Here, we show that functional loss of a single gene is sufficient to confer constitutive milk protein production and protection against mammary tumor formation. Caveolin-3 (Cav-3), a muscle-specific caveolin-related gene, is highly expressed in striated and smooth muscle cells. We demonstrate that Cav-3 is also expressed in myoepithelial cells within the mammary gland. To determine if genetic ablation of Cav-3 expression affects adult mammary gland development, we next studied the phenotype(s) of Cav-3 (-/-) null mice. Interestingly, detailed analysis of Cav-3 (-/-) virgin mammary glands shows dramatic increases in ductal thickness, side-branching, and the development of extensive lobulo-alveolar hyperplasia, akin to the changes normally observed during pregnancy and lactation. Analysis by genome-wide expression profiling reveals the upregulation of gene transcripts associated with pregnancy/lactation, mammary stem cells, and human breast cancers, consistent with a constitutive lactogenic phenotype. The expression levels of three key transcriptional regulators of lactation, namely Elf5, Stat5a, and c-Myc are also significantly elevated. Experiments with pregnant mice directly show that Cav-3 (-/-) mice undergo precocious lactation. Finally, using orthotopic implantation of a transformed mammary cell line (known as Met-1), we demonstrate that virgin Cav-3 (-/-) mice are dramatically protected against mammary tumor formation. Interestingly, Cav-3 (+/-) mice also show similar protection, indicating that even reductions in Cav-3 levels are sufficient to render these mice resistant to tumorigenesis. Thus, Cav-3 (-/-) mice are a novel preclinical model to study the protective effects of a constitutive lactogenic microenviroment on mammary tumor onset and progression. Our current studies have broad implications for using the lactogenic micro-environment as a paradigm to discover new therapies for the prevention and/or treatment of human breast cancers. Most importantly, a lactation-based therapeutic strategy would provide a more natural and nontoxic approach to the development of novel anti-cancer therapies.
Loss of caveolin-3 induces a lactogenic microenvironment that is protective against mammary tumor formation.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesUnlike other terminally differentiated cell types, vascular SMCs display remarkable phenotypic plasticity. The adult, differentiated state is traditionally defined by expression of well-characterized SMC contractile genes. Extracellular cues, however, can induce contractile SMCs to remodel toward a synthetic state characterized by a spectrum of proliferative, migratory, and inflammatory phenotypes.
Integrative genomics identifies DSCR1 (RCAN1) as a novel NFAT-dependent mediator of phenotypic modulation in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
miRNAs 182 and 183 are necessary to maintain adult cone photoreceptor outer segments and visual function.
Specimen part
View SamplesWe have analyzed gene expression in cone photoreceptors isolated from wild type and C-DGCR8 (DiGeorge Syndrome Critical Region Gene 8) KO mice at five different time points to get a mechanistic inside into the altered molecular pathways after microRNAs depletion.
miRNAs 182 and 183 are necessary to maintain adult cone photoreceptor outer segments and visual function.
Specimen part
View SamplesEscherichia coli release Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) which carry diverse molecular cargo. Pathogenic E.coli EVs contain virulence factors which assist during infection in the host in different mechanisms.The RNA cargo of E.coli EVs has not been assessed in their effect in the host. We used microarray data to asses and compare the global response of bladder cells to EV-RNA from pathogenic E.coli (Uropathogenic UPEC 536) and non-pathogenic E. coli (probiotic Nissle 1917)
Effect of the Extracellular Vesicle RNA Cargo From Uropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> on Bladder Cells.
Disease
View SamplesMicroglia are brain immune cells that constantly survey their environment to maintain homeostasis. Enhanced microglial reactivity and proliferation are typical hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. Whether specific disease-linked microglial subsets exist during the entire course of neurodegeneration, including the recovery phase, is currently unclear. Taking a single-cell RNA-sequencing approach in a susceptibility gene-free model of nerve injury, we identified a microglial subpopulation that upon acute neurodegeneration shares a conserved gene regulatory profile compared to previously reported chronic and destructive neurodegeneration transgenic mouse models. Our data also revealed rapid shifts in gene regulation that defined microglial subsets at peak and resolution of neurodegeneration. Finally, our discovery of a unique transient microglial subpopulation at the onset of recovery may provide novel targets for modulating microglia-mediated restoration of brain health. Overall design: scRNA-Seq was performed on microglial cells isolated from the ipsilateral and contralateral ventral pons of CX3CR1GFP/wt mice that underwent unilateral facial nerve axotomy at 12 weeks of age. The contralateral ventral pons of un-operated 12-week-old CX3CR1GFP/wt was used as baseline control (Day 0 post nerve transection) for the analysis. Three replicates were used per time point (Day 0, 7 and 30 post axotomy). mCEL-Seq2 protocol was used for single cell sequencing (Hashimshony et al. 2016, Herman et al. 2018).
