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Mastrantonio V, Libro P, Di Martino J, Matera M, Bellini R, Castrignanò T, Urbanelli S, Porretta D. Integrated de novo transcriptome of Culex pipiens mosquito larvae as a resource for genetic control strategies. Sci Data 2024; 11:471. [PMID: 38724521 PMCID: PMC11082219 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03285-1] [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: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
We present a de novo transcriptome of the mosquito vector Culex pipiens, assembled by sequences of susceptible and insecticide resistant larvae. The high quality of the assembly was confirmed by TransRate and BUSCO. A mapping percentage until 94.8% was obtained by aligning contigs to Nr, SwissProt, and TrEMBL, with 27,281 sequences that simultaneously mapped on the three databases. A total of 14,966 ORFs were also functionally annotated by using the eggNOG database. Among them, we identified ORF sequences of the main gene families involved in insecticide resistance. Therefore, this resource stands as a valuable reference for further studies of differential gene expression as well as to identify genes of interest for genetic-based control tools.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pietro Libro
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Michele Matera
- Envu, 2022 ES Deutschland GmbH, Germany, Monheim, Germany
- Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, United Kingdom
| | - Romeo Bellini
- Centro Agricoltura Ambiente "G. Nicoli", Via Sant'Agata 835, 40014, Crevalcore, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Sandra Urbanelli
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniele Porretta
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
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2
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Turco S, Russo S, Pietrucci D, Filippi A, Milanesi M, Luzzago C, Garbarino C, Palladini G, Chillemi G, Ricchi M. High clonality of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis field isolates from red deer revealed by two different methodological approaches of comparative genomic analysis. Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1301667. [PMID: 38379925 PMCID: PMC10876796 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1301667] [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: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the aetiological agent of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in both domestic and wild ruminants. In the present study, using a whole-genome sequence (WGS) approach, we investigated the genetic diversity of 15 Mycobacterium avium field strains isolated in the last 10 years from red deer inhabiting the Stelvio National Park and affected by paratuberculosis. Combining de novo assembly and a reference-based method, followed by a pangenome analysis, we highlight a very close relationship among 13 MAP field isolates, suggesting that a single infecting event occurred in this population. Moreover, two isolates have been classified as Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis, distinct from the other MAPs under comparison but close to each other. This is the first time that this subspecies has been found in Italy in samples without evident epidemiological correlations, having been isolated in two different locations of the Stelvio National Park and in different years. Our study highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach incorporating molecular epidemiology and ecology into traditional infectious disease knowledge in order to investigate the nature of infectious disease in wildlife populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Turco
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Simone Russo
- National Reference Centre and WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Daniele Pietrucci
- Dipartimento per l'Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali (DIBAF), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Anita Filippi
- National Reference Centre and WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Marco Milanesi
- Dipartimento per l'Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali (DIBAF), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Camilla Luzzago
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Coordinated Research Centre "EpiSoMI", University of Milan, Lodi, Italy
| | - Chiara Garbarino
- National Reference Centre and WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Giorgia Palladini
- National Reference Centre and WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Giovanni Chillemi
- Dipartimento per l'Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali (DIBAF), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, CNR, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Ricchi
- National Reference Centre and WOAH Reference Laboratory for Paratuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Piacenza, Italy
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3
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Di Martino J, Arcieri M, Madeddu F, Pieroni M, Carotenuto G, Bottoni P, Botta L, Castrignanò T, Gabellone S, Saladino R. Molecular Dynamics Investigations of Human DNA-Topoisomerase I Interacting with Novel Dewar Valence Photo-Adducts: Insights into Inhibitory Activity. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 25:234. [PMID: 38203410 PMCID: PMC10778928 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010234] [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: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is known to induce the formation of DNA photo-adducts, including cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and Dewar valence derivatives (DVs). While CPDs usually occur at higher frequency than DVs, recent studies have shown that the latter display superior selectivity and significant stability in interaction with the human DNA/topoisomerase 1 complex (TOP1). With the aim to deeply investigate the mechanism of interaction of DVs with TOP1, we report here four all-atom molecular dynamic simulations spanning one microsecond. These simulations are focused on the stability and conformational changes of two DNA/TOP1-DV complexes in solution, the data being compared with the biomimetic thymine dimer counterparts. Results from root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) and root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) analyses unequivocally confirmed increased stability of the DNA/TOP1-DV complexes throughout the simulation duration. Detailed interaction analyses, uncovering the presence of salt bridges, hydrogen bonds, water-mediated interactions, and hydrophobic interactions, as well as pinpointing the non-covalent interactions within the complexes, enabled the identification of specific TOP1 residues involved in the interactions over time and suggested a potential TOP1 inhibition mechanism in action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Manuel Arcieri
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark;
| | - Francesco Madeddu
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy (M.P.); (P.B.)
| | - Michele Pieroni
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy (M.P.); (P.B.)
| | - Giovanni Carotenuto
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Paolo Bottoni
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy (M.P.); (P.B.)
| | - Lorenzo Botta
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
| | - Sofia Gabellone
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
- Preclinic and Osteoncology Unit, Biosciences Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, 47014 Meldola, Italy
| | - Raffaele Saladino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; (J.D.M.); (R.S.)
