Joshua W. Modell

Bio: Joshua W. Modell is an academic researcher from Rockefeller University. The author has contributed to research in topics: CRISPR & Cas9. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 13 publications receiving 4537 citations. Previous affiliations of Joshua W. Modell include Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine & Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Connectivity Map: Using Gene-Expression Signatures to Connect Small Molecules, Genes, and Disease

Abstract: To pursue a systematic approach to the discovery of functional connections among diseases, genetic perturbation, and drug action, we have created the first installment of a reference collection of gene-expression profiles from cultured human cells treated with bioactive small molecules, together with pattern-matching software to mine these data. We demonstrate that this "Connectivity Map" resource can be used to find connections among small molecules sharing a mechanism of action, chemicals and physiological processes, and diseases and drugs. These results indicate the feasibility of the approach and suggest the value of a large-scale community Connectivity Map project.

Cas9 specifies functional viral targets during CRISPR-Cas adaptation

Abstract: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) loci and their associated (Cas) proteins provide adaptive immunity against viral infection in prokaryotes. Upon infection, short phage sequences known as spacers integrate between CRISPR repeats and are transcribed into small RNA molecules that guide the Cas9 nuclease to the viral targets (protospacers). Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 cleavage of the viral genome requires the presence of a 5'-NGG-3' protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence immediately downstream of the viral target. It is not known whether and how viral sequences flanked by the correct PAM are chosen as new spacers. Here we show that Cas9 selects functional spacers by recognizing their PAM during spacer acquisition. The replacement of cas9 with alleles that lack the PAM recognition motif or recognize an NGGNG PAM eliminated or changed PAM specificity during spacer acquisition, respectively. Cas9 associates with other proteins of the acquisition machinery (Cas1, Cas2 and Csn2), presumably to provide PAM-specificity to this process. These results establish a new function for Cas9 in the genesis of prokaryotic immunological memory.

A DNA damage checkpoint in Caulobacter crescentus inhibits cell division through a direct interaction with FtsW

Abstract: Following DNA damage, cells typically delay cell cycle progression and inhibit cell division until their chromosomes have been repaired. The bacterial checkpoint systems responsible for these DNA damage responses are incompletely understood. Here, we show that Caulobacter crescentus responds to DNA damage by coordinately inducing an SOS regulon and inhibiting the master regulator CtrA. Included in the SOS regulon is sidA (SOS-induced inhibitor of cell division A), a membrane protein of only 29 amino acids that helps to delay cell division following DNA damage, but is dispensable in undamaged cells. SidA is sufficient, when overproduced, to block cell division. However, unlike many other regulators of bacterial cell division, SidA does not directly disrupt the assembly or stability of the cytokinetic ring protein FtsZ, nor does it affect the recruitment of other components of the cell division machinery. Instead, we provide evidence that SidA inhibits division by binding directly to FtsW to prevent the final constriction of the cytokinetic ring.

CRISPR–Cas systems exploit viral DNA injection to establish and maintain adaptive immunity

Abstract: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas systems provide protection against viral and plasmid infection by capturing short DNA sequences from these invaders and integrating them into the CRISPR locus of the prokaryotic host. These sequences, known as spacers, are transcribed into short CRISPR RNA guides that specify the cleavage site of Cas nucleases in the genome of the invader. It is not known when spacer sequences are acquired during viral infection. Here, to investigate this, we tracked spacer acquisition in Staphylococcus aureus cells harbouring a type II CRISPR-Cas9 system after infection with the staphylococcal bacteriophage ϕ12. We found that new spacers were acquired immediately after infection preferentially from the cos site, the viral free DNA end that is first injected into the cell. Analysis of spacer acquisition after infection with mutant phages demonstrated that most spacers are acquired during DNA injection, but not during other stages of the viral cycle that produce free DNA ends, such as DNA replication or packaging. Finally, we showed that spacers acquired from early-injected genomic regions, which direct Cas9 cleavage of the viral DNA immediately after infection, provide better immunity than spacers acquired from late-injected regions. Our results reveal that CRISPR-Cas systems exploit the phage life cycle to generate a pattern of spacer acquisition that ensures a successful CRISPR immune response.

A DNA Damage-Induced, SOS-Independent Checkpoint Regulates Cell Division in Caulobacter crescentus

Abstract: Cells must coordinate DNA replication with cell division, especially during episodes of DNA damage. The paradigm for cell division control following DNA damage in bacteria involves the SOS response where cleavage of the transcriptional repressor LexA induces a division inhibitor. However, in Caulobacter crescentus, cells lacking the primary SOS-regulated inhibitor, sidA, can often still delay division post-damage. Here we identify didA, a second cell division inhibitor that is induced by DNA damage, but in an SOS-independent manner. Together, DidA and SidA inhibit division, such that cells lacking both inhibitors divide prematurely following DNA damage, with lethal consequences. We show that DidA does not disrupt assembly of the division machinery and instead binds the essential division protein FtsN to block cytokinesis. Intriguingly, mutations in FtsW and FtsI, which drive the synthesis of septal cell wall material, can suppress the activity of both SidA and DidA, likely by causing the FtsW/I/N complex to hyperactively initiate cell division. Finally, we identify a transcription factor, DriD, that drives the SOS-independent transcription of didA following DNA damage.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Enrichr: Interactive and collaborative HTML5 gene list enrichment analysis tool

Abstract: System-wide profiling of genes and proteins in mammalian cells produce lists of differentially expressed genes/proteins that need to be further analyzed for their collective functions in order to extract new knowledge. Once unbiased lists of genes or proteins are generated from such experiments, these lists are used as input for computing enrichment with existing lists created from prior knowledge organized into gene-set libraries. While many enrichment analysis tools and gene-set libraries databases have been developed, there is still room for improvement. Here, we present Enrichr, an integrative web-based and mobile software application that includes new gene-set libraries, an alternative approach to rank enriched terms, and various interactive visualization approaches to display enrichment results using the JavaScript library, Data Driven Documents (D3). The software can also be embedded into any tool that performs gene list analysis. We applied Enrichr to analyze nine cancer cell lines by comparing their enrichment signatures to the enrichment signatures of matched normal tissues. We observed a common pattern of up regulation of the polycomb group PRC2 and enrichment for the histone mark H3K27me3 in many cancer cell lines, as well as alterations in Toll-like receptor and interlukin signaling in K562 cells when compared with normal myeloid CD33+ cells. Such analyses provide global visualization of critical differences between normal tissues and cancer cell lines but can be applied to many other scenarios. Enrichr is an easy to use intuitive enrichment analysis web-based tool providing various types of visualization summaries of collective functions of gene lists. Enrichr is open source and freely available online at: http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/Enrichr .

Causal analysis approaches in Ingenuity Pathway Analysis

Abstract: Motivation: Prior biological knowledge greatly facilitates the meaningful interpretation of gene-expression data. Causal networks constructed from individual relationships curated from the literature are particularly suited for this task, since they create mechanistic hypotheses that explain the expression changes observed in datasets. Results: We present and discuss a suite of algorithms and tools for inferring and scoring regulator networks upstream of gene-expression data based on a large-scale causal network derived from the Ingenuity Knowledge Base. We extend the method to predict downstream effects on biological functions and diseases and demonstrate the validity of our approach by applying it to example datasets. Availability: The causal analytics tools ‘Upstream Regulator Analysis’, ‘Mechanistic Networks’, ‘Causal Network Analysis’ and ‘Downstream Effects Analysis’ are implemented and available within Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA, http://www.ingenuity.com). Supplementary information: Supplementary material is available at Bioinformatics online.

Network pharmacology: the next paradigm in drug discovery.

Abstract: The dominant paradigm in drug discovery is the concept of designing maximally selective ligands to act on individual drug targets. However, many effective drugs act via modulation of multiple proteins rather than single targets. Advances in systems biology are revealing a phenotypic robustness and a network structure that strongly suggests that exquisitely selective compounds, compared with multitarget drugs, may exhibit lower than desired clinical efficacy. This new appreciation of the role of polypharmacology has significant implications for tackling the two major sources of attrition in drug development--efficacy and toxicity. Integrating network biology and polypharmacology holds the promise of expanding the current opportunity space for druggable targets. However, the rational design of polypharmacology faces considerable challenges in the need for new methods to validate target combinations and optimize multiple structure-activity relationships while maintaining drug-like properties. Advances in these areas are creating the foundation of the next paradigm in drug discovery: network pharmacology.

Drug repurposing: progress, challenges and recommendations

Abstract: Given the high attrition rates, substantial costs and slow pace of new drug discovery and development, repurposing of 'old' drugs to treat both common and rare diseases is increasingly becoming an attractive proposition because it involves the use of de-risked compounds, with potentially lower overall development costs and shorter development timelines. Various data-driven and experimental approaches have been suggested for the identification of repurposable drug candidates; however, there are also major technological and regulatory challenges that need to be addressed. In this Review, we present approaches used for drug repurposing (also known as drug repositioning), discuss the challenges faced by the repurposing community and recommend innovative ways by which these challenges could be addressed to help realize the full potential of drug repurposing.