title: Functional modules integrating essential cellular functions are predictive of the response of leukaemia cells to DNA damage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood B-precursor lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common paediatric malignancy. Despite the fact that 80% of ALL patients respond to anti-cancer drugs, the patho-physiology of this disease is still not fully understood. mRNA expression-profiling studies that have been performed have not yet provided novel insights into the mechanisms behind cellular response to DNA damage. More powerful data analysis techniques may be required for identifying novel functional pathways involved in the cellular responses to DNA damage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In order to explore the possibility that unforeseen biological processes may be involved in the response to DNA damage, we have developed and applied a novel procedure for the identification of functional modules in ALL cells. We have discovered that the overall activity of functional modules integrating protein degradation and mRNA processing is predictive of response to DNA damage.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Supplementary material including R code, additional results, experimental datasets, as well as a detailed description of the methodology are available at http://www.bip.bham.ac.uk/vivo/fumo.html.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Institute of Biomedical Research, CRUK Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B152TT, UK.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sameith
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antczak
authors.forename: Elliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marston
authors.forename: Nil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stankovic
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Falciani
mesh_terms: D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological