Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 177
Filter
Add more filters

Publication year range
1.
Cell ; 164(3): 550-63, 2016 Jan 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26824661

ABSTRACT

Therapy development for adult diffuse glioma is hindered by incomplete knowledge of somatic glioma driving alterations and suboptimal disease classification. We defined the complete set of genes associated with 1,122 diffuse grade II-III-IV gliomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas and used molecular profiles to improve disease classification, identify molecular correlations, and provide insights into the progression from low- to high-grade disease. Whole-genome sequencing data analysis determined that ATRX but not TERT promoter mutations are associated with increased telomere length. Recent advances in glioma classification based on IDH mutation and 1p/19q co-deletion status were recapitulated through analysis of DNA methylation profiles, which identified clinically relevant molecular subsets. A subtype of IDH mutant glioma was associated with DNA demethylation and poor outcome; a group of IDH-wild-type diffuse glioma showed molecular similarity to pilocytic astrocytoma and relatively favorable survival. Understanding of cohesive disease groups may aid improved clinical outcomes.


Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/genetics , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Glioma/genetics , Glioma/pathology , Transcriptome , Adult , Brain Neoplasms/metabolism , Cell Proliferation , Cluster Analysis , DNA Helicases/genetics , DNA Methylation , Epigenesis, Genetic , Glioma/metabolism , Humans , Isocitrate Dehydrogenase/genetics , Middle Aged , Mutation , Nuclear Proteins/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic , Signal Transduction , Telomerase/genetics , Telomere , X-linked Nuclear Protein
2.
Immunity ; 48(4): 812-830.e14, 2018 04 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29628290

ABSTRACT

We performed an extensive immunogenomic analysis of more than 10,000 tumors comprising 33 diverse cancer types by utilizing data compiled by TCGA. Across cancer types, we identified six immune subtypes-wound healing, IFN-γ dominant, inflammatory, lymphocyte depleted, immunologically quiet, and TGF-ß dominant-characterized by differences in macrophage or lymphocyte signatures, Th1:Th2 cell ratio, extent of intratumoral heterogeneity, aneuploidy, extent of neoantigen load, overall cell proliferation, expression of immunomodulatory genes, and prognosis. Specific driver mutations correlated with lower (CTNNB1, NRAS, or IDH1) or higher (BRAF, TP53, or CASP8) leukocyte levels across all cancers. Multiple control modalities of the intracellular and extracellular networks (transcription, microRNAs, copy number, and epigenetic processes) were involved in tumor-immune cell interactions, both across and within immune subtypes. Our immunogenomics pipeline to characterize these heterogeneous tumors and the resulting data are intended to serve as a resource for future targeted studies to further advance the field.


Subject(s)
Genomics/methods , Neoplasms , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Female , Humans , Interferon-gamma/genetics , Interferon-gamma/immunology , Macrophages/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/classification , Neoplasms/genetics , Neoplasms/immunology , Prognosis , Th1-Th2 Balance/physiology , Transforming Growth Factor beta/genetics , Transforming Growth Factor beta/immunology , Wound Healing/genetics , Wound Healing/immunology , Young Adult
3.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 121(8): e2306132121, 2024 Feb 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38346188

ABSTRACT

Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) is a prevalent degenerative disease characterized by chronic pain and impaired jaw function. The complexity of TMJ OA has hindered the development of prognostic tools, posing a significant challenge in timely, patient-specific management. Addressing this gap, our research employs a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to advance TMJ OA prognostication. We conducted a prospective study with 106 subjects, 74 of whom were followed up after 2 to 3 y of conservative treatment. Central to our methodology is the development of an innovative, open-source predictive modeling framework, the Ensemble via Hierarchical Predictions through Nested cross-validation tool (EHPN). This framework synergistically integrates 18 feature selection, statistical, and machine learning methods to yield an accuracy of 0.87, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.72 and an F1 score of 0.82. Our study, beyond technical advancements, emphasizes the global impact of TMJ OA, recognizing its unique demographic occurrence. We highlight key factors influencing TMJ OA progression. Using SHAP analysis, we identified personalized prognostic predictors: lower values of headache, lower back pain, restless sleep, condyle high gray level-GL-run emphasis, articular fossa GL nonuniformity, and long-run low GL emphasis; and higher values of superior joint space, mouth opening, saliva Vascular-endothelium-growth-factor, Matrix-metalloproteinase-7, serum Epithelial-neutrophil-activating-peptide, and age indicate recovery likelihood. Our multidimensional and multimodal EHPN tool enhances clinicians' decision-making, offering a transformative translational infrastructure. The EHPN model stands as a significant contribution to precision medicine, offering a paradigm shift in the management of temporomandibular disorders and potentially influencing broader applications in personalized healthcare.


Subject(s)
Osteoarthritis , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders , Humans , Prospective Studies , Temporomandibular Joint , Osteoarthritis/therapy , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/therapy , Research Design
4.
Mod Pathol ; 36(7): 100197, 2023 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37105494

ABSTRACT

Our understanding of the biology and management of human disease has undergone a remarkable evolution in recent decades. Improved understanding of the roles of complex immune populations in the tumor microenvironment has advanced our knowledge of antitumor immunity, and immunotherapy has radically improved outcomes for many advanced cancers. Digital pathology has unlocked new possibilities for the assessment and discovery of the tumor microenvironment, such as quantitative and spatial image analysis. Despite these advances, tissue-based evaluations for diagnosis and prognosis continue to rely on traditional practices, such as hematoxylin and eosin staining, supplemented by the assessment of single biomarkers largely using chromogenic immunohistochemistry (IHC). Such approaches are poorly suited to complex quantitative analyses and the simultaneous evaluation of multiple biomarkers. Thus, multiplex staining techniques have significant potential to improve diagnostic practice and immuno-oncology research. The different approaches to achieve multiplexed IHC and immunofluorescence are described in this study. Alternatives to multiplex immunofluorescence/IHC include epitope-based tissue mass spectrometry and digital spatial profiling (DSP), which require specialized platforms not available to most clinical laboratories. Virtual multiplexing, which involves digitally coregistering singleplex IHC stains performed on serial sections, is another alternative to multiplex staining. Regardless of the approach, analysis of multiplexed stains sequentially or simultaneously will benefit from standardized protocols and digital pathology workflows. Although this is a complex and rapidly advancing field, multiplex staining is now technically feasible for most clinical laboratories and may soon be leveraged for routine diagnostic use. This review provides an update on the current state of the art for tissue multiplexing, including the capabilities and limitations of different techniques, with an emphasis on potential relevance to clinical diagnostic practice.


Subject(s)
Neoplasms , Pathologists , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/therapy , Neoplasms/pathology , Biomarkers , Coloring Agents , Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis , Tumor Microenvironment
5.
Mod Pathol ; 36(1): 100028, 2023 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36788067

ABSTRACT

Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying postsurgical recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is rudimentary. Molecular and T cell repertoire intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) have been reported to be associated with postsurgical relapse; however, how ITH at the cellular level impacts survival is largely unknown. Here we report the analysis of 2880 multispectral images representing 14.2% to 27% of tumor areas from 33 patients with stage I NSCLC, including 17 cases (relapsed within 3 years after surgery) and 16 controls (without recurrence ≥5 years after surgery) using multiplex immunofluorescence. Spatial analysis was conducted to quantify the minimum distance between different cell types and immune cell infiltration around malignant cells. Immune ITH was defined as the variance of immune cells from 3 intratumor regions. We found that tumors from patients having relapsed display different immune biology compared with nonrecurrent tumors, with a higher percentage of tumor cells and macrophages expressing PD-L1 (P =.031 and P =.024, respectively), along with an increase in regulatory T cells (Treg) (P =.018), antigen-experienced T cells (P =.025), and effector-memory T cells (P =.041). Spatial analysis revealed that a higher level of infiltration of PD-L1+ macrophages (CD68+PD-L1+) or antigen-experienced cytotoxic T cells (CD3+CD8+PD-1+) in the tumor was associated with poor overall survival (P =.021 and P =.006, respectively). A higher degree of Treg ITH was associated with inferior recurrence-free survival regardless of tumor mutational burden (P =.022), neoantigen burden (P =.021), genomic ITH (P =.012) and T cell repertoire ITH (P =.001). Using multiregion multiplex immunofluorescence, we characterized ITH at the immune cell level along with whole exome and T cell repertoire sequencing from the same tumor regions. This approach highlights the role of immunoregulatory and coinhibitory signals as well as their spatial distribution and ITH that define the hallmarks of tumor relapse of stage I NSCLC.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung , Lung Neoplasms , Humans , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , B7-H1 Antigen , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/genetics , T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/pathology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
7.
Biometrics ; 79(3): 1801-1813, 2023 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35973786

