Modular transcriptional repertoire and MicroRNA target analyses characterize genomic dysregulation in the thymus of Down syndrome infants.

ABSTRACT: Trisomy 21-driven transcriptional alterations in human thymus were characterized through gene coexpression network (GCN) and miRNA-target analyses. We used whole thymic tissue--obtained at heart surgery from Down syndrome (DS) and karyotipically normal subjects (CT)--and a network-based approach for GCN analysis that allows the identification of modular transcriptional repertoires (communities) and the interactions between all the system's constituents through community detection. Changes in the degree of connections observed for hierarchically important hubs/genes in CT and DS networks corresponded to community changes. Distinct communities of highly interconnected genes were topologically identified in these networks. The role of miRNAs in modulating the expression of highly connected ge

SUBMITTER: Moreira-Filho CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4884935 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature