Journal of Proteomics & Bioinformatics
Open Access

The mast cell has much in store for us: A call to bioinformaticians to advance insights into a unique, intriguing but underexplored cell subset of the human body

7^th International Conference on Proteomics & Bioinformatics

October 24-26, 2016 Rome, Italy

Magda Babina

Charit�?© University Medicine Berlin, Germany

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Proteomics Bioinform

Abstract :

Mast cells (MCs) are best known as effector cells of allergy but suspected to perform a range of other functions. Our knowledge of MCs in humans is seriously limited, as was one message from the collaborative endeavor FANTOM5 which used deep-CAGE sequencing on skin-derived MCs to generate a comprehensive view of their transcriptome. MCs were embedded in the body-spanning atlas, the datasets allowed to directly contrast their molecular signature against â�?�?200 primary cells. Our work demonstrates that: MCs are unique cellular elements; have no near neighbour; are intensely adaptable and display transcriptional peculiarities. Our work also demonstrates: Uniqueness: MCs combine â�?�?privateâ�? with pan-hematopoietic genes supplemented by genes of disparate organs (e.g. neuronal/reproductive); Position: MCs have no close relative in the hematopoietic network being well separated from all other lineages, both by principal component analysis and by pairwise correlation analysis; Plasticity: MCs show substantial adaptations regarding transcriptome, protein/mediator expression and functional programs in new microenvironments and; Peculiarities: Cells with greatest TF diversity across atlas (893/ MC versus 617/average) and many non-annotated transcripts exclusively active in MCs. Encouraged by these findings, novel functionalities of MCs have been uncovered (e.g. active BMP receptor and significance of the retinoid network) but burning questions remain such as â�?�?What is the nature of the TF network underlying lineage specification?â�?, â�?�?How do non-annotated transcripts contribute to MC identity?â�?, â�?�?How are genes from unrelated tissues activated in MCsâ�?? Detailed bioinformatics analyses will help identify the most probable interconnections to facilitate further examination by wet-bench biologists.

Biography :

Magda Babina completed her PhD in Biochemistry in 1999 from Free University Berlin, Germany. She has studied Mast Cell Biology throughout her career, with emphasis on MCs in humans. She is a Senior Scientist and Group Leader at Charite, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, and has published more than 50 papers. She has been a member of the FANTOM consortium (led by RIKEN in Japan) since 2010, one of the largest life science consortia in the world. This collaboration inspired her to obtain a more comprehensive and complete view of human MCs through systems biology approaches in collaboration with bioinformaticians.

Email: magda.babina@charite.de