• Overview
• Structure of the CardioGenomics PGA
• What to expect from this website
• Products of the CardioGenomics PGA
• Data Distribution and Release Policies

Overview of the CardioGenomics PGA

CardioGenomics is one of eleven Programs for Genomic Applications (PGAs) funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the NIH. The PGA initiative was funded in September of 2000 with the mission of advancing functional genomic research related to heart, lung, blood, and sleep health and disorders. A key feature of the PGA initiative is that all data, information, educational materials and reagents are made publicly available, and the scientific community is given access to these products and made aware of the each PGA's activities via the web.

The primary goal of the CardioGenomics PGA is to begin to link genes to structure, function, dysfunction and structural abnormalities of the cardiovascular system caused by clinically relevant genetic and environmental stimuli. The principal biological theme to be pursued is how the transcriptional network of the cardiovascular system responds to genetic and environmental stresses to maintain normal function and structure, and how this network is altered in disease. This PGA will generate a high quality, comprehensive data set for the functional genomics of structural and functional adaptation of the cardiovascular system by integrating expression data from animal models and human tissue samples, mutation screening of candidate genes in patients, and DNA polymorphisms in a well characterized general population. Such a data set will serve as a benchmark for future basic, clinical, and pharmacogenomic studies.

Training and education are also a key focus of the CardioGenomics PGA. In addition to ongoing journal clubs and seminars, the PGA will be sponsoring symposia at major conferences, and developing workshops related to the areas of focus of this PGA. Information regarding upcoming events can be found in the Events section of this site, and information about training and education opportunities sponsored by CardioGenomics can be found on the Teaching and Education page.

Structure of the CardioGenomics PGA

CardioGenomics is made up of twelve functional components or "investigative teams" that work together to carry out five projects. The investigative teams are spread out among seven different institutions in the Greater Boston area. While most investigative teams are assigned to specific projects, others, such as the Harvard Institute of Proteomics and the Bioinformatics and Data Coordination Center, serve as resources for the PGA as a whole. Links to detailed descriptions for each of the components and projects participating in the CardioGenomics PGA can be found on the Projects page of this site.

What to expect from this site

The purpose of this website is to make public all of the resources produced by the CardioGenomics PGA. All data, educational materials, and methodology are freely available to users, although registration is required in order to help us track the usage of the site. In addition to both raw and summary data, extensive methodologies accompany the description for each protocol. The methodologies includes a description of the Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) measures taken to ensure the validity and integrity of the data; however, all data is considered preliminary until published (see disclaimer). The CardioGenomics PGA requests that the use of all reagents, data, educational materials and/or software obtained through this PGA be cited.

Products of the CardioGenomics PGA

The following is a list of resources being developed by CardioGenomics:

• Microarray Data:
  • Gene expression profiles of mouse models of cardiomyopathies
  • Gene expression profiles of normal mouse hearts throughout development
  • Gene expression profiles of human tissues from heart failure patients
  • View methodology
  • Go to data
• Benchmark Data Sets:
  • Extensive phenotypic characterization of mouse models of cardiomyopathies containing genetic background, ECG, MRI, Echo data, and selected histology images for each model
• Mutation and SNP Data:
  • Sequence and SNP data of mutation screens in human congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy
  • Candidate Gene List
  • Information for candidate gene SNPs that were genotyped (updated 14-Dec-2004)
    • Excel file
    • Tab-delimited text file
  • SNPs identified by resequencing of candidate genes (updated 26-April-2007)
    • Excel file
    • Tab-delimited text file
  • Sarcomere protein gene mutation database
  • Search for a mutation by DNA sequence
  • Artemis feature tables
  • An interactive alignment of myosin protein sequences, highlighting structural features. (350 kb download)
• Reagents:
  • Full-length cDNA clones of human genes involved in heart development and disease states (The Human Cardiovascular Gene Repository)
    • Completed clones
  • Human tissue bank of 290 samples derived from cardiac transplantations or organ harvests
• Bioinformatics Resources (databases and software):
  • UnChip - converts Affymetrix^® accession numbers into meaningful values
  • MedGene Database - searches the literature for genes related to any disease
  • ChipperDB - MIAME (Minimum Information About a Microarray Experiment) Database
  • PGA Gene-a gene-specific genomic data search engine that integrates SNP and Gene Expression data across all eleven PGAs
  • PGA Grid- Results of association analyses between echocardiographic phenotype and SNP genotype
  • Quantitative PCR DB- Search for working taqman and sybr green probes
• Data Distribution and Release Policies