Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were generated from 13.5-day-old embryos obtained from heterozygous PKBa mice intercrosses (Yang et al., 2003). Briefly, after dissection of head and visceral organs for genotyping, embryos were minced and trypsinized for 30 min at 37C. Embryonic fibroblasts were then plated and maintained in Dulbeccos Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) with 10% foetal calf serum (FCS) (Life Technologies), 100 units/ml of penicillin and 100 mg/ml of streptomycin at 37C in an atmosphere of 5% CO2. All experiments were performed with wild-type and PKBa-/- MEFs between 15-20 passages. To induce adipocyte differentiation, 2-day-postconfluent cells (day 0) were treated with DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 8 mg/ml biotin, 4 mg/ml pantothenate, 0.5 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, 1 mM dexamethasone and 10 mg/ml insulin (all from Sigma). Total RNA was extracted from cells using TRIzol (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturers instructions.
PKBalpha is required for adipose differentiation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe thymus constitutes the primary lymphoid organ for the majority of T cells. The phosphatidyl-inositol 3 kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway is involved in lymphoid development. Defects in single components of this pathway prevent thymocytes from progressing beyond early T cell developmental stages. Protein kinase B (PKB) is the main effector of the PI3K pathway. To determine whether PKB mediates PI3K signaling in early T cell development, we characterized PKB knockout thymi. Our results reveal a significant thymic hypocellularity in PKBalpha-/- neonates and an accumulation of early thymocyte subsets in PKBalpha-/- adult mice. The latter finding is specifically attributed to the lack of PKBalpha within the lymphoid component of the thymus. Microarray analyses show that the absence of PKBalpha in early thymocyte subsets modifies the expression of genes known to be involved in pre-TCR signaling, in T cell activation, and in the transduction of interferon-mediated signals. This report highlights the specific requirements of PKBalpha for thymic development.
Deletion of PKBalpha/Akt1 affects thymic development.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant and most common tumor of the central nervous system characterized by rapid growth and extensive tissue infiltration. GBM results in more years of life lost than any other cancer type. Notch signaling has been implicated in GBM pathogenesis through several modes of action. Inhibition of Notch leads to a reduction of cancer-initiating cells in gliomas and reduces proliferation and migration. Deltex1 (DTX1) is part of an alternative Notch signaling pathway distinct from the canonical MAML1/RBPJ-mediated cascade. In this study, we show that DTX1 activates both the RTK/PI3K/PKB as well as the MAPK/ERK pathway. Moreover, we found the anti-apoptotic factor Mcl-1 to be induced by DTX1. In accordance with this, the clonogenic potential and proliferation rates of glioma cell lines correlated with DTX1 levels. DTX1 knock down mitigated the tumorigenic potential in vivo, and overexpression of DTX1 increased cell migration and invasion of tumor cells accompanied by an elevation of the pro-migratory factors PKB and Snail1. Microarray gene expression analysis identified a DTX1-specific transcriptional program - including microRNA-21 - which is distinct from the canonical Notch signaling. We propose the alternative Notch pathway via DTX1 as oncogenic factor in malignant glioma and found low DTX1 expression levels to correlate with prolonged survival of GBM and early breast cancer patients in open source databases.
Deltex-1 activates mitotic signaling and proliferation and increases the clonogenic and invasive potential of U373 and LN18 glioblastoma cells and correlates with patient survival.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesTo identify signaling pathways that are differentially regulated in human gliomas, a microarray analysis on 30 brain tumor samples (12 primary glioblastomas (GBM), 3 secondary glioblastomas (GBM-2), 8 astrocytomas (Astro) and 7 oligodendrogliomas (Oligo)) and on 5 glioblastoma cell lines (LN018, LN215, LN229, LN319 and BS149) was performed. Normal brain tissue (NB) and normal human astrocytes (NHA) were used as a control. Kinase expression in each tumor was compared to expression in normal brain and expression values from normal human astrocytes were used as an additional control.
MAP kinase-interacting kinase 1 regulates SMAD2-dependent TGF-β signaling pathway in human glioblastoma.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Disease stage, Cell line
View SamplesTwist1 variants including wildtype Twist1, a non-phosphorylatable mutant Twist1/S42A and a phospho-mimicking mutant Twist1/S42D were expressed in 4T1 cells in which the endogenous Twist1 was depleted.
Akt/PKB-mediated phosphorylation of Twist1 promotes tumor metastasis via mediating cross-talk between PI3K/Akt and TGF-β signaling axes.
Specimen part
View SamplesMicroarray-based studies of skeletal muscle from patients with type 2 diabetes and high-risk individuals have demonstrated that insulin resistance and reduced mitochondrial biogenesis co-exist early in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes independent of hyperglycaemia and obesity. It is unknown whether reduced mitochondrial biogenesis or other transcriptional alterations co-exist with impaired insulin-responsiveness in primary human muscle cells from patients with type 2 diabetes.
Transcriptional profiling of myotubes from patients with type 2 diabetes: no evidence for a primary defect in oxidative phosphorylation genes.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
<i>APOL1</i> Renal-Risk Variants Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction.
Specimen part
View SamplesTo assess differential gene expression by APOL1 renal-risk (2 risk alleles) vs. non-risk (G0G0) genotypes in primary proximal tubule cells (PTCs), global gene expression (mRNA) levels were examined on Affymetrix HTA 2.0 arrays in primary PTCs cultured from non-diseased kidney in African Americans without CKD who underwent nephrectomy for localized renal cell carcinoma.
<i>APOL1</i> Renal-Risk Variants Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction.
Specimen part
View SamplesTo elucidate pathways whereby apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1) G1 and G2 variants facilitate kidney disease in African Americans, human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293) were used to establish doxycycline-inducible (Tet-on) cell lines stably expressing reference APOL1 G0 and its G1 and G2 renal-risk variants. Illumina human HT-12-v4 arrays and Affymetrix HTA 2.0 arrays were employed to generate global gene expression data with doxycycline induction. Significantly altered pathways identified through bioinformatics involved mitochondrial function; results were validated using immunoblotting, immunofluorescence and functional assays.
<i>APOL1</i> Renal-Risk Variants Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe study shows that RLRs drive distinct immune gene activation and polarization of the immune response. In our data, the RLR-dependent, WNV-induced immune response polarization overshadows the classical drivers of viral innate immune responses, interferon I (IFN) and IFN-stimulated genes, thus underscoring the importance of innate immune activation for channeling the adaptive immune system into specific effector pathways Overall design: We conducted genome-wide RNAseq and bioinformatics analysis of WNV infection in bone marrow derived macrophages from the RLR-deficient mice.
RIG-I-like receptors direct inflammatory macrophage polarization against West Nile virus infection.
Specimen part, Subject, Time
View Samples