Disease embryo development network reveals the relationship between disease genes and embryo development genes

Abstract

A basic problem for contemporary biology and medicine is exploring the correlation between human disease and underlying cellular mechanisms. For a long time, several efforts were made to reveal the similarity between embryo development and disease process, but few from the system level. In this article, we used the human protein-protein interactions (PPIs), disease genes with their classifications and embryo development genes and reconstructed a human disease-embryo development network to investigate the relationship between disease genes and embryo development genes. We found that disease genes and embryo development genes are prone to connect with each other. Furthermore, diseases can be categorized into three groups according to the closeness with embryo development in gene overlapping, interacting pattern in PPI network and co-regulated by microRNAs or transcription factors. Embryo development high-related disease genes show their closeness with embryo development at least in three biological levels. But it is not for embryo development medium-related disease genes and embryo development low-related disease genes. We also found that embryo development high-related disease genes are more central than other disease genes in the human PPI network. In addition, the results show that embryo development high-related disease genes tend to be essential genes compared with other diseases' genes. This network-based approach could provide evidence for the intricate correlation between disease process and embryo development, and help to uncover potential mechanisms of human complex diseases.

Essential Genes and Human Genetic Disease

“…Because genes annotated as having a role in embryonic development will have a degree of overlap with essential genes, the results of this analysis are expected to concur with network analysis of essential genes. The authors found a significant association between embryonic development genes and genes associated with human disease (Gong et al, 2011), similar to findings from studies exploring the relationship between essential genes and disease (Dickerson et al, 2011). Both studies also found statistically significant links between genes causing cancer when mutated and essential or embryonic development genes (Dickerson et al, 2011;Gong et al, 2011).…”

“…The authors found a significant association between embryonic development genes and genes associated with human disease (Gong et al, 2011), similar to findings from studies exploring the relationship between essential genes and disease (Dickerson et al, 2011). Both studies also found statistically significant links between genes causing cancer when mutated and essential or embryonic development genes (Dickerson et al, 2011;Gong et al, 2011). Thus, genes functioning in embryonic development have a similar network profile and disease association profile as essential genes.…”

Extensive ceRNA–ceRNA interaction networks mediated by miRNAs regulate development in multiple rhesus tissues

“…(26). Similarly, brain development-related genes were also obtained from GO, which were annotated with the term ‘brain development.’ In addition, brain-related miRNAs were collected from several recent reviews.…”

Ectodermal Dysplasia: Thoughts and Practical Concepts Concerning Disease Classification - The Role of Functional Pathways in the Molecular Genetic Diagnosis

“…The disease embryo development network reveals the relationship between disease genes and embryo development genes. An approach based on this network could document the important correlation between disease processes and embryo development, and aid in the understanding of the potential mechanisms of complex human diseases [16]. The term ‘human interactome' has been created to describe this network medicine.…”