Gene expression

2015
Jung H, Lee D, Lee J, Park D, Kim YJ, Park W-Y, Hong D**, Park PJ**, Lee E**. Intron retention is a widespread mechanism of tumor-suppressor inactivation. Nat Genet 2015;47(11):1242-8.Abstract

-A substantial fraction of disease-causing mutations are pathogenic through aberrant splicing. Although genome profiling studies have identified somatic single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in cancer, the extent to which these variants trigger abnormal splicing has not been systematically examined. Here we analyzed RNA sequencing and exome data from 1,812 patients with cancer and identified ∼900 somatic exonic SNVs that disrupt splicing. At least 163 SNVs, including 31 synonymous ones, were shown to cause intron retention or exon skipping in an allele-specific manner, with ∼70% of the SNVs occurring on the last base of exons. Notably, SNVs causing intron retention were enriched in tumor suppressors, and 97% of these SNVs generated a premature termination codon, leading to loss of function through nonsense-mediated decay or truncated protein. We also characterized the genomic features predictive of such splicing defects. Overall, this work demonstrates that intron retention is a common mechanism of tumor-suppressor inactivation.

Lee S*, Seo CH*, Alver BH, Hyuk Lee S, Park PJ. EMSAR: estimation of transcript abundance from RNA-seq data by mappability-based segmentation and reclustering. BMC Bioinformatics 2015;16(1):278.Abstract

BACKGROUND: RNA-seq has been widely used for genome-wide expression profiling. RNA-seq data typically consists of tens of millions of short sequenced reads from different transcripts. However, due to sequence similarity among genes and among isoforms, the source of a given read is often ambiguous. Existing approaches for estimating expression levels from RNA-seq reads tend to compromise between accuracy and computational cost. RESULTS: We introduce a new approach for quantifying transcript abundance from RNA-seq data. EMSAR (Estimation by Mappability-based Segmentation And Reclustering) groups reads according to the set of transcripts to which they are mapped and finds maximum likelihood estimates using a joint Poisson model for each optimal set of segments of transcripts. The method uses nearly all mapped reads, including those mapped to multiple genes. With an efficient transcriptome indexing based on modified suffix arrays, EMSAR minimizes the use of CPU time and memory while achieving accuracy comparable to the best existing methods. CONCLUSIONS: EMSAR is a method for quantifying transcripts from RNA-seq data with high accuracy and low computational cost. EMSAR is available at https://github.com/parklab/emsar.

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2012
O'Connell DJ*, Ho JWK*, Mammoto T, Turbe-Doan A, O'Connell JT, Haseley PS, Koo S, Kamiya N, Ingber DE, Park PJ, Maas RL. A Wnt-bmp feedback circuit controls intertissue signaling dynamics in tooth organogenesis. Science Signaling 2012;5(206):ra4.Abstract

Many vertebrate organs form through the sequential and reciprocal exchange of signaling molecules between juxtaposed epithelial and mesenchymal tissues. We undertook a systems biology approach that combined the generation and analysis of large-scale spatiotemporal gene expression data with mouse genetic experiments to gain insight into the mechanisms that control epithelial-mesenchymal signaling interactions in the developing mouse molar tooth. We showed that the shift in instructive signaling potential from dental epithelium to dental mesenchyme was accompanied by temporally coordinated genome-wide changes in gene expression in both compartments. To identify the mechanism responsible, we developed a probabilistic technique that integrates regulatory evidence from gene expression data and from the literature to reconstruct a gene regulatory network for the epithelial and mesenchymal compartments in early tooth development. By integrating these epithelial and mesenchymal gene regulatory networks through the action of diffusible extracellular signaling molecules, we identified a key epithelial-mesenchymal intertissue Wnt-Bmp (bone morphogenetic protein) feedback circuit. We then validated this circuit in vivo with compound genetic mutations in mice that disrupted this circuit. Moreover, mathematical modeling demonstrated that the structure of the circuit accounted for the observed reciprocal signaling dynamics. Thus, we have identified a critical signaling circuit that controls the coordinated genome-wide expression changes and reciprocal signaling molecule dynamics that occur in interacting epithelial and mesenchymal compartments during organogenesis.

