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Qayyum A, Benzinou A, Razzak I, Mazher M, Nguyen TT, Puig D, Vafaee F. 3D-IncNet: Head and Neck (H&N) Primary Tumors Segmentation and Survival Prediction. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2024; 28:1185-1194. [PMID: 38446658 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2022.3219445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Cancer begins when healthy cells change and grow out of control, forming a mass called a tumor. Head and neck (H&N) cancers usually develop in or around the head and neck, including the mouth (oral cavity), nose and sinuses, throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx). 4% of all cancers are H&N cancers with a very low survival rate (a five-year survival rate of 64.7%). FDG-PET/CT imaging is often used for early diagnosis and staging of H&N tumors, thus improving these patients' survival rates. This work presents a novel 3D-Inception-Residual aided with 3D depth-wise convolution and squeeze and excitation block. We introduce a 3D depth-wise convolution-inception encoder consisting of an additional 3D squeeze and excitation block and a 3D depth-wise convolution-based residual learning decoder (3D-IncNet), which not only helps to recalibrate the channel-wise features but adaptively through explicit inter-dependencies modeling but also integrate the coarse and fine features resulting in accurate tumor segmentation. We further demonstrate the effectiveness of inception-residual encoder-decoder architecture in achieving better dice scores and the impact of depth-wise convolution in lowering the computational cost. We applied random forest for survival prediction on deep, clinical, and radiomics features. Experiments are conducted on the benchmark HECKTOR21 challenge, which showed significantly better performance by surpassing the state-of-the-artwork and achieved 0.836 and 0.811 concordance index and dice scores, respectively. We made the model and code publicly available.
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Thoms JAI, Koch F, Raei A, Subramanian S, Wong JH, Vafaee F, Pimanda J. BloodChIP Xtra: an expanded database of comparative genome-wide transcription factor binding and gene-expression profiles in healthy human stem/progenitor subsets and leukemic cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D1131-D1137. [PMID: 37870453 PMCID: PMC10767868 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The BloodChIP Xtra database (http://bloodchipXtra.vafaeelab.com/) facilitates genome-wide exploration and visualization of transcription factor (TF) occupancy and chromatin configuration in rare primary human hematopoietic stem (HSC-MPP) and progenitor (CMP, GMP, MEP) cells and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines (KG-1, ME-1, Kasumi1, TSU-1621-MT), along with chromatin accessibility and gene expression data from these and primary patient AMLs. BloodChIP Xtra features significantly more datasets than our earlier database BloodChIP (two primary cell types and two cell lines). Improved methodologies for determining TF occupancy and chromatin accessibility have led to increased availability of data for rare primary cell types across the spectrum of healthy and AML hematopoiesis. However, there is a continuing need for these data to be integrated in an easily accessible manner for gene-based queries and use in downstream applications. Here, we provide a user-friendly database based around genome-wide binding profiles of key hematopoietic TFs and histone marks in healthy stem/progenitor cell types. These are compared with binding profiles and chromatin accessibility derived from primary and cell line AML and integrated with expression data from corresponding cell types. All queries can be exported to construct TF-gene and protein-protein networks and evaluate the association of genes with specific cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A I Thoms
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Forrest C Koch
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Alireza Raei
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Shruthi Subramanian
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jason W H Wong
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - John E Pimanda
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Haematology Department, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Subramanian S, Thoms JAI, Huang Y, Cornejo-Páramo P, Koch FC, Jacquelin S, Shen S, Song E, Joshi S, Brownlee C, Woll PS, Chacon-Fajardo D, Beck D, Curtis DJ, Yehson K, Antonenas V, O'Brien T, Trickett A, Powell JA, Lewis ID, Pitson SM, Gandhi MK, Lane SW, Vafaee F, Wong ES, Göttgens B, Alinejad-Rokny H, Wong JWH, Pimanda JE. Genome-wide transcription factor-binding maps reveal cell-specific changes in the regulatory architecture of human HSPCs. Blood 2023; 142:1448-1462. [PMID: 37595278 PMCID: PMC10651876 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2023021120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) rely on a complex interplay among transcription factors (TFs) to regulate differentiation into mature blood cells. A heptad of TFs (FLI1, ERG, GATA2, RUNX1, TAL1, LYL1, LMO2) bind regulatory elements in bulk CD34+ HSPCs. However, whether specific heptad-TF combinations have distinct roles in regulating hematopoietic differentiation remains unknown. We mapped genome-wide chromatin contacts (HiC, H3K27ac, HiChIP), chromatin modifications (H3K4me3, H3K27ac, H3K27me3) and 10 TF binding profiles (heptad, PU.1, CTCF, STAG2) in HSPC subsets (stem/multipotent progenitors plus common myeloid, granulocyte macrophage, and megakaryocyte erythrocyte progenitors) and found TF occupancy and enhancer-promoter interactions varied significantly across cell types and were associated with cell-type-specific gene expression. Distinct regulatory elements were enriched with specific heptad-TF combinations, including stem-cell-specific elements with ERG, and myeloid- and erythroid-specific elements with combinations of FLI1, RUNX1, GATA2, TAL1, LYL1, and LMO2. Furthermore, heptad-occupied regions in HSPCs were subsequently bound by lineage-defining TFs, including PU.1 and GATA1, suggesting that heptad factors may prime regulatory elements for use in mature cell types. We also found that enhancers with cell-type-specific heptad occupancy shared a common grammar with respect to TF binding motifs, suggesting that combinatorial binding of TF complexes was at least partially regulated by features encoded in DNA sequence motifs. Taken together, this study comprehensively characterizes the gene regulatory landscape in rare subpopulations of human HSPCs. The accompanying data sets should serve as a valuable resource for understanding adult hematopoiesis and a framework for analyzing aberrant regulatory networks in leukemic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shruthi Subramanian
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Julie A. I. Thoms
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Yizhou Huang
- Centre for Health Technologies and the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Forrest C. Koch
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Sylvie Shen
- Bone Marrow Transplant Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Emma Song
- Bone Marrow Transplant Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Swapna Joshi
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Chris Brownlee
- Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Petter S. Woll
- Department of Medicine, Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Diego Chacon-Fajardo
- Centre for Health Technologies and the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Dominik Beck
- Centre for Health Technologies and the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - David J. Curtis
- Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Kenneth Yehson
- Blood Transplant and Cell Therapies Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Vicki Antonenas
- Blood Transplant and Cell Therapies Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Annette Trickett
- Bone Marrow Transplant Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Jason A. Powell
- Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
- Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Ian D. Lewis
- Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Stuart M. Pitson
- Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Maher K. Gandhi
- Blood Cancer Research Group, Mater Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Steven W. Lane
- Cancer Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Emily S. Wong
- Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Berthold Göttgens
- Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Hamid Alinejad-Rokny
- BioMedical Machine Learning Lab, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jason W. H. Wong
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - John E. Pimanda
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Haematology Department, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Gunawan I, Vafaee F, Meijering E, Lock JG. An introduction to representation learning for single-cell data analysis. Cell Rep Methods 2023; 3:100547. [PMID: 37671013 PMCID: PMC10475795 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell-resolved systems biology methods, including omics- and imaging-based measurement modalities, generate a wealth of high-dimensional data characterizing the heterogeneity of cell populations. Representation learning methods are routinely used to analyze these complex, high-dimensional data by projecting them into lower-dimensional embeddings. This facilitates the interpretation and interrogation of the structures, dynamics, and regulation of cell heterogeneity. Reflecting their central role in analyzing diverse single-cell data types, a myriad of representation learning methods exist, with new approaches continually emerging. Here, we contrast general features of representation learning methods spanning statistical, manifold learning, and neural network approaches. We consider key steps involved in representation learning with single-cell data, including data pre-processing, hyperparameter optimization, downstream analysis, and biological validation. Interdependencies and contingencies linking these steps are also highlighted. This overview is intended to guide researchers in the selection, application, and optimization of representation learning strategies for current and future single-cell research applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ihuan Gunawan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Erik Meijering
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - John George Lock
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
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Safari F, Kehelpannala C, Safarchi A, Batarseh AM, Vafaee F. Biomarker Reproducibility Challenge: A Review of Non-Nucleotide Biomarker Discovery Protocols from Body Fluids in Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:2780. [PMID: 37345117 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15102780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer has now become the most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for one in eight cancer diagnoses worldwide. Non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers and associated tests are superlative candidates to complement or improve current approaches for screening, early diagnosis, or prognosis of breast cancer. Biomarkers detected from body fluids such as blood (serum/plasma), urine, saliva, nipple aspiration fluid, and tears can detect breast cancer at its early stages in a minimally invasive way. The advancements in high-throughput molecular profiling (omics) technologies have opened an unprecedented opportunity for unbiased biomarker detection. However, the irreproducibility of biomarkers and discrepancies of reported markers have remained a major roadblock to clinical implementation, demanding the investigation of contributing factors and the development of standardised biomarker discovery pipelines. A typical biomarker discovery workflow includes pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases, from sample collection to model development. Variations introduced during these steps impact the data quality and the reproducibility of the findings. Here, we present a comprehensive review of methodological variations in biomarker discovery studies in breast cancer, with a focus on non-nucleotide biomarkers (i.e., proteins, lipids, and metabolites), highlighting the pre-analytical to post-analytical variables, which may affect the accurate identification of biomarkers from body fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Safari
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Cheka Kehelpannala
- BCAL Diagnostics Ltd., Suite 506, 50 Clarence St, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
- BCAL Dx, The University of Sydney, Sydney Knowledge Hub, Merewether Building, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Azadeh Safarchi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Microbiomes for One Systems Health, Health and Biosecurity, CSIRO, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Amani M Batarseh
- BCAL Diagnostics Ltd., Suite 506, 50 Clarence St, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
- BCAL Dx, The University of Sydney, Sydney Knowledge Hub, Merewether Building, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub (uDASH), University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- OmniOmics.ai Pty Ltd., Sydney, NSW 2035, Australia
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Ahmadzada T, Vijayan A, Vafaee F, Azimi A, Reid G, Clarke S, Kao S, Grau GE, Hosseini-Beheshti E. Small and Large Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Pleural Mesothelioma Cell Lines Offer Biomarker Potential. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15082364. [PMID: 37190292 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15082364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Pleural mesothelioma, previously known as malignant pleural mesothelioma, is an aggressive and fatal cancer of the pleura, with one of the poorest survival rates. Pleural mesothelioma is in urgent clinical need for biomarkers to aid early diagnosis, improve prognostication, and stratify patients for treatment. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have great potential as biomarkers; however, there are limited studies to date on their role in pleural mesothelioma. We conducted a comprehensive proteomic analysis on different EV populations derived from five pleural mesothelioma cell lines and an immortalized control cell line. We characterized three subtypes of EVs (10 K, 18 K, and 100 K), and identified a total of 4054 unique proteins. Major differences were found in the cargo between the three EV subtypes. We show that 10 K EVs were enriched in mitochondrial components and metabolic processes, while 18 K and 100 K EVs were enriched in endoplasmic reticulum stress. We found 46 new cancer-associated proteins for pleural mesothelioma, and the presence of mesothelin and PD-L1/PD-L2 enriched in 100 K and 10 K EV, respectively. We demonstrate that different EV populations derived from pleural mesothelioma cells have unique cancer-specific proteomes and carry oncogenic cargo, which could offer a novel means to extract biomarkers of interest for pleural mesothelioma from liquid biopsies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamkin Ahmadzada
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Abhishek Vijayan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Ali Azimi
- Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
- Department of Dermatology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
| | - Glen Reid
- Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Stephen Clarke
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2065, Australia
| | - Steven Kao
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
- Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, Sydney, NSW 2139, Australia
| | - Georges E Grau
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- The Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Elham Hosseini-Beheshti
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
- The Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
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Khazaal A, Zandavi SM, Smolnikov A, Fatima S, Vafaee F. Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals Functional Similarity of Three lncRNAs across Multiple Tumors. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054796. [PMID: 36902227 PMCID: PMC10003012 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators in many biological processes. The dysregulation of lncRNA expression has been associated with many diseases, including cancer. Mounting evidence suggests lncRNAs to be involved in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. Thus, understanding the functional implications of lncRNAs in tumorigenesis can aid in developing novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Rich cancer datasets, documenting genomic and transcriptomic alterations together with advancement in bioinformatics tools, have presented an opportunity to perform pan-cancer analyses across different cancer types. This study is aimed at conducting a pan-cancer analysis of lncRNAs by performing differential expression and functional analyses between tumor and non-neoplastic adjacent samples across eight cancer types. Among dysregulated lncRNAs, seven were shared across all cancer types. We focused on three lncRNAs, found to be consistently dysregulated among tumors. It has been observed that these three lncRNAs of interest are interacting with a wide range of genes across different tissues, yet enriching substantially similar biological processes, found to be implicated in cancer progression and proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abir Khazaal
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Seid Miad Zandavi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Andrei Smolnikov
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2170, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Alizadeh F, Jazayeriy H, Jazayeri O, Vafaee F. AICRF: ancestry inference of admixed population with deep conditional random field. J Genet 2023; 102:49. [PMID: 37850385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Ancestry inference of admixed populations is an important issue in anthropology and studies of gene discovery, and characterization. Usually, local ancestor inference (LAI) methods use fixed-length windows to divide chromosomes into smaller blocks. The accuracy of LAI algorithms will decrease if a window with an inappropriate length is used to infer the ancestry of admixed individuals. In this study, we first present a heuristic function to determine a proper window length for LAI methods. This heuristic is based on the distance between the ancestral populations of admixed individuals. Then we introduce a method for ancestry inference of admixed population with deep conditional random field (AICRF). AICRF uses a conditional random field (CRF) parameterized by probable extreme learning machines (PELMs) trained on reference panels where PELM is a novel probabilistic ELM classifier. This method does not require many statistical or biological parameters. We evaluate the performance of AICRF in comparison with RFMix. Experimental results show that AICRF is more accurate than RFMix with increasing admixture times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhad Alizadeh
- Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran.
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Gano CA, Fatima S, Failes TW, Arndt GM, Sajinovic M, Mahns D, Saedisomeolia A, Coorssen JR, Bucci J, de Souza P, Vafaee F, Scott KF. Anti-cancer potential of synergistic phytochemical combinations is influenced by the genetic profile of prostate cancer cell lines. Front Nutr 2023; 10:1119274. [PMID: 36960209 PMCID: PMC10029761 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1119274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Despite strong epidemiological evidence that dietary factors modulate cancer risk, cancer control through dietary intervention has been a largely intractable goal for over sixty years. The effect of tumour genotype on synergy is largely unexplored. Methods The effect of seven dietary phytochemicals, quercetin (0-100 μM), curcumin (0-80 μM), genistein, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), equol, resveratrol and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (each 0-200 μM), alone and in all paired combinations om cell viability of the androgen-responsive, pTEN-null (LNCaP), androgen-independent, pTEN-null (PC-3) or androgen-independent, pTEN-positive (DU145) prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines was determined using a high throughput alamarBlue® assay. Synergy, additivity and antagonism were modelled using Bliss additivism and highest single agent equations. Patterns of maximum synergy were identified by polygonogram analysis. Network pharmacology approaches were used to identify interactions with known PCa protein targets. Results Synergy was observed with all combinations. In LNCaP and PC-3 cells, I3C mediated maximum synergy with five phytochemicals, while genistein was maximally synergistic with EGCG. In contrast, DU145 cells showed resveratrol-mediated maximum synergy with equol, EGCG and genistein, with I3C mediating maximum synergy with only quercetin and curcumin. Knockdown of pTEN expression in DU145 cells abrogated the synergistic effect of resveratrol without affecting the synergy profile of I3C and quercetin. Discussion Our study identifies patterns of synergy that are dependent on tumour cell genotype and are independent of androgen signaling but are dependent on pTEN. Despite evident cell-type specificity in both maximally-synergistic combinations and the pathways that phytochemicals modulate, these combinations interact with similar prostate cancer protein targets. Here, we identify an approach that, when coupled with advanced data analysis methods, may suggest optimal dietary phytochemical combinations for individual consumption based on tumour molecular profile.Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol A. Gano
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Shadma Fatima, ;
| | - Timothy W. Failes
- ACRF Drug Discovery Centre, Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gregory M. Arndt
- ACRF Drug Discovery Centre, Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Mila Sajinovic
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
| | - David Mahns
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
| | - Ahmad Saedisomeolia
- School of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Sainte Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Jens R. Coorssen
- Departments of Health Sciences and Biological Sciences, Faculties of Applied Health Science, and Mathematics and Science, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada
| | - Joseph Bucci
- St George Hospital Clinical School, UNSW, Kogarah, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul de Souza
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub (uDASH), UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kieran F. Scott
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
- *Correspondence: Kieran F. Scott,
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Zandavi SM, Liu D, Chung V, Anaissi A, Vafaee F. Fotomics: fourier transform-based omics imagification for deep learning-based cell-identity mapping using single-cell omics profiles. Artif Intell Rev 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10462-022-10357-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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11
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Zandavi SM, Rashidi TH, Vafaee F. Dynamic Hybrid Model to Forecast the Spread of COVID-19 Using LSTM and Behavioral Models Under Uncertainty. IEEE Trans Cybern 2022; 52:11977-11989. [PMID: 34735351 DOI: 10.1109/tcyb.2021.3120967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
To accurately predict the regional spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, this study proposes a novel hybrid model, which combines a long short-term memory (LSTM) artificial recurrent neural network with dynamic behavioral models. Several factors and control strategies affect the virus spread, and the uncertainty arising from confounding variables underlying the spread of the COVID-19 infection is substantial. The proposed model considers the effect of multiple factors to enhance the accuracy in predicting the number of cases and deaths across the top ten most-affected countries at the time of the study. The results show that the proposed model closely replicates the test data, such that not only it provides accurate predictions but it also replicates the daily behavior of the system under uncertainty. The hybrid model outperforms the LSTM model while accounting for data limitation. The parameters of the hybrid models are optimized using a genetic algorithm for each country to improve the prediction power while considering regional properties. Since the proposed model can accurately predict the short-term to medium-term daily spreading of the COVID-19 infection, it is capable of being used for policy assessment, planning, and decision making.
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12
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Choi WWY, Sánchez C, Li JJ, Dinarvand M, Adomat H, Ghaffari M, Khoja L, Vafaee F, Joshua AM, Chi KN, Guns EST, Hosseini-Beheshti E. Extracellular vesicles from biological fluids as potential markers in castration resistant prostate cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2022:10.1007/s00432-022-04391-6. [PMID: 36222898 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-022-04391-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Extracellular vesicles (EV) secreted from cancer cells are present in various biological fluids, carrying distinctly different cellular components compared to normal cells, and have great potential to be used as markers for disease initiation, progression, and response to treatment. This under-utilised tool provides insights into a better understanding of prostate cancer. METHODS EV from serum and urine of healthy men and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients were isolated and characterised by transmission electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and western blot. Proteomic and cholesterol liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses were conducted. RESULTS There was a successful enrichment of small EV/exosomes isolated from serum and urine. EV derived from biological fluids of CRPC patients had significant differences in composition when compared with those from healthy controls. Analysis of matched serum and urine samples from six prostate cancer patients revealed specific EV proteins common in both types of biological fluid for each patient. CONCLUSION Some of the EV proteins identified from our analyses have potential to be used as CRPC markers. These markers may depict a pattern in cancer progression through non-invasive sample collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy W Y Choi
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada
| | | | - Jiao Jiao Li
- Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia.,School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Mojdeh Dinarvand
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Hans Adomat
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada
| | - Mazyar Ghaffari
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada.,Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Leila Khoja
- St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Anthony M Joshua
- St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Kim N Chi
- BC Cancer Agency, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6, Canada
| | - Emma S Tomlinson Guns
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada.,BC Cancer Agency, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6, Canada
| | - Elham Hosseini-Beheshti
- Vancouver Prostate Centre, 2660 Oak St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Z6, Canada. .,School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. .,The Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
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13
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Dinarvand M, Koch FC, Al Mouiee D, Vuong K, Vijayan A, Tanzim AF, Azad AKM, Penesyan A, Castaño-Rodríguez N, Vafaee F. dRNASb: a systems biology approach to decipher dynamics of host-pathogen interactions using temporal dual RNA-seq data. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 36136078 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection triggers a dynamic cascade of reciprocal events between host and pathogen wherein the host activates complex mechanisms to recognise and kill pathogens while the pathogen often adjusts its virulence and fitness to avoid eradication by the host. The interaction between the pathogen and the host results in large-scale changes in gene expression in both organisms. Dual RNA-seq, the simultaneous detection of host and pathogen transcripts, has become a leading approach to unravelling complex molecular interactions between the host and the pathogen and is particularly informative for intracellular organisms. The amount of in vitro and in vivo dual RNA-seq data is rapidly growing, which demands computational pipelines to effectively analyse such data. In particular, holistic, systems-level, and temporal analyses of dual RNA-seq data are essential to enable further insights into the host-pathogen transcriptional dynamics and potential interactions. Here, we developed an integrative network-driven bioinformatics pipeline, dRNASb, a systems biology-based computational pipeline to analyse temporal transcriptional clusters, incorporate molecular interaction networks (e.g. protein-protein interactions), identify topologically and functionally key transcripts in host and pathogen, and associate host and pathogen temporal transcriptome to decipher potential between-species interactions. The pipeline is applicable to various dual RNA-seq data from different species and experimental conditions. As a case study, we applied dRNASb to analyse temporal dual RNA-seq data of Salmonella-infected human cells, which enabled us to uncover genes contributing to the infection process and their potential functions and to identify putative associations between host and pathogen genes during infection. Overall, dRNASb has the potential to identify key genes involved in bacterial growth or host defence mechanisms for future uses as therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mojdeh Dinarvand
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Forrest C Koch
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Daniel Al Mouiee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kaylee Vuong
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Abhishek Vijayan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Afia Fariha Tanzim
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - A K M Azad
- ProCan®, Children's Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Anahit Penesyan
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Natalia Castaño-Rodríguez
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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14
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Vijayan A, Fatima S, Sowmya A, Vafaee F. Blood-based transcriptomic signature panel identification for cancer diagnosis: benchmarking of feature extraction methods. Brief Bioinform 2022; 23:6658855. [PMID: 35945147 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid biopsy has shown promise for cancer diagnosis due to its minimally invasive nature and the potential for novel biomarker discovery. However, the low concentration of relevant blood-based biosources and the heterogeneity of samples (i.e. the variability of relative abundance of molecules identified), pose major challenges to biomarker discovery. Moreover, the number of molecular measurements or features (e.g. transcript read counts) per sample could be in the order of several thousand, whereas the number of samples is often substantially lower, leading to the curse of dimensionality. These challenges, among others, elucidate the importance of a robust biomarker panel identification or feature extraction step wherein relevant molecular measurements are identified prior to classification for cancer detection. In this work, we performed a benchmarking study on 12 feature extraction methods using transcriptomic profiles derived from different blood-based biosources. The methods were assessed both in terms of their predictive performance and the robustness of the biomarker panels in diagnosing cancer or stratifying cancer subtypes. While performing the comparison, the feature extraction methods are categorized into feature subset selection methods and transformation methods. A transformation feature extraction method, namely partial least square discriminant analysis, was found to perform consistently superior in terms of classification performance. As part of the benchmarking study, a generic pipeline has been created and made available as an R package to ensure reproducibility of the results and allow for easy extension of this study to other datasets (https://github.com/VafaeeLab/bloodbased-pancancer-diagnosis).
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Vijayan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Ingham Institute, NSW, Australia
| | - Arcot Sowmya
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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15
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Zandavi SM, Koch FC, Vijayan A, Zanini F, Mora FV, Ortega DG, Vafaee F. Disentangling single-cell omics representation with a power spectral density-based feature extraction. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:5482-5492. [PMID: 35639509 PMCID: PMC9178020 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging single-cell technologies provide high-resolution measurements of distinct cellular modalities opening new avenues for generating detailed cellular atlases of many and diverse tissues. The high dimensionality, sparsity, and inaccuracy of single cell sequencing measurements, however, can obscure discriminatory information, mask cellular subtype variations and complicate downstream analyses which can limit our understanding of cell function and tissue heterogeneity. Here, we present a novel pre-processing method (scPSD) inspired by power spectral density analysis that enhances the accuracy for cell subtype separation from large-scale single-cell omics data. We comprehensively benchmarked our method on a wide range of single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets and showed that scPSD pre-processing, while being fast and scalable, significantly reduces data complexity, enhances cell-type separation, and enables rare cell identification. Additionally, we applied scPSD to transcriptomics and chromatin accessibility cell atlases and demonstrated its capacity to discriminate over 100 cell types across the whole organism and across different modalities of single-cell omics data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seid Miad Zandavi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia.,Programs in Metabolism and Medical & Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Forrest C Koch
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia
| | - Abhishek Vijayan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia
| | - Fabio Zanini
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, UNSW Sydney, Australia.,Cellular Genomics Future Institute, UNSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Fatima Valdes Mora
- Children's Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Australia.,School of Women's and Children's Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia
| | - David Gallego Ortega
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia.,Cellular Genomics Future Institute, UNSW Sydney, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub (uDASH), UNSW Sydney, Australia
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16
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Fatima S, Ma Y, Safrachi A, Haider S, Spring KJ, Vafaee F, Scott KF, Roberts TL, Becker TM, de Souza P. Harnessing Liquid Biopsies to Guide Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:1669. [PMID: 35406441 PMCID: PMC8997025 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14071669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy (IO), involving the use of immune checkpoint inhibition, achieves improved response-rates and significant disease-free survival for some cancer patients. Despite these beneficial effects, there is poor predictability of response and substantial rates of innate or acquired resistance, resulting in heterogeneous responses among patients. In addition, patients can develop life-threatening adverse events, and while these generally occur in patients that also show a tumor response, these outcomes are not always congruent. Therefore, predicting a response to IO is of paramount importance. Traditionally, tumor tissue analysis has been used for this purpose. However, minimally invasive liquid biopsies that monitor changes in blood or other bodily fluid markers are emerging as a promising cost-effective alternative. Traditional biomarkers have limitations mainly due to difficulty in repeatedly obtaining tumor tissue confounded also by the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of tumours. Liquid biopsy has the potential to circumvent tumor heterogeneity and to help identifying patients who may respond to IO, to monitor the treatment dynamically, as well as to unravel the mechanisms of relapse. We present here a review of the current status of molecular markers for the prediction and monitoring of IO response, focusing on the detection of these markers in liquid biopsies. With the emerging improvements in the field of liquid biopsy, this approach has the capacity to identify IO-eligible patients and provide clinically relevant information to assist with their ongoing disease management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shadma Fatima
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (A.S.); (F.V.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Yafeng Ma
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
- Centre for Circulating Tumor Cell Diagnosis and Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia
| | - Azadeh Safrachi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (A.S.); (F.V.)
| | - Sana Haider
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Kevin J. Spring
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (A.S.); (F.V.)
- UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
| | - Kieran F. Scott
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
| | - Tara L. Roberts
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
| | - Therese M. Becker
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
- Centre for Circulating Tumor Cell Diagnosis and Research, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia
| | - Paul de Souza
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (Y.M.); (S.H.); (K.J.S.); (K.F.S.); (T.L.R.); (T.M.B.); (P.d.S.)
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
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17
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Scott KF, Mann TJ, Fatima S, Sajinovic M, Razdan A, Kim RR, Cooper A, Roohullah A, Bryant KJ, Gamage KK, Harman DG, Vafaee F, Graham GG, Church WB, Russell PJ, Dong Q, de Souza P. Human Group IIA Phospholipase A 2-Three Decades on from Its Discovery. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26237267. [PMID: 34885848 PMCID: PMC8658914 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26237267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes were first recognized as an enzyme activity class in 1961. The secreted (sPLA2) enzymes were the first of the five major classes of human PLA2s to be identified and now number nine catalytically-active structurally homologous proteins. The best-studied of these, group IIA sPLA2, has a clear role in the physiological response to infection and minor injury and acts as an amplifier of pathological inflammation. The enzyme has been a target for anti-inflammatory drug development in multiple disorders where chronic inflammation is a driver of pathology since its cloning in 1989. Despite intensive effort, no clinically approved medicines targeting the enzyme activity have yet been developed. This review catalogues the major discoveries in the human group IIA sPLA2 field, focusing on features of enzyme function that may explain this lack of success and discusses future research that may assist in realizing the potential benefit of targeting this enzyme. Functionally-selective inhibitors together with isoform-selective inhibitors are necessary to limit the apparent toxicity of previous drugs. There is also a need to define the relevance of the catalytic function of hGIIA to human inflammatory pathology relative to its recently-discovered catalysis-independent function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran F. Scott
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +61-2-8738-9026
| | - Timothy J. Mann
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
- School of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
| | - Mila Sajinovic
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
| | - Anshuli Razdan
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
| | - Ryung Rae Kim
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (R.R.K.); (W.B.C.)
| | - Adam Cooper
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
- Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia
| | - Aflah Roohullah
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
- Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia
| | - Katherine J. Bryant
- School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
| | - Kasuni K. Gamage
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (K.K.G.); (D.G.H.)
| | - David G. Harman
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (K.K.G.); (D.G.H.)
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
- UNSW Data Science Hub, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Garry G. Graham
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia;
- School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - W. Bret Church
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (R.R.K.); (W.B.C.)
| | - Pamela J. Russell
- Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre—QUT, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia;
| | - Qihan Dong
- Chinese Medicine Anti-Cancer Evaluation Program, Greg Brown Laboratory, Central Clinical School and Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia;
| | - Paul de Souza
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia; (T.J.M.); (S.F.); (A.C.); (A.R.); (P.d.S.)
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; (M.S.); (A.R.)
- School of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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18
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Azad A, Fatima S, Capraro A, Waters SA, Vafaee F. Integrative resource for network-based investigation of COVID-19 combinatorial drug repositioning and mechanism of action. Patterns (N Y) 2021; 2:100325. [PMID: 34278363 PMCID: PMC8277549 DOI: 10.1016/j.patter.2021.100325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
An effective monotherapy to target the complex and multifactorial pathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection poses a challenge to drug repositioning, which can be improved by combination therapy. We developed an online network pharmacology-based drug repositioning platform, COVID-CDR (http://vafaeelab.com/COVID19repositioning.html), that enables a visual and quantitative investigation of the interplay between the primary drug targets and the SARS-CoV-2-host interactome in the human protein-protein interaction network. COVID-CDR prioritizes drug combinations with potential to act synergistically through different, yet potentially complementary, pathways. It provides the options for understanding multi-evidence drug-pair similarity scores along with several other relevant information on individual drugs or drug pairs. Overall, COVID-CDR is a first-of-its-kind online platform that provides a systematic approach for pre-clinical in silico investigation of combination therapies for treating COVID-19 at the fingertips of the clinicians and researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- A.K.M. Azad
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Ingham Institute of Applied Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Alexander Capraro
- School of Women's and Children's Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Molecular and Integrative Cystic Fibrosis Research Centre, UNSW Sydney and Sydney Children's Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Shafagh A. Waters
- School of Women's and Children's Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Molecular and Integrative Cystic Fibrosis Research Centre, UNSW Sydney and Sydney Children's Hospital, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sydney Children's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia
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19
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Safarchi A, Fatima S, Ayati Z, Vafaee F. An update on novel approaches for diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cell Biosci 2021; 11:164. [PMID: 34420513 PMCID: PMC8380468 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-021-00674-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made a serious public health and economic crisis worldwide which united global efforts to develop rapid, precise, and cost-efficient diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics. Numerous multi-disciplinary studies and techniques have been designed to investigate and develop various approaches to help frontline health workers, policymakers, and populations to overcome the disease. While these techniques have been reviewed within individual disciplines, it is now timely to provide a cross-disciplinary overview of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches summarizing complementary efforts across multiple fields of research and technology. Accordingly, we reviewed and summarized various advanced novel approaches used for diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 to help researchers across diverse disciplines on their prioritization of resources for research and development and to give them better a picture of the latest techniques. These include artificial intelligence, nano-based, CRISPR-based, and mass spectrometry technologies as well as neutralizing factors and traditional medicines. We also reviewed new approaches for vaccine development and developed a dashboard to provide frequent updates on the current and future approved vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Safarchi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales, NSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Shadma Fatima
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales, NSW Sydney, Australia
- Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, Australia
| | - Zahra Ayati
- Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales, NSW Sydney, Australia
- UNSW Data Science Hub University of New South Wales, NSW Sydney, Australia
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20
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Koch FC, Sutton GJ, Voineagu I, Vafaee F. Supervised application of internal validation measures to benchmark dimensionality reduction methods in scRNA-seq data. Brief Bioinform 2021; 22:6347204. [PMID: 34374742 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A typical single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) experiment will measure on the order of 20 000 transcripts and thousands, if not millions, of cells. The high dimensionality of such data presents serious complications for traditional data analysis methods and, as such, methods to reduce dimensionality play an integral role in many analysis pipelines. However, few studies have benchmarked the performance of these methods on scRNA-seq data, with existing comparisons assessing performance via downstream analysis accuracy measures, which may confound the interpretation of their results. Here, we present the most comprehensive benchmark of dimensionality reduction methods in scRNA-seq data to date, utilizing over 300 000 compute hours to assess the performance of over 25 000 low-dimension embeddings across 33 dimensionality reduction methods and 55 scRNA-seq datasets. We employ a simple, yet novel, approach, which does not rely on the results of downstream analyses. Internal validation measures (IVMs), traditionally used as an unsupervised method to assess clustering performance, are repurposed to measure how well-formed biological clusters are after dimensionality reduction. Performance was further evaluated over nearly 200 000 000 iterations of DBSCAN, a density-based clustering algorithm, showing that hyperparameter optimization using IVMs as the objective function leads to near-optimal clustering. Methods were also assessed on the extent to which they preserve the global structure of the data, and on their computational memory and time requirements across a large range of sample sizes. Our comprehensive benchmarking analysis provides a valuable resource for researchers and aims to guide best practice for dimensionality reduction in scRNA-seq analyses, and we highlight Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Potential of Heat-diffusion for Affinity-based Transition Embedding as high-performing algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Forrest C Koch
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gavin J Sutton
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Irina Voineagu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia.,UNSW Data Science Hub, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Sydney, NSW, Australia
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21
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Dinarvand M, Spain MP, Vafaee F. Pharmacodynamic Functions of Synthetic Derivatives for Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:551189. [PMID: 33329419 PMCID: PMC7729195 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.551189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug resistant bacteria have emerged, so robust methods are needed to evaluate combined activities of known antibiotics as well as new synthetic compounds as novel antimicrobial agents to treatment efficacy in severe bacterial infections. Marine natural products (MNPs) have become new strong leads in the drug discovery endeavor and an effective alternative to control infections. Herein, we report the bioassay guided fractionation of marine extracts from the sponges Lendenfeldia, Ircinia, and Dysidea that led us to identify novel compounds with antimicrobial properties. Chemical synthesis of predicted compounds and their analogs has confirmed that the proposed structures may encode novel chemical structures with promising antimicrobial activity against the medically important pathogens. Several of the synthetic analogs exhibited potent and broad spectrum in vitro antibacterial activity, especially against the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (MICs to 12.5 μM), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MICs to 0.02 μM), uropathogenic Escherichia coli (MIC o 6.2 μM), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC to 3.1 μM). Checkerboard assay (CA) and time-kill studies (TKS) experiments analyzed with the a pharmacodynamic model, have potentials for in vitro evaluation of new and existing antimicrobials. In this study, CA and TKS were used to identify the potential benefits of an antibiotic combination (i.e., synthetic compounds, vancomycin, and rifampicin) for the treatment of MRSA and M. tuberculosis infections. CA experiments indicated that the association of compounds 1a and 2a with vancomycin and compound 3 with rifampicin combination have a synergistic effect against a MRSA and M. tuberculosis infections, respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of TKS uncovered bactericidal and time-dependent properties of the synthetic compounds that may be due to variations in hydrophobicity and mechanisms of action of the molecules tested. The results of cross-referencing antimicrobial activity, and toxicity, CA, and Time-Kill experiments establish that these synthetic compounds are promising potential leads, with a favorable therapeutic index for antimicrobial drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mojdeh Dinarvand
- School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Malcolm P. Spain
- School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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22
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Walsh K, Voineagu MA, Vafaee F, Voineagu I. TDAview: an online visualization tool for topological data analysis. Bioinformatics 2020; 36:4805-4809. [PMID: 32614445 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY TDAview is an online tool for topological data analysis (TDA) and visualization. It implements the Mapper algorithm for TDA and provides extensive graph visualization options. TDAview is a user-friendly tool that allows biologists and clinicians without programming knowledge to harness the power of TDA. TDAview supports an analysis and visualization mode in which a Mapper graph is constructed based on user-specified parameters, followed by graph visualization. It can also be used in a visualization only mode in which TDAview is used for visualizing the data properties of a Mapper graph generated using other open-source software. The graph visualization options allow data exploration by graphical display of metadata variable values for nodes and edges, as well as the generation of publishable figures. TDAview can handle large datasets, with tens of thousands of data points, and thus has a wide range of applications for high-dimensional data, including the construction of topology-based gene co-expression networks. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION TDAview is a free online tool available at https://voineagulab.github.io/TDAview/. The source code, usage documentation and example data are available at TDAview GitHub repository: https://github.com/Voineagulab/TDAview.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran Walsh
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
| | - Mircea A Voineagu
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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23
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Azad AKM, Dinarvand M, Nematollahi A, Swift J, Lutze-Mann L, Vafaee F. A comprehensive integrated drug similarity resource for in-silico drug repositioning and beyond. Brief Bioinform 2020; 22:5864589. [PMID: 32597467 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaa126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Drug similarity studies are driven by the hypothesis that similar drugs should display similar therapeutic actions and thus can potentially treat a similar constellation of diseases. Drug-drug similarity has been derived by variety of direct and indirect sources of evidence and frequently shown high predictive power in discovering validated repositioning candidates as well as other in-silico drug development applications. Yet, existing resources either have limited coverage or rely on an individual source of evidence, overlooking the wealth and diversity of drug-related data sources. Hence, there has been an unmet need for a comprehensive resource integrating diverse drug-related information to derive multi-evidenced drug-drug similarities. We addressed this resource gap by compiling heterogenous information for an exhaustive set of small-molecule drugs (total of 10 367 in the current version) and systematically integrated multiple sources of evidence to derive a multi-modal drug-drug similarity network. The resulting database, 'DrugSimDB' currently includes 238 635 drug pairs with significant aggregated similarity, complemented with an interactive user-friendly web interface (http://vafaeelab.com/drugSimDB.html), which not only enables database ease of access, search, filtration and export, but also provides a variety of complementary information on queried drugs and interactions. The integration approach can flexibly incorporate further drug information into the similarity network, providing an easily extendable platform. The database compilation and construction source-code has been well-documented and semi-automated for any-time upgrade to account for new drugs and up-to-date drug information.
