Critical analysis of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory networks in multiple myeloma

Network analysis has emerged as a powerful approach to understand complex phenomena and organization in social, technological and biological systems. In particular, it is increasingly recognized the role played by the topology of cellular networks, the intricate web of interactions among genes, proteins and other molecules regulating cell activity, in unveiling the biological mechanisms underlying the physiological states of living organisms. In this study, critical analysis of network components has been applied to inspect the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory networks reconstructed from mRNA and microRNA expression data of multiple myeloma (MM) samples. Specifically, the importance of a gene as a putative regulatory element has been assessed calculating the drop in the network performance caused by its deactivation instead of quantifying its degree of connectivity. The application of critical analysis to transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory networks allowed inferring novel regulatory relations potentially functional in multiple myeloma.