基于共进化基因功能模块发现候选癌基因

癌基因组的体细胞突变扫查数据为研究人员发现新的癌基因提供了大量的信息。已有的通过基因突变频率寻找候选癌基因的方法倾向于发现突变频率较高的癌基因,但是部分低频率突变的基因也可能在癌症发生过程中发挥重要作用。具有相似系统发生谱并且具有蛋白互作关系的基因可能具有相似的功能,它们的损伤可能会导致相同或相似的疾病表型。基于这一假设,文章提出了一种发现候选癌基因的新方法。首先,寻找具有相似系统发生谱的蛋白质互作子网,定义为共进化基因模块;然后,在癌基因组中发生至少一次非同义体细胞突变的基因中,筛选出与已知癌基因在同一共进化模块并具有直接相互作用的基因,预测为候选癌基因。据此,文章共预测了15个候选癌基因,其中只有2个基因在以往的工作中通过基于高突变频率的方法被识别为癌基因。因此,该方法可以有效地发现突变频率低的候选癌基因。     

互作蛋白质与复合物亚基的基因表达相关性比较分析

利用在多种应激条件下酵母的基因表达谱数据 ,分别计算互作蛋白质及复合物亚基编码基因的表达相关性。结果发现 ,相对于随机对照组 ,互作蛋白质的编码基因与蛋白质复合物的编码基因表达相关性均显著 (P <0 .0 1) ,即互作蛋白质及复合物亚基有共表达的倾向。通过比较 ,进一步发现蛋白质复合物亚基的基因表达相关性显著高于互作蛋白质的基因表达相关性 (P <0 .0 1) ,这与复合物亚基之间功能联系强于定义不甚确切的互作蛋白之间功能联系现象吻合。     

基于ceRNA网络识别登革热诊断标志物

通过比较登革热患者和健康人群转录组数据,识别差异基因,构建失调ceRNA网络,筛选关键基因富集分析,解析潜在生物学功能,助力登革热诊断标志物的研究。从GEO数据库下载登革热外周血芯片数据,识别差异基因并进行富集分析。结合miRNA-mRNA互作数据,利用超几何算法和皮尔森相关性计算方法识别登革热失调ceRNA互作对,使用Cytoscape软件可视化ceRNA网络与模块挖掘,对网络模块进行功能富集及外部数据验证表达模式。筛选出251个差异基因,发现其富集在细胞周期等生物学通路中。经外部数据验证,网络模块基因的表达趋势与训练集数据大致相同,表明模块基因在登革热疾病中的潜在诊断效能。本研究可为确定有效的疾病诊断分子标志物提供思路。     

基因网络相继故障机理分析

癌相关基因在疾病发生与发展过程中的作用机理是非常重要的研究课题。现代数据分析方法,为从基因组数据中推断癌相关基因之间的关联,以及分析基因组的作用机理提供了有效的手段。本文根据基因表达谱数据分别建立了正常组织与神经胶质瘤和肾癌的患病组织的基因互信息网络。用以介数为基础的相继故障模型研究了基因网络结构与鲁棒性之间的关系。定义了网络相继故障节点百分比、平均相继故障规模和相继故障规模比例累积概率等衡量网络鲁棒性的结构参数。通过对照组与实验组之间的比对,我们发现实验组网络比对照组网络更加稳定,并将引起网络大规模相继故障的基因称为结构性关键基因。这些结构性关键基因中的一部分已经被证明与神经胶质瘤或肾癌的发生、发展有密切关系。大多数基因被预测在神经胶质瘤和肾癌的发生中起着激励或抑制作用,需要进一步的试验验证。预测信息为研究癌相关基因提供了新的方向。     

基于全局角度网络策略的复杂疾病风险通路识别

复杂疾病的发生发展与机体内生物学通路的功能紊乱有密切联系,从高通量数据出发,利用计算机辅助方法来研究疾病与通路间的关系具有重要意义.本文提出了一个新的基于网络的全局性通路识别方法.该方法利用蛋白质互作信息和通路的基因集组成信息构建复杂的蛋白质-通路网.然后,基于表达谱数据,通过随机游走算法从全局层面优化疾病风险通路.最终,通过扰动方式识别统计学显著的风险通路.将该网络运用于结肠直肠癌风险通路识别,识别出15个与结肠直肠癌发生与发展过程显著相关的通路.通过与其他通路识别方法(超几何检验,SPIA)相比较,该方法能够更有效识别出疾病相关的风险通路.     

整合分析基因表达与拷贝数变异识别癌症的驱动基因及调控子miRNAs

目的:通过整合分析基因的表达与拷贝数变异(CNV)识别癌症的驱动基因及调控子mi RNAs。方法:通过整合基因表达与CNV数据,分别计算了乳腺癌、结肠癌、肺癌、肾癌、膀胱癌、头颈癌六种癌症中mi RNAs的调控得分,提出了一个识别驱动基因和显著调控子mi RNAs的方法。结果:本文研究发现,CNV区域上编码的基因相比于非CNV区域上编码的基因更倾向于受mi RNAs调控。但是,癌相关CNV区域上的基因相比正常CNV区域上的基因更少受mi RNAs调控。本研究识别出了EXOSC4、ZNF7、BOP1等原癌基因,以及mi R-488、mi R-27a、mi R-454等在多种癌症中都起调控作用的调控子mi RNAs。结论:本文的方法为癌症研究带来了新的启发,这些具有调控扩增基因过表达作用的mi RNAs的发现,有助于我们更进一步了解癌基因表达的复杂调控机制,进而推动癌症的诊断、治疗和预后。     

人类蛋白质互作网络hub蛋白与其结构域关联分析

hub蛋白质作为参与较多互作的“中心蛋白”,在实现蛋白质功能和生命活动中发挥着关键作用．而结构域作为蛋白质上的基本功能区域,决定着蛋白质功能及蛋白质互作的情况．互作网络中hub蛋白质和结构域对于蛋白质功能的实现均起到决定性的作用．对蛋白质互作与结构域的关系分析表明,蛋白质互作与结构域之间存在着密切的联系．对人类蛋白质互作网络中的hub蛋白与结构域进行关联分析,探讨hub蛋白及其互作partner与结构域数目之间的关系．并通过hub蛋白质之间的互作对相应结构域的关系进行进一步的论证．     

类蛋白质互作网络hub蛋白与其结构域关联分析

hub蛋白质作为参与较多互作的"中心蛋白".在实现蛋白质功能和生命活动中发挥着关键作用.而结构域作为蛋白质上的基本功能区域,决定着蛋白质功能及蛋白质互作的情况.互作网络中hub蛋白质和结构域对于蛋白质功能的实现均起到决定性的作用.对蛋白质互作与结构域的关系分析表明.蛋白质互作与结构域之间存在着密切的联系.对人类蛋白质互作网络中的hub蛋白与结构域进行关联分析.探讨hub蛋白及其互作partner与结构域数目之间的关系,并通过hub蛋白质之间的互作对相应结构域的关系进行进一步的论证.     

复杂疾病靶基因识别与网络重建的计算系统生物研究

复杂疾病相关靶基因的识别、构建疾病驱使相关基因网络及进行疾病机制研究,是功能基因组学研究中非常重要的科学问题。文章以计算系统生物学的观点和三维的角度,综述了基于生物谱（SNP遗传谱、芯片表达谱和2D-PAGE蛋白质谱等）的复杂疾病靶基因识别、多水平（SNPs虚拟网络、基因调控网络、蛋白质互作网络等）遗传网络逆向重构方法,及不同水平的网络之间在生物学和拓扑学上的纵向映射关系,并给出复杂疾病靶基因识别与网络关系的计算系统生物方法研究的未来展望。     

一种挖掘关键基因的新方法及其应用(英文)

近来,人们发现从疾病相关基因中寻找关键基因对疾病的诊断和治疗很重要。癌相关基因的网络是根据正常和患病的胶质瘤组织的基因表达谱建立。根据建立的基因网络和CIPHER方法,不同阈值下的正常和患病的胶质瘤表型网络被建立。根据已知的疾病和表型间的关联,另一组正常和患病的胶质瘤表型网络被建立。将两种方法建立的相应的表型网络进行比较,匹配度最大时对应的阈值及基因和表型网络被确定。在此基础上,通过打分方法得到了7个关键基因:DMBT1,ERBB2,NF2,PDGFB,AR,ARAF和TP53。文献查询发现其中5个基因与胶质瘤的形成和发展密切相关。剩下两个基因中的ARAF也间接地参与胶质瘤形成。因此,这两个基因可能在胶质瘤的形成中起重要作用。这一预测仍需要实验验证。     

Genome‐wide detection of CNVs associated with beak deformity in chickens using high‐density 600K SNP arrays

Beak deformity (crossed beaks) is found in several indigenous chicken breeds including Beijing‐You studied here. Birds with deformed beaks have reduced feed intake and poor production performance. Recently, copy number variation (CNV) has been examined in many species and is recognized as a source of genetic variation, especially for disease phenotypes. In this study, to unravel the genetic mechanisms underlying beak deformity, we performed genome‐wide CNV detection using Affymetrix chicken high‐density 600K data on 48 deformed‐beak and 48 normal birds using penncnv . As a result, two and eight CNV regions (CNVRs) covering 0.32 and 2.45 Mb respectively on autosomes were identified in deformed‐beak and normal birds respectively. Further RT‐qPCR studies validated nine of the 10 CNVRs. The ratios of six CNVRs were significantly different between deformed‐beak and normal birds (P < 0.01). Within these six regions, three and 21 known genes were identified in deformed‐beak and normal birds respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these genes were enriched in six GO terms and one KEGG pathway. Five candidate genes in the CNVRs were further validated using RT‐qPCR. The expression of LRIG2 (leucine rich repeats and immunoglobulin like domains 2) was lower in birds with deformed beaks (P < 0.01). Therefore, the LRIG2 gene could be considered a key factor in view of its known functions and its potential roles in beak deformity. Overall, our results will be helpful for future investigations of the genomic structural variations underlying beak deformity in chickens.     

Environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of sperm epimutations promote genetic mutations

A variety of environmental factors have been shown to induce the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease and phenotypic variation. This involves the germline transmission of epigenetic information between generations. Exposure specific transgenerational sperm epimutations have been previously observed. The current study was designed to investigate the potential role genetic mutations have in the process, using copy number variations (CNV). In the first (F1) generation following exposure, negligible CNV were identified; however, in the transgenerational F3 generation, a significant increase in CNV was observed in the sperm. The genome-wide locations of differential DNA methylation regions (epimutations) and genetic mutations (CNV) were investigated. Observations suggest the environmental induction of the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of sperm epimutations promote genome instability, such that genetic CNV mutations are acquired in later generations. A combination of epigenetics and genetics is suggested to be involved in the transgenerational phenotypes. The ability of environmental factors to promote epigenetic inheritance that subsequently promotes genetic mutations is a significant advance in our understanding of how the environment impacts disease and evolution.     

