@article {794, title = {Case report: Analysis of phage therapy failure in a patient with a Pseudomonas aeruginosa prosthetic vascular graft infection}, journal = {Front Med (Lausanne)}, volume = {10}, year = {2023}, month = {2023}, pages = {1199657}, abstract = {

Clinical case of a patient with a multidrug-resistant prosthetic vascular graft infection which was treated with a cocktail of phages (PT07, 14/01, and PNM) in combination with ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA). After the application of the phage treatment and in absence of antimicrobial therapy, a new bloodstream infection (BSI) with a septic residual limb metastasis occurred, now involving a wild-type strain being susceptible to {\ss}-lactams and quinolones. Clinical strains were analyzed by microbiology and whole genome sequencing techniques. In relation with phage administration, the clinical isolates of before phage therapy (HE2011471) and post phage therapy (HE2105886) showed a clonal relationship but with important genomic changes which could be involved in the resistance to this therapy. Finally, phenotypic studies showed a decrease in Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) to {\ss}-lactams and quinolones as well as an increase of the biofilm production and phage resistant mutants in the clinical isolate of post phage therapy.

}, doi = {10.3389/fmed.2023.1199657}, url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10235614/}, author = {Blasco, Lucia and L{\'o}pez-Hern{\'a}ndez, Inmaculada and Rodr{\'\i}guez-Fern{\'a}ndez, Miguel and Perez-Florido, Javier and Casimiro-Soriguer, Carlos S} } @article {769, title = {A crowdsourcing database for the copy-number variation of the Spanish population.}, journal = {Hum Genomics}, volume = {17}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Mar 09}, pages = {20}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Despite being a very common type of genetic variation, the distribution of copy-number variations (CNVs) in the population is still poorly understood. The knowledge of the genetic variability, especially at the level of the local population, is a critical factor for distinguishing pathogenic from non-pathogenic variation in the discovery of new disease variants.

RESULTS: Here, we present the SPAnish Copy Number Alterations Collaborative Server (SPACNACS), which currently contains copy number variation profiles obtained from more than 400 genomes and exomes of unrelated Spanish individuals. By means of a collaborative crowdsourcing effort whole genome and whole exome sequencing data, produced by local genomic projects and for other purposes, is continuously collected. Once checked both, the Spanish ancestry and the lack of kinship with other individuals in the SPACNACS, the CNVs are inferred for these sequences and they are used to populate the database. A web interface allows querying the database with different filters that include ICD10 upper categories. This allows discarding samples from the disease under study and obtaining pseudo-control CNV profiles from the local population. We also show here additional studies on the local impact of CNVs in some phenotypes and on pharmacogenomic variants. SPACNACS can be accessed at: http://csvs.clinbioinfosspa.es/spacnacs/ .

CONCLUSION: SPACNACS facilitates disease gene discovery by providing detailed information of the local variability of the population and exemplifies how to reuse genomic data produced for other purposes to build a local reference database.

}, issn = {1479-7364}, doi = {10.1186/s40246-023-00466-8}, author = {L{\'o}pez-L{\'o}pez, Daniel and Rold{\'a}n, Gema and Fernandez-Rueda, Jose L and Bostelmann, Gerrit and Carmona, Rosario and Aquino, Virginia and Perez-Florido, Javier and Ortuno, Francisco and Pita, Guillermo and N{\'u}{\~n}ez-Torres, Roc{\'\i}o and Gonz{\'a}lez-Neira, Anna and Pe{\~n}a-Chilet, Maria and Dopazo, Joaquin} } @article {766, title = {Detection of High Level of Co-Infection and the Emergence of Novel SARS CoV-2 Delta-Omicron and Omicron-Omicron Recombinants in the Epidemiological Surveillance of Andalusia.}, journal = {Int J Mol Sci}, volume = {24}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Jan 26}, abstract = {

Recombination is an evolutionary strategy to quickly acquire new viral properties inherited from the parental lineages. The systematic survey of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences of the Andalusian genomic surveillance strategy has allowed the detection of an unexpectedly high number of co-infections, which constitute the ideal scenario for the emergence of new recombinants. Whole genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 has been carried out as part of the genomic surveillance programme. Sample sources included the main hospitals in the Andalusia region. In addition to the increase of co-infections and known recombinants, three novel SARS-CoV-2 delta-omicron and omicron-omicron recombinant variants with two break points have been detected. Our observations document an epidemiological scenario in which co-infection and recombination are detected more frequently. Finally, we describe a family case in which co-infection is followed by the detection of a recombinant made from the two co-infecting variants. This increased number of recombinants raises the risk of emergence of recombinant variants with increased transmissibility and pathogenicity.

}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms24032419}, author = {Perez-Florido, Javier and Casimiro-Soriguer, Carlos S and Ortuno, Francisco and Fernandez-Rueda, Jose L and Aguado, Andrea and Lara, Mar{\'\i}a and Riazzo, Cristina and Rodriguez-Iglesias, Manuel A and Camacho-Martinez, Pedro and Merino-Diaz, Laura and Pupo-Ledo, Inmaculada and de Salazar, Adolfo and Vi{\~n}uela, Laura and Fuentes, Ana and Chueca, Natalia and Garc{\'\i}a, Federico and Dopazo, Joaquin and Lepe, Jose A} } @article {801, title = {Evaluation of a combined detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants using real-time allele-specific PCR strategy: an advantage for clinical practice.}, journal = {Epidemiol Infect}, volume = {151}, year = {2023}, month = {2023 Nov 24}, pages = {e201}, abstract = {

This study aimed to assess the ability of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with multiple targets to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in a single test. Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected from patients in Granada, Spain, between January 2021 and December 2022. Five allele-specific RT-PCR kits were used sequentially, with each kit designed to detect a predominant variant at the time. When the Alpha variant was dominant, the kit included the HV69/70 deletion, E and N genes. When Delta replaced Alpha, the kit incorporated the L452R mutation in addition to E and N genes. When Omicron became dominant, L452R was replaced with the N679K mutation. Before incorporating each variant kit, a comparative analysis was carried out with SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing (WGS). The results demonstrated that RT-PCR with multiple targets can provide rapid and effective detection of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in a single test. A very high degree of agreement (96.2\%) was obtained between the comparison of RT-PCR and WGS. Allele-specific RT-PCR assays make it easier to implement epidemiological surveillance systems for effective public health decision making.

}, keywords = {Alleles, COVID-19, COVID-19 Testing, Humans, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, SARS-CoV-2, Sensitivity and Specificity}, issn = {1469-4409}, doi = {10.1017/S095026882300184X}, author = {Chaves-Blanco, Luc{\'\i}a and de Salazar, Adolfo and Fuentes, Ana and Vi{\~n}uela, Laura and Perez-Florido, Javier and Dopazo, Joaquin and Garc{\'\i}a, Federico} } @article {762, title = {Assessing the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Lineages and Mutations on Patient Survival.}, journal = {Viruses}, volume = {14}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Aug 27}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 still remains a global public health problem. Successive waves of infection have produced new SARS-CoV-2 variants with new mutations for which the impact on COVID-19 severity and patient survival is uncertain.

METHODS: A total of 764 SARS-CoV-2 genomes, sequenced from COVID-19 patients, hospitalized from 19th February 2020 to 30 April 2021, along with their clinical data, were used for survival analysis.

RESULTS: A significant association of B.1.1.7, the alpha lineage, with patient mortality (log hazard ratio (LHR) = 0.51, C.I. = [0.14,0.88]) was found upon adjustment by all the covariates known to affect COVID-19 prognosis. Moreover, survival analysis of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome revealed 27 of them were significantly associated with higher mortality of patients. Most of these mutations were located in the genes coding for the S, ORF8, and N proteins.

CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates how a combination of genomic and clinical data can provide solid evidence for the impact of viral lineage on patient survival.

}, keywords = {COVID-19, Genome, Viral, Humans, mutation, Pandemics, Phylogeny, SARS-CoV-2}, issn = {1999-4915}, doi = {10.3390/v14091893}, author = {Loucera, Carlos and Perez-Florido, Javier and Casimiro-Soriguer, Carlos S and Ortuno, Francisco M and Carmona, Rosario and Bostelmann, Gerrit and Mart{\'\i}nez-Gonz{\'a}lez, L Javier and Mu{\~n}oyerro-Mu{\~n}iz, Dolores and Villegas, Rom{\'a}n and Rodr{\'\i}guez-Ba{\~n}o, Jes{\'u}s and Romero-G{\'o}mez, Manuel and Lorusso, Nicola and Garcia-Le{\'o}n, Javier and Navarro-Mar{\'\i}, Jose M and Camacho-Martinez, Pedro and Merino-Diaz, Laura and Salazar, Adolfo de and Vi{\~n}uela, Laura and Lepe, Jose A and Garc{\'\i}a, Federico and Dopazo, Joaquin} } @article {759, title = {Protein and functional isoform levels and genetic variants of the BAFF and APRIL pathway components in systemic lupus erythematosus.}, journal = {Sci Rep}, volume = {12}, year = {2022}, month = {2022 Jul 02}, pages = {11219}, abstract = {

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototype of an autoimmune disease. Belimumab, a monoclonal antibody targets BAFF, is the only biologic approved for SLE and active lupus nephritis. BAFF is a cytokine with a key-regulatory role in the B cell homeostasis, which acts by binding to three receptors: BAFF-R, TACI and BCMA. TACI and BCMA also bind APRIL. Many studies reported elevated soluble BAFF and APRIL levels in the sera of SLE patients, but other questions about the role of this system in the disease remain open. The study aimed to investigate the utility of the cytokine levels in serum and urine as biomarkers, the role of non-functional isoforms, and the association of gene variants with the disease. This case-control study includes a cohort (women, 18-60~years old) of 100 patients (48\% with nephritis) and 100 healthy controls. We used ELISA assays to measure the cytokine concentrations in serum (sBAFF and sAPRIL) and urine (uBAFF and uAPRIL); TaqMan Gene Expression Assays to quantify the relative mRNA expression of ΔBAFF, βAPRIL, and εAPRIL, and next-generation sequencing to genotype the cytokine (TNFSF13 and TNFSF13B) and receptor (TNFRSF13B, TNFRSF17 and TNFRSF13C) genes. The statistical tests used were: Kruskal-Wallis (qualitative variables), the Spearman Rho coefficient (correlations), the Chi-square and SKAT (association of common and rare genetic variants, respectively). As expected, sBAFF and sAPRIL levels were higher in patients than in controls (p <= 0.001) but found differences between patient subgroups. sBAFF and sAPRIL significantly correlated only in patients with nephritis (r = 0.67, p <= 0.001) and βAPRIL levels were lower in patients with nephritis (p = 0.04), and ΔBAFF levels were lower in patients with dsDNA antibodies (p = 0.04). Rare variants of TNFSF13 and TNFRSF13B and TNFSF13 p.Gly67Arg and TNFRSF13B p.Val220Ala were associated with SLE. Our study supports differences among SLE patient subgroups with diverse clinical features in the BAFF/APRIL pathway. In addition, it suggests the involvement of genetic variants in the susceptibility to the disease.

}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-022-15549-0}, author = {Ortiz-Aljaro, Pilar and Montes-Cano, Marco Antonio and Garc{\'\i}a-Lozano, Jos{\'e}-Ra{\'u}l and Aquino, Virginia and Carmona, Rosario and Perez-Florido, Javier and Garc{\'\i}a-Hern{\'a}ndez, Francisco Jos{\'e} and Dopazo, Joaquin and Gonz{\'a}lez-Escribano, Mar{\'\i}a Francisca} } @article {701, title = {CSVS, a crowdsourcing database of the Spanish population genetic variability.}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Res}, volume = {49}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 01 08}, pages = {D1130-D1137}, abstract = {

The knowledge of the genetic variability of the local population is of utmost importance in personalized medicine and has been revealed as a critical factor for the discovery of new disease variants. Here, we present the Collaborative Spanish Variability Server (CSVS), which currently contains more than 2000 genomes and exomes of unrelated Spanish individuals. This database has been generated in a collaborative crowdsourcing effort collecting sequencing data produced by local genomic projects and for other purposes. Sequences have been grouped by ICD10 upper categories. A web interface allows querying the database removing one or more ICD10 categories. In this way, aggregated counts of allele frequencies of the pseudo-control Spanish population can be obtained for diseases belonging to the category removed. Interestingly, in addition to pseudo-control studies, some population studies can be made, as, for example, prevalence of pharmacogenomic variants, etc. In addition, this genomic data has been used to define the first Spanish Genome Reference Panel (SGRP1.0) for imputation. This is the first local repository of variability entirely produced by a crowdsourcing effort and constitutes an example for future initiatives to characterize local variability worldwide. CSVS is also part of the GA4GH Beacon network. CSVS can be accessed at: http://csvs.babelomics.org/.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Chromosome Mapping, Crowdsourcing, Databases, Genetic, Exome, Gene Frequency, Genetic Variation, Genetics, Population, Genome, Human, Genomics, Humans, Internet, Precision Medicine, Software, Spain}, issn = {1362-4962}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkaa794}, author = {Pe{\~n}a-Chilet, Maria and Rold{\'a}n, Gema and Perez-Florido, Javier and Ortuno, Francisco M and Carmona, Rosario and Aquino, Virginia and L{\'o}pez-L{\'o}pez, Daniel and Loucera, Carlos and Fernandez-Rueda, Jose L and Gallego, Asunci{\'o}n and Garcia-Garcia, Francisco and Gonz{\'a}lez-Neira, Anna and Pita, Guillermo and N{\'u}{\~n}ez-Torres, Roc{\'\i}o and Santoyo-L{\'o}pez, Javier and Ayuso, Carmen and Minguez, Pablo and Avila-Fernandez, Almudena and Corton, Marta and Moreno-Pelayo, Miguel {\'A}ngel and Morin, Mat{\'\i}as and Gallego-Martinez, Alvaro and Lopez-Escamez, Jose A and Borrego, Salud and Anti{\v n}olo, Guillermo and Amigo, Jorge and Salgado-Garrido, Josefa and Pasalodos-Sanchez, Sara and Morte, Beatriz and Carracedo, {\'A}ngel and Alonso, {\'A}ngel and Dopazo, Joaquin} } @article {744, title = {Highly accurate whole-genome imputation of SARS-CoV-2 from partial or low-quality sequences.}, journal = {Gigascience}, volume = {10}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 12 02}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has emphasized the utility of viral whole-genome sequencing in the surveillance and control of the pathogen. An unprecedented ongoing global initiative is producing hundreds of thousands of sequences worldwide. However, the complex circumstances in which viruses are sequenced, along with the demand of urgent results, causes a high rate of incomplete and, therefore, useless sequences. Viral sequences evolve in the context of a complex phylogeny and different positions along the genome are in linkage disequilibrium. Therefore, an imputation method would be able to predict missing positions from the available sequencing data.

RESULTS: We have developed the impuSARS application, which takes advantage of the enormous number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes available, using a reference panel containing 239,301 sequences, to produce missing data imputation in viral genomes. ImpuSARS was tested in a wide range of conditions (continuous fragments, amplicons or sparse individual positions missing), showing great fidelity when reconstructing the original sequences, recovering the lineage with a 100\% precision for almost all the lineages, even in very poorly covered genomes (<20\%).

CONCLUSIONS: Imputation can improve the pace of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing production by recovering many incomplete or low-quality sequences that would be otherwise discarded. ImpuSARS can be incorporated in any primary data processing pipeline for SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing.

}, keywords = {Genome, Viral, Phylogeny, SARS-CoV-2, Whole Genome Sequencing}, issn = {2047-217X}, doi = {10.1093/gigascience/giab078}, author = {Ortuno, Francisco M and Loucera, Carlos and Casimiro-Soriguer, Carlos S and Lepe, Jose A and Camacho Martinez, Pedro and Merino Diaz, Laura and de Salazar, Adolfo and Chueca, Natalia and Garc{\'\i}a, Federico and Perez-Florido, Javier and Dopazo, Joaquin} } @article {723, title = {Phylogenetic Analysis of the 2020 West Nile Virus (WNV) Outbreak in Andalusia (Spain)}, journal = {Viruses}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, month = {Jan-05-2021}, pages = {836}, doi = {10.3390/v13050836}, url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/5/836 }, author = {Casimiro-Soriguer, Carlos S. and Perez-Florido, Javier and Fernandez-Rueda, Jose L. and Pedrosa-Corral, Irene and Guillot-Sulay, Vicente and Lorusso, Nicola and Martinez-Gonzalez, Luis Javier and Navarro-Mar{\'\i}, Jose M. and Dopazo, Joaquin and Sanbonmatsu-G{\'a}mez, Sara} }