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Garma LD, Osório NS. Demystifying dimensionality reduction techniques in the 'omics' era: A practical approach for biological science students. Biochem Mol Biol Educ 2024; 52:165-178. [PMID: 37937712 DOI: 10.1002/bmb.21800] [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] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Dimensionality reduction techniques are essential in analyzing large 'omics' datasets in biochemistry and molecular biology. Principal component analysis, t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding, and uniform manifold approximation and projection are commonly used for data visualization. However, these methods can be challenging for students without a strong mathematical background. In this study, intuitive examples were created using COVID-19 data to help students understand the core concepts behind these techniques. In a 4-h practical session, we used these examples to demonstrate dimensionality reduction techniques to 15 postgraduate students from biomedical backgrounds. Using Python and Jupyter notebooks, our goal was to demystify these methods, typically treated as "black boxes", and empower students to generate and interpret their own results. To assess the impact of our approach, we conducted an anonymous survey. The majority of the students agreed that using computers enriched their learning experience (67%) and that Jupyter notebooks were a valuable part of the class (66%). Additionally, 60% of the students reported increased interest in Python, and 40% gained both interest and a better understanding of dimensionality reduction methods. Despite the short duration of the course, 40% of the students reported acquiring research skills necessary in the field. While further analysis of the learning impacts of this approach is needed, we believe that sharing the examples we generated can provide valuable resources for others to use in interactive teaching environments. These examples highlight advantages and limitations of the major dimensionality reduction methods used in modern bioinformatics analysis in an easy-to-understand way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo D Garma
- Breast Cancer Clinical Research Unit, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas - CNIO, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nuno S Osório
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's -PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga, Portugal
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Garma LD, Ferrari L, DiPalo M, Greco F, Santoro F. A cost-effective ecosystem for the study of electrogenic cells. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vascn.2020.106785] [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: 11/28/2022]
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Garma LD, Ferrari LM, Scognamiglio P, Greco F, Santoro F. Inkjet-printed PEDOT:PSS multi-electrode arrays for low-cost in vitro electrophysiology. Lab Chip 2019; 19:3776-3786. [PMID: 31616896 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc00636b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) have become a key element in the study of cellular phenomena in vitro. Common modern MEAs are still based on costly microfabrication techniques, making them expensive tools that researchers are pushed to reuse, compromising the reproducibility and the quality of the acquired data. There is a need to develop novel fabrication strategies, able to produce disposable devices that incorporate advanced technologies beyond the standard metal electrodes on rigid substrates. Here we present an innovative fabrication process for the production of polymer-based flexible MEAs. The device fabrication exploited inkjet printing, as this low-cost manufacturing method allows for an easy and reliable patterning of conducting polymers. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) was used as the sole conductive element of the MEAs. The physical structure and the electrical properties of the plastic/printed MEAs (pMEAs) were characterised, showing a low impedance that is maintained also in the long term. The biocompatibility of the devices was demonstrated, and their capability to successfully establish a tight coupling with cells was proved. Furthermore, the pMEAs were used to monitor the extracellular potentials from cardiac cell cultures and to record high quality electrophysiological signals from them. Our results validate the use of pMEAs as in vitro electrophysiology platforms, pushing for the adoption of innovative fabrication techniques and the use of new materials for the production of MEAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo D Garma
- Tissue Electronics, Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy.
| | - Laura M Ferrari
- Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pontedera, Italy.
| | - Paola Scognamiglio
- Tissue Electronics, Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy.
| | - Francesco Greco
- Center for Micro-BioRobotics@SSSA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Pontedera, Italy. and Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, Austria.
| | - Francesca Santoro
- Tissue Electronics, Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy.
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Dipalo M, Caprettini V, Bruno G, Caliendo F, Garma LD, Melle G, Dukhinova M, Siciliano V, Santoro F, De Angelis F. Membrane Poration Mechanisms at the Cell-Nanostructure Interface. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 3:e1900148. [PMID: 32648684 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.201900148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [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: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
3D vertical nanostructures have become one of the most significant methods for interfacing cells and the nanoscale and for accessing significant intracellular functionalities such as membrane potential. As this intracellular access can be induced by means of diverse cellular membrane poration mechanisms, it is important to investigate in detail the cell condition after membrane rupture for assessing the real effects of the poration techniques on the biological environment. Indeed, differences of the membrane dynamics and reshaping have not been observed yet when the membrane-nanostructure system is locally perturbed by, for instance, diverse membrane breakage events. In this work, new insights are provided into the membrane dynamics in case of two different poration approaches, optoacoustic- and electro-poration, both mediated by the same 3D nanostructures. The experimental results offer a detailed overview on the different poration processes in terms of electrical recordings and membrane conformation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Giulia Bruno
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, 16163, Italy
- Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi. DIBRIS, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, 16126, Italy
| | - Fabio Caliendo
- Center for Advacend Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, 80125, Italy
| | - Leonardo D Garma
- Center for Advacend Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, 80125, Italy
| | - Giovanni Melle
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, 16163, Italy
- Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi. DIBRIS, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, 16126, Italy
| | - Marina Dukhinova
- Center for Advacend Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, 80125, Italy
| | - Velia Siciliano
- Center for Advacend Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, 80125, Italy
| | - Francesca Santoro
- Center for Advacend Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, 80125, Italy
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Garma LD, Matino L, Melle G, Moia F, De Angelis F, Santoro F, Dipalo M. Cost-effective and multifunctional acquisition system for in vitro electrophysiological investigations with multi-electrode arrays. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214017. [PMID: 30908502 PMCID: PMC6433224 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [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: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
In vitro multi-electrode array (MEA) technology is nowadays involved in a wide range of applications beyond neuroscience, such as cardiac electrophysiology and bio-interface studies. However, the cost of commercially available acquisition systems severely limits its adoption outside specialized laboratories with high budget capabilities. Thus, the availability of low-cost methods to acquire signals from MEAs is important to allow research labs worldwide to exploit this technology for an ever-expanding pool of experiments independently from their economic possibilities. Here, we provide a comprehensive toolset to assemble a multifunctional in vitro MEA acquisition system with a total cost 80% lower than standard commercial solutions. We demonstrate the capabilities of this acquisition system by employing it to i) characterize commercial MEA devices by means of electrical impedance measurements ii) record activity from cultures of HL-1 cells extracellularly, and iii) electroporate HL-1 cells through nanostructured MEAs and record intracellular signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo D. Garma
- Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Matino
- Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale. DICMAPI, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Giovanni Melle
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi. DIBRIS, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Fabio Moia
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Santoro
- Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy
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Garma LD, Medina M, Juffer AH. Structure-based classification of FAD binding sites: A comparative study of structural alignment tools. Proteins 2016; 84:1728-1747. [PMID: 27580869 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2016] [Revised: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
A total of six different structural alignment tools (TM-Align, TriangleMatch, CLICK, ProBis, SiteEngine and GA-SI) were assessed for their ability to perform two particular tasks: (i) discriminating FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) from non-FAD binding sites, and (ii) performing an all-to-all comparison on a set of 883 FAD binding sites for the purpose of classifying them. For the first task, the consistency of each alignment method was evaluated, showing that every method is able to distinguish FAD and non-FAD binding sites with a high Matthews correlation coefficient. Additionally, GA-SI was found to provide alignments different from those of the other approaches. The results obtained for the second task revealed more significant differences among alignment methods, as reflected in the poor correlation of their results and highlighted clearly by the independent evaluation of the structural superimpositions generated by each method. The classification itself was performed using the combined results of all methods, using the best result found for each comparison of binding sites. A number of different clustering methods (Single-linkage, UPGMA, Complete-linkage, SPICKER and k-Means clustering) were also used. The groups of similar binding sites (proteins) or clusters generated by the best performing method were further analyzed in terms of local sequence identity, local structural similarity and conservation of analogous contacts with the FAD ligands. Each of the clusters was characterized by a unique set of structural features or patterns, demonstrating that the groups generated truly reflect the structural diversity of FAD binding sites. Proteins 2016; 84:1728-1747. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo D Garma
- Biocenter Oulu, and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Milagros Medina
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain
| | - André H Juffer
- Biocenter Oulu, and Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Oulu, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
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Garma LD, Juffer AH. Comparison of non-sequential sets of protein residues. Comput Biol Chem 2016; 61:23-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2015.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2015] [Revised: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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