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Novel TCOF1 Frameshift Variant and Phenotypic Heterogeneity in a Chinese Family With Treacher Collins Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a congenital craniofacial disorder characterized by malar and mandibular hypoplasia, downward-slanting palpebral fissures, and conductive hearing loss. Pathogenic variants in TCOF1 account for most cases, with POLR1D, POLR1C, and POLR1B also implicated. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing was performed in a two-generation Chinese family with TCS, followed by Sanger sequencing validation. Clinical features were systematically evaluated, and bioinformatic analyses combined with structural modeling were employed to assess the potential pathogenicity of the identified variant. RESULTS: In this study, a novel heterozygous frameshift variant in TCOF1 (NM_001371623.1:c.1601_1602delCC, p.Pro534Leufs*15) was identified in the proband and his affected father. The proband presented classic TCS features including craniofacial skeletal hypoplasia, downward-slanting palpebral fissures, and conductive hearing loss. He also carried a right-sided preauricular fistula, a nonclassical feature of TCS. The same variant was detected in his affected father with a substantially milder phenotype, indicating marked intrafamilial phenotypic variability. Bioinformatic analysis and structural modeling predicted that this variant produces a severely truncated Treacle protein lacking key functional domains, which is predicted to disrupt nucleolar localization and ribosome biogenesis. CONCLUSION: Our findings expand the variant spectrum of TCOF1, highlight phenotypic heterogeneity in TCS, and reinforce the critical role of molecular diagnosis in distinguishing TCS from phenotypically overlapping craniofacial syndromes.

Humans↗

A map of WW domain family interactions.

WW domains are protein modules that bind proline-rich ligands. WW domain-ligand complexes are of importance as they have been implicated in several human diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cancer, hypertension, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases. We report the results of a protein array aimed at mapping all the human WW domain protein-protein interactions. Our biochemical approach integrates parallel synthesis of peptides, protein expression, and high-throughput screening methodology combined with tools of bioinformatics. The results suggest that the majority of the bioinformatically predicted WW peptide ligands and most WW domains are functional, and that only about 10% of the measured domain-ligand interactions are positive. The analysis of the WW domain protein arrays also underscores the importance of the amino acid residues surrounding the WW ligand core motifs for specific binding to WW domains. In addition, the methodology presented here allows for the rapid elucidation of WW domain-ligand interactions with multiple applications including prediction of exact WW ligand binding sites, which can be applied to the mapping of other protein signaling domain families. Such information can be applied to the generation of protein interaction networks and identification of potential drug targets. To our knowledge, this report describes the first protein-protein interaction map of a domain in the human proteome.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Comparative proteome analysis of secretory proteins from pathogenic and nonpathogenic Listeria species.

Extracellular proteins of bacterial pathogens play a crucial role in the infection of the host. Here we present the first comprehensive validation of the secretory subproteome of the Gram positive pathogen Listeria monocytogenes using predictive bioinformatic and experimental proteomic approaches. The previous original signal peptide (SP) prediction (Glaser et al., Science 2001, 294, 849-852) has been greatly improved by an in-depth analysis using seven different bioinformatic tools. Subsequent careful classification of the resulting data gives a probability dependent annotation of 121 putatively secreted proteins of which 45 are novel. Complementary proteomic analysis using both two-dimensional gel electrophoresis/matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry has identified 105 proteins in the culture supernatant of L. monocytogenes. Among these, we were able to detect all the currently known virulence factors with an SP showing the importance of this subproteome and demonstrating the reliability of the techniques used. The comparison between the L. monocytogenes wildtype and the nonpathogenic species Listeria innocua was performed to reveal proteins probably involved in pathogenicity and/or the adaptation to their respective lifestyles. In addition to the eight known virulence factors, all of which have no orthologous genes in L. innocua, eight additional proteins have been identified that exhibit the typical key feature defining the known listerial virulence factors. Further significant differences between the two species are evident in the group of cell wall and secretory proteins that warrant further study. Our investigation clearly demonstrates that the major difference between the pathogenic and nonpathogenic species, noted in the comparative genome analysis, manifests itself strongest in the secretome.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Correlation-associated peptide networks of human cerebrospinal fluid.

Profiling of peptides and small proteins from either human body fluids or tissues by chromatography and subsequent mass spectrometry reveals several thousand individual peptide signals per sample. Any peptide is an intermediate in the course of biosynthesis, post-translational modification (PTM), proteolytic processing and degradation. Changes in the concentration of one peptide often affects the concentration of the other, hence a challenge consists in the development of suitable tools to turn this large amount of data into biologically relevant information. Comprehensive statistical analysis of the peptide profiling data allows associating peptides, which are closely related in terms of peptide biochemistry. Here, the bioinformatic concept of peptide networks, correlation-associated peptide networks (CANs), is introduced. Peptides with statistical similarity of their concentrations are grouped in form of networks, and these networks are interpreted in terms of peptide biochemistry. The spectrum of functional relationships found in cerebrospinal fluid CAN covers PTM and proteolytic degradation of peptides, clearance processing in the complement cascade, common secretion of peptides by neuroendocrine cells as well as ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Our results indicate that CAN is a powerful bioinformatic tool for the systematic analysis and interpretation of large peptidomics and proteomics data and helps to discover novel bioactive and diagnostic peptides.

