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Reiche, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Reiche, K..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

A time-resolved meta-analysis of consensus gene expression profiles during human T-cell activation

BackgroundThe coordinated transcriptional regulation of activated T-cells is based on the complex dynamic behavior of signaling networks. Given an external stimulus, T-cell gene expression is characterized by impulse and sustained patterns over the course. Here, we analyzed the temporal pattern of activation across different T-cell populations to develop consensus gene signatures for T-cell activation. MethodsWe applied a meta-analysis of anti-CD3/CD28 induced CD4+ T-cell activation kinetics of publicly available transcriptomewide time series using a random effects model. We used non-negative matrix factorization, an unsupervised deconvolution method, to infer changes in biological patterns over time. For verification and to further map a wider variety of the T-cell landscape, we performed a time series of transcriptome-wide RNA sequencing on activated blood T-cells. Lastly, we matched the identified consensus biomarker signatures to single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data of autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells from 24 patients with large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) to characterize activation status of the cell product before infusion. ResultsWe identified time-resolved gene expression profiles comprising 521 genes of up to 10 disjunct time points during activation and different polarization conditions. The gene signatures include central transcriptional regulators of T-cell activation, representing successive waves as well as sustained patterns of induction. They cover early, intermediate, and late response expression rates across multiple T-cell populations, thus defining consensus biomarker signatures for T-cell activation. Intermediate and late response activation signatures in CAR T-cell infusion products were correlated to immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome. ConclusionIn conclusion, we describe temporally resolved gene expression patterns across T-cell populations. These biomarker signatures are a valuable source for e.g., monitoring transcriptional changes during T-cell activation with a reasonable number of genes, annotating T-cell states in single-cell transcriptome studies or assessing dysregulated functions of human T-cell immunity.

bioinformatics↗

Using interactive platforms to encode, manage and explore immune-related adverse outcome pathways

We address the need for modelling and predicting adverse outcomes in immunotoxicology to improve non-clinical assessments of immunomodulatory therapy safety and efficacy. The integrated approach includes, first, the adverse outcome pathway concept established in the toxicology field, and, second, the systems medicine disease map approach for describing molecular mechanisms involved in a particular pathology. The proposed systems immunotoxicology workflow is demonstrated with CAR T cell treatment as a use case. To this end, the linear adverse outcome pathway (AOP) is expanded into a molecular interaction model in standard systems biology formats. Then it is shown how knowledge related to immunotoxic events can be integrated, encoded, managed and explored to benefit the research community. The map is accessible online via the MINERVA Platform for browsing, commenting and data visualisation (https://minerva.pages.uni.lu). Our work transforms a graphical illustration of an AOP into a digitally structured and standardised form, featuring precise and controlled vocabulary and supporting reproducible computational analyses. Because of annotations to source literature and databases, the map can be further expanded to match the evolving knowledge and research questions.

systems biology↗

uap: Reproducible and Robust HTS Data Analysis

BackgroundA lack of reproducibility has been repeatedly criticized in computational research. High throughput sequencing (HTS) data analysis is a complex multi-step process. For most of the steps a range of bioinformatic tools is available and for most tools manifold parameters need to be set. Due to this complexity, HTS data analysis is particularly prone to reproducibility and consistency issues. We have defined four criteria that in our opinion ensure a minimal degree of reproducible research for HTS data analysis. A series of workflow management systems is available for assisting complex multi-step data analyses. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the currently available work flow management systems satisfies all four criteria for reproducible HTS analysis.\n\nResultsHere we present uap, a workflow management system dedicated to robust, consistent, and reproducible HTS data analysis. uap is optimized for the application to omics data, but can be easily extended to other complex analyses. It is available under the GNU GPL v3 license at https://github.com/yigbt/uap.\n\nConclusionsuap is a freely available tool that enables researchers to easily adhere to reproducible research principles for HTS data analyses.

bioinformatics↗

Alzheimer related genes show accelerated evolution

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of unknown cause with complex genetic and environmental traits. Here, we show that gene structures of loci, that show AD-associated changes in their expression, evolve faster than the genome at large. This phylogenetic trait of AD suggests a critical pathogenetic role of recent adaptive evolution of human brain and might have far reaching consequences with respect to the appropriateness of model systems and the development of disease-modifying strategies.

evolutionary biology↗