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1.
A novel integrative multi-omics approach to unravel the genetic determinants of rare diseases with application in sinusoidal obstruction syndrome
Waespe, N., Mlakar, S. J., Dupanloup, I., Rezgui, M. A., Bittencourt, H., Krajinovic, M., Kuehni, C. E., Nava, T., Ansari, M.
PloS one. 2023;18(4):e0281892
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genotype-phenotype analyses of rare diseases often suffer from a lack of power, due to small sample size, which makes identifying significant associations difficult. Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) of the liver is a rare but life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The alkylating agent busulfan is commonly used in HSCT and known to trigger SOS. We developed a novel pipeline to identify genetic determinants in rare diseases by combining in vitro information with clinical whole-exome sequencing (WES) data and applied it in SOS patients and controls. METHODS First, we analysed differential gene expression in six lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) before and after incubation with busulfan. Second, we used WES data from 87 HSCT patients and estimated the association with SOS at the SNP and the gene levels. We then combined the results of the expression and the association analyses into an association statistic at the gene level. We used an over-representation analysis to functionally characterize the genes that were associated with a significant combined test statistic. RESULTS After treatment of LCLs with busulfan, 1708 genes were significantly up-, and 1385 down-regulated. The combination of the expression experiment and the association analysis of WES data into a single test statistic revealed 35 genes associated with the outcome. These genes are involved in various biological functions and processes, such as "Cell growth and death", "Signalling molecules and interaction", "Cancer", and "Infectious disease". CONCLUSIONS This novel data analysis pipeline integrates two independent omics datasets and increases statistical power for identifying genotype-phenotype associations. The analysis of the transcriptomics profile of cell lines treated with busulfan and WES data from HSCT patients allowed us to identify potential genetic contributors to SOS. Our pipeline could be useful for identifying genetic contributors to other rare diseases where limited power renders genome-wide analyses unpromising. TRIAL REGISTRATION For the clinical dataset: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01257854. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/history/NCT01257854.
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2.
Association Between the Magnitude of Intravenous Busulfan Exposure and Development of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease in Children and Young Adults Undergoing Myeloablative Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Bognàr, T., Bartelink, I. H., Egberts, T. C. G., Rademaker, C. M. A., Versluys, A. B., Slatter, M. A., Kletzel, M., Nath, C. E., Cuvelier, G. D. E., Savic, R. M., et al
Transplantation and cellular therapy. 2022;28(4):196-202
Abstract
Intravenous busulfan is widely used as part of myeloablative conditioning regimens in children and young adults undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Hepatic veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a serious clinical problem observed with busulfan-based conditioning HCT. The development of VOD/SOS may be associated with busulfan exposure. Getting more insight into the association between busulfan exposure and the development of VOD/SOS enables further optimization of dosing and treatment strategies. The objective of this study was to assess the association between the magnitude of busulfan exposure and the occurrence of VOD/SOS in children and young adults undergoing myeloablative conditioning with a busulfan-containing regimen before allogeneic HCT. In this observational study we included all patients who underwent allogeneic HCT with intravenous busulfan as part of the conditioning regimen at 15 pediatric transplantation centers between 2000 and 2015. The endpoint was the development of VOD/SOS. The magnitude of busulfan exposure was estimated using nonlinear mixed effect modeling and expressed as the maximal concentration (Cmax; day 1 and day 1 to 4 Cmax), cumulative area under the curve (AUC; day 1, highest 1-day AUC in 4 days, and 4-day cumulative AUC), cumulative time above a concentration of 300 µg/L, and clearance on day 1. A total of 88 out of 697 patients (12.6%) developed VOD/SOS. The number of alkylators in the conditioning regimen was a strong effect modifier; therefore we stratified the regression analysis for the number of alkylators. For patients receiving only busulfan as one alkylator (36.3%, n = 253), cumulative busulfan exposure (>78 mg × h/L) was associated with increased VOD/SOS risk (12.6% versus 4.7%; odds ratio [OR] = 2.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13 to 7.66). For individuals receiving busulfan with one or two additional alkylators (63.7%, n = 444), cumulative busulfan exposure (≤78 and >78 mg × h/L) did not further increase the risk of VOD/SOS (15.4% versus 15.2%; OR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.75). The effect of the magnitude of busulfan exposure on VOD/SOS risk in children and young adults undergoing HCT is dependent on the number of alkylators. In patients receiving busulfan as the only alkylator, higher cumulative busulfan exposure increased the risk of VOD/SOS, whereas in those receiving multiple alkylators, the magnitude of busulfan exposure did not further increase this risk.
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3.
