Rationale - Regulatory T (Treg) cells suppress immune responses and have been shown to attenuate atherosclerosis. The Treg cell lineage specification factor FOXP3 is essential for Treg cells' ability to uphold immunological tolerance. In humans, FOXP3 exists in several different isoforms, however, their specific role is poorly understood. Objective - To define the regulation and functions of the two major FOXP3 isoforms, FOXP3fl and FOXP3?2, as well as to establish whether their expression is associated with ischemic atherosclerotic disease. Methods and Results - Human primary T-cells were transduced with lentiviruses encoding distinct FOXP3 isoforms. The phenotype and function of these cells were analyzed by flow cytometry, in vitro suppression assays and RNA-sequencing. We also assessed the effect of activation on Treg cells isolated from healthy volunteers. Treg cell activation resulted in increased FOXP3 expression that predominantly was made up of FOXP3?2. FOXP3?2 induced specific transcription of GARP, which functions by tethering the immunosuppressive cytokine TGF-ß to the cell membrane of activated Treg cells. RT-PCR was used to determine the impact of alternative splicing of FOXP3 in relation with atherosclerotic plaque stability in a cohort of over 150 patients that underwent carotid endarterectomy. Plaque instability was associated with a lower FOXP3?2 transcript usage, when comparing plaques from patients without symptoms and patients with occurrence of recent (<1 month) vascular symptoms including minor stoke, transient ischemic attack or amaurosis fugax. No difference was detected in total levels of FOXP3 mRNA between these two groups. Conclusions - These results suggest that activated Treg cells suppress the atherosclerotic disease process and that FOXP3?2 controls a transcriptional program that acts protectively in human atherosclerotic plaques. Overall design: In this experiment we have analyzed 3 groups of each 3 biological repliactes equalling 9 samples in total.
Alternative Splicing of <i>FOXP3</i> Controls Regulatory T Cell Effector Functions and Is Associated With Human Atherosclerotic Plaque Stability.
Subject
View SamplesPreparation of exosomes isolated from semen contain a substantial amount of RNA, mostly from 20 to 100 nucleotides in length. We sequenced separately 20-40 and 40-100 nucleotide fractions of RNA from exosomes isolated from semenal fluid from six healthy donors. We found various classes of small non-coding RNA, including mature microRNA and piwi-RNA, as well as abundant Y RNAs and tRNAs present in both full length and fragmented forms. Specific RNAs were consistently present in all donors. For example, fifteen (of ~2,600 known) microRNAs constituted over 80% of mature microRNA in SE. Additionally, tRNA fragments were strongly enriched for 5’-ends of 18-19 or 30-34 nucleotides in length. Overall design: Size-fractionated small RNA profiles from exosomes isolated from the seminal fluid of six healthy donors
Exosomes in human semen carry a distinctive repertoire of small non-coding RNAs with potential regulatory functions.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMore than two thirds of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor (ER) and depend on estrogen for growth and survival. Therapies targeting ER function including aromatase inhibitors that block the production of estrogens and ER antagonists that alter ER transcriptional activity play a central role in the treatment of ER+ breast cancers of all stages. In contrast to ER- breast cancers, which frequently harbor mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor, ER+ breast cancers are predominantly wild type for p53. Despite harboring wild type p53, ER+ breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in the presence of estrogen. Using genome-wide approaches we have addressed the mechanism by which ER antagonizes the pro-apoptotic function of p53. Interestingly both ER agonists such as estradiol and selective ER modulators (SERM) such as tamoxifen promote p53 antagonism. In contrast the full ER antagonist fulvestrant blocks the ability of ER to inhibit p53-mediated cell death. This suggests an improved strategy for the treatment of ER+ breast cancer utilizing antagonists that completely block ER action together with drugs that activate p53-mediated cell death.
Estrogen receptor prevents p53-dependent apoptosis in breast cancer.
Cell line, Treatment
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Clonal Variation in Drug and Radiation Response among Glioma-Initiating Cells Is Linked to Proneural-Mesenchymal Transition.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesIntra-tumor heterogeneity is a hallmark of glioblastoma multiforme, and thought to negatively affect treatment efficacy. Here we establish libraries of glioma-initiating cell (GIC) clones from patient samples and find extensive molecular and phenotypic variability between clones, including a wide range of responses to radiation and drugs. This widespread variability was observed as a continuum of multitherapy resistance phenotypes linked to a proneural-to-mesenchymal shift in the transcriptome.
Clonal Variation in Drug and Radiation Response among Glioma-Initiating Cells Is Linked to Proneural-Mesenchymal Transition.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesEstrogen has vascular protective effects in premenopausal women and in women under 60 receiving hormone replacement therapy. However, estrogen also increases risks of breast and uterine cancers and of venous thromboses linked to upregulation of coagulation factors in the liver. In mouse models, the vasoprotective effects of estrogen are mediated by the estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) transcription factor. Here, through next generation sequencing approaches, we show that almost all of the genes regulated by 17-b-estradiol (E2) differ between mouse aorta and mouse liver, and that this is associated with a distinct genomewide distribution of ERa on chromatin. Bioinformatic analysis of E2-regulated promoters and ERa binding site sequences identify several transcription factors that may determine the tissue specificity of ERa binding and E2-regulated genes, including the enrichment of NFkB, AML1 and AP-1 sites in the promoters of E2 downregulated inflammatory genes in aorta but not liver. The possible vascular-specific functions of these factors suggests ways in which the protective effects of estrogen could be promoted in the vasculature without incurring negative effects in other tissues. Our results also highlight the likely importance of rapid signaling of membrane-associated ERa to cellular kinases (altering the activities of transcription factors other than ER itself) in determining tissue specific transcriptional responses to estrogen. Overall design: The aortas or liver fragments of wild-type C57/BL6 mice were incubated ex vivo with 10nM E2 or ethanol vehicle for 4 hours before harvesting for RNA collection. Each condition was performed with two biological replicates, and each replicate contained aortas or liver fragments from 4 mice.
Research resource: Aorta- and liver-specific ERα-binding patterns and gene regulation by estrogen.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesSpinal cord injury leads to impaired motor and sensory functions. After spinal cord injury there is a an initial phase of hypo-reflexia followed by a developing hyper-reflexia, often termed spasticity. Previous studies have suggested a relationship between the reappearence of plateau potentials in motor neurons and the development of spasticity after spinalization. To understand the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon we examined the transcriptional response of the motor neurons after spinal cord injury.
Global gene expression analysis of rodent motor neurons following spinal cord injury associates molecular mechanisms with development of postinjury spasticity.
Sex
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Polo-Like Kinase 3 Appears Dispensable for Normal Retinal Development Despite Robust Embryonic Expression.
Specimen part
View SamplesThese data investigate the transcriptomic differences in the whole retinas of mice resulting from loss of Polo-like Kinase 3 (Plk3) over various stages of development, including adulthood, postnatal day (P)7, and P0.
Polo-Like Kinase 3 Appears Dispensable for Normal Retinal Development Despite Robust Embryonic Expression.
Specimen part
View SamplesAnalysis of adult retinas from tripartite motif-containing domain 9 knockouts and wild type littermates. Trim9 belongs to the TRIM family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Results provide insight into possible roles for Trim9 in the retina.
The Trim family of genes and the retina: Expression and functional characterization.
Specimen part
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