Autophagy as a conserved degradation and recycling machinery is important in normal development and physiology, and defects in this process are linked to many kinds of disease. Because too much or too little autophagy can be detrimental, the process must be tightly regulated both temporally and in magnitude. The transcriptional induction and repression of the autophagy-related (ATG) genes is one crucial aspect of this regulation, but the transcriptional regulators that modulate autophagy are not well characterized. In this study, we identified Pho23 as a master transcriptional repressor for autophagy, with transcriptome profiling revealing that ATG9 is one of the key target genes. Physiological studies with a PHO23 null mutant, or with strains expressing modulated levels of Atg9, demonstrate a critical role of this protein as a regulator of autophagosome formation frequency; Atg9 protein levels correlate with the number of autophagosomes generated upon autophagy induction, and the level of autophagy activity. Overall design: WT yeast and pho23 deletion mutants were grown under nutrient rich or nitrogen starvation conditions; gene expression was quantified across these 4 samples.
Transcriptional regulation by Pho23 modulates the frequency of autophagosome formation.
Subject
View SamplesFemale mouse models of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) have not yet been identified. Our aim is firstly to demonstrate that female BTBR ob/ob mice display robust DPN and secondly, to perform relevant comparisons with non-diabetic and gender-matched controls. Lastly, microarray technology was employed to identify dysregulated genes and pathways in the SCN and DRG of female BTBR mice. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sciatic nerve (SCN) were removed from female mice, RNA isolated and processed for gene expression profiling to identify differentially expressed genes using Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Arrays.
BTBR ob/ob mice as a novel diabetic neuropathy model: Neurological characterization and gene expression analyses.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesA better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy (DN) is essential for the design of mechanism-based therapies. We examined changes in global gene expression to define pathways regulated by diabetes in peripheral nerve. Microarray data for 24 week-old BKS db/db and db/+ mouse sciatic nerve were analyzed to define significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs); DEGs were further used for functional enrichment analysis and network analysis to identify biological processes and pathways differentially regulated in the db/db nerve. Expression profile clustering was performed to identify co-expressed DEGs. A set of co-expressed lipid metabolism genes was used for promoter sequence analysis.We identified 4,017 DEGs; 2,122 genes were up-regulated and 1,895 genes were down-regulated in the db/db relative to the db+ samples. Over-represented biological processes identified by the functional enrichment analysis include cell cycle, lipid metabolic process, lipid transport, carbohydrate metabolic process, response to stress, apoptosis, axonogenesis and cell adhesion. Pathways regulated in the db/db nerve include lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, PPAR signaling, apoptosis, and axon guidance. The majority of DEGs in the glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, mitochondrial fatty acid elongation, lipid transport, adipocytokine signaling, PPAR signaling, and apoptosis pathways are up-regulated, whereas most of the axonogenesis-related genes are down-regulated in db/db nerve. A network of DEGs based on their co-citation in literature identified regulatory relationship between Tnf- and key genes from the regulated pathways. Promoter sequence analysis identified over-represented transcription factor binding site (TFBS) motifs in the promoter regions of twenty two co-expressed lipid metabolism-related genes suggesting coordinated regulation of these genes by multiple transcription factors (TF). Furthermore, TF binding to these TFBS and differentially regulated in our data are annotated with nervous system development and immune response suggesting possible co-regulation of lipid metabolism, nervous system development and stress response genes. Gene expression changes in our data are consistent with pathological characteristics observed in DN including axon degeneration and demyelination, and support existing hypotheses regarding hyperglycemia mediated nerve damage in DN. Our findings support the role of hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and ischemia in nerve injury. Our results also support the hypothesis of oxidized lipid-mediated nerve injury and increased mitochondrial oxidative stress in dyslipidemia. Moreover, our analyses revealed a possible co-regulation mechanism connecting hyperlipidemia, stress response and axonal degeneration.
Transcriptional profiling of diabetic neuropathy in the BKS db/db mouse: a model of type 2 diabetes.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: The mechanisms underlying ozone (O3)-induced pulmonary inflammation remain unclear. Interleukin (IL)-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that is known to inhibit inflammatory mediators.
Protective role of interleukin-10 in ozone-induced pulmonary inflammation.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesEssential metals such as iron are required for healthy plant growth. Fe is an important cofactor and catalytic element in many biological processes. Fe and other metals can also be toxic when present in excess. Therefore plants have mechanisms of metal homeostasis which involve coordination of metal ion transporters for uptake, translocation and compartmentalisation. The NAS genes are supposed to play an important role in Fe homeostasis. They are coding for enzymes called nicotianaminesynthase (NAS), which synthesize nicotianamine (NA) by a one-step condensation reaction of three molecules S-adenosyl-methionine. NA acts as a chelator for Fe, Cu, Ni and Zn and might be involved in the transport and allocation of Fe throughout the plant. We generated quadruple T-DNA insertion mutant nas plants to investigate NA function as described in Klatte et al., 2009, Plant Physiol. The nas4x-1 plants show an interveinal leaf chlorosis when turning from vegetative to reproductive stage, which intensifies when growing under Fe deficiency conditions. nas4x-1 plants have strongly reduced NA contents and show an elevated Fe deficiency response in roots. By performing microarray experiments we want to reveal global changes on transcriptional level in roots and leaves of nas4x-1 mutant compared to wild type plants grown under Fe supply and Fe deficiency conditions, respectively. The loss of NAS genes has a strong impact on the regulation of other metal homeostasis genes and allows to draw conclusions about nicotianamine function in metal homeostasis of A.thaliana.
Transcriptome analysis by GeneTrail revealed regulation of functional categories in response to alterations of iron homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Specimen part
View SamplesWe applied Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to miRNAs from blood samples of 48 AD (Alzheimer''s Disease) patients and 22 unaffected controls, yielding a total of 140 unique mature miRNAs with significantly changed expression level. Of these, 82 were higher and 58 lower abundant in samples from AD patients. We selected a panel of 12 miRNAs for a qRT-PCR analysis on a larger cohort of 202 samples including not only AD patients and healthy controls but also patients with other CNS illnesses: Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson''s Disease, Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment, which is assumed to represent a transitional period before the development of AD. MiRNA target enrichment analysis of the selected 12 miRNAs indicated an involvement of miRNAs in nervous system development, neuron projection, neuron projection development, and neuron projection morphogenesis, respectively. Using this 12-miRNA signature we were able to differentiate between AD and controls with an accuracy of 93.3%, a specificity of 95.1%, and a sensitivity of 91.5%. The differentiation of AD from other neurological diseases was possible with accuracies between 73.8% and 77.8%. The differentiation of the other CNS disorders from controls yielded even higher accuracies. Overall design: Examination of the miRNA profile in blood samples of 48 AD patients and 22 controls
A blood based 12-miRNA signature of Alzheimer disease patients.
Sex, Age, Subject
View SamplesHypoxia protects cancer cells from chemotherapeutic drug-induced cell death.
TMEM45A is essential for hypoxia-induced chemoresistance in breast and liver cancer cells.
Cell line
View SamplesWe compared the gene expression of A549 cells following 24 and 48 hours of treatment with a no-observed-effect level dose of cisplatin. The objective of the study is to identify genes that are differentially expressed in response to sub-lethal doses of cisplatin. This study helps identify not only treatment responses but also changes in gene expression that may confer cytoprotective mechanisms that allow these cells to survive treatment and to develop treatment resistance.
Combined Use of Gene Expression Modeling and siRNA Screening Identifies Genes and Pathways Which Enhance the Activity of Cisplatin When Added at No Effect Levels to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells In Vitro.
Cell line, Treatment, Time
View SamplesDuring senescence of detached rice leaves, tryptophan (Trp) and Trp-derived secondary metabolites such as serotonin and 4-coumaroylserotonin accumulated in concert with methanol (MeOH) production. This senescence-induced MeOH induction was closely associated with levels of pectin methylesterase (PME)1 mRNA and PME enzyme activity. Exogenous challenge of detached rice leaves with 1% MeOH accelerated Trp and serotonin biosynthesis with induction of the corresponding genes. No other solvents including ethanol resulted in a Trp-inducing effect. This MeOH-induced Trp synthesis was positively regulated by abscisic acid but negatively regulated by cytokinin, suggesting hormonal involvement on the action of MeOH. Endogenous overproduction or suppression of MeOH either by PME1 overexpression or RNAi gene silencing revealed that PME1 overexpressing lines produced twofold higher Trp levels with elevated Trp biosynthetic gene expression, whereas RNAi lines showed twofold reduction in Trp level in healthy control rice leaves, suggesting that MeOH acts as an endogenous elicitor to enhance Trp biosynthesis. Among many transcription factors induced following MeOH treatment, the WRKY family showed significant induction patterns of which WRKY14 appeared to play a key regulatory role in MeOH-induced Trp and Trp-derived secondary metabolite biosynthesis.
Methanol is an endogenous elicitor molecule for the synthesis of tryptophan and tryptophan-derived secondary metabolites upon senescence of detached rice leaves.
Specimen part
View SamplesA specialized population of memory CD8+ T-cells resides in the epithelium of the respiratory tract to maintain protection against recurring infections. These cells express CD69 and the integrin 7 (CD103) and correspond to tissue resident memory T-cells (TRM) also described in intestine, liver and brain. A less well characterized population of CD103- CD8+ T-cells also resides in lungs and expresses markers characteristic of effector memory T-cells (TEM). We determined the transcriptional profiles of these memory CD8+ T-cell subsets retrieved from human lung resection samples and compared these with corresponding T-cell populations from peripheral blood of the same individuals. Our results demonstrate that each of the populations exhibits a distinct transcriptional identity. We found that the lung environment has a major impact on gene expression profiles. Thus, transcriptomes from CD103+ and CD103- subsets from lungs are much more resemblant to one another than to those from CD103+ or CD103- memory CD8+ T-cells from blood. TRM express specific sets of chemokine receptors, in accordance with their unique migratory properties. Furthermore, these cells constitutively express cytokine and cytotoxic genes for immediate effector function and chemokines to attract auxiliary immune cells. At the same time, multiple genes encoding inhibitory regulators are also expressed. This suggests that rapid ability to unleash effector functions is counterbalanced by programmed restraint, a combination that may be critical in the exposed but delicate tissue of the lung. Comprehensive sets of transcription factors were identified that characterize the memory CD8+ populations in the lungs. Prominent among these were components of the Notch pathway. Using mice genetically lacking expression of the NOTCH1 and NOTCH2 receptors in T-cells, we demonstrated that Notch controls both the number of lung TRM as well as the function of lung TEM. Our data illustrate the adaptation of lung resident T-cells to the requirements of the respiratory epithelial environment. Defining the molecular imprinting of these cells is important for rational vaccine design and may help to improve the properties of T-cells for adoptive cellular therapy.
Programs for the persistence, vigilance and control of human CD8<sup>+</sup> