1
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Surana P, Dutta P, Davuluri RV. TransTEx: novel tissue-specificity scoring method for grouping human transcriptome into different expression groups. Bioinformatics 2024; 40:btae475. [PMID: 39120880 PMCID: PMC11319638 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 08/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Although human tissues carry out common molecular processes, gene expression patterns can distinguish different tissues. Traditional informatics methods, primarily at the gene level, overlook the complexity of alternative transcript variants and protein isoforms produced by most genes, changes in which are linked to disease prognosis and drug resistance. RESULTS We developed TransTEx (Transcript-level Tissue Expression), a novel tissue-specificity scoring method, for grouping transcripts into four expression groups. TransTEx applies sequential cut-offs to tissue-wise transcript probability estimates, subsampling-based P-values and fold-change estimates. Application of TransTEx on GTEx mRNA-seq data divided 199 166 human transcripts into different groups as 17 999 tissue-specific (TSp), 7436 tissue-enhanced, 36 783 widely expressed (Wide), 79 191 lowly expressed (Low), and 57 757 no expression (Null) transcripts. Testis has the most (13 466) TSp isoforms followed by liver (890), brain (701), pituitary (435), and muscle (420). We found that the tissue specificity of alternative transcripts of a gene is predominantly influenced by alternate promoter usage. By overlapping brain-specific transcripts with the cell-type gene-markers in scBrainMap database, we found that 63% of the brain-specific transcripts were enriched in nonneuronal cell types, predominantly astrocytes followed by endothelial cells and oligodendrocytes. In addition, we found 61 brain cell-type marker genes encoding a total of 176 alternative transcripts as brain-specific and 22 alternative transcripts as testis-specific, highlighting the complex TSp and cell-type specific gene regulation and expression at isoform-level. TransTEx can be adopted to the analysis of bulk RNA-seq or scRNA-seq datasets to find tissue- and/or cell-type specific isoform-level gene markers. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION TransTEx database: https://bmi.cewit.stonybrook.edu/transtexdb/ and the R package is available via GitHub: https://github.com/pallavisurana1/TransTEx.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pallavi Surana
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Pratik Dutta
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Ramana V Davuluri
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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2
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Qi T, Song L, Guo Y, Chen C, Yang J. From genetic associations to genes: methods, applications, and challenges. Trends Genet 2024; 40:642-667. [PMID: 38734482 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2024.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous genetic loci associated with human traits and diseases. However, pinpointing the causal genes remains a challenge, which impedes the translation of GWAS findings into biological insights and medical applications. In this review, we provide an in-depth overview of the methods and technologies used for prioritizing genes from GWAS loci, including gene-based association tests, integrative analysis of GWAS and molecular quantitative trait loci (xQTL) data, linking GWAS variants to target genes through enhancer-gene connection maps, and network-based prioritization. We also outline strategies for generating context-dependent xQTL data and their applications in gene prioritization. We further highlight the potential of gene prioritization in drug repurposing. Lastly, we discuss future challenges and opportunities in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Qi
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China.
| | - Liyang Song
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yazhou Guo
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Chang Chen
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Jian Yang
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou 310024, China; School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China.
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3
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Lv Q, Chen G, Yang Z, Zhong W, Chen CYC. Meta Learning With Graph Attention Networks for Low-Data Drug Discovery. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL NETWORKS AND LEARNING SYSTEMS 2024; 35:11218-11230. [PMID: 37028032 DOI: 10.1109/tnnls.2023.3250324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Finding candidate molecules with favorable pharmacological activity, low toxicity, and proper pharmacokinetic properties is an important task in drug discovery. Deep neural networks have made impressive progress in accelerating and improving drug discovery. However, these techniques rely on a large amount of label data to form accurate predictions of molecular properties. At each stage of the drug discovery pipeline, usually, only a few biological data of candidate molecules and derivatives are available, indicating that the application of deep neural networks for low-data drug discovery is still a formidable challenge. Here, we propose a meta learning architecture with graph attention network, Meta-GAT, to predict molecular properties in low-data drug discovery. The GAT captures the local effects of atomic groups at the atom level through the triple attentional mechanism and implicitly captures the interactions between different atomic groups at the molecular level. GAT is used to perceive molecular chemical environment and connectivity, thereby effectively reducing sample complexity. Meta-GAT further develops a meta learning strategy based on bilevel optimization, which transfers meta knowledge from other attribute prediction tasks to low-data target tasks. In summary, our work demonstrates how meta learning can reduce the amount of data required to make meaningful predictions of molecules in low-data scenarios. Meta learning is likely to become the new learning paradigm in low-data drug discovery. The source code is publicly available at: https://github.com/lol88/Meta-GAT.
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Razuvayevskaya O, Lopez I, Dunham I, Ochoa D. Genetic factors associated with reasons for clinical trial stoppage. Nat Genet 2024:10.1038/s41588-024-01854-z. [PMID: 39075208 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01854-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Many drug discovery projects are started but few progress fully through clinical trials to approval. Previous work has shown that human genetics support for the therapeutic hypothesis increases the chance of trial progression. Here, we applied natural language processing to classify the free-text reasons for 28,561 clinical trials that stopped before their endpoints were met. We then evaluated these classes in light of the underlying evidence for the therapeutic hypothesis and target properties. We found that trials are more likely to stop because of a lack of efficacy in the absence of strong genetic evidence from human populations or genetically modified animal models. Furthermore, certain trials are more likely to stop for safety reasons if the drug target gene is highly constrained in human populations and if the gene is broadly expressed across tissues. These results support the growing use of human genetics to evaluate targets for drug discovery programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olesya Razuvayevskaya
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Irene Lopez
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Ian Dunham
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - David Ochoa
- Open Targets, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK.
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK.
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5
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Chen Y, Wang G, Chen J, Wang C, Dong X, Chang HM, Yuan S, Zhao Y, Mu L. Genetic and Epigenetic Landscape for Drug Development in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Endocr Rev 2024; 45:437-459. [PMID: 38298137 DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
The treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) faces challenges as all known treatments are merely symptomatic. The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved any drug specifically for treating PCOS. As the significance of genetics and epigenetics rises in drug development, their pivotal insights have greatly enhanced the efficacy and success of drug target discovery and validation, offering promise for guiding the advancement of PCOS treatments. In this context, we outline the genetic and epigenetic advancement in PCOS, which provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of this complex disease. We also delve into the prospective method for harnessing genetic and epigenetic strategies to identify potential drug targets and ensure target safety. Additionally, we shed light on the preliminary evidence and distinctive challenges associated with gene and epigenetic therapies in the context of PCOS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Chen
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
- The First School of Medicine, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Guiquan Wang
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361003, China
- Xiamen Key Laboratory of Reproduction and Genetics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361023, China
| | - Jingqiao Chen
- The First School of Medicine, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Congying Wang
- The Department of Cardiology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang 322000, China
| | - Xi Dong
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hsun-Ming Chang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40400, Taiwan
| | - Shuai Yuan
- Unit of Cardiovascular and Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm 171 65, Sweden
| | - Yue Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Female Fertility Promotion, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100007, China
- Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Liangshan Mu
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
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6
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García-González J, Garcia-Gonzalez S, Liou L, O'Reilly PF. The Gene Expression Landscape of Disease Genes. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.06.20.24309121. [PMID: 38947033 PMCID: PMC11213058 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.20.24309121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Fine-mapping and gene-prioritisation techniques applied to the latest Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) results have prioritised hundreds of genes as causally associated with disease. Here we leverage these recently compiled lists of high-confidence causal genes to interrogate where in the body disease genes operate. Specifically, we combine GWAS summary statistics, gene prioritisation results and gene expression RNA-seq data from 46 tissues and 204 cell types in relation to 16 major diseases (including 8 cancers). In tissues and cell types with well-established relevance to the disease, the prioritised genes typically have higher absolute and relative (i.e. tissue/cell specific) expression compared to non-prioritised 'control' genes. Examples include brain tissues in psychiatric disorders (P-value < 1×10-7), microglia cells in Alzheimer's Disease (P-value = 9.8×10-3) and colon mucosa in colorectal cancer (P-value < 1×10-3). We also observe significantly higher expression for disease genes in multiple tissues and cell types with no established links to the corresponding disease. While some of these results may be explained by cell types that span multiple tissues, such as macrophages in brain, blood, lung and spleen in relation to Alzheimer's disease (P-values < 1×10-3), the cause for others is unclear and motivates further investigation that may provide novel insights into disease etiology. For example, mammary tissue in Type 2 Diabetes (P-value < 1×10-7); reproductive tissues such as breast, uterus, vagina, and prostate in Coronary Artery Disease (P-value < 1×10-4); and motor neurons in psychiatric disorders (P-value < 3×10-4). In the GTEx dataset, tissue type is the major predictor of gene expression but the contribution of each predictor (tissue, sample, subject, batch) varies widely among disease-associated genes. Finally, we highlight genes with the highest levels of gene expression in relevant tissues to guide functional follow-up studies. Our results could offer novel insights into the tissues and cells involved in disease initiation, inform drug target and delivery strategies, highlighting potential off-target effects, and exemplify the relative performance of different statistical tests for linking disease genes with tissue and cell type gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judit García-González
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY 10029, USA
| | - Saul Garcia-Gonzalez
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY 10029, USA
- Center for Excellence in Youth Education, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY 10029, USA
| | - Lathan Liou
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY 10029, USA
| | - Paul F O'Reilly
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY 10029, USA
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7
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Jung J, Wu Q. Identification of bone mineral density associated genes with shared genetic architectures across multiple tissues: Functional insights for EPDR1, PKDCC, and SPTBN1. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300535. [PMID: 38683846 PMCID: PMC11057974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest a shared genetic architecture between muscle and bone, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. This study aims to identify the functionally annotated genes with shared genetic architecture between muscle and bone using the most up-to-date genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture-related genetic variants. We employed an advanced statistical functional mapping method to investigate shared genetic architecture between muscle and bone, focusing on genes highly expressed in muscle tissue. Our analysis identified three genes, EPDR1, PKDCC, and SPTBN1, which are highly expressed in muscle tissue and previously unlinked to bone metabolism. About 90% and 85% of filtered Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms were in the intronic and intergenic regions for the threshold at P≤5×10-8 and P≤5×10-100, respectively. EPDR1 was highly expressed in multiple tissues, including muscles, adrenal glands, blood vessels, and the thyroid. SPTBN1 was highly expressed in all 30 tissue types except blood, while PKDCC was highly expressed in all 30 tissue types except the brain, pancreas, and skin. Our study provides a framework for using GWAS findings to highlight functional evidence of crosstalk between multiple tissues based on shared genetic architecture between muscle and bone. Further research should focus on functional validation, multi-omics data integration, gene-environment interactions, and clinical relevance in musculoskeletal disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongyun Jung
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Qing Wu
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
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8
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Choi J, Lee SM, Norwitz ER, Kim JH, Jung YM, Park CW, Jun JK, Lee D, Jin Y, Kim S, Cha B, Park JS, Kim JI. Placental expression quantitative trait loci in an East Asian population. HGG ADVANCES 2024; 5:100276. [PMID: 38310352 PMCID: PMC10883826 DOI: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2024.100276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis measures the contribution of genetic variation in gene expression on complex traits. Although this methodology has been used to examine gene regulation in numerous human tissues, eQTL research in solid tissues is relatively lacking. We conducted eQTL analysis on placentas collected from an East Asian population in an effort to identify gene regulatory mechanisms in this tissue. Placentas (n = 102) were collected at the time of cesarean delivery. mRNA was extracted, sequenced with NGS, and compared with matched maternal and fetal DNA arrays performed using maternal and neonatal cord blood. Linear regression modeling was performed using tensorQTL. Fine-mapping along with epigenomic annotation was used to select putative functional variants. We identified 2,703 coding genes that contained at least one eQTL with statistical significance (false discovery rate <0.05). After fine-mapping, we found 108 previously unreported eQTL variants with posterior inclusion probability >0.1. Of these, 19% were located in genomic regions with evidence from public placental epigenome suggesting that they may be functionally relevant. For example, variant rs28379289 located in the placenta-specific regulatory region changes the binding affinity of transcription factor leading to higher expression of LGALS3, which is known to affect placental function. This study expands the knowledge base of regulatory elements within the human placenta and identifies 108 previously unreported placenta eQTL signals, which are listed in our publicly available GMI eQTL database. Further studies are needed to identify and characterize genetic regulatory mechanisms that affect placental function in normal pregnancy and placenta-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeyong Choi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Seung Mi Lee
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | | | - Ji Hoi Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Young Mi Jung
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Chan-Wook Park
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jong Kwan Jun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Dakyung Lee
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Yongjoon Jin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Sookyung Kim
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Bukyoung Cha
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Joong Shin Park
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
| | - Jong-Il Kim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
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Duffy Á, Petrazzini BO, Stein D, Park JK, Forrest IS, Gibson K, Vy HM, Chen R, Márquez-Luna C, Mort M, Verbanck M, Schlessinger A, Itan Y, Cooper DN, Rocheleau G, Jordan DM, Do R. Development of a human genetics-guided priority score for 19,365 genes and 399 drug indications. Nat Genet 2024; 56:51-59. [PMID: 38172303 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01609-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Studies have shown that drug targets with human genetic support are more likely to succeed in clinical trials. Hence, a tool integrating genetic evidence to prioritize drug target genes is beneficial for drug discovery. We built a genetic priority score (GPS) by integrating eight genetic features with drug indications from the Open Targets and SIDER databases. The top 0.83%, 0.28% and 0.19% of the GPS conferred a 5.3-, 9.9- and 11.0-fold increased effect of having an indication, respectively. In addition, we observed that targets in the top 0.28% of the score were 1.7-, 3.7- and 8.8-fold more likely to advance from phase I to phases II, III and IV, respectively. Complementary to the GPS, we incorporated the direction of genetic effect and drug mechanism into a directional version of the score called the GPS with direction of effect. We applied our method to 19,365 protein-coding genes and 399 drug indications and made all results available through a web portal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Áine Duffy
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Ben Omega Petrazzini
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Center for Genomic Data Analytics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - David Stein
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Joshua K Park
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Iain S Forrest
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Kyle Gibson
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Ha My Vy
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Center for Genomic Data Analytics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Robert Chen
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Carla Márquez-Luna
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Matthew Mort
- Institute of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - Avner Schlessinger
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Yuval Itan
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - David N Cooper
- Institute of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Ghislain Rocheleau
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Center for Genomic Data Analytics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Daniel M Jordan
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
- Center for Genomic Data Analytics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Ron Do
- The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA.
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA.
- Center for Genomic Data Analytics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA.
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10
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Halder A, Drummond E. Strategies for translating proteomics discoveries into drug discovery for dementia. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:132-139. [PMID: 37488854 PMCID: PMC10479849 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.373681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies, diseases characterized by neuropathological aggregates of tau including Alzheimer's disease and subtypes of frontotemporal dementia, make up the vast majority of dementia cases. Although there have been recent developments in tauopathy biomarkers and disease-modifying treatments, ongoing progress is required to ensure these are effective, economical, and accessible for the globally ageing population. As such, continued identification of new potential drug targets and biomarkers is critical. "Big data" studies, such as proteomics, can generate information on thousands of possible new targets for dementia diagnostics and therapeutics, but currently remain underutilized due to the lack of a clear process by which targets are selected for future drug development. In this review, we discuss current tauopathy biomarkers and therapeutics, and highlight areas in need of improvement, particularly when addressing the needs of frail, comorbid and cognitively impaired populations. We highlight biomarkers which have been developed from proteomic data, and outline possible future directions in this field. We propose new criteria by which potential targets in proteomics studies can be objectively ranked as favorable for drug development, and demonstrate its application to our group's recent tau interactome dataset as an example.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditi Halder
- School of Medical Sciences and Brain & Mind Center, University of Sydney, NSW, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Aged Care, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Eleanor Drummond
- School of Medical Sciences and Brain & Mind Center, University of Sydney, NSW, Sydney, Australia
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11
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Krix S, DeLong LN, Madan S, Domingo-Fernández D, Ahmad A, Gul S, Zaliani A, Fröhlich H. MultiGML: Multimodal graph machine learning for prediction of adverse drug events. Heliyon 2023; 9:e19441. [PMID: 37681175 PMCID: PMC10481305 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse drug events constitute a major challenge for the success of clinical trials. Several computational strategies have been suggested to estimate the risk of adverse drug events in preclinical drug development. While these approaches have demonstrated high utility in practice, they are at the same time limited to specific information sources. Thus, many current computational approaches neglect a wealth of information which results from the integration of different data sources, such as biological protein function, gene expression, chemical compound structure, cell-based imaging and others. In this work we propose an integrative and explainable multi-modal Graph Machine Learning approach (MultiGML), which fuses knowledge graphs with multiple further data modalities to predict drug related adverse events and general drug target-phenotype associations. MultiGML demonstrates excellent prediction performance compared to alternative algorithms, including various traditional knowledge graph embedding techniques. MultiGML distinguishes itself from alternative techniques by providing in-depth explanations of model predictions, which point towards biological mechanisms associated with predictions of an adverse drug event. Hence, MultiGML could be a versatile tool to support decision making in preclinical drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Krix
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757, Sankt Augustin, Germany
- Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (B-IT), University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
- Fraunhofer Center for Machine Learning, Germany
| | - Lauren Nicole DeLong
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757, Sankt Augustin, Germany
- Artificial Intelligence and its Applications Institute, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Sumit Madan
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757, Sankt Augustin, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Daniel Domingo-Fernández
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757, Sankt Augustin, Germany
- Fraunhofer Center for Machine Learning, Germany
- Enveda Biosciences, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA
| | - Ashar Ahmad
- Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (B-IT), University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
- Grunenthal GmbH, 52099, Aachen, Germany
| | - Sheraz Gul
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Schnackenburgallee 114, 22525, Hamburg, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Immune-Mediated Diseases CIMD, Schnackenburgallee 114, 22525, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Zaliani
- Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP, Schnackenburgallee 114, 22525, Hamburg, Germany
- Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Immune-Mediated Diseases CIMD, Schnackenburgallee 114, 22525, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Holger Fröhlich
- Department of Bioinformatics, Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Schloss Birlinghoven, 53757, Sankt Augustin, Germany
- Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (B-IT), University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
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12
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Park M, Kim D, Kim I, Im SH, Kim S. Drug approval prediction based on the discrepancy in gene perturbation effects between cells and humans. EBioMedicine 2023; 94:104705. [PMID: 37453362 PMCID: PMC10366401 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Poor translation between in vitro and clinical studies due to the cells/humans discrepancy in drug target perturbation effects leads to safety failures in clinical trials, thus increasing drug development costs and reducing patients' life quality. Therefore, developing a predictive model for drug approval considering the cells/humans discrepancy is needed to reduce drug attrition rates in clinical trials. METHODS Our machine learning framework predicts drug approval in clinical trials based on the cells/humans discrepancy in drug target perturbation effects. To evaluate the discrepancy to predict drug approval (1404 approved and 1070 unapproved drugs), we analysed CRISPR-Cas9 knockout and loss-of-function mutation rate-based gene perturbation effects on cells and humans, respectively. To validate the risk of drug targets with the cells/humans discrepancy, we examined the targets of failed and withdrawn drugs due to safety problems. FINDINGS Drug approvals in clinical trials were correlated with the cells/humans discrepancy in gene perturbation effects. Genes tolerant to perturbation effects on cells but intolerant to those on humans were associated with failed drug targets. Furthermore, genes with the cells/humans discrepancy were related to drugs withdrawn due to severe side effects. Motivated by previous studies assessing drug safety through chemical properties, we improved drug approval prediction by integrating chemical information with the cells/humans discrepancy. INTERPRETATION The cells/humans discrepancy in gene perturbation effects facilitates drug approval prediction and explains drug safety failures in clinical trials. FUNDING S.K. received grants from the Korean National Research Foundation (2021R1A2B5B01001903 and 2020R1A6A1A03047902) and IITP (2019-0-01906, Artificial Intelligence Graduate School Program, POSTECH).
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Affiliation(s)
- Minhyuk Park
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea
| | - Donghyo Kim
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea
| | - Inhae Kim
- ImmunoBiome Inc., Pohang, South Korea
| | - Sin-Hyeog Im
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea; ImmunoBiome Inc., Pohang, South Korea
| | - Sanguk Kim
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea.
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13
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Carss KJ, Deaton AM, Del Rio-Espinola A, Diogo D, Fielden M, Kulkarni DA, Moggs J, Newham P, Nelson MR, Sistare FD, Ward LD, Yuan J. Using human genetics to improve safety assessment of therapeutics. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2023; 22:145-162. [PMID: 36261593 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-022-00561-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Human genetics research has discovered thousands of proteins associated with complex and rare diseases. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and studies of Mendelian disease have resulted in an increased understanding of the role of gene function and regulation in human conditions. Although the application of human genetics has been explored primarily as a method to identify potential drug targets and support their relevance to disease in humans, there is increasing interest in using genetic data to identify potential safety liabilities of modulating a given target. Human genetic variants can be used as a model to anticipate the effect of lifelong modulation of therapeutic targets and identify the potential risk for on-target adverse events. This approach is particularly useful for non-clinical safety evaluation of novel therapeutics that lack pharmacologically relevant animal models and can contribute to the intrinsic safety profile of a drug target. This Review illustrates applications of human genetics to safety studies during drug discovery and development, including assessing the potential for on- and off-target associated adverse events, carcinogenicity risk assessment, and guiding translational safety study designs and monitoring strategies. A summary of available human genetic resources and recommended best practices is provided. The challenges and future perspectives of translating human genetic information to identify risks for potential drug effects in preclinical and clinical development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aimee M Deaton
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alberto Del Rio-Espinola
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.,GentiBio Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Mark Fielden
- Amgen, Thousand Oaks, MA, USA.,Kate Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Moggs
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Frank D Sistare
- Merck & Co., West Point, PA, USA.,315 Meadowmont Ln, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Lucas D Ward
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Jing Yuan
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Pfizer, Cambridge, MA, USA
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14
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Placental Galectins in Cancer: Why We Should Pay More Attention. Cells 2023; 12:cells12030437. [PMID: 36766779 PMCID: PMC9914345 DOI: 10.3390/cells12030437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The first studies suggesting that abnormal expression of galectins is associated with cancer were published more than 30 years ago. Today, the role of galectins in cancer is relatively well established. We know that galectins play an active role in many types of cancer by regulating cell growth, conferring cell death resistance, or inducing local and systemic immunosuppression, allowing tumor cells to escape the host immune response. However, most of these studies have focused on very few galectins, most notably galectin-1 and galectin-3, and more recently, galectin-7 and galectin-9. Whether other galectins play a role in cancer remains unclear. This is particularly true for placental galectins, a subgroup that includes galectin-13, -14, and -16. The role of these galectins in placental development has been well described, and excellent reviews on their role during pregnancy have been published. At first sight, it was considered unlikely that placental galectins were involved in cancer. Yet, placentation and cancer progression share several cellular and molecular features, including cell invasion, immune tolerance and vascular remodeling. The development of new research tools and the concomitant increase in database repositories for high throughput gene expression data of normal and cancer tissues provide a new opportunity to examine the potential involvement of placental galectins in cancer. In this review, we discuss the possible roles of placental galectins in cancer progression and why they should be considered in cancer studies. We also address challenges associated with developing novel research tools to investigate their protumorigenic functions and design highly specific therapeutic drugs.
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15
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Kim D, Ha D, Lee K, Lee H, Kim I, Kim S. An evolution-based machine learning to identify cancer type-specific driver mutations. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:6961611. [PMID: 36575568 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying cancer type-specific driver mutations is crucial for illuminating distinct pathologic mechanisms across various tumors and providing opportunities of patient-specific treatment. However, although many computational methods were developed to predict driver mutations in a type-specific manner, the methods still have room to improve. Here, we devise a novel feature based on sequence co-evolution analysis to identify cancer type-specific driver mutations and construct a machine learning (ML) model with state-of-the-art performance. Specifically, relying on 28 000 tumor samples across 66 cancer types, our ML framework outperformed current leading methods of detecting cancer driver mutations. Interestingly, the cancer mutations identified by sequence co-evolution feature are frequently observed in interfaces mediating tissue-specific protein-protein interactions that are known to associate with shaping tissue-specific oncogenesis. Moreover, we provide pre-calculated potential oncogenicity on available human proteins with prediction scores of all possible residue alterations through user-friendly website (http://sbi.postech.ac.kr/w/cancerCE). This work will facilitate the identification of cancer type-specific driver mutations in newly sequenced tumor samples.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Inhae Kim
- ImmunoBiome Inc., Pohang, South Korea
| | - Sanguk Kim
- Department of Life Sciences.,Artificial Intelligence Graduate Program, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, South Korea.,Institute of Convergence Research and Education in Advanced Technology, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-149, South Korea
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16
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Lorefice L, Pitzalis M, Murgia F, Fenu G, Atzori L, Cocco E. Omics approaches to understanding the efficacy and safety of disease-modifying treatments in multiple sclerosis. Front Genet 2023; 14:1076421. [PMID: 36793897 PMCID: PMC9922720 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1076421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
From the perspective of precision medicine, the challenge for the future is to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of therapeutic responses through the identification of biomarkers. In this framework, the omics sciences (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) and their combined use represent innovative approaches for the exploration of the complexity and heterogeneity of multiple sclerosis (MS). This review examines the evidence currently available on the application of omics sciences to MS, analyses the methods, their limitations, the samples used, and their characteristics, with a particular focus on biomarkers associated with the disease state, exposure to disease-modifying treatments (DMTs), and drug efficacies and safety profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Lorefice
- Multiple Sclerosis Center, Binaghi Hospital, ASL Cagliari, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
- *Correspondence: Lorena Lorefice,
| | - Maristella Pitzalis
- Institute for Genetic and Biomedical Research, National Research Council, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Federica Murgia
- Dpt of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Fenu
- Department of Neurosciences, ARNAS Brotzu, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Luigi Atzori
- Multiple Sclerosis Center, Binaghi Hospital, ASL Cagliari, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Eleonora Cocco
- Multiple Sclerosis Center, Binaghi Hospital, ASL Cagliari, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
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17
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Lüleci HB, Yılmaz A. Robust and rigorous identification of tissue-specific genes by statistically extending tau score. BioData Min 2022; 15:31. [PMID: 36494766 PMCID: PMC9733102 DOI: 10.1186/s13040-022-00315-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In this study, we aimed to identify tissue-specific genes for various human tissues/organs more robustly and rigorously by extending the tau score algorithm. INTRODUCTION Tissue-specific genes are a class of genes whose functions and expressions are preferred in one or several tissues restrictedly. Identification of tissue-specific genes is essential for discovering multi-cellular biological processes such as tissue-specific molecular regulations, tissue development, physiology, and the pathogenesis of tissue-associated diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS Gene expression data derived from five large RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) projects, spanning 96 different human tissues, were retrieved from ArrayExpress and ExpressionAtlas. The first step is categorizing genes using significant filters and tau score as a specificity index. After calculating tau for each gene in all datasets separately, statistical distance from the maximum expression level was estimated using a new meaningful procedure. Specific expression of a gene in one or several tissues was calculated after the integration of tau and statistical distance estimation, which is called as extended tau approach. Obtained tissue-specific genes for 96 different human tissues were functionally annotated, and some comparisons were carried out to show the effectiveness of the extended tau method. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Categorization of genes based on expression level and identification of tissue-specific genes for a large number of tissues/organs were executed. Genes were successfully assigned to multiple tissues by generating the extended tau approach as opposed to the original tau score, which can assign tissue specificity to single tissue only.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hatice Büşra Lüleci
- grid.448834.70000 0004 0595 7127Department of Bioengineering, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Alper Yılmaz
- grid.38575.3c0000 0001 2337 3561Department of Bioengineering, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
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18
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Genetic association and Mendelian randomization for hypothyroidism highlight immune molecular mechanisms. iScience 2022; 25:104992. [PMID: 36093044 PMCID: PMC9460554 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We carried out a genome-wide association analysis including 51,194 cases of hypothyroidism and 443,383 controls. In total, 139 risk loci were associated to hypothyroidism with genes involved in lymphocyte function. Candidate genes associated with hypothyroidism were identified by using molecular quantitative trait loci, colocalization, and enhancer-promoter chromatin looping. Mendelian randomization (MR) identified 42 blood expressed genes and circulating proteins as candidate causal molecules in hypothyroidism. Drug-gene interaction analysis provided evidence that immune checkpoint and tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in cancer therapy increase the risk of hypothyroidism. Hence, integrative mapping and MR support that expression of genes and proteins enriched in lymphocyte function are associated with the risk of hypothyroidism and provide genetic evidence for drug-induced hypothyroidism and identify actionable potential drug targets. GWAS for hypothyroidism identified 139 risk loci including 76 novel associations GWAS was enriched in pathways related to lymphocyte function In total, 28 potentially deleterious missense variants were identified Mendelian randomization and colocalization identified 61 blood causal candidate genes