Defibrotide shows efficacy in the prevention of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A retrospective study on 237 patients
Chalandon, Y., Mamez, A. C., Giannotti, F., Beauverd, Y., Dantin, C., Mahne, E., Mappoura, M., Bernard, F., Ortiz, C. R., Stephan, C., et al
Transplantation and cellular therapy. 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), also known as hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), is a well-known complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) associated with a mortality rate of up to 85%. Defibrotide has shown efficacy in treatment of SOS/VOD. Moreover, evidence exists supporting the efficacy of defibrotide as SOS/VOD prophylaxis. OBJECTIVES We have previously reported our single center experience on 52 HSCT recipients receiving defibrotide as SOS/VOD prophylaxis which has shown that the patients did not develop any SOS/VOD under this prophylaxis. The aim of the present study was to see if we can confirm the previous results, mainly on the decrease incidence of SOS/VOD as well as improve event-free survival (EFS) on a larger study population. STUDY DESIGN We extended our previous study in a single center retrospective analysis to include 237 consecutive patients (248 transplantations) transplanted between 1999 and 2009 for hematological diseases and receiving intravenous defibrotide as prophylaxis. This cohort was compared to 241 patients (248 transplantations) treated before 1999 or after 2009 when defibrotide prophylaxis was not routinely employed in our center. RESULTS Median follow-up for the study group was 10 (range 2-16) years and for the control group 2.7 (range 1-18) years. None of the 237 patients in the defibrotide group developed SOS/VOD. The cumulative incidence (CI) of SOS/VOD was 0% in the defibrotide group as compared to 4.8% (95%CI 2.6-8%; p=0.00046) in the control group. There was also a better one-year event-free survival (EFS) with 38% (95%CI 32%-44%) in the defibrotide group vs 28% (95%CI 22%-34%), p=0.00969 and decreased cumulative incidence of acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) in the defibrotide group 31% (95%CI 25%-37%) vs 42% (95%CI 36%-48%), p=0.026. The one-year overall survival (OS), relapse incidence (RI) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) were not statistically different. Multivariable analysis, performed taking into account clinical factors known to influence the risk of SOS/VOD, confirmed the favorable impact of defibrotide on SOS/VOD (HR 1.38e-08 [95%CI 3.28e-09-5.80e-08]; p<0.00001). Conversely, multivariable analysis failed to confirm the impact of defibrotide on 1-year EFS or acute GvHD. CONCLUSIONS This large retrospective study on SOS/VOD-prophylaxis with defibrotide suggests that this approach may be of benefit. These results need to be confirmed in a prospective randomized trial.
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4.
Genetic Predictors for Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome-A Systematic Review
Waespe, N., Strebel, S., Jurkovic Mlakar, S., Krajinovic, M., Kuehni, C. E., Nava, T., Ansari, M.
Journal of personalized medicine. 2021;11(5)
Abstract
Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is a potentially life-threatening complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or antineoplastic treatment without HSCT. Genetic variants were investigated for their association with SOS, but the evidence is inconclusive. We performed a systematic literature review to identify genes, gene variants, and methods of association analyses of genetic markers with SOS. We identified 23 studies after HSCT and 4 studies after antineoplastic treatment without HSCT. One study (4%) performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) and replicated the analysis in an independent cohort, 26 used a candidate-gene approach. Three studies included >200 participants (11%), and six were of high quality (22%). Variants in 34 genes were tested in candidate gene studies after HSCT. Variants in GSTA1 were associated with SOS in three studies, MTHFR in two, and CPS1, CTH, CYP2B6, GSTM1, GSTP1, HFE, and HPSE in one study each. UGT2B10 and LNPK variants were identified in a WES analysis. After exposure to antineoplastic agents without HSCT, variants in six genes were tested and only GSTM1 was associated with SOS. There was a substantial heterogeneity of populations within and between studies. Future research should be based on sufficiently large homogenous samples, adjust for covariates, and replicate findings in independent cohorts.
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5.
Genetic susceptibility to hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in pediatric patients undergoing HSCT
Ansari, M., Petrykey, K., Rezgui, M. A., Vecchio, V. D., Cortyl, J., Ralph, R. O., Nava, T., Beaulieu, P., St-Onge, P., Mlakar, S. J., et al
Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 2019
Abstract
Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome (SOS) is a well-recognized and potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). SOS arises from endothelial cell damage and hepatocellular injury mostly due to the transplantation conditioning regimens but also to other patient, disease and treatment-related factors. Understanding risk factors associated with the development of SOS is critical for early initiation of treatment or prophylaxis. The knowledge about genetic contribution is limited; few studies investigated so far selected set of genes. To get more comprehensive insight in the genetic component, we performed exome-wide association study using genetic variants derived from whole-exome sequencing. The analyses were performed in a discovery cohort composed of 87 pediatric patients undergoing HSCT following busulfan-containing conditioning regimen. Eight lead SNPs were identified after correction for multiple testing and subsequently analyzed in a validation cohort (n=182). Three SNPs were successfully replicated including rs17146905 (p=0.001), rs16931326 (p=0.04) and rs2289971 (p=0.03), located respectively in UGT2B10, BHLHE22 and KIAA1715 genes. UGT2B10 and KIAA1715 were retained in multivariable model while controlling for non-genetic covariates and previously identified risk variants in GSTA1 promoter. The modulation of associations by conditioning regimens was noted, KIAA1715 was dependent on the intensity of conditioning regimen, whereas the effect of UGT2B10 was equally applicable to all of them. Combined effect of associated loci was also observed (p=0.00006) with genotype-related SOS risk of 9.8. This is the first study addressing the genetic component of SOS at an exome-wide level and identifying novel genetic variations conferring higher risk of SOS, which might be useful for personalized prevention and treatment strategies.