2011
Kim T-M, Park PJ. Advances in analysis of transcriptional regulatory networks. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Biol Med 2011;3(1):21-35.Abstract

A transcriptional regulatory network represents a molecular framework in which developmental or environmental cues are transformed into differential expression of genes. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by the combinatorial interplay between cis-regulatory DNA elements and trans-acting transcription factors, and is perhaps the most important mechanism for controlling gene expression. Recent innovations, most notably the method for detecting protein-DNA interactions genome-wide, can help provide a comprehensive catalog of cis-regulatory elements and their interaction with given trans-acting factors in a given condition. A transcriptional regulatory network that integrates such information can lead to a systems-level understanding of regulatory mechanisms. In this review, we will highlight the key aspects of current knowledge on eukaryotic transcriptional regulation, especially on known transcription factors and their interacting regulatory elements. Then we will review some recent technical advances for genome-wide mapping of DNA-protein interactions based on high-throughput sequencing. Finally, we will discuss the types of biological insights that can be obtained from a network-level understanding of transcription regulation as well as future challenges in the field.

2009
Park PJ, Manjourides J, Bonetti M, Pagano M. A permutation test for determining significance of clusters with applications to spatial and gene expression data. Comput Stat Data Anal 2009;53(12):4290-4300.Abstract

Hierarchical clustering is a common procedure for identifying structure in a data set, and this is frequently used for organizing genomic data. Although more advanced clustering algorithms are available, the simplicity and visual appeal of hierarchical clustering has made it ubiquitous in gene expression data analysis. Hence, even minor improvements in this framework would have significant impact. There is currently no simple and systematic way of assessing and displaying the significance of various clusters in a resulting dendrogram without making certain distributional assumptions or ignoring gene-specific variances. In this work, we introduce a permutation test based on comparing the within-cluster structure of the observed data with those of sample datasets obtained by permuting the cluster membership. We carry out this test at each node of the dendrogram using a statistic derived from the singular value decomposition of variance matrices. The p-values thus obtained provide insight into the significance of each cluster division. Given these values, one can also modify the dendrogram by combining non-significant branches. By adjusting the cut-off level of significance for branches, one can produce dendrograms with a desired level of detail for ease of interpretation. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by applying it to illustrative data sets.

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Wang X-P, O'Connell DJ, Lund JJ, Saadi I, Kuraguchi M, Turbe-Doan A, Cavallesco R, Kim H, Park PJ, Harada H, Kucherlapati R, Maas RL. Apc inhibition of Wnt signaling regulates supernumerary tooth formation during embryogenesis and throughout adulthood. Development 2009;136(11):1939-49.Abstract

The ablation of Apc function or the constitutive activation of beta-catenin in embryonic mouse oral epithelium results in supernumerary tooth formation, but the underlying mechanisms and whether adult tissues retain this potential are unknown. Here we show that supernumerary teeth can form from multiple regions of the jaw and that they are properly mineralized, vascularized, innervated and can start to form roots. Even adult dental tissues can form new teeth in response to either epithelial Apc loss-of-function or beta-catenin activation, and the effect of Apc deficiency is mediated by beta-catenin. The formation of supernumerary teeth via Apc loss-of-function is non-cell-autonomous. A small number of Apc-deficient cells is sufficient to induce surrounding wild-type epithelial and mesenchymal cells to participate in the formation of new teeth. Strikingly, Msx1, which is necessary for endogenous tooth development, is dispensable for supernumerary tooth formation. In addition, we identify Fgf8, a known tooth initiation marker, as a direct target of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling. These studies identify key mechanistic features responsible for supernumerary tooth formation.

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Park PJ, Kong SW, Tebaldi T, Lai WR, Kasif S, Kohane IS. Integration of heterogeneous expression data sets extends the role of the retinol pathway in diabetes and insulin resistance. Bioinformatics 2009;25(23):3121-7.Abstract

MOTIVATION: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that involves both environmental and genetic factors. To understand the genetics of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, the DIabetes Genome Anatomy Project (DGAP) was launched to profile gene expression in a variety of related animal models and human subjects. We asked whether these heterogeneous models can be integrated to provide consistent and robust biological insights into the biology of insulin resistance. RESULTS: We perform integrative analysis of the 16 DGAP data sets that span multiple tissues, conditions, array types, laboratories, species, genetic backgrounds and study designs. For each data set, we identify differentially expressed genes compared with control. Then, for the combined data, we rank genes according to the frequency with which they were found to be statistically significant across data sets. This analysis reveals RetSat as a widely shared component of mechanisms involved in insulin resistance and sensitivity and adds to the growing importance of the retinol pathway in diabetes, adipogenesis and insulin resistance. Top candidates obtained from our analysis have been confirmed in recent laboratory studies.

