Maristella Pitzalis

@article{steri_overexpression_2017,

title = {Overexpression of the Cytokine BAFF and Autoimmunity Risk},

author = {Maristella Steri and Valeria Orrù and Laura M Idda and Maristella Pitzalis and Mauro Pala and Ilenia Zara and Carlo Sidore and Valeria Faà and Matteo Floris and Manila Deiana and Isadora Asunis and Eleonora Porcu and Antonella Mulas and Maria G Piras and Monia Lobina and Sandra Lai and Mara Marongiu and Valentina Serra and Michele Marongiu and Gabriella Sole and Fabio Busonero and Andrea Maschio and Roberto Cusano and Gianmauro Cuccuru and Francesca Deidda and Fausto Poddie and Gabriele Farina and Mariano Dei and Francesca Virdis and Stefania Olla and Maria A Satta and Mario Pani and Alessandro Delitala and Eleonora Cocco and Jessica Frau and Giancarlo Coghe and Lorena Lorefice and Giuseppe Fenu and Paola Ferrigno and Maria Ban and Nadia Barizzone and Maurizio Leone and Franca R Guerini and Matteo Piga and Davide Firinu and Ingrid Kockum and Izaura {Lima Bomfim} and Tomas Olsson and Lars Alfredsson and Ana Suarez and Patricia E Carreira and Maria J Castillo-Palma and Joseph H Marcus and Mauro Congia and Andrea Angius and Maurizio Melis and Antonio Gonzalez and Marta E {Alarc{ó}n Riquelme} and Berta M da Silva and Maurizio Marchini and Maria G Danieli and Stefano {Del Giacco} and Alessandro Mathieu and Antonello Pani and Stephen B Montgomery and Giulio Rosati and Jan Hillert and Stephen Sawcer and Sandra D'Alfonso and John A Todd and John Novembre and Gon{ç}alo R Abecasis and Michael B Whalen and Maria G Marrosu and Alessandra Meloni and Serena Sanna and Myriam Gorospe and David Schlessinger and Edoardo Fiorillo and Magdalena Zoledziewska and Francesco Cucca},

doi = {10.1056/NEJMoa1610528},

issn = {1533-4406},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

journal = {The New England Journal of Medicine},

volume = {376},

number = {17},

pages = {1615--1626},

abstract = {BACKGROUND: Genomewide association studies of autoimmune diseases have mapped hundreds of susceptibility regions in the genome. However, only for a few association signals has the causal gene been identified, and for even fewer have the causal variant and underlying mechanism been defined. Coincident associations of DNA variants affecting both the risk of autoimmune disease and quantitative immune variables provide an informative route to explore disease mechanisms and drug-targetable pathways. 

METHODS: Using case-control samples from Sardinia, Italy, we performed a genomewide association study in multiple sclerosis followed by TNFSF13B locus-specific association testing in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Extensive phenotyping of quantitative immune variables, sequence-based fine mapping, cross-population and cross-phenotype analyses, and gene-expression studies were used to identify the causal variant and elucidate its mechanism of action. Signatures of positive selection were also investigated. 

RESULTS: A variant in TNFSF13B, encoding the cytokine and drug target B-cell activating factor (BAFF), was associated with multiple sclerosis as well as SLE. The disease-risk allele was also associated with up-regulated humoral immunity through increased levels of soluble BAFF, B lymphocytes, and immunoglobulins. The causal variant was identified: an insertion-deletion variant, GCTGT→A (in which A is the risk allele), yielded a shorter transcript that escaped microRNA inhibition and increased production of soluble BAFF, which in turn up-regulated humoral immunity. Population genetic signatures indicated that this autoimmunity variant has been evolutionarily advantageous, most likely by augmenting resistance to malaria. 

CONCLUSIONS: A TNFSF13B variant was associated with multiple sclerosis and SLE, and its effects were clarified at the population, cellular, and molecular levels. (Funded by the Italian Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis and others.).},

note = {See Editorials, Korn T, Oukka M. A BAFFling Association between Malaria Resistance and the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis. N Engl J Med. 2017 Apr 27;376(17):1680-1681. doi: 10.1056/NEJMe1700720.; Stohl W., Systemic lupus erythematosus: BAFF emerges from the genetic shadows. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2017 Jun 15. doi: 10.1038/nrrheum.2017.99; Comabella M. Neuroimmunology: B cells and variant BAFF in autoimmune disease. Nat Rev Neurol. 2017 Jun 16. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.87.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{danjou_genome-wide_2015,

title = {Genome-wide association analyses based on whole-genome sequencing in Sardinia provide insights into regulation of hemoglobin levels},

author = {Fabrice Danjou and Magdalena Zoledziewska and Carlo Sidore and Maristella Steri and Fabio Busonero and Andrea Maschio and Antonella Mulas and Lucia Perseu and Susanna Barella and Eleonora Porcu and Giorgio Pistis and Maristella Pitzalis and Mauro Pala and Stephan Menzel and Sarah Metrustry and Timothy D Spector and Lidia Leoni and Andrea Angius and Manuela Uda and Paolo Moi and Swee Lay Thein and Renzo Galanello and Gon{ç}alo R Abecasis and David Schlessinger and Serena Sanna and Francesco Cucca},

doi = {10.1038/ng.3307},

issn = {1546-1718},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-11-01},

journal = {Nature Genetics},

volume = {47},

number = {11},

pages = {1264--1271},

abstract = {We report genome-wide association study results for the levels of A1, A2 and fetal hemoglobins, analyzed for the first time concurrently. Integrating high-density array genotyping and whole-genome sequencing in a large general population cohort from Sardinia, we detected 23 associations at 10 loci. Five signals are due to variants at previously undetected loci: MPHOSPH9, PLTP-PCIF1, ZFPM1 (FOG1), NFIX and CCND3. Among the signals at known loci, ten are new lead variants and four are new independent signals. Half of all variants also showed pleiotropic associations with different hemoglobins, which further corroborated some of the detected associations and identified features of coordinated hemoglobin species production.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{sidore_genome_2015,

title = {Genome sequencing elucidates Sardinian genetic architecture and augments association analyses for lipid and blood inflammatory markers},

author = {Carlo Sidore and Fabio Busonero and Andrea Maschio and Eleonora Porcu and Silvia Naitza and Magdalena Zoledziewska and Antonella Mulas and Giorgio Pistis and Maristella Steri and Fabrice Danjou and Alan Kwong and Vicente Diego {Ortega Del Vecchyo} and Charleston W K Chiang and Jennifer Bragg-Gresham and Maristella Pitzalis and Ramaiah Nagaraja and Brendan Tarrier and Christine Brennan and Sergio Uzzau and Christian Fuchsberger and Rossano Atzeni and Frederic Reinier and Riccardo Berutti and Jie Huang and Nicholas J Timpson and Daniela Toniolo and Paolo Gasparini and Giovanni Malerba and George Dedoussis and Eleftheria Zeggini and Nicole Soranzo and Chris Jones and Robert Lyons and Andrea Angius and Hyun M Kang and John Novembre and Serena Sanna and David Schlessinger and Francesco Cucca and Gon{ç}alo R Abecasis},

doi = {10.1038/ng.3368},

issn = {1546-1718},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-11-01},

journal = {Nature Genetics},

volume = {47},

number = {11},

pages = {1272--1281},

abstract = {We report ∼17.6 million genetic variants from whole-genome sequencing of 2,120 Sardinians; 22% are absent from previous sequencing-based compilations and are enriched for predicted functional consequences. Furthermore, ∼76,000 variants common in our sample (frequency >5%) are rare elsewhere (<0.5% in the 1000 Genomes Project). We assessed the impact of these variants on circulating lipid levels and five inflammatory biomarkers. We observe 14 signals, including 2 major new loci, for lipid levels and 19 signals, including 2 new loci, for inflammatory markers. The new associations would have been missed in analyses based on 1000 Genomes Project data, underlining the advantages of large-scale sequencing in this founder population.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{orru_genetic_2013,

title = {Genetic variants regulating immune cell levels in health and disease.},

author = {Valeria Orrù and Maristella Steri and Gabriella Sole and Carlo Sidore and Francesca Virdis and Mariano Dei and Sandra Lai and Magdalena Zoledziewska and Fabio Busonero and Antonella Mulas and Matteo Floris and Wieslawa I Mentzen and Silvana A M Urru and Stefania Olla and Michele Marongiu and Maria G Piras and Monia Lobina and Andrea Maschio and Maristella Pitzalis and Maria F Urru and Marco Marcelli and Roberto Cusano and Francesca Deidda and Valentina Serra and Manuela Oppo and Rosella Pilu and Frederic Reinier and Riccardo Berutti and Luca Pireddu and Ilenia Zara and Eleonora Porcu and Alan Kwong and Christine Brennan and Brendan Tarrier and Robert Lyons and Hyun M Kang and Sergio Uzzau and Rossano Atzeni and Maria Valentini and Davide Firinu and Lidia Leoni and Gianluca Rotta and Silvia Naitza and Andrea Angius and Mauro Congia and Michael B Whalen and Chris M Jones and David Schlessinger and Gon{ç}alo R Abecasis and Edoardo Fiorillo and Serena Sanna and Francesco Cucca},

doi = {10.1016/j.cell.2013.08.041},

issn = {1097-4172},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-09-01},

journal = {Cell},

volume = {155},

number = {1},

pages = {242--56},

abstract = {The complex network of specialized cells and molecules in the immune system has evolved to defend against pathogens, but inadvertent immune system attacks on "self" result in autoimmune disease. Both genetic regulation of immune cell levels and their relationships with autoimmunity are largely undetermined. Here, we report genetic contributions to quantitative levels of 95 cell types encompassing 272 immune traits, in a cohort of 1,629 individuals from four clustered Sardinian villages. We first estimated trait heritability, showing that it can be substantial, accounting for up to 87% of the variance (mean 41%). Next, by assessing ∼8.2 million variants that we identified and confirmed in an extended set of 2,870 individuals, 23 independent variants at 13 loci associated with at least one trait. Notably, variants at three loci (HLA, IL2RA, and SH2B3/ATXN2) overlap with known autoimmune disease associations. These results connect specific cellular phenotypes to specific genetic variants, helping to explicate their involvement in disease.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{francalacci_low-pass_2013,

title = {Low-pass DNA sequencing of 1200 Sardinians reconstructs European Y-chromosome phylogeny},

author = {Paolo Francalacci and Laura Morelli and Andrea Angius and Riccardo Berutti and Frederic Reinier and Rossano Atzeni and Rosella Pilu and Fabio Busonero and Andrea Maschio and Ilenia Zara and Daria Sanna and Antonella Useli and Maria Francesca Urru and Marco Marcelli and Roberto Cusano and Manuela Oppo and Magdalena Zoledziewska and Maristella Pitzalis and Francesca Deidda and Eleonora Porcu and Fausto Poddie and Hyun Min Kang and Robert Lyons and Brendan Tarrier and Jennifer Bragg Gresham and Bingshan Li and Sergio Tofanelli and Santos Alonso and Mariano Dei and Sandra Lai and Antonella Mulas and Michael B Whalen and Sergio Uzzau and Chris Jones and David Schlessinger and Gon{ç}alo R Abecasis and Serena Sanna and Carlo Sidore and Francesco Cucca},

doi = {10.1126/science.1237947},

issn = {1095-9203},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-08-01},

journal = {Science (New York, N.Y.)},

volume = {341},

number = {6145},

pages = {565--569},

abstract = {Genetic variation within the male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) can clarify the origins of contemporary populations, but previous studies were hampered by partial genetic information. Population sequencing of 1204 Sardinian males identified 11,763 MSY single-nucleotide polymorphisms, 6751 of which have not previously been observed. We constructed a MSY phylogenetic tree containing all main haplogroups found in Europe, along with many Sardinian-specific lineage clusters within each haplogroup. The tree was calibrated with archaeological data from the initial expansion of the Sardinian population textasciitilde7700 years ago. The ages of nodes highlight different genetic strata in Sardinia and reveal the presumptive timing of coalescence with other human populations. We calculate a putative age for coalescence of textasciitilde180,000 to 200,000 years ago, which is consistent with previous mitochondrial DNA-based estimates.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}