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Hecker D, Lauber M, Behjati Ardakani F, Ashrafiyan S, Manz Q, Kersting J, Hoffmann M, Schulz MH, List M. Computational tools for inferring transcription factor activity. Proteomics 2023; 23:e2200462. [PMID: 37706624 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202200462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) are essential players in orchestrating the regulatory landscape in cells. Still, their exact modes of action and dependencies on other regulatory aspects remain elusive. Since TFs act cell type-specific and each TF has its own characteristics, untangling their regulatory interactions from an experimental point of view is laborious and convoluted. Thus, there is an ongoing development of computational tools that estimate transcription factor activity (TFA) from a variety of data modalities, either based on a mapping of TFs to their putative target genes or in a genome-wide, gene-unspecific fashion. These tools can help to gain insights into TF regulation and to prioritize candidates for experimental validation. We want to give an overview of available computational tools that estimate TFA, illustrate examples of their application, debate common result validation strategies, and discuss assumptions and concomitant limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Hecker
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner site Rhein-Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Michael Lauber
- Big Data in BioMedicine Group, Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Behjati Ardakani
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner site Rhein-Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Shamim Ashrafiyan
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner site Rhein-Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Quirin Manz
- Big Data in BioMedicine Group, Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Johannes Kersting
- Big Data in BioMedicine Group, Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
- GeneSurge GmbH, München, Germany
| | - Markus Hoffmann
- Big Data in BioMedicine Group, Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
- National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Marcel H Schulz
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner site Rhein-Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Markus List
- Big Data in BioMedicine Group, Chair of Experimental Bioinformatics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
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Ortmayr K, Dubuis S, Zampieri M. Metabolic profiling of cancer cells reveals genome-wide crosstalk between transcriptional regulators and metabolism. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1841. [PMID: 31015463 PMCID: PMC6478870 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09695-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcriptional reprogramming of cellular metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. However, systematic approaches to study the role of transcriptional regulators (TRs) in mediating cancer metabolic rewiring are missing. Here, we chart a genome-scale map of TR-metabolite associations in human cells using a combined computational-experimental framework for large-scale metabolic profiling of adherent cell lines. By integrating intracellular metabolic profiles of 54 cancer cell lines with transcriptomic and proteomic data, we unraveled a large space of associations between TRs and metabolic pathways. We found a global regulatory signature coordinating glucose- and one-carbon metabolism, suggesting that regulation of carbon metabolism in cancer may be more diverse and flexible than previously appreciated. Here, we demonstrate how this TR-metabolite map can serve as a resource to predict TRs potentially responsible for metabolic transformation in patient-derived tumor samples, opening new opportunities in understanding disease etiology, selecting therapeutic treatments and in designing modulators of cancer-related TRs. Aberrant gene expression in cancer coincides with drastic changes in metabolism. Here, the authors combined metabolome, transcriptome and proteome data in 54 cancer cell lines to uncover a genome-scale network of associations between transcriptional regulators and metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Ortmayr
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien Dubuis
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mattia Zampieri
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, CH-8093, Zurich, Switzerland.
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