Phase 3 – Literature research

Researching selected genes and their products in the literature with intent to understand their roles and discover potential links to asthma.

Gene research was conducted using several platforms: SCA (Single Cell Atlas) & HPA (Human Protein Atlas), to check gene presence in specific cells & tissues and baseline RNA & protein expression levels; and NIH Gene Database, as a database & literature-searching tool to provide extensive information regarding the gene products, including their functions & variances and presence in biological pathways, to build a broad understanding of each.

Deeper literature research was conducted by searching the OU Library, the NCBI journal database, and Google Scholar. Search terms included: “[gene name] in asthma”, “[gene name] functions”.

Biological pathways were researched by searching WikiPathways and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) for genes and in combination. Researched information was tabulated to compare genes and their products’ functions.