In a study published in PLOS BIOLOGY, researchers at Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) explain how they developed a new theory for predicting cell-fate decisions and demonstrate, for the first time, that cells indeed undergo a critical transition – or tipping point – when they commit to a particular lineage. Jan. 9, 2017 3 Bullets: ISB researchers developed a new theory that uses state-of-the-art single-cell technology to make predictions about…
The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network recommends clinical trials organizers and drug manufacturers focus on newly discovered molecular subtypes GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 4, 2017 –– A comprehensive analysis of 559 esophageal and gastric cancer samples, collected from patients around the world, suggests the two main types of esophageal cancer differ markedly in their molecular characteristics and should be considered separate diseases. The study, published today in Nature from The…
ISB scientists recently published a study in the Journal of Proteome Research that presents results from a study on identifying organ-specific blood biomarkers for acute liver injury due to over-exposure to acetaminophen. From the summary: 3 Bullets: Finding organ-specific blood biomarkers for disease that are clinically useful is challenging. New study identifies organ-specific blood biomarkers for acute liver injury caused by over-exposure to acetaminophen. ISB researchers use the powerful, targeted…
The Baliga Lab’s Dr. Christopher Plaisier was the lead author of the study “Causal Mechanistic Regulatory Network for Glioblastoma Deciphered Using Systems Genetics Network Analysis” which published online in Cell Systems on July 14. Dr. Plaisier wrote a summary of the research: 3 Bullets: Using data from TCGA and ENCODE, ISB researchers developed integrative database and analysis platforms that provide insight about the underpinnings of glioblastoma multiforme. Researchers developed a…
The journal Cell published a study today (July 7) about the integrated analysis of drug response in 1,001 cancer cell lines. This study was undertaken by a large international group of researchers including ISB Senior Research Scientist Theo Knijnenburg. The researchers integrated heterogeneous molecular data of 11,215 tumors and 1,001 cell lines in order to study the drug response of these cell lines to 265 anti-cancer drugs. They uncovered numerous…
NIH Research Matters published an article on our tuberculosis paper. “The incredibly large number of possible drug combinations taken together with the difficulty of growing Mtb in the laboratory make discovery of effective combination therapy extremely challenging,” Dr. Nitin Baliga says. “We hope that our systems-based strategy will accelerate TB drug discovery by helping researchers prioritize combinations that are more likely to be effective.” READ THE ARTICLE
The Baliga Lab and colleagues at Center for Infectious Disease Research published (online in advance of print) this landmark study today in the journal Nature Microbiology: Seattle researchers created a genetic blueprint of the cunning tuberculosis bacteria, then used it to predict and rank potential drug targets 3 Bullets: Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology and Center for Infectious Disease Research have deciphered how the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis…
As part of The Cancer Genome Atlas project, the Shmuelvich Lab and colleagues published a paper in the journal Cancer Cell related to the rare cancer adrenocortical carcinoma. Read the summary: 3 Bullets: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, under-researched endocrine cancer with limited therapeutic options and overall poor outcome. TCGA researchers performed comprehensive analysis of 91 ACC samples to gain better understanding of potential genetic causes of the cancer….
Photo by Hsiao-Ching Chou Dr. Kristian Swearingen is a research scientist in the Moritz Lab at ISB. He and his collaborators just published a paper in PLOS Pathogens that describes potential new targets for malaria vaccines. Read his article about the research. Asked about the challenge of having to dissect thousands of mosquitoes, he commented: When we started this project, my collaborators collected all the parasites and I focused on…
Ötzi the Iceman: In a study published in the Jan. 8, 2016, issue of the journal Science, researchers from the Moritz group at ISB collaborated with a worldwide consortia headed by Prof. Albert Zink and Dr. Frank Maixner, of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC) in Italy; Prof. Thomas Rattei, of the University of Vienna; and Dr. Rudi Grimm, of University of…
Our Family Genomics group and collaborators analyzed the whole genome sequences of five families with high burden of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in order to elucidate the genomic architecture of IBD. Read about the research here… 3 Bullets: In medical genetics it is an unsolved question to what degree complex diseases are influenced by rare variants with potentially large effects in relation to the many common and weak-effect variants that…
ISB’s Moritz Group, which specializes in proteomics, collaborated on research related to study pathogens from the stomach content and microbiome of Ötzi, a glacier mummy from the European Copper Age. The results were published in Science. Read the article here. Institute for Systems Biology collaborates with researchers worldwide to study pathogens in the stomach content and microbiome of the 5300 year old European Copper Age glacier mummy “Ötzi” and discovers…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Genetic Disease Breakthrough Published in Nature Communications SEATTLE, DEC. 18, 2015 – A team of investigators based in Seattle, Amsterdam, and Luxembourg, have established the cause of a rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia, a chromosome instability disorder which is clinically typified by birth defects, bone marrow failure, leukemia, and susceptibility to solid tumors. The results were reported by researchers from the Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle),…
General transcription factor TFIIH plays central roles in gene transcription and DNA repair ISB researchers and collaborators map the architecture of the TFIIH complex using powerful crosslinking-mass spectrometry (CXMS) technology and integrative modeling Structural maps provide critical insights into how mutations in TFIIH subunits lead to disease phenotypes By Jie Luo and Mark Gillespie The expression, or transcription, of genes controls the identity and function of a cell. DNA damage…
3 Bullets: Identifying the most aggressive cells in cancer (cancer stem cells) is essential for designing effective therapy and predicting patient outcomes. Using single-cell analysis techniques, researchers at ISB and Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine have identified the molecular signatures of two types of malignant breast tissue cells. Researchers found an interesting twist: the two cell types “cooperate” to increase malignancy potential and they promote a third hybrid stem-cell type….
3 Bullets Rapid climate change, including ocean acidification caused by increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, is predicted to affect the oceans, sea life, and the global carbon cycle. Marine microalgae, including diatoms, are responsible for converting CO2 into oxygen and biologically usable carbon through photosynthesis. How these organisms will respond over the short and long term to rising CO2 is unknown. Growth experiments and transcriptomic analyses performed by UW and…
Scanning EM of bacteria being eaten by white blood cell Photo Credit: Adrian Ozinsky 3 Bullets: Nearly a decade ago, ISB’s Baliga Lab published a landmark paper describing cMonkey, an innovative method to accurately map gene networks within any organism from microbes to humans. Two new papers describe the benchmark results of cMonkey and also the release of cMonkey2, which performs with higher accuracy. Using this approach, genetic and molecular…
3 Bullets: The disease progression of tuberculosis is extremely complex and it’s poorly understood. ISB and Seattle BioMed researchers have made an important step by developing a comprehensive map of gene regulation in tuberculosis. A resulting open-access web portal offers any scientist the ability to mine the collected data. By ISBUSA Tuberculosis (TB) remains a top global health threat due to its remarkable complexity in disease progression. To help understand…