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Affiliation(s)
- A K M Azad
- bioinformatics and computational biology at UNSW Sydney
| | | | | | - Joshua Swift
- School of BABS at UNSW Sydney and is the founder of ZiggyLabs
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24
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Colvin EK, Howell VM, Mok SC, Samimi G, Vafaee F. Expression of long noncoding RNAs in cancer-associated fibroblasts linked to patient survival in ovarian cancer. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:1805-1817. [PMID: 32058624 PMCID: PMC7226184 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most abundant cell type in the tumor microenvironment and are responsible for producing the desmoplastic reaction that is a poor prognostic factor in ovarian cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in cancer. However, very little is known about the role of lncRNAs in the tumor microenvironment. We aimed to identify lncRNAs expressed in ovarian CAFs that were associated with patient survival and used computational approaches to predict their function. Increased expression of 9 lncRNAs and decreased expression of 1 lncRNA in ovarian CAFs were found to be associated with poorer overall survival. A "guilt-by-association" approach was used to predict the function of these lncRNAs. In particular, MIR155HG was predicted to play a role in immune response. Further investigation revealed high MIR155HG expression to be associated with higher infiltrates of immune cell subsets. In conclusion, these data indicate expression on several lncRNAs in CAFs are associated with patient survival and are likely to play an important role in regulating CAF function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K Colvin
- Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Sydney, Australia
- Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Viive M Howell
- Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Sydney, Australia
- Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Samuel C Mok
- Division of Surgery, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Goli Samimi
- Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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25
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Su Z, Burchfield JG, Yang P, Humphrey SJ, Yang G, Francis D, Yasmin S, Shin SY, Norris DM, Kearney AL, Astore MA, Scavuzzo J, Fisher-Wellman KH, Wang QP, Parker BL, Neely GG, Vafaee F, Chiu J, Yeo R, Hogg PJ, Fazakerley DJ, Nguyen LK, Kuyucak S, James DE. Global redox proteome and phosphoproteome analysis reveals redox switch in Akt. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5486. [PMID: 31792197 PMCID: PMC6889415 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13114-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein oxidation sits at the intersection of multiple signalling pathways, yet the magnitude and extent of crosstalk between oxidation and other post-translational modifications remains unclear. Here, we delineate global changes in adipocyte signalling networks following acute oxidative stress and reveal considerable crosstalk between cysteine oxidation and phosphorylation-based signalling. Oxidation of key regulatory kinases, including Akt, mTOR and AMPK influences the fidelity rather than their absolute activation state, highlighting an unappreciated interplay between these modifications. Mechanistic analysis of the redox regulation of Akt identified two cysteine residues in the pleckstrin homology domain (C60 and C77) to be reversibly oxidized. Oxidation at these sites affected Akt recruitment to the plasma membrane by stabilizing the PIP3 binding pocket. Our data provide insights into the interplay between oxidative stress-derived redox signalling and protein phosphorylation networks and serve as a resource for understanding the contribution of cellular oxidation to a range of diseases. Crosstalk between protein oxidation and other post-translational modifications remains unexplored. Here, the authors map the phosphoproteome, cysteine redox proteome and total proteome of adipocytes under acute oxidative stress and reveal crosstalk between cysteine oxidation and phosphorylation-based signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiduan Su
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - James G Burchfield
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Pengyi Yang
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Sean J Humphrey
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Guang Yang
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Deanne Francis
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Sabina Yasmin
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Sung-Young Shin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.,Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Dougall M Norris
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Alison L Kearney
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Miro A Astore
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Jonathan Scavuzzo
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Kelsey H Fisher-Wellman
- Brody School of Medicine, Physiology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.,East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Qiao-Ping Wang
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,The Dr. John and Anne Chong Laboratory for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Benjamin L Parker
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - G Gregory Neely
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,The Dr. John and Anne Chong Laboratory for Functional Genomics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Joyce Chiu
- The Centenary Institute, Newtown, NSW, 2042, Australia.,National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Reichelle Yeo
- The Centenary Institute, Newtown, NSW, 2042, Australia.,National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Philip J Hogg
- The Centenary Institute, Newtown, NSW, 2042, Australia.,National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel J Fazakerley
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Lan K Nguyen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.,Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Serdar Kuyucak
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - David E James
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. .,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. .,Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
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26
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Colvin EK, Howell VM, Mok SC, Samimi G, Vafaee F. Abstract TMIM-067: EXPRESSION OF LNCRNAS IN OVARIAN CANCER-ASSOCIATED FIBROBLASTS IS ASSOCIATED WITH PATIENT SURVIVAL. Clin Cancer Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1158/1557-3265.ovcasymp18-tmim-067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy in women, with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) the most common and aggressive subtype. The tumor microenvironment is acknowledged to play a vital role in the growth and metastasis of many solid tumors, including ovarian cancer, and as such represents an attractive new therapeutic target. In ovarian cancer, patients with a higher proportion of desmoplasia have a poorer survival. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) represent the most abundant cell type in the tumor stroma and are responsible for producing the desmoplastic reaction that is a poor prognostic factor in HGSOC. Genetic aberrations in ovarian CAFs are extremely rare, raising the possibility of alternative mechanisms that regulate gene expression in CAFs, such as regulation by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNAs are transcripts that do not encode for protein, but have been shown to play important roles in several diseases, including cancer. However, very little is known about the role of lncRNAs in the tumor microenvironment.
OBJECTIVES: To identify lncRNAs whose expression levels in CAFs are associated with patient survival and use computational approaches to predict their function.
METHODS: CAFs were laser capture microdissected from 67 advanced stage HGSOCs. RNA was extracted from the microdissected samples and expression analyzed using Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 Arrays. Probes identified as lncRNAs were used in this analysis. Samples were normalized and background corrected using the robust multiarray average (RMA) method and expression values were log2 transformed. Expression levels of each lncRNA were clustered into low and high expression groups. Kaplan Meier /log-rank analysis was used to assess the association between expression levels of each lncRNA and the patients' overall survival. Multivariate cox regression analysis was used to determine if differential expression of lncRNAs were independent predictors of survival. A network based ‘guilt-by-association' approach was used to predict the function of lncRNAs associated with patient survival.
RESULTS: Increased expression of 9 lncRNAs including DANCR, MALAT1 and NEAT1 and decreased expression of 1 lncRNA in ovarian CAFs were found to be associated with poorer overall survival by the log-rank test. Expression profiles of 5 lncRNAs as well as response to chemotherapy and debulking status were significant predictors of survival by univariate cox proportional hazards analysis. To adjust for existing collinearity of the 10 lncRNAs, the first principal component of these lncRNAs (capturing 98% of variations), as well as response to chemotherapy and debulking status were incorporated into a multivariate model. The first principal component (HR=0.74, P=0.0001163) and response to chemotherapy (HR=0.22, P=0.000168) were found to be independent predictors of survival. Functional enrichment analysis revealed these lncRNAs are likely to play a role in metabolism, autophagy or immune response.
CONCLUSIONS: We have identified several lncRNAs whose expression levels in CAFs are associated with survival of HGSOC patients, raising the likelihood that they play an important role in the tumor-promoting functions of CAFs. A further understanding of the role of lncRNAs in CAFs may be useful when designing novel therapies that target the tumor microenvironment.
Citation Format: Emily K. Colvin, Viive M. Howell, Samuel C. Mok, Goli Samimi and Fatemeh Vafaee. EXPRESSION OF LNCRNAS IN OVARIAN CANCER-ASSOCIATED FIBROBLASTS IS ASSOCIATED WITH PATIENT SURVIVAL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 13-15, 2018; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2019;25(22 Suppl):Abstract nr TMIM-067.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K. Colvin
- 1Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia,
- 2Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia,
| | - Viive M. Howell
- 1Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia,
- 2Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia,
| | - Samuel C. Mok
- 3Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Research, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA,
| | - Goli Samimi
- 4Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States,
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- 5School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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27
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Ebrahimkhani S, Beadnall HN, Wang C, Suter CM, Barnett MH, Buckland ME, Vafaee F. Serum Exosome MicroRNAs Predict Multiple Sclerosis Disease Activity after Fingolimod Treatment. Mol Neurobiol 2019; 57:1245-1258. [PMID: 31721043 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-019-01792-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
We and others have previously demonstrated the potential for circulating exosome microRNAs to aid in disease diagnosis. In this study, we sought the possible utility of serum exosome microRNAs as biomarkers for disease activity in multiple sclerosis patients in response to fingolimod therapy. We studied patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis prior to and 6 months after treatment with fingolimod. Disease activity was determined using gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Serum exosome microRNAs were profiled using next-generation sequencing. Data were analysed using univariate/multivariate modelling and machine learning to determine microRNA signatures with predictive utility. Accordingly, we identified 15 individual miRNAs that were differentially expressed in serum exosomes from post-treatment patients with active versus quiescent disease. The targets of these microRNAs clustered in ontologies related to the immune and nervous systems and signal transduction. While the power of individual microRNAs to predict disease status post-fingolimod was modest (average 77%, range 65 to 91%), several combinations of 2 or 3 miRNAs were able to distinguish active from quiescent disease with greater than 90% accuracy. Further stratification of patients identified additional microRNAs associated with stable remission, and a positive response to fingolimod in patients with active disease prior to treatment. Overall, these data underscore the value of serum exosome microRNA signatures as non-invasive biomarkers of disease in multiple sclerosis and suggest they may be used to predict response to fingolimod in future clinical practice. Additionally, these data suggest that fingolimod may have mechanisms of action beyond its known functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeideh Ebrahimkhani
- Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Heidi N Beadnall
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Chenyu Wang
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Catherine M Suter
- Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia.,Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael H Barnett
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael E Buckland
- Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), 2106, L2 West, Bioscience South E26, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
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28