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Palomba M, Libro P, Di Martino J, Roca-Geronès X, Macali A, Castrignanò T, Canestrelli D, Mattiucci S. De novo transcriptome assembly of an Antarctic nematode for the study of thermal adaptation in marine parasites. Sci Data 2023; 10:720. [PMID: 37857654 PMCID: PMC10587230 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02591-4] [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: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genomic underpinnings of thermal adaptation is a hot topic in eco-evolutionary studies of parasites. Marine heteroxenous parasites have complex life cycles encompassing a free-living larval stage, an ectothermic intermediate host and a homeothermic definitive host, thus representing compelling systems for the study of thermal adaptation. The Antarctic anisakid Contracaecum osculatum sp. D is a marine parasite able to survive and thrive both at very cold and warm temperatures within the environment and its hosts. Here, a de novo transcriptome of C. osculatum sp. D was generated for the first time, by performing RNA-Seq experiments on a set of individuals exposed to temperatures experienced by the nematode during its life cycle. The analysis generated 425,954,724 reads, which were assembled and then annotated. The high-quality assembly was validated, achieving over 88% mapping against the transcriptome. The transcriptome of this parasite will represent a valuable genomic resource for future studies aimed at disentangling the genomic architecture of thermal tolerance and metabolic pathways related to temperature stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marialetizia Palomba
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Pietro Libro
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Xavier Roca-Geronès
- Department of Biology, Health and Environment, Section of Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Joan XXIII Avenue, 27-31, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Armando Macali
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Daniele Canestrelli
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Simonetta Mattiucci
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
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Pieroni M, Madeddu F, Di Martino J, Arcieri M, Parisi V, Bottoni P, Castrignanò T. MD-Ligand-Receptor: A High-Performance Computing Tool for Characterizing Ligand-Receptor Binding Interactions in Molecular Dynamics Trajectories. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11671. [PMID: 37511429 PMCID: PMC10380688 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulation is a widely employed computational technique for studying the dynamic behavior of molecular systems over time. By simulating macromolecular biological systems consisting of a drug, a receptor and a solvated environment with thousands of water molecules, MD allows for realistic ligand-receptor binding interactions (lrbi) to be studied. In this study, we present MD-ligand-receptor (MDLR), a state-of-the-art software designed to explore the intricate interactions between ligands and receptors over time using molecular dynamics trajectories. Unlike traditional static analysis tools, MDLR goes beyond simply taking a snapshot of ligand-receptor binding interactions (lrbi), uncovering long-lasting molecular interactions and predicting the time-dependent inhibitory activity of specific drugs. With MDLR, researchers can gain insights into the dynamic behavior of complex ligand-receptor systems. Our pipeline is optimized for high-performance computing, capable of efficiently processing vast molecular dynamics trajectories on multicore Linux servers or even multinode HPC clusters. In the latter case, MDLR allows the user to analyze large trajectories in a very short time. To facilitate the exploration and visualization of lrbi, we provide an intuitive Python notebook (Jupyter), which allows users to examine and interpret the results through various graphical representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Pieroni
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Madeddu
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Manuel Arcieri
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Anker Engelunds Vej 101, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Valerio Parisi
- Department of Physics, "Sapienza" University of Rome, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Bottoni
- Department of Computer Science, "Sapienza" University of Rome, V. le Regina Elena 295, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
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6
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Libro P, Chiocchio A, De Rysky E, Di Martino J, Bisconti R, Castrignanò T, Canestrelli D. De novo transcriptome assembly and annotation for gene discovery in Salamandra salamandra at the larval stage. Sci Data 2023; 10:330. [PMID: 37244908 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02217-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Dispersal is a key process in ecology and evolutionary biology, as it shapes biodiversity patterns over space and time. Attitude to disperse is unevenly distributed among individuals within populations, and that individual personality can have pivotal roles in the shaping of this attitude. Here, we assembled and annotated the first de novo transcriptome of the head tissues of Salamandra salamandra from individuals, representative of distinct behavioral profiles. We obtained 1,153,432,918 reads, which were successfully assembled and annotated. The high-quality of the assembly was confirmed by three assembly validators. The alignment of contigs against the de novo transcriptome led to a mapping percentage higher than 94%. The homology annotation with DIAMOND led to 153,048 (blastx) and 95,942 (blastp) shared contigs, annotated on NR, Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL. The domain and site protein prediction led to 9850 GO-annotated contigs. This de novo transcriptome represents reliable reference for comparative gene expression studies between alternative behavioral types, for comparative gene expression studies within Salamandra, and for whole transcriptome and proteome studies in amphibians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Libro
