A central subnetwork involved in neuropathology in mouse prion disease, shown at three times after inoculation. Red circles indicate increased levels of gene expression relative to controls, while green ones are for genes with decreased levels, and yellow ones are for genes with no changes. The initial network changes occur well before the clinical signs of the disease can be detected, and predict later widespread pathological events.
Since its founding in 2000, ISB researchers have envisioned the day when their research would lead to:
- The pre-symptomatic detection of disease;
- The development of technologies to repair malfunctioning biological networks that cause disease; and
- Medications designed to cure patients before they even have symptoms.
Prion disease (the bovine form of which is known as Mad Cow Disease) is an infectious neurodegenerative disease in mice. In collaboration with the McLaughlin Research Institute, ISB researchers conducted a study of prion disease using a comprehensive "systems approach," producing new insights into degenerative brain disease, as well as pointing to new approaches for early diagnosis.
"This study is an example of how predictive network models of disease can be used to understand disease systems of interacting biological molecules that are not working properly," said Leroy Hood, MD,
The research paper addressing this finding was published in Molecular Systems Biology. ISB authors include Daehee Hwang, Inyoul Y. Lee, Hyuntae Yoo, Nils Gehlenborg, Brianne Petritis, David Baxter and Leroy E. Hood. Identification of acetaminophen-induced liver injury biomarker
Drug-induced liver injury is the most common reason for removing pharmaceuticals from the market, and acetaminophen overdose (whether intentional or not) is one of the world's most common causes of poisoning. Simply taking two Extra Strength Tylenol tablets more than four times a day will produce an overdose. Acetaminophen poisoning can be effectively treated if detected within about 10 hours of an initial overdose. The problem is that patients normally don't experience symptoms until the liver has begun to fail.
ISB researchers have identified new biomarkers that indicate liver damage very early in the process and prior to the development of any symptoms. The biomarkers, microRNAs (mRNA), can be identified in a simple blood sample much earlier than for the standard test used today. A paper describing the findings has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ISB authors include Kai Wang, Shile Zhang, Bruz Marzolf, Pamela Troisch, Amy Brightman, Zhiyuan Hu, Leroy E. Hood and David J. Galas.
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