A new method to identify mutated genes in human diseases

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A new method to identify mutated genes in human diseases

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/plos-anm031408.php

Researchers from the University of Turin, Italy and the University of

Nijmegen, The Netherlands, have devised a new method that may help

the medical community to determine the genetic basis of many common

diseases. Their findings are described in an article published March

21st in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.

Thousands of human diseases originate from mutations in one or more

genes. Identification of mutated genes is a crucial first step

towards understanding the molecular mechanisms at the origin of

diseases and devising a treatment. In many cases, we do not know the

identity of the affected gene, only a chromosomal region (typically

containing hundred of genes) in which the mutation is located.

The research group, led by Ferdinando Di Cunto and Paolo Provero,

analyzed gene expression data (patterns of gene activity in tissues

and cell lines) from thousands of published experiments to identify

genes showing patterns comparable to the ones of mutated genes in

similar diseases. The study identified candidate genes for 81

diseases, including various forms of epilepsy and muscular dystrophy

As in all such analyses, the results must be verified experimentally.

However, the task of understanding the molecular basis of many

diseases could be significantly simplified by the results of this

work.

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/doi/pcbi.1000043

CITATION: Ala U, Piro RM, Grassi E, Damasco C, Silengo L, et al.

(2008) Prediction of Human Disease Genes by Human-Mouse Conserved

Coexpression Analysis. PLoS Comput Biol 4(3): e1000043.

doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000043