Alternative splicing (AS) is a post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism that contributes to proteome diversity. Aberrant splicing mechanisms (mutations, polymorphisms, insertion/deletion etc.) contribute to various cancers and muscle related conditions such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, dysregulation of AS in Cancer Cachexia (CC) patients remains unexplored. Our objectives were (i) to profile alternatively spliced genes (ASGs) on a genome-wide scale, and (ii) to identify DE alternatively spliced genes (DASGs) associated with CC. Rectus abdominis muscle biopsies obtained from cancer patients were stratified into cachectic cases (n=21, classified based on International consensus diagnostic framework for CC) and non-cachectic controls (n=19, weight stable cancer patients). Human Transcriptome array 2.0 was used for profiling ASGs using the total RNA isolated from muscle biopsies. Representative DASG signatures were validated using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. We identified 8960 ASGs, of which 922 DASGs (772 up-regulated, 150 down-regulated) were identified at > 1.4 fold-change and p < 0.05. Representative DASGs when validated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR also showed similar trends, confirming the primary findings from the genome-wide arrays. Identified DASGs were associated with myogenesis, adipogenesis, protein ubiquitination and inflammation. Up to 10% of the DASGs exhibited cassette exon (exon included or skipped) as a predominant form of AS event. We also observed other forms of AS events such as intron retention, alternate promoters. Overall, we have, for the first time conducted global profiling of muscle tissue to identify DASGs associated with CC. The mechanistic roles of the identified DASGs in CC pathophysiology using model systems is warranted, as well as replication of findings in independent cohorts.
Small RNAome profiling from human skeletal muscle: novel miRNAs and their targets associated with cancer cachexia.
Specimen part
View SamplesSkeletal muscle adapts to resistance exercise (RE) performance acutely and chronically. An important regulatory step of muscle adaptation to RE is gene expression. Microarray analysis can be used as an exploratory method to investigate how genes and gene clusters are modulated acutely and chronically by RE. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of training status in the basal (rested) and pre- to 24h post-RE on the global transcriptome in vastus lateralis muscle biopsies of young men. Muscle biopsies of nine young men who undertook RE training for 10-wks were collected pre and 24h post-RE at the first (W1) and last (W10) weeks of training and analysed using microarray. An unaccustomed RE bout (at W1) up-regulated muscle gene transcripts related to stress (e.g., heat shock proteins), damage and inflammation, structural remodelling, protein turnover and increased translational capacity. Trained muscles (at W10) became more efficient metabolically, as training favoured a more oxidative metabolism, refined response to stress, showed by genes suppression related to RE-induced stress and inflammation, and up-regulated genes indicating greater muscle contractile efficiency and contribution to promote muscle growth and development. These data highlight that chronic repetition of RE increases muscle efficiency and adapt muscles to respond more specifically and accurately to RE-induced stress.
Resistance training in young men induces muscle transcriptome-wide changes associated with muscle structure and metabolism refining the response to exercise-induced stress.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesThe goals were to investigate differences in gene expression between wild type and Gpr120 knockout mouse interscapular brown adipose tissue
The GPR120 agonist TUG-891 promotes metabolic health by stimulating mitochondrial respiration in brown fat.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesPleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) encodes a transcription factor involved in cancer and growth. We study the role of PLAG1 in preimplantation embryos using STRT RNA-seq of single embryos from wild type and knockout mothers (both mated with wild type studs). The lack of maternal Plag1 led to delayed mouse 2-cell stage embryo development, compensatory expression of Plag1 from the paternal allele, and dysregulation of 1,089 genes. Half of these genes displayed a pattern of delayed activation and play roles in ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis. These mouse genes further showed a significant overlap with human EGA genes with similar ontology, and an enrichment of the PLAG1 de novo motif. We conclude that Plag1 affects EGA through retrotransposons influencing ribosomes and protein synthesis, a mechanism that might also explain its roles in cancer and growth Overall design: Single wild type and maternal Plag1 knockout embryos at MII, 2-cell and 8-cell stage development in 14-16 biologicla replicas per developmental stage and genotype.
Pleomorphic Adenoma Gene 1 Is Needed For Timely Zygotic Genome Activation and Early Embryo Development.
Subject
View SamplesAlthough early developmental processes involve cell fate decisions that define the body axes and establish progenitor cell pools, development does not cease once cells are specified. Instead, most cells undergo specific maturation events where changes in the cell transcriptome ensure that the proper gene products are expressed to carry out unique physiological functions. Pancreatic acinar cells mature post-natally to handle an extensive protein synthetic load, establsih organized apical-basal polarity for zymogen granule trafficking, and assemble gap-junctions to perimt efficient cell-cell communication. Despite significant progress in defining transcriptional networks that control initial acinar cell specification and differentiation decisions, little is know regarding the role of transcription factors in the specification and maintenance of maturation events. One candidate maturation effector is MIST1, a secretory cell-restricted transcription factor that has been implicated in controlling regulated exocytosis events in a number of cell types. Embryonic knock-out of MIST1 generates acinar cells that fail to establish an apical-basal organization, fail to properly localize zymogen granule and fail to communicate intra-cellularly, making the exocrine organ highly suceptible to pancreatic diseases.
Induced Mist1 expression promotes remodeling of mouse pancreatic acinar cells.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesSensitivity to different pain modalities has a genetic basis that remains largely unknown. The use of closely related inbred mouse strains can facilitate gene mapping of nociceptive behaviors in preclinical pain models. We previously reported enhanced sensitivity to acute thermal nociception in C57BL/6J (B6J) versus C57BL/6N (B6N) substrains. Here, we expanded on pain phenotypes and observed an increase in inflammatory nociceptive behaviors induced by hindpaw formalin injections in B6J versus B6N mice (Charles River Laboratories). No strain differences were observed in mechanical or thermal hypersensitivity or in paw diameter following the Complete Freund s Adjuvant (CFA) model of inflammatory pain, indicating specificity in the inflammatory nociceptive stimulus. In the chronic nerve constriction injury (CCI), a model of neuropathic pain, no strain differences were observed in baseline mechanical threshold or in mechanical hypersensitivity up to one month post-CCI. We replicated the enhanced thermal nociception in B6J mice in the 52.5 C hot plate test relative to B6N mice from The Jackson Laboratory. Using a B6J x B6N-F2 cross (N=164), we mapped a major QTL underlying hot plate sensitivity to chromosome 7 that peaked at 26 Mb (LOD = 3.81, 8.74 Mb-36.50 Mb) that was more pronounced in males. Genes containing expression QTLs (eQTLs) associated with the peak nociceptive marker that have been implicated in pain and inflammation include Ryr1, Cyp2a5, Pou2f2, Clip3, Sirt2, Actn4, and Ltbp4 (FDR < 0.05). Future studies involving positional cloning and gene editing will determine the quantitative trait gene(s) and potential pleiotropy of this locus across other pain modalities. RNA-seq data and genotype information from striatum punches of F2 C57BL/6J (B6J) cross C57BL/NJ (B6NJ) oxycodone-treated mice. Genotypes are given relative to B6J allele, eg 0 = homozygous B6J. Overall design: C57BL/6J (B6J) and C57BL/NJ (B6NJ) mice were purchased from JAX at 7 weeks of age and were habituated in the vivarium one week prior to experimental testing that occurred next door. B6J females were crossed to B6NJ males to generate B6J x B6NJ-F1 mice and B6J x B6NJ F1 offspring were intercrossed to generate B6J x B6NJ F2 mice. Mice were 50-100 days old at the time of testing. F2 mice recieved four daily oxycodone injections (20 mg/kg, i.p.). Ninety SNP markers spaced approximately 30 Mb (approximately 15 cM) apart were genotyped using a custom-designed Fluidigm array.
C57BL/6 substrain differences in inflammatory and neuropathic nociception and genetic mapping of a major quantitative trait locus underlying acute thermal nociception.
Sex, Age, Subject
View SamplesPurpose: Eliciting effective anti-tumor immune responses in patients who fail checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a critical challenge in cancer immunotherapy, and in such patients, tumor-associated myeloid cells and macrophages (TAMs) are promising therapeutic targets. We demonstrate in an autochthonous, poorly immunogenic mouse model of melanoma that combination therapy with an agonistic anti-CD40 mAb and CSF1R inhibitor potently suppressed tumor growth. Microwell assays to measure multiplex protein secretion by single cells identified that untreated tumors have distinct TAM subpopulations secreting MMP9 or co-secreting CCL17/22, characteristic of an M2-like state. Combination therapy reduced the frequency of these subsets, while simultaneously inducing a separate polyfunctional inflammatory TAM subset co-secreting TNF?, IL-6, and IL-12. Tumor suppression by this combined therapy was partially dependent on T cells, TNF? and IFN?. Together, this study demonstrates the potential for targeting TAMs to convert a “cold” into an “inflamed” tumor microenvironment capable of eliciting protective T cell responses. Methods: Total RNA was purified with the use of QIAzol and RNeasy Mini kit (QIAGEN), in which an on-column DNase treatment was included. Purified RNA was submitted to the Yale Center for Genomic Analysis where it was subjected to mRNA isolation and library preparation. Non-strand specific libraries were generated from 50ng total RNA using the SMARTer Ultra Low Input RNA for Illumina Sequencing kit. Libraries were pooled, six samples per lane, and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 (75-bp paired end reads), and aligned using STAR to the GRCm38 (mm10) reference genome. A count-based differential expression protocol was adapted for this analysis(Anders et al., 2013); mappable data were counted using HTSeq, and imported into R for differential expression analysis using the DESeq2.To find differentially regulated sets of genes for signature generation, a 1.5-Log2 fold-change difference between samples and p-adjusted (Holm-Sidak) = 0.01 was used. Results: To begin to understand how these treatments modulated T cells to control tumor growth, and to possibly illuminate additional biomarkers of response, we examined the transcriptomes of CD11b+ Ly6G- cells treated with CD40 or CSF1Ri, alone or in combination, relative to control, using high throughput RNA-sequencing. Principal components analysis (PCA) on the genome-wide dataset demonstrated that treating with CD40 and CSF1Ri individually caused largely non-overlapping changes in transcription, as indicated by their movement along orthogonal principal components (PC) relative to the control. Importantly, combination therapy was visualized as a systems-level combination of each individual treatment in PC space. We then examined the mRNAs most altered by either treatment alone or in combination relative to Controls (Log2FC>1.5, p<.01) by unsupervised hierarchical clustering. Five major gene patterns emerged from the clustering of genes. Cluster #1 comprises genes that are upregulated by CD40 and CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment but are mostly unaffected by CSF1Ri, suggesting that CD40 is the primary driver of this cluster in the combination treatment. Notable genes in this cluster include Tnfa, Ifng??Il12b and Cxcl9; interestingly, for Tnfa and Il12b, CSF1Ri+CD40 appears to have a synergistic effect on expression. In contrast to Cluster #1, Cluster #5 contains genes substantially downregulated by CSF1Ri and CSF1Ri+CD40 treatments, but are largely unaffected by CD40, suggesting that CSF1Ri is the driver of this cluster in the combination treatment. Cluster #5 genes include Cd36 and Fabp4, suggesting alterations in lipid homeostasis in the TAMs after treatment. Cluster #2 includes genes that are modestly upregulated by CD40 and CSF1Ri individually, leading to a stronger upregulation when combined. Finally, Clusters #3 and #4 include, for the most part, genes that are differentially affected by CD40 versus CSF1Ri and for which the combination treatment yields an intermediate response. In summary, these data show that CSF1Ri and CD40 agonism elicit predominantly distinct changes in gene expression in the CD11b+ cells, indicating they target different biological processes in myeloid cells. The net result of the changes in myeloid gene expression from the combination of CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment reveal additive effects by the individual treatments, but also synergy in the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes (e.g., Tnfa, Ifng, Il6 and Il12b). We further examined our dataset with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Although CSF1Ri and CD40 treatments did not closely match any immunological signatures in the immunological database of MSigDb, combined CSF1Ri+CD40 had a strikingly similar signature to myeloid cells exposed to a variety of inflammatory stimulants, most closely reflected by BMDMs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This motivated us to look specifically at categories of NF-?B target genes that are significantly affected by LPS treatment, including transcription factors, cytokines and chemokines. Indeed, most of these NF-?B target genes associated with inflammation were strongly upregulated by CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment. Finally, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified TNFR1 and TNFR2 signaling and Acute phase response signaling among the top genetic signatures produced by the CSF1Ri+CD40 treatment combination, matching what we observed with GSEA. Thus, gene expression analysis not only revealed several biomarkers of response that may be relevant for assessing therapeutic activity in ongoing clinical trials using these drugs, but illuminated lead biological factors that may cause tumor regression. Conclusions: myeloid-targeted immunotherapies anti-CD40+CSF1R inhibition synergistically induce a pro-inflammatory microenviroment Overall design: mRNA profiles of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in mice were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina.
Myeloid-targeted immunotherapies act in synergy to induce inflammation and antitumor immunity.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesGene expression profiling based classification of DLBCL patients versus healthy donors provides insights on transcriptional regulation processes.
T-cell defect in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas involves expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesExpression profiling was performed using uncultured melanocytes and melanoma cell from various mouse models of BrafV600E induced melanocytic proliferation
mTORC1 activation blocks BrafV600E-induced growth arrest but is insufficient for melanoma formation.
Specimen part
View SamplesBorrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, promotes pro-inflammatory changes in endothelium that lead to the recruitment of leukocytes. The host immune response to infection results in increased levels of IFN-gamma in the serum and lesions of Lyme disease patients that correlate with greater severity of disease. Therefore, the effect of IFN-gamma on the gene expression profile of primary human endothelial cells exposed to B. burgdorferi was determined. B. burgdorferi and IFN-gamma synergistically augmented the expression of 34 genes, seven of which encode chemokines. Six of these (CCL7, CCL8, CX3CL1, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11) attract T lymphocytes, and one (CXCL2) is specific for neutrophils. Synergistic production of the attractants for T cells was confirmed at the protein level. IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and LPS also cooperated with IFN-gamma to induce synergistic production of CXCL10 by endothelium, indicating that IFN-gamma potentiates inflammation in concert with a variety of mediators. An in vitro model of the blood vessel wall revealed that an increased number of human T lymphocytes traversed endothelium exposed to B. burgdorferi and IFN-gamma, as compared to unstimulated endothelial monolayers. In contrast, addition of IFN-gamma diminished the migration of neutrophils across B. burgdorferi-activated endothelium. IFN-gamma thus alters gene expression by endothelium exposed to B. burgdorferi in a manner that promotes recruitment of T cells and suppresses that of neutrophils. This modulation may facilitate the development of chronic inflammatory lesions in Lyme disease.
IFN-gamma alters the response of Borrelia burgdorferi-activated endothelium to favor chronic inflammation.
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