ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4301-3974
Current Organisations
University of Western Australia
,
The University of Newcastle
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41588-023-01343-9
Abstract: The timing of parturition is crucial for neonatal survival and infant health. Yet, its genetic basis remains largely unresolved. We present a maternal genome-wide meta-analysis of gestational duration ( n = 195,555), identifying 22 associated loci (24 independent variants) and an enrichment in genes differentially expressed during labor. A meta-analysis of preterm delivery (18,797 cases, 260,246 controls) revealed seven associated loci and large genetic similarities with gestational duration. Analysis of the parental transmitted and nontransmitted alleles ( n = 136,833) shows that 15 of the gestational duration genetic variants act through the maternal genome, whereas 7 act both through the maternal and fetal genomes and 2 act only via the fetal genome. Finally, the maternal effects on gestational duration show signs of antagonistic pleiotropy with the fetal effects on birth weight: maternal alleles that increase gestational duration have negative fetal effects on birth weight. The present study provides insights into the genetic effects on the timing of parturition and the complex maternal–fetal relationship between gestational duration and birth weight.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-09-2200
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-11881-8
Abstract: The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P = 3.96 × 10 −14 ). Analysis of 15,588 mother-child pairs shows that the association is driven by fetal rather than maternal genotype. Functional experiments show that the lead SNP, rs7594852, alters the binding of the HIC1 transcriptional repressor. Genes at the locus include several interleukin 1 family members with roles in pro-inflammatory pathways that are central to the process of parturition. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms will be of great public health importance, since giving birth either before or after the window of term gestation is associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.JRI.2015.05.002
Abstract: Periodontal disease (PD) in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage and preterm birth. Evidence exists that periodontal disease treatment may reduce inflammatory mediators in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and the risk of inflammation-associated pregnancy complications. The aim was to determine if periodontal disease treatment during mid-pregnancy alters local inflammation in GCF and has beneficial effects on clinical dental parameters. Eighty pregnant women with clinically diagnosed PD were recruited from a randomised controlled trial on the treatment of periodontal disease in pregnancy conducted in Perth, Australia. The treatment group underwent intensive PD treatment (20-28 weeks' GA), while the control group underwent the same treatment postnatally. GCF was collected at 20 and 28 weeks' gestation and concentrations of cytokines determined by multiplex assay: IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17, TNF-α and MCP-1. Periodontal treatment significantly reduced the GCF levels of IL-1β, IL-10, IL-12p70 and IL-6 at 28 weeks' GA compared with controls, while levels of MCP-1, IL-8 and TNF-α exhibited a significant gestational age-dependent increase, but no treatment response. Post-treatment clinical parameters improved with significant reductions in bleeding on probing, clinical attachment loss, and probing depth. No changes in pregnancy-related outcomes were observed, although the severity of periodontal disease was significantly associated with an increased risk of infants born small for gestational age. PD treatment in pregnancy reduces the levels of some inflammatory mediators in the GCF and improves dental parameters, with no overt effects on pregnancy outcome.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-10-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-07-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S10555-017-9671-3
Abstract: The significant role of platelets in the protection of tumour cells from immune attack and shear forces and the promotion of tumour cell extravasation from the bloodstream in the process of haematogenous metastasis have been extensively studied. The role of platelets, and in particular platelet membranes, in the promotion of a more metastatic phenotype in tumour cells is a more recent and, therefore, less well-recognised area of research. This review article summarises studies that have focused on the impact of tumour cell interactions with platelets and platelet membranes on tumour cell behaviour in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the gene expression changes that occur within tumour cells following contact with platelet membranes are also extensively reviewed. Overall, the interaction of platelet membranes with tumour cells results in a more invasive phenotype and the promotion of epithelial to mesenchymal transition with our own genetic studies revealing that matrix metalloproteinase-1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and interleukin-8 are globally upregulated in a range of tumour cell lines.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-10-2017
DOI: 10.1038/IJO.2017.248
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-12-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS10257
