Transcriptomic epidemiology of smoking: the effect of smoking on gene expression in lymphocytes.
Charlesworth JC, Curran JE, Johnson MP, Goring HH, Dyer TD, Diego VP, Kent JW Jr, Mahaney MC, Almasy L, Maccluer JW, Moses EK, Blangero J. BMC Med Genomics. 2010 Jul 15;3(1):29.
"We realised we'd identified more than 300 genes whose expression was altered by cigarette smoke exposure we relied on IPA to help us tease out the potential biological effect of those alterations. IPA convinced us, and hopefully our readers, that many of the systemic pathological changes that occur as a result of smoking are due in part to changes at the gene expression level."
Dr Jac Charlesworth, Ph.D.
Research Fellow - Statistics
Menzies Research Institute
This month we are featuring a new study from researchers at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) that identified over 300 unique genes whose expression levels were significantly altered in white blood cells of smokers (vs. non-smokers). This particular study of the effects of cigarette smoke on the transcriptome was the largest of its kind. Importantly, by analyzing the significantly altered transcripts in IPA, the team was able to link those gene expression changes to relevant functions and pathways such as cell toxicity, immune response, cancer, cell death, and metabolism of xenobiotics. IPA enabled them to conclude that smoking impacts not just individual genes, but networks of genes whose interactions may help elucidate the mechanisms by which smoking affects the body and increases risk for a variety of human diseases.
For additional coverage of this groundbreaking study follow the jump to related stories in EurekAlert and GenomeWeb. |
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