1,368 research outputs found
Homologous Recombination and Its Role in Carcinogenesis
Cancer develops when cells no longer follow their normal pattern of controlled growth. In the absence or disregard of such regulation, resulting from changes in their genetic makeup, these errant cells acquire a growth advantage, expanding into precancerous clones. Over the last decade, many studies have revealed the relevance of genomic mutation in this process, be it by misreplication, environmental damage, or a deficiency in repairing endogenous and exogenous damage. Here, we discuss homologous recombination as another mechanism that can result in a loss of heterozygosity or genetic rearrangements. Some of these genetic alterations may play a primary role in carcinogenesis, but they are more likely to be involved in secondary and subsequent steps of carcinogenesis by which recessive oncogenic mutations are revealed. Patients, whose cells display an increased frequency of recombination, also have an elevated frequency of cancer, further supporting the link between recombination and carcinogenesis
Statistical Mechanics of Kinks in (1+1)-Dimensions: Numerical Simulations and Double Gaussian Approximation
We investigate the thermal equilibrium properties of kinks in a classical
\F^4 field theory in dimensions. From large scale Langevin simulations
we identify the temperature below which a dilute gas description of kinks is
valid. The standard dilute gas/WKB description is shown to be remarkably
accurate below this temperature. At higher, ``intermediate'' temperatures,
where kinks still exist, this description breaks down. By introducing a double
Gaussian variational ansatz for the eigenfunctions of the statistical transfer
operator for the system, we are able to study this region analytically. In
particular, our predictions for the number of kinks and the correlation length
are in agreement with the simulations. The double Gaussian prediction for the
characteristic temperature at which the kink description ultimately breaks down
is also in accord with the simulations. We also analytically calculate the
internal energy and demonstrate that the peak in the specific heat near the
kink characteristic temperature is indeed due to kinks. In the neighborhood of
this temperature there appears to be an intricate energy sharing mechanism
operating between nonlinear phonons and kinks.Comment: 28 pages (8 Figures not included, hard-copies available), Latex,
LA-UR-93-276
Mouse WRN Helicase Domain Is Not Required for Spontaneous Homologous Recombination-Mediated DNA Deletion
Werner syndrome is a rare disorder that manifests as premature aging and age-related diseases. WRN is the gene mutated in WS, and is one of five human RecQ helicase family members. WS cells exhibit genomic instability and altered proliferation, and in vitro studies suggest that WRN has a role in suppressing homologous recombination. However, more recent studies propose that other RecQ helicases (including WRN) promote early events of homologous recombination. To study the role of WRN helicase on spontaneous homologous recombination, we obtained a mouse with a deleted WRN helicase domain and combined it with the in vivo pink-eyed unstable homologous recombination system. In this paper, we demonstrate that WRN helicase is not necessary for suppressing homologous recombination in vivo contrary to previous reports using a similar mouse model
Statistical Mechanics of Kinks in (1+1)-Dimensions
We investigate the thermal equilibrium properties of kinks in a classical
field theory in dimensions. The distribution function, kink
density, and correlation function are determined from large scale simulations.
A dilute gas description of kinks is shown to be valid below a characteristic
temperature. A double Gaussian approximation to evaluate the eigenvalues of the
transfer operator enables us to extend the theoretical analysis to higher
temperatures where the dilute gas approximation fails. This approach accurately
predicts the temperature at which the kink description breaks down.Comment: 8 pages, Latex (4 figures available on request), LA-UR-92-399
Stability of Quantum Critical Points in the Presence of Competing Orders
We investigate the stability of Quantum Critical Points (QCPs) in the
presence of two competing phases. These phases near QCPs are assumed to be
either classical or quantum and assumed to repulsively interact via
square-square interactions. We find that for any dynamical exponents and for
any dimensionality strong enough interaction renders QCPs unstable, and drives
transitions to become first order. We propose that this instability and the
onset of first-order transitions lead to spatially inhomogeneous states in
practical materials near putative QCPs. Our analysis also leads us to suggest
that there is a breakdown of Conformal Field Theory (CFT) scaling in the Anti
de Sitter models, and in fact these models contain first-order transitions in
the strong coupling limit.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figure
Pathway Distiller - multisource biological pathway consolidation
BACKGROUND: One method to understand and evaluate an experiment that produces a large set of genes, such as a gene expression microarray analysis, is to identify overrepresentation or enrichment for biological pathways. Because pathways are able to functionally describe the set of genes, much effort has been made to collect curated biological pathways into publicly accessible databases. When combining disparate databases, highly related or redundant pathways exist, making their consolidation into pathway concepts essential. This will facilitate unbiased, comprehensive yet streamlined analysis of experiments that result in large gene sets.
METHODS: After gene set enrichment finds representative pathways for large gene sets, pathways are consolidated into representative pathway concepts. Three complementary, but different methods of pathway consolidation are explored. Enrichment Consolidation combines the set of the pathways enriched for the signature gene list through iterative combining of enriched pathways with other pathways with similar signature gene sets; Weighted Consolidation utilizes a Protein-Protein Interaction network based gene-weighting approach that finds clusters of both enriched and non-enriched pathways limited to the experiments\u27 resultant gene list; and finally the de novo Consolidation method uses several measurements of pathway similarity, that finds static pathway clusters independent of any given experiment.
