Genome-wide high-density SNP linkage search for glioma susceptibility loci: results from the Gliogene Consortium.

Gliomas, which generally have a poor prognosis, are the most common primary malignant brain tumors in adults. Recent genome-wide association studies have shown that inherited susceptibility plays a role in the development of glioma. Although first-degree relatives of patients exhibit a two-fold increased risk of glioma, the search for susceptibility loci in familial forms of the disease has been challenging because the disease is relatively rare, fatal, and heterogeneous, making it difficult to collect sufficient biosamples from families for statistical power. To address this challenge, the Genetic Epidemiology of Glioma International Consortium (Gliogene) was formed to collect DNA samples from families with two or more cases of histologically confirmed glioma. In this study, we present results obtained from 46 U.S. families in which multipoint linkage analyses were undertaken using nonparametric (model-free) methods. After removal of high linkage disequilibrium single-nucleotide polymorphism, we obtained a maximum nonparametric linkage score (NPL) of 3.39 (P = 0.0005) at 17q12-21.32 and the Z-score of 4.20 (P = 0.000007). To replicate our findings, we genotyped 29 independent U.S. families and obtained a maximum NPL score of 1.26 (P = 0.008) and the Z-score of 1.47 (P = 0.035). Accounting for the genetic heterogeneity using the ordered subset analysis approach, the combined analyses of 75 families resulted in a maximum NPL score of 3.81 (P = 0.00001). The genomic regions we have implicated in this study may offer novel insights into glioma susceptibility, focusing future work to identify genes that cause familial glioma.

Host heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) as a potential target to suppress hepatitis B virus replication.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection results in complications such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Suppressing viral replication in chronic HBV carriers is an effective approach to controlling disease progression. Although antiviral compounds are available, we aimed to identify host factors that have a significant effect on viral replication efficiency. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We studied a group of hepatitis B carriers by associating serum viral load with their respective HBV genomes, and observed a significant association between high patient serum viral load with a natural sequence variant within the HBV enhancer II (Enh II) regulatory region at position 1752. Using a viral fragment as an affinity binding probe, we isolated a host DNA-binding protein belonging to the class of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins--hnRNP K--that binds to and modulates the replicative efficiency of HBV. In cell transfection studies, overexpression of hnRNP K augmented HBV replication, while gene silencing of endogenous hnRNP K carried out by small interfering RNAs resulted in a significant reduction of HBV viral load. CONCLUSION: The evidence presented in this study describes a wider role for hnRNP K beyond maintenance of host cellular functions and may represent a novel target for pharmacologic intervention of HBV replication.