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Bianco, S. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Bianco, S. D..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

APOGEE 2: multi-layer machine-learning model for the interpretable prediction of mitochondrial missense variants

APOGEE 2 is a mitochondrially-centered ensemble method designed to improve the accuracy of pathogenicity predictions for interpreting missense mitochondrial variants. Built on the joint consensus recommendations by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP), APOGEE 2 features an improved machine learning method and a curated training set for enhanced performance metrics. It offers region-wise assessments of genome fragility and mechanistic analyses of specific amino acids that cause perceptible long-range effects on protein structure. With clinical and research use in mind, APOGEE 2 scores and pathogenicity probabilities are precompiled and available in MitImpact. APOGEE 2s ability to address challenges in interpreting mitochondrial missense variants makes it an essential tool in the field of mitochondrial genetics.

bioinformatics↗

Investigating mitochondrial gene expression patterns in Drosophila melanogaster using network analysis to understand aging mechanisms

The process of aging is a complex phenomenon that involves a progressive decline in physiological functions required for survival and fertility. To better understand the mechanisms underlying this process, the scientific community has utilized several tools. Among them, mitochondrial DNA has emerged as a crucial factor in biological aging, given that mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to significantly contribute to this phenomenon. Additionally, Drosophila melanogaster has proven to be a valuable model organism for studying aging due to its low cost, capacity to generate large populations, and ease of genetic manipulation and tissue dissection. Moreover, graph theory has been employed to understand the dynamic changes in gene expression patterns associated with aging and to investigate the interactions between aging and aging-related diseases. In this study, we have integrated these approaches to examine the patterns of gene co-expression in Drosophila melanogaster at various stages of development. By applying graph-theory techniques, we have identified modules of co-expressing genes, highlighting those that contain a significantly high number of mitochondrial genes. We found important mitochondrial genes involved in aging and age-related diseases in Drosophila melanogaster, including UQCR-C1, ND-B17.2, ND-20, and Pdhb. Our findings shed light on the role of mitochondrial genes in the aging process and demonstrate the utility of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism and graph theory in aging research.

bioinformatics↗