A systematic comparison of data- and knowledge-driven approaches to disease subtype discovery.

Typical clustering analysis for large-scale genomics data combines two unsupervised learning techniques: dimensionality reduction and clustering (DR-CL) methods. It has been demonstrated that transforming gene expression to pathway-level information can improve the robustness and interpretability of disease grouping results. This approach, referred to as biological knowledge-driven clustering (BK-CL) approach, is often neglected, due to a lack of tools enabling systematic comparisons with more established DR-based methods.

Multiparametric Profiling of Engineered Nanomaterials: Unmasking the Surface Coating Effect.

Despite considerable efforts, the properties that drive the cytotoxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) remain poorly understood. Here, the authors inverstigate a panel of 31 ENMs with different core chemistries and a variety of surface modifications using conventional in vitro assays coupled with omics-based approaches. Cytotoxicity screening and multiplex-based cytokine profiling reveals a good concordance between primary human monocyte-derived macrophages and the human monocyte-like cell line THP-1.

Decreased plasma C-reactive protein levels in 4 allele carriers.

Objective: Apolipoprotein E () 4 allele is a well-established risk factor in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we assessed the effects of polymorphism on cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammation-related parameters in population-based cohorts.

Methods: Association of cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammation-related parameters with the polymorphism in a large Finnish Metabolic Syndrome in Men (METSIM) cohort and Finnish Geriatric Intervention study to prevent cognitive impairment and disability (FINGER) were investigated.

Decreased plasma β-amyloid in the Alzheimer's disease APP A673T variant carriers.

We investigated the association of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related rare variants APP A673T and ABCA7 rs200538373-C with the levels of β-amyloid (Aβ) and parameters of metabolic and cardiovascular health in a population-based cohort of healthy middle-aged and elderly men. Carriers of protective APP A673T variant had, on average, 28% lower levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 in plasma as compared to the controls and the carriers of ABCA7 rs200538373-C. This is the first report to show decreased Aβ levels in plasma in APP A673T carriers and thus provides evidence that lower Aβ levels throughout life may be protective against AD.