pqsfinder web: G-quadruplex prediction using optimized pqsfinder algorithm

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 2584-2586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Labudová ◽  
Jiří Hon ◽  
Matej Lexa
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Recursive Algorithm ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Potassium Ions ◽  
Bioconductor Package ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
Weak Points ◽  
User Friendly

Abstract Motivation G-quadruplex is a DNA or RNA form in which four guanine-rich regions are held together by base pairing between guanine nucleotides in coordination with potassium ions. G-quadruplexes are increasingly seen as a biologically important component of genomes. Their detection in vivo is problematic; however, sequencing and spectrometric techniques exist for their in vitro detection. We previously devised the pqsfinder algorithm for PQS identification, implemented it in C++ and published as an R/Bioconductor package. We looked for ways to optimize pqsfinder for faster and user-friendly sequence analysis. Results We identified two weak points where pqsfinder could be optimized. We modified the internals of the recursive algorithm to avoid matching and scoring many sub-optimal PQS conformations that are later discarded. To accommodate the needs of a broader range of users, we created a website for submission of sequence analysis jobs that does not require knowledge of R to use pqsfinder. Availability and implementation https://pqsfinder.fi.muni.cz, https://bioconductor.org/packages/pqsfinder. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals Up-Regulating Relaxin Expression by G-Quadruplex Interactive Ligand to Achieve Antifibrotic Action

Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (8) ◽  
pp. 3692-3700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ping Gu ◽  
Sen Lin ◽  
Ming Xu ◽  
Hai-Yi Yu ◽  
Xiao-Jun Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Cardiac Fibrosis ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Endogenous Expression ◽  
G Quadruplex

Myocardial fibrosis is a key pathological change in a variety of heart diseases contributing to the development of heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden death. Recent studies have shown that relaxin prevents and reverses cardiac fibrosis. Endogenous expression of relaxin was elevated in the setting of heart disease; the extent of such up-regulation, however, is insufficient to exert compensatory actions, and the mechanism regulating relaxin expression is poorly defined. In the rat relaxin-1 (RLN1, Chr1) gene promoter region we found presence of repeated guanine (G)-rich sequences, which allowed formation and stabilization of G-quadruplexes with the addition of a G-quadruplex interactive ligand berberine. The G-rich sequences and the G-quadruplexes were localized adjacent to the binding motif of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, which negatively regulates relaxin expression. Thus, we hypothesized that the formation and stabilization of G-quadruplexes by berberine could influence relaxin expression. We found that berberine-induced formation of G-quadruplexes did increase relaxin gene expression measured at mRNA and protein levels. Formation of G-quadruplexes significantly reduced STAT3 binding to the promoter of relaxin gene. This was associated with consequent increase in the binding of RNA polymerase II and STAT5a to relaxin gene promoter. In cardiac fibroblasts and rats treated with angiotensin II, berberine was found to suppress fibroblast activation, collagen synthesis, and extent of cardiac fibrosis through up-regulating relaxin. The antifibrotic action of berberine in vitro and in vivo was similar to that by exogenous relaxin. Our findings document a novel therapeutic strategy for fibrosis through up-regulating expression of endogenous relaxin.

Porphyrins to restrict progression of pancreatic cancer by stabilizing KRAS G-quadruplex: In silico, in vitro and in vivo validation of anticancer strategy

2018 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 39-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudradip Pattanayak ◽  
Atish Barua ◽  
Amlan Das ◽  
Tanima Chatterjee ◽  
Adrija Pathak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
In Silico ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
In Vivo Validation

scholarly journals Microvessel Chaste: An Open Library for Spatial Modelling of Vascularized Tissues

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Grogan ◽  
A.J. Connor ◽  
B. Markelc ◽  
R.J. Muschel ◽  
P.K. Maini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Tumour Growth ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Tissue Growth ◽  
Coronary Perfusion ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
User Friendly

AbstractSpatial models of vascularized tissues are widely used in computational physiology, to study for example, tumour growth, angiogenesis, osteogenesis, coronary perfusion and oxygen delivery. Composition of such models is time-consuming, with many researchers writing custom software for this purpose. Recent advances in imaging have produced detailed three-dimensional (3D) datasets of vascularized tissues at the scale of individual cells. To fully exploit such data there is an increasing need for software that allows user-friendly composition of efficient, 3D models of vascularized tissue growth, and comparison of predictions with in vivo or in vitro experiments and other models. Microvessel Chaste is a new open-source library for building spatial models of vascularized tissue growth. It can be used to simulate vessel growth and adaptation in response to mechanical and chemical stimuli, intra- and extra-vascular transport of nutrient, growth factor and drugs, and cell proliferation in complex 3D geometries. The library provides a comprehensive Python interface to solvers implemented in C++, allowing user-friendly model composition, and integration with experimental data. Such integration is facilitated by interoperability with a growing collection of scientific Python software for image processing, statistical analysis, model annotation and visualization. The library is available under an open-source Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) licence at https://jmsgrogan.github.io/MicrovesselChaste. This article links to two reproducible example problems, showing how the library can be used to model tumour growth and angiogenesis with realistic vessel networks.

scholarly journals G-quadruplex–R-loop interactions and the mechanism of anticancer G-quadruplex binders

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (21) ◽  
pp. 11942-11957
Author(s):  
Giulia Miglietta ◽  
Marco Russo ◽  
Giovanni Capranico
Keyword(s):  
Selective Inhibition ◽  
Telomere Maintenance ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Untranslated Exon ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Hoogsteen Hydrogen Bonds

Abstract Genomic DNA and cellular RNAs can form a variety of non-B secondary structures, including G-quadruplex (G4) and R-loops. G4s are constituted by stacked guanine tetrads held together by Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds and can form at key regulatory sites of eukaryote genomes and transcripts, including gene promoters, untranslated exon regions and telomeres. R-loops are 3-stranded structures wherein the two strands of a DNA duplex are melted and one of them is annealed to an RNA. Specific G4 binders are intensively investigated to discover new effective anticancer drugs based on a common rationale, i.e.: the selective inhibition of oncogene expression or specific impairment of telomere maintenance. However, despite the high number of known G4 binders, such a selective molecular activity has not been fully established and several published data point to a different mode of action. We will review published data that address the close structural interplay between G4s and R-loops in vitro and in vivo, and how these interactions can have functional consequences in relation to G4 binder activity. We propose that R-loops can play a previously-underestimated role in G4 binder action, in relation to DNA damage induction, telomere maintenance, genome and epigenome instability and alterations of gene expression programs.

scholarly journals G-quadruplex DNA drives genomic instability and represents a targetable molecular abnormality in ATRX-deficient malignant glioma

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxiang Wang ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Wei Wu ◽  
Rachna Shah ◽  
Carla Danussi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Malignant Glioma ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Copy Number Alterations ◽  
Molecular Alteration ◽  
Quadruplex Dna ◽  
G4 Dna ◽  
G Quadruplex

AbstractMutational inactivation of ATRX (α-thalassemia mental retardation X-linked) represents a defining molecular alteration in large subsets of malignant glioma. Yet the pathogenic consequences of ATRX deficiency remain unclear, as do tractable mechanisms for its therapeutic targeting. Here we report that ATRX loss in isogenic glioma model systems induces replication stress and DNA damage by way of G-quadruplex (G4) DNA secondary structure. Moreover, these effects are associated with the acquisition of disease-relevant copy number alterations over time. We then demonstrate, both in vitro and in vivo, that ATRX deficiency selectively enhances DNA damage and cell death following chemical G4 stabilization. Finally, we show that G4 stabilization synergizes with other DNA-damaging therapies, including ionizing radiation, in the ATRX-deficient context. Our findings reveal novel pathogenic mechanisms driven by ATRX deficiency in glioma, while also pointing to tangible strategies for drug development.

DECREASED ALDOSTERONE PRODUCTION BY RAT ADRENAL TISSUE IN VITRO DUE TO TREATMENT WITH 9α-FLUOROCORTISOL, DEXAMETHASONE AND ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIN IN VIVO

1970 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürg Müller
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Intake ◽  
Sodium Balance ◽  
Potassium Ions ◽  
Aldosterone Secretion ◽  
Deficient Diet ◽  
Adrenal Tissue ◽  
Aldosterone Production ◽  
Unknown Control

ABSTRACT Quartered adrenal glands of rats treated with 9α-fluorocortisol, dexamethasone or adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) for two weeks were found to produce 70–90% less aldosterone in vitro than the adrenal tissue of untreated animals. The same fractional decreases in aldosterone production were observed when the adrenal tissue was incubated under basal conditions or was stimulated by serotonin, potassium ions or ACTH. In rats kept on a sodium-deficient diet, treatment with dexamethasone and ACTH, respectively, impaired aldosterone production to the same extent as in rats on a normal sodium intake, whereas treatment with 9α-fluorocortisol was almost completely ineffective. These results indicate that inhibition of aldosterone secretion by an exogenous mineralocorticosteroid is mediated by changes in sodium balance. On the other hand, high levels of exogenous or endogenous glucocorticosteroids apparently decrease aldosterone production by a yet unknown control mechanism which is independent of sodium intake.

scholarly journals The Functional Consequences of Eukaryotic Topoisomerase 1 Interaction with G-Quadruplex DNA

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Alexandra Berroyer ◽  
Nayun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Topoisomerase I ◽  
Genome Instability ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Dna Topology ◽  
Single Strand Break ◽  
Dna Structures ◽  
G4 Dna ◽  
G Quadruplex

Topoisomerase I in eukaryotic cells is an important regulator of DNA topology. Its catalytic function is to remove positive or negative superhelical tension by binding to duplex DNA, creating a reversible single-strand break, and finally religating the broken strand. Proper maintenance of DNA topological homeostasis, in turn, is critically important in the regulation of replication, transcription, DNA repair, and other processes of DNA metabolism. One of the cellular processes regulated by the DNA topology and thus by Topoisomerase I is the formation of non-canonical DNA structures. Non-canonical or non-B DNA structures, including the four-stranded G-quadruplex or G4 DNA, are potentially pathological in that they interfere with replication or transcription, forming hotspots of genome instability. In this review, we first describe the role of Topoisomerase I in reducing the formation of non-canonical nucleic acid structures in the genome. We further discuss the interesting recent discovery that Top1 and Top1 mutants bind to G4 DNA structures in vivo and in vitro and speculate on the possible consequences of these interactions.

scholarly journals MOLI: multi-omics late integration with deep neural networks for drug response prediction

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (14) ◽  
pp. i501-i509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Sharifi-Noghabi ◽  
Olga Zolotareva ◽  
Colin C Collins ◽  
Martin Ester
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Drug Response ◽  
Deep Neural Networks ◽  
Response Prediction ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Precision Oncology

Abstract Motivation Historically, gene expression has been shown to be the most informative data for drug response prediction. Recent evidence suggests that integrating additional omics can improve the prediction accuracy which raises the question of how to integrate the additional omics. Regardless of the integration strategy, clinical utility and translatability are crucial. Thus, we reasoned a multi-omics approach combined with clinical datasets would improve drug response prediction and clinical relevance. Results We propose MOLI, a multi-omics late integration method based on deep neural networks. MOLI takes somatic mutation, copy number aberration and gene expression data as input, and integrates them for drug response prediction. MOLI uses type-specific encoding sub-networks to learn features for each omics type, concatenates them into one representation and optimizes this representation via a combined cost function consisting of a triplet loss and a binary cross-entropy loss. The former makes the representations of responder samples more similar to each other and different from the non-responders, and the latter makes this representation predictive of the response values. We validate MOLI on in vitro and in vivo datasets for five chemotherapy agents and two targeted therapeutics. Compared to state-of-the-art single-omics and early integration multi-omics methods, MOLI achieves higher prediction accuracy in external validations. Moreover, a significant improvement in MOLI’s performance is observed for targeted drugs when training on a pan-drug input, i.e. using all the drugs with the same target compared to training only on drug-specific inputs. MOLI’s high predictive power suggests it may have utility in precision oncology. Availability and implementation https://github.com/hosseinshn/MOLI. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals G4Killer web application: a tool to design G-quadruplex mutations

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 3246-3247
Author(s):  
Vaclav Brazda ◽  
Jan Kolomaznik ◽  
Jean-Louis Mergny ◽  
Jiri Stastny
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Web Tool ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Dna Structures ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
User Friendly

Abstract Motivation G-quadruplexes (G4) are important regulatory non-B DNA structures with therapeutic potential. A tool for rational design of mutations leading to decreased propensity for G4 formation should be useful in studying G4 functions. Although tools exist for G4 prediction, no easily accessible tool for the rational design of G4 mutations has been available. Results We developed a web-based tool termed G4Killer that is based on the G4Hunter algorithm. This new tool is a platform-independent and user-friendly application to design mutations crippling G4 propensity in a parsimonious way (i.e., keeping the primary sequence as close as possible to the original one). The tool is integrated into our DNA analyzer server and allows for generating mutated DNA sequences having the desired lowered G4Hunter score with minimal mutation steps. Availability and implementation The G4Killer web tool can be accessed at: http://bioinformatics.ibp.cz. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals Genome sequence analysis of La Crosse virus and in vitro and in vivo phenotypes

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S Bennett ◽  
David R Ton ◽  
Christopher T Hanson ◽  
Brian R Murphy ◽  
Stephen S Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Genome Sequence ◽  
La Crosse Virus ◽  
Genome Sequence Analysis
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document