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Andrea Chiocchio
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Erika De Rysky
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Roberta Bisconti
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Daniele Canestrelli
- Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Dipartimento di Scienze ecologiche e Biologiche, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
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Palomba M, Rughetti A, Mignogna G, Castrignanò T, Rahimi H, Masuelli L, Napoletano C, Pinna V, Giorgi A, Santoro M, Schininà ME, Maras B, Mattiucci S. Proteomic characterization of extracellular vesicles released by third stage larvae of the zoonotic parasite Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae). Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1079991. [PMID: 37009516 PMCID: PMC10050594 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1079991] [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: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionAnisakis pegreffii is a sibling species within the A. simplex (s.l.) complex requiring marine homeothermic (mainly cetaceans) and heterothermic (crustaceans, fish, and cephalopods) organisms to complete its life cycle. It is also a zoonotic species, able to accidentally infect humans (anisakiasis). To investigate the molecular signals involved in this host-parasite interaction and pathogenesis, the proteomic composition of the extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by the third-stage larvae (L3) of A. pegreffii, was characterized.MethodsGenetically identified L3 of A. pegreffii were maintained for 24 h at 37°C and EVs were isolated by serial centrifugation and ultracentrifugation of culture media. Proteomic analysis was performed by Shotgun Analysis.Results and discussionEVs showed spherical shaped structure (size 65-295 nm). Proteomic results were blasted against the A. pegreffii specific transcriptomic database, and 153 unique proteins were identified. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis predicted several proteins belonging to distinct metabolic pathways. The similarity search employing selected parasitic nematodes database revealed that proteins associated with A. pegreffii EVs might be involved in parasite survival and adaptation, as well as in pathogenic processes. Further, a possible link between the A. pegreffii EVs proteins versus those of human and cetaceans’ hosts, were predicted by using HPIDB database. The results, herein described, expand knowledge concerning the proteins possibly implied in the host-parasite interactions between this parasite and its natural and accidental hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marialetizia Palomba
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Aurelia Rughetti
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppina Mignogna
- Department of Biochemistry Science, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Hassan Rahimi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Masuelli
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Napoletano
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Pinna
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Alessandra Giorgi
- Department of Biochemistry Science, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Mario Santoro
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Bruno Maras
- Department of Biochemistry Science, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Simonetta Mattiucci
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Simonetta Mattiucci,
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A Simple, Test-Based Method to Control the Overestimation Bias in the Analysis of Potential Prognostic Tumour Markers. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041188. [PMID: 36831529 PMCID: PMC9953998 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041188] [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: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The early evaluation of prognostic tumour markers is commonly performed by comparing the survival of two groups of patients identified on the basis of a cut-off value. The corresponding hazard ratio (HR) is usually estimated, representing a measure of the relative risk between patients with marker values above and below the cut-off. A posteriori methods identifying an optimal cut-off are appropriate when the functional form of the relation between the marker distribution and patient survival is unknown, but they are prone to an overestimation bias. In the presence of a small sample size, which is typical of rare diseases, the external validation sets are hardly available and internal cross-validation could be unfeasible. We describe a new method to obtain an unbiased estimate of the HR at an optimal cut-off, exploiting the simple relation between the HR and the associated p-value estimated by a random permutation analysis. We validate the method on both simulated data and set of gene expression profiles from two large, publicly available data sets. Furthermore, a reanalysis of a previously published study, which included 134 Stage 4S neuroblastoma patients, allowed for the identification of E2F1 as a new gene with potential oncogenic activity. This finding was confirmed by an immunofluorescence analysis on an independent cohort.
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Madeddu F, Di Martino J, Pieroni M, Del Buono D, Bottoni P, Botta L, Castrignanò T, Saladino R. Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation Revealed the Potential Inhibitory Activity of New Drugs against Human Topoisomerase I Receptor. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232314652. [PMID: 36498979 PMCID: PMC9737192 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Human Topoisomerase I (hTop1p) is a ubiquitous enzyme that relaxes supercoiled DNA through a conserved mechanism involving transient breakage, rotation, and binding. Htop1p is the molecular target of the chemotherapeutic drug camptothecin (CPT). It causes the hTop1p-DNA complex to slow down the binding process and clash with the replicative machinery during the S phase of the cell cycle, forcing cells to activate the apoptotic response. This gives hTop1p a central role in cancer therapy. Recently, two artesunic acid derivatives (compounds c6 and c7) have been proposed as promising inhibitors of hTop1p with possible antitumor activity. We used several computational approaches to obtain in silico confirmations of the experimental data and to form a comprehensive dynamic description of the ligand-receptor system. We performed molecular docking analyses to verify the ability of the two new derivatives to access the enzyme-DNA interface, and a classical molecular dynamics simulation was performed to assess the capacity of the two compounds to maintain a stable binding pose over time. Finally, we calculated the noncovalent interactions between the two new derivatives and the hTop1p receptor in order to propose a possible inhibitory mechanism like that adopted by CPT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Madeddu
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Michele Pieroni
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Davide Del Buono
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Paolo Bottoni
- Department of Computer Science, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Botta
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Raffaele Saladino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Largo dell’Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
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Libro P, Bisconti R, Chiocchio A, Spadavecchia G, Castrignanò T, Canestrelli D. First brain de novo transcriptome of the Tyrrhenian tree frog, Hyla sarda, for the study of dispersal behavior. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.947186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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11
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Pietrucci D, Teofani A, Milanesi M, Fosso B, Putignani L, Messina F, Pesole G, Desideri A, Chillemi G. Machine Learning Data Analysis Highlights the Role of Parasutterella and Alloprevotella in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10082028. [PMID: 36009575 PMCID: PMC9405825 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10082028] [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: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the involvement of the gut microbiota in disease and health has been investigated by sequencing the 16S gene from fecal samples. Dysbiotic gut microbiota was also observed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms. However, despite the relevant number of studies, it is still difficult to identify a typical dysbiotic profile in ASD patients. The discrepancies among these studies are due to technical factors (i.e., experimental procedures) and external parameters (i.e., dietary habits). In this paper, we collected 959 samples from eight available projects (540 ASD and 419 Healthy Controls, HC) and reduced the observed bias among studies. Then, we applied a Machine Learning (ML) approach to create a predictor able to discriminate between ASD and HC. We tested and optimized three algorithms: Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and Gradient Boosting Machine. All three algorithms confirmed the importance of five different genera, including Parasutterella and Alloprevotella. Furthermore, our results show that ML algorithms could identify common taxonomic features by comparing datasets obtained from countries characterized by latent confounding variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Pietrucci
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, IBIOM, CNR, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Adelaide Teofani
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Milanesi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Bruno Fosso
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari, Italy
| | - Lorenza Putignani
- Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostic Immunology, Units of Microbiomics, Department of Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Messina
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Biological Bank National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, 00149 Rome, Italy
| | - Graziano Pesole
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, IBIOM, CNR, 70126 Bari, Italy
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari, Italy
| | - Alessandro Desideri
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanni Chillemi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0761-357-429
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12
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Prandi IG, Mavian C, Giombini E, Gruber CEM, Pietrucci D, Borocci S, Abid N, Beccari AR, Talarico C, Chillemi G. Structural Evolution of Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (BA.1) Spike Glycoproteins. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23158680. [PMID: 35955815 PMCID: PMC9369368 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The vast amount of epidemiologic and genomic data that were gathered as a global response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was caused by SARS-CoV-2 offer a unique opportunity to shed light on the structural evolution of coronaviruses and in particular on the spike (S) glycoprotein, which mediates virus entry into the host cell by binding to the human ACE2 receptor. Herein, we carry out an investigation into the dynamic properties of the S glycoprotein, focusing on the much more transmissible Delta and Omicron variants. Notwithstanding the great number of mutations that have accumulated, particularly in the Omicron S glycoprotein, our data clearly showed the conservation of some structural and dynamic elements, such as the global motion of the receptor binding domain (RBD). However, our studies also revealed structural and dynamic alterations that were concentrated in the aa 627–635 region, on a small region of the receptor binding motif (aa 483–485), and the so-called “fusion-peptide proximal region”. In particular, these last two S regions are known to be involved in the human receptor ACE2 recognition and membrane fusion. Our structural evidence, therefore, is likely involved in the observed different transmissibility of these S mutants. Finally, we highlighted the role of glycans in the increased RBD flexibility of the monomer in the up conformation of Omicron.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingrid Guarnetti Prandi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems—DIBAF, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Carla Mavian
- Emerging Pathogen Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Emanuela Giombini
- Laboratory of Virology, INMI Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS, Via Portuense 292, 00149 Roma, Italy
| | - Cesare E. M. Gruber
- Laboratory of Virology, INMI Lazzaro Spallanzani IRCCS, Via Portuense 292, 00149 Roma, Italy
| | - Daniele Pietrucci
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems—DIBAF, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies—IBIOM, CNR, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Stefano Borocci
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems—DIBAF, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Institute for Biological Systems—ISB, CNR, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, SP35d 9, 00010 Montelibretti, Italy
| | - Nabil Abid
- Laboratory of Transmissible Diseases and Biological Active Substances LR99ES27, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Monastir, Rue Ibn Sina, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
- High Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Monastir, Monastir 5000, Tunisia
| | | | - Carmine Talarico
- Dompé Farmaceutici SpA, Via Campo di Pile, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Correspondence: (C.T.); (G.C.)
| | - Giovanni Chillemi
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems—DIBAF, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis s.n.c., 01100 Viterbo, Italy
- Correspondence: (C.T.); (G.C.)
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13
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Abdelhalim H, Berber A, Lodi M, Jain R, Nair A, Pappu A, Patel K, Venkat V, Venkatesan C, Wable R, Dinatale M, Fu A, Iyer V, Kalove I, Kleyman M, Koutsoutis J, Menna D, Paliwal M, Patel N, Patel T, Rafique Z, Samadi R, Varadhan R, Bolla S, Vadapalli S, Ahmed Z. Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, Clinical Genomics, and Pharmacogenomics Approaches in Precision Medicine. Front Genet 2022; 13:929736. [PMID: 35873469 PMCID: PMC9299079 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.929736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Precision medicine has greatly aided in improving health outcomes using earlier diagnosis and better prognosis for chronic diseases. It makes use of clinical data associated with the patient as well as their multi-omics/genomic data to reach a conclusion regarding how a physician should proceed with a specific treatment. Compared to the symptom-driven approach in medicine, precision medicine considers the critical fact that all patients do not react to the same treatment or medication in the same way. When considering the intersection of traditionally distinct arenas of medicine, that is, artificial intelligence, healthcare, clinical genomics, and pharmacogenomics—what ties them together is their impact on the development of precision medicine as a field and how they each contribute to patient-specific, rather than symptom-specific patient outcomes. This study discusses the impact and integration of these different fields in the scope of precision medicine and how they can be used in preventing and predicting acute or chronic diseases. Additionally, this study also discusses the advantages as well as the current challenges associated with artificial intelligence, healthcare, clinical genomics, and pharmacogenomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Habiba Abdelhalim
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Asude Berber
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Mudassir Lodi
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Rihi Jain
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Achuth Nair
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Anirudh Pappu
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Kush Patel
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Vignesh Venkat
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Cynthia Venkatesan
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Raghu Wable
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Matthew Dinatale
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Allyson Fu
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Vikram Iyer
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Ishan Kalove
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Marc Kleyman
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Joseph Koutsoutis
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - David Menna
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Mayank Paliwal
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Nishi Patel
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Thirth Patel
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Zara Rafique
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Rothela Samadi
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Roshan Varadhan
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Shreyas Bolla
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Sreya Vadapalli
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
| | - Zeeshan Ahmed
- Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States.,Department of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, United States
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14
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Palomba M, Libro P, Di Martino J, Rughetti A, Santoro M, Mattiucci S, Castrignanò T. De novo transcriptome assembly and annotation of the third stage larvae of the zoonotic parasite Anisakis pegreffii. BMC Res Notes 2022; 15:223. [PMID: 35752825 PMCID: PMC9233829 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-022-06099-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Anisakis pegreffii is a zoonotic parasite requiring marine organisms to complete its life-history. Human infection (anisakiasis) occurs when the third stage larvae (L3) are accidentally ingested with raw or undercooked infected fish or squids. A new de novo transcriptome of A. pegreffii was here generated aiming to provide a robust bulk of data to be used for a comprehensive "ready-to-use" resource for detecting functional studies on genes and gene products of A. pegreffii involved in the molecular mechanisms of parasite-host interaction. DATA DESCRIPTION A RNA-seq library of A. pegreffii L3 was here newly generated by using Illumina TruSeq platform. It was combined with other five RNA-seq datasets previously gathered from L3 of the same species stored in SRA of NCBI. The final dataset was analyzed by launching three assembler programs and two validation tools. The use of a robust pipeline produced a high-confidence protein-coding transcriptome of A. pegreffii. These data represent a more robust and complete transcriptome of this species with respect to the actually existing resources. This is of importance for understanding the involved adaptive and immunomodulatory genes implicated in the "cross talk" between the parasite and its hosts, including the accidental one (humans).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marialetizia Palomba
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Pietro Libro
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Jessica Di Martino
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Aurelia Rughetti
- Department of Experimental Medicine, "Sapienza" University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Mario Santoro
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 1, 80121, Naples, Italy
| | - Simonetta Mattiucci
- Department of Public Health And Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy. .,Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Rome, Italy.
