Asthma arises from the complex interplay of inflammatory pathways in diverse cell types and tissues including epithelial and T cells.
Multitissue Transcriptomics Delineates the Diversity of Airway T Cell Functions in Asthma.
Sex, Subject
View SamplesIntegration of multi-omics data remains a key challenge in fulfilling the potential of comprehensive systems biology.
OnPLS-Based Multi-Block Data Integration: A Multivariate Approach to Interrogating Biological Interactions in Asthma.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesAsthma is a heterogeneous disease requiring understandings at molecular level that characterizes subgroups of patients with specific biomarkers to faciliate the development of targeted thearpies.
T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) and non-Th2 molecular phenotypes of asthma using sputum transcriptomics in U-BIOPRED.
Sex, Age
View SamplesSevere asthma is a collection of disease entities with varying pathophysiological characteristics (7) that result in symptoms of cough, wheeze and breathlessness, with frequent exacerbations. To address the problem of phenotypic difference and heterogeneity, the Unbiased Biomarkers for the Prediction of Respiratory Disease Outcomes (U-BIOPRED) project was set up as a public-private partnership within the framework of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), engaging academia, the pharmaceutical industry and patient groups. The goal of this investigation was to identify transcript fingerprints in whole blood that characterize patients with severe asthma and to determine whether subgroups of severe asthmatics can be identified. Furthermore, we were interested in elucidating the biological pathways that showed differences between subgroups.
A Severe Asthma Disease Signature from Gene Expression Profiling of Peripheral Blood from U-BIOPRED Cohorts.
Sex, Specimen part, Race
View SamplesBackground: Although several studies link high levels of IL-6 and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) with asthma severity and decreased lung function, the role of IL-6 trans-signaling (IL-6TS) in asthma is unclear. Objective: To explore the association between epithelial IL-6TS pathway activation and molecular and clinical phenotypes in asthma. Methods: Primary human bronchial epithelial cell (HBEC) air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures were stimulated with IL-6 and sIL-6R to establish an IL-6TS gene signature. Two separate RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) studies were performed: The “IL-6 vs T2 study” compared gene expression after stimulation with control medium, IL-6, IL-6/sIL-6R and IL-4/IL-13, while the “JAK1-inhibition study” addressed the effect of JAK1 inhibition on IL-6TS induced gene expression. The IL-6TS gene signature was used to stratify lung epithelial transcriptomic data obtained from asthmatics (n=103) in the U-BIOPRED cohorts by hierarchical clustering. Molecular phenotyping was based on the transcriptional profiling of epithelial brushings, pathway analysis and immunohistochemistry analysis of bronchial biopsies. Results: Activation of IL-6TS in HBEC ALI cultures reduced epithelial barrier function and induced a specific epithelial gene signature enriched in airway remodeling genes. The IL-6TS signature identified a subset (n=17) of IL-6TS High asthma patients with increased epithelial expression of IL-6TS inducible genes in absence of increased systemic levels of IL-6 and sIL-6R. The IL-6TS High subset had an increased exacerbation frequency (p=0.028), blood (>300/µl; p=0.0028) and sputum (>20%; p=0.007) eosinophilia, and submucosal infiltration of CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells (p<0.001) and macrophages (p=0.001). In bronchial brushings, TLR pathway genes were up-regulated while the expression of epithelial tight junction genes was reduced (all with q<0.05). Sputum sIL-6R levels correlated with sputum markers of remodeling and innate immune activation, in particular YKL-40, MMP3, IL-8 and IL-1ß (all with q<0.001). Conclusions: Local lung epithelial IL-6TS activation in absence of type 2 airway inflammation defines a novel subset of asthmatics and may drive airway inflammation and epithelial dysfunction in these patients. Overall design: Primary human bronchial epithelial cells grown and differentiated on air-liquid interface were stimulated basolaterally for 24h with cytokines corresponding to IL-6TS (IL-6 + sIL-6R), IL-6 alone, a Type 2 immune response (IL-4 + IL-13) or media alone as non-stimulated control. Each stimulation condition was done in triplicates. Cells were lysed, the RNA isolated and converted into libraries then used for next generation sequencing in order to identify genes that were up- or downregulated in response to the different stimulations.
Epithelial IL-6 trans-signaling defines a new asthma phenotype with increased airway inflammation.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesCD133-positive colorectal cancer cells exhibit enhanced tumorigenicity over CD133-negative cells. The CD133+ cells are more interactive with and responsive to their stromal microenvironment because they also express the cognate receptors, such as CXCR4, for ligands produced by their neighboring carcinoma-associated fibroblasts, such as SDF-1 (stromal-derived growth factor).
CD133+ colon cancer cells are more interactive with the tumor microenvironment than CD133- cells.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesRegeneration requires cells to regulate proliferation and patterning according to their spatial position. Positional memory is a property that enables regenerating cells to recall spatial information from the uninjured tissue. Positional memory is hypothesized to rely on gradients of molecules, few of which have been identified. Here, we quantified the global abundance of transcripts, proteins and metabolites along the proximodistal axis of caudal fins of uninjured and regenerating adult zebrafish. Using this approach, we uncovered complex overlapping expression patterns for hundreds of molecules involved in diverse cellular functions, including developmental and bioelectric signaling as well as amino acid and lipid metabolism. Moreover, 32 genes differentially expressed at the RNA level had concomitant differential expression of the encoded proteins. Thus, the identification of proximodistal differences in levels of RNAs, proteins, and metabolites will facilitate future functional studies of positional memory during appendage regeneration. Overall design: RNA-seq was performed on 5 biological replicates for each of 3 positions along the proximodistal axis of the caudal fin; proximal, middle and distal (15 total samples). Each biological replicate was a pool of fin regions cut from 2 male and 2 female zebrafish.
Transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic landscape of positional memory in the caudal fin of zebrafish.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesCancer testis antigens (CTAs) are of clinical interest as biomarkers and present valuable targets for immunotherapy. To comprehensively characterize the CTA landscape of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we compared RNAseq data of 199 NSCLC tissues to the normal transcriptome of 142 samples from 32 different normal organs. Of 232 CTAs currently annotated in the CTdatabase, 96 were confirmed in NSCLC. To obtain an unbiased CTA profile of NSCLC, we applied stringent criteria on our RNAseq data set and defined 90 genes as CTAs, of which 55 genes were not annotated in the CTdatabase. Cluster analysis revealed that CTA expression is histology-dependent and concurrent expression is common. Immunohistochemistry confirmed tissue specific protein expression of selected genes. Furthermore, methylation was identified as a regulatory mechanism of CTA expression based on independent data from the Cancer Genome Atlas. The proposed prognostic impact of CTAs in lung cancer, was not confirmed, neither in our RNAseq-cohort nor in an independent meta-analysis of 1117 NSCLC cases. Overall design: Fresh frozen tumor tissue from 199 patients diagnosed with NSCLC and surgically treated 2006-2010 at the Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden and 19 paired normal lung tissues. Clinical data were retrieved from the regional lung cancer registry. Several of the new CTAs are poorly characterized Sample characteristics values represent; pTNM: decided by Hans Brunnström, pathologist in Lund Spring 2013 Stage according to pTNM: 1=1a 2=1b 3=2a 4=2b 5=3a 6=3b 7=IV Histology diagnosis spring 2013 HB: 1=squamous cell cancer 2=AC unspecified 3=Large cell/ NOS Surgery date: the date when sample arrived at Patologen UAS Age: age when surgery was performed Vital date: day of death or latest contact Dead: 0=no 1= yes Smoking history : 1=current 2=ex >1year 3=never WHO performance status: Performance status 0-4 Please note that the L608T_2122, L771T_1 data columns (in the processed data files) are associated with L608T and L771T samples, respectively.
Multispectral imaging for quantitative and compartment-specific immune infiltrates reveals distinct immune profiles that classify lung cancer patients.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis study was designed to evaluate similarities and differences between transcriptional responses of developing Th17 cells to the prolyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor, halofuginone, and the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin. Further comparisons between wild-type and Gcn2-/- Th17 cells allow for investigation into which gene modules regulated by halofuginone or rapamycin treatment require Gcn2.
Halofuginone-induced amino acid starvation regulates Stat3-dependent Th17 effector function and reduces established autoimmune inflammation.
Specimen part
View SamplesInduced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell reprogramming is a gradual epigenetic process that reactivates the pluripotent transcriptional network by erasing and establishing heterochromatin marks. Here, we characterize the physical structure of heterochromatin domains in full and partial mouse iPS cells by correlative Electron Spectroscopic Imaging (ESI). In somatic and partial iPS cells, constitutive heterochromatin marked by H3K9me3 is highly compartmentalized into chromocenter structures of densely packed 10 nm chromatin fibers. In contrast, chromocenter boundaries are poorly defined in pluripotent ES and full iPS cells, and are characterized by unusually dispersed 10 nm heterochromatin fibers in high Nanog-expressing cells, including pluripotent cells of the mouse blastocyst prior to differentiation. This heterochromatin reorganization accompanies retroviral silencing during conversion of partial iPS cells by Mek/Gsk3 2i inhibitor treatment. Thus, constitutive heterochromatin reorganization serves as a novel biomarker with retroviral silencing for identifying iPS cells in the very late stages of reprogramming.
Constitutive heterochromatin reorganization during somatic cell reprogramming.
Specimen part, Cell line
View Samples