title: MERAV: a tool for comparing gene expression across human tissues and cell types.
abstract: The oncogenic transformation of normal cells into malignant, rapidly proliferating cells requires major alterations in cell physiology. For example, the transformed cells remodel their metabolic processes to supply the additional demand for cellular building blocks. We have recently demonstrated essential metabolic processes in tumor progression through the development of a methodological analysis of gene expression. Here, we present the Metabolic gEne RApid Visualizer (MERAV, http://merav.wi.mit.edu), a web-based tool that can query a database comprising ∼4300 microarrays, representing human gene expression in normal tissues, cancer cell lines and primary tumors. MERAV has been designed as a powerful tool for whole genome analysis which offers multiple advantages: one can search many genes in parallel; compare gene expression among different tissue types as well as between normal and cancer cells; download raw data; and generate heatmaps; and finally, use its internal statistical tool. Most importantly, MERAV has been designed as a unique tool for analyzing metabolic processes as it includes matrixes specifically focused on metabolic genes and is linked to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway search.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA yoavsh@ekmd.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Yoav D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Shaul
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Bingbing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Prathapan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thiru
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nutter-Upham
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCallum
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanzkron
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
authors.forename: George W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA sabatini@wi.mit.edu.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sabatini
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D030541:Databases, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000592:standards; D012984:Software