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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Excluding linkage between panic disorder and the gamma-aminobutyric acid beta 1 receptor locus in five Icelandic pedigrees.

The GABAA receptor subunits are candidate genes for panic disorder because the receptor is the site of action for the anxiolytic effects of the benzodiazepines. We tested for linkage between a tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism at the GABAA beta 1 locus, located on chromosome 4p13-p12, and panic disorder defined by DSM-III-R criteria in 5 Icelandic pedigrees. Both a narrow affection status (definite panic disorder and agoraphobia) and a broad one (including probable cases of these disorders) were tested. With the narrow definition, at a recombination fraction of 0.00, the lod scores in the 5 pedigrees ranged from -3.240 to +0.063, the total score across all 5 pedigrees being -8.299. With the broad definition at the same recombination fraction, the individual lod scores ranged from -2.614 to -0.489, with the total being -8.089. Thus, linkage between panic disorder/agoraphobia and the GABAA beta 1 locus in these pedigrees is exceedingly unlikely.

Adult↗

Mortality over two centuries in large pedigree with familial hypercholesterolaemia: family tree mortality study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate all cause mortality from untreated familial hypercholesterolaemia free from selection for coronary artery disease. DESIGN: Family tree mortality study. SETTING: Large pedigree in Netherlands traced back to a single pair of ancestors in the 19th century. SUBJECTS: All members of pedigree aged over 20 years with 0.5 probability of carrying a mutation for familial hypercholesterolaemia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All cause mortality. RESULTS: A total of 70 deaths took place among 250 people analysed for 6950 person years. Mortality was not increased in carriers of the mutation during the 19th and early 20th century; it rose after 1915, reached its maximum between 1935 and 1964 (standardised mortality ratio 1.78, 95% confidence interval 1.13 to 2.76; P=0.003), and fell thereafter. Mortality differed significantly between two branches of the pedigree (relative risk 3.26, 95% confidence interval 1.74 to 6.11; P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Risk of death varies significantly among patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia. This large variability over time and between branches of the pedigree points to a strong interaction with environmental factors. Future research is required to identify patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia who are at extreme risk and need early and vigorous preventive measures.

Adult↗

Pedigree generation for analysis of genetic linkage and association.

We have developed a software package, SIMLA (simulation of linkage and association), which can be used to generate pedigree data under user-specified conditions. The number and location of disease loci, disease penetrances, marker locations, and marker disequilibrium with a disease locus and with other markers can be controlled. In addition, the pedigree size and availability of genotype data may also be specified, and a number of rules for family ascertainment are available. Estimates for power and type I errors can be evaluated under a variety of conditions, as needed by the user. We developed this simulation program because there are no publicly available programs to simulate variable levels of both recombination and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in general pedigrees. Genetic researchers are routinely applying both tests of linkage and family-based tests of association in the search for complex disease genes, and a plethora of different statistical approaches are available. Thus there is a need for the flexible statistical simulation program that we describe. This is the only program that we are aware of that allows simulation of linkage and association for multiple markers in extended pedigrees, nuclear families or in sets of unrelated cases and controls. Furthermore, the program not only allows for variable levels of LD among markers but also between markers and disease loci. SIMLA can simulate the complex and variable levels of LD that have been observed at close markers across the genome and allows for realistic simulation of complex relationships between markers. The program will be useful for studying and comparing existing statistical tests, for developing new genetic linkage and association statistics, planning sample sizes for new studies, and interpreting genetic analysis results.

Algorithms↗

Multipoint estimation of identity-by-descent probabilities at arbitrary positions among marker loci on general pedigrees.

OBJECTIVES: To describe, implement, and test an efficient algorithm to obtain multipoint identity-by-descent (IBD) probabilities at arbitrary positions among marker loci for general pedigrees. Unlike existing programs, our algorithm can analyze data sets with large numbers of people and markers. The algorithm has been implemented in the SimWalk2 computer package. METHODS: Using a rigorous testing regimen containing five pedigrees of various sizes with realistic marker data, we compared several widely used IBD computation programs: Allegro, Aspex, GeneHunter, MapMaker/Sibs, Mendel, Sage, SimWalk2, and Solar. RESULTS: The testing revealed a few discrepancies, particularly on consanguineous pedigrees, but overall excellent results in the deterministic multipoint packages. SimWalk2 was also found to be in good agreement with the deterministic multipoint programs, usually matching to two decimal places the kinship coefficient that ranges from 0 to 1. However, the packages based on single-point IBD estimation, while consistent with each other, often showed poor results, disagreeing with the multipoint kinship results by as much as 0.5. CONCLUSIONS: Our testing has clearly shown that multipoint IBD estimation is much better than single-point estimation. In addition, our testing has validated our algorithm for estimating IBD probabilities at arbitrary positions on general pedigrees.