Abstract: Nature Communications 6, Article number: 7756 (2015) Published 4 August 2015 Updated 17 December 2015 In the Results section and in the legend of Table 1 of this Article, the company deCODE genetics, Inc. is incorrectly referred to as ‘Diabetes Epidemiology: collaborative analysis of Diagnostic criteria in Europe’.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GBB.12213
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 17-05-2021
Abstract: Human and animal studies suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-A) function may be programmed in utero however, these findings are inconsistent. Given the powerful metabolic actions of cortisol, it is important to clarify the influence of early life on adult HPA-A function. To determine the relationship between fetal growth and HPA-A stress response to a psychosocial stressor in young adults. Multigenerational, prospective cohort study (the Raine Study) conducted between 1989 and 1991. King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. A total of 917 participants aged 18 years from Gen2 of the Raine Study. Measures of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function before and after exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test. In fully adjusted models, an inverse linear relationship was observed between birthweight and plasma measures of (1) baseline cortisol (β = -0.90%, 95% CI: -1.73 to -0.07 P = 0.03) (2) peak cortisol (β = -0.78%, 95% CI -1.51 to -0.06 P = 0.03) (3) area under the curve with respect to ground (β = -0.89%, 95% CI -1.60 to -0.18 P = 0.01) and (4) adrenal sensitivity (β = -1.02, 95% CI: -1.85 to -0.18 P = 0.02). Similar results were demonstrated for percent optimal birthweight. No consistent quadratic relationships were identified. No associations were found between measures of fetal adiposity and HPA-A function at age 18 years, or fetal growth and HPA-A response pattern. Removal of anticipatory responders from the models substantially attenuated the observed relationships. We observed an inverse linear relationship between fetal growth and HPA-A function at age 18 years. This differs from the inverse parabolic relationship (inverted U curve) reported in adults of advanced age. Altered adrenal sensitivity may underlie this relationship.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-11-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-021-26783-X
Abstract: Previous genome-wide association studies revealed multiple common variants involved in eczema but the role of rare variants remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigate the role of rare variants in eczema susceptibility. We meta-analyze 21 study populations including 20,016 eczema cases and 380,433 controls. Rare variants are imputed with high accuracy using large population-based reference panels. We identify rare exonic variants in DUSP1 , NOTCH4 , and SLC9A4 to be associated with eczema. In DUSP1 and NOTCH4 missense variants are predicted to impact conserved functional domains. In addition, five novel common variants at SATB1-AS1 / KCNH8 , TRIB1 / LINC00861 , ZBTB1 , TBX21 / OSBPL7 , and CSF2RB are discovered. While genes prioritized based on rare variants are significantly up-regulated in the skin, common variants point to immune cell function. Over 20% of the single nucleotide variant-based heritability is attributable to rare and low-frequency variants. The identified rare/low-frequency variants located in functional protein domains point to promising targets for novel therapeutic approaches to eczema.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-04-2018
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDY121
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 05-06-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.04.20121061
Abstract: Substantial genetic correlations have been reported across psychiatric disorders and numerous cross-disorder genetic variants have been detected. To identify the genetic variants underlying general psychopathology in childhood, we performed a genome-wide association study using a total psychiatric problem score. We analyzed 6,844,199 common SNPs in 38,418 school-aged children from 20 population-based cohorts participating in the EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium. The SNP heritability of total psychiatric problems was 5.4% (SE=0.01) and two loci reached genome-wide significance: rs10767094 and rs202005905. We also observed an association of SBF2 , a gene associated with neuroticism in previous GWAS, with total psychiatric problems. The genetic effects underlying the total psychiatric problem score were shared with known genetic variants for common psychiatric disorders only (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, insomnia) (r G 0.49), but not with autism or the less common adult disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or eating disorders) (r G 0.01). Importantly, the total psychiatric problem score also showed at least a moderate genetic correlation of with intelligence, educational attainment, wellbeing, smoking, and body fat (r G 0.29).The results suggest that many common genetic variants are associated with childhood psychiatric symptoms and related phenotypes in general instead of with specific symptoms. Further research is needed to establish causality and pleiotropic mechanisms between psychiatric disorders and related traits.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-1995
DOI: 10.1016/S0002-9149(99)80416-0
Abstract: Amyl nitrite may be used to provoke latent gradients in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) without significant resting outflow tract gradients, but afterload reduction may not be comparable to a more physiologic stressor such as symptom-limited exercise testing. This study compared the ability of amyl nitrite and exercise testing to provoke outflow tract gradients in 57 patients (40 men and 17 women, mean age +/- SD 49 +/- 16 years) with HC (septal thickness 19 +/- 5 mm, average resting gradient 13 +/- 10 mm Hg) who underwent echocardiography at rest, after amyl nitrite inhalation, and after maximal exercise. No significant gradient (< 50 mm Hg) was induced after either provocation in 26 patients (46%) in 15 patients (26%), inducibility was achieved after both stressors, in 6 (11%) after exercise only, and in 10 (18%) after amyl only. Patients with amyl-induced gradients differed from those in whom gradients were noninducible on the basis of smaller outflow tract dimensions (p < 0.001), larger resting gradients (p < 0.001), and a greater prevalence of "septal bulge" morphology (p = 0.02). Those with exercise-induced gradients were able to attain a greater workload (p = 0.07), have larger resting gradients (p = 0.02), and also tended to have a septal bulge morphology (p < or = 0.01). Although outflow tract obstruction increased to similar levels after amyl nitrite (49 +/- 39 mm Hg) and symptom-limited exercise (47 +/- 39 mm Hg), gradients induced by exercise and amyl correlated poorly (r = 0.54).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-07-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S43032-023-01287-9
Abstract: Preterm birth (PTB), defined as the birth of a child before 37 completed weeks gestation, affects approximately 11% of live births and is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years. PTB is a complex disease with multiple risk factors including genetic variation. Much research has aimed to establish the biological mechanisms underlying PTB often through identification of genetic markers for PTB risk. The objective of this review is to present a comprehensive and updated summary of the published data relating to the field of PTB genetics. A literature search in PubMed was conducted and English studies related to PTB genetics were included. Genetic studies have identified genes within inflammatory, immunological, tissue remodeling, endocrine, metabolic, and vascular pathways that may be involved in PTB. However, a substantial proportion of published data have been largely inconclusive and multiple studies had limited power to detect associations. On the contrary, a few large hypothesis-free approaches have identified and replicated multiple novel variants associated with PTB in different cohorts. Overall, attempts to predict PTB using single “-omics” datasets including genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic biomarkers have been mostly unsuccessful and have failed to translate to the clinical setting. Integration of data from multiple “-omics” datasets has yielded the most promising results.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-01-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-018-07863-X
Abstract: Cranial growth and development is a complex process which affects the closely related traits of head circumference (HC) and intracranial volume (ICV). The underlying genetic influences shaping these traits during the transition from childhood to adulthood are little understood, but might include both age-specific genetic factors and low-frequency genetic variation. Here, we model the developmental genetic architecture of HC, showing this is genetically stable and correlated with genetic determinants of ICV. Investigating up to 46,000 children and adults of European descent, we identify association with final HC and/or final ICV + HC at 9 novel common and low-frequency loci, illustrating that genetic variation from a wide allele frequency spectrum contributes to cranial growth. The largest effects are reported for low-frequency variants within TP53 , with 0.5 cm wider heads in increaser-allele carriers versus non-carriers during mid-childhood, suggesting a previously unrecognized role of TP53 transcripts in human cranial development.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-11-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.11.01.21265592
Abstract: Skull bone mineral density (SK-BMD) provides a suitable trait for the discovery of genes important to bone biology in general, and particularly for identifying components unique to intramembranous ossification, which cannot be captured at other skeletal sites. We assessed genetic determinants of SK-BMD in 43,800 in iduals, identifying 59 genome-wide significant loci (4 novel), explaining 12.5% of its variance. Pathway and enrichment analyses of the association signals resulted in clustering within gene-sets involved in regulating the development of the skeleton overexpressed in the musculoskeletal system and enriched in enhancer and transcribed regions in osteoblasts. From the four novel loci (mapping to ZIC1, PRKAR1A, ATP6V1C1, GLRX3 ), two ( ZIC1 and PRKAR1A ) have previously been related to craniofacial developmental defects. Functional validation of skull development in zebrafish revealed abnormal cranial bone initiation that culminated in ectopic sutures and reduced BMD in mutated zic1 and atp6v1c1 fish and asymmetric bone growth and elevated BMD in mutated prkar1a fish. We confirmed a role of ZIC1 loss-of-function in suture patterning and discovered ATP6V1C1 gene associated with suture development. In light of the evidence presented suggesting that SK-BMD is genetically related to craniofacial abnormalities, our study opens new avenues to the understanding of the pathophysiology of craniofacial defects and towards the effective pharmacological treatment of bone diseases.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-11-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-07-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-08-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41588-018-0197-6
Abstract: In the version of this article initially published, in Fig. 3, the y-axis numbering did not match the log scale indicated in the axis label. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF version of the article.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-04-2014
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDU150
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE19806
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-08-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS8756
Abstract: More than 100 loci have been identified for age at menarche by genome-wide association studies however, collectively these explain only ∼3% of the trait variance. Here we test two overlooked sources of variation in 192,974 European ancestry women: low-frequency protein-coding variants and X-chromosome variants. Five missense/nonsense variants (in ALMS1 / LAMB2 / TNRC6A/TACR3/PRKAG1 ) are associated with age at menarche (minor allele frequencies 0.08–4.6% effect sizes 0.08–1.25 years per allele P × 10 −8 ). In addition, we identify common X-chromosome loci at IGSF1 (rs762080, P =9.4 × 10 −13 ) and FAAH2 (rs5914101, P =4.9 × 10 −10 ). Highlighted genes implicate cellular energy homeostasis, post-transcriptional gene silencing and fatty-acid amide signalling. A frequently reported mutation in TACR3 for idiopathic hypogonatrophic hypogonadism (p.W275X) is associated with 1.25-year-later menarche ( P =2.8 × 10 −11 ), illustrating the utility of population studies to estimate the penetrance of reportedly pathogenic mutations. Collectively, these novel variants explain ∼0.5% variance, indicating that these overlooked sources of variation do not substantially explain the ‘missing heritability’ of this complex trait.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-10-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-12-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.JAAC.2021.11.035
Abstract: To investigate the genetic architecture of internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence. In 22 cohorts, multiple univariate genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were performed using repeated assessments of internalizing symptoms, in a total of 64,561 children and adolescents between 3 and 18 years of age. Results were aggregated in meta-analyses that accounted for s le overlap, first using all available data, and then using subsets of measurements grouped by rater, age, and instrument. The meta-analysis of overall internalizing symptoms (INT Genetic correlations indicate that childhood and adolescent internalizing symptoms share substantial genetic vulnerabilities with adult internalizing disorders and other childhood psychiatric traits, which could partially explain both the persistence of internalizing symptoms over time and the high comorbidity among childhood psychiatric traits. Reducing phenotypic heterogeneity in childhood s les will be key in paving the way to future GWAS success.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE21039
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-05-2023
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 08-2021
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCGEN.120.003288
Abstract: ChREBP (carbohydrate responsive element binding protein) is a transcription factor that responds to sugar consumption. Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and genetic variants in the CHREBP locus have separately been linked to HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and triglyceride concentrations. We hypothesized that SSB consumption would modify the association between genetic variants in the CHREBP locus and dyslipidemia. Data from 11 cohorts from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium (N=63 599) and the UK Biobank (N=59 220) were used to quantify associations of SSB consumption, genetic variants, and their interaction on HDL-C and triglyceride concentrations using linear regression models. A total of 1606 single nucleotide polymorphisms within or near CHREBP were considered. SSB consumption was estimated from validated questionnaires, and participants were grouped by their estimated intake. In a meta-analysis, rs71556729 was significantly associated with higher HDL-C concentrations only among the highest SSB consumers (β, 2.12 [95% CI, 1.16–3.07] mg/dL per allele P .0001), but not significantly among the lowest SSB consumers ( P =0.81 P Diff .0001). Similar results were observed for 2 additional variants (rs35709627 and rs71556736). For triglyceride, rs55673514 was positively associated with triglyceride concentrations only among the highest SSB consumers (β, 0.06 [95% CI, 0.02–0.09] ln-mg/dL per allele, P =0.001) but not the lowest SSB consumers ( P =0.84 P Diff =0.0005). Our results identified genetic variants in the CHREBP locus that may protect against SSB-associated reductions in HDL-C and other variants that may exacerbate SSB-associated increases in triglyceride concentrations. URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov Unique identifier: NCT00005133, NCT00005121, NCT00005487, and NCT00000479.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-02-2017
DOI: 10.1038/NG.3787
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2019
No related grants have been discovered for Carol Wang.