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6.
The Association of Combined GSTM1 and CYP2C9 Genotype Status with the Occurrence of Hemorrhagic Cystitis in Pediatric Patients Receiving Myeloablative Conditioning Regimen Prior to Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Uppugunduri, C. R. S., Storelli, F., Mlakar, V., Huezo-Diaz Curtis, P., Rezgui, A., Theoret, Y., Marino, D., Doffey-Lazeyras, F., Chalandon, Y., Bader, P., et al
Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2017;8:451
Abstract
Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is one of the complications of busulfan-cyclophosphamide (BU-CY) conditioning regimen during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children. Identifying children at high risk of developing HC in a HSCT setting could facilitate the evaluation and implementation of effective prophylactic measures. In this retrospective analysis genotyping of selected candidate gene variants was performed in 72 children and plasma Sulfolane (Su, water soluble metabolite of BU) levels were measured in 39 children following treatment with BU-CY regimen. The cytotoxic effects of Su and acrolein (Ac, water soluble metabolite of CY) were tested on human urothelial cells (HUCs). The effect of Su was also tested on cytochrome P 450 (CYP) function in HepaRG hepatic cells. Cumulative incidences of HC before day 30 post HSCT were estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test was used to compare the difference between groups in a univariate analysis. Multivariate Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multivariate analysis included co-variables that were significantly associated with HC in a univariate analysis. Cumulative incidence of HC was 15.3%. In the univariate analysis, HC incidence was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in children older than 10 years (28.6 vs. 6.8%) or in children with higher Su levels (>40 vs. <11%) or in carriers of both functional GSTM1 and CYP2C9 (33.3 vs. 6.3%) compared to the other group. In a multivariate analysis, combined GSTM1 and CYP2C9 genotype status was associated with HC occurrence with a hazards ratio of 4.8 (95% CI: 1.3-18.4; p = 0.02). Ac was found to be toxic to HUC cells at lower concentrations (33 muM), Su was not toxic to HUC cells at concentrations below 1 mM and did not affect CYP function in HepaRG cells. Our observations suggest that pre-emptive genotyping of CYP2C9 and GSTM1 may aid in selection of more effective prophylaxis to reduce HC development in pediatric patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT. Article summary: (1) Children carrying functional alleles in GSTM1 and CYP2C9 are at high risk for developing hemorrhagic cystitis following treatment with busulfan and cyclophosphamide based conditioning regimen. (2) Identification of children at high risk for developing hemorrhagic cystitis in an allogeneic HSCT setting will enable us to evaluate and implement optimal strategies for its prevention. Trial registration: This study is a part of the trail "clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01257854."
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7.
Association of CTH variant with sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in children receiving intravenous busulfan and cyclophosphamide before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Huezo-Diaz Curtis, P., Uppugunduri, C. R., Muthukumaran, J., Rezgui, M. A., Peters, C., Bader, P., Duval, M., Bittencourt, H., Krajinovic, M., Ansari, M.
Pharmacogenomics Journal. , 2016 Oct 25. 2016
Abstract
Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is a severe complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) that can be fatal, often attributed to the conditioning regimen prior to HSCT. We evaluated the association of SOS risk with gene variants in cystathionase (CTH), an enzyme involved in glutathione synthesis, in 76 children receiving intravenous busulfan (Bu) before HSCT. Our results indicated an association with CTHc.1364 G>T (ORTT=10.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.16, 51.54) and SOS risk, which was sex dependent (female patients, ORTT=21.82, 95% CI=3.590-132.649). The interaction between CTHc.1364 G>T and another risk variant (GSTA1*B) was explored. A recessive model with the use of GSTA1*B*B and CTH c.1364 TT genotypes proved to be useful at predicting SOS occurrence, indicating the possibility of using these gene variants as markers of SOS occurrence and to further individualize preemptive treatment aimed at reducing SOS incidence.The Pharmacogenomics Journal advance online publication, 25 October 2016; doi:10.1038/tpj.2016.65.