Unique microglia recovery population revealed by single-cell RNAseq following neurodegeneration.
Age, Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesRecent research hints at an underappreciated complexity in pre-miRNA processing and regulation. Global profiling of pre-miRNA and its potential to increase understanding of the pre-miRNA landscape is impeded by overlap with highly-expressed classes of other non-coding RNA. Here we present a dataset excluding these RNA before sequencing through locked nucleic acids (LNA), greatly increasing pre-miRNA sequence counts with no discernable effects on pre-miRNA or mature miRNA sequencing. Analysis of profiles generated in total, nuclear, and cytoplasmic cell fractions reveals pre-miRNAs are subject to a wide range of regulatory processes involving loci-specific 3'- and 5'-end variation entailing complex cleavage patterns with co-occurring polyuridylation. Additionally, examination of nuclear-enriched flanking sequences of pre-miRNA, particularly those derived from polycistronic miRNA transcripts, provides insight into miRNA and miRNA-offset (moRNA) production. Our findings point to particularly intricate regulation of the let-7 family, introduce novel and unify known forms of pre-miRNA regulation and processing, and shed new light on the byproducts of miRNA processing pathways. none provided
pre-miRNA profiles obtained through application of locked nucleic acids and deep sequencing reveals complex 5'/3' arm variation including concomitant cleavage and polyuridylation patterns.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMaggot ES is known to induce wound healing in vivo to improve chronic wound repair. The effects have been studies at the protein and molecular level but never before at the transcriptional level.
The transcriptional responses of cultured wound cells to the excretions and secretions of medicinal Lucilia sericata larvae.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesMechanosensory hair cells (HCs) are the primary receptors of our senses of hearing and balance. However, very little is known about the transcriptional regulators involved in HC fate determination and differentiation. In this paper, we show that expression of three HC lineage-specific transcription factors: Gfi1, Pou4f3 and Atoh1, can induce a direct commitment towards HC fate during in vitro embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation. Induced HCs (iHCs) express numerous HC-specific genes and exhibit polarized membrane protusions reminiscent of stereociliary bundles.
Generation of sensory hair cells by genetic programming with a combination of transcription factors.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesUnr (upstream of N-ras) is a cytoplasmic RNA-binding protein with cold shock domains, involved in regulation of messenger RNA stability and translation. To address the biological role of Unr, we inactivated the unr gene by homologous recombination in mice and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Embryos deficient for Unr die at mid-gestation, and the main phenotypic defects observed, growth deficiency and absence of neural tube closure, suggest a role of Unr in the balance proliferation/differentiation during early development. Here, we report that in Unr-null ES cell cultures, we observed a greater proportion of partially differentiated colonies, together with dispersed, refractile cells with stellate morphology, reminiscent of primitive endoderm (PrE) cells. DNA microarray, immunostaining, and RNA analyses revealed that Unr-null ES cells express a set of PrE markers, including the GATA6 transcription factor, a key inducer of PrE. Although Unr-deficient cells did not downregulate the pluripotency regulators Oct4, Nanog and Sox2, they grew more slowly than the wild-type lines, and their clonogenicity was lower. Silencing of Unr by RNA interference in ES E14 (129 genetic background) resulted in similar phenotypic and molecular changes as those observed in unr-/- ES cells (C57Bl/6 background). Finally, we show that ectopic expression of Unr in unr-/- ES cells partially reverses the endoderm-specific gene expression and the differentiation phenotype.
The RNA-binding protein Unr prevents mouse embryonic stem cells differentiation toward the primitive endoderm lineage.
Specimen part, Treatment
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