Chemical Fractionation↗

Analysis of the Pasteurella multocida outer membrane sub-proteome and its response to the in vivo environment of the natural host.

This study describes the identification of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of the bacterial pathogen Pasteurella multocida and an analysis of how the expression of these proteins changes during infection of the natural host. We analysed the sarcosine-insoluble membrane fractions, which are highly enriched for OMPs, from bacteria grown under a range of conditions. Initially, the OMP-containing fractions were resolved by 2-DE and the proteins identified by MALDI-TOF MS. In addition, the OMP-containing fractions were separated by 1-D SDS-PAGE and protein identifications were made using nano LC MS/MS. Using these two methods a total of 35 proteins was identified from samples obtained from organisms grown in rich culture medium. Six of the proteins were identified only by 2-DE MALDI-TOF MS, whilst 17 proteins were identified only by 1-D LC MS/MS. We then analysed the OMPs from P. multocida which had been isolated from the bloodstream of infected chickens (a natural host) or grown in iron-depleted medium. Three proteins were found to be significantly up-regulated during growth in vivo and one of these (Pm0803) was also up-regulated during growth in iron-depleted medium. After bioinformatic analysis of the protein matches, it was predicted that over one third of the combined OMPs predicted by the bioinformatics sub-cellular localisation tools PSORTB and Proteome Analyst, had been identified during this study. This is the first comprehensive proteomic analysis of the P. multocida outer membrane and the first proteomic analysis of how a bacterial pathogen modifies its outer membrane proteome during infection.

Animals↗

Expressed proteome analysis of human hepatocellular carcinoma in nude mice (LCI-D20) with high metastasis potential.

We report for the first time an expressed proteome for human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in nude mice model. Most cases of human liver cancer are HCC with highly metastatic ability. Therefore, the early prediction or diagnosis and effective treatment are the key points of research. We have previously successfully established a human HCC nude mice model (LCI-D20) with high metastasis potential. To understand better the tumor biology of HCC it is worth to explore the relativity of all expressed protein profiles in the LCI-D20 HCC nude mice model. With advanced proteomics technologies, we have carried out a proteomic analysis with following stages: protein sample preparation of cancer tissue, including total cellular extraction and sequential fractionation, 2-DE and 2-D LC separation, ESI/MALDI-MS/MS identification, as well as data-dependent bioinformatics. The identified proteins were classified bioinformatically respective to their function, biological process and intracellular localization. Some important proteins found in HCC, e.g. metabolism enzymes, proteins regulating cell motility, signaling proteins, and heat shock proteins, are discussed in terms of their metastasis.

Animals↗

From proteins to systems: the British Society for Proteomics Research (BSPR) meeting 2005.

This report describes the highlights of the second scientific meeting of the British Society for Proteome Research (BSPR), jointly organised with the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), and held at The Genome Centre, Cambridge UK in July 2005. The theme of the meeting was "From Proteins to Systems" covering many diverse aspects of proteomics, bioinformatics and systems biology.

Computational Biology↗

Application of serum protein fingerprint in diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

To find new biomarkers and establish serum protein fingerprint models for early diagnosis and preoperative staging of papillary thyroid carcinoma, we employed SELDI-TOF-MS and bioinformatics tools. A total of 116 samples were analyzed in this study. The first 80 samples were analyzed by SELDI-TOF-MS and two biomarker patterns were identified. Pattern 1 distinguishes patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma from healthy individuals. Pattern 2 distinguishes papillary thyroid carcinoma from benign thyroid nodes. The remaining 29 samples were analyzed on the second day and served as an independent test set. The analysis of this independent test set yielded a specificity of 80.0% and a sensitivity of 88.9% for pattern 1 and a specificity of 80.0% and a sensitivity of 80.0% for pattern 2. Two additional biomarker patterns were identified to distinguish different stages of the papillary thyroid carcinoma (pattern 3) with an accuracy of 77.1% and different pathological types of thyroid carcinoma (pattern 4) with an accuracy of 88.1%. Taken together, the SELDI-TOF-MS technique combined with bioinformatics approaches can not only facilitate the discovery of better biomarkers for papillary thyroid carcinoma but also provide a useful tool for molecular diagnosis in the future.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗

The HUPO Brain Proteome Project jamboree: centralised summary of the pilot studies.

The Bioinformatics Committee of the HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) meets regularly to execute the post-lab analyses of the data produced in the HUPO BPP pilot studies. On January 9-11, 2006 the members as well as invited analysts came together at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, UK for the pilot studies jamboree. The results of the reprocessing were presented and tasks forces were initiated to compile, to interpret and to summarise the data obtained.

Animals↗

Recurrence quantification analysis reveals interaction partners in paramyxoviridae envelope glycoproteins.

The paramyxovirus envelope fuses with the host cell membrane by cooperative interaction of two transmembrane glycoproteins: the hemagglutinin neuraminidase (HN) and the fusion (F) glycoprotein. The interaction appears to be finely regulated, as both proteins must derive from the same viral species to obtain a functional interaction. Because HN and F do not form stable complexes, this interaction is poorly characterized. This article demonstrates that a modification of a classical bioinformatic method based on the co-evolution of interacting partners can detect the specificity of the HN and F interaction. The proposed approach relies on a relatively new nonlinear signal analysis technique, recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), applied to the hydrophobicity sequences of viral proteins. This technique is able to shed light on the interaction between HN and F proteins in the virus-cell fusion and, more generally, permits the quantitative comparison of nonhomologue protein systems. On the contrary, the same co-evolution approach, based on the classical sequence alignment procedure, was unable to discriminate interacting partners from the general strict correlation existing between the evolution of viral proteins as a whole. The cooperation between HN and F in the fusion process is thus demonstrated by a bioinformatic, purely sequence-dependent, perspective.

Computational Biology↗

The effect of resolution-dependent global shape modifications on rigid-body protein-protein docking.

Docking unbound molecules presents a challenge in the case where no prior biological or bioinformatic knowledge exists. This is mainly due to differences between the structures of the molecules when in a complex and in the free state. Presumably, these differences interfere with the ability of protein-protein docking algorithms, which rely on a dominant shape descriptor, to identify the correct solution and rank it higher than false solutions. In this study we verify the notion that small discords in the molecular fit can be eliminated by using appropriately designed low-resolution shape descriptors, thereby improving the docking results. We exploit the inherent gradual resolution dependency of Fourier transforms and formulate a resolution-dependent shape descriptor by truncating selected Fourier transform terms. Thus, different levels of shape modification are attained, affecting the degree of detail in the depiction of the molecular surface. We applied the modified descriptor to a selection of 23 protein-protein systems, using the unbound structures where possible. The docking results obtained with the new geometric descriptor were considerably superior to former results, improving the ranks of nearly correct solutions for 17 systems. Unification of the results of scans in which different resolutions were employed further improved the ranks of nearly correct solutions to less than 100 for 12 of the 23 systems and less than 300 for 20 systems. The new geometric descriptor can be combined with other descriptors, which typify the electrostatic or hydrophobic character of the molecular surface, and with external experimental or bioinformatic data.

Binding Sites↗

Complete mutation analysis panel of the 39 human HOX genes.

BACKGROUND: The HOX gene family consists of highly conserved transcription factors that specify the identity of the body segments along the anteroposterior axis of the embryo. Because the phenotypes of mice with targeted disruptions of Hox genes resemble some patterns of human malformations, mutations in HOX genes have been expected to be associated with a significant number of human malformations. Thus far, however, mutations have been documented in only three of the 39 human HOX genes (HOXD13, HOXA13, and HOXA11) partly because current knowledge on the complete coding sequence and genome structure is limited to only 20 of the 39 human HOX genes. METHODS: Taking advantage of the human and mouse draft genome sequences, we attempted to characterize the remaining 19 human HOX genes by bioinformatic analysis including phylogenetic footprinting, the probabilistic prediction method, and comparison of genomic sequences with the complete set of the human anonymous cDNA sequences. RESULTS: We were able to determine the full coding sequences of 19 HOX genes and their genome structure and successfully designed a complete set of PCR primers to amplify the entire coding region of each of the 39 HOX genes from genomic DNA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate the usefulness of bioinformatic analysis of the draft genome sequences for clinically oriented research projects. It is hoped that the mutation panel provided here will serve as a launchpad for a new discourse on the genetic basis of human malformations.

Animals↗

Identification of potential regulatory elements in the human immunoglobulin loci.

In this post-genomic era, it is necessary to formulate specific questions and develop bioinformatics tools to understand the vast amounts of information stored in DNA sequence. Using the combinatorial pattern discovery algorithm called Teiresias developed by the Bioinformatics and Pattern Discovery Group at IBM, we have identified novel conserved motifs present in the immunoglobulin loci. In the human VH promoter regions, two new putative regulatory elements have been implicated in basal transcriptional regulation of immunoglobulin. In the intergenic regions of the immunoglobulin constant region genes segments, elements were identified that are absent in similar regions of the Igbeta gene. Since the expression patterns of Igbeta and the Ig genes are similar such elements may have functions in activities specific to the Ig genes such as somatic hypermutation. These elements represent V gene-specific motifs identified through the use of a pattern discovery algorithm.

