Our next meeting will be at 12:30 on June 20th, in room 3160 of the Discovery building. Our Selected paper is Simultaneous Pathway Activity Inference and Gene Expression Analysis Using RNA Sequencing.
The abstract is as follows.

Reporter gene assays are a venerable tool for studying signaling pathways, but they lack the throughput and complexity necessary to contribute to a systems-level understanding of endogenous signaling networks. We present a parallel reporter assay, transcription factor activity sequencing (TF-seq), built on synthetic DNA enhancer elements, which enables parallel measurements in primary cells of the transcriptome and transcription factor activity from more than 40 signaling pathways. Using TF-seq in Myd88−/− macrophages, we captured dynamic pathway activity changes underpinning the global transcriptional changes of the innate immune response. We also applied TF-seq to investigate small molecule mechanisms of action and find a role for NF-κB activation and coordination of the STAT1 response in the macrophage reaction to the anti-inflammatory natural product halofuginone. Simultaneous TF-seq and global gene expression profiling represent an integrative approach for gaining mechanistic insight into pathway activity and transcriptional changes that result from genetic and small molecule perturbations.

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