High-throughput transcriptomic (HTTr) technologies are increasingly being used to screen environmental chemicals in vitro to identify molecular targets and provide mechanistic context for regulatory testing. The androgen receptor (AR, NR3C4) regulates male sexual development, is involved in the pathogenesis of a number of cancers, and is often the target of endocrine disruptors. Here, we describe the development and validation of a novel gene expression biomarker to identify AR-modulating chemicals using a pattern matching method. AR biomarker genes were identified by their consistent expression after exposure to 4 AR agonists and opposite expression after exposure to 4 AR antagonists. A genetic filter was used to include only those genes that were regulated by AR. Most of the resulting 51 biomarker genes were shown to be directly regulated by AR as determined by ChIP-Seq analysis of AR-DNA interactions. The biomarker was evaluated as a predictive tool using the fold-change rank-based Running Fisher algorithm which compares the expression of AR biomarker genes under various treatment conditions. Using 163 comparisons from cells treated with 98 chemicals, the biomarker gave balanced accuracies for prediction of AR activation or AR suppression of 97% or 98%, respectively. The biomarker was able to correctly classify 16 out of 17 AR reference antagonists including those that are weak and very weak. Predictions based on comparisons from AR-positive LAPC-4 cells treated with 28 chemicals in antagonist mode were compared to those from an AR pathway model based on 11 in vitro high-throughput screening assays that queried different steps in AR signaling. The balanced accuracy was 93% for suppression. Using our approach, we identified conditions in which AR was modulated in a large collection of microarray profiles from prostate cancer cell lines including 1) AR constitutively active mutants or knockdown of AR, 2) depletion of androgens by castration or removal from media, and 3) modulators that work through indirect mechanisms including suppression of AR expression. These results demonstrate that the AR gene expression biomarker could be a useful tool in HTTr to identify AR modulators in large collections of microarray data derived from AR-positive prostate cancer cell lines.
Identification of Androgen Receptor Modulators in a Prostate Cancer Cell Line Microarray Compendium.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box protein family member 2 (TOX2) is a transcription factor belonging to the TOX family that shares a highly conserved high mobility group DNA binding domain with the other TOX members. While TOX1 has been shown to be an essential regulator of T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell differentiation in mice, little is known about the roles of the other TOX family members in lymphocyte development, particularly in humans. In this study, we found that TOX2 was preferentially expressed in mature human NK cells and was upregulated during in vitro differentiation of NK cells from human umbilical cord blood (UCB)derived CD34+ cells. Gene silencing of TOX2 intrinsically hindered the transition between early developmental stages of NK cells, while overexpression of TOX2 enhanced the development of mature NK cells from UCB CD34+ cells. We subsequently found that TOX2 was independent of ETS-1 but could directly upregulate the transcription of TBX21 (encoding T-BET). Overexpression of T-BET rescued the TOX2 knockdown phenotypes. Given the essential function of T-BET in NK cell differentiation, TOX2 therefore plays a crucial role in controlling normal NK cell development by acting upstream of TBX21 transcriptional regulation.
TOX2 regulates human natural killer cell development by controlling T-BET expression.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesMicroarray analysis was performed on BWF1 mice spleenocyte cells in control and pCONS treated mice.
Distinct gene signature revealed in white blood cells, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in (NZBx NZW) F1 lupus mice after tolerization with anti-DNA Ig peptide.
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View SamplesWe used microarrays to compare gene expression between three HRAS-wild type lines (13, 162d, 165d) and three HRAS-G12S mutant lines (7, 8, 16).
Dysregulation of astrocyte extracellular signaling in Costello syndrome.
Specimen part
View SamplesA small subset of T cells also expresses kiler-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). We find that KIR+ T cells primarily reside in the CD56+ T population. However, little is known on how these cells are different from the conventional CD56- T, NK, and iNKT cells.
Multiplex and genome-wide analyses reveal distinctive properties of KIR+ and CD56+ T cells in human blood.
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View SamplesIncreasing evidence across malignancies suggests that infiltrating T cells at the site of disease are crucial to tumor control. We hypothesized that marrow-infiltrating immune populations play a critical role in response to donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), an established and potentially curative immune therapy whose precise mechanism remains unknown. We therefore analyzed marrow-infiltrating immune populations in 29 patients (22 responders, 7 nonresponders) with relapsed chronic myelogenous leukemia who received CD4+ DLI in the pre-tyrosine kinase inhibitor era.
Reversal of in situ T-cell exhaustion during effective human antileukemia responses to donor lymphocyte infusion.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesProtein expression is regulated by production and degradation of mRNAs and proteins, but their specific relationships remain unknown. We combine measurements of protein production and degradation and mRNA dynamics to build a quantitative genomic model of the differential regulation of gene expression in LPS stimulated mouse dendritic cells. Changes in mRNA abundance play a dominant role in determining most dynamic fold changes in protein levels. Conversely, the preexisting proteome of proteins performing basic cellular functions is remodeled primarily through changes in protein production or degradation, accounting for over half of the absolute change in protein molecules in the cell. Thus, the proteome is regulated by transcriptional induction of novel cellular functions and remodeling of preexisting functions through the protein life cycle. Overall design: Mouse primary dendritic cells were treated with LPS or mock stimulus and profiled over a 12-hour time course. Cells were grown in M-labeled SILAC media, which was replaced with H-labeled SILAC media at time 0. Aliquots were taken at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 12 hours post-stimulation and added to equal volumes of a master mix of unlabeled (L) cells for the purpose of normalization. RNA-Seq was performed at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 hours post-stimulation.
Immunogenetics. Dynamic profiling of the protein life cycle in response to pathogens.
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View SamplesChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death globally, is influenced by both cigarette smoking and genetic determinants. We have previously identified iron-responsive element binding protein 2 (IRP2) as a candidate COPD susceptibility gene based on genetic association studies, with IRP2 increased in the lungs of COPD patients. Here we demonstrate that mice deficient in IRP2 are protected from cigarette smoke (CS)-induced COPD. Using RIP-Seq, RNA-Seq, gene expression and pathway analysis, we identify IRP2 as a regulator of mitochondrial function in the lung. We show that an increase in IRP2 results in a cytochrome c oxidase (COX)-dependent alteration in oxidative capacity and mitochondrial-iron dysfunction involving frataxin. We demonstrate that mice with impaired COX or frataxin activity have altered responses to CS and show that overexpressing IRP2 in vivo alters mitochondrial dynamics. These data suggest a critical role of the mitochondria-iron axis in mediating the pathogenesis of COPD.
Mitochondrial iron chelation ameliorates cigarette smoke-induced bronchitis and emphysema in mice.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesHuntingtons disease (HD) is a devastating disease for which currently no therapy is available. It is a progressive autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the HD gene, resulting in an expansion of polyglutamines at the N-terminal end of the encoded protein, designated huntingtin, and the accumulation of cytoplasmic and nuclear aggregates. Not only is there a loss of normal huntingtin function, upon expansion of the CAG repeat there is also a gain of toxic function of the huntingtin protein and this affects a wide range of cellular processes. To identify groups of genes that could play a role in the pathology of Huntingtons disease, we studied mRNA changes in an inducible PC12 model of Huntingtons disease before and after aggregates became visible. This is the first study to show the involvement Nrf2-responsive genes in the oxidative stress response in HD. Oxidative stress related transcripts were altered in expression suggesting a protective response in cells expressing mutant huntingtin at an early stage of cellular pathology. Furthermore, there was a down-regulation of catecholamine biosynthesis resulting in lower dopamine levels in culture. Our results further demonstrate an early impairment of transcription, the cytoskeleton, ion channels and receptors. Given the pathogenic impact of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway is an attractive therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases.
Mutant huntingtin activates Nrf2-responsive genes and impairs dopamine synthesis in a PC12 model of Huntington's disease.
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View SamplesComparison of gene expression profile of E. coli 83972 grown in minimal lab media, in urine and in 3 individual patients.
Global gene expression profiling of the asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli strain 83972 in the human urinary tract.
No sample metadata fields
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