| | - Tiziana Castrignanò
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, Tuscia University, Viale dell'Università s/n, 01100, Viterbo, Italy
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15
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Raghavan V, Kraft L, Mesny F, Rigerte L. A simple guide to de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation. Brief Bioinform 2022; 23:6514404. [PMID: 35076693 PMCID: PMC8921630 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A transcriptome constructed from short-read RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is an easily attainable proxy catalog of protein-coding genes when genome assembly is unnecessary, expensive or difficult. In the absence of a sequenced genome to guide the reconstruction process, the transcriptome must be assembled de novo using only the information available in the RNA-seq reads. Subsequently, the sequences must be annotated in order to identify sequence-intrinsic and evolutionary features in them (for example, protein-coding regions). Although straightforward at first glance, de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation can quickly prove to be challenging undertakings. In addition to familiarizing themselves with the conceptual and technical intricacies of the tasks at hand and the numerous pre- and post-processing steps involved, those interested must also grapple with an overwhelmingly large choice of tools. The lack of standardized workflows, fast pace of development of new tools and techniques and paucity of authoritative literature have served to exacerbate the difficulty of the task even further. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of de novo transcriptome assembly and annotation. We discuss the procedures involved, including pre- and post-processing steps, and present a compendium of corresponding tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venket Raghavan
- Corresponding authors: Venket Raghavan, Quantitative and Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. E-mail: ; Louis Kraft, Quantitative and Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. E-mail:
| | - Louis Kraft
- Corresponding authors: Venket Raghavan, Quantitative and Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. E-mail: ; Louis Kraft, Quantitative and Computational Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. E-mail:
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16
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Tangaro MA, Mandreoli P, Chiara M, Donvito G, Antonacci M, Parisi A, Bianco A, Romano A, Bianchi DM, Cangelosi D, Uva P, Molineris I, Nosi V, Calogero RA, Alessandri L, Pedrini E, Mordenti M, Bonetti E, Sangiorgi L, Pesole G, Zambelli F. Laniakea@ReCaS: exploring the potential of customisable Galaxy on-demand instances as a cloud-based service. BMC Bioinformatics 2021; 22:544. [PMID: 34749633 PMCID: PMC8574934 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-021-04401-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Improving the availability and usability of data and analytical tools is a critical precondition for further advancing modern biological and biomedical research. For instance, one of the many ramifications of the COVID-19 global pandemic has been to make even more evident the importance of having bioinformatics tools and data readily actionable by researchers through convenient access points and supported by adequate IT infrastructures. One of the most successful efforts in improving the availability and usability of bioinformatics tools and data is represented by the Galaxy workflow manager and its thriving community. In 2020 we introduced Laniakea, a software platform conceived to streamline the configuration and deployment of "on-demand" Galaxy instances over the cloud. By facilitating the set-up and configuration of Galaxy web servers, Laniakea provides researchers with a powerful and highly customisable platform for executing complex bioinformatics analyses. The system can be accessed through a dedicated and user-friendly web interface that allows the Galaxy web server's initial configuration and deployment. RESULTS "Laniakea@ReCaS", the first instance of a Laniakea-based service, is managed by ELIXIR-IT and was officially launched in February 2020, after about one year of development and testing that involved several users. Researchers can request access to Laniakea@ReCaS through an open-ended call for use-cases. Ten project proposals have been accepted since then, totalling 18 Galaxy on-demand virtual servers that employ ~ 100 CPUs, ~ 250 GB of RAM and ~ 5 TB of storage and serve several different communities and purposes. Herein, we present eight use cases demonstrating the versatility of the platform. CONCLUSIONS During this first year of activity, the Laniakea-based service emerged as a flexible platform that facilitated the rapid development of bioinformatics tools, the efficient delivery of training activities, and the provision of public bioinformatics services in different settings, including food safety and clinical research. Laniakea@ReCaS provides a proof of concept of how enabling access to appropriate, reliable IT resources and ready-to-use bioinformatics tools can considerably streamline researchers' work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Antonio Tangaro
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy
| | - Pietro Mandreoli
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Matteo Chiara
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Giacinto Donvito
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy
| | - Marica Antonacci
- National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonio Parisi
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Puglia e Della Basilicata, Via Manfredonia 20, 71121, Foggia, Italy
| | - Angelica Bianco
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Puglia e Della Basilicata, Via Manfredonia 20, 71121, Foggia, Italy
| | - Angelo Romano
- National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci Including Staphylococcus Aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Daniela Manila Bianchi
- National Reference Laboratory for Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci Including Staphylococcus Aureus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy
| | - Davide Cangelosi
- Clinical Bioinformatics Unit, Scientific Direction, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via Gerolamo Gaslini 5, 16147, Genova, Italy
| | - Paolo Uva
- Clinical Bioinformatics Unit, Scientific Direction, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via Gerolamo Gaslini 5, 16147, Genova, Italy
- Italian Institute of Technology, Via Morego 30, 16163, Genova, Italy
| | - Ivan Molineris
- Department of Life Science and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina, 13-1023, Turin, Italy
| | - Vladimir Nosi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Turin, Via Pessinetto 12, 10049, Turin, Italy
| | - Raffaele A Calogero
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Via Nizza 52, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Luca Alessandri
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Via Nizza 52, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Elena Pedrini
- Department of Rare Skeletal Disorders, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina Mordenti
- Department of Rare Skeletal Disorders, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Emanuele Bonetti
- Department of Rare Skeletal Disorders, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Sangiorgi
- Department of Rare Skeletal Disorders, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy
| | - Graziano Pesole
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy.
