Joel L Duerksen
Profile Url: joel-l-duerksen
Researcher at Data2Discovery, Inc.
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Video Abstract (AI generated)
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Tables of results and PD drug-set
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Background: LINCS, "Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures", and IDG, "Illuminating the Druggable Genome", are both NIH projects and consortia that have generated rich datasets for the study of the molecular basis of human health and disease. LINCS L1000 expression signatures provide unbiased systems/omics experimental evidence. IDG provides compiled and curated knowledge for illumination and prioritization of novel drug target hypotheses. Together, these resources can support a powerful new approach to identifying novel drug targets for complex diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), which continues to inflict severe harm on human health, and resist traditional research approaches. Results: Integrating LINCS and IDG, we built the Knowledge Graph Analytics Platform (KGAP) to support an important use case: identification and prioritization of drug target hypotheses for associated diseases. The KGAP approach includes strong semantics interpretable by domain scientists and a robust, high performance implementation of a graph database and related analytical methods, using Neo4j. Illustrating the value of our approach, we investigated results from queries relevant to PD. Approved PD drug indications from IDG's resource DrugCentral were used as starting points for evidence paths exploring chemogenomic space via LINCS expression signatures for associated genes, evaluated as target hypotheses by integration with IDG. The KG-analytic scoring function was validated against a gold standard dataset of genes associated with PD as elucidated, published mechanism-of-action drug targets, also from DrugCentral. IDG's resource TIN-X was used to rank and filter KGAP results for novel PD targets, and one, SYNGR3 (Synaptogyrin-3), was manually investigated further as a case study and plausible new drug target for PD. Conclusions: The synergy of LINCS and IDG, via KG methods, empowers graph analytic methods for the investigation of the molecular basis of complex diseases, and specifically for identification and prioritization of novel drug targets. The KGAP approach enables downstream applications via integration with resources similarly aligned with modern KG methodology. The generality of the approach indicates that KGAP is applicable to many disease areas, in addition to PD, the focus of this paper.