Algorithms↗

Magic roundabout is a new member of the roundabout receptor family that is endothelial specific and expressed at sites of active angiogenesis.

We have used bioinformatic data mining to identify a novel, endothelial-specific gene encoding a protein with homology to the axon guidance protein roundabout (ROBO1). The new gene has been called magic roundabout (ROBO4; GenBank acc. no. AF361473) and is smaller than other members of the roundabout gene family. Thus, in the extracellular region, magic roundabout has only two of the five immunoglobulin and two of the three fibronectin domains present in other roundabout genes. Expression of magic roundabout in vitro was detected in only endothelial cells and was greater in cells exposed to hypoxia. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry validated the bioinformatic prediction that magic roundabout expression would be endothelial specific in vivo. Magic roundabout expression in the adult was restricted exclusively to sites of active angiogenesis, notably tumor vessels. The identification of magic roundabout shows that the roundabout gene family extends beyond neuronal tissue and that roundabout/slit interactions are likely to have a role in angiogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Informatics for mouse genetics and genome mapping.

Bioinformatics has become an essential part of biological research. The rapid pace of technology development and the ability to carry out biological experimentation in large scale require computerized systems for data management, analysis, and display. Experimentation with the mouse, a major model organism of the Human Genome Initiative, has intensified the need for bioinformatics tools for mouse mapping and genome analysis. This article describes the Mouse Genome Database in the United States, a primary resource for mouse genomic data, as well as resources at the Mammalian Genetics Unit in the United Kingdom and the Animal Genome Database of Japan. Internet addresses are provided for major genetic and physical mapping resources, major genome data sites, and resources of molecular information.

Animals↗

Medical biotechnology in India.

The potential of biotechnology has just began to emerge in the 20th century. After the full knowledge of human genomes is available, biotechnology is going to play a major role in shaping the concept of future drug discovery, drug delivery, diagnostic methodology, clinical trials, and to a great extent the major lifestyle of the human society. This article is a comprehensive review of the major impact of biotechnology in diagnostics, antibiotics, r-proteins, vaccines, and antibodies production. It also highlights the future aspects of gene therapy in the management of healthcare. A comprehensive list of biotech products in healthcare management has been given. Also, the growth of biotechnology throughout the world at large and in the Indian industries in particular has been highlighted. Constraints, concerns and difficulties in biotechnology in India have been addressed mainly related to human resources, training institutions in India, funding in biotechnology, patent-related issues and regulatory hurdles. Like in information technology, India has great potential in bioinformatics as well. Some of the recent information on bioinformatics centers in India has been summarized. Indian biotechnology industries have the potential to use the modern discoveries in life sciences to reach an enviable position in the world of biotechnology.

Antibodies↗

Genome resources and comparative analysis tools for cardiovascular research.

Disorders of the cardiovascular system are often caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors that jointly contribute to individual susceptibility. Genomic data and bioinformatics tools generated from genome projects, coupled with functional verification, offer novel approaches to study both rare single-gene and complex multigenic cardiovascular diseases. These approaches include gene mapping using genome variation, especially single-nucleotide polymorphisms and comparative genomics within and between species. This chapter illustrates the major genome resources, associated bioinformatics tools, and their potential application in cardiovascular research.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗

Behavioral genomics of honeybee foraging and nest defense.

The honeybee has been the most important insect species for study of social behavior. The recently released draft genomic sequence for the bee will accelerate honeybee behavioral genetics. Although we lack sufficient tools to manipulate this genome easily, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that influence natural variation in behavior have been identified and tested for their effects on correlated behavioral traits. We review what is known about the genetics and physiology of two behavioral traits in honeybees, foraging specialization (pollen versus nectar), and defensive behavior, and present evidence that map-based cloning of genes is more feasible in the bee than in other metazoans. We also present bioinformatic analyses of candidate genes within QTL confidence intervals (CIs). The high recombination rate of the bee made it possible to narrow the search to regions containing only 17-61 predicted peptides for each QTL, although CIs covered large genetic distances. Knowledge of correlated behavioral traits, comparative bioinformatics, and expression assays facilitated evaluation of candidate genes. An overrepresentation of genes involved in ovarian development and insulin-like signaling components within pollen foraging QTL regions suggests that an ancestral reproductive gene network was co-opted during the evolution of foraging specialization. The major QTL influencing defensive/aggressive behavior contains orthologs of genes involved in central nervous system activity and neurogenesis. Candidates at the other two defensive-behavior QTLs include modulators of sensory signaling (Am5HT(7) serotonin receptor, AmArr4 arrestin, and GABA-B-R1 receptor). These studies are the first step in linking natural variation in honeybee social behavior to the identification of underlying genes.

Animals↗