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In our study, maternal CYP1A1 and GSTT1 genotypes modified the association between maternal cigarette smoking and infant birth weight, suggesting an interaction between metabolic genes and cigarette smoking.

PIK3CA gain-of-function mutations are a common oncogenic event in human malignancy1–4, making PI3K an attractive target for cancer therapy. Despite the great promise of targeted therapy, resistance often develops, resulting in treatment failure. To elucidate mechanisms of resistance to PI3K-targeted therapy, we constructed a mouse model of breast cancer conditionally expressing human PIK3CAH1047R. Surprisingly, most PIK3CAH1047R-driven mammary tumors recurred following PIK3CAH1047R inactivation. Genomic analyses of recurrent tumors revealed multiple lesions, including focal amplification of c-Met or c-Myc. While c-Met amplification allowed tumor survival dependent on activation of endogenous PI3K, tumors with c-Myc amplification became independent of the PI3K pathway. Functional analyses demonstrated that c-Myc contributed to oncogene independence and resistance to PI3K inhibition. Importantly, PI3KCA mutations and increased c-MYC levels co-occur in a substantial fraction of human breast tumors. Together, these data suggest that c-MYC elevation represents a potential mechanism by which tumors develop resistance to current PI3K-targeted therapies.

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Nicotine is the major addictive substance in cigarettes, and genes involved in sensing nicotine are logical candidates for vulnerability to nicotine addiction. We studied six single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CHRNA4 gene and four SNPs in the CHRNB2 gene with respect to nicotine dependence in a collection of 901 subjects (815 siblings and 86 parents) from 222 nuclear families with multiple nicotine-addicted siblings. The subjects were assessed for addiction by both the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Revised Tolerance Questionnaire (RTQ). Because only 5.8% of female offspring were smokers, only male subjects were included in the final analyses (621 men from 206 families). Univariate (single-marker) family-based association tests (FBATs) demonstrated that variant alleles at two SNPs, rs1044396 and rs1044397, in exon 5 of the CHRNA4 gene were significantly associated with a protective effect against nicotine addiction as either a dichotomized trait or a quantitative phenotype (i.e., age-adjusted FTND and RTQ scores), which was consistent with the results of the global haplotype FBAT. Furthermore, the haplotype-specific FBAT showed a common (22.5%) CHRNA4 haplotype, GCTATA, which was significantly associated with both a protective effect against nicotine addiction as a dichotomized trait (Z=-3.04, P<.005) and significant decreases of age-adjusted FTND (Z=-3.31, P<.005) or RTQ scores (Z=-2.73, P=.006). Our findings provide strong evidence suggesting a common CHRNA4 haplotype might be protective against vulnerability to nicotine addiction in men.

Hypertension, a risk factor for many cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and renal diseases, affects one in four Americans, at an annual cost of>$30 billion. Although genetic mutations have been identified in rare forms of hypertension, including Liddle syndrome and glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism, the abundance of plausible candidate genes and potential environmental risk factors has complicated the genetic dissection of more prevalent essential hypertension. To search systematically for chromosomal regions containing genes that regulate blood pressure, we scanned the entire autosomal genome by using 367 polymorphic markers. Our study population, selected from a blood-pressure screen of >200,000 Chinese adults, comprises rare but highly efficient extreme sib pairs (207 discordant, 258 high concordant, and 99 low concordant) and all but a single parent of these sibs. By virtue of the sampling design, the number of sib pairs, and the availability of genotyped parents, this study represents one of the most powerful of its kind. Although no regions achieved a 5% genomewide significance level, maximum LOD-score values were >2.0 (unadjusted P<.001) for regions containing five markers (D3S2387, D11S2019, D15S657, D16S3396, and D17S1303), in our primary analysis. Other promising regions identified through secondary analyses include loci near D4S3248, D7S2195, D10S1423, D20S470, D20S482, D21S2052, PAH, and AGT.

