A functional and regulatory map of asthma

Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2008 Mar;38(3):324-36. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2007-0151OC. Epub 2007 Oct 5.

Abstract

The prevalence and morbidity of asthma, a chronic inflammatory airway disease, is increasing. Animal models provide a meaningful but limited view of the mechanisms of asthma in humans. A systems-level view of asthma that integrates multiple levels of molecular and functional information is needed. For this, we compiled a gene expression compendium from five publicly available mouse microarray datasets and a gene knowledge base of 4,305 gene annotation sets. Using this collection we generated a high-level map of the functional themes that characterize animal models of asthma, dominated by innate and adaptive immune response. We used Module Networks analysis to identify co-regulated gene modules. The resulting modules reflect four distinct responses to treatment, including early response, general induction, repression, and IL-13-dependent response. One module with a persistent induction in response to treatment is mainly composed of genes with suggested roles in asthma, suggesting a similar role for other module members. Analysis of IL-13-dependent response using protein interaction networks highlights a role for TGF-beta1 as a key regulator of asthma. Our analysis demonstrates the discovery potential of systems-level approaches and provides a framework for applying such approaches to asthma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Allergens
  • Animals
  • Asthma / genetics*
  • Asthma / immunology*
  • Asthma / metabolism
  • Asthma / pathology
  • Asthma / therapy
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Humans
  • Hypersensitivity
  • Immunity, Innate
  • Interleukin-13 / immunology*
  • Interleukin-13 / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred A
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C3H
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Models, Biological
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Ovalbumin
  • Protein Interaction Mapping*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Systems Biology*
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / physiology*

Substances

  • Allergens
  • Interleukin-13
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta1
  • Ovalbumin