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19
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Pressler MP, Horvath A, Entcheva E. Sex-dependent transcription of cardiac electrophysiology and links to acetylation modifiers based on the GTEx database. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 9:941890. [PMID: 35935618 PMCID: PMC9354462 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.941890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of safer drugs based on epigenetic modifiers, e.g., histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), requires better understanding of their effects on cardiac electrophysiology. Using RNAseq data from the genotype-tissue-expression database (GTEx), we created models that link the abundance of acetylation enzymes (HDAC/SIRT/HATs), and the gene expression of ion channels (IC) via select cardiac transcription factors (TFs) in male and female adult human hearts (left ventricle, LV). Gene expression data (transcripts per million, TPM) from GTEx donors (21–70 y.o.) were filtered, normalized and transformed to Euclidian space to allow quantitative comparisons in 84 female and 158 male LVs. Sex-specific partial least-square (PLS) regression models, linking gene expression data for HDAC/SIRT/HATs to TFs and to ICs gene expression, revealed tight co-regulation of cardiac ion channels by HDAC/SIRT/HATs, with stronger clustering in the male LV. Co-regulation of genes encoding excitatory and inhibitory processes in cardiac tissue by the acetylation modifiers may help explain their predominantly net-neutral effects on cardiac electrophysiology. ATP1A1, encoding for the Na/K pump, represented an outlier—with orthogonal regulation by the acetylation modifiers to most of the ICs. The HDAC/SIRT/HAT effects were mediated by strong (+) TF regulators of ICs, e.g., MEF2A and TBX5, in both sexes. Furthermore, for male hearts, PLS models revealed a stronger (+/-) mediatory role on ICs for NKX25 and TGF1B/KLF4, respectively, while RUNX1 exhibited larger (-) TF effects on ICs in females. Male-trained PLS models of HDAC/SIRT/HAT effects on ICs underestimated the effects on some ICs in females. Insights from the GTEx dataset about the co-expression and transcriptional co-regulation of acetylation-modifying enzymes, transcription factors and key cardiac ion channels in a sex-specific manner can help inform safer drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. Pressler
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Anelia Horvath
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, McCormick Genomics and Proteomics Center, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Emilia Entcheva
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
- *Correspondence: Emilia Entcheva,
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20
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Liang X, Li J, Fu Y, Qu L, Tan Y, Zhang P. A novel machine learning model based on sparse structure learning with adaptive graph regularization for predicting drug side effects. J Biomed Inform 2022; 132:104131. [PMID: 35840061 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2022.104131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Drug side effects are closely related to the success and failure of drug development. Here we present a novel machine learning method for side effect prediction. The proposed method treats side effect prediction as a multi-label learning problem and uses sparse structure learning to model the relationships between side effects. Additionally, the proposed method adopts the adaptive graph regularization strategy to explore the local structure in drug data and fuse multiple types of drug features. An alternating optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problem. We collected chemical structures and biological pathway features of drugs as the inputs of our method to predict drug side effects. The results of the cross-validation experiment showed that our method could significantly improve the prediction performance compared to the other state-of-the-art methods. Besides, our model is highly interpretable. It could learn the drug neighbourhood relationships, side effect relationships, and drug features related to side effects. We systematically validated the information extracted by the model with independent data. Some prediction results could also be supported by literature reports. The proposed method could be applied to integrate both chemical and biological data to predict side effects and helps improve drug safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xujun Liang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China; National Clinical Research Center for Gerontology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, PR China.
| | - Jun Li
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China
| | - Ying Fu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China
| | - Lingzhi Qu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China
| | - Yuying Tan
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics, Department of Oncology, PR China; National Clinical Research Center for Gerontology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, PR China
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21
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Miller JB, Meurs TE, Hodgman MW, Song B, Miller KN, Ebbert MTW, Kauwe JSK, Ridge PG. The Ramp Atlas: facilitating tissue and cell-specific ramp sequence analyses through an intuitive web interface. NAR Genom Bioinform 2022; 4:lqac039. [PMID: 35664804 PMCID: PMC9155233 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Ramp sequences occur when the average translational efficiency of codons near the 5′ end of highly expressed genes is significantly lower than the rest of the gene sequence, which counterintuitively increases translational efficiency by decreasing downstream ribosomal collisions. Here, we show that the relative codon adaptiveness within different tissues changes the existence of a ramp sequence without altering the underlying genetic code. We present the first comprehensive analysis of tissue and cell type-specific ramp sequences and report 3108 genes with ramp sequences that change between tissues and cell types, which corresponds with increased gene expression within those tissues and cells. The Ramp Atlas (https://ramps.byu.edu/) allows researchers to query precomputed ramp sequences in 18 388 genes across 62 tissues and 66 cell types and calculate tissue-specific ramp sequences from user-uploaded FASTA files through an intuitive web interface. We used The Ramp Atlas to identify seven SARS-CoV-2 genes and seven human SARS-CoV-2 entry factor genes with tissue-specific ramp sequences that may help explain viral proliferation within those tissues. We anticipate that The Ramp Atlas will facilitate personalized and creative tissue-specific ramp sequence analyses for both human and viral genes that will increase our ability to utilize this often-overlooked regulatory region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin B Miller
- Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504, USA
| | - Taylor E Meurs
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Matthew W Hodgman
- Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504, USA
| | - Benjamin Song
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Kyle N Miller
- Department of Computer Science, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT 84058, USA
| | - Mark T W Ebbert
- Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40504, USA
| | - John S K Kauwe
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
| | - Perry G Ridge
- Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
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22