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2008
Lee H, Kong SW, Park PJ. Integrative analysis reveals the direct and indirect interactions between DNA copy number aberrations and gene expression changes. Bioinformatics 2008;24(7):889-96.Abstract

MOTIVATION: DNA copy number aberrations (CNAs) and gene expression (GE) changes provide valuable information for studying chromosomal instability and its consequences in cancer. While it is clear that the structural aberrations and the transcript levels are intertwined, their relationship is more complex and subtle than initially suspected. Most studies so far have focused on how a CNA affects the expression levels of those genes contained within that CNA. RESULTS: To better understand the impact of CNAs on expression, we investigated the correlation of each CNA to all other genes in the genome. The correlations are computed over multiple patients that have both expression and copy number measurements in brain, bladder and breast cancer data sets. We find that a CNA has a direct impact on the gene amplified or deleted, but it also has a broad, indirect impact elsewhere. To identify a set of CNAs that is coordinately associated with the expression changes of a set of genes, we used a biclustering algorithm on the correlation matrix. For each of the three cancer types examined, the aberrations in several loci are associated with cancer-type specific biological pathways that have been described in the literature: CNAs of chromosome (chr) 7p13 were significantly correlated with epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway in glioblastoma multiforme, chr 13q with NF-kappaB cascades in bladder cancer, and chr 11p with Reck pathway in breast cancer. In all three data sets, gene sets related to cell cycle/division such as M phase, DNA replication and cell division were also associated with CNAs. Our results suggest that CNAs are both directly and indirectly correlated with changes in expression and that it is beneficial to examine the indirect effects of CNAs. AVAILABILITY: The code is available upon request.

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2005
Kong SW, Hwang K-B, Kim RD, Zhang B-T, Greenberg SA, Kohane IS, Park PJ. CrossChip: a system supporting comparative analysis of different generations of Affymetrix arrays. Bioinformatics 2005;21(9):2116-7.Abstract

SUMMARY: To increase compatibility between different generations of Affymetrix GeneChip arrays, we propose a method of filtering probes based on their sequences. Our method is implemented as a web-based service for downloading necessary materials for converting the raw data files (*.CEL) for comparative analysis. The user can specify the appropriate level of filtering by setting the criteria for the minimum overlap length between probe sequences and the minimum number of usable probe pairs per probe set. Our website supports a within-species comparison for human and mouse GeneChip arrays. AVAILABILITY: http://www.crosschip.org

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2004
Park PJ, Cao YA, Lee SY, Kim J-W, Chang MS, Hart R, Choi S. Current issues for DNA microarrays: platform comparison, double linear amplification, and universal RNA reference. J Biotechnol 2004;112(3):225-45.Abstract

DNA microarray technology has been widely used to simultaneously determine the expression levels of thousands of genes. A variety of approaches have been used, both in the implementation of this technology and in the analysis of the large amount of expression data. However, several practical issues still have not been resolved in a satisfactory manner, and among the most critical is the lack of agreement in the results obtained in different array platforms. In this study, we present a comparison of several microarray platforms [Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays, custom complementary DNA (cDNA) arrays, and custom oligo arrays printed with oligonucleotides from three different sources] as well as analysis of various methods used for microarray target preparation and the reference design. The results indicate that the pairwise correlations of expression levels between platforms are relative low overall but that the log ratios of the highly expressed genes are strongly correlated, especially between Affymetrix and cDNA arrays. The microarray measurements were compared with quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) results for 23 genes, and the varying degrees of agreement for each platform were characterized. We have also developed and tested a double amplification method which allows the use of smaller amounts of starting material. The added round of amplification produced reproducible results as compared to the arrays hybridized with single round amplified targets. Finally, the reliability of using a universal RNA reference for two-channel microarrays was tested and the results suggest that comparisons of multiple experimental conditions using the same control can be accurate.

Kim RD, Park PJ. Improving identification of differentially expressed genes in microarray studies using information from public databases. Genome Biol 2004;5(9):R70.Abstract

We demonstrate that the process of identifying differentially expressed genes in microarray studies with small sample sizes can be substantially improved by extracting information from a large number of datasets accumulated in public databases. The improvement comes from more reliable estimates of gene-specific variances based on other datasets. For a two-group comparison with two arrays in each group, for example, the result of our method was comparable to that of a t-test analysis with five samples in each group or to that of a regularized t-test analysis with three samples in each group. Our results are further improved by weighting the results of our approach with the regularized t-test results in a hybrid method.

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2003
Park PJ, Kahane IS, Kim JH. Rank-Based Nonlinear Normalization of Oligonucleotide Arrays. Genomics & Informatics 2003;1(2):94-100.Abstract

MOTIVATION: Many have observed a nonlinear relationship between the signal intensity and the transcript abundance in microarray data. The first step in analyzing the data is to normalize it properly, and this should include a correction for the nonlinearity. The commonly used linear normalization schemes do not address this problem. RESULTS: Nonlinearity is present in both cDNA and oligonucleotide arrays, but we concentrate on the latter in this paper. Across a set of chips, we identify those genes whose within-chip ranks are relatively constant compared to other genes of similar intensity. For each gene, we compute the sum of the squares of the differences in its within-chip ranks between every pair of chips as our statistic and we select a small fraction of the genes with the minimal changes in ranks at each intensity level. These genes are most likely to be non-differentially expressed and are subsequently used in the normalization procedure. This method is a generalization of the rank-invariant normalization (Li and Wong, 2001), using all available chips rather than two at a time to gather more information, while using the chip that is least likely to be affected by nonlinear effects as the reference chip. The assumption in our method is that there are at least a small number of nondifferentially expressed genes across the intensity range. The normalized expression values can be substantially different from the unnormalized values and may result in altered down-stream analysis.

Blackshaw S, Kuo WP, Park PJ, Tsujikawa M, Gunnersen JM, Scott HS, Boon W-M, Tan S-S, Cepko CL. MicroSAGE is highly representative and reproducible but reveals major differences in gene expression among samples obtained from similar tissues. Genome Biol 2003;4(3):R17.Abstract

BACKGROUND: Serial analysis of gene expression using small amounts of starting material (microSAGE) has not yet been conclusively shown to be representative, reproducible or accurate. RESULTS: We show that microSAGE is highly representative, reproducible and accurate, but that pronounced differences in gene expression are seen between tissue samples taken from different individuals. CONCLUSIONS: MicroSAGE is a reliable method of comprehensively profiling differences in gene expression among samples, but care should be taken in generalizing results obtained from libraries constructed from tissue obtained from different individuals and/or processed or stored differently.

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2002
Park PJ, Butte AJ, Kohane IS. Comparing expression profiles of genes with similar promoter regions. Bioinformatics 2002;18(12):1576-84.Abstract

MOTIVATION: Gene regulatory elements are often predicted by seeking common sequences in the promoter regions of genes that are clustered together based on their expression profiles. We consider the problem in the opposite direction: we seek to find the genes that have similar promoter regions and determine the extent to which these genes have similar expression profiles. RESULTS: We use the data sets from experiments on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our similarity measure for the promoter regions is based on the set of common mapped or putative transcription factor binding sites and other regulatory elements in the upstream region of the genes, as contained in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Promoter Database. We pair up the genes with high similarity scores and compare their expression levels in time-course experiment data. We find that genes with similar promoter regions on the average have significantly higher correlation, but it can vary widely depending on the genes. This confirms that the presence of similar regulatory elements often does not correspond to similarity in expression profiles and indicates that finding transcription factor binding sites or other regulatory elements starting with the expression patterns may be limited in many cases. Regardless of the correlation, the degree to which the profiles agree under different experimental conditions can be examined to derive hypotheses concerning the role of common regulatory elements. Overall, we find that considering the relationship between the promoter regions and the expression profiles starting with the regulatory elements is a difficult but useful process that can provide valuable insights.

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Kuruvilla FG, Park PJ, Schreiber SL. Vector algebra in the analysis of genome-wide expression data. Genome Biol 2002;3(3):RESEARCH0011.Abstract

BACKGROUND: Data from thousands of transcription-profiling experiments in organisms ranging from yeast to humans are now publicly available. How best to analyze these data remains an important challenge. A variety of tools have been used for this purpose, including hierarchical clustering, self-organizing maps and principal components analysis. In particular, concepts from vector algebra have proven useful in the study of genome-wide expression data. RESULTS: Here we present a framework based on vector algebra for the analysis of transcription profiles that is geometrically intuitive and computationally efficient. Concepts in vector algebra such as angles, magnitudes, subspaces, singular value decomposition, bases and projections have natural and powerful interpretations in the analysis of microarray data. Angles in particular offer a rigorous method of defining 'similarity' and are useful in evaluating the claims of a microarray-based study. We present a sample analysis of cells treated with rapamycin, an immunosuppressant whose effects have been extensively studied with microarrays. In addition, the algebraic concept of a basis for a space affords the opportunity to simplify data analysis and uncover a limited number of expression vectors to span the transcriptional range of cell behavior. CONCLUSIONS: This framework represents a compact, powerful and scalable construction for analysis and computation. As the amount of microarray data in the public domain grows, these vector-based methods are relevant in determining statistical significance. These approaches are also well suited to extract biologically meaningful information in the analysis of signaling networks.

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