TY - JOUR A1 - Jargosch, M. A1 - Kroeger, S. A1 - Gralinska, E. A1 - Klotz, Ulrike A1 - Fang, Z. A1 - Chen, W. A1 - Leser, U. A1 - Selbig, Joachim A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Baumgrass, Ria T1 - Data integration for identification of important transcription factors of STAT6-mediated cell fate decisions JF - Genetics and molecular research N2 - Data integration has become a useful strategy for uncovering new insights into complex biological networks. We studied whether this approach can help to delineate the signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6)-mediated transcriptional network driving T helper (Th) 2 cell fate decisions. To this end, we performed an integrative analysis of publicly available RNA-seq data of Stat6-knockout mouse studies together with STAT6 ChIP-seq data and our own gene expression time series data during Th2 cell differentiation. We focused on transcription factors (TFs), cytokines, and cytokine receptors and delineated 59 positively and 41 negatively STAT6-regulated genes, which were used to construct a transcriptional network around STAT6. The network illustrates that important and well-known TFs for Th2 cell differentiation are positively regulated by STAT6 and act either as activators for Th2 cells (e.g., Gata3, Atf3, Satb1, Nfil3, Maf, and Pparg) or as suppressors for other Th cell subpopulations such as Th1 (e.g., Ar), Th17 (e.g., Etv6), or iTreg (e.g., Stat3 and Hifla) cells. Moreover, our approach reveals 11 TFs (e.g., Atf5, Creb3l2, and Asb2) with unknown functions in Th cell differentiation. This fact together with the observed enrichment of asthma risk genes among those regulated by STAT6 underlines the potential value of the data integration strategy used here. Thus, our results clearly support the opinion that data integration is a useful tool to delineate complex physiological processes. KW - Data integration KW - Th2 cells KW - Gene regulatory network KW - STAT6 KW - Transcription factors Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4238/gmr.15028493 SN - 1676-5680 VL - 15 PB - FUNPEC CY - Ribeirao Preto ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Ipsen, Josefin A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Assmann, Christian A1 - Quitmann, Julia A1 - Gomula, Aleksandra A1 - Lehmann, Andreas A1 - Jasch, Isabelle A1 - Tassenaar, Vincent A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Satake, Takashi A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Nunez, Javier A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Hardeland, Ruediger A1 - Boldsen, Jesper L. A1 - El-Shabrawi, Mortada A1 - Elhusseini, Mona A1 - Barbu, Carmen Gabriela A1 - Pop, Ralucca A1 - Soederhaell, Jani A1 - Merker, Andrea A1 - Swanson, James A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Stunted Growth. Proceedings of the 23rd Aschauer Soiree, Held at Aschauhof, Germany, November 7th 2015 T2 - Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews N2 - Twenty-four scientists met at Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany, to discuss the associations between child growth and development, and nutrition, health, environment and psychology. Meta-analyses of body height, height variability and household inequality, in historic and modern growth studies published since 1794, highlighting the enormously flexible patterns of child and adolescent height and weight increments throughout history which do not only depend on genetics, prenatal development, nutrition, health, and economic circumstances, but reflect social interactions. A Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth Questionnaire was presented to cross-culturally assess health-related quality of life in children. Changes of child body proportions in recent history, the relation between height and longevity in historic Dutch samples and also measures of body height in skeletal remains belonged to the topics of this meeting. Bayesian approaches and Monte Carlo simulations offer new statistical tools for the study of human growth. KW - Adolescent growth KW - Peer group KW - Growth hormone KW - Community effect KW - Body height Y1 - 2016 SN - 1565-4753 VL - 13 SP - 756 EP - 767 PB - Medical Media CY - Netanya ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Assmann, Christian A1 - Staub, K. A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Monte Carlo simulation of body height in a spatial network JF - European journal of clinical nutrition N2 - BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recent evidence suggests clustering of human body height. We want to assess the consequences of connectedness in a spatial network on height clustering in an artificial society. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We used an agent-based computer modelling technique (Monte Carlo simulation) and compared simulated height in a spatial network with characteristics of the observed geographic height distribution of three historic cohorts of Swiss military conscripts (conscripted in 1884-1891; 1908-1910; and 2004-2009). RESULTS: Conscript height shows several characteristic features: (1) height distributions are overdispersed. (2) Conscripts from districts with direct inter-district road connections tend to be similar in height. (3) Clusters of tall and clusters of short stature districts vary over time. Autocorrelations in height between late 19th and early 21st century districts are low. (4) Mean district height depends on the number of connecting roads and on the number of conscripts per district. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we were able to generate these natural characteristics in an artificial society. Already 5% height information from directly connected districts is sufficient to simulate the characteristics of natural height distribution. Very similar observations in regular rectangular networks indicate that the characteristics of Swiss conscript height distributions do not so much result from the particular Swiss geography but rather appear to be general features of spatial networks. CONCLUSIONS: Spatial connectedness can affect height clustering in an artificial society, similar to that seen in natural cohorts of military conscripts, and strengthen the concept of connectedness being involved in the regulation of human height. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.45 SN - 0954-3007 SN - 1476-5640 VL - 70 SP - 671 EP - 678 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER -