Bioinformatics Seminar
Time: 11AM
Venue: Davis Auditorium and Online
13 May 2025
NAIntegrate transcriptomics and proteomics to identify a TNF signalling signature and its application on clinical data
Yimin ZhangWEHI Bioinformatics
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF; TNFα) is a pleiotropic pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a critical role in inflammation, cell proliferation and death, intercellular communication, and immunity. Dysregulation of TNF signalling has been implicated in the development of autoimmune diseases. Numerous TNF signatures have been developed to predict survival or drug response in diseases. However, many of these studies are limited by their focus on a single disease, cell type, or condition, and by their reliance on single-omics data or TNF gene knockout models. My work addresses these limitations by integrating transcriptomic datasets from various cell types with proteomic data from TNF-treated cells to identify robust molecular signatures of TNF signaling. By combining these two omics data types, we were able to uncover similarities and differences that are not discernible through single-omics analyses. A 6-gene transcriptomic signature was identified and validated using publicly available datasets, demonstrating highly reliable scoring performance compared to existing public signatures. Application of this signature to TCGA data revealed significant associations between TNF scores and long-term survival outcomes in four cancers.