Title: "Gene expression profiling of intestinal cell differentiation: Biological and statistical issues."
Speakers: James C. Fleet, Ph.D. (Dept. of Foods and Nutrition), Olga Vitek (Dept. of Statistics), Bruce Craig, Ph.D. (Dept. of Statistics)
Place: LAEB 2280; March 19, 2002, Tuesday, 4:30pm

Abstract

Maintaining a healthy absorptive epithelial lining of the small intestine is essential for optimal health and vigor. Unfortunately, the factors controlling the proliferation, commitment, and differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells have not been clearly identified to date. Thus, this situation is well suited for a discovery project to identify the genes that are regulated during various phases of intestinal growth and differentiation. A pilot study was conducted to examine the pattern of gene expression during proliferation, post-proliferative/commitment, and differentiation of the Caco-2 model of small intestinal development. Gene expression was analyzed using the Affymetrix U95A chip (12,000 named genes). We conducted a statistical analysis of the results using a linear mixed model.

The talk will describe the biological and statistical issues which were encountered during this project. In particular, we will discuss choices of expression measure, testing procedures, and the procedures used to control type I error rates. The results were used as a filter for subsequent cluster analysis. A short discussion of the biological implications of the analysis will be included if time permits.