Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) infected with a lethal dose of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-strain WE (LCMV-WE) provide a model for Lassa fever virus infection of man. Like Lassa fever in human beings, disease begins with flu-like symptoms but can progress to morbidity fairly rapidly. Previously, we profiled the blood transcriptome of LCMV-infected monkeys (M. Djavani et al. J. Virol. 2007: PMID 17522210) showing distinct pre-viremic and viremic stages that discriminated between virulent and benign infections. In the present study, changes in liver gene expression from macaques infected with virulent LCMV-WE were compared to gene expression in uninfected monkeys as well as to monkeys that were infected but not diseased. We observed gene expression changes that occurred before the viremic stage of the disease, and could potentially serve as biomarkers that discriminate between exposure to a hemorrhagic fever virus and exposure to a benign virus. Based on a functional pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes, virulent LCMV-WE had a much broader effect on liver cell function than non-virulent virus. During the first few days of infection, virulent virus impacted gene expression associated with the generation of energy, such as fatty acid metabolism and glucose metabolism, with the complement and coagulation cascades, and with steroid metabolism, MAPK signaling and cell adhesion. For example, the energy profile resembled that of an organism entering starvation: acetyl-CoA carboxylase, a key enzyme of fatty acid synthesis, was shut down and gene products involved in gluconeogenesis were up-regulated. In conclusion, this study identifies several potential gene markers of LCMV-WE-associated liver disease and contributes to the database of gene expression changes correlated with LCMV pathogenesis in primates.
Gene expression in primate liver during viral hemorrhagic fever.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesThe virulent Lassa fever virus (LASV) and the non-pathogenic Mopeia virus (MOPV) infect rodents and incidentally people in West Africa. The mechanism of LASV damage in human beings is unclear. A live-attenuated reassortant of MOPV and LASV protects rodents and primates from Lassa fever disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy human subjects were expose to either LASV or ML29 in order to identify early cellular responses that could be attributed to the difference in virulence between both viruses. Differential expression of interferon-related genes as well as coagulation-related genes could lead to an explanation for Lassa fever pathogenesis and lead to protective treatments for Lassa fever disease.
Transcriptome analysis of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to Lassa virus and to the attenuated Mopeia/Lassa reassortant 29 (ML29), a vaccine candidate.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Integrative genomic analysis of the human immune response to influenza vaccination.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject, Time
View SamplesThe purpose of the study was to assess the patterns of global gene expression in peripheral blood cells before and at three time points after the administration of a trivalent influenza vaccine in human male subjects, and to relate these to the antibody response to the vaccine. The antibody titer data for these subjects is provided as a supplemental file.
Integrative genomic analysis of the human immune response to influenza vaccination.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject, Time
View SamplesThe purpose of the study was to assess the patterns of global gene expression in peripheral blood cells before and at three time points after the administration of a trivalent influenza vaccine in human female subjects, and to relate these to the antibody response to the vaccine
Integrative genomic analysis of the human immune response to influenza vaccination.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject, Time
View SamplesLassa fever virus is a zoonotic pathogen that plagues the endemic areas of West Africa. Rhesus macaques infected with a related arenavirus, LCMV-WE, serve as a model for Lassa-infection of human beings. Using a dose similar to that expected from a needle-stick, monkeys experience an early pre-viremic phase (day 1-3), a viremic phase with febrile onset (day 4-7), and, like human beings who succumb, they die within two weeks. Our goal was to monitor changes in gene expression that parallel disease progression in an effort to 1) identify genes with altered expression after infection, 2) identify genes that could discriminate between a virulent and non-virulent infection, and 3) identify genes encoding products that could serve as treatment targets for FDA-approved pharmaceuticals. Genes related to all three of these categories have been identified and some have been given preliminary validation by quantitative PCR and proteomic studies. These genes will be valuable candidates for future validation as prognostic biomarkers
Early blood profiles of virus infection in a monkey model for Lassa fever.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesLassa fever (LF) is a rodent-borne viral disease that can be fatal for human beings. In this study, an attenuated Lassa vaccine candidate, ML29, was tested in SIV-infected rhesus macaques for its ability to elicit immune responses without instigating signs of virulent disease. ML29 is a reassortant between Lassa and Mopeia viruses that causes a transient infection in non-human primates and confers sterilizing protection from lethal Lassa viral challenge. However, since the LF endemic area of West Africa also has high HIV seroprevalence, it is important to determine whether vaccination could be safe in the context of AIDS. SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques were vaccinated with the ML29 virus and monitored for classical and non-classical signs of arenavirus disease. Classical disease signs included viremia, rash, weight loss, high liver enzyme levels, and virus invasion of the central nervous system. Non-classical signs derived from profiling the blood transcriptome of virulent and non-virulent arenavirus infections included increased expression of interferon response genes and decreased expression of COX2, IL-1?, coagulation intermediates and nuclear receptors needed for stress signaling. Here it is demonstrated that SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques responded similarly to ML29 vaccination, and that none developed signs of arenavirus disease or persistence. Furthermore, 5 of 5 animals given a heterologous challenge with a lethal dose of LCMV-WE survived without developing disease signs.