ABSTRACT

Integrative analyses based on statistically relevant associations between genomics and a wealth of intermediary phenotypes (such as imaging) provide vital insights into their clinical relevance in terms of the disease mechanisms. Estimates for uncertainty in the resulting integrative models are however unreliable unless inference accounts for the selection of these associations with accuracy. In this paper, we develop selection-aware Bayesian methods, which (1) counteract the impact of model selection bias through a "selection-aware posterior" in a flexible class of integrative Bayesian models post a selection of promising variables via ℓ1 -regularized algorithms; (2) strike an inevitable trade-off between the quality of model selection and inferential power when the same data set is used for both selection and uncertainty estimation. Central to our methodological development, a carefully constructed conditional likelihood function deployed with a reparameterization mapping provides tractable updates when gradient-based Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling is used for estimating uncertainties from the selection-aware posterior. Applying our methods to a radiogenomic analysis, we successfully recover several important gene pathways and estimate uncertainties for their associations with patient survival times.


Subject(s)
Algorithms , Humans , Bayes Theorem , Likelihood Functions , Phenotype , Markov Chains , Monte Carlo Method
8.
Bioinformatics ; 36(3): 942-944, 2020 02 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31504190

ABSTRACT

SUMMARY: DDAP is a tool for predicting the biosynthetic pathways of the products of type I modular polyketide synthase (PKS) with the focus on providing a more accurate prediction of the ordering of proteins and substrates in the pathway. In this study, the module docking domain (DD) affinity prediction performance on a hold-out testing dataset reached 0.88 as measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC); the Mean Reciprocal Ranking (MRR) of pathway prediction reached 0.67. DDAP has advantages compared to previous informatics tools in several aspects: (i) it does not rely on large databases, making it a high efficiency tool, (ii) the predicted DD affinity is represented by a probability (0-1), which is more intuitive than raw scores, (iii) its performance is competitive compared to the current popular rule-based algorithm. DDAP is so far the first machine learning based algorithm for type I PKS DD affinity and pathway prediction. We also established the first database of type I modular PKSs, featuring a comprehensive annotation of available docking domains information in bacterial biosynthetic pathways. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The DDAP database is available at https://tylii.github.io/ddap. The prediction algorithm DDAP is freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/tylii/ddap) and released under the MIT license. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Subject(s)
Biosynthetic Pathways , Polyketide Synthases , Algorithms , Bacteria
9.
Am J Pathol ; 190(7): 1491-1504, 2020 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32277893

ABSTRACT

Quantitative assessment of spatial relations between tumor and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is increasingly important in both basic science and clinical aspects of breast cancer research. We have developed and evaluated convolutional neural network analysis pipelines to generate combined maps of cancer regions and TILs in routine diagnostic breast cancer whole slide tissue images. The combined maps provide insight about the structural patterns and spatial distribution of lymphocytic infiltrates and facilitate improved quantification of TILs. Both tumor and TIL analyses were evaluated by using three convolutional neural network networks (34-layer ResNet, 16-layer VGG, and Inception v4); the results compared favorably with those obtained by using the best published methods. We have produced open-source tools and a public data set consisting of tumor/TIL maps for 1090 invasive breast cancer images from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The maps can be downloaded for further downstream analyses.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Deep Learning , Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/pathology , Breast Neoplasms/immunology , Female , Humans , Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/immunology , SEER Program
10.
Lancet Oncol ; 21(6): e317-e329, 2020 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32502458

ABSTRACT

Response criteria for paediatric high-grade glioma vary historically and across different cooperative groups. The Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology working group developed response criteria for adult high-grade glioma, but these were not created to meet the unique challenges in children with the disease. The Response Assessment in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology (RAPNO) working group, consisting of an international panel of paediatric and adult neuro-oncologists, clinicians, radiologists, radiation oncologists, and neurosurgeons, was established to address issues and unique challenges in assessing response in children with CNS tumours. We established a subcommittee to develop response assessment criteria for paediatric high-grade glioma. Current practice and literature were reviewed to identify major challenges in assessing the response of paediatric high-grade gliomas to various treatments. For areas in which scientific investigation was scarce, consensus was reached through an iterative process. RAPNO response assessment recommendations include the use of MRI of the brain and the spine, assessment of clinical status, and the use of corticosteroids or antiangiogenics. Imaging standards for brain and spine are defined. Compared with the recommendations for the management of adult high-grade glioma, for paediatrics there is inclusion of diffusion-weighted imaging and a higher reliance on T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery. Consensus recommendations and response definitions have been established and, similar to other RAPNO recommendations, prospective validation in clinical trials is warranted.


Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Central Nervous System Neoplasms/therapy , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/standards , Endpoint Determination/standards , Glioma/diagnostic imaging , Glioma/therapy , Neuroimaging/standards , Adolescent , Age of Onset , Central Nervous System Neoplasms/epidemiology , Central Nervous System Neoplasms/pathology , Child , Consensus , Female , Glioma/epidemiology , Glioma/pathology , Humans , Male , Neoplasm Grading , Predictive Value of Tests , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , Tumor Burden
11.
Radiology ; 295(2): 328-338, 2020 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32154773

ABSTRACT

Background Radiomic features may quantify characteristics present in medical imaging. However, the lack of standardized definitions and validated reference values have hampered clinical use. Purpose To standardize a set of 174 radiomic features. Materials and Methods Radiomic features were assessed in three phases. In phase I, 487 features were derived from the basic set of 174 features. Twenty-five research teams with unique radiomics software implementations computed feature values directly from a digital phantom, without any additional image processing. In phase II, 15 teams computed values for 1347 derived features using a CT image of a patient with lung cancer and predefined image processing configurations. In both phases, consensus among the teams on the validity of tentative reference values was measured through the frequency of the modal value and classified as follows: less than three matches, weak; three to five matches, moderate; six to nine matches, strong; 10 or more matches, very strong. In the final phase (phase III), a public data set of multimodality images (CT, fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose PET, and T1-weighted MRI) from 51 patients with soft-tissue sarcoma was used to prospectively assess reproducibility of standardized features. Results Consensus on reference values was initially weak for 232 of 302 features (76.8%) at phase I and 703 of 1075 features (65.4%) at phase II. At the final iteration, weak consensus remained for only two of 487 features (0.4%) at phase I and 19 of 1347 features (1.4%) at phase II. Strong or better consensus was achieved for 463 of 487 features (95.1%) at phase I and 1220 of 1347 features (90.6%) at phase II. Overall, 169 of 174 features were standardized in the first two phases. In the final validation phase (phase III), most of the 169 standardized features could be excellently reproduced (166 with CT; 164 with PET; and 164 with MRI). Conclusion A set of 169 radiomics features was standardized, which enabled verification and calibration of different radiomics software. © RSNA, 2020 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Kuhl and Truhn in this issue.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers/analysis , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/standards , Software , Calibration , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Phantoms, Imaging , Phenotype , Positron-Emission Tomography , Radiopharmaceuticals , Reproducibility of Results , Sarcoma/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed
12.
Stat Med ; 39(6): 773-800, 2020 03 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31859414

ABSTRACT

Biobanks linked to electronic health records provide rich resources for health-related research. With improvements in administrative and informatics infrastructure, the availability and utility of data from biobanks have dramatically increased. In this paper, we first aim to characterize the current landscape of available biobanks and to describe specific biobanks, including their place of origin, size, and data types. The development and accessibility of large-scale biorepositories provide the opportunity to accelerate agnostic searches, expedite discoveries, and conduct hypothesis-generating studies of disease-treatment, disease-exposure, and disease-gene associations. Rather than designing and implementing a single study focused on a few targeted hypotheses, researchers can potentially use biobanks' existing resources to answer an expanded selection of exploratory questions as quickly as they can analyze them. However, there are many obvious and subtle challenges with the design and analysis of biobank-based studies. Our second aim is to discuss statistical issues related to biobank research such as study design, sampling strategy, phenotype identification, and missing data. We focus our discussion on biobanks that are linked to electronic health records. Some of the analytic issues are illustrated using data from the Michigan Genomics Initiative and UK Biobank, two biobanks with two different recruitment mechanisms. We summarize the current body of literature for addressing these challenges and discuss some standing open problems. This work complements and extends recent reviews about biobank-based research and serves as a resource catalog with analytical and practical guidance for statisticians, epidemiologists, and other medical researchers pursuing research using biobanks.


