A Gene Network Analysis of T Cell Development
Open Access
- Author:
- Neely, Allison Jaime
- Area of Honors:
- Animal Bioscience
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Avery August, Thesis Supervisor
Avery August, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Lester C Griel Jr., Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- T cell development
CD4
CD8
gene network modeling
Boolean - Abstract:
- Many factors are involved in the determination of lineage fates and the activation of T lymphocytes. In this project an analysis of a proposed gene network for T cell development was performed using Boolean modeling. A synthesis of the gene network was collected from the literature and used to determine the various relationships between the genes and factors involved in T lymphocyte activation. Network rules were determined and analyzed using the computer program Booleannet. This experiment specifically attempted to determine what CD4/CD8 lineage choice (if either) a developing T cell would be diverted to if certain genes where turned on or certain genes were knocked out. The hypothesis was that creating network rules from a gene model and running them in a simulator would allow one to determine which genes were necessary for either a CD4+ T cell or a CD8+ T cell. The results from running a simulation of the pre-TCR signal showed that T cells will follow a CD4+ lineage choice only, rather than both CD4 and CD8. However, further analysis of the results suggests that this may be due to errors in the network rules may have led to that result, so more research and experimentation is needed before definitive conclusions could be made. The method of analyzing a gene network using Boolean modeling seems to have merit, and more experimentation in this vein could be help research various other cell lineage pathways beyond just the CD4/CD8 T cell lineage choice.