Integrated analysis of gene network in childhood leukemia from microarray and pathway databases

Glucocorticoids (GCs) have been used as therapeutic agents for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) for over 50 years. However, much remains to be understood about the molecular mechanism of GCs actions in ALL subtypes. In this study, we delineate differential responses of ALL subtypes, B- and T-ALL, to GCs treatment at systems level by identifying the differences among biological processes, molecular pathways, and interaction networks that emerge from the action of GCs through the use of a selected number of available bioinformatics methods and tools. We provide biological insight into GC-regulated genes, their related functions, and their networks specific to the ALL subtypes. We show that differentially expressed GC-regulated genes participate in distinct underlying biological processes affected by GCs in B-ALL and T-ALL with little to no overlap. These findings provide the opportunity towards identifying new therapeutic targets.