Using network models to better understand novel genes affecting acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

What is it about?

Using network models we looked at the associations around genes to understand how they contributed to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These associations included prior knowledge of gene-gene and protein-protein interactions and allowed us to understand the context in which genes function. By using network methods to capture these associations we discovered genes that were involved in ALL that we would not have discovered if we investigated these genes in isolation.

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Why is it important?

Understanding the interplay of genetic effects in cancer is complex because it involves the interplay of several genes. This complexity is often difficult to discern without computational methods. We demonstrated how a computational approach that leverages interaction networks and multiple data sources for understanding this type of complexity and validated predictions from our computational model to identify novel roles for genes not previously considered in this disease context.