Algorithms↗

Genome sharing in large pedigrees: multiple imputation of ibd for linkage detection.

Our objective is the development of robust methods for assessment of evidence for linkage of loci affecting a complex trait to a marker linkage group, using data on extended pedigrees. Using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, it is possible to sample realizations from the distribution of gene identity by descent (IBD) patterns on a pedigree, conditional on observed data YM at multiple marker loci. Measures of gene IBDW which capture joint genome sharing in extended pedigrees often have unknown and highly skewed distributions, particularly when conditioned on marker data. MCMC provides a direct estimate of the distribution of such measures. Let W be the IBD measure from data YM, and W* the IBD measure from pseudo-data Y*M simulated with the same data availability and genetic marker model as the true data YM, but in the absence of linkage. Then measures of the difference in distributions of W and W* provide evidence for linkage. This approach extracts more information from the data YM than either comparison to the pedigree prior distribution of W or use of statistics that are expectations of W given the data YM. A small example is presented.

Chromosome Mapping↗

The pedigree trimming problem.

This report mathematically validates a fast algorithm for trimming irrelevant members from a pedigree. These individuals are typically dead or otherwise unavailable for study. Left in the pedigree, they slow likelihood evaluation. Of course, each pedigree of interest will have some core people who must be retained. The described algorithm retains just enough of the pedigree to maintain the proper relationships among the core people.

Algorithms↗

Clinical and genetic features in a Chinese pedigree with autosomal dominant auditory neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: A variety of processes and etiologies are thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of auditory neuropathy (AN). However, little is known about the clinical and molecular characteristics of hereditary AN. OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and genetic findings of a Chinese family with AN. METHODS: Seven patients in three consecutive generations of the pedigree were selected. Detailed history collection, physical examination, and audiological evaluations including pure-tone audiometry, acoustic immittance, auditory brainstem responses, cochlear microphonics, and evoked otoacoustic emissions, and mitochondrial DNA analysis were performed. RESULTS: All subjects involved are offspring of a female ancestor in the pedigree. In 6 of them, the hearing impairment started before the age of 9. Audiograms showed bilateral, symmetric, and profound deafness. Other audiological examinations revealed absent acoustic reflexes and auditory brainstem responses, and preserved evoked otoacoustic emissions and cochlear microphonics. One subject was characterized by normal audiological findings except high-frequency hearing loss with later onset. Hearing deterioration was found in 2 subjects who were followed for 26 months. Physical examination and mitochondrial DNA analysis yielded normal results. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical features in the pedigree are consistent with type II AN. Pedigree analysis and molecular findings indicate an autosomal dominant inheritance.

Adolescent↗

Faster linkage analysis computations for pedigrees with loops or unused alleles.

There seems to be no limit to the complexity of computations that genetic linkage analysts want to do. Two primary factors that increase the length of computations are pedigree loops and unknown genotypes. I describe the implementation in FASTLINK of some algorithmic improvements to partly address the problems of pedigree loops and unknown genotypes. LINKAGE is by far the most popular software package to do lod score computations on disease pedigrees. FASTLINK is derived from LINKAGE 5.1 and compatible with it. In contrast to LINKAGE, FASTLINK has the virtues that it is faster sequentially, runs well in parallel, is more robust against errors, and includes substantial new documentation. One of the new improvements allows the detection of violation of mendelian rules of inheritance in input pedigree files with loops. This error-detection capability was not provided in any previous version of LINKAGE or FASTLINK.

Algorithms↗

Early-onset macular degeneration with drusen in a cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) pedigree: exclusion of 13 candidate genes and loci.

PURPOSE: To describe hereditary macular degeneration observed in the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis), which shares phenotypic features with age-related macular degeneration in humans, and to test the involvement of candidate gene loci by mutation screening and linkage analysis. METHODS: Ophthalmic examinations with fundus photography, fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (IA), electroretinography (ERG), and histologic studies were performed on both affected and unaffected monkeys in the pedigree. The monkey orthologues of the human ABCA4, VMD2, EFEMP1, TIMP3, and ELOVL4 genes were cloned and screened for mutations by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis or denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and direct sequencing in six affected and five unaffected monkeys from the pedigree and in six unrelated, unaffected monkeys. Subsequently, 13 human macular degeneration loci including these five genes were analyzed to test for linkage with the disease. Nineteen affected and seven unaffected monkeys in the pedigree were analyzed by using human microsatellite markers linked to the 13 loci. RESULTS: Yellowish white spots were observed in the macula and fovea centralis, and in some cases the spots scattered to the peripheral retina along the blood vessels. FA showed hyperfluorescence corresponding to the dots except in the foveola. No anomalies were found by IA and ERG. Histologic studies demonstrated that the spots were drusen. Mutation analysis of the ABCA4, VMD2, EFEMP1, TIMP3, and ELOVL4 genes identified a few sequence variants, but none of them segregated with the disease. Linkage analysis with markers linked to these five genes and an additional eight human macular degeneration loci failed to establish linkage. Haplotype analysis excluded the involvement of the 13 candidate loci for harboring the gene associated with macular degeneration in the monkeys. CONCLUSIONS: Significant homology was identified between monkey and human orthologues of the five macular degeneration genes. Thirteen loci associated with macular degeneration in humans or harboring macular degeneration genes were excluded as causal of early-onset macular degeneration in the monkeys. It is likely that none of these loci, but rather a novel gene, is involved in causing the observed phenotype in this monkey pedigree.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗

Comparison of clinical and pathological phenotypes in two ethnically and geographically unrelated pedigrees segregating an equivalent presenilin 1 mutation.

At least 30 different missense mutations have been identified within the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene in pedigrees transmitting familial Alzheimer's disease. The authors investigated the clinical and pathological features of affected members of two pedigrees segregating a PS1 Met146Leu mutation. Genetic relationships between these pedigrees can be effectively excluded on the basis of genealogical data and the fact that although the amino acid substitution is identical, the nucleotide mutations are different. The clinical picture shows remarkable similarities in the neurological and the neuropathological findings between the two pedigrees. This general clinical and pathological concordance argues that much of the disease phenotype arises directly from the effects of the amino acid substitution within the PS1 protein itself. Clinical differences could arise from a direct effect of the difference in base sequence or, alternatively, from the effect of genetic or environmental modifiers.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Sampling genotypes in large pedigrees with loops.

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have been proposed to overcome computational problems in linkage and segregation analyses. This approach involves sampling genotypes at the marker and trait loci. Scalar-Gibbs is easy to implement, and it is widely used in genetics. However, the Markov chain that corresponds to scalar-Gibbs may not be irreducible when the marker locus has more than two alleles, and even when the chain is irreducible, mixing has been observed to be slow. These problems do not arise if the genotypes are sampled jointly from the entire pedigree. This paper proposes a method to jointly sample genotypes. The method combines the Elston-Stewart algorithm and iterative peeling, and is called the ESIP sampler. For a hypothetical pedigree, genotype probabilities are estimated from samples obtained using ESIP and also scalar-Gibbs. Approximate probabilities were also obtained by iterative peeling. Comparisons of these with exact genotypic probabilities obtained by the Elston-Stewart algorithm showed that ESIP and iterative peeling yielded genotypic probabilities that were very close to the exact values. Nevertheless, estimated probabilities from scalar-Gibbs with a chain of length 235 000, including a burn-in of 200 000 steps, were less accurate than probabilities estimated using ESIP with a chain of length 10 000, with a burn-in of 5 000 steps. The effective chain size (ECS) was estimated from the last 25 000 elements of the chain of length 125 000. For one of the ESIP samplers, the ECS ranged from 21 579 to 22 741, while for the scalar-Gibbs sampler, the ECS ranged from 64 to 671. Genotype probabilities were also estimated for a large real pedigree consisting of 3 223 individuals. For this pedigree, it is not feasible to obtain exact genotype probabilities by the Elston-Stewart algorithm. ESIP and iterative peeling yielded very similar results. However, results from scalar-Gibbs were less accurate.

