The vast majority of missense variants observed in the human genome are of unknown clinical significance. We present AlphaMissense, an adaptation of AlphaFold fine-tuned on human and primate variant population frequency databases to predict missense variant pathogenicity. By combining structural context and evolutionary conservation, our model achieves state-of-the-art results across a wide range of genetic and experimental benchmarks, all without explicitly training on such data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Comput Biol
February 2020
Analysing multiple cancer samples from an individual patient can provide insight into the way the disease evolves. Monitoring the expansion and contraction of distinct clones helps to reveal the mutations that initiate the disease and those that drive progression. Existing approaches for clonal tracking from sequencing data typically require the user to combine multiple tools that are not purpose-built for this task.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenome-wide transcriptome profiling has enabled non-supervised classification of tumours, revealing different sub-groups characterized by specific gene expression features. However, the biological significance of these subtypes remains for the most part unclear. We describe herein an interactive platform, Minimum Spanning Trees Inferred Clustering (MiSTIC), that integrates the direct visualization and comparison of the gene correlation structure between datasets, the analysis of the molecular causes underlying co-variations in gene expression in cancer samples, and the clinical annotation of tumour sets defined by the combined expression of selected biomarkers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHematopoiesis is a multistage process involving the differentiation of stem and progenitor cells into distinct mature cell lineages. Here we present Haemopedia, an atlas of murine gene-expression data containing 54 hematopoietic cell types, covering all the mature lineages in hematopoiesis. We include rare cell populations such as eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, and megakaryocytes, and a broad collection of progenitor and stem cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe thrombopoietic environment of the neonate is established during prenatal life; therefore, a comprehensive understanding of platelet-forming cell development during embryogenesis is critical to understanding the etiology of early-onset thrombocytopenia. The recent discovery that the first platelet-forming cells of the conceptus are not megakaryocytes (MKs) but diploid platelet-forming cells (DPFCs) revealed a previously unappreciated complexity in thrombopoiesis. This raises important questions, including the following.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a functional genomics screen of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with nested hemizygous chromosomal deletions, we reveal that ribosomal protein (RP) genes are the most significant haploinsufficient determinants for embryoid body (EB) formation. Hemizygocity for three RP genes (Rps5, Rps14, or Rps28), distinguished by the proximity of their corresponding protein to the ribosome's mRNA exit site, is associated with the most profound phenotype. This EB phenotype was fully rescued by BAC or cDNA complementation but not by the reduction of p53 levels, although such reduction was effective with most other RP-deleted clones corresponding to non-mRNA exit-site proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we test the assumption that the hematopoietic progenitor/colony-forming cells of the embryonic yolk sac (YS), which are endowed with megakaryocytic potential, differentiate into the first platelet-forming cells in vivo. We demonstrate that from embryonic day (E) 8.5 all megakaryocyte (MK) colony-forming cells belong to the conventional hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) compartment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccurate quantification of gene expression by qRT-PCR relies on normalization against a consistently expressed control gene. However, control genes in common use often vary greatly between samples, especially in cancer. The advent of Next Generation Sequencing technology offers the possibility to better select control genes with the least cell to cell variability in steady state transcript levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasmodium falciparum exports several hundred effector proteins that remodel the host erythrocyte and enable parasites to acquire nutrients, sequester in the circulation and evade immune responses. The majority of exported proteins contain the Plasmodium export element (PEXEL; RxLxE/Q/D) in their N-terminus, which is proteolytically cleaved in the parasite endoplasmic reticulum by Plasmepsin V, and is necessary for export. Several exported proteins lack a PEXEL or contain noncanonical motifs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is responsible for 25-40% of the approximately 515 million annual cases of malaria worldwide. Although seldom fatal, the parasite elicits severe and incapacitating clinical symptoms and often causes relapses months after a primary infection has cleared. Despite its importance as a major human pathogen, P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerine repeat antigens (SERAs) are a family of secreted "cysteine-like" proteases of Plasmodium parasites. Several SERAs possess an atypical active-site serine residue in place of the canonical cysteine. The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum possesses six "serine-type" (SERA1 to SERA5 and SERA9) and three "cysteine-type" (SERA6 to SERA8) SERAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost proteins that coat the surface of the extracellular forms of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are attached to the plasma membrane via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors. These proteins are exposed to neutralizing antibodies, and several are advanced vaccine candidates. To identify the GPI-anchored proteome of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe form of malaria in humans. After invasion into erythrocytes, asexual parasite stages drastically alter their host cell and export remodeling and virulence proteins. Previously, we have reported identification and functional analysis of a short motif necessary for export of proteins out of the parasite and into the red blood cell.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe first sequenced marsupial genome promises to reveal unparalleled insights into mammalian evolution. We have used the Monodelphis domestica (gray short-tailed opossum) sequence to construct the first map of a marsupial major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The MHC is the most gene-dense region of the mammalian genome and is critical to immunity and reproductive success.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral species of mycobacteria express abundant glycopeptidolipids (GPLs) on the surfaces of their cells. The GPLs are glycolipids that contain modified sugars including acetylated 6-deoxy-talose and methylated rhamnose. Four methyltransferases have been implicated in the synthesis of the GPLs of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasmodium falciparum is the parasite responsible for the most acute form of malaria in humans. Recently, the serine repeat antigen (SERA) in P. falciparum has attracted attention as a potential vaccine and drug target, and it has been shown to be a member of a large gene family.
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