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy.
| | - Federico Zambelli
- Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Giovanni Amendola 122/O, 70126, Bari, Italy.
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milano, Italy.
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Verdino A, D’Urso G, Tammone C, Scafuri B, Catapano L, Marabotti A. Simulation of the Interactions of Arginine with Wild-Type GALT Enzyme and the Classic Galactosemia-Related Mutant p.Q188R by a Computational Approach. Molecules 2021; 26:6061. [PMID: 34641605 PMCID: PMC8513022 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26196061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Classic galactosemia is an inborn error of metabolism associated with mutations that impair the activity and the stability of galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT), catalyzing the third step in galactose metabolism. To date, no treatments (including dietary galactose deprivation) are able to prevent or alleviate the long-term complications affecting galactosemic patients. Evidence that arginine is able to improve the activity of the human enzyme expressed in a prokaryotic model of classic galactosemia has induced researchers to suppose that this amino acid could act as a pharmacochaperone, but no effects were detected in four galactosemic patients treated with this amino acid. Given that no molecular characterizations of the possible effects of arginine on GALT have been performed, and given that the samples of patients treated with arginine are extremely limited for drawing definitive conclusions at the clinical level, we performed computational simulations in order to predict the interactions (if any) between this amino acid and the enzyme. Our results do not support the possibility that arginine could function as a pharmacochaperone for GALT, but information obtained by this study could be useful for identifying, in the future, possible pharmacochaperones for this enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Verdino
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
| | - Gaetano D’Urso
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
| | - Carmen Tammone
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
| | - Bernardina Scafuri
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
- Interuniversity Center “ELFID—European Laboratory for Food Induced Diseases”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
| | - Lucrezia Catapano
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
| | - Anna Marabotti
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.); (L.C.)
- Interuniversity Center “ELFID—European Laboratory for Food Induced Diseases”, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy
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18
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Verdino A, D’Urso G, Tammone C, Scafuri B, Marabotti A. Analysis of the Structure-Function-Dynamics Relationships of GALT Enzyme and of Its Pathogenic Mutant p.Q188R: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study in Different Experimental Conditions. Molecules 2021; 26:5941. [PMID: 34641485 PMCID: PMC8513031 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26195941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The third step of the catabolism of galactose in mammals is catalyzed by the enzyme galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT), a homodimeric enzyme with two active sites located in the proximity of the intersubunit interface. Mutations of this enzyme are associated to the rare inborn error of metabolism known as classic galactosemia; in particular, the most common mutation, associated with the most severe phenotype, is the one that replaces Gln188 in the active site of the enzyme with Arg (p.Gln188Arg). In the past, and more recently, the structural effects of this mutation were deduced on the static structure of the wild-type human enzyme; however, we feel that a dynamic view of the proteins is necessary to deeply understand their behavior and obtain tips for possible therapeutic interventions. Thus, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of both wild-type and p.Gln188Arg GALT proteins in the absence or in the presence of the substrates in different conditions of temperature. Our results suggest the importance of the intersubunit interactions for a correct activity of this enzyme and can be used as a starting point for the search of drugs able to rescue the activity of this enzyme in galactosemic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Verdino
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Gaetano D’Urso
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Carmen Tammone
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.)
| | - Bernardina Scafuri
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.)
- Interuniversity Center, ELFID—European Laboratory for Food Induced Diseases, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy
| | - Anna Marabotti
- Department of Chemistry and Biology “A. Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; (A.V.); (G.D.); (C.T.); (B.S.)
- Interuniversity Center, ELFID—European Laboratory for Food Induced Diseases, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy
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Zafeiropoulos H, Gioti A, Ninidakis S, Potirakis A, Paragkamian S, Angelova N, Antoniou A, Danis T, Kaitetzidou E, Kasapidis P, Kristoffersen JB, Papadogiannis V, Pavloudi C, Ha QV, Lagnel J, Pattakos N, Perantinos G, Sidirokastritis D, Vavilis P, Kotoulas G, Manousaki T, Sarropoulou E, Tsigenopoulos CS, Arvanitidis C, Magoulas A, Pafilis E. 0s and 1s in marine molecular research: a regional HPC perspective. Gigascience 2021; 10:6353916. [PMID: 34405237 PMCID: PMC8371273 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giab053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
High-performance computing (HPC) systems have become indispensable for modern marine research, providing support to an increasing number and diversity of users. Pairing with the impetus offered by high-throughput methods to key areas such as non-model organism studies, their operation continuously evolves to meet the corresponding computational challenges. Here, we present a Tier 2 (regional) HPC facility, operating for over a decade at the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology, and Aquaculture of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece. Strategic choices made in design and upgrades aimed to strike a balance between depth (the need for a few high-memory nodes) and breadth (a number of slimmer nodes), as dictated by the idiosyncrasy of the supported research. Qualitative computational requirement analysis of the latter revealed the diversity of marine fields, methods, and approaches adopted to translate data into knowledge. In addition, hardware and software architectures, usage statistics, policy, and user management aspects of the facility are presented. Drawing upon the last decade's experience from the different levels of operation of the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology, and Aquaculture HPC facility, a number of lessons are presented; these have contributed to the facility's future directions in light of emerging distribution technologies (e.g., containers) and Research Infrastructure evolution. In combination with detailed knowledge of the facility usage and its upcoming upgrade, future collaborations in marine research and beyond are envisioned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haris Zafeiropoulos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.,Department of Biology, University of Crete, Voutes University Campus, P.O. Box 2208, 70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Anastasia Gioti
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Stelios Ninidakis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Antonis Potirakis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Savvas Paragkamian
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.,Department of Biology, University of Crete, Voutes University Campus, P.O. Box 2208, 70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Nelina Angelova
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Aglaia Antoniou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Theodoros Danis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.,School of Medicine, University of Crete, Voutes University Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Eliza Kaitetzidou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Panagiotis Kasapidis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Jon Bent Kristoffersen
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Vasileios Papadogiannis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Christina Pavloudi
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Quoc Viet Ha
- Bull SAS, Rue du Gros Caillou, 78340 Les Clayes-sous-Bois, France
| | - Jacques Lagnel
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, UR1052, Génétique et Amélioration des Fruits et Légumes, 67 Allée des Chênes, Centre de Recherche Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Domaine Saint Maurice, CS60094, 84143 Montfavet Cedex, France
| | - Nikos Pattakos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Giorgos Perantinos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Dimitris Sidirokastritis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Network Operation Center, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Panagiotis Vavilis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Network Operation Center, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Georgios Kotoulas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Tereza Manousaki
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Elena Sarropoulou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Costas S Tsigenopoulos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Christos Arvanitidis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.,LifeWatch European Research Infrastructure Consortium, Sector II-III Plaza de España, 41071, Seville, Spain
| | - Antonios Magoulas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Evangelos Pafilis
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Former U.S. Base of Gournes, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
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20
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Cirillo D, Núñez‐Carpintero I, Valencia A. Artificial intelligence in cancer research: learning at different levels of data granularity. Mol Oncol 2021; 15:817-829. [PMID: 33533192 PMCID: PMC8024732 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
From genome-scale experimental studies to imaging data, behavioral footprints, and longitudinal healthcare records, the convergence of big data in cancer research and the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is paving the way to develop a systems view of cancer. Nevertheless, this biomedical area is largely characterized by the co-existence of big data and small data resources, highlighting the need for a deeper investigation about the crosstalk between different levels of data granularity, including varied sample sizes, labels, data types, and other data descriptors. This review introduces the current challenges, limitations, and solutions of AI in the heterogeneous landscape of data granularity in cancer research. Such a variety of cancer molecular and clinical data calls for advancing the interoperability among AI approaches, with particular emphasis on the synergy between discriminative and generative models that we discuss in this work with several examples of techniques and applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alfonso Valencia
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)BarcelonaSpain
- ICREABarcelonaSpain
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