A 2.91-billion base pair (bp) consensus sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome was generated by the whole-genome shotgun sequencing method. The 14.8-billion bp DNA sequence was generated over 9 months from 27,271,853 high-quality sequence reads (5.11-fold coverage of the genome) from both ends of plasmid clones made from the DNA of five individuals. Two assembly strategies—a whole-genome assembly and a regional chromosome assembly—were used, each combining sequence data from Celera and the publicly funded genome effort. The public data were shredded into 550-bp segments to create a 2.9-fold coverage of those genome regions that had been sequenced, without including biases inherent in the cloning and assembly procedure used by the publicly funded group. This brought the effective coverage in the assemblies to eightfold, reducing the number and size of gaps in the final assembly over what would be obtained with 5.11-fold coverage. The two assembly strategies yielded very similar results that largely agree with independent mapping data. The assemblies effectively cover the euchromatic regions of the human chromosomes. More than 90% of the genome is in scaffold assemblies of 100,000 bp or more, and 25% of the genome is in scaffolds of 10 million bp or larger. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed 26,588 protein-encoding transcripts for which there was strong corroborating evidence and an additional ∼12,000 computationally derived genes with mouse matches or other weak supporting evidence. Although gene-dense clusters are obvious, almost half the genes are dispersed in low G+C sequence separated by large tracts of apparently noncoding sequence. Only 1.1% of the genome is spanned by exons, whereas 24% is in introns, with 75% of the genome being intergenic DNA. Duplications of segmental blocks, ranging in size up to chromosomal lengths, are abundant throughout the genome and reveal a complex evolutionary history. Comparative genomic analysis indicates vertebrate expansions of genes associated with neuronal function, with tissue-specific developmental regulation, and with the hemostasis and immune systems. DNA sequence comparisons between the consensus sequence and publicly funded genome data provided locations of 2.1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A random pair of human haploid genomes differed at a rate of 1 bp per 1250 on average, but there was marked heterogeneity in the level of polymorphism across the genome. Less than 1% of all SNPs resulted in variation in proteins, but the task of determining which SNPs have functional consequences remains an open challenge.

These results support the proposed mechanism of action of ipilimumab, suggesting that cell-mediated immune responses play an important role in the antitumor activity of ipilimumab.

The high degree of similarity between the mouse and human genomes is demonstrated through analysis of the sequence of mouse chromosome 16 (Mmu 16), which was obtained as part of a whole-genome shotgun assembly of the mouse genome. The mouse genome is about 10% smaller than the human genome, owing to a lower repetitive DNA content. Comparison of the structure and protein-coding potential of Mmu 16 with that of the homologous segments of the human genome identifies regions of conserved synteny with human chromosomes (Hsa) 3, 8, 12, 16, 21, and 22. Gene content and order are highly conserved between Mmu 16 and the syntenic blocks of the human genome. Of the 731 predicted genes on Mmu 16, 509 align with orthologs on the corresponding portions of the human genome, 44 are likely paralogous to these genes, and 164 genes have homologs elsewhere in the human genome; there are 14 genes for which we could find no human counterpart.

An effective vaccine is needed to end the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Here, we assess the preliminary safety, tolerability and immunogenicity data from an ongoing single-center (in Jiangsu province, China), parallel-group, double-blind phase 1 trial of the vaccine candidate BNT162b1 in 144 healthy SARS-CoV-2-naive Chinese participants. These participants are randomized 1:1:1 to receive prime and boost vaccinations of 10 µg or 30 µg BNT162b1 or placebo, given 21 d apart, with equal allocation of younger (aged 18-55 years) and older adults (aged 65-85 years) to each treatment group (ChiCTR2000034825). BNT162b1 encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) and is one of several messenger RNA-based vaccine candidates under clinical investigation. Local reactions and systemic events were generally dose dependent, transient and mild to moderate. Fever was the only grade 3 adverse event. BNT162b1 induced robust interferon-γ T cell responses to a peptide pool including the RBD in both younger and older Chinese adults, and geometric mean neutralizing titers reached 2.1-fold (for younger participants) and 1.3-fold (for the older participants) that of a panel of COVID-19 convalescent human sera obtained at least 14 d after positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test. In summary, BNT162b1 has an acceptable safety profile and produces high levels of humoral and T cell responses in an Asian population.

BackgroundTreatment with ipilimumab, a fully human anti-CTLA-4 antibody approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma, is associated with some immune-related adverse events (irAEs) such as colitis (gastrointestinal irAE, or GI irAE) and skin rash, which are managed by treatment guidelines. Nevertheless, predictive biomarkers that can help identify patients more likely to develop these irAEs could enhance the management of these toxicities.MethodsTo identify candidate predictive biomarkers associated with GI irAEs, gene expression profiling was performed on whole blood samples from 162 advanced melanoma patients at baseline, 3 and 11 weeks after the start of ipilimumab treatment in two phase II clinical trials (CA184004 and CA184007). Overall, 49 patients developed Grade 2 or higher (grade 2+) GI irAEs during the course of treatment. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the differences in mean expression levels between the GI irAE and No-GI irAE groups of patients at the three time points.ResultsIn baseline samples, 27 probe sets showed differential mean expression (≥ 1.5 fold, P ≤ 0.05) between the GI irAE and No-GI irAE groups. Most of these probe sets belonged to three functional categories: immune system, cell cycle, and intracellular trafficking. Changes in gene expression over time were also characterized. In the GI irAE group, 58 and 247 probe sets had a ≥ 1.5 fold change in expression from baseline to 3 and 11 weeks after first ipilimumab dose, respectively. In particular, on-treatment expression increases of CD177 and CEACAM1, two neutrophil-activation markers, were closely associated with GI irAEs, suggesting a possible role of neutrophils in ipilimumab-associated GI irAEs. In addition, the expression of several immunoglobulin genes increased over time, with greater increases in patients with grade 2+ GI irAEs.ConclusionsGene expression profiling of peripheral blood, sampled before or early in the course of treatment with ipilimumab, resulted in the identification of a set of potential biomarkers that were associated with occurrence of GI irAEs. However, because of the low sensitivity of these biomarkers, they cannot be used alone to predict which patients will develop GI irAEs. Further investigation of these biomarkers in a larger patient cohort is warranted.