MGTP profile shows that TM4SF1 expression is high in HUVEC and absent from leukocytes. Conversely, blood leukocytes express high levels of CD37, and CD53, but these are absent from endothelial cells.

Our research is based upon the view that the quantity of a transcribed product determines a gene’s biological effect, and that the per-cell quantities of mRNAs provide the best window into molecular networks. To implement such a transcriptome-based research strategy, my lab developed Multi-Gene Transcriptional Profiling (MGTP), a method for measuring mRNA copy numbers per cell of multi-gene panels. Through MGTP, we identified TM4SF1 as a new endothelial cell biomarker and a new anti-angiogenic therapeutic target.

MGTP is now established as a core facility at BIDMC, of which I am Director. It is uniquely well suited to the cell fingerprinting and cell signaling studies, and the discovery of biomarkers for clinical diagnostic and prognostic assays. The technique has been part of over fifty publications in the last five years and has greatly assisted our collaborators in advancing their research.

Our MGTP primer library is currently equipped with 4,000 pre-validated primers for human and mouse genes. Our MGTP core facility users can access these primers for their own needs.

In the Jaminet lab, MGTP is being used in a wide range of ongoing bench and clinical applications:

• In collaboration with Tokyo University, we are currently investigating the time evolution of mRNA expression in single stem cells to identify the genes that are critical to stem cell differentiation into endothelial cells.
• We are identifying cancer biomarkers in circulating blood leukocytes for use in clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized medicine.
• We are investigating biomarkers of diet and lifestyle in circulating blood leukocytes for clinical use, for example in identifying causes of obesity.