ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9335-9260
Current Organisation
University of Oxford
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 08-09-2017
Abstract: Identifying large expansions of short tandem repeats (STRs), such as those that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and fragile X syndrome, is challenging for short-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data. A solution to this problem is an important step toward integrating WGS into precision medicine. We developed a software tool called ExpansionHunter that, using PCR-free WGS short-read data, can genotype repeats at the locus of interest, even if the expanded repeat is larger than the read length. We applied our algorithm to WGS data from 3001 ALS patients who have been tested for the presence of the C9orf72 repeat expansion with repeat-primed PCR (RP-PCR). Compared against this truth data, ExpansionHunter correctly classified all (212/212, 95% CI [0.98, 1.00]) of the expanded s les as either expansions (208) or potential expansions (4). Additionally, 99.9% (2786/2789, 95% CI [0.997, 1.00]) of the wild-type s les were correctly classified as wild type by this method with the remaining three s les identified as possible expansions. We further applied our algorithm to a set of 152 s les in which every s le had one of eight different pathogenic repeat expansions, including those associated with fragile X syndrome, Friedreich's ataxia, and Huntington's disease, and correctly flagged all but one of the known repeat expansions. Thus, ExpansionHunter can be used to accurately detect known pathogenic repeat expansions and provides researchers with a tool that can be used to identify new pathogenic repeat expansions.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-07-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NG.3626
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-07-2019
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-04-2017
DOI: 10.1093/BRAIN/AWX082
Publisher: American Medical Association (AMA)
Date: 07-2016
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 04-10-2017
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004606
Abstract: To assess whether genetic subgroups in recent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) trials responded to treatment with lithium carbonate, but that the treatment effect was lost in a large cohort of nonresponders. In idual participant data were obtained from 3 randomized trials investigating the efficacy of lithium carbonate. We matched clinical data with data regarding the UNC13A and C9orf72 genotype. Our primary outcome was survival at 12 months. On an exploratory basis, we assessed whether the effect of lithium depended on the genotype. Clinical data were available for 518 of the 606 participants. Overall, treatment with lithium carbonate did not improve 12-month survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7–1.4 p = 0.96). Both the UNC13A and C9orf72 genotype were independent predictors of survival (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3–4.3 p = 0.006 and HR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1–5.2 p = 0.032, respectively). The effect of lithium was different for UNC13A carriers ( p = 0.027), but not for C9orf72 carriers ( p = 0.22). The 12-month survival probability for UNC13A carriers treated with lithium carbonate improved from 40.1% (95% CI 23.2–69.1) to 69.7% (95% CI 50.4–96.3). This study incorporated genetic data into past ALS trials to determine treatment effects in a genetic post hoc analysis. Our results suggest that we should reorient our strategies toward finding treatments for ALS, start focusing on genotype-targeted treatments, and standardize genotyping in order to optimize randomization and analysis for future clinical trials.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-06-2018
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-03-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41593-022-01040-6
Abstract: The noncoding genome is substantially larger than the protein-coding genome but has been largely unexplored by genetic association studies. Here, we performed region-based rare variant association analysis of >25,000 variants in untranslated regions of 6,139 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) whole genomes and the whole genomes of 70,403 non-ALS controls. We identified interleukin-18 receptor accessory protein (IL18RAP) 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) variants as significantly enriched in non-ALS genomes and associated with a fivefold reduced risk of developing ALS, and this was replicated in an independent cohort. These variants in the IL18RAP 3'UTR reduce mRNA stability and the binding of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-binding proteins. Finally, the variants of the IL18RAP 3'UTR confer a survival advantage for motor neurons because they d en neurotoxicity of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia bearing an ALS-associated expansion in C9orf72, and this depends on NF-κB signaling. This study reveals genetic variants that protect against ALS by reducing neuroinflammation and emphasizes the importance of noncoding genetic association studies.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1093/BRAINCOMMS/FCAA064
Abstract: Increasingly, repeat expansions are being identified as part of the complex genetic architecture of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. To date, several repeat expansions have been genetically associated with the disease: intronic repeat expansions in C9orf72, polyglutamine expansions in ATXN2 and polyalanine expansions in NIPA1. Together with previously published data, the identification of an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient with a family history of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, caused by polyglutamine expansions in ATXN1, suggested a similar disease association for the repeat expansion in ATXN1. We, therefore, performed a large-scale international study in 11 700 in iduals, in which we showed a significant association between intermediate ATXN1 repeat expansions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (P = 3.33 × 10−7). Subsequent functional experiments have shown that ATXN1 reduces the nucleocytoplasmic ratio of TDP-43 and enhances amyotrophic lateral sclerosis phenotypes in Drosophila, further emphasizing the role of polyglutamine repeat expansions in the pathophysiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-03-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS14774
Abstract: We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique in iduals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05–21.6 P =1 × 10 −4 ) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS ( P =8.4 × 10 −7 ). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08–1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 09-11-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-07-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NG.3622
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ANA.25273
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for William Sproviero.