Human - murine concordance of molecular signatures in nerve-sparing murine partial bladder outlet obstruction (NeMO)

Recently we demonstrated the utility of a nerve-sparing mid-urethra model of partial outlet obstruction (NeMO) that has high consistency and minimal mortalities, unlike the traditional model proximal to the bladder neck. Our goal was to uncover potential therapeutic targets by investigating the genome wide transcriptional changes and pathways altered in NeMO to compare with published human bladder obstruction data. We performed RNAseq and analysed the differentially upregulated and downregulated genes for associated pathways, transcription factor binding site analysis (TFBS), upstream regulators and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). NeMO increased bladder mass, relative bladder mass and hyperactivity, and decreased voiding efficiency. In NeMO vs. sham, 831 genes were differentially expressed (adjusted p<0.05) and correlated significantly with at least one physiologic parameter. Gene ontology revealed an enrichment for matrix pathways in the upregulated genes, and for cardiac contraction, oxidative phosphorylation and pyruvate metabolism in downregulated genes. TFBS analysis revealed a differential regulation of up vs downregulated genes, with KLF4 strongly associated with the downregulated genes. Downregulated genes of Human bladder obstruction were also associated with the TFBS of KLF4. GSEA of the NeMO gene set confirmed the DAVID results, but also showed a cluster of cytokine activation genes. In human bladder underactive obstruction, cytokines were also highly upregulated. The common cytokine pathway upregulation provided an example of the use of RNAseq for uncovering potential new therapeutic targets. As TNF and the innate immune pathways were strongly implicated in both human and mouse, and TNF is produced by macrophages, we depletion macrophages with clodronate (CL) during NeMO. Although CL did not block hypertrophy, it significantly decreased NeMO-induced hyperactive voiding (p<0.01) and increased voiding efficiency (p<0.05). The expression of several cytokines/chemokines correlated significantly with bladder functional parameters such as residual volumes, and hyperactivity. Conclusions: Gene expression signatures of NeMO were consistent with human bladder obstruction, supporting the use of the nerve-sparing mouse obstruction model for therapeutic exploration.

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Identification of Key Functional Modules and Immunomodulatory Regulators of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Journal of Immunology Research ◽

10.1155/2021/1801873 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Ding Luo ◽

Xiang Zhang ◽

Xiao-Kai Li ◽

Gang Chen

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Therapeutic Targets ◽

Treatment Resistance ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Modules ◽

Hub Genes ◽

Gene Set

Despite the advances in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the prognosis of HCC patients remains unsatisfactory due to postsurgical recurrence and treatment resistance. Therefore, it is important to reveal the mechanisms underlying HCC and identify potential therapeutic targets against HCC, which could facilitate the development of novel therapies. Based on 12 HCC samples and 12 paired paracancerous normal tissues, we identified differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs using the “limma” package in R software. Moreover, we used the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to analyze the expression data and screened hub genes. Furthermore, we performed pathway enrichment analysis based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. In addition, the relative abundance of a given gene set was estimated by single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. We identified 687 differentially expressed mRNAs and 260 differentially expressed lncRNAs. A total of 6 modules were revealed by WGCNA, and MT1M and MT1E genes from the red module were identified as hub genes. Moreover, pathway analysis revealed the top 10 enriched KEGG pathways of upregulated or downregulated genes. Additionally, we also found that CD58 might act as an immune checkpoint gene in HCC via PD1/CTLA4 pathways and regulate the levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HCC tissues, which might be an immunotherapeutic target in HCC. Our research identified key functional modules and immunomodulatory regulators for HCC, which might offer novel diagnostic biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for cancer immunotherapy.

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Utilizing Cancer - Functional Gene Set - Compound Networks to Identify Putative Drugs for Breast Cancer

Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening ◽

10.2174/1574888x13666180105125347 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 74-83

Author(s):

Tzu-Hung Hsiao ◽

Yu-Chiao Chiu ◽

Yu-Heng Chen ◽

Yu-Ching Hsu ◽

Hung-I Harry Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Gene Expression ◽

Cancer Therapy ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Cancer Survival ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Functional Gene ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set ◽

Gene Sets

Aim and Objective: The number of anticancer drugs available currently is limited, and some of them have low treatment response rates. Moreover, developing a new drug for cancer therapy is labor intensive and sometimes cost prohibitive. Therefore, “repositioning” of known cancer treatment compounds can speed up the development time and potentially increase the response rate of cancer therapy. This study proposes a systems biology method for identifying new compound candidates for cancer treatment in two separate procedures. Materials and Methods: First, a “gene set–compound” network was constructed by conducting gene set enrichment analysis on the expression profile of responses to a compound. Second, survival analyses were applied to gene expression profiles derived from four breast cancer patient cohorts to identify gene sets that are associated with cancer survival. A “cancer–functional gene set– compound” network was constructed, and candidate anticancer compounds were identified. Through the use of breast cancer as an example, 162 breast cancer survival-associated gene sets and 172 putative compounds were obtained. Results: We demonstrated how to utilize the clinical relevance of previous studies through gene sets and then connect it to candidate compounds by using gene expression data from the Connectivity Map. Specifically, we chose a gene set derived from a stem cell study to demonstrate its association with breast cancer prognosis and discussed six new compounds that can increase the expression of the gene set after the treatment. Conclusion: Our method can effectively identify compounds with a potential to be “repositioned” for cancer treatment according to their active mechanisms and their association with patients’ survival time.

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HEDGEHOG/GLI Modulates the PRR11-SKA2 Bidirectional Transcription Unit in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12010120 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 120

Author(s):

Yiyun Sun ◽

Dandan Xu ◽

Chundong Zhang ◽

Yitao Wang ◽

Lian Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rna Sequencing ◽

Squamous Cell ◽

Gene Pair ◽

Gene List ◽

Ectopic Expression ◽

Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

The Cancer Genome Atlas ◽

Sequencing Data ◽

Gene Set

We previously demonstrated that proline-rich protein 11 (PRR11) and spindle and kinetochore associated 2 (SKA2) constituted a head-to-head gene pair driven by a prototypical bidirectional promoter. This gene pair synergistically promoted the development of non-small cell lung cancer. However, the signaling pathways leading to the ectopic expression of this gene pair remains obscure. In the present study, we first analyzed the lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) relevant RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database using the correlation analysis of gene expression and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), which revealed that the PRR11-SKA2 correlated gene list highly resembled the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway activation-related gene set. Subsequently, GLI1/2 inhibitor GANT-61 or GLI1/2-siRNA inhibited the Hh pathway of LSCC cells, concomitantly decreasing the expression levels of PRR11 and SKA2. Furthermore, the mRNA expression profile of LSCC cells treated with GANT-61 was detected using RNA sequencing, displaying 397 differentially expressed genes (203 upregulated genes and 194 downregulated genes). Out of them, one gene set, including BIRC5, NCAPG, CCNB2, and BUB1, was involved in cell division and interacted with both PRR11 and SKA2. These genes were verified as the downregulated genes via RT-PCR and their high expression significantly correlated with the shorter overall survival of LSCC patients. Taken together, our results indicate that GLI1/2 mediates the expression of the PRR11-SKA2-centric gene set that serves as an unfavorable prognostic indicator for LSCC patients, potentializing new combinatorial diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in LSCC.

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Higher Acid-Base Imbalance Associated with Respiratory Failure Could Decrease the Survival of Patients with Scrub Typhus during Intensive Care Unit Stay: A Gene Set Enrichment Analysis

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm8101580 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 1580 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kyoung Min Moon ◽

Kyueng-Whan Min ◽

Mi-Hye Kim ◽

Dong-Hoon Kim ◽

Byoung Kwan Son ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Respiratory Failure ◽

Scrub Typhus ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Acid Base ◽

Gene Set Enrichment ◽

Gene Set ◽

Gene Sets

Ninety percent of patients with scrub typhus (SC) with vasculitis-like syndrome recover after mild symptoms; however, 10% can suffer serious complications, such as acute respiratory failure (ARF) and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Predictors for the progression of SC have not yet been established, and conventional scoring systems for ICU patients are insufficient to predict severity. We aimed to identify simple and robust indicators to predict aggressive behaviors of SC. We evaluated 91 patients with SC and 81 non-SC patients who were admitted to the ICU, and 32 cases from the public functional genomics data repository for gene expression analysis. We analyzed the relationships between several predictors and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with SC. We performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to identify SC-specific gene sets. The acid-base imbalance (ABI), measured 24 h before serious complications, was higher in patients with SC than in non-SC patients. A high ABI was associated with an increased incidence of ARF, leading to mechanical ventilation and worse survival. GSEA revealed that SC correlated to gene sets reflecting inflammation/apoptotic response and airway inflammation. ABI can be used to indicate ARF in patients with SC and assist with early detection.