Algorithms↗

Parallel computations on pedigree data through mapping to configurable computing devices.

Pedigree data structures have a number of applications in genetics, including the estimation of allelic or haplotype probabilities in humans and agricultural species, and the estimation of breeding values in agricultural species. Sequential algorithms for general purpose CPU-based computers are commonly used, but are inadequate for some tasks on large data sets. We show that pedigree data can be directly represented on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), allowing highly efficient massively parallel simulation of the flow of genes. Operating on the whole pedigree in parallel, the transmission of genes can occur for all individuals in a single clock cycle. By using FPGA, the algorithms to estimate inbreeding coefficients and allelic probabilities are shown to operate hundreds to thousands of times faster than the corresponding sequentially based algorithms. Where problems can be largely represented in an integer form, FPGA provide an efficient platform for computations on pedigree data.

Algorithms↗

PedGenie: an analysis approach for genetic association testing in extended pedigrees and genealogies of arbitrary size.

BACKGROUND: We present a general approach to perform association analyses in pedigrees of arbitrary size and structure, which also allows for a mixture of pedigree members and independent individuals to be analyzed together, to test genetic markers and qualitative or quantitative traits. Our software, PedGenie, uses Monte Carlo significance testing to provide a valid test for related individuals that can be applied to any test statistic, including transmission disequilibrium statistics. Single locus at a time, composite genotype tests, and haplotype analyses may all be performed. We illustrate the validity and functionality of PedGenie using simulated and real data sets. For the real data set, we evaluated the role of two tagging-single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) in the DNA repair gene, NBS1, and their association with female breast cancer in 462 cases and 572 controls selected to be BRCA1/2 mutation negative from 139 high-risk Utah breast cancer families. RESULTS: The results from PedGenie were shown to be valid both for accurate p-value calculations and consideration of pedigree structure in the simulated data set. A nominally significant association with breast cancer was observed with the NBS1 tSNP rs709816 for carriage of the rare allele (OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.10-2.35, p = 0.019). CONCLUSION: PedGenie is a flexible and valid statistical tool that is intuitively simple to understand, makes efficient use of all the data available from pedigrees without requiring trimming, and is flexible to the types of tests to which it can be applied. Further, our analyses of real data indicate NBS1 may play a role in the genetic etiology of heritable breast cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Estimate haplotype frequencies in pedigrees.

BACKGROUND: Haplotype analysis has gained increasing attention in the context of association studies of disease genes and drug responsivities over the last years. The potential use of haplotypes has led to the initiation of the HapMap project which is to investigate haplotype patterns in the human genome in different populations. Haplotype inference and frequency estimation are essential components of this endeavour. RESULTS: We present a two-stage method to estimate haplotype frequencies in pedigrees, which includes haplotyping stage and estimation stage. In the haplotyping stage, we propose a linear time algorithm to determine all zero-recombinant haplotype configurations for each pedigree. In the estimation stage, we use the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate haplotype frequencies based on these haplotype configurations. The experiments demonstrate that our method runs much faster and gives more credible estimates than other popular haplotype analysis software that discards the pedigree information. CONCLUSION: Our method suggests that pedigree information is of great importance in haplotype analysis. It can be used to speedup estimation process, and to improve estimation accuracy as well. The result also demonstrates that the whole haplotype configuration space can be substituted by the space of zero-recombinant haplotype configurations in haplotype frequency estimation, especially when the considered haplotype block is relatively short.

Base Sequence↗

Pedigree and genotype errors in the Framingham Heart Study.

The pedigree and genotype data from the Framingham Heart Study were examined for errors. Errors in 21 of 329 pedigrees were detected with the program PREST, and of these the errors in 16 pedigrees were resolved. Genotyping errors were then detected with SIMWALK2. Five Mendelian errors were found following the pedigree corrections. Double-recombinant errors were more common, with 142 being detected at mistyping probabilities of 0.25 or greater.

Adult Children↗

Linkage analysis of the GAW14 simulated dataset with microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphism markers in large pedigrees.

