The placental microvasculature of the human fetus is essential for the efficient transfer of gases, nutrients and waste between the mother and fetus. Microvascular hypoplasia of the terminal villi is associated with the placental pathology observed in cases of severe Intra Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). We used novel methods to isolate a pure population of placental microvascular endothelial cells from control preterm placentas (n=3) and placenta complicated by severe IUGR (n=6) with superimposed preeclampsia (n=5). Distal placental villous tissue was collected to enrich for terminal villi. Tissue was minced, digested and placental microvascular endothelial cells (PlMEC) were positively selected using tocosylated magnetic Dynabeads labeled with Human Endothelial Antigen lectin. The purity of the PlMEC (95%) was assessed by CD31 immunocytochemistry. RNA was extracted from the PlMEC samples and also from 3 term placenta and subjected to Affymetrix microarray analysis (U133Plus2 array chips). Data from the 3 term placentas and 3 preterm PlMEC arrays was used to generate an endothelial cell specific gene profile. This profile was used to identify the endothelial genes differentially regulated in all 6 IUGR cases. BTNL9 and NTRK2 transcripts were upregulated and SAA1, GNAS and SLAMF1 transcripts were downregulated as relative to the preterm controls. These changes were validated by Real time PCR in the PlMEC samples. This novel study is the first to identify endothelial candidate genes that may play a role in the villous hypoplasia of severe IUGR. This work advances our understanding of the molecular defects in placental microvascular endothelial cells in normal and pathologic pregnancies.
A distinct microvascular endothelial gene expression profile in severe IUGR placentas.
Sex
View SamplesWhole exome sequencing identified frequent driver mutations in a series of paediatric glioblastomas
Driver mutations in histone H3.3 and chromatin remodelling genes in paediatric glioblastoma.
Sex, Age, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesInnate lymphoid cells (ILC) represent innate versions of T helper and cytotoxic T cells that differentiate from committed ILC precursors (ILCP). Still, how ILCP relate to mature tissue-resident ILCs remains unclear. We observed that a population of CD117+ ILC from peripheral blood (PB) of healthy donors does not represent any conical ILC subset, but expressed marker (CD117) commonly expressed by hemato-lymphoid progenitors. We therefore hypothesized PB CD117+ ILC might include uncommitted lymphoid precursors. In order to further understand the identity of PB CD117+ ILC, we profiled the transcriptome of highly purified circulating CD117+ ILC compared to CD34+ HSC, the latter representing immature hematopoietic progenitors with multi-lineage potential. Clear differences in gene expression profiles emerged, with a large cluster of 1540 genes expressed at substantially higher levels in CD117+ ILC. In contrast, CD34+ HSC cells highly expressed genes involved in the broad development of diverse hematopoietic lineages. Compared to HSC, CD117+ ILC express high levels of TF that have been shown to be essential for murine ILC development and we did not detect transcripts characteristic of T and B cells development. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that CD117+ ILC represent lymphoid-biased progenitors carrying a TF expression profile resembling a multi-potent ILC precursor (ILCP). Overall design: CD117+ ILC and CD34+ HSC were freshly isolated by FACS of peripheral blood of two healthy adult individuals. In total, 4 samples were analyzed and comparing between two cell populations.
Systemic Human ILC Precursors Provide a Substrate for Tissue ILC Differentiation.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesGlioblastoma (GBM) is an incurable brain tumor carrying a dismal prognosis, which displays considerable heterogeneity. We have recently identified recurrent H3F3A mutations affecting two critical positions of histone H3.3 (K27, G34) in one-third of pediatric GBM. Here we show that each of these H3F3A mutations defines an epigenetic subgroup of GBM with a distinct global methylation pattern, and are mutually exclusive with IDH1 mutation (characterizing a CpG-Island Methylator Phenotype (CIMP) subgroup). Three further epigenetic subgroups were enriched for hallmark genetic events of adult GBM (EGFR amplification, CDKN2A/B deletion) and/or known transcriptomic signatures. We also demonstrate that the two H3F3A mutations give rise to GBMs in separate anatomic compartments, with differential regulation of OLIG1/2 and FOXG1, possibly reflecting different cellular origins.
Hotspot mutations in H3F3A and IDH1 define distinct epigenetic and biological subgroups of glioblastoma.
Sex
View SamplesBlastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is an aggressive hematological. We used transcriptomic analysis to investigate LXR pathway, and cholesterol metabolism in leukemic cells. Malignancy with a poor prognosis that derives from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC). No consensus for optimal treatment modalities is available today and the full characterization of this leukemia is still emerging. We identified here a BPDCN-specific transcriptomic profile when compared to those of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), as well as the transcriptomic signature of primary PDC. This BPDCN gene signature identified a dysregulation of genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis, some of them being liver X receptor (LXR) target genes. LXR agonist treatment of primary BPDCN cells and BPDCN cell lines restored LXR target gene expression and increased cholesterol efflux via the upregulation of ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters, ABCA1 and ABCG1. LXR agonist treatment was responsible for limiting BPDCN cell proliferation and inducing intrinsic apoptotic cell death. LXR activation in BPDCN cells was shown to interfere with three signaling pathways associated with leukemic cell survival, namely: NF-B activation, as well as Akt and STAT5 phosphorylation in response to the BPDCN growth/survival factor IL-3. These effects were increased by the stimulation of cholesterol efflux through a lipid acceptor, the apolipoprotein A1. In vivo experiments using a mouse model of BPDCN cell xenograft revealed a decrease of leukemic cell infiltration and BPDCN-induced cytopenia associated with an increased survival after LXR agonist treatment. This demonstrates that cholesterol homeostasis is modified in BPDCN and can be normalized by treatment with LXR agonists which can be proposed as a new therapeutic approach.
LXR agonist treatment of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm restores cholesterol efflux and triggers apoptosis.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesAging has been shown to be under genetic control in C. elegans. We performed Affymetrix micorarray-based transcriptional profililng of wild type C. elegans strain Bristol N2 during aging to detect temporal changes in gene expression.
A decline in p38 MAPK signaling underlies immunosenescence in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Specimen part
View SamplesSox3 has been shown to be expressed within neural progenitors of the developing mouse central nervous system. However, identification of Sox3 targets within neural progenitors has remained elusive.
Dbx1 is a direct target of SOX3 in the spinal cord.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThe oocytes found within the primordial follicles of mammalian ovaries remain quiescent for months to years until they receive the appropriate signals to undergo the primordial to primary follicle transition and initiate folliculogenesis. The molecular mechanisms and extracellular signaling factors that regulate this process remain to be fully elucidated. The current study investigates the mechanisms utilized by anti-Mllerian hormone (AMH; i.e. Mllerian inhibitory substance) to inhibit the primordial to primary follicle transition. Ovaries from 4-day-old rats were placed into organ culture and incubated in the absence or presence of AMH, either alone or in combination with known stimulators of follicle transition, including basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), kit ligand (KITL), or keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Following 10 days of culture, the ovaries were sectioned, stained, and morphologically evaluated to determine the percentage of primordial versus developing follicles. As previously demonstrated, AMH treatment decreased primordial to primary follicle transition. Interestingly, AMH inhibited the stimulatory actions of KITL, bFGF, and KGF. Therefore, AMH can inhibit the basal and stimulated development of primordial follicles. To investigate the mechanism of AMH actions, the influence AMH has on the ovarian transcriptome was analyzed. AMH treatment when compared with controls was found to alter the expression of 707 genes. The overall effect of AMH exposure is to decrease the expression of stimulatory factors, increase the expression of inhibitory factors, and regulate cellular pathways (e.g. transforming growth factor beta signaling pathway) that result in the inhibition of primordial follicle development. Analysis of the regulatory factors and cellular pathways altered by AMH provides a better understanding of the molecular control of primordial follicle development.
Actions of anti-Mullerian hormone on the ovarian transcriptome to inhibit primordial to primary follicle transition.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesTranscriptome analysis of mRNA samples from a cohort of mice with histopathologically diagnosed Undifferentiated Myeloid Leukemia.
Analyzing tumor heterogeneity and driver genes in single myeloid leukemia cells with SBCapSeq.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesMus musculus (house mouse) Myeloid Leukemia RNA-Seq
Analyzing tumor heterogeneity and driver genes in single myeloid leukemia cells with SBCapSeq.
No sample metadata fields
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