Gene regulation in glioblastoma: a combinatorial analysis of microRNAs and transcription factors

Int J Comput Biol Drug Des. 2011;4(2):111-26. doi: 10.1504/IJCBDD.2011.041006. Epub 2011 Jun 28.

Abstract

Glioblastoma is the most common and most lethal brain tumour in humans. Illustrating the functions being disturbed during carcinogenesis and how they are deregulated is very important for us to understand its underlying mechanism. Transcriptional aberrations may play a vital role in the etiology of glioblastoma, which might be caused by both genomic alterations and other regulation molecules. In this study, we investigated possible cooperative deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) in glioblastoma, under the hypothesis that miRNAs and TFs might have a combinational regulatory effect on glioblastoma genes. We searched glioblastoma-specific regulatory networks by integrating glioblastoma related miRNAs, TFs and genes, and identified 54 feed-forward loops (FFLs). Follow up functional enrichment analysis of these FFLs uncovered some functions important to carcinogenesis but also some unique functions specific to the FFLs we identified.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Brain Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Computer Simulation
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Glioblastoma / genetics*
  • Glioblastoma / metabolism
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Models, Genetic
  • RNA, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • RNA, Neoplasm / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Systems Biology / statistics & numerical data
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA, Neoplasm
  • Transcription Factors