Institute for Systems Biology

About: Institute for Systems Biology is a nonprofit organization based out in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Proteomics. The organization has 1277 authors who have published 2777 publications receiving 353165 citations.

Landscape of the SOX2 protein–protein interactome

Abstract: SOX2 is a key gene implicated in maintaining the stemness of embryonic and adult stem cells that appears to re-activate in several human cancers including glioblastoma multiforme. Using immunoprecipitation (IP)/MS/MS, we identified 144 proteins that are putative SOX2 interacting proteins. Of note, SOX2 was found to interact with several heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein family proteins, including HNRNPA2B1, HNRNPA3, HNRNPC, HNRNPK, HNRNPL, HNRNPM, HNRNPR, HNRNPU, as well as other ribonucleoproteins, DNA repair proteins and helicases. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that the SOX2 interactome was enriched for GO terms GO:0030529 ribonucleoprotein complex and GO:0004386 helicase activity. These findings indicate that SOX2 associates with the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complex, suggesting a possible role for SOX2 in post-transcriptional regulation in addition to its function as a transcription factor.

Data Standards for Omics Data: The Basis of Data Sharing and Reuse

Abstract: To facilitate sharing of Omics data, many groups of scientists have been working to establish the relevant data standards. The main components of data sharing standards are experiment description standards, data exchange standards, terminology standards, and experiment execution standards. Here we provide a survey of existing and emerging standards that are intended to assist the free and open exchange of large-format data.

Innate immune detection of bacterial virulence factors via the NLRC4 inflammasome

Abstract: Introduction Cytokine production by innate immune cells is initiated by signaling downstream of pattern recognition receptors, including Toll-like receptors.

Synthetic Lethal Screens as a Means to Understand and Treat MYC-Driven Cancers

Abstract: Although therapeutics against MYC could potentially be used against a wide range of human cancers, MYC-targeted therapies have proven difficult to develop. The convergence of breakthroughs in human genomics and in gene silencing using RNA interference (RNAi) have recently allowed functional interrogation of the genome and systematic identification of synthetic lethal interactions with hyperactive MYC. Here, we focus on the pathways that have emerged through RNAi screens and present evidence that a subset of genes showing synthetic lethality with MYC are significantly interconnected and linked to chromatin and transcriptional processes, as well as to DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoints. Other synthetic lethal interactions with MYC point to novel pathways and potentially broaden the repertoire of targeted therapies. The elucidation of MYC synthetic lethal interactions is still in its infancy, and how these interactions may be influenced by tissue-specific programs and by concurrent genetic change will require further investigation. Nevertheless, we predict that these studies may lead the way to novel therapeutic approaches and new insights into the role of MYC in cancer.

Optimal nutrition and the ever-changing dietary landscape: a conference report.

Abstract: The field of nutrition has evolved rapidly over the past century. Nutrition scientists and policy makers in the developed world have shifted the focus of their efforts from dealing with diseases of overt nutrient deficiency to a new paradigm aimed at coping with conditions of excess—calories, sedentary lifestyles and stress. Advances in nutrition science, technology and manufacturing have largely eradicated nutrient deficiency diseases, while simultaneously facing the growing challenges of obesity, non-communicable diseases and aging. Nutrition research has gone through a necessary evolution, starting with a reductionist approach, driven by an ambition to understand the mechanisms responsible for the effects of individual nutrients at the cellular and molecular levels. This approach has appropriately expanded in recent years to become more holistic with the aim of understanding the role of nutrition in the broader context of dietary patterns. Ultimately, this approach will culminate in a full understanding of the dietary landscape—a web of interactions between nutritional, dietary, social, behavioral and environmental factors—and how it impacts health maintenance and promotion.