Computational protocol to identify shared transcriptional risks and mutually beneficial compounds between diseases
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Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Impact of Intergenic Interactions on Disease-Identifying Dark Biomarkers
Published on: March 1, 2024
Hua Gao1, Mao Zhang2, Richard A Baylis3
1Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
The accumulation of omics and biobank resources allows for a genome-wide understanding of the shared pathologic mechanisms between diseases and for strategies to identify drugs that could be repurposed as novel treatments. Here, we present a computational protocol, implemented as a Snakemake workflow, to identify shared transcriptional processes and screen compounds that could result in mutual benefit. This protocol also includes a description of a pharmacovigilance study designed to validate the effect of compounds using electronic health records. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gao et al.1 and Baylis et al.2.
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