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Gene set enrichment analysis for genome-wide DNA methylation data

Genome Biology ◽

10.1186/s13059-021-02388-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jovana Maksimovic ◽

Alicia Oshlack ◽

Belinda Phipson

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

R Package ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Methylation Array ◽

Gene Set ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Genome Methylation ◽

Unbiased Gene ◽

Gene Set Testing

AbstractDNA methylation is one of the most commonly studied epigenetic marks, due to its role in disease and development. Illumina methylation arrays have been extensively used to measure methylation across the human genome. Methylation array analysis has primarily focused on preprocessing, normalization, and identification of differentially methylated CpGs and regions. GOmeth and GOregion are new methods for performing unbiased gene set testing following differential methylation analysis. Benchmarking analyses demonstrate GOmeth outperforms other approaches, and GOregion is the first method for gene set testing of differentially methylated regions. Both methods are publicly available in the missMethyl Bioconductor R package.

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Integrated Insight into the Molecular Mechanisms of Spontaneous Abortion during Early Pregnancy in Pigs

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22126644 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (12) ◽

pp. 6644

Author(s):

Xupeng Zang ◽

Ting Gu ◽

Wenjing Wang ◽

Chen Zhou ◽

Yue Ding ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Response ◽

Spontaneous Abortion ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Gene Set ◽

Cerna Network ◽

Major Interest ◽

End Stage ◽

Insight Into

Due to the high rate of spontaneous abortion (SAB) in porcine pregnancy, there is a major interest and concern on commercial pig farming worldwide. Whereas the perturbed immune response at the maternal–fetal interface is an important mechanism associated with the spontaneous embryo loss in the early stages of implantation in porcine, data on the specific regulatory mechanism of the SAB at the end stage of the implantation remains scant. Therefore, we used high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics tools to analyze the healthy and arresting endometrium on day 28 of pregnancy. We identified 639 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) and 2357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at the end stage of implantation, and qRT-PCR was used to verify the sequencing data. Gene set variation analysis (GSVA), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated weaker immune response activities in the arresting endometrium compared to the healthy one. Using the lasso regression analysis, we screened the DELs and constructed an immunological competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network related to SAB, including 4 lncRNAs, 11 miRNAs, and 13 genes. In addition, Blast analysis showed the applicability of the constructed ceRNA network in different species, and subsequently determined HOXA-AS2 in pigs. Our study, for the first time, demonstrated that the SAB events at the end stages of implantation is associated with the regulation of immunobiological processes, and a specific molecular regulatory network was obtained. These novel findings may provide new insight into the possibility of increasing the litter size of sows, making pig breeding better and thus improving the efficiency of animal husbandry production.

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IKBIP is a novel EMT-related biomarker and predicts poor survival in glioma

Translational Neuroscience ◽

10.1515/tnsci-2021-0002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 009-019

Author(s):

Ying Yang ◽

Jin Wang ◽

Shihai Xu ◽

Wen Lv ◽

Fei Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Molecular Subtype ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Who Grade ◽

Interacting Protein ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Gene Set ◽

Substrate Adhesion

Abstract Background In cancer, kappa B-interacting protein (IKBIP) has rarely been reported. This study aimed at investigating its expression pattern and biological function in brain glioma at the transcriptional level. Methods We selected 301 glioma patients with microarray data from CGGA database and 697 glioma patients with RNAseq data from TCGA database. Transcriptional data and clinical data of 998 samples were analyzed. Statistical analysis and figure generating were performed with R language. Results We found that IKBIP expression showed positive correlation with WHO grade of glioma. IKBIP was increased in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild type and mesenchymal molecular subtype of glioma. Gene ontology analysis demonstrated that IKBIP was profoundly associated with extracellular matrix organization, cell–substrate adhesion and response to wounding in both pan-glioma and glioblastoma. Subsequent gene set enrichment analysis revealed that IKBIP was particularly correlated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To further elucidate the relationship between IKBIP and EMT, we performed gene set variation analysis to screen the EMT-related signaling pathways and found that IKBIP expression was significantly associated with PI3K/AKT, hypoxia and TGF-β pathway. Moreover, IKBIP expression was found to be synergistic with key biomarkers of EMT, especially with N-cadherin, vimentin, snail, slug and TWIST1. Finally, higher IKBIP indicated significantly shorter survival for glioma patients. Conclusions IKBIP was associated with more aggressive phenotypes of gliomas. Furthermore, IKBIP was significantly involved in EMT and could serve as an independent prognosticator in glioma.

