Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are rarely caused by a mutation in a single gene but rather influenced by a combination of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Emerging high-throughput technologies such as RNA sequencing have been instrumental in deciphering the molecular landscape of neurodegenerative diseases, however, the interpretation of such large amounts of data remains a challenge. Network biology has become a powerful platform to integrate multiple omics data to comprehensively explore the molecular networks in the context of health and disease. In this review article, we highlight recent advances in network biology approaches with an emphasis in brain-networks that have provided insights into the molecular mechanisms leading to the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD) and Huntington’s diseases (HD). We discuss how integrative approaches using multi-omics data from different tissues have been valuable for identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In addition, we discuss the challenges the field of network medicine faces toward the translation of network-based findings into clinically actionable tools for personalized medicine applications.
Highlights
Neurodegenerative diseases are usually sporadic in nature and commonly influenced by a wide range of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors
EGFR, APOE and ACTB were found to overlap with proteomic data from cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients (Talwar et al, 2014) providing potential biomarker candidates
Genes previously implicated in LOAD including FRMD4B and ST18 (Miller et al, 2008; Zhang et al, 2013) were prominent hubs within the myelination network (Humphries et al, 2015). These findings suggested the involvement of microglia and myelination in the pathogenesis of AD and established differences in biological pathways between LOAD and dementia with Lewy body (DLB)
Summary
Neurodegenerative diseases are usually sporadic in nature and commonly influenced by a wide range of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Despite the progress of high-throughput genomic studies the precise pathogenic mechanisms leading to the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases remain elusive. To this end, the applications of network biology have been successful to provide biological insight and to decipher the molecular underpinnings of neurodegenerative diseases. Network biology is based on the premise that complex diseases, like neurodegenerative diseases, are frequently caused by alterations in many genes comprising multiple biological pathways. A network consists of nodes and edges that may represent genes, proteins, miRNAs, noncoding RNAs, drugs, or diseases connected through a wide range of interactions including, but not limited to physical, genetic, co-expression and colocalization. Integration of multi-omic information coupled with network-based approaches is becoming
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