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Fisher JL, Jones EF, Flanary VL, Williams AS, Ramsey EJ, Lasseigne BN. Considerations and challenges for sex-aware drug repurposing. Biol Sex Differ 2022; 13:13. [PMID: 35337371 PMCID: PMC8949654 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00420-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex differences are essential factors in disease etiology and manifestation in many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration [33]. The biological influence of sex differences (including genomic, epigenetic, hormonal, immunological, and metabolic differences between males and females) and the lack of biomedical studies considering sex differences in their study design has led to several policies. For example, the National Institute of Health's (NIH) sex as a biological variable (SABV) and Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) policies to motivate researchers to consider sex differences [204]. However, drug repurposing, a promising alternative to traditional drug discovery by identifying novel uses for FDA-approved drugs, lacks sex-aware methods that can improve the identification of drugs that have sex-specific responses [7, 11, 14, 33]. Sex-aware drug repurposing methods either select drug candidates that are more efficacious in one sex or deprioritize drug candidates based on if they are predicted to cause a sex-bias adverse event (SBAE), unintended therapeutic effects that are more likely to occur in one sex. Computational drug repurposing methods are encouraging approaches to develop for sex-aware drug repurposing because they can prioritize sex-specific drug candidates or SBAEs at lower cost and time than traditional drug discovery. Sex-aware methods currently exist for clinical, genomic, and transcriptomic information [1, 7, 155]. They have not expanded to other data types, such as DNA variation, which has been beneficial in other drug repurposing methods that do not consider sex [114]. Additionally, some sex-aware methods suffer from poorer performance because a disproportionate number of male and female samples are available to train computational methods [7]. However, there is development potential for several different categories (i.e., data mining, ligand binding predictions, molecular associations, and networks). Low-dimensional representations of molecular association and network approaches are also especially promising candidates for future sex-aware drug repurposing methodologies because they reduce the multiple hypothesis testing burden and capture sex-specific variation better than the other methods [151, 159]. Here we review how sex influences drug response, the current state of drug repurposing including with respect to sex-bias drug response, and how model organism study design choices influence drug repurposing validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Emma F. Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Victoria L. Flanary
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Avery S. Williams
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Ramsey
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Brittany N. Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
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Sharon M, Vinogradov E, Argov CM, Lazarescu O, Zoabi Y, Hekselman I, Yeger-Lotem E. The differential activity of biological processes in tissues and cell subsets can illuminate disease-related processes and cell-type identities. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:1584-1592. [PMID: 35015838 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btab883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The distinct functionalities of human tissues and cell types underlie complex phenotype-genotype relationships, yet often remain elusive. Harnessing the multitude of bulk and single-cell human transcriptomes while focusing on processes can help reveal these distinct functionalities. RESULTS The Tissue-Process Activity (TiPA) method aims to identify processes that are preferentially active or under-expressed in specific contexts, by comparing the expression levels of process genes between contexts. We tested TiPA on 1579 tissue-specific processes and bulk tissue transcriptomes, finding that it performed better than another method. Next, we used TiPA to ask whether the activity of certain processes could underlie the tissue-specific manifestation of 1233 hereditary diseases. We found that 21% of the disease-causing genes indeed participated in such processes, thereby illuminating their genotype-phenotype relationships. Lastly, we applied TiPA to single-cell transcriptomes of 108 human cell types, revealing that process activities often match cell-type identities and can thus aid annotation efforts. Hence, differential activity of processes can highlight the distinct functionality of tissues and cells in a robust and meaningful manner. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION TiPA code is available in GitHub (https://github.com/moranshar/TiPA). In addition, all data are available as part of the Supplementary Material. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moran Sharon
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Ekaterina Vinogradov
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Chanan M Argov
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Or Lazarescu
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Yazeed Zoabi
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Idan Hekselman
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Esti Yeger-Lotem
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.,The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
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Ziv M, Gruber G, Sharon M, Vinogradov E, Yeger-Lotem E. The TissueNet v.3 database: Protein-protein interactions in adult and embryonic human tissue contexts. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167532. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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25
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Maturation and application of phenome-wide association studies. Trends Genet 2022; 38:353-363. [PMID: 34991903 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In the past 10 years since its introduction, phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS) have uncovered novel genotype-phenotype relationships. Along the way, PheWAS have evolved in many aspects as a study design with the expanded availability of large data repositories with genome-wide data linked to detailed phenotypic data. Advancement in methods, including algorithms, software, and publicly available integrated resources, makes it feasible to more fully realize the potential of PheWAS, overcoming the previous computational and analytical limitations. We review here the most recent improvements and notable applications of PheWAS since the second half of the decade from its inception. We also note the challenges that remain embedded along the entire PheWAS analytical pipeline that necessitate further development of tools and resources to further advance the understanding of the complex genetic architecture underlying human diseases and traits.
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Liu XZ, Zhang H. The Effect of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors From a Human Genetic Perspective. Front Genet 2021; 12:658012. [PMID: 33815487 PMCID: PMC8017288 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.658012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xing-zi Liu
- Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Renal Disease, Ministry of Health of China, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Chronic Kidney Disease Prevention and Treatment (Peking University), Ministry of Education of China, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Renal Disease, Ministry of Health of China, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Chronic Kidney Disease Prevention and Treatment (Peking University), Ministry of Education of China, Beijing, China
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