DepMap

DepMap identifies genetic dependencies across cancer cell lines using genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screens (Project Achilles) to reveal vulnerabilities for therapeutic discovery.

Key Features:

• Genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 screening: Project Achilles performs genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screens across cancer cell lines to systematically explore genetic dependencies.
• Data processing and quality control: An evolving data-processing pipeline incorporates enhanced quality control metrics, refined calculations for probabilities of dependency, and corrections for screen quality and other biases.
• Score extraction refinement: Methods to extract biologically meaningful scores from Achilles experiments are continuously developed and evaluated across data releases from early 2018 through Q1 2020.

Scientific Applications:

• Therapeutic target identification: Identifies genes essential for cancer cell survival that can be prioritized as candidate therapeutic targets.
• Molecular characterization of cancer: Facilitates understanding of cancer biology at the molecular level by mapping dependencies across cell lines.
• Personalized medicine insights: Informs strategies to optimize patient responses and advance personalized oncology approaches by linking dependencies to cancer contexts.

Methodology:

Uses genome-scale CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screens from Project Achilles with an evolving data-processing pipeline that applies quality control metrics, probability-of-dependency calculations, corrections for screen quality and biases, and methods to derive biologically meaningful scores.