Association of COMT genetic polymorphism with neuromodulation treatment response in women with fecal or urinary incontinence.

Background: Prior studies have failed to demonstrate clinical or statistical difference in fecal incontinence (FI) symptom improvement with neuromodulation by percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) vs sham. The results of these studies may be indicative of a placebo or sham effect and led us to investigate possible genetic biomarkers of placebo response among women with FI.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between response to PTNS or sham and genetic polymorphisms associated with placebo response in women with FI.

Smoking-informed methylation and expression QTLs in human brain and colocalization with smoking-associated genetic loci.

Smoking is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Smoking is heritable, and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of smoking behaviors have identified hundreds of significant loci. Most GWAS-identified variants are noncoding with unknown neurobiological effects.

Smoking-informed methylation and expression QTLs in human brain and colocalization with smoking-associated genetic loci.

Smoking is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality. Smoking is heritable, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of smoking behaviors have identified hundreds of significant loci. Most GWAS-identified variants are noncoding with unknown neurobiological effects.

mapMECFS: a portal to enhance data discovery across biological disciplines and collaborative sites.

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease which involves multiple body systems (e.g., immune, nervous, digestive, circulatory) and research domains (e.

Genome-wide DNA methylation differences in nucleus accumbens of smokers vs. nonsmokers.

Numerous DNA methylation (DNAm) biomarkers of cigarette smoking have been identified in peripheral blood studies, but because of tissue specificity, blood-based studies may not detect brain-specific smoking-related DNAm differences that may provide greater insight as neurobiological indicators of smoking and its exposure effects. We report the first epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of smoking in human postmortem brain, focusing on nucleus accumbens (NAc) as a key brain region in developing and reinforcing addiction. Illumina HumanMethylation EPIC array data from 221 decedents (120 European American [23% current smokers], 101 African American [26% current smokers]) were analyzed.

House dust microbiota in relation to adult asthma and atopy in a US farming population.

Background: Bacterial exposure from house dust has been associated with asthma and atopy in children but whether these relationships are present in adults remains unclear.

Objective: We sought to examine associations of house dust microbiota with adult asthma, atopy, and hay fever.

Methods: Vacuumed bedroom dust samples from the homes of 879 participants (average age, 62 years) in the Agricultural Lung Health Study, a case-control study of asthma nested within a farming cohort, were subjected to 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize bacterial communities.

Genome-wide DNA methylation and long-term ambient air pollution exposure in Korean adults.

Background: Ambient air pollution is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood; epigenetic effects including altered DNA methylation could play a role. To evaluate associations of long-term air pollution exposure with DNA methylation in blood, we conducted an epigenome-wide association study in a Korean chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohort (N = 100 including 60 cases) using Illumina's Infinium HumanMethylation450K Beadchip. Annual average concentrations of particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in diameter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) were estimated at participants' residential addresses using exposure prediction models.

Exposures Related to House Dust Microbiota in a U.S. Farming Population.

Background: Environmental factors can influence the house dust microbiota, which may impact health outcomes. Little is known about how farming exposures impact the indoor microbiota.

Objective: We aimed to identify exposures related to bacterial communities in house dust in a U.

Sleep apnea and pesticide exposure in a study of US farmers.

Introduction: Carbamate and organophosphate pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase, and poisoning leads to respiratory depression. Thus, involvement in sleep apnea is plausible, but no data exist at lower levels of exposure. Other pesticides could impact sleep apnea by different mechanisms but have not been studied.

House Dust Endotoxin and Peripheral Leukocyte Counts: Results from Two Large Epidemiologic Studies.

Background: The peripheral leukocyte count is a biomarker of inflammation and is associated with human all-cause mortality. Although causes of acute leukocytosis are well-described, chronic environmental determinants of leukocyte number are less well understood.

Objectives: We investigated the relationship between house dust endotoxin concentration and peripheral leukocyte counts in human subjects.

House Dust Endotoxin Levels Are Associated with Adult Asthma in a U.S. Farming Population.

Rationale: Endotoxin initiates a proinflammatory response from the innate immune system. Studies in children suggest that endotoxin exposure from house dust may be an important risk factor for asthma, but few studies have been conducted in adult populations.

Objectives: To investigate the association of house dust endotoxin levels with asthma and related phenotypes (wheeze, atopy, and pulmonary function) in a large U.

Transcriptome analysis of adult and fetal trabecular meshwork, cornea, and ciliary body tissues by RNA sequencing.

Purpose: To characterize the transcriptional landscape of human adult and fetal trabecular meshwork (TM), cornea, and ciliary body (CB) tissues, and to evaluate the expression level of candidate genes selected from genetic association studies of primary-open angle glaucoma, central corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, vertical cup to disc ratio, and optic nerve parameters.

Methods: Deep RNA sequencing was performed on the selected human tissues. Transcriptome analyses were performed to 1) characterize the total number of expressed genes, 2) identify the most highly expressed genes, 3) estimate the number of novel transcripts, and 4) evaluate the expression of candidate genes in each tissue.

The Genomic Basis of Postponed Senescence in Drosophila melanogaster.

Natural populations harbor considerable genetic variation for lifespan. While evolutionary theory provides general explanations for the existence of this variation, our knowledge of the genes harboring naturally occurring polymorphisms affecting lifespan is limited. Here, we assessed the genetic divergence between five Drosophila melanogaster lines selected for postponed senescence for over 170 generations (O lines) and five lines from the same base population maintained at a two week generation interval for over 850 generations (B lines).

Discovery and functional annotation of SIX6 variants in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common subtype and is a complex trait with multigenic inheritance. Genome-wide association studies have previously identified a significant association between POAG and the SIX6 locus (rs10483727, odds ratio (OR) = 1.