Multilevel genetic characterization of Waldenströ m macroglobulinemia (WM) is required to improve our understanding of the underlying molecular changes that lead to the initiation and progression of this disease. We performed microRNAexpression profiling of bone marrowderived CD19 ؉ WM cells, compared with their normal cellular counterparts and validated data by quantitative reversetranscription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We identified a WM-specific microRNA signature characterized by increased expression of microRNA-363*/-206/-494/-155/-184/-542-3p, and decreased expression of microRNA-9* (ANOVA; P < .01). We found that microRNA-155 regulates proliferation and growth of WM cells in vitro and in vivo, by inhibiting MAPK/ERK, PI3/AKT, and NF-B pathways. Potential microRNA-155 target genes were identified using geneexpression profiling and included genes involved in cell-cycle progression, adhesion, and migration. Importantly, increased expression of the 6 miRNAs significantly correlated with a poorer outcome predicted by the International Prognostic Staging System for WM. We further demonstrated that therapeutic agents commonly used in WM alter the levels of the major miRNAs identified, by inducing downmodulation of 5 increased miRNAs and up-modulation of patient-downexpressed miRNA-9*. These data indicate that microRNAs play a pivotal role in the biology of WM; represent important prognostic marker; and provide the basis for the development of new microRNAbased targeted therapies in WM. (Blood. 2009;113:4391-4402) IntroductionMicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a class of small, noncoding, 18-to 24-nucleotide RNAs, described for the first time in the nematode Caenorabditis elegans. 1 To date, more than 300 miRNAs have been discovered in humans. 2 miRNAs act as negative regulators of gene expression by binding to the 3Ј untranslated region (UTR) of the target mRNAs with partial sequence complementarity and leading to translational repression. 3 By repressing several target mRNAs, mature miRNAs play a pivotal role in regulating development, cell differentiation, apoptosis, and cell proliferation. 4 Moreover, miRNAs have been described to play roles in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. [5][6][7][8] Indeed, recently published data have revealed the importance of miRNAs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and B-cell lymphomas [9][10][11] ; however, the role of miRNAs in Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) has not been yet elucidated.WM is a low-grade lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by the presence of a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate in the bone marrow and serum monoclonal immunoglobulin M. 12-14 Cytogenetic and molecular studies on gene-expression analysis at the mRNA level have demonstrated minimal changes in WM cells. 15,16 Therefore, multilevel characterization of this disease at genetic and epigenetic levels is required to improve our understanding of the underlying molecular changes that lead to the initiation and progression of this disease.In the present study, we evaluated miRNA expressi...

Osteoporosis is a chronic disorder characterized by low bone mass and fragility fractures. It affects more than 25 million men and women in the United States alone. Although several candidate genes, such as the vitamin-D-receptor gene or the estrogen-receptor gene, have been suggested in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, the genetic dissection of this disorder remains a daunting task. To search systematically for chromosomal regions containing genes that regulate bone mineral density (BMD), we scanned the entire autosomal genome by using 367 polymorphic markers among 218 individuals (153 sibpairs) from 96 nuclear families collected from three townships of Anqing, China. In these 96 families, DNA samples from both parents were available for 82 (85.4%) families. By using age- and gender-adjusted forearm BMD measurements, a peak on chromosome 2 near D2S2141, D2S1400, and D2S405, a region previously linked to spinal BMD, showed evidence of linkage to both proximal and distal forearm BMD (multipoint LOD=2.15 and 2.14 for proximal and distal forearm BMD, respectively). One region on chromosome 13 (multipoint LOD=1.67) in the proximity of D13S788 and D13S800 showed evidence of linkage to distal forearm BMD only. Possible candidate genes included CALM2 (calmodulin 2) at 2p21.3-p21.1, a putative STK (serine/threonine kinase) at 2p23-24, POMC (pro-opiomelanocortin) at 2p23.3, and COL4A1 and COL4A2 (collagen IV alpha-1 and alpha-2 subunits) at 13q34. Because of the limited sample size, the suggestive evidence of linkage of this study should be considered as tentative and needs to be replicated in other larger populations.