Project description:<p>We developed a method that uses allelic imbalance information in combination with phased genomic sequencing to generate mega-haplotypes that can encompass entire chromosome arms. We applied this technique to characterize aneuploidy and chromosomal alterations in colorectal cancers.</p>
Project description:Assessing the impact of genomic alterations on protein networks is fundamental in identifying the mechanisms that shape cancer heterogeneity. We have used isobaric labelling to characterize the proteomic landscapes of 50 colorectal cancer cell lines and to decipher the functional consequences of somatic genomic variants. The robust quantification of over 9,000 proteins and 11,000 phosphopeptides on average, enabled the de novo construction of a functional protein correlation network which ultimately exposed the collateral effects of mutations on protein complexes. CRISPR-cas9 deletion of key chromatin modifiers confirmed that the consequences of genomic alterations can propagate through protein interactions in a transcript-independent manner. Lastly, we leveraged the quantified proteome to perform unsupervised classification of the cell lines and to build predictive models of drug response in colorectal cancer. Overall, we provide a deep integrative view of the functional network and the molecular structure underlying the heterogeneity of colorectal cancer cells.
Project description:Assessing the impact of genomic alterations on protein networks is fundamental in identifying the mechanisms that shape cancer heterogeneity. We have used isobaric labelling to characterize the proteomic landscapes of 50 colorectal cancer cell lines and to decipher the functional consequences of somatic genomic variants. The robust quantification of over 9,000 proteins and 11,000 phosphopeptides on average, enabled the de novo construction of a functional protein correlation network which ultimately exposed the collateral effects of mutations on protein complexes. CRISPR-cas9 deletion of key chromatin modifiers confirmed that the consequences of genomic alterations can propagate through protein interactions in a transcript-independent manner. Lastly, we leveraged the quantified proteome to perform unsupervised classification of the cell lines and to build predictive models of drug response in colorectal cancer. Overall, we provide a deep integrative view of the functional network and the molecular structure underlying the heterogeneity of colorectal cancer cells.
Project description:Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have provided an unprecedented opportunity to identify molecular markers of disease processes. This plethora of complex -omics data has simultaneously complicated the problem of extracting meaningful molecular signatures and opened up new opportunities for more sophisticated integrative and holistic approaches. In this era, effective integration of data-driven and knowledge-based approaches for biomarker identification has been recognised as key to improving the identification of high-performance biomarkers, and necessary for translational applications. Here, we have evaluated the role of circulating microRNA as a means of predicting the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. We have developed an innovative multi-objective optimisation method which effectively integrates a data-driven approach with the knowledge obtained from the microRNA-mediated regulatory network to identify robust plasma microRNA signatures which are reliable in terms of predictive power as well as functional relevance. We have found 9 signatures of colorectal cancer prognosis comprising a total of 19 circulating microRNAs. The identified signatures predict the patients’ survival outcome and target pathways underlying colorectal cancer progression. The altered expression of the microRNAs within these signatures was confirmed in two independent public datasets of plasma and tumour samples of patients in early stage versus advanced colorectal cancer.
Project description:Although BRD8 has been considered to act as a coactivator of the NuA4/TIP60-histone acetyltransferase complex, the role of BRD8 in colorectal cancer cells remains to be elucidated. We explored genomic BRD8-binding sites in human colorectal cancer cells.