1,721,096 research outputs found
Chemometric multivariate tools for candidate biomarker identification: LDA, PLS-DA, SIMCA, Ranking-PCA
2-D gel electrophoresis usually provides complex maps characterized by a low reproducibility: this hampers the use of spot volume data for the identification of reliable biomarkers. Under these circumstances, effective and robust methods for the comparison and classification of 2-D maps are fundamental for the identification of an exhaustive panel of candidate biomarkers. Multivariate methods are the most suitable since they take into consideration the relationships between the variables, i.e., effects of synergy and antagonism between the spots. Here the most common multivariate methods used in spot volume datasets analysis are presented. The methods are applied on a sample dataset to prove their effectiveness
GENOCOP algorithm and hierarchical grid transformation for image warping of two-dimensional gel electrophoretic maps
Hierarchical grid transformation is a powerful hierarchical approach to 2-D map warping, able to model both global and local deformations. The algorithm can be stopped when a desired degree of accuracy in the images alignment is obtained. The deformed image is warped and aligned to the target image using a grid where the number of nodes increases in each step of the algorithm. The numerical optimization of the position of the nodes of the grid can be efficiently solved by genetic algorithms, ensuring the achievement of the optimal position of the nodes with a low computational cost with respect to other methods. Here, the optimization of the position of the nodes is carried out by GENOCOP (genetic algorithm for numerical optimization of constrained problems), refined by the following conjugate gradient optimization step. The modeling of the warped space is then achieved by a spline model where some constraints are introduced in the choice of the nodes that are moved. The whole procedure can be intended as an evolutionary method that models the deformation of the gel map at different levels of detail
The use of legendre and zernike moment functions for the comparison of 2-D PAGE maps
The comparison of 2-D maps is not trivial, the main difficulties being the high complexity of the sample and the large experimental variability characterizing 2-D gel electrophoresis. The comparison of maps from control and treated samples is usually performed by specific software, providing the so-called spot volume dataset where each spot of a specific map is matched to its analogous in other maps, and they are described by their optical density, which is supposed to be related to the underlying protein amount. Here, a different approach is presented, based on the direct comparison of 2-D map images: each map is decomposed in terms of moment functions, successively applying the multivariate tools usually adopted in image analysis problems. The moments calculated are then treated with multivariate classification techniques. Here, two types of moment functions are presented (Legendre and Zernike moments), while linear discriminant analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis are exploited as classification tools to provide the classification of the samples. The procedure is applied to a sample dataset to prove its effectiveness
Image pretreatment tools II: Normalization techniques for 2-DE and 2-D DIGE
Gel electrophoresis is usually applied to identify different protein expression profiles in biological samples (e.g., control vs. pathological, control vs. treated). Information about the effect to be investigated (a pathology, a drug, a ripening effect, etc.) is however generally confounded with experimental variability that is quite large in 2-DE and may arise fromsmall variations in the sample preparation, reagents, sample loading, electrophoretic conditions, staining and image acquisition. Obtaining valid quantitative estimates of protein abundances in each map, before the differential analysis, is therefore fundamental to provide robust candidate biomarkers. Normalization procedures are applied to reduce experimental noise and make the images comparable, improving the accuracy of differential analysis. Certainly, they may deeply influence the final results, and to this respect they have to be applied with care. Here, the most widespread normalization procedures are described both for what regards the applications to 2-DE and 2D Difference Gel-electrophoresis (2-D DIGE) maps
Differential analysis of 2-D maps by pixel-based approaches
Two approaches to the analysis of 2-D maps are available: the first one involves a step of spot detection on each gel image; the second one is based instead on the direct differential analysis of 2-D map images, following a pixel-based procedure. Both approaches strongly depend on the proper alignment of the gel images, but the pixel-based approach allows to solve important drawbacks of the spot-volume procedure, i.e., the problem of missing data and of overlapping spots. However, this approach is quite computationally intensive and requires the use of algorithms able to separate the information (i.e., spot-related information) from the background. Here, the most recent pixel-based approaches are described
Algorithms for warping of 2-D PAGE maps
Software-based image analysis of 2-D PAGE maps is an important step for the investigation of proteome. Warping algorithms, which are employed to register spots among gels, are able to overcome the difficulties due to the low reproducibility of this analytical technique. Over the years, the research of new matching and warping mathematical methods has allowed the development of several routine applications of easy-to-use software. This chapter describes common and basic spatial transformations used for the alignment of protein spots present in different gel maps; some recently new approaches are also presented
Biomarkers for pancreatic cancer: Recent achievements in proteomics and genomics through classical and multivariate statistical methods
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal neoplastic diseases. A valid alternative to the usual invasive diagnostic tools would certainly be the determination of biomarkers in peripheral fluids to provide less invasive tools for early diagnosis. Nowadays, biomarkers are generally investigated mainly in peripheral blood and tissues through high-throughput omics techniques comparing control vs pathological samples. The results can be evaluated by two main strategies: (1) classical methods in which the identification of significant biomarkers is accomplished by monovariate statistical tests where each biomarker is considered as independent from the others; and (2) multivariate methods, taking into consideration the correlations existing among the biomarkers themselves. This last approach is very powerful since it allows the identification of pools of biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic performances which are superior to single markers in terms of sensitivity, specificity and robustness. Multivariate techniques are usually applied with variable selection procedures to provide a restricted set of biomarkers with the best predictive ability; however, standard selection methods are usually aimed at the identification of the smallest set of variables with the best predictive ability and exhaustivity is usually neglected. The exhaustive search for biomarkers is instead an important alternative to standard variable selection since it can provide information about the etiology of the pathology by producing a comprehensive set of markers. In this review, the most recent applications of the omics techniques (proteomics, genomics and metabolomics) to the identification of exploratory biomarkers for PC will be presented with particular regard to the statistical methods adopted for their identification. The basic theory related to classical and multivariate methods for identification of biomarkers is presented and then, the most recent applications in this field are discussed
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