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Author

Zhi Wang

Other affiliations: National Institutes of Health
Bio: Zhi Wang is an academic researcher from Sage Bionetworks. The author has contributed to research in topics: Gene regulatory network. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 1313 citations. Previous affiliations of Zhi Wang include National Institutes of Health.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A network-driven integrative analysis not only identified CHD-related genes, but also defined network structure that sheds light on the molecular interactions of genes associated with CHD risk.
Abstract: Objective— Genetic approaches have identified numerous loci associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). The molecular mechanisms underlying CHD gene–disease associations, however, remain unclear. We hypothesized that genetic variants with both strong and subtle effects drive gene subnetworks that in turn affect CHD. Approach and Results— We surveyed CHD-associated molecular interactions by constructing coexpression networks using whole blood gene expression profiles from 188 CHD cases and 188 age- and sex-matched controls. Twenty-four coexpression modules were identified, including 1 case-specific and 1 control-specific differential module (DM). The DMs were enriched for genes involved in B-cell activation, immune response, and ion transport. By integrating the DMs with gene expression–associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms and with results of genome-wide association studies of CHD and its risk factors, the control-specific DM was implicated as CHD causal based on its significant enrichment for both CHD and lipid expression–associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms. This causal DM was further integrated with tissue-specific Bayesian networks and protein–protein interaction networks to identify regulatory key driver genes. Multitissue key drivers ( SPIB and TNFRSF13C ) and tissue-specific key drivers (eg, EBF1 ) were identified. Conclusions— Our network-driven integrative analysis not only identified CHD-related genes, but also defined network structure that sheds light on the molecular interactions of genes associated with CHD risk.

149 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
Kristin G. Ardlie, David S. DeLuca, Ayellet V. Segrè, Timothy J. Sullivan, Taylor Young, Ellen Gelfand, Casandra A. Trowbridge, Julian Maller, Taru Tukiainen, Monkol Lek, Lucas D. Ward, Pouya Kheradpour, Benjamin Iriarte, Yan Meng, Cameron D. Palmer, Tõnu Esko, Wendy Winckler, Joel N. Hirschhorn, Manolis Kellis, Daniel G. MacArthur, Gad Getz, Andrey A. Shabalin, Gen Li, Yi-Hui Zhou, Andrew B. Nobel, Ivan Rusyn, Fred A. Wright, Tuuli Lappalainen, Pedro G. Ferreira, Halit Ongen, Manuel A. Rivas, Alexis Battle, Sara Mostafavi, Jean Monlong, Michael Sammeth, Marta Melé, Ferran Reverter, Jakob M. Goldmann, Daphne Koller, Roderic Guigó, Mark I. McCarthy, Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis, Eric R. Gamazon, Hae Kyung Im, Anuar Konkashbaev, Dan L. Nicolae, Nancy J. Cox, Timothée Flutre, Xiaoquan Wen, Matthew Stephens, Jonathan K. Pritchard, Zhidong Tu, Bin Zhang, Tao Huang, Quan Long, Luan Lin, Jialiang Yang, Jun Zhu, Jun Liu, Amanda Brown, Bernadette Mestichelli, Denee Tidwell, Edmund Lo, Mike Salvatore, Saboor Shad, Jeffrey A. Thomas, John T. Lonsdale, Michael T. Moser, Bryan Gillard, Ellen Karasik, Kimberly Ramsey, Christopher Choi, Barbara A. Foster, John Syron, Johnell Fleming, Harold Magazine, Rick Hasz, Gary Walters, Jason Bridge, Mark Miklos, Susan L. Sullivan, Laura Barker, Heather M. Traino, Maghboeba Mosavel, Laura A. Siminoff, Dana R. Valley, Daniel C. Rohrer, Scott D. Jewell, Philip A. Branton, Leslie H. Sobin, Mary Barcus, Liqun Qi, Jeffrey McLean, Pushpa Hariharan, Ki Sung Um, Shenpei Wu, David Tabor, Charles Shive, Anna M. Smith, Stephen A. Buia, Anita H. Undale, Karna Robinson, Nancy Roche, Kimberly M. Valentino, Angela Britton, Robin Burges, Debra Bradbury, Kenneth W. Hambright, John Seleski, Greg E. Korzeniewski, Kenyon Erickson, Yvonne Marcus, Jorge Tejada, Mehran Taherian, Chunrong Lu, Margaret J. Basile, Deborah C. Mash, Simona Volpi, Jeffery P. Struewing, Gary F. Temple, Joy T. Boyer, Deborah Colantuoni, Roger Little, Susan E. Koester, Latarsha J. Carithers, Helen M. Moore, Ping Guan, Carolyn C. Compton, Sherilyn Sawyer, Joanne P. Demchok, Jimmie B. Vaught, Chana A. Rabiner, Nicole C. Lockhart 
08 May 2015-Science
TL;DR: The landscape of gene expression across tissues is described, thousands of tissue-specific and shared regulatory expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) variants are cataloged, complex network relationships are described, and signals from genome-wide association studies explained by eQTLs are identified.
Abstract: Understanding the functional consequences of genetic variation, and how it affects complex human disease and quantitative traits, remains a critical challenge for biomedicine. We present an analysi...

4,418 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Genome-wide analysis suggests that several genes that increase the risk for sporadic Alzheimer's disease encode factors that regulate glial clearance of misfolded proteins and the inflammatory reaction.
Abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis is not restricted to the neuronal compartment, but includes strong interactions with immunological mechanisms in the brain. Misfolded and aggregated proteins bind to pattern recognition receptors on microglia and astroglia, and trigger an innate immune response characterised by release of inflammatory mediators, which contribute to disease progression and severity. Genome-wide analysis suggests that several genes that increase the risk for sporadic Alzheimer's disease encode factors that regulate glial clearance of misfolded proteins and the inflammatory reaction. External factors, including systemic inflammation and obesity, are likely to interfere with immunological processes of the brain and further promote disease progression. Modulation of risk factors and targeting of these immune mechanisms could lead to future therapeutic or preventive strategies for Alzheimer's disease.

3,947 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In a recent study, this article showed that low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 and amyloid-PET positivity precede other AD manifestations by many years.
Abstract: Despite continuing debate about the amyloid β‐protein (or Aβ hypothesis, new lines of evidence from laboratories and clinics worldwide support the concept that an imbalance between production and clearance of Aβ42 and related Aβ peptides is a very early, often initiating factor in Alzheimer9s disease (AD). Confirmation that presenilin is the catalytic site of γ‐secretase has provided a linchpin: all dominant mutations causing early‐onset AD occur either in the substrate (amyloid precursor protein, APP) or the protease (presenilin) of the reaction that generates Aβ. Duplication of the wild‐type APP gene in Down9s syndrome leads to Aβ deposits in the teens, followed by microgliosis, astrocytosis, and neurofibrillary tangles typical of AD. Apolipoprotein E4, which predisposes to AD in > 40% of cases, has been found to impair Aβ clearance from the brain. Soluble oligomers of Aβ42 isolated from AD patients9 brains can decrease synapse number, inhibit long‐term potentiation, and enhance long‐term synaptic depression in rodent hippocampus, and injecting them into healthy rats impairs memory. The human oligomers also induce hyperphosphorylation of tau at AD‐relevant epitopes and cause neuritic dystrophy in cultured neurons. Crossing human APP with human tau transgenic mice enhances tau‐positive neurotoxicity. In humans, new studies show that low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 and amyloid‐PET positivity precede other AD manifestations by many years. Most importantly, recent trials of three different Aβ antibodies (solanezumab, crenezumab, and aducanumab) have suggested a slowing of cognitive decline in post hoc analyses of mild AD subjects. Although many factors contribute to AD pathogenesis, Aβ dyshomeostasis has emerged as the most extensively validated and compelling therapeutic target.

3,824 citations

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TL;DR: Pathway analysis implicates immunity, lipid metabolism, tau binding proteins, and amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism, showing that genetic variants affecting APP and Aβ processing are associated not only with early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease but also with LOAD.
Abstract: Risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), the most prevalent dementia, is partially driven by genetics. To identify LOAD risk loci, we performed a large genome-wide association meta-analysis of clinically diagnosed LOAD (94,437 individuals). We confirm 20 previous LOAD risk loci and identify five new genome-wide loci (IQCK, ACE, ADAM10, ADAMTS1, and WWOX), two of which (ADAM10, ACE) were identified in a recent genome-wide association (GWAS)-by-familial-proxy of Alzheimer’s or dementia. Fine-mapping of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region confirms the neurological and immune-mediated disease haplotype HLA-DR15 as a risk factor for LOAD. Pathway analysis implicates immunity, lipid metabolism, tau binding proteins, and amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism, showing that genetic variants affecting APP and Aβ processing are associated not only with early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease but also with LOAD. Analyses of risk genes and pathways show enrichment for rare variants (P = 1.32 × 10−7), indicating that additional rare variants remain to be identified. We also identify important genetic correlations between LOAD and traits such as family history of dementia and education.

1,641 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: As inflammation in AD primarily concerns the innate immune system — unlike in 'typical' neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and encephalitides — the concept of neuroinflammation in AD may need refinement.
Abstract: The past two decades of research into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) have been driven largely by the amyloid hypothesis; the neuroinflammation that is associated with AD has been assumed to be merely a response to pathophysiological events. However, new data from preclinical and clinical studies have established that immune system-mediated actions in fact contribute to and drive AD pathogenesis. These insights have suggested both novel and well-defined potential therapeutic targets for AD, including microglia and several cytokines. In addition, as inflammation in AD primarily concerns the innate immune system - unlike in 'typical' neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and encephalitides - the concept of neuroinflammation in AD may need refinement.

1,523 citations