PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Mount Sinai researchers develop database to help accelerate drug discovery

ChIP enrichment analysis database available free online

2010-09-15
(Press-News.org) Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new computational method that will help streamline the analysis of gene expression experiments and provide scientists with a better mechanistic understanding of the differences between diseased and normal cells. The new database and software, called ChIP Enrichment Analysis (ChEA), will revolutionize how researchers identify drug targets and biomarkers. Researchers can find the tool online at http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/lib/chea.jsp. The data are published in the September 15th issue of Bioinformatics.

Until ChEA was developed, there was no centralized database that integrated results from ChIP-seq and ChIP-chip experiments—two types of experiments used to identify how proteins called transcription factors potentially regulate all genes in humans and mice. The data that results from these types of experiments is substantial and computational biologists have struggled with how to integrate them. Led by Avi Ma'ayan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, a team at Mount Sinai integrated the results from these experiments, collecting data from more than 100 proteins that bind DNA to regulate gene expression, called transcription factors, into one database.

"Using ChEA, we were able to link these transcription factors to the genes they regulate for the first time," said Dr. Ma'ayan. "Our program allows researchers to identify which proteins are likely responsible for genetic changes that may cause disease. Using our database, researchers will be able to better identify drug targets."

Dr. Ma'ayan's team tested ChEA in several case studies. One case study looked at two independent publications that found signature sets of genes that indicate whether a breast tumor was benign or malignant. Both studies came up with lists of genes that were biomarkers of each tumor type. However, the list uncovered in one study did not match the list in the other study; in fact, there was very little overlap in the biomarkers discovered in each study. However, when Dr. Ma'ayan entered the two lists into ChEA, he determined that the genes on both lists have the same regulatory protein, which determines the aberrant expression of these biomarker genes.

"Our reanalysis of these two publications verifies the usefulness of this software and database in gaining a better mechanistic understanding of the role transcription factors play in controlling gene expression, and subsequently, the development of disease," said Dr. Ma'ayan.

INFORMATION: About The Mount Sinai Medical Center

The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses both The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Established in 1968, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of few medical schools embedded in a hospital in the United States. It has more than 3,400 faculty in 32 departments and 15 institutes, and ranks among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institute of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report. The school received the 2009 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is a 1,171-bed tertiary- and quaternary-care teaching facility and one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Mount Sinai Hospital among the nation's top 20 hospitals based on reputation, patient safety, and other patient-care factors. Nearly 60,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients last year, and approximately 530,000 outpatient visits took place.

For more information, visit www.mountsinai.org. Follow us on Twitter @mountsinainyc.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Discovery highlights promise of new immune system-based therapies

2010-09-15
BOSTON--A new focus on the immune system's ability to both unleash and restrain its attack on disease has led Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to identify cells in mice that prevent the immune system from attacking the animals' own cells, protecting them from autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and lupus. The discovery, reported online on Sept. 16 by the journal Nature, may give scientists an effective way of operating the immune system's internal "control panel," leading to improved therapies for a variety of diseases – from vaccines ...

Home's electrical wiring acts as antenna to receive low-power sensor data

Homes electrical wiring acts as antenna to receive low-power sensor data
2010-09-15
If these walls had ears, they might tell a homeowner some interesting things. Like when water is dripping into an attic crawl space, or where an open window is letting hot air escape during winter. The walls do have ears, thanks to a device that uses a home's electrical wiring as a giant antenna. Sensors developed by researchers at the University of Washington and the Georgia Institute of Technology use residential wiring to transmit information to and from almost anywhere in the home, allowing for wireless sensors that run for decades on a single watch battery. The technology, ...

Robotic catheter could improve treatment of heart condition

Robotic catheter could improve treatment of heart condition
2010-09-15
VIDEO: NC State's Dr. Greg Buckner has developed a robotic catheter that is significantly more maneuverable than existing devices, which could lead to reduced operating times for patients undergoing heart surgery... Click here for more information. Atrial fibrillation is a heart disorder that affects more than two million Americans, and is considered a key contributor to blood clots and stroke. Now researchers from North Carolina State University are developing a new ...

Employee with higher level of emotional intelligence is more dedicated and satisfied at work

2010-09-15
Employees with a high level of emotional intelligence are more dedicated and satisfied at work, compared to other employees. This has been shown in a new study from the University of Haifa. "This study has shown that employees with a higher level of emotional intelligence are assets to their organization. I believe it will not be long before emotional intelligence is incorporated in employee screening and training processes and in employee assessment and promotion decisions" stated Dr. Galit Meisler, who conducted the research. The study, which Dr. Meisler carried out ...

Gene network reveals link between fats and heart disease signs

Gene network reveals link between fats and heart disease signs
2010-09-15
A gene network behind hardening of the arteries and coronary heart disease has been identified by a team of scientists from Australia, Europe and the United Kingdom. Their findings expose potential targets for the treatment of heart disease. Dr Michael Inouye, a postdoctoral fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, began the study at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK and completed it earlier this year at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Researchers from Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare, the University of ...

Study into the booby traps of breastfeeding in the UK

2010-09-15
Australian researchers are embarking on a study of mums in the United Kingdom to discover if "guilt-tripping women" into breastfeeding is effective in persuading them to opt for breast over bottle. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a recognised leader in breastfeeding research and has already undertaken a study in Australia and the US. Lead researcher Joy Parkinson, from QUT's School of Advertising Marketing and Public Relations, said women were often made to feel guilty for not breastfeeding their children when in fact a more supportive approach might be ...

Eating broccoli could guard against arthritis

2010-09-15
Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are launching a groundbreaking new project to investigate the benefits of broccoli in the fight against osteoarthritis. Initial laboratory research at UEA has found that a compound in broccoli called sulforaphane blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis. Broccoli has previously been associated with reduced cancer risk but this is the first major study into its effects on joint health. With funding from both Arthritis Research UK and the Diet and Health ...

Urgent steps needed to tackle inadequate support for women with secondary breast cancer

2010-09-15
The support provided for women with secondary breast cancer is inadequate and urgent steps are needed to provide better services for patients with this progressive incurable disease, which kills half a million women worldwide every year. Those are the key recommendations to emerge from a trio of papers in the September issue of the European Journal of Cancer Care. Fifty-seven per cent of breast care nurses who took part in a UK survey for Breast Cancer Care told researchers that they felt there was inadequate provision for women whose cancer has spread to other organs, ...

Overprotective parents may impact heart anxiety in adults with congenital heart conditions

2010-09-15
Adults with congenital heart disease are more likely to suffer heart-focused anxiety – a fear of heart-related symptoms and sensations – if their parents were overprotective during their childhood and adolescence. Dr. Lephuong Ong from Orion Health Services in Vancouver, and colleagues from University Health Network and York University in Toronto, Canada, suggest that health care professionals could encourage greater independence for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease to improve their psychosocial adjustment. Dr. Ong's work1 is published online in Springer's ...

Interfering with a double-edged sword: novel anti-inflammatory functions for interferons

2010-09-15
Animals react to infections in a number of ways. Among the first is the production of cell factors such as interferons and IL-1beta. Interferons have several functions, including activating a series of intracellular signals such as Tyk2 (Tyrosine kinase 2), while IL-1beta is important for the induction of inflammation, which helps directly to protect the body against attack. However, inflammation must be kept tightly in check as it may also harm the body. Cells control IL-1beta activity in a number of ways, regulating not only the amount of messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] Mount Sinai researchers develop database to help accelerate drug discovery
ChIP enrichment analysis database available free online