Recent studies have suggested that a high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set could provide equivalent or even superior information compared with currently used microsatellite (STR) marker sets for gene mapping by linkage. The focus of this study was to compare results obtained from linkage analyses involving extended pedigrees with STR and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker sets. We also wanted to compare the performance of current linkage programs in the presence of high marker density and extended pedigree structures. One replicate of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW14) simulated extended pedigrees (n = 50) from New York City was analyzed to identify the major gene D2. Four marker sets with varying information content and density on chromosome 3 (STR [7.5 cM]; SNP [3 cM, 1 cM, 0.3 cM]) were analyzed to detect two traits, the original affection status, and a redefined trait more closely correlated with D2. Multipoint parametric and nonparametric linkage analyses (NPL) were performed using programs GENEHUNTER, MERLIN, SIMWALK2, and S.A.G.E. SIBPAL. Our results suggested that the densest SNP map (0.3 cM) had the greatest power to detect linkage for the original trait (genetic heterogeneity), with the highest LOD score/NPL score and mapping precision. However, no significant improvement in linkage signals was observed with the densest SNP map compared with STR or SNP-1 cM maps for the redefined affection status (genetic homogeneity), possibly due to the extremely high information contents for all maps. Finally, our results suggested that each linkage program had limitations in handling the large, complex pedigrees as well as a high-density SNP marker set.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Comparisons of methods for linkage analysis and haplotype reconstruction using extended pedigree data.

We compare and contrast the performance of SIMPLE, a Monte Carlo based software, with that of several other methods for linkage and haplotype analyses, focusing on the simulated data from the New York City population. First, a whole-genome scan study based on the microsatellite markers was performed using GENEHUNTER. Because GENEHUNTER had to drop individuals for many of the pedigrees, we performed a follow-up study focusing on several regions of interest using SIMPLE, which can handle all pedigrees in their entirety. Second, 3 haplotyping programs, including that in SIMPLE, were used to reconstruct haplotypic configurations in pedigrees. SIMPLE emerges clearly as a preferred tool, as it can handle large pedigrees and produces haplotypic configurations without double recombinant haplotypes. For this study, we had knowledge of the simulating models at the time we performed the analysis.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Characterisation of SNP haplotype structure in chemokine and chemokine receptor genes using CEPH pedigrees and statistical estimation.

Chemokine signals and their cell-surface receptors are important modulators of HIV-1 disease and cancer. To aid future case/control association studies, aim to further characterise the haplotype structure of variation in chemokine and chemokine receptor genes. To perform haplotype analysis in a population-based association study, haplotypes must be determined by estimation, in the absence of family information or laboratory methods to establish phase. Here, test the accuracy of estimates of haplotype frequency and linkage disequilibrium by comparing estimated haplotypes generated with the expectation maximisation (EM) algorithm to haplotypes determined from Centre d'Etude Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) pedigree data. To do this, they have characterised haplotypes comprising alleles at 11 biallelic loci in four chemokine receptor genes (CCR3, CCR2, CCR5 and CCRL2), which span 150 kb on chromosome 3p21, and haplotyes of nine biallelic loci in six chemokine genes [MCP-1(CCL2), Eotaxin(CCL11), RANTES(CCL5), MPIF-1(CCL23), PARC(CCL18) and MIP-1alpha(CCL3)] on chromosome 17q11-12. Forty multi-generation CEPH families, totalling 489 individuals, were genotyped by the TaqMan 5'-nuclease assay. Phased haplotypes and haplotypes estimated from unphased genotypes were compared in 103 grandparents who were assumed to have mated at random. For the 3p21 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, haplotypes determined by pedigree analysis and haplotypes generated by the EM algorithm were nearly identical. Linkage disequilibrium, measured by the D' statistic, was nearly maximal across the 150 kb region, with complete disequilibrium maintained at the extremes between CCR3-Y17Y and CCRL2-I243V. D'-values calculated from estimated haplotypes on 3p21 had high concordance with pairwise comparisons between pedigree-phased chromosomes. Conversely, there was less agreement between analyses of haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium using estimated haplotypes when compared with pedigree-phased haplotypes of SNPs on chromosome 17q11-12. These results suggest that, while estimations of haplotype frequency and linkage disequilibrium may be relatively simple in the 3p21 chemokine receptor cluster in population samples, the more complex environment on chromosome 17q11-12 will require a higher resolution haplotype analysis.

Algorithms↗