Subject(s)
Biological Specimen Banks , Electronic Health Records , Genomics , Michigan , Research Design
13.
Ann Surg Oncol ; 26(9): 2821-2830, 2019 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31250346

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although immune-based therapy has proven efficacious for some patients with microsatellite instability (MSI) colon cancers, a majority of patients receive limited benefit. Conversely, select patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors respond to checkpoint blockade, necessitating novel ways to study the immune tumor microenvironment (TME). We used phenotypic and spatial data from infiltrating immune and tumor cells to model cellular mixing to predict disease specific outcomes in patients with colorectal liver metastases. METHODS: Formalin fixed paraffin embedded metastatic colon cancer tissue from 195 patients were subjected to multiplex immunohistochemistry (mfIHC). After phenotyping, the G-function was calculated for each patient and cell type. Data was correlated with clinical outcomes and survival. RESULTS: High tumor cell to cytotoxic T lymphocyte (TC-CTL) mixing was associated with both a pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive TME characterized by increased CTL infiltration and PD-L1+ expression, respectively. Presence and engagement of antigen presenting cells (APC) and helper T cells (Th) were associated with greater TC-CTL mixing and improved 5-year disease specific survival compared to patients with a low degree of mixing (42% vs. 16%, p = 0.0275). Comparison of measured mixing to a calculated theoretical random mixing revealed that PD-L1 expression on APCs resulted in an environment where CTLs were non-randomly less associated with TCs, highlighting their biologic significance. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of immune interactions within the TME of metastatic colon cancer using mfIHC in combination with mathematical modeling characterized cellular mixing of TCs and CTLs, providing a novel strategy to better predict clinical outcomes while identifying potential candidates for immune based therapies.


Subject(s)
Antigen-Presenting Cells/immunology , B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/immunology , Liver Neoplasms/immunology , Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/immunology , Models, Theoretical , T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology , Tumor Microenvironment/immunology , B7-H1 Antigen/immunology , Biomarkers, Tumor/immunology , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/metabolism , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/metabolism , Liver Neoplasms/secondary , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Survival Rate
14.
J Pathol ; 244(5): 512-524, 2018 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29288495

ABSTRACT

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) represents one of several international consortia dedicated to performing comprehensive genomic and epigenomic analyses of selected tumour types to advance our understanding of disease and provide an open-access resource for worldwide cancer research. Thirty-three tumour types (selected by histology or tissue of origin, to include both common and rare diseases), comprising >11 000 specimens, were subjected to DNA sequencing, copy number and methylation analysis, and transcriptomic, proteomic and histological evaluation. Each cancer type was analysed individually to identify tissue-specific alterations, and make correlations across different molecular platforms. The final dataset was then normalized and combined for the PanCancer Initiative, which seeks to identify commonalities across different cancer types or cells of origin/lineage, or within anatomically or morphologically related groups. An important resource generated along with the rich molecular studies is an extensive digital pathology slide archive, composed of frozen section tissue directly related to the tissues analysed as part of TCGA, and representative formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded, haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained diagnostic slides. These H&E image resources have primarily been used to verify diagnoses and histological subtypes with some limited extraction of standard pathological variables such as mitotic activity, grade, and lymphocytic infiltrates. Largely overlooked is the richness of these scanned images for more sophisticated feature extraction approaches coupled with machine learning, and ultimately correlation with molecular features and clinical endpoints. Here, we document initial attempts to exploit TCGA imaging archives, and describe some of the tools, and the rapidly evolving image analysis/feature extraction landscape. Our hope is to inform, and ultimately inspire and challenge, the pathology and cancer research communities to exploit these imaging resources so that the full potential of this integral platform of TCGA can be used to complement and enhance the insightful integrated analyses from the genomic and epigenomic platforms. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Genomics/methods , Neoplasms/genetics , Neoplasms/pathology , Pathology, Molecular/methods , Databases, Genetic , Epigenesis, Genetic , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genome, Human , Humans , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted , Neoplasms/therapy , Phenotype , Predictive Value of Tests
15.
Biometrics ; 74(1): 185-195, 2018 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28437848

ABSTRACT

Inferring dependence structure through undirected graphs is crucial for uncovering the major modes of multivariate interaction among high-dimensional genomic markers that are potentially associated with cancer. Traditionally, conditional independence has been studied using sparse Gaussian graphical models for continuous data and sparse Ising models for discrete data. However, there are two clear situations when these approaches are inadequate. The first occurs when the data are continuous but display non-normal marginal behavior such as heavy tails or skewness, rendering an assumption of normality inappropriate. The second occurs when a part of the data is ordinal or discrete (e.g., presence or absence of a mutation) and the other part is continuous (e.g., expression levels of genes or proteins). In this case, the existing Bayesian approaches typically employ a latent variable framework for the discrete part that precludes inferring conditional independence among the data that are actually observed. The current article overcomes these two challenges in a unified framework using Gaussian scale mixtures. Our framework is able to handle continuous data that are not normal and data that are of mixed continuous and discrete nature, while still being able to infer a sparse conditional sign independence structure among the observed data. Extensive performance comparison in simulations with alternative techniques and an analysis of a real cancer genomics data set demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Subject(s)
Genomics/statistics & numerical data , Statistical Distributions , Bayes Theorem , Biomarkers, Tumor , Computer Graphics , Computer Simulation , Humans , Latent Class Analysis , Neoplasms/genetics
17.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 111(51): 18249-54, 2014 Dec 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25489103

ABSTRACT

Molecular biomarkers are changes measured in biological samples that reflect disease states. Such markers can help clinicians identify types of cancer or stages of progression, and they can guide in tailoring specific therapies. Many efforts to identify biomarkers consider genes that mutate between normal and cancerous tissues or changes in protein or RNA expression levels. Here we define location biomarkers, proteins that undergo changes in subcellular location that are indicative of disease. To discover such biomarkers, we have developed an automated pipeline to compare the subcellular location of proteins between two sets of immunohistochemistry images. We used the pipeline to compare images of healthy and tumor tissue from the Human Protein Atlas, ranking hundreds of proteins in breast, liver, prostate, and bladder based on how much their location was estimated to have changed. The performance of the system was evaluated by determining whether proteins previously known to change location in tumors were ranked highly. We present a number of candidate location biomarkers for each tissue, and identify biochemical pathways that are enriched in proteins that change location. The analysis technology is anticipated to be useful not only for discovering new location biomarkers but also for enabling automated analysis of biomarker distributions as an aid to determining diagnosis.


Subject(s)
Automation , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Neoplasms/metabolism , Humans , Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism , Subcellular Fractions/metabolism
18.
BMC Genomics ; 16 Suppl 10: S7, 2015.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26449793

ABSTRACT

We present a computational framework tailored for the modeling of the complex, dynamic relationships that are encountered in splicing regulation. The starting point is whole-genome transcriptomic data from high-throughput array or sequencing methods that are used to quantify gene expression and alternative splicing across multiple contexts. This information is used as input for state of the art methods for Graphical Model Selection in order to recover the structure of a composite network that simultaneously models exon co-regulation and their cognate regulators. Community structure detection and social network analysis methods are used to identify distinct modules and key actors within the network. As a proof of concept for our framework we studied the splicing regulatory network for Drosophila development using the publicly available modENCODE data. The final model offers a comprehensive view of the splicing circuitry that underlies fly development. Identified modules are associated with major developmental hallmarks including maternally loaded RNAs, onset of zygotic gene expression, transitions between life stages and sex differentiation. Within-module key actors include well-known developmental-specific splicing regulators from the literature while additional factors previously unassociated with developmental-specific splicing are also highlighted. Finally we analyze an extensive battery of Splicing Factor knock-down transcriptome data and demonstrate that our approach captures true regulatory relationships.


Subject(s)
Alternative Splicing/genetics , Computational Biology , Gene Regulatory Networks/genetics , Transcriptome/genetics , Exons/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation , Genome
19.
Int J Cancer ; 136(9): 2047-54, 2015 May 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25302990

ABSTRACT

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5b (STAT5b) is likely the relevant STAT5 isoform with respect to the process of malignant progression in gliomas. STAT5b is a latent cytoplasmic protein involved in cell signaling through the modulation of growth factors, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Previous in vitro studies have shown increased STAT5b expression in glioblastomas relative to low-grade tumors and normal brain. We recently demonstrated that phosphorylated STAT5b associates with delta epidermal growth factor receptor in the nucleus and subsequently binds the promoters of downstream effector molecules, including aurora kinase A. Analysis of TCGA dataset reveals that STAT5b is predominantly expressed in proneural (PN) gliomas relative to mesenchymal and neural gliomas. Here, we modeled ectopic expression of STAT5b in vivo using a platelet-derived growth factor subunit B (PDGFB)-dependent mouse model of PN glioma to determine its effect on tumor formation and progression. We showed that coexpression of STAT5b and PDGFB in mice yielded a significantly higher rate of high-grade gliomas than PDGFB expression alone. We also observed shorter survival in the combined expression set. High-grade tumors from the STAT5b + PDGFB expression set were found to have a lower rate of apoptosis than those from PDGFB alone. Furthermore, we showed that increased expression of STAT5b + PDGFB led to increased expression of downstream STAT5b targets, including Bcl-xL, cyclin D1 and aurora kinase A in high-grade tumors when compared to tumors derived from PDGFB alone. Our findings show that STAT5b promotes the malignant transformation of gliomas, particularly the PN subtype, and is a potential therapeutic target.


Subject(s)
Apoptosis/genetics , Glioma/genetics , Glioma/metabolism , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis/genetics , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis/metabolism , STAT5 Transcription Factor/genetics , STAT5 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Animals , Aurora Kinase A/genetics , Aurora Kinase A/metabolism , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/metabolism , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology , Cyclin D1/genetics , Cyclin D1/metabolism , Disease Progression , Disease-Free Survival , Glioma/pathology , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Transgenic/genetics , Mice, Transgenic/metabolism
20.
Radiology ; 272(2): 484-93, 2014 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24646147

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To correlate patient survival with morphologic imaging features and hemodynamic parameters obtained from the nonenhancing region (NER) of glioblastoma (GBM), along with clinical and genomic markers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An institutional review board waiver was obtained for this HIPAA-compliant retrospective study. Forty-five patients with GBM underwent baseline imaging with contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced T2*-weighted perfusion MR imaging. Molecular and clinical predictors of survival were obtained. Single and multivariable models of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were explored with Kaplan-Meier estimates, Cox regression, and random survival forests. RESULTS: Worsening OS (log-rank test, P = .0103) and PFS (log-rank test, P = .0223) were associated with increasing relative cerebral blood volume of NER (rCBVNER), which was higher with deep white matter involvement (t test, P = .0482) and poor NER margin definition (t test, P = .0147). NER crossing the midline was the only morphologic feature of NER associated with poor survival (log-rank test, P = .0125). Preoperative Karnofsky performance score (KPS) and resection extent (n = 30) were clinically significant OS predictors (log-rank test, P = .0176 and P = .0038, respectively). No genomic alterations were associated with survival, except patients with high rCBVNER and wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation had significantly poor survival (log-rank test, P = .0306; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.62). Combining resection extent with rCBVNER marginally improved prognostic ability (permutation, P = .084). Random forest models of presurgical predictors indicated rCBVNER as the top predictor; also important were KPS, age at diagnosis, and NER crossing the midline. A multivariable model containing rCBVNER, age at diagnosis, and KPS can be used to group patients with more than 1 year of difference in observed median survival (0.49-1.79 years). CONCLUSION: Patients with high rCBVNER and NER crossing the midline and those with high rCBVNER and wild-type EGFR mutation showed poor survival. In multivariable survival models, however, rCBVNER provided unique prognostic information that went above and beyond the assessment of all NER imaging features, as well as clinical and genomic features.


Subject(s)
Brain Neoplasms/genetics , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Glioblastoma/genetics , Glioblastoma/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Brain Neoplasms/surgery , Contrast Media , Female , Genomics , Glioblastoma/surgery , Humans , Image Enhancement/methods , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Male , Predictive Value of Tests , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Survival Rate
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL