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GPCR kinases (GRKs) regulate GPCR interactions and thus functions. Here, the authors report a comprehensive panel of GRK knockout cells, used to assess the GRK-specific β-arrestin recruitment. Selective engagement of GRKs induces distinct GPCR–β-arrestin complexes.

Haematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are responsible for blood cell generation and reside in the bone marrow. Here, the authors show that macrophages in the bone marrow originate from embryonic or adult haematopoietic lineages and that embryo-derived macrophages are important for the establishment of the HSC pool.

A SARS-CoV-2 variant containing a D614G substitution in the spike protein shows enhanced binding to human ACE2, increased replication in human cell cultures and a competitive advantage in animal models of infection.

Bernhard Radlwimmer and colleagues report whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of 13 Burkitt lymphomas and nine follicular lymphomas. They find that both types of germinal center B cell lymphomas show global hypomethylation compared to normal germinal center B cell precursors and identify regions of differential methylation that correlate with somatic mutations and differential gene expression.

Macrophage-specific genetic ablation of the EMT inducer ZEB1 reveals its pivotal role in intracellular cytokine trafficking, boosting cytotoxic T cell abundance and immune responses, thereby reducing tumor growth and metastatic colonization in mice.

The membrane-shaping protein ARL6IP1 is involved in the selective degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum, and this process depends on its ubiquitination and interaction with other membrane-shaping proteins such as FAM134B.

The tumor microenvironment is composed of many cell types that crosstalk to modulate local immunity. Here the authors show that Amyloid β proteins from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) induce neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) production by neutrophils, while NET feeds back to activate CAF, thereby implicating Amyloid β as a potential therapy target.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

COSMIC outperforms spectral library search for metabolite annotation and annotates previously unseen structures.

Understanding deregulation of biological pathways in cancer can provide insight into disease etiology and potential therapies. Here, as part of the PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) consortium, the authors present pathway and network analysis of 2583 whole cancer genomes from 27 tumour types.

There’s an emerging body of evidence to show how biological sex impacts cancer incidence, treatment and underlying biology. Here, using a large pan-cancer dataset, the authors further highlight how sex differences shape the cancer genome.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

In somatic cells the mechanisms maintaining the chromosome ends are normally inactivated; however, cancer cells can re-activate these pathways to support continuous growth. Here, the authors characterize the telomeric landscapes across tumour types and identify genomic alterations associated with different telomere maintenance mechanisms.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

Whole-genome sequencing data from more than 2,500 cancers of 38 tumour types reveal 16 signatures that can be used to classify somatic structural variants, highlighting the diversity of genomic rearrangements in cancer.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.

Analysis of cancer genome sequencing data has enabled the discovery of driver mutations. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium the authors present DriverPower, a software package that identifies coding and non-coding driver mutations within cancer whole genomes via consideration of mutational burden and functional impact evidence.

A pan-cancer genomic analysis reports the effects of structural variations on chromatin domains (TADs). Most TAD disruptions do not result in appreciable changes in expression of nearby genes.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

Whole-genome sequencing data for 2,778 cancer samples from 2,658 unique donors across 38 cancer types is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cancer, revealing that driver mutations can precede diagnosis by several years to decades.

Some cancer patients first present with metastases where the location of the primary is unidentified; these are difficult to treat. In this study, using machine learning, the authors develop a method to determine the tissue of origin of a cancer based on whole sequencing data.

The authors present SVclone, a computational method for inferring the cancer cell fraction of structural variants from whole-genome sequencing data.

Many tumours exhibit hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypoxic tumours often respond poorly to therapy. Here, the authors quantify hypoxia in 1188 tumours from 27 cancer types, showing elevated hypoxia links to increased mutational load, directing evolutionary trajectories.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

The characterization of 4,645 whole-genome and 19,184 exome sequences, covering most types of cancer, identifies 81 single-base substitution, doublet-base substitution and small-insertion-and-deletion mutational signatures, providing a systematic overview of the mutational processes that contribute to cancer development.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

Cancers evolve as they progress under differing selective pressures. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, the authors present the method TrackSig the estimates evolutionary trajectories of somatic mutational processes from single bulk tumour data.

Here the authors apply machine learning approaches to Alzheimer’s genetics, confirm known associations and suggest novel risk loci. These methods demonstrate predictive power comparable to traditional approaches, while also offering potential new insights beyond standard genetic analyses.

Dishevelled (DVL) is the key component of Wnt signaling pathway that acts as a signaling hub. Here, authors study the conformational dynamics of DVL3 in vivo using their engineered FlAsH-based FRET biosensors and describe how Wnt activation opens DVL and facilitates Frizzled recruitment.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are released by neutrophils in response to infection and have also been observed in sterile inflammation. Here, monosodium urate crystals, found in gout, are shown to induce NET formation and aggregation. These aggregated NETs proteolytically degrade cytokines and chemokines and reduce inflammatory responses. NETosis-deficient mice develop chronic inflammatory disease that can be attenuated after the transfer of aggregated NETs, suggesting that the formation of aggregated NETs may serve to limit inflammation.

Hundreds of genetic loci associated with age at menopause, combined with experimental evidence in mice, highlight mechanisms of reproductive ageing across the lifespan.

A cryo-EM structure of the GPCR α_2B adrenergic receptor (α_2BAR) in complex with the selective agonist dexmedetomidine and the G protein Go suggests a mechanism of selective activation and provides insights into G-protein coupling activity.

The soil bacterium Streptomyces iranensis triggers the production of natural products in the fungus Aspergillus nidulans using arginine-derived polyketide signalling molecules.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Combined analysis of new genomic data from 116 ancient hunter-gatherer individuals together with previously published data provides insights into the genetic structure and demographic shifts of west Eurasian forager populations over a period of 30,000 years.

Sinonasal tumour diagnosis can be complicated by the heterogeneity of disease and classification systems. Here, the authors use machine learning to classify sinonasal undifferentiated carcinomas into 4 molecular classe with differences in differentiation state and clinical outcome.

The human endoderm-derived organoid cell atlas (HEOCA) presents an integrative analysis of single-cell transcriptomes across different conditions, sources and protocols. It compares cell types and states between models, and harmonizes cell annotations through mapping to primary tissues.

Does the future of genomics-based drug discovery lie with the mouse?

For several cancer types, mouse models indicate that metastasis occurs early. Here, the authors show that human melanoma cells disseminate early and illustrate a genetic colonisation signature that evolves in parallel at different sites.