Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Many common diseases, such as asthma, diabetes or obesity, involve altered interactions between thousands of genes. High-throughput techniques (omics) allow identification of such genes and their products, but functional understanding is a formidable challenge. Network-based analyses of omics data have identified modules of disease-associated genes that have been used to obtain both a systems level and a molecular understanding of disease mechanisms. For example, in allergy a module was used to find a novel candidate gene that was validated by functional and clinical studies. Such analyses play important roles in systems medicine. This is an emerging discipline that aims to gain a translational understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying common diseases. In this review, we will explain and provide examples of how network-based analyses of omics data, in combination with functional and clinical studies, are aiding our understanding of disease, as well as helping to prioritize diagnostic markers or therapeutic candidate genes. Such analyses involve significant problems and limitations, which will be discussed. We also highlight the steps needed for clinical implementation.
Source: Genome Medicine
Authors: Mika Gustafsson, Colm E Nestor, Huan Zhang, Albert-László Barabási, Sergio Baranzini, Sören Brunak, Kian Fan Chung, Howard J Federoff, Anne-Claude Gavin, Richard R Meehan, Paola Picotti, Miguel Ángel Pujana, Nikolaus Rajewsky, Kenneth GC Smith, Peter J Sterk, Pablo Villoslada, Mikael Benson
Institutions: Linköping University, Northeastern University, University of California, San Francisco, University of Copenhagen, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Technical University of Denmark, Imperial College London, Georgetown University Medical Center, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, University of Zurich, Institute of Biochemistry, Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Max Delbrück Center, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,290
OpenAlex ID: W2156695919