Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences The research group of tenure track lecturer in the field of disease diversity genetics announced that they have developed the genetic statistical analysis method "MIGWAS". MIGWAS is a method for screening (selecting) microRNAs (miRNAs) that are biomarker candidates based on disease genome information on a supercomputer.
MicroRNA is a functional small RNA in the body that binds to a specific gene and controls the translation process from gene to protein, and plays a role as a biomarker and therapeutic target for malignant tumors and immune-related diseases. Is expected.However, in order to select promising biomarkers from thousands of microRNAs, it has been desired to develop a new screening method based on a more comprehensive and large-scale human disease genome analysis technology.The research group has developed a genetic statistical analysis method that examines the results of large-scale human disease genome analysis and the network composed of microRNAs, enabling comprehensive microRNA screening based on disease genome information.
When MIGWAS is applied to the analysis results of existing genomic big data (18 traits, more than 175 million people), it is found that microRNA contributes to the genetic background of human traits including rheumatoid arthritis, renal function, and height. Turned out.A significant correlation was also found with the analysis results (text mining) for each disease using the international paper database (NCBI PubMed), suggesting the validity of MIGWAS.We also identified a new rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility gene (PADI2) and a microRNA (miR-4728-5p) that regulates its function.
By combining with screening methods based on conventional functional experiments, the research group can contribute to elucidation of disease pathology and drug discovery of new nucleic acids, and promote effective data sharing and reuse in the field of genomic big data. Will also contribute.
