E-cadherin, a protein encoded by the CDH1 gene is the dominant epithelial cell adhesion molecule playing a crucial role in epithelial tissue polarity and structural integrity. The progression of 90% or more carcinomas is believed to be mediated by disruption of normal E-cadherin expression, subcellular localization or function. Despite the strong correlation between E-cadherin loss and malignancy the mechanism through how this occurs is not known in most sporadic and hereditary epithelial carcinomas. Previous works have shown the importance of CDH1 intron 2 sequences for proper gene and protein expression supporting the possibility of these being cis-modulators of E-cadherin expression/function. but when co-expressed it led to reduced cell-cell adhesiveness, increased invasion and angiogenesis. By expression array analysis, IFITM1 and IFI27 levels were found to be increased upon CDH1a overexpression. Importantly, CDH1a was found to be de novo expressed in gastric cancer cell lines when compared to normal stomach.
Transcription initiation arising from E-cadherin/CDH1 intron2: a novel protein isoform that increases gastric cancer cell invasion and angiogenesis.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesDifferent human mTEC subsets (MUC1, CEACAM5 and SGLT1) were purified by sequential enzymatic digestion (collagenase/dispase, trypsin) followed by enrichment using magnetic beads (CD45 beads, Miltenyi Biotech) and FACS sorting. Cells of the surface phenotype CD45-, CDR2-, EpCAM+ were further subdivided into MUC1+/MUC1-, CEACAM5+/CEACAM5- and SGLT1+/SGLT1- fractions. RNA was isolated using MACS SuperAmp protocol (Miltenyi Biotec) and hybridized to Illumina Whole-Genome Expression Beadchips. Gene expression of Antigen-positive and Antigen-negative mTEC subsets was compared.
Overlapping gene coexpression patterns in human medullary thymic epithelial cells generate self-antigen diversity.
Specimen part
View SamplesInsect hemocytes mediate important cellular immune responses including phagocytosis and encapsulation, and also secrete immune factors such as opsonins, melanization factors, and antimicrobial peptides. In Anopheles, they contribute to the defense against malaria parasite invasion during the early sporogonic cycle. We used microarrays to identify transcripts that are specific or enriched in circulating hemocytes compared to either neuronal or to the rest of the body.
Discovery of Plasmodium modulators by genome-wide analysis of circulating hemocytes in Anopheles gambiae.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesInsect hemocytes mediate important cellular immune responses including phagocytosis and encapsulation, and also secrete immune factors such as opsonins, melanization factors, and antimicrobial peptides. In Anopheles, they contribute to the defense against malaria parasite invasion during the early sporogonic cycle.
Discovery of Plasmodium modulators by genome-wide analysis of circulating hemocytes in Anopheles gambiae.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Genome-wide methylation analysis in vestibular schwannomas shows putative mechanisms of gene expression modulation and global hypomethylation at the HOX gene cluster.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: Schwannomas and grade I meningiomas are non-metastatic neoplasms that shares the common mutation of gene NF2. They usually appear in Neurofibromatosis type 2 patients. Currently, there is no drug treatment available for both tumors, so the use of wide expression technologies is crucial to find those therapeutic targets.
Global expression profile in low grade meningiomas and schwannomas shows upregulation of PDGFD, CDH1 and SLIT2 compared to their healthy tissue.
Specimen part
View SamplesVestibular schwannomas are intracranial tumors that affects unilateral and sporadically or bilateral when is associated to Neurofibromatosis type 2 syndrome. The hallmark of the disease is the biallelic inactivation by NF2 gene mutation or LOH of chromosome 22q, where this gene harbors. In this work, we used Infinium HumanMethylation 450K BeadChip microarrays in a series of 36 vestibular schwannomas, 4 non-vestibular schwannomas and 5 healthy nerves. Our results shows a trend to hypomethylation in schwannomas. Furthermore, HOX genes, located at 4 clusters in the genome, displayed hypomethylation in numerous CpG sites in vestibular but not in non-vestibular schwannomas. Additionally, several microRNA and protein-coding genes were found hypomethylated at promoter regions and confirmed by expression analysis; including miRNA-199a1, miRNA-21, MET and PMEPA1. We also detected methylation patterns that might be involved in alternative transcripts of several genes such as NRXN1 or MBP; that would increase the complexity of methylation-expression. Overall, our results shows specific epigenetic signatures in several coding genes and microRNA that could be used in the finding of potential therapeutic targets.
Genome-wide methylation analysis in vestibular schwannomas shows putative mechanisms of gene expression modulation and global hypomethylation at the HOX gene cluster.
Specimen part
View SamplesDirect conversion of fibroblasts to induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) has great potential for regenerative medicine. Recent publications have reported significant progress, but the evaluation of reprogramming has relied upon non-functional measures such as flow cytometry for cardiomyocyte markers or GFP expression driven by a cardiomyocyte-specific promoter. The issue is one of practicality: the most stringent measures - electrophysiology to detect cell excitation and the presence of spontaneously contracting myocytes - are not readily quantifiable in the large numbers of cells screened in reprogramming experiments. However, excitation and contraction are linked by a third functional characteristic of cardiomyocytes: the rhythmic oscillation of intracellular calcium levels. We set out to optimize direct conversion of fibroblasts to iCMs with a quantifiable calcium reporter to rapidly assess functional transdifferentiation. We constructed a reporter system in which the calcium indicator GCaMP is driven by the cardiomyocyte-specific Troponin T promoter. Using calcium activity as our primary outcome measure, we compared several published combinations of transcription factors along with novel combinations in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. The most effective combination consisted of Hand2, Nkx2.5, Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5 (HNGMT). This combination is >50-fold more efficient than GMT alone and produces iCMs with cardiomyocyte marker expression, robust calcium oscillation, and spontaneous beating that persists for weeks following inactivation of reprogramming factors. HNGMT is also significantly more effective than previously published factor combinations for the transdifferentiation of adult mouse cardiac fibroblasts to iCMs. Quantification of calcium function is a convenient and effective means for the identification and evaluation of cardiomyocytes generated by direct reprogramming. Using this stringent outcome measure, we conclude that HNGMT produces iCMs more efficiently than previously published methods.
Optimization of direct fibroblast reprogramming to cardiomyocytes using calcium activity as a functional measure of success.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesAlthough type III interferons (IFN), also known as IFN-? or IL28/IL-29, restrict infection by several viruses, their mechanism of inhibitory action has remained uncertain. We used recombinant IFN-? and mice lacking the IFN-? receptor (IFNLR1) to evaluate the effect of IFN-? on infection with West Nile virus (WNV), an encephalitic flavivirus. Cell culture studies in keratinocytes and dendritic cells showed no direct antiviral effect of exogenous IFN-? even though ISGs were induced. Correspondingly, we observed no differences in WNV burden between wild-type and Ifnlr1-/- mice in the draining lymph node, spleen, and blood. However, we detected earlier dissemination and increased WNV infection in the brain and spinal cord of Ifnlr1-/- mice, yet this was not associated with a direct antiviral effect on infection of neurons. Instead, an increase in blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability was observed in Ifnlr1-/- mice. Accordingly, treatment of mice with pegylated IFN-?2 resulted in decreased BBB permeability, reduced WNV infection in the brain without impacting viremia, and improved survival against lethal virus challenge. An in vitro model of the BBB showed that IFN-? signaling in brain microvascular endothelial cells increased transendothelial electrical resistance, decreased virus movement across the barrier, and modulated tight junction protein localization in a protein synthesis- and STAT1-independent manner. Our data establish a novel indirect antiviral function of IFN-? in which non-canonical signaling through IFNLR1 tightens the BBB and restricts viral neuroinvasion and pathogenesis. This finding suggests new clinical applications for IFN-? in treating viral or autoimmune diseases. Overall design: Transcriptome profiling of bone-marrow derived Dendritic cells(BMDCs), treated with either Serum Free Media(Mock), interferon beta(IFNb), or interferon lambda(IFNL) for 6 hours.
Interferon-λ restricts West Nile virus neuroinvasion by tightening the blood-brain barrier.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesPurpose: The goal of this study is to understand how dbl-1, which is made primarily in neurons, and hrg-7, which is exclusively made in the intestine, contribute to systemic heme homeostasis. Methods: mRNA profiles of late L4 dbl-1(nk3) and hrg-7(tm6801) mutant C. elegans fed OP50 E. coli or OP50 + 50µM heme were compared to mRNA profiles from wildtype (WT) broodmates. Profiles were generated with single-end 50 base reads obtained using Illumina’s HiSeq 2500. Bioinformatics quality control was performed followed by alignment of reads to the ce10 reference genome using Tophat2, version 2.1.0. We found differentially expressed genes using Cufflinks 2, version 2.2.1 with a cutoff of 0.05 on False Discovery Rate (FDR). Results: We found a substantial overlap of genes regulated by both dbl-1 and hrg-7, including 49 heme-responsive genes (hrgs) in low heme (OP50) and 11 hrgs in high heme (OP50 + 50µM). Additionally, our data indicate crosstalk between dbl-1 and hrg-7 signaling. dbl-1 directly regulates hrg-7 expression, while hrg-7 regulates three components of the dbl-1 signaling pathway. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that communication between the neuron and intestine is essential for heme homeostasis. Specifically, we report that HRG-7 functions as a secreted signaling factor which communicates intestinal heme status with extraintestinal tissues by integrating a DBL-1/BMP -dependent response from the neurons to transcriptionally regulate genes involved in heme homeostasis. Cellular requirements for heme are fulfilled by a cell’s internal capacity to synthesize its own heme in a cell-autonomous manner. However, growing evidence in vertebrates predicts that cellular heme levels in animals are not only maintained by heme synthesis, but also by distally located proteins that could signal systemic heme requirements to an inter-organ heme trafficking network through cell-nonautonomous regulation. Using C. elegans, a genetically and optically amenable animal model for visualizing heme-dependent signaling, we show that HRG-7, an aspartic protease homolog, mediates inter-organ signaling between the intestine and neuron. Loss of hrg-7 results in robust expression of intestinal heme importers and, remarkably, this occurs even under heme replete conditions when such transporters are not normally expressed. HRG-7 functions as a secreted signaling factor, independent of a functional enzymatic active site, and communicates intestinal heme status with extraintestinal tissues by integrating a DBL-1/BMP -dependent response from the neurons to transcriptionally regulate intestinal heme homeostasis. Given the evidence indicating that mechanisms of heme transport are conserved across metazoa, it is conceivable that the cell-nonautonomous signaling framework that we uncovered in C. elegans may have functional relevance for inter-organ regulation of iron and heme metabolism in humans. Overall design: Comparison of mRNA profiles from dbl-1(nk3) mutant C. elegans vs. wildtype (WT) broodmates and hrg-7(tm6801) mutants vs (WT) broomates fed OP50 E. coli or OP50 + 50µM heme. Biological duplicates were analyzed for dbl-1(nk3) mutants and (WT) broodmates. Biological triplicates were analyzed for hrg-7(tm6801) mutants and (WT) broodmates.
Inter-organ signalling by HRG-7 promotes systemic haem homeostasis.
Cell line, Subject
View Samples