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Ebrahimkhani S, Vafaee F, Hallal S, Wei H, Lee MYT, Young PE, Satgunaseelan L, Beadnall H, Barnett MH, Shivalingam B, Suter CM, Buckland ME, Kaufman KL. Deep sequencing of circulating exosomal microRNA allows non-invasive glioblastoma diagnosis. NPJ Precis Oncol 2018; 2:28. [PMID: 30564636 PMCID: PMC6290767 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-018-0071-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Exosomes are nano-sized extracellular vesicles released by many cells that contain molecules characteristic of their cell of origin, including microRNA. Exosomes released by glioblastoma cross the blood–brain barrier into the peripheral circulation and carry molecular cargo distinct to that of “free-circulating” miRNA. In this pilot study, serum exosomal microRNAs were isolated from glioblastoma (n = 12) patients and analyzed using unbiased deep sequencing. Results were compared to sera from age- and gender-matched healthy controls and to grade II–III (n = 10) glioma patients. Significant differentially expressed microRNAs were identified, and the predictive power of individual and subsets of microRNAs were tested using univariate and multivariate analyses. Additional sera from glioblastoma patients (n = 4) and independent sets of healthy (n = 9) and non-glioma (n = 10) controls were used to further test the specificity and predictive power of this unique exosomal microRNA signature. Twenty-six microRNAs were differentially expressed in serum exosomes from glioblastoma patients relative to healthy controls. Random forest modeling and data partitioning selected seven miRNAs (miR-182-5p, miR-328-3p, miR-339-5p, miR-340-5p, miR-485-3p, miR-486-5p, and miR-543) as the most stable for classifying glioblastoma. Strikingly, within this model, six iterations of these miRNA classifiers could distinguish glioblastoma patients from controls with perfect accuracy. The seven miRNA panel was able to correctly classify all specimens in validation cohorts (n = 23). Also identified were 23 dysregulated miRNAs in IDHMUT gliomas, a partially overlapping yet distinct signature of lower-grade glioma. Serum exosomal miRNA signatures can accurately diagnose glioblastoma preoperatively. miRNA signatures identified are distinct from previously reported “free-circulating” miRNA studies in GBM patients and appear to be superior. A diagnostic test for short regulatory RNA molecules contained within tiny secreted vesicles in the bloodstream can accurately pick up signs of glioblastoma brain cancer. Researchers in Australia led by Michael Buckland and Kim Kaufman from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney isolated circulating vesicles, called exosomes, from patients with glioblastoma or lower-grade brain cancers known as gliomas as well as healthy controls. Next-generation sequencing revealed a panel of 26 microRNAs contained within the exosomes that were differentially expressed in glioblastoma samples relative to healthy controls. (A different but partially overlapping set of 23 microRNAs also helped distinguish patients with a mutant subtype of glioma.) The researchers narrowed down the list to the seven microRNAs with the most predictive power. Testing for just these microRNAs reliably diagnosed glioblastoma with greater precision than previously reported panels of “free-circulating” microRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeideh Ebrahimkhani
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia.,2Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- 3School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Susannah Hallal
- 2Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Heng Wei
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia
| | - Maggie Yuk T Lee
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia
| | - Paul E Young
- 4Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Laveniya Satgunaseelan
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia.,5Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Heidi Beadnall
- 6Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Michael H Barnett
- 6Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Brindha Shivalingam
- 7Department of Neurosurgery, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW Australia.,8Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Catherine M Suter
- 4Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, NSW Australia.,9Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Michael E Buckland
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia.,2Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Kimberley L Kaufman
- 1Department of Neuropathology, Brainstorm Brain Cancer Research, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW Australia.,10School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
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Vafaee F, Diakos C, Kirschner MB, Reid G, Michael MZ, Horvath LG, Alinejad-Rokny H, Cheng ZJ, Kuncic Z, Clarke S. A data-driven, knowledge-based approach to biomarker discovery: application to circulating microRNA markers of colorectal cancer prognosis. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2018; 4:20. [PMID: 29872543 PMCID: PMC5981448 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-018-0056-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have provided an unprecedented opportunity to identify molecular markers of disease processes. This plethora of complex-omics data has simultaneously complicated the problem of extracting meaningful molecular signatures and opened up new opportunities for more sophisticated integrative and holistic approaches. In this era, effective integration of data-driven and knowledge-based approaches for biomarker identification has been recognised as key to improving the identification of high-performance biomarkers, and necessary for translational applications. Here, we have evaluated the role of circulating microRNA as a means of predicting the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. We have developed a multi-objective optimisation method that effectively integrates a data-driven approach with the knowledge obtained from the microRNA-mediated regulatory network to identify robust plasma microRNA signatures which are reliable in terms of predictive power as well as functional relevance. The proposed multi-objective framework has the capacity to adjust for conflicting biomarker objectives and to incorporate heterogeneous information facilitating systems approaches to biomarker discovery. We have found a prognostic signature of colorectal cancer comprising 11 circulating microRNAs. The identified signature predicts the patients' survival outcome and targets pathways underlying colorectal cancer progression. The altered expression of the identified microRNAs was confirmed in an independent public data set of plasma samples of patients in early stage vs advanced colorectal cancer. Furthermore, the generality of the proposed method was demonstrated across three publicly available miRNA data sets associated with biomarker studies in other diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2033 Australia
| | - Connie Diakos
- Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW 2065 Australia
| | | | - Glen Reid
- Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, Hospital Road, Concord, NSW 2139 Australia
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050 Australia
| | - Michael Z. Michael
- Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042 Australia
| | - Lisa G. Horvath
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050 Australia
- Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Missenden Road, Camperdown, NSW 2050 Australia
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW 2050 Australia
| | | | - Zhangkai Jason Cheng
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Zdenka Kuncic
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Stephen Clarke
- Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW 2065 Australia
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30
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31
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Chaudhuri R, Krycer JR, Fazakerley DJ, Fisher-Wellman KH, Su Z, Hoehn KL, Yang JYH, Kuncic Z, Vafaee F, James DE. The transcriptional response to oxidative stress is part of, but not sufficient for, insulin resistance in adipocytes. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1774. [PMID: 29379070 PMCID: PMC5789081 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20104-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. Although the underlying mechanisms of insulin resistance remain elusive, oxidative stress is a unifying driver by which numerous extrinsic signals and cellular stresses trigger insulin resistance. Consequently, we sought to understand the cellular response to oxidative stress and its role in insulin resistance. Using cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes, we established a model of physiologically-derived oxidative stress by inhibiting the cycling of glutathione and thioredoxin, which induced insulin resistance as measured by impaired insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake. Using time-resolved transcriptomics, we found > 2000 genes differentially-expressed over 24 hours, with specific metabolic and signalling pathways enriched at different times. We explored this coordination using a knowledge-based hierarchical-clustering approach to generate a temporal transcriptional cascade and identify key transcription factors responding to oxidative stress. This response shared many similarities with changes observed in distinct insulin resistance models. However, an anti-oxidant reversed insulin resistance phenotypically but not transcriptionally, implying that the transcriptional response to oxidative stress is insufficient for insulin resistance. This suggests that the primary site by which oxidative stress impairs insulin action occurs post-transcriptionally, warranting a multi-level ‘trans-omic’ approach when studying time-resolved responses to cellular perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rima Chaudhuri
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - James R Krycer
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel J Fazakerley
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | | | - Zhiduan Su
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Kyle L Hoehn
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Jean Yee Hwa Yang
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Zdenka Kuncic
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.,School of Physics and Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
| | - David E James
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. .,School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. .,Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
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32
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Ebrahimkhani S, Vafaee F, Young PE, Hur SSJ, Hawke S, Devenney E, Beadnall H, Barnett MH, Suter CM, Buckland ME. Exosomal microRNA signatures in multiple sclerosis reflect disease status. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14293. [PMID: 29084979 PMCID: PMC5662562 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14301-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). There is currently no single definitive test for MS. Circulating exosomes represent promising candidate biomarkers for a host of human diseases. Exosomes contain RNA, DNA, and proteins, can cross the blood-brain barrier, and are secreted from almost all cell types including cells of the CNS. We hypothesized that serum exosomal miRNAs could present a useful blood-based assay for MS disease detection and monitoring. Exosome-associated microRNAs in serum samples from MS patients (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 11) were profiled using small RNA next generation sequencing. We identified differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs in both relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (miR-15b-5p, miR-451a, miR-30b-5p, miR-342-3p) and progressive MS patient sera (miR-127-3p, miR-370-3p, miR-409-3p, miR-432-5p) in relation to controls. Critically, we identified a group of nine miRNAs (miR-15b-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-223-3p, miR-374a-5p, miR-30b-5p, miR-433-3p, miR-485-3p, miR-342-3p, miR-432-5p) that distinguished relapsing-remitting from progressive disease. Eight out of nine miRNAs were validated in an independent group (n = 11) of progressive MS cases. This is the first demonstration that microRNAs associated with circulating exosomes are informative biomarkers not only for the diagnosis of MS, but in predicting disease subtype with a high degree of accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeideh Ebrahimkhani
- Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul E Young
- Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - Suzy S J Hur
- Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
| | - Simon Hawke
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Emma Devenney
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Heidi Beadnall
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael H Barnett
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.,Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Catherine M Suter
- Division of Molecular Structural and Computational Biology, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia.,Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael E Buckland
- Department of Neuropathology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. .,Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. .,Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
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33
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Vafaee F, Colvin EK, Mok SC, Howell VM, Samimi G. Functional prediction of long non-coding RNAs in ovarian cancer-associated fibroblasts indicate a potential role in metastasis. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10374. [PMID: 28871211 PMCID: PMC5583324 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10869-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contribute to the poor prognosis of ovarian cancer. Unlike in tumour cells, DNA mutations are rare in CAFs, raising the likelihood of other mechanisms that regulate gene expression such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). We aimed to identify lncRNAs that contribute to the tumour-promoting phenotype of CAFs. RNA expression from 67 ovarian CAF samples and 10 normal ovarian fibroblast (NOF) samples were analysed to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs and a functional network was constructed to predict those CAF-specific lncRNAs involved in metastasis. Of the 1,970 lncRNAs available for analysis on the gene expression array used, 39 unique lncRNAs were identified as differentially expressed in CAFs versus NOFs. The predictive power of differentially expressed lncRNAs in distinguishing CAFs from NOFs were assessed using multiple multivariate models. Interrogation of known transcription factor-lncRNA interactions, transcription factor-gene interactions and construction of a context-specific interaction network identified multiple lncRNAs predicted to play a role in metastasis. We have identified novel lncRNAs in ovarian cancer that are differentially expressed in CAFs compared to NOFs and are predicted to contribute to the metastasis-promoting phenotype of CAFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Vafaee
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Emily K Colvin
- Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. .,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Samuel C Mok
- Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Research, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Viive M Howell
- Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Goli Samimi
- Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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Vafaee F, Krycer JR, Ma X, Burykin T, James DE, Kuncic Z. ORTI: An Open-Access Repository of Transcriptional Interactions for Interrogating Mammalian Gene Expression Data. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164535. [PMID: 27723773 PMCID: PMC5056720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) play a fundamental role in coordinating biological processes in response to stimuli. Consequently, we often seek to determine the key TFs and their regulated target genes (TGs) amidst gene expression data. This requires a knowledge-base of TF-TG interactions, which would enable us to determine the topology of the transcriptional network and predict novel regulatory interactions. To address this, we generated an Open-access Repository of Transcriptional Interactions, ORTI, by integrating available TF-TG interaction databases. These databases rely on different types of experimental evidence, including low-throughput assays, high-throughput screens, and bioinformatics predictions. We have subsequently categorised TF-TG interactions in ORTI according to the quality of this evidence. To demonstrate its capabilities, we applied ORTI to gene expression data and identified modulated TFs using an enrichment analysis. Combining this with pairwise TF-TG interactions enabled us to visualise temporal regulation of a transcriptional network. Additionally, ORTI enables the prediction of novel TF-TG interactions, based on how well candidate genes co-express with known TGs of the target TF. By filtering out known TF-TG interactions that are unlikely to occur within the experimental context, this analysis predicts context-specific TF-TG interactions. We show that this can be applied to experimental designs of varying complexities. In conclusion, ORTI is a rich and publicly available database of experimentally validated mammalian transcriptional interactions which is accompanied with tools that can identify and predict transcriptional interactions, serving as a useful resource for unravelling the topology of transcriptional networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- * E-mail: (FV); (ZK)
| | - James R. Krycer
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Xiuquan Ma
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Timur Burykin
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - David E. James
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Zdenka Kuncic
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- * E-mail: (FV); (ZK)
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35
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Domanova W, Krycer J, Chaudhuri R, Yang P, Vafaee F, Fazakerley D, Humphrey S, James D, Kuncic Z. Unraveling Kinase Activation Dynamics Using Kinase-Substrate Relationships from Temporal Large-Scale Phosphoproteomics Studies. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0157763. [PMID: 27336693 PMCID: PMC4918924 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2016] [Accepted: 06/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In response to stimuli, biological processes are tightly controlled by dynamic cellular signaling mechanisms. Reversible protein phosphorylation occurs on rapid time-scales (milliseconds to seconds), making it an ideal carrier of these signals. Advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics have led to the identification of many tens of thousands of phosphorylation sites, yet for the majority of these the kinase is unknown and the underlying network topology of signaling networks therefore remains obscured. Identifying kinase substrate relationships (KSRs) is therefore an important goal in cell signaling research. Existing consensus sequence motif based prediction algorithms do not consider the biological context of KSRs, and are therefore insensitive to many other mechanisms guiding kinase-substrate recognition in cellular contexts. Here, we use temporal information to identify biologically relevant KSRs from Large-scale In Vivo Experiments (KSR-LIVE) in a data-dependent and automated fashion. First, we used available phosphorylation databases to construct a repository of existing experimentally-predicted KSRs. For each kinase in this database, we used time-resolved phosphoproteomics data to examine how its substrates changed in phosphorylation over time. Although substrates for a particular kinase clustered together, they often exhibited a different temporal pattern to the phosphorylation of the kinase. Therefore, although phosphorylation regulates kinase activity, our findings imply that substrate phosphorylation likely serve as a better proxy for kinase activity than kinase phosphorylation. KSR-LIVE can thereby infer which kinases are regulated within a biological context. Moreover, KSR-LIVE can also be used to automatically generate positive training sets for the subsequent prediction of novel KSRs using machine learning approaches. We demonstrate that this approach can distinguish between Akt and Rps6kb1, two kinases that share the same linear consensus motif, and provide evidence suggesting IRS-1 S265 as a novel Akt site. KSR-LIVE is an open-access algorithm that allows users to dissect phosphorylation signaling within a specific biological context, with the potential to be included in the standard analysis workflow for studying temporal high-throughput signal transduction data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Westa Domanova
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - James Krycer
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Rima Chaudhuri
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Pengyi Yang
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, United States of America
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Daniel Fazakerley
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Sean Humphrey
- Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, 82152, Germany
| | - David James
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Zdenka Kuncic
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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36
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Parker NR, Hudson AL, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Dwight T, Ikin RJ, Zhu Y, Cheng ZJ, Vafaee F, Chen J, Wheeler HR, Howell VM. Intratumoral heterogeneity identified at the epigenetic, genetic and transcriptional level in glioblastoma. Sci Rep 2016; 6:22477. [PMID: 26940435 PMCID: PMC4778014 DOI: 10.1038/srep22477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity is a hallmark of glioblastoma with intratumoral heterogeneity contributing to variability in responses and resistance to standard treatments. Promoter methylation status of the DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is the most important clinical biomarker in glioblastoma, predicting for therapeutic response. However, it does not always correlate with response. This may be due to intratumoral heterogeneity, with a single biopsy unlikely to represent the entire lesion. Aberrations in other DNA repair mechanisms may also contribute. This study investigated intratumoral heterogeneity in multiple glioblastoma tumors with a particular focus on the DNA repair pathways. Transcriptional intratumoral heterogeneity was identified in 40% of cases with variability in MGMT methylation status found in 14% of cases. As well as identifying intratumoral heterogeneity at the transcriptional and epigenetic levels, targeted next generation sequencing identified between 1 and 37 unique sequence variants per specimen. In-silico tools were then able to identify deleterious variants in both the base excision repair and the mismatch repair pathways that may contribute to therapeutic response. As these pathways have roles in temozolomide response, these findings may confound patient management and highlight the importance of assessing multiple tumor biopsies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole R Parker
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Amanda L Hudson
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Peter Khong
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Jonathon F Parkinson
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Trisha Dwight
- Cancer Genetics, Hormones and Cancer Group, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Rowan J Ikin
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Ying Zhu
- Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Hunter New England Health, NSW, Australia, 2305
| | - Zhangkai Jason Cheng
- Department of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006.,Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006.,School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006
| | - Jason Chen
- Department of Anatomical Pathology, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Helen R Wheeler
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
| | - Viive M Howell
- Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group, Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, Kolling Institute, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia, 2065.,Sydney Medical School Northern, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2065
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Wilkins K, Hassan M, Francescatto M, Jespersen J, Parra RG, Cuypers B, DeBlasio D, Junge A, Jigisha A, Rahman F, Laenen G, Willems S, Thorrez L, Moreau Y, Raju N, Chothani SP, Ramakrishnan C, Sekijima M, Gromiha MM, Slator PJ, Burroughs NJ, Szałaj P, Tang Z, Michalski P, Luo O, Li X, Ruan Y, Plewczynski D, Fiscon G, Weitschek E, Ciccozzi M, Bertolazzi P, Felici G, Cuypers B, Meysman P, Vanaerschot M, Berg M, Imamura H, Dujardin JC, Laukens K, Domanova W, Krycer JR, Chaudhuri R, Yang P, Vafaee F, Fazakerley DJ, Humphrey SJ, James DE, Kuncic Z. Highlights from the 11th ISCB Student Council Symposium 2015. Dublin, Ireland. 10 July 2015. BMC Bioinformatics 2016; 17 Suppl 3:95. [PMID: 26986007 PMCID: PMC4895264 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-016-0901-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
A1 Highlights from the eleventh ISCB Student Council Symposium 2015 Katie Wilkins, Mehedi Hassan, Margherita Francescatto, Jakob Jespersen, R. Gonzalo Parra, Bart Cuypers, Dan DeBlasio, Alexander Junge, Anupama Jigisha, Farzana Rahman O1 Prioritizing a drug’s targets using both gene expression and structural similarity Griet Laenen, Sander Willems, Lieven Thorrez, Yves Moreau O2 Organism specific protein-RNA recognition: A computational analysis of protein-RNA complex structures from different organisms Nagarajan Raju, Sonia Pankaj Chothani, C. Ramakrishnan, Masakazu Sekijima; M. Michael Gromiha O3 Detection of Heterogeneity in Single Particle Tracking Trajectories Paddy J Slator, Nigel J Burroughs O4 3D-NOME: 3D NucleOme Multiscale Engine for data-driven modeling of three-dimensional genome architecture Przemysław Szałaj, Zhonghui Tang, Paul Michalski, Oskar Luo, Xingwang Li, Yijun Ruan, Dariusz Plewczynski O5 A novel feature selection method to extract multiple adjacent solutions for viral genomic sequences classification Giulia Fiscon, Emanuel Weitschek, Massimo Ciccozzi, Paola Bertolazzi, Giovanni Felici O6 A Systems Biology Compendium for Leishmania donovani Bart Cuypers, Pieter Meysman, Manu Vanaerschot, Maya Berg, Hideo Imamura, Jean-Claude Dujardin, Kris Laukens O7 Unravelling signal coordination from large scale phosphorylation kinetic data Westa Domanova, James R. Krycer, Rima Chaudhuri, Pengyi Yang, Fatemeh Vafaee, Daniel J. Fazakerley, Sean J. Humphrey, David E. James, Zdenka Kuncic
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Vafaee F. Using Multi-objective Optimization to Identify Dynamical Network Biomarkers as Early-warning Signals of Complex Diseases. Sci Rep 2016; 6:22023. [PMID: 26906975 PMCID: PMC4764930 DOI: 10.1038/srep22023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 02/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomarkers have gained immense scientific interest and clinical value in the practice of medicine. With unprecedented advances in high-throughput technologies, research interest in identifying novel and customized disease biomarkers for early detection, diagnosis, or drug responses is rapidly growing. Biomarkers can be identified in different levels of molecular biomarkers, networks biomarkers and dynamical network biomarkers (DNBs). The latter is a recently developed concept which relies on the idea that a cell is a complex system whose behavior is emerged from interplay of various molecules, and this network of molecules dynamically changes over time. A DNB can serve as an early-warning signal of disease progression, or as a leading network that drives the system into the disease state, and thus unravels mechanisms of disease initiation and progression. It is therefore of great importance to identify DNBs efficiently and reliably. In this work, the problem of DNB identification is defined as a multi-objective optimization problem, and a framework to identify DNBs out of time-course high-throughput data is proposed. Temporal gene expression data of a lung injury with carbonyl chloride inhalation exposure has been used as a case study, and the functional role of the discovered biomarker in the pathogenesis of lung injury has been thoroughly analyzed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Rollo JL, Banihashemi N, Vafaee F, Crawford JW, Kuncic Z, Holsinger RMD. Unraveling the mechanistic complexity of Alzheimer's disease through systems biology. Alzheimers Dement 2015; 12:708-18. [PMID: 26703952 DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2015.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Revised: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 10/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex, multifactorial disease that has reached global epidemic proportions. The challenge remains to fully identify its underlying molecular mechanisms that will enable development of accurate diagnostic tools and therapeutics. Conventional experimental approaches that target individual or small sets of genes or proteins may overlook important parts of the regulatory network, which limits the opportunity of identifying multitarget interventions. Our perspective is that a more complete insight into potential treatment options for AD will only be made possible through studying the disease as a system. We propose an integrative systems biology approach that we argue has been largely untapped in AD research. We present key publications to demonstrate the value of this approach and discuss the potential to intensify research efforts in AD through transdisciplinary collaboration. We highlight challenges and opportunities for significant breakthroughs that could be made if a systems biology approach is fully exploited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Rollo
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College of London, London, UK.
| | - Nahid Banihashemi
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Zdenka Kuncic
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - R M Damian Holsinger
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Discipline of Biomedical Science, School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia
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Parker NR, Hudson AL, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Ikin R, Cheng ZJ, Vafaee F, Wheeler HR, Howell VM. Abstract B39: Intratumoral heterogeneity of DNA repair pathways in glioblastoma. Cancer Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.brain15-b39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Heterogeneity is a hallmark of glioblastoma with intratumoral heterogeneity contributing to variability in responses and resistance to standard treatments. DNA repair mechanisms are key elements involved in the response to temozolomide with epigenetic silencing of the O6-methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter being a predictive biomarker for temozolomide response. However, response to temozolomide is highly variable and not always predicted by MGMT promoter methylation status. The mismatch repair (MMR) and base excision repair (BER) pathways have also been shown to be involved in treatment response with aberrations in these pathways leading to chemo-resistance and poor response to therapy. Thus changes in these pathways may confer resistance to temozolomide which is independent of MGMT methylation. Further, intratumoral heterogeneity in these pathways may also exacerbate resistance leading to worse outcomes. This study investigated intratumoral heterogeneity in glioblastoma with a particular focus on the DNA repair pathways.
The cohort comprised 14 cases of glioblastoma with 2 - 6 tumor tissue biopsies (5-10mm3) per case resected from regions at least 1cm apart. Classification of transcriptional subtype was performed by gene expression profiling (Fluidigm, Taqman assays). Pyrosequencing was used to identify MGMT promoter methylation. Expression of MMR and BER genes was determined using qRT-PCR and Taqman assays and deep sequencing of these genes was performed using the MiSeq Illumina platform and Avadis NGS software.
Gene expression profiling using two different limited gene-sets classified tumor specimens into the 3 major transcriptional subtypes, proneural, classical and mesenchymal, with strong concordance. These clustering techniques were then applied to tumor biopsies from the same individual. Transcriptional intratumoral heterogeneity defined as biopsies from the same individual being classified into different subtypes was identified in 40% of the patients. Intratumoral heterogeneity was also identified in the DNA repair pathways. Variability in MGMT methylation status was found in 14% of cases. In each case the percentage methylation varied up to 4-fold and the methylation status was independent of transcriptional classification. Intratumoral variation in the expression of the MMR genes MSH2 and PMS2 was identified in 15% and 20% of cases respectively and in 50% and 30% of cases for the BER genes PARP1 and APEX1. Significant heterogeneity within specimens was not identified for MMR genes MSH6 or MLH1. Targeted next generation sequencing of these 6 genes confirmed the presence of intratumoral heterogeneity at the mutation level. Up to 80 sequence variants were identified in each specimen, with 35 – 56 variants common across all specimens from a case, up to 20 shared between at least 2 specimens in a case and between 1 and 37 unique to each specimen within a case.
This study identified intratumoral heterogeneity of DNA repair pathways in glioblastomas, at the genomic, transcriptional and mutational levels. These pathways have roles in the responsiveness of glioblastomas to temozolomide. As such, intratumoral heterogeneity may confound patient management. Therefore, these results highlight the importance of assessing results from multiple tumor biopsies in order to correctly manage glioblastoma patients and their treatment.
Citation Format: Nicole R. Parker, Amanda L. Hudson, Peter Khong, Jonathon F. Parkinson, Rowan Ikin, Zhangkai Jason Cheng, Fatemeh Vafaee, Helen R. Wheeler, Viive M. Howell. Intratumoral heterogeneity of DNA repair pathways in glioblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Brain Cancer Research; May 27-30, 2015; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(23 Suppl):Abstract nr B39.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole R. Parker
- 1Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia,
| | - Amanda L. Hudson
- 1Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia,
| | - Peter Khong
- 1Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia,
| | | | - Rowan Ikin
- 1Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia,
| | | | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- 3Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia
| | | | - Viive M. Howell
- 1Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Nsw, Australia,
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Edalatmanesh MA, Hosseini M, Ghasemi S, Golestani S, Sadeghnia HR, Mousavi SM, Vafaee F. Valproic acid-mediated inhibition of trimethyltin-induced deficits in memory and learning in the rat does not directly depend on its anti-oxidant properties. Ir J Med Sci 2015; 185:75-84. [DOI: 10.1007/s11845-014-1224-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2014] [Accepted: 11/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Kotlyar M, Pastrello C, Pivetta F, Lo Sardo A, Cumbaa C, Li H, Naranian T, Niu Y, Ding Z, Vafaee F, Broackes-Carter F, Petschnigg J, Mills GB, Jurisicova A, Stagljar I, Maestro R, Jurisica I. In silico prediction of physical protein interactions and characterization of interactome orphans. Nat Methods 2014; 12:79-84. [PMID: 25402006 DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.3178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are useful for understanding signaling cascades, predicting protein function, associating proteins with disease and fathoming drug mechanism of action. Currently, only ∼ 10% of human PPIs may be known, and about one-third of human proteins have no known interactions. We introduce FpClass, a data mining-based method for proteome-wide PPI prediction. At an estimated false discovery rate of 60%, we predicted 250,498 PPIs among 10,531 human proteins; 10,647 PPIs involved 1,089 proteins without known interactions. We experimentally tested 233 high- and medium-confidence predictions and validated 137 interactions, including seven novel putative interactors of the tumor suppressor p53. Compared to previous PPI prediction methods, FpClass achieved better agreement with experimentally detected PPIs. We provide an online database of annotated PPI predictions (http://ophid.utoronto.ca/fpclass/) and the prediction software (http://www.cs.utoronto.ca/~juris/data/fpclass/).
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Kotlyar
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chiara Pastrello
- 1] Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] Centro Riferimento Oncologico, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Aviano, Italy
| | - Flavia Pivetta
- Centro Riferimento Oncologico, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Aviano, Italy
| | | | - Christian Cumbaa
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Han Li
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Taline Naranian
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yun Niu
- 1] Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhiyong Ding
- Department of Systems Biology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Fatemeh Vafaee
- 1] Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Fiona Broackes-Carter
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julia Petschnigg
- Donnelly Centre, Departments of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gordon B Mills
- Department of Systems Biology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Andrea Jurisicova
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Igor Stagljar
- Donnelly Centre, Departments of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Roberta Maestro
- Centro Riferimento Oncologico, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Aviano, Italy
| | - Igor Jurisica
- 1] Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [2] Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [3] Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [4] TECHNA Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Vafaee F, Rosu D, Broackes-Carter F, Jurisica I. Novel semantic similarity measure improves an integrative approach to predicting gene functional associations. BMC Syst Biol 2013; 7:22. [PMID: 23497449 PMCID: PMC3663825 DOI: 10.1186/1752-0509-7-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2012] [Accepted: 03/01/2013] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elucidation of the direct/indirect protein interactions and gene associations is required to fully understand the workings of the cell. This can be achieved through the use of both low- and high-throughput biological experiments and in silico methods. We present GAP (Gene functional Association Predictor), an integrative method for predicting and characterizing gene functional associations. GAP integrates different biological features using a novel taxonomy-based semantic similarity measure in predicting and prioritizing high-quality putative gene associations. The proposed similarity measure increases information gain from the available gene annotations. The annotation information is incorporated from several public pathway databases, Gene Ontology annotations as well as drug and disease associations from the scientific literature. RESULTS We evaluated GAP by comparing its prediction performance with several other well-known functional interaction prediction tools over a comprehensive dataset of known direct and indirect interactions, and observed significantly better prediction performance. We also selected a small set of GAP's highly-scored novel predicted pairs (i.e., currently not found in any known database or dataset), and by manually searching the literature for experimental evidence accessible in the public domain, we confirmed different categories of predicted functional associations with available evidence of interaction. We also provided extra supporting evidence for subset of the predicted functionally-associated pairs using an expert curated database of genes associated to autism spectrum disorders. CONCLUSIONS GAP's predicted "functional interactome" contains ≈1M highly-scored predicted functional associations out of which about 90% are novel (i.e., not experimentally validated). GAP's novel predictions connect disconnected components and singletons to the main connected component of the known interactome. It can, therefore, be a valuable resource for biologists by providing corroborating evidence for and facilitating the prioritization of potential direct or indirect interactions for experimental validation. GAP is freely accessible through a web portal: http://ophid.utoronto.ca/gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Vafaee
- Ontario Cancer Institute and Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
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Vafaee F, Rakhshan V, Vafaei M, Khoshhal M. Accuracy of shade matching performed by colour blind and normal dental students using 3D Master and Vita Lumin shade guides. Eur J Prosthodont Restor Dent 2012; 20:23-25. [PMID: 22474932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether 3D Master or VitaLumin shade guides could improve colour selection in individuals with normal and defective colour vision. First, colour perception of 260 dental students was evaluated. Afterwards, 9 colour blind and 9 matched normal subjects tried to detect colours of 10 randomly selected tabs from each kit and the correct/false answers were counted. Of the colour-defective subjects, 47.8% and 33.3% correctly detected the shade using 3D Master and VitaLumin, respectively. These statistics were 62.2% and 42.2% in normal subjects. In normal participants, but not in colour blind ones, 3D Master significantly improved shade matching accuracy compared to VitaLumin.
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