PathNet

This package implements the Ensemble of Gene Set Enrichment Analyses (EGSEA) method for gene set testing. EGSEA algorithm utilizes the analysis results of twelve prominent GSE algorithms in the literature to calculate collective significance scores for each gene set.

DEsubs is a network-based systems biology package that extracts disease-perturbed subpathways within a pathway network as recorded by RNA-seq experiments. It contains an extensive and customizable framework covering a broad range of operation modes at all stages of the subpathway analysis, enabling a case-specific approach. The operation modes refer to the pathway network construction and processing, the subpathway extraction, visualization and enrichment analysis with regard to various biological and pharmacological features. Its capabilities render it a tool-guide for both the modeler and experimentalist for the identification of more robust systems-level biomarkers for complex diseases.

Motivation: The understanding of cancer mechanism requires the identification of genes playing a role in the development of the pathology and the characterization of their role (notably oncogenes and tumor suppressors). Results: We present an R/bioconductor package called MoonlightR which returns a list of candidate driver genes for specific cancer types on the basis of TCGA expression data. The method first infers gene regulatory networks and then carries out a functional enrichment analysis (FEA) (implementing an upstream regulator analysis, URA) to score the importance of well-known biological processes with respect to the studied cancer type. Eventually, by means of random forests, MoonlightR predicts two specific roles for the candidate driver genes: i) tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and ii) oncogenes (OCGs). As a consequence, this methodology does not only identify genes playing a dual role (e.g. TSG in one cancer type and OCG in another) but also helps in elucidating the biological processes underlying their specific roles. In particular, MoonlightR can be used to discover OCGs and TSGs in the same cancer type. This may help in answering the question whether some genes change role between early stages (I, II) and late stages (III, IV) in breast cancer. In the future, this analysis could be useful to determine the causes of different resistances to chemotherapeutic treatments.

The GSEABenchmarkeR package implements an extendable framework for reproducible evaluation of set- and network-based methods for enrichment analysis of gene expression data. This includes support for the efficient execution of these methods on comprehensive real data compendia (microarray and RNA-seq) using parallel computation on standard workstations and institutional computer grids. Methods can then be assessed with respect to runtime, statistical significance, and relevance of the results for the phenotypes investigated.

The understanding of cancer mechanism requires the identification of genes playing a role in the development of the pathology and the characterization of their role (notably oncogenes and tumor suppressors). We present an updated version of the R/bioconductor package called MoonlightR, namely Moonlight2R, which returns a list of candidate driver genes for specific cancer types on the basis of omics data integration. The Moonlight framework contains a primary layer where gene expression data and information about biological processes are integrated to predict genes called oncogenic mediators, divided into putative tumor suppressors and putative oncogenes. This is done through functional enrichment analyses, gene regulatory networks and upstream regulator analyses to score the importance of well-known biological processes with respect to the studied cancer type. By evaluating the effect of the oncogenic mediators on biological processes or through random forests, the primary layer predicts two putative roles for the oncogenic mediators: i) tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and ii) oncogenes (OCGs). As gene expression data alone is not enough to explain the deregulation of the genes, a second layer of evidence is needed. We have automated the integration of a secondary mutational layer through new functionalities in Moonlight2R. These functionalities analyze mutations in the cancer cohort and classifies these into driver and passenger mutations using the driver mutation prediction tool, CScape-somatic. Those oncogenic mediators with at least one driver mutation are retained as the driver genes. As a consequence, this methodology does not only identify genes playing a dual role (e.g. TSG in one cancer type and OCG in another) but also helps in elucidating the biological processes underlying their specific roles. In particular, Moonlight2R can be used to discover OCGs and TSGs in the same cancer type. This may for instance help in answering the question whether some genes change role between early stages (I, II) and late stages (III, IV). In the future, this analysis could be useful to determine the causes of different resistances to chemotherapeutic treatments. An additional mechanistic layer evaluates if there are mutations affecting the protein stability of the transcription factors (TFs) of the TSGs and OCGs, as that may have an effect on the expression of the genes.

MIRit is an R package that provides several methods for investigating the relationships between miRNAs and genes in different biological conditions. In particular, MIRit allows to explore the functions of dysregulated miRNAs, and makes it possible to identify miRNA-gene regulatory axes that control biological pathways, thus enabling the users to unveil the complexity of miRNA biology. MIRit is an all-in-one framework that aims to help researchers in all the central aspects of an integrative miRNA-mRNA analyses, from differential expression analysis to network characterization.