An attenuated Lassa vaccine in SIV-infected rhesus macaques does not persist or cause arenavirus disease but does elicit Lassa virus-specific immunity.
Specimen part
View SamplesUnlike human hearts, zebrafish hearts efficiently regenerate after injury. Regeneration is driven by the strong proliferation response of its cardiomyocytes to injury. In this study, we show that active telomerase is required for cardiomyocyte proliferation and full organ recovery, supporting the potential of telomerase therapy as a means of stimulating cell proliferation upon myocardial infarction. Overall design: Heart transcriptomes of WT and telomerase defective adult zebrafish animals were profiled by RNASeq, in control conditions and 3 days after heart cryoinjury.
Telomerase Is Essential for Zebrafish Heart Regeneration.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe combination of defined factors with small molecules targeting epigenetic factors is a strategy that has been shown to enhance optimal derivation of human iPSCs and could be used for therapeutic and regenerative medicine applications. In this study, we showed that a new first-in-class dual G9a/DNMT inhibitor CM272 compound improves the standard four-factor reprogramming efficiency of human fibroblast. The use of CM272 facilitates the generation of iPSC with only two factors, OCT4 and SOX2, allowing the removal of potentially oncogenic factors such as cMYC or KLF4. Taking a closer look at the early events occurring during cell reprogramming we demonstrated that treatment with our G9a/DNMT dual inhibitor induces heterochromatin relaxation, facilitates the engagement of OCT4 and SOX2 transcription factors to the genome and promotes mesenchymal to epithelial transition during cell reprogramming. Thus, the use of this new G9a/DNMT dual inhibitor compound may represent an interesting alternative for improving cell reprogramming.
Reversible dual inhibitor against G9a and DNMT1 improves human iPSC derivation enhancing MET and facilitating transcription factor engagement to the genome.
Sex, Specimen part, Disease, Cell line
View SamplesPeripheral whole blood-based gene expression profiling has become one of the most common strategies exploited in the development of clinically relevant biomarkers. However, the ability to identify biologically meaningful conclusions from gene expression patterns in whole blood is highly problematic. First, it is difficult to know whether or not expression patterns in whole blood capture those in primary tissues. Second, if explicit steps are not taken to accommodate the extremely elevated expression levels of globin in blood then large-scale multi-probe microarray-based studies can be severely compromised. Many studies consider the use of mouse blood as a model for human blood in addition to considering blood gene expression levels as a general surrogate for gene expression levels in other tissues. We explored the effects of globin reduction on peripheral mouse blood in the detection of genes known to be expressed in human tissues. Globin reduction resulted in 1.) a significant increase in the number of probes detected (5840 944 vs 12411 1904); 2.) increased expression for 4128 probe sets compared to non-globin reduced blood (p < .001, two-fold); 3.) improved detection of genes associated with many biological pathways and diseases; and 4.) an increased ability to detect genes expressed in 27 human tissues (p < 10-4). This study suggests that although microarray-based mouse blood gene expression studies that do not consider the effects of globin are severely compromised, globin-reduced mouse whole blood gene expression studies can be used to capture the expression profiles of genes known to contribute to various human diseases.
The effects of globin on microarray-based gene expression analysis of mouse blood.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
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