Ski Krieger, Harvard University

Titile: Uncovering Hidden Connections in Hematological Regulatory Networks.

Abstract: The process of producing all of the body's blood cells is robustly regulated by an extensive network of cytokines. Generally speaking, the principal (and often secondary, tertiary etc.) role of each of these molecules has been identified. However, given the fundamental role of the hematopoietic system and its constituents to organismal health, many cytokines perform ancillary functions within network structures that remain to be elucidated. Oftentimes, hematopoietic dysregulation in the form of blood pathologies can help to identify dynamical relationships that we are unable to discern in healthy individuals. Cyclic thrombocytopenia is one such dynamical disease. We analyzed time series data from an individual with CTP using standard Fourier and statistical approaches (periodogram and correlation analysis) in addition to convergent cross mapping (Sugihara et al., Detecting causality in complex ecosystems. Science, 2012) to infer causal relationships amongst 64 cytokines (and their gene expressions), uncovering a plethora of novel relationships. These results further refine our understanding of the many networks that support the production of blood cells and immunological responses, and may help to identify novel therapies and drug targets.