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Transcriptional survey of alveolar macrophages in a murine model of chronic granulomatous inflammation reveals common themes with human sarcoidosis

AJP Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajplung.00289.2017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 314 (4) ◽

pp. L617-L625 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Arjun Mohan ◽

Anagha Malur ◽

Matthew McPeek ◽

Barbara P. Barna ◽

Lynn M. Schnapp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Differentially Expressed Genes ◽

Murine Model ◽

Alveolar Macrophages ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube ◽

Gene Set Enrichment ◽

Integrated Network ◽

Gene Set ◽

Gene Sets

To advance our understanding of the pathobiology of sarcoidosis, we developed a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based murine model that shows marked histological and inflammatory signal similarities to this disease. In this study, we compared the alveolar macrophage transcriptional signatures of our animal model with human sarcoidosis to identify overlapping molecular programs. Whole genome microarrays were used to assess gene expression of alveolar macrophages in six MWCNT-exposed and six control animals. The results were compared with the transcriptional profiles of alveolar immune cells in 15 sarcoidosis patients and 12 healthy humans. Rigorous statistical methods were used to identify differentially expressed genes. To better elucidate activated pathways, integrated network and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed. We identified over 1,000 differentially expressed between control and MWCNT mice. Gene ontology functional analysis showed overrepresentation of processes primarily involved in immunity and inflammation in MCWNT mice. Applying GSEA to both mouse and human samples revealed upregulation of 92 gene sets in MWCNT mice and 142 gene sets in sarcoidosis patients. Commonly activated pathways in both MWCNT mice and sarcoidosis included adaptive immunity, T-cell signaling, IL-12/IL-17 signaling, and oxidative phosphorylation. Differences in gene set enrichment between MWCNT mice and sarcoidosis patients were also observed. We applied network analysis to differentially expressed genes common between the MWCNT model and sarcoidosis to identify key drivers of disease. In conclusion, an integrated network and transcriptomics approach revealed substantial functional similarities between a murine model and human sarcoidosis particularly with respect to activation of immune-specific pathways.

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Drug perturbation gene set enrichment analysis (dpGSEA): a new transcriptomic drug screening approach

BMC Bioinformatics ◽

10.1186/s12859-020-03929-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mike Fang ◽

Brian Richardson ◽

Cheryl M. Cameron ◽

Jean-Eudes Dazard ◽

Mark J. Cameron

Keyword(s):

Drug Targets ◽

T Regulatory Cells ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Regulatory Cells ◽

Gene Set Enrichment ◽

Gene Set ◽

Gene Sets ◽

Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor ◽

Public Datasets

Abstract Background In this study, we demonstrate that our modified Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) method, drug perturbation GSEA (dpGSEA), can detect phenotypically relevant drug targets through a unique transcriptomic enrichment that emphasizes biological directionality of drug-derived gene sets. Results We detail our dpGSEA method and show its effectiveness in detecting specific perturbation of drugs in independent public datasets by confirming fluvastatin, paclitaxel, and rosiglitazone perturbation in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cells. In drug discovery experiments, we found that dpGSEA was able to detect phenotypically relevant drug targets in previously published differentially expressed genes of CD4+T regulatory cells from immune responders and non-responders to antiviral therapy in HIV-infected individuals, such as those involved with virion replication, cell cycle dysfunction, and mitochondrial dysfunction. dpGSEA is publicly available at https://github.com/sxf296/drug_targeting. Conclusions dpGSEA is an approach that uniquely enriches on drug-defined gene sets while considering directionality of gene modulation. We recommend dpGSEA as an exploratory tool to screen for possible drug targeting molecules.

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