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Emily L Webb

Publications and source records attributed to Emily L Webb.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Search for low penetrance alleles for colorectal cancer through a scan of 1467 non-synonymous SNPs in 2575 cases and 2707 controls with validation by kin-cohort analysis of 14 704 first-degree relatives.

To identify low penetrance susceptibility alleles for colorectal cancer (CRC), we genotyped 1467 non-synonymous SNPs mapping to 871 candidate cancer genes in 2575 cases and 2707 controls. nsSNP selection was biased towards those predicted to be functionally deleterious. One SNP AKAP9 M463I remained significantly associated with CRC risk after stringent adjustment for multiple testing. Further SNPs associated with CRC risk included several previously reported to be associated with cancer risk including ATM F858L [OR=1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-2.07] and P1054R (OR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.14-1.77) and MTHFR A222V (OR=0.82; 95% CI: 0.69-0.97). To validate associations, we performed a kin-cohort analysis on the 14 704 first-degree relatives of cases for each SNP associated at the 5% level in the case-control analysis employing the marginal maximum likelihood method to infer genotypes of relatives. Our observations support the hypothesis that inherited predisposition to CRC is in part mediated through polymorphic variation and identify a number of SNPs defining inter-individual susceptibility. We have made data from this analysis publicly available at http://www.icr.ac.uk/research/research_sections/cancer_genetics/cancer_genetics_teams/molecular_and_population_genetics/software_and_databases/index.shtml in order to facilitate the identification of low penetrance CRC susceptibility alleles through pooled analyses.

Aged↗

Variants in the ATM-BRCA2-CHEK2 axis predispose to chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

We conducted a large-scale association study to identify low-penetrance susceptibility alleles for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), analyzing 992 patients and 2707 healthy controls. To increase the likelihood of identifying disease-causing alleles we genotyped 1467 coding nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in 865 candidate cancer genes, biasing nsSNP selection toward those predicted to be deleterious. Preeminent associations were identified in SNPs mapping to genes pivotal in the DNA damage-response and cell-cycle pathways, including ATM F858L (odds ratio [OR] = 2.28, P < .0001) and P1054R (OR = 1.68, P = .0006), CHEK2 I157T (OR = 14.83, P = .0008), BRCA2 N372H (OR = 1.45, P = .0032), and BUB1B Q349R (OR = 1.42, P = .0038). Our findings implicate variants in the ATM-BRCA2-CHEK2 DNA damage-response axis with risk of CLL.

Aged↗

Variants in the GH-IGF axis confer susceptibility to lung cancer.

We conducted a large-scale genome-wide association study in UK Caucasians to identify susceptibility alleles for lung cancer, analyzing 1529 cases and 2707 controls. To increase the likelihood of identifying disease-causing alleles, we genotyped 1476 nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in 871 candidate cancer genes, biasing SNP selection toward those predicted to be deleterious. Statistically significant associations were identified for 64 nsSNPs, generating a genome-wide significance level of P=0.002. Eleven of the 64 SNPs mapped to genes encoding pivotal components of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH-IGF) pathway, including CAMKK1 E375G (OR=1.37, P=5.4x10(-5)), AKAP9 M463I (OR=1.32, P=1.0x10(-4)) and GHR P495T (OR=12.98, P=0.0019). Significant associations were also detected for SNPs within genes in the DNA damage-response pathway, including BRCA2 K3326X (OR=1.72, P=0.0075) and XRCC4 I137T (OR=1.31, P=0.0205). Our study provides evidence that inherited predisposition to lung cancer is in part mediated through low-penetrance alleles and specifically identifies variants in GH-IGF and DNA damage-response pathways with risk of lung cancer.

Adult↗

Dominantly inherited cutaneous small-vessel lymphocytic vasculitis maps to chromosome 6q26-q27.

Outside the context of hereditary deficiencies of complement and IgA, Mendelian inherited predisposition to small vessel lymphocytic vasculitis (SVLV) has rarely been documented. Here we report a large, multigenerational family segregating symmetrical cutaneous SVLV affecting the cheeks, thighs and hands. In all affected family members the disease presented in early infancy and there was no evidence for an association with systemic disease. Skin biopsy of lesions showed a lymphocytic vasculitis with red blood cell extravasation. Complementary studies, with extensive investigation focused on dysfunction of the immunological system were negative. The pattern of inheritance of SVLV in the family was compatible with an autosomal dominantly acting disease gene with incomplete penetrance. To localize the disease causing gene in the family a genome-wide linkage search was conducted using a high-density SNP array. Haplotype construction and analysis of recombination events permitted the minimal interval defining the disease locus to be refined to a 4.7 Mb region on chromosome 6q26-q27. The genes CCR6 and GPR31, which map to the linked region represent plausible candidates for the disease on the basis of their biological function. Extensive screening of both genes by mutational analysis failed to identify a deleterious mutation in the family.

Chromosome Mapping↗

A high-density SNP genomewide linkage scan for chronic lymphocytic leukemia-susceptibility loci.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) show clear evidence of familial aggregation, but the inherited basis is largely unknown. To identify a susceptibility gene for CLL, we conducted a genomewide linkage analysis of 115 pedigrees, using a high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array containing 11,560 markers. Multipoint linkage analyses were undertaken using both nonparametric (model-free) and parametric (model-based) methods. Our results confirm that the presence of high linkage disequilibrium (LD) between SNP markers can lead to inflated nonparametric linkage (NPL) and LOD scores. After the removal of high-LD SNPs, we obtained a maximum NPL of 3.14 (P=.0008) on chromosome 11p11. The same genomic position also yielded the highest multipoint heterogeneity LOD (HLOD) score under both dominant (HLOD 1.95) and recessive (HLOD 2.78) models. In addition, four other chromosomal positions (5q22-23, 6p22, 10q25, and 14q32) displayed HLOD scores >1.15 (which corresponds to a nominal P value <.01). None of the regions coincided with areas of common chromosomal abnormalities frequently observed for CLL. These findings strengthen the argument for an inherited predisposition to CLL and related B-cell LPDs.

Europe↗

SNPLINK: multipoint linkage analysis of densely distributed SNP data incorporating automated linkage disequilibrium removal.

SUMMARY: SNPLINK is a Perl script that performs full genome linkage analysis of high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker sets. The presence of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between closely spaced SNP markers can falsely inflate linkage statistics. SNPLINK removes LD from the marker sets in an automated fashion before carrying out linkage analysis. SNPLINK can compute both parametric and non-parametric statistics, utilizing the freely available Allegro and Merlin software. Graphical outputs of whole genome multipoint linkage statistics are provided allowing comparison of results before and after the removal of LD.

Algorithms↗

The predicted impact of coding single nucleotide polymorphisms database.

Nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNP) have the potential to affect the structure or function of expressed proteins and are, therefore, likely to represent modifiers of inherited susceptibility. We have classified and catalogued the predicted functionality of nsSNPs in genes relevant to the biology of cancer to facilitate sequence-based association studies. Candidate genes were identified using targeted search terms and pathways to interrogate the Gene Ontology Consortium database, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, Iobion's Interaction Explorer PathwayAssist Program, National Center for Biotechnology Information Entrez Gene database, and CancerGene database. A total of 9,537 validated nsSNPs located within annotated genes were retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information dbSNP Build 123. Filtering this list and linking it to 7,080 candidate genes yielded 3,666 validated nsSNPs with minor allele frequencies > or =0.01 in Caucasian populations. The functional effect of nsSNPs in genes with a single mRNA transcript was predicted using three computational tools-Grantham matrix, Polymorphism Phenotyping, and Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant algorithms. The resultant pool of 3,009 fully annotated nsSNPs is accessible from the Predicted Impact of Coding SNPs database at http://www.icr.ac.uk/cancgen/molgen/MolPopGen_PICS_database.htm. Predicted Impact of Coding SNPs is an ongoing project that will continue to curate and release data on the putative functionality of coding SNPs.

Algorithms↗