Project description:The host response in critically ill patients with sepsis, septic shock remains poorly defined. Considerable research has been conducted to accurately distinguish patients with sepsis from those with non-infectious causes of disease. Technological innovations have positioned systems biology at the forefront of biomarker discovery. Analysis of the whole-blood leukocyte transcriptome enables the assessment of thousands of molecular signals beyond simply measuring several proteins in plasma, which for use as biomarkers is important since combinations of biomarkers likely provide more diagnostic accuracy than the measurement of single ones or a few. Evidence suggests that genome-wide transcriptional profiling of blood leukocytes can assist in differentiating between infection and non-infectious causes of severe disease. Of importance, RNA biomarkers have the potential advantage that they can be measured reliably in rapid quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)-based point of care tests. PAXgene blood RNA was isolated at intensive-care unit (ICU) admission and throughout ICU length-of-stay. Through the use of genome-wide microarrays we aimed to identify molecular features that enbale the adequate discrimination of infectious and non-infectious sources of critical illness. Moreover, biological pathway analysis was used to tease out the most relevant biological units in sepsis and septic shock.
Project description:Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is a serious viral disease that causes significant economic losses in salmon aquaculture. To characterize the host-pathogen relationship in IPN, we analysed transcriptional profiles of salmon head kidney (SHK-1) cells infected with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) at three timepoints over six days (at 1, 3 & 6 days post infection. The transcriptome was investigated using the TRAITS / SGP 16950-feature Atlantic salmon cDNA microarray, which is enriched for genes with functions related to the immune response.