姜黄素抑制小鼠脉络膜新生血管的实验研究

目的：观察姜黄素对激光诱导的小鼠脉络膜新生血管（choroidalneovascularization,CNV）形成的影响。方法：60只雄性C57BL／6小鼠,随机分为对照组、10mg／kg姜黄素治疗组、30mg／kg姜黄素治疗组,每组20只。采用激光诱导产生小鼠CNV模型。由光凝前3天开始,至光凝后14天,两个治疗组每天分别给予腹腔注射相应剂量的姜黄素,对照组腹腔注射二甲亚砜溶液（溶剂）。光凝后第3天通过免疫组化和ELISA检测血管内皮生长因子（vesselendothelialgrowthfactor,VEGF）的表达;第14天通过组织学检查以及荧光素标记的葡聚糖的血管灌注检测CNV的面积,荧光血管造影评价CNV的渗漏程度。结果：光凝后第14天,组织学检查显示姜黄素能够有效缩小激光诱导的CNV;荧光素标记的葡聚糖血管灌注后测量色素上皮-脉络膜铺片上CNV的面积,和对照相比,姜黄素能显著减小激光诱导的CNV的面积（P〈0．05）;荧光血管造影显示姜黄素能有效抑制CNV的渗漏（P〈O．05）。和10mg／kg姜黄素治疗组相比,30mg／kg姜黄素治疗组小鼠CNV面积缩小和渗漏程度减弱（P〈0．05）。光凝后第3天,VEGF免疫组化和ELISA结果显示姜黄素显著抑制色素上皮一脉络膜复合体中VEGF（P〈0．01）的表达,高刺量组有更强的抑制作用（P〈0．01）。结论：姜黄素可以有效地抑制小鼠CNV的形成,下调VEGF的表达可能是姜黄素抑制CNV的作用机制之一。因此我们推测姜黄素对并发CNV的AMD患者可能具有治疗作用。     

Copy number variation detection using SNP genotyping arrays in three Chinese pig breeds

We performed genome‐wide CNV detection based on SNP genotyping data of 96 Chinese‐native Tibetan, Dahe and Wuzhishan pigs. These pigs are particularly interesting because of their excellent adaptation to hypoxia or small body size, which facilitates the use of them as models of different human diseases in addition to valuable agricultural animals. A total of 105 CNV regions (CNVRs) were identified, encompassing 16.71 Mb of the pig genome. Seven of 10 (70%) CNVRs selected randomly were validated by quantitative real‐time PCR. Comparison with previous studies revealed 25 (23.81%) novel CNVRs, indicating that CNV coverage of the pig genome is still incomplete and there exists large diversity between pig breeds. Functional analysis of genes located in these CNVRs confirmed the high representation of genes involved in sensory perception, neurological system processes and other basic metabolic processes. In addition, the majority of these CNVRs were detected to span reported pig QTL that affect various traits, which highlighted three biologically interesting genes with copy number changes (i.e., ANKRD34B, FAM110B and ABCG1). These genes may have economic importance in pig breeding and are worth being further investigated. We also obtained some CNVRs harboring genes that had human orthologs involved in human diseases such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. The findings of this study are a significant extension of the coverage of CNVRs in the pig genome and provide valuable resources for follow‐up‐associated studies of CNVs in pig complex traits as well as important implications of human diseases.     

The application of gene co-expression network reconstruction based on CNVs and gene expression microarray data in breast cancer

Copy number variations (CNVs) are one type of the human genetic variations and are pervasive in the human genome. It has been confirmed that they can play a causal role in complex diseases. Previous studies of CNVs focused more on identifying the disease-specific CNV regions or candidate genes on these CNV regions, but less on the synergistic actions between genes on CNV regions and other genes. Our research combined the CNVs with related gene co-expression to reconstruct gene co-expression network by using single nucleotide polymorphism microarray datasets and gene microarray datasets of breast cancer, and then extracted the modules which connected densely inside and analyzed the functions of modules. Interestingly, all of these modules’ functions were related to breast cancer according to our enrichment analysis, and most of the genes in these modules have been reported to be involved in breast cancer. Our findings suggested that integrating CNVs and gene co-expressed relations was an available way to analyze the roles of CNV genes and their synergistic genes in breast cancer, and provided a novel insight into the pathological mechanism of breast cancer.     

