Received May 21, 2007
Accepted on August 15, 2007

BASIC RESEARCH

The Glomerular Transcriptome and a Predicted Protein–Protein Interaction Network

Liqun He ^*, Ying Sun ^*, Minoru Takemoto ^*, Jenny Norlin ^*, Karl Tryggvason ^*, Tore Samuelsson , and Christer Betsholtz ^*1

*Division of Matrix Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, and Department of Medical Biochemistry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: christer.betsholtz{at}ki.se.

	Abstract

To increase our understanding of the molecular composition of the kidney glomerulus, we performed a meta-analysis of available glomerular transcriptional profiles made from mouse and man using five different methodologies. We generated a combined catalogue of glomerulus-enriched genes that emerged from these different sources and then used this to construct a predicted protein–protein interaction network in the glomerulus (GlomNet). The combined glomerulus-enriched gene catalogue provides the most comprehensive picture of the molecular composition of the glomerulus currently available, and GlomNet contributes an integrative systems biology approach to the understanding of glomerular signaling networks that operate during development, function, and disease.