Current preclinical models in tumor biology are limited in their ability to recapitulate relevant (patho-) physiological processes, including autophagy. Three-dimensional (3D) growth cultures have frequently been proposed to overcome the lack of correlation between two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell cultures and human tumors in preclinical drug testing. Besides 3D growth, it is also advantageous to simulate shear stress, compound flux and removal of metabolites, e.g. via bioreactor systems, through which culture medium is constantly pumped at a flow rate reflecting physiological conditions. Here, we show that both Staticic 3D growth and 3D growth within a bioreactor system modulate key hallmarks of cancer cells, including proliferation and cell death as well as macroautophagy, a recycling pathway often activated by highly proliferative tumors to cope with metabolic stress. The autophagy-related gene expression profiles of 2D- and 3D-grown cells are substantially different, with the 3D-grown cells exhibiting an expression profile closely resembling the (patho-) physiological Statice of a tumor. Underscoring the importance of this pathway, autophagy-controlling transcription factors, such as TFEB and FOXO3, are upregulated in tumors, and 3D-grown cells have increased expression compared with cells grown in 2D conditions. Three-dimensional cultures depleted of the autophagy mediators BECN1, ATG5 or ATG7 or the transcription factor FOXO3, are more sensitive to cytotoxic treatment. Accordingly, combining cytotoxic treatment with compounds affecting late autophagic flux, such as chloroquine, renders the 3D-grown cells more susceptible to therapy and increases intracellular doxorubicin concentration to the level of 2D-grown cells. Altogether, 3D cultures are a valuable tool to study drug response of tumor cells, as these models recapitulate (patho-) physiologically relevant pathways, such as autophagy.
Three-dimensional tumor cell growth stimulates autophagic flux and recapitulates chemotherapy resistance.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesWe identified a novel homozygous 15q13.3 microdeletion in a young boy with a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by severe cerebral visual impairment with additional signs of congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB), congenital hypotonia with areflexia, profound intellectual disability, and refractory epilepsy. The mechanisms by which the genes in the deleted region exert their effect are unclear. In this paper we probed the role of downstream effects of the deletions as a contributing mechanism to the molecular basis of the observed phenotype. We analyzed gene expression of lymphoblastoid cells derived from peripheral blood of the proband and his relatives to ascertain the relative effects of the homozygous and heterozygous deletions.
Genome-wide gene expression in a patient with 15q13.3 homozygous microdeletion syndrome.
Cell line
View SamplesStudies in model organisms suggest that aged cells can be functionally rejuvenated, but whether this concept applies to human skin is unclear. Here we apply deep sequencing of RNA 3'' ends ("3-seq") to discover the gene expression program associated with human photoaging and intrinsic skin aging (collectively termed "skin aging") and the impact of broadband light (BBL) treatment. We find that skin aging was associated with the significantly altered expression level of 2,265 coding and noncoding RNAs, of which 1,293 became "rejuvenated" after BBL treatment, i.e. more similar in expression level of youthful skin. Rejuvenated genes (RGs) included several known key regulators of organismal longevity and their proximal long non-coding RNAs. Skin aging is not associated with systematic changes in 3'' end mRNA processing. Hence, BBL treatment can restore the gene expression pattern of photoaged and intrinsically aged human skin to resemble young skin. In addition, our data reveals a novel set of targets that may lead to new insights into the human skin aging process. Overall design: Examination of broadband light treated and untreated human skin transcriptomes of 5 women aged 50 years or more. They were compared to the skin transcriptomes of 5 young women aged 30 years or less.
Rejuvenation of gene expression pattern of aged human skin by broadband light treatment: a pilot study.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesAs a group, fibroproliferative disorders of the lung, liver, kidney, heart, vasculature and integument are common, progressive and refractory to therapy. They can emerge following toxic insults, but are frequently idiopathic. Their enigmatic propensity to resist therapy and progress to organ failure has focused attention on the myofibroblast the primary effector of the fibroproliferative response. A central unanswered question is whether these myofibroblasts have acquired a distinct pathological phenotype - or whether they are normal myofibroblasts with a pathological phenotype that depends upon residing in a sea of pro-fibrotic cytokines and an abnormal extracellular matrix.
Fibrotic myofibroblasts manifest genome-wide derangements of translational control.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesDeregulation of translational control is an obligatory step in oncogenesis; however, this step has not been addressed by prior genomic and transcriptional profiling studies of cancer biology. Here we simulate the translational deregulation found in cancer by ectopically over expressing translation initiation factor eIF4E in primary human mammary epithelial cells; and examine its impact on cell biology and the pattern of ribosomal recruitment to mRNA genome wide. Over expression of eIF4E allows cells to bypass M0 premature growth arrest, but does not confer other malignant properties. However, in concert with hTERT, eIF4E imparts cells with growth and survival autonomy - and profoundly alters the pattern of polyribosome-associated mRNA encoding cell cycle and apoptosis regulators. The translational response to increased eIF4E is not only a unidirectional activation of oncogenic drivers, but also consists of complex intrinsic translational mechanisms that mitigate the acquisition of neoplastic properties.
Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E induced progression of primary human mammary epithelial cells along the cancer pathway is associated with targeted translational deregulation of oncogenic drivers and inhibitors.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesClinically significant radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and a common toxicity in patients administered thoracic radiotherapy. While the molecular etiology of RILI is poorly understood, we previously characterized a murine model of RILI in which alterations in lung endothelial barrier integrity surfaced as a potentially important pathobiologic event. In these studies, inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase activity (simvastatin) reduced murine RILI-associated lung inflammation and vascular leak and attenuated radiation-induced dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolic pathway genes identified by genome-wide lung gene expression profiling. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that sphingolipid signaling components serve as important modulators of RILI pathobiology and novel therapeutic targets. Sphingolipid involvement in murine RILI was confirmed by radiation-induced increases in lung expression of sphingosine kinase (SphK) isoforms 1 and 2 and increases in the ratio of ceramide to cumulative sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and dihydro-S1P (DHS1P) levels in plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue following 25 Gy exposure (6 weeks). Moreover, genetically-engineered mice with either targeted deletion of SphK1 (SphK1-/-), or with reduced expression of selective members of the S1P receptor family (S1PR1+/-, S1PR2-/-, S1PR3-/-,), exhibited marked susceptibility to RILI-mediated lung inflammation. Finally, we assessed the efficacy of three potent vascular barrier-protective S1P analogues FTY720 (FTY), fTysiponate (fTyS) and SEW-2871 (SEW) in attenuating indices of RILI. The phosphonate analogue, fTyS, and to a lesser degree SEW, exhibited significant attenuation of RILI and RILI-induced gene dysregulation compared to control RILI-challenged mice (6 weeks). In contrast, FTY failed to significantly alter physiologic or genomic changes compared to RILI-challenged controls. Together, these results support the targeting of sphingolipid components as a novel and effective therapeutic strategy in RILI.
Role of sphingolipids in murine radiation-induced lung injury: protection by sphingosine 1-phosphate analogs.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesThis is the first report characterizing noncoding RNA expression in a congenital heart defect. The striking shift in expression of noncoding RNAs reflects a fundamental change in cell biology, likely impacting expression, transcript splicing and translation of developmentally important genes and possibly contributing to the cardiac defect. The importance of noncoding RNAs (ncRNA), especially microRNAs, for maintaining stability in the developing vertebrate heart has recently become apparent. However, there is little known about the expression pattern of ncRNA in the human heart with developmental anomalies.
Noncoding RNA expression in myocardium from infants with tetralogy of Fallot.
Specimen part
View SamplesNext to the two-component and quorum sensing systems, cell-surface signaling (CSS) has been recently identified as an important regulatory system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CSS senses signals from outside the cell and transmits them into the cytoplasm. It consists of a TonB-dependent outer membrane receptor, a cytoplasmic membrane-localized sigma factor regulator (or anti-sigma factor), and an extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor. Upon perception of the extracellular signal by the receptor the ECF sigma factor is activated and promotes the transcription of a specific set of gene(s). Although most P. aeruginosa ECF sigma factors are involved in the regulation of iron uptake, we have identified a novel ECF sigma factor (PA0675) involved in the regulation of virulence. By microarray analysis of cells overexpressing PA0675 from the pMUM3 plasmid we have identified the genes regulated by this sigma factor.
A Novel extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor regulates virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe data contained in this record are used to differentiate between the effects of IFN-a and IFN-b on 48h cultures of the ex vivo pbmcs of ATL patients, using Affymetrix microarrays (HuGene 1.0).
IFN-β induces greater antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects and increased p53 signaling compared with IFN-α in PBMCs of Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma patients.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesMyeloid progenitors derived from antibiotic-treated mice have cell-intrinsic functional defects. In this microarray dataset, the transcriptomes of bone marrow myeloid progenitors from antibiotic-treated and control mice are compared.
Microbiota-dependent signals are required to sustain TLR-mediated immune responses.
No sample metadata fields
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