Genome-Wide Identification of Copy Number Variations in Chinese Holstein

Recent studies of mammalian genomes have uncovered the vast extent of copy number variations (CNVs) that contribute to phenotypic diversity. Compared to SNP, a CNV can cover a wider chromosome region, which may potentially incur substantial sequence changes and induce more significant effects on phenotypes. CNV has been becoming an alternative promising genetic marker in the field of genetic analyses. Here we firstly report an account of CNV regions in the cattle genome in Chinese Holstein population. The Illumina Bovine SNP50K Beadchips were used for screening 2047 Holstein individuals. Three different programes (PennCNV, cnvPartition and GADA) were implemented to detect potential CNVs. After a strict CNV calling pipeline, a total of 99 CNV regions were identified in cattle genome. These CNV regions cover 23.24 Mb in total with an average size of 151.69 Kb. 52 out of these CNV regions have frequencies of above 1%. 51 out of these CNV regions completely or partially overlap with 138 cattle genes, which are significantly enriched for specific biological functions, such as signaling pathway, sensory perception response and cellular processes. The results provide valuable information for constructing a more comprehensive CNV map in the cattle genome and offer an important resource for investigation of genome structure and genomic variation underlying traits of interest in cattle.     

Genome‐wide copy number variation in the bovine genome detected using low coverage sequence of popular beef breeds,

Copy number variations (CNVs) are large insertions, deletions or duplications in the genome that vary between members of a species and are known to affect a wide variety of phenotypic traits. In this study, we identified CNVs in a population of bulls using low coverage next‐generation sequence data. First, in order to determine a suitable strategy for CNV detection in our data, we compared the performance of three distinct CNV detection algorithms on benchmark CNV datasets and concluded that using the multiple sample read depth approach was the best method for identifying CNVs in our sequences. Using this technique, we identified a total of 1341 copy number variable regions (CNVRs) from genome sequences of 154 purebred sires used in Cycle VII of the USMARC Germplasm Evaluation Project. These bulls represented the seven most popular beef breeds in the United States: Hereford, Charolais, Angus, Red Angus, Simmental, Gelbvieh and Limousin. The CNVRs covered 6.7% of the bovine genome and spanned 2465 protein‐coding genes and many known quantitative trait loci (QTL). Genes harbored in the CNVRs were further analyzed to determine their function as well as to find any breed‐specific differences that may shed light on breed differences in adaptation, health and production.     

Identification of SNP markers for common CNV regions and association analysis of risk of subarachnoid aneurysmal hemorrhage in Japanese population

Copy number variation (CNV) is emerging as a new tool for understanding human genomic variation, but its relationship with human disease is not yet fully understood. The data for a total of 317,503 genotypes were collected for a genome-wide association study of subarachnoid aneurismal hemorrhage (SAH) in a Japanese population (cases and controls, n = 497) using Illumina HumanHap300 BeadChip^®. To identify multi-allelic CNV markers, we visually inspected all genotype clusters of 317,503 SNP markers covering the whole genome using Illumina’s BeadStudio 3.0^® software. As a result, we identified 597 multi-allelic CNV markers for common (copy loss frequency > 0.05) CNV regions in a Japanese population (n = 497). The identified CNV markers shared the following characteristics: enrichment of Hardy–Weinberg disequilibria, Mendelian inconsistency among families, and high missing genotype rate. All annotated information for those markers is summarized in our database (http://www.snp-genetics.com/user/srch.htm). In addition, we performed case-control association analyses of identified multi-allelic CNV markers with the risk of subarachnoid aneurysmal hemorrhage. One SNP marker (rs1242541) within a CNV region neighboring the Sel-1 suppressor of lin-12-like protein (SEL1L) was significantly associated with a risk of SAH (P = 0.0006). We also validated the CNV around rs1242541 using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Information and methods used in this study would be helpful for accurate genotyping of SNPs on CNV regions, which could be used for association analysis of SNP markers within CNV regions.