Congruence of mouse model to human in transcriptomic response

University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

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Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract Animal models and in vitro cell culture experiments are instrumental to substitute for human studies and expedite basic and clinical research. There have been constant debates of whether non-human models can represent human well but no adequate bioinformatic tool has been developed to adequately answer the question. We propose the following aims in this proposal to provide an answer in the transcriptomic context: (1) We will develop a transcriptomic resemblance score comparing a mouse model to a reference human study with pathway-specific analysis; (2) We will extend the method to allow simultaneous resemblance analysis of multiple competing animal models and human studies, and develop downstream bioinformatics tools; (3) We will apply the methods to two on-going mouse models in breast cancer and depression, generate new hypotheses and validate the findings. Successful completion of these aims will provide practical guidance to scientists in many disease areas to best utilize animal models for understanding mechanisms and seeking novel treatments.