Transcription factor regulation can be accurately predicted from the presence of target gene signatures in microarray gene expression data

Deciphering transcription factor networks from microarray data remains difficult. This study presents a simple method to infer the regulation of transcription factors from microarray data based on well-characterized target genes. We generated a catalog containing transcription factors associated with 2720 target genes and 6401 experimentally validated regulations. When it was available, a distinction between transcriptional activation and inhibition was included for each regulation. Next, we built a tool (www.tfacts.org) that compares submitted gene lists with target genes in the catalog to detect regulated transcription factors. TFactS was validated with published lists of regulated genes in various models and compared to tools based on in silico promoter analysis. We next analyzed the NCI60 cancer microarray data set and showed the regulation of SOX10, MITF and JUN in melanomas. We then performed microarray experiments comparing gene expression response of human fibroblasts stimulated by different growth factors. TFactS predicted the specific activation of Signal transducer and activator of transcription factors by PDGF-BB, which was confirmed experimentally. Our results show that the expression levels of transcription factor target genes constitute a robust signature for transcription factor regulation, and can be efficiently used for microarray data mining

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements