Browsing by Author "Amundadottir, Laufey T."

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    Cell-type-specific eQTL of primary melanocytes facilitates identification of melanoma susceptibility genes
    (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2018-11) Zhang, Tongwu; Choi, Jiyeon; Kovacs, Michael A.; Shi, Jianxin; Xu, Mai; Goldstein, Alisa M.; Trower, Adam J.; Bishop, D. Timothy; Iles, Mark M.; Duffy, David L.; MacGregor, Stuart; Amundadottir, Laufey T.; Law, Matthew H.; Loftus, Stacie K.; Pavan, William J.; Brown, Kevin M.; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Most expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) studies to date have been performed in heterogeneous tissues as opposed to specific cell types. To better understand the cell-type-specific regulatory landscape of human melanocytes, which give rise to melanoma but account for <5% of typical human skin biopsies, we performed an eQTL analysis in primary melanocyte cultures from 106 newborn males. We identified 597,335 cis-eQTL SNPs prior to linkage disequilibrium (LD) pruning and 4997 eGenes (FDR < 0.05). Melanocyte eQTLs differed considerably from those identified in the 44 GTEx tissue types, including skin. Over a third of melanocyte eGenes, including key genes in melanin synthesis pathways, were unique to melanocytes compared to those of GTEx skin tissues or TCGA melanomas. The melanocyte data set also identified trans-eQTLs, including those connecting a pigmentation-associated functional SNP with four genes, likely through cis-regulation of IRF4 Melanocyte eQTLs are enriched in cis-regulatory signatures found in melanocytes as well as in melanoma-associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies. Melanocyte eQTLs also colocalized with melanoma GWAS variants in five known loci. Finally, a transcriptome-wide association study using melanocyte eQTLs uncovered four novel susceptibility loci, where imputed expression levels of five genes (ZFP90, HEBP1, MSC, CBWD1, and RP11-383H13.1) were associated with melanoma at genome-wide significant P-values. Our data highlight the utility of lineage-specific eQTL resources for annotating GWAS findings, and present a robust database for genomic research of melanoma risk and melanocyte biology.
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    Integrated Physiology of the Exocrine and Endocrine Compartments in Pancreatic Diseases: Workshop Proceedings
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2022) Mastracci, Teresa L.; Apte, Minoti; Amundadottir, Laufey T.; Alvarsson, Alexandra; Artandi, Steven; Bellin, Melena D.; Bernal-Mizrachi, Ernesto; Caicedo, Alejandro; Campbell-Thompson, Martha; Cruz-Monserrate, Zobeida; El Ouaamari, Abdelfattah; Gaulton, Kyle J.; Geisz, Andrea; Goodarzi, Mark O.; Hara, Manami; Hull-Meichle, Rebecca L.; Kleger, Alexander; Klein, Alison P.; Kopp, Janel L.; Kulkarni, Rohit N.; Muzumdar, Mandar D.; Naren, Anjaparavanda P.; Oakes, Scott A.; Olesen, Søren S.; Phelps, Edward A.; Powers, Alvin C.; Stabler, Cherie L.; Tirkes, Temel; Whitcomb, David C.; Yadav, Dhiraj; Yong, Jing; Zaghloul, Norann A.; Sander, Maike; Pandol, Stephen J.; Biology, School of Science
    The Integrated Physiology of the Exocrine and Endocrine Compartments in Pancreatic Diseases Workshop was a 1.5-day scientific conference at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) that engaged clinical and basic science investigators interested in diseases of the pancreas. This report summarizes the workshop proceedings. The goal of the workshop was to forge connections and identify gaps in knowledge that could guide future research directions. Presentations were segregated into six major themes, including: (a) Pancreas Anatomy and Physiology; (b) Diabetes in the Setting of Exocrine Disease; (c) Metabolic Influences on the Exocrine Pancreas; (d) Genetic Drivers of Pancreatic Diseases; (e) Tools for Integrated Pancreatic Analysis; and (f) Implications of Exocrine-Endocrine Crosstalk. For each theme, there were multiple presentations followed by panel discussions on specific topics relevant to each area of research; these are summarized herein. Significantly, the discussions resulted in the identification of research gaps and opportunities for the field to address. In general, it was concluded that as a pancreas research community, we must more thoughtfully integrate our current knowledge of the normal physiology as well as the disease mechanisms that underlie endocrine and exocrine disorders so that there is a better understanding of the interplay between these compartments.