Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles in the Human Brain Stem, Cerebellum and Cerebral Cortex

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 19;11(7):e0159395. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159395. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The human brain is one of the most mysterious tissues in the body. Our knowledge of the human brain is limited due to the complexity of its structure and the microscopic nature of connections between brain regions and other tissues in the body. In this study, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of three brain regions-the brain stem, cerebellum and cerebral cortex-to identify genes that are differentially expressed among these different brain regions in humans and to obtain a list of robust, region-specific, differentially expressed genes by comparing the expression signatures from different individuals. Feature selection methods, specifically minimum redundancy maximum relevance and incremental feature selection, were employed to analyze the gene expression profiles. Sequential minimal optimization, a machine-learning algorithm, was employed to examine the utility of selected genes. We also performed a literature search, and we discuss the experimental evidence for the important physiological functions of several highly ranked genes, including NR2E1, DAO, and LRRC7, and we give our analyses on a gene (TFAP2B) that have not been investigated or experimentally validated. As a whole, the results of our study will improve our ability to predict and understand genes related to brain regionalization and function.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms
  • Brain Stem / metabolism*
  • Cerebellum / metabolism*
  • Cerebral Cortex / metabolism*
  • D-Amino-Acid Oxidase / genetics
  • D-Amino-Acid Oxidase / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation / genetics
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Orphan Nuclear Receptors
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / genetics
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / metabolism
  • Sialoglycoproteins / genetics
  • Sialoglycoproteins / metabolism
  • Transcription Factor AP-2 / genetics
  • Transcription Factor AP-2 / metabolism
  • Transcriptome / genetics*

Substances

  • LRRC7 protein, human
  • NR2E1 protein, human
  • Orphan Nuclear Receptors
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear
  • Sialoglycoproteins
  • TFAP2B protein, human
  • Transcription Factor AP-2
  • DAO protein, human
  • D-Amino-Acid Oxidase

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61202021, 31371335), Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (16ZR1414500), Shanghai Sailing Program and The Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (2016245). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.