RNA-Seq Differential Expression Dashboard

V2 — True Raw Counts

Professional RNA-Seq analysis using DESeq2 — the gold standard for differential expression.

Dataset: Shemer et al., Immunity 2020 | Comparison: IL10R-Mutant vs Control microglia at 48h post-LPS.

V2 improvement: This version uses true raw integer counts from Galaxy featureCounts ( HISAT2 → featureCounts → DESeq2). V1 used UTAP-normalized counts which caused double-normalization. V2 is methodologically correct.


GSE157234

Real published dataset


DESeq2 + apeglm

Modern correct pipeline


Your Data

Upload your own counts


How to use:

  1. Run analysis_v2.R in RStudio first
  2. Click Upload Data → Load Demo (V2)
  3. Explore Volcano, PCA, Heatmap tabs
  4. Download results from Results Table

Upload Count Matrix

CSV: rows=genes, columns=samples, values= raw integer counts

Gene names in first column, sample IDs as header. Must be raw counts — not normalized.

Upload Metadata

CSV: rows=samples. Must have a condition column with exactly 2 groups.

OR Load V2 Demo Dataset (GSE157234 — True Raw Counts)

Reads pre-computed files saved by analysis_v2.R :

  • results/v2/dds_object_v2.rds
  • results/v2/vsd_object_v2.rds
  • results/v2/res_df_v2.rds

Run analysis_v2.R first if these don't exist.



Run Analysis (for custom uploads)

Only needed if you uploaded your own count matrix above. Demo data loads with pre-computed results automatically.




                  

Volcano Plot: IL10R-Mutant vs Control (48h post-LPS)

Red=upregulated in Mutant (Tnf, Ccl5, Il6, Il12b, Il1b…). Blue=downregulated in Mutant (P2ry12, Sall1, Tmem119…). Adjust thresholds in sidebar. apeglm LFC shrinkage applied.


PCA: Sample Clustering

Mutant (red triangles) should separate clearly from Control (blue circles) along PC1 — confirms strong hyperactivation effect at 48h post-LPS.


Heatmap: Top DEGs

Z-scored expression. Red=high, Blue=low. Expect Tnf, Ccl5, Il6 high in Mutant; P2ry12, Sall1, Tmem119 low in Mutant.


Differential Expression Results


About This App

RNA-Seq Differential Expression Dashboard — V2

Built with R + Shiny + DESeq2


Dataset

GEO: GSE157234

Paper: Shemer et al., Immunity 53, 1033–1049, 2020

Comparison: IL10R-Mutant vs Control microglia

Timepoint: 48h post-LPS (peak hyperactivation)

Key finding: Without IL-10 signalling, microglia hyperactivate and produce toxic TNF, causing neuronal damage (Figure 3, paper).


V2 Pipeline

  • Input: True raw integer counts from Galaxy featureCounts
  • Alignment: STAR → mm10 (NCBI RefSeq)
  • Quantification: featureCounts (all exons)
  • Samples: 6 Control + 3 Mutant (48h post-LPS)
  • DESeq2 design: ~ condition
  • Filter: genes ≥10 counts in ≥2 samples
  • LFC shrinkage: apeglm (modern — replaces deprecated betaPrior)
  • Significance: padj<0.05 AND |log2FC|>1
  • VST transformation for PCA and heatmap

V1 vs V2 comparison

V1 V2
Input UTAP-normalized True raw counts
Normalization Double-normalized Once — by DESeq2
LFC method Standard apeglm shrinkage
DEGs up/down 669 / 894 621 / 976
Paper (Fig 3E) 954 / 693 954 / 693

V2 count differences from paper are due to annotation differences: paper used Gencode vM10 with MARS-seq 3'UTR counting; V2 uses NCBI RefSeq with standard exon counting. Biological conclusions are consistent — key markers confirmed in correct direction.

Developer

Md. Abrar Faiyaj

MSc Biotechnology | Junior Research Collaborator

BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

github.com/mdabrarfaiyaj


This pipeline demonstrates:

  • Bulk RNA-seq: SRA → STAR → featureCounts → DESeq2
  • Interactive Shiny dashboard development
  • Reproducible bioinformatics pipeline design
  • Honest limitation documentation
  • V1 → V2 methodological improvement

Zenodo DOI:

10.5281/zenodo.19138922