RESULTS: We demonstrate that the three consolidation methods provide unified yet different functional insights of a resultant gene set derived from a genome-wide profiling experiment. Results from the methods are presented, demonstrating their applications in biological studies and comparing with a pathway web-based framework that also combines several pathway databases. Additionally a web-based consolidation framework that encompasses all three methods discussed in this paper, Pathway Distiller (http://cbbiweb.uthscsa.edu/PathwayDistiller), is established to allow researchers access to the methods and example microarray data described in this manuscript, and the ability to analyze their own gene list by using our unique consolidation methods.
CONCLUSIONS: By combining several pathway systems, implementing different, but complementary pathway consolidation methods, and providing a user-friendly web-accessible tool, we have enabled users the ability to extract functional explanations of their genome wide experiments
Pathway Distiller - multisource biological pathway consolidation
BACKGROUND: One method to understand and evaluate an experiment that produces a large set of genes, such as a gene expression microarray analysis, is to identify overrepresentation or enrichment for biological pathways. Because pathways are able to functionally describe the set of genes, much effort has been made to collect curated biological pathways into publicly accessible databases. When combining disparate databases, highly related or redundant pathways exist, making their consolidation into pathway concepts essential. This will facilitate unbiased, comprehensive yet streamlined analysis of experiments that result in large gene sets.
METHODS: After gene set enrichment finds representative pathways for large gene sets, pathways are consolidated into representative pathway concepts. Three complementary, but different methods of pathway consolidation are explored. Enrichment Consolidation combines the set of the pathways enriched for the signature gene list through iterative combining of enriched pathways with other pathways with similar signature gene sets; Weighted Consolidation utilizes a Protein-Protein Interaction network based gene-weighting approach that finds clusters of both enriched and non-enriched pathways limited to the experiments\u27 resultant gene list; and finally the de novo Consolidation method uses several measurements of pathway similarity, that finds static pathway clusters independent of any given experiment.
RESULTS: We demonstrate that the three consolidation methods provide unified yet different functional insights of a resultant gene set derived from a genome-wide profiling experiment. Results from the methods are presented, demonstrating their applications in biological studies and comparing with a pathway web-based framework that also combines several pathway databases. Additionally a web-based consolidation framework that encompasses all three methods discussed in this paper, Pathway Distiller (http://cbbiweb.uthscsa.edu/PathwayDistiller), is established to allow researchers access to the methods and example microarray data described in this manuscript, and the ability to analyze their own gene list by using our unique consolidation methods.
CONCLUSIONS: By combining several pathway systems, implementing different, but complementary pathway consolidation methods, and providing a user-friendly web-accessible tool, we have enabled users the ability to extract functional explanations of their genome wide experiments
Systematic Analysis of Long Non-Coding RNA Genes in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
The largest solid organ in humans, the liver, performs a variety of functions to sustain life. When damaged, cells in the liver can regenerate themselves to maintain normal liver physiology. However, some damage is beyond repair, which necessitates liver transplantation. Increasing rates of obesity, Western diets (i.e., rich in processed carbohydrates and saturated fats), and cardiometabolic diseases are interlinked to liver diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is a collective term to describe the excess accumulation of fat in the liver of people who drink little to no alcohol. Alarmingly, the prevalence of NAFLD extends to 25% of the world population, which calls for the urgent need to understand the disease mechanism of NAFLD. Here, we performed secondary analyses of published RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data of NAFLD patients compared to healthy and obese individuals to identify long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that may underly the disease mechanism of NAFLD. Similar to protein-coding genes, many lncRNAs are dysregulated in NAFLD patients compared to healthy and obese individuals, suggesting that understanding the functions of dysregulated lncRNAs may shed light on the pathology of NAFLD. To demonstrate the functional importance of lncRNAs in the liver, loss-of-function experiments were performed for one NAFLD-related lncRNA, LINC01639, which showed that it is involved in the regulation of genes related to apoptosis, TNF/TGF, cytokine signaling, and growth factors as well as genes upregulated in NAFLD. Since there is no lncRNA database focused on the liver, especially NAFLD, we built a web database, LiverDB, to further facilitate functional and mechanistic studies of hepatic lncRNAs
FibroDB: Expression Analysis of Protein-Coding and Long Non-Coding RNA Genes in Fibrosis
Most long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are expressed at lower levels than protein-coding genes and their expression is often restricted to specific cell types, certain time points during development, and various stress and disease conditions, respectively. To revisit this long-held concept, we focused on fibroblasts, a common cell type in various organs and tissues. Using fibroblasts and changes in their expression profiles during fibrosis as a model system, we show that the overall expression level of lncRNA genes is significantly lower than that of protein-coding genes. Furthermore, we identified lncRNA genes whose expression is upregulated during fibrosis. Using dermal fibroblasts as a model, we performed loss-of-function experiments and show that the knockdown of the lncRNAs LINC00622 and LINC01711 result in gene expression changes associated with cellular and inflammatory responses, respectively. Since there are no lncRNA databases focused on fibroblasts and fibrosis, we built a web application, FibroDB, to further promote functional and mechanistic studies of fibrotic lncRNAs
- …