI-ACMG, a classification algorithm that allows the classification of sequencing variants (single nucleotide or small indels) according to the recommendations of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and the Association for Clinical Genomic Science (ACGS). The MAGI-ACMG classification algorithm uses information retrieved through the VarSome Application Programming Interface (API), integrates the AutoPVS1 tool in order to evaluate more precisely the attribution of the PVS1 criterion, and performs the customized assignment of specific criteria. In addition, we propose a sub-classification scheme for variants of uncertain significance (VUS) according to their proximity either towards the "likely pathogenic" or "likely benign" classes.

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Third generation sequencing methods, like PacBio, provide information about structural variants, introns, enhancers and promoters. We developed an automated pipeline, called PacMAGI, including quality control, alignment, SNV, INDELs, structural variant calling, phasing, annotation and variant interpretation, for the analysis of PacBio data for any target region. Bi-allelic mutations in the RPE65 gene are associated with different inherited retinal dystrophies, such as Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

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Variant interpretation is challenging as it involves combining different levels of evidence in order to evaluate the role of a specific variant in the context of a patient's disease. Many in-depth refinements followed the original 2015 American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) guidelines to overcome subjective interpretation of criteria and classification inconsistencies. Here, we developed an ACMG-based classifier that retrieves information for variant interpretation from the VarSome Stable-API environment and allows molecular geneticists involved in clinical reporting to introduce the necessary changes to criterion strength and to add or exclude criteria assigned automatically, ultimately leading to the final variant classification.

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Background: The rapid spread of genome-wide next-generation sequencing in the molecular diagnosis of rare genetic disorders has produced increasing evidence of multilocus genomic variations in cases with a previously well-characterized molecular diagnosis. Here, we describe two patients with a rare combination of skeletal abnormalities and retinal dystrophy caused by variants in the SLC26A2 and ABCA4 genes, respectively, in a family with parental consanguinity.

Methods: Next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing were performed to obtain a molecular diagnosis for the retinal and skeletal phenotypes, respectively.

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Background And Aim: Intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions that often co-exist and affect children from birth, impacting on their cognition and adaptive behaviour. Social interaction and communication ability are also severely impaired in ASD. Almost 1-3% of the population is affected and it has been estimated that approximately 30% of intellectual disability and autism is caused by genetic factors.

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Background: Alström syndrome is a rare recessively inherited disorder caused by variants in the ALMS1 gene. It is characterized by multiple organ dysfunction, including cone-rod retinal dystrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy, hearing loss, obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and systemic fibrosis. Heterogeneity and age-dependent development of clinical manifestations make it difficult to obtain a clear diagnosis, especially in pediatric patients.

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Rare genetic diseases and syndromes may appear with unique features in some patients. In genetically-solved cases, this situation indicates a phenotypic expansion of the syndrome with additional features (i.e.

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Hydroxytyrosol is a phenolic phytochemical with antioxidant properties in vitro. It is a natural compound that can be found in olive leaves and oil. The main dietary source of hydroxytyrosol is extra virgin olive oil.

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Infertility due to genetic mutations that cause other defects, besides infertility, is defined as syndromic. Here we describe three of these disorders for which we perform genetic tests. 1) Hypopituitarism is an endocrine syndrome characterized by reduced or absent secretion of one or more anterior pituitary hormones with consequent dysfunction of the corresponding peripheral glands.

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Background: Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD) is an autosomal dominant macular degeneration. The typical central yellowish yolk-like lesion usually appears in childhood and gradually worsens. Most cases are caused by variants in the BEST1 gene which encodes bestrophin-1, an integral membrane protein found primarily in the retinal pigment epithelium.

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Oguchi disease, is a very rare form of night blindness caused by biallelic variations in the SAG or GRK1 genes, both involved in rod restoration after light stimuli. Here we report the clinical and genetic findings of an 8-year old boy with a history of reduced visual acuity, nyctalpia and hemeralopia. Clinical findings, in particular the Mizuo-Nakamura phenomenon, were compatible with a diagnosis of Oguchi disease.

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Introduction: Mutations of the AGXT gene encoding the alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase liver enzyme (AGT) cause primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1). Here we report a molecular modeling study of selected missense AGXT mutations: the common Gly170Arg and the recently described Gly47Arg and Ser81Leu variants, predicted to be pathogenic using standard criteria.

Methods: Taking advantage of the refined 3D structure of AGT, we computed the dimerization energy of the wild-type and mutated proteins.

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Impaired fetal movement causes malformations, summarized as fetal akinesia deformation sequence (FADS), and is triggered by environmental and genetic factors. Acetylcholine receptor (AChR) components are suspects because mutations in the fetally expressed gamma subunit (CHRNG) of AChR were found in two FADS disorders, lethal multiple pterygium syndrome (LMPS) and Escobar syndrome. Other AChR subunits alpha1, beta1, and delta (CHRNA1, CHRNB1, CHRND) as well as receptor-associated protein of the synapse (RAPSN) previously revealed missense or compound nonsense-missense mutations in viable congenital myasthenic syndrome; lethality of homozygous null mutations was predicted but never shown.

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We describe a new HLA-A*02 allele, identified in a cord blood unit and in her mother. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed the presence of a new HLA-A*02 allele identical to HLA-A*02010101 except for a non-synonymous nucleotide exchange in exon 4 modifying codon 232 from GAG (Glu) to GAC (Asp). No other human leucocyte antigen class I allele sequenced so far shows this triplet at codon 232.

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We report on a 3-year-old male with developmental delay, autistic behavior, and minor abnormalities consistent with trisomy 8 syndrome whose cytogenetic analysis revealed mosaicism for a supernumerary ring chromosome (SRC). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies, using centromeric and yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) probes, were performed to characterize further the supernumerary chromosome. The ring origin has been detected from the short arm of chromosome 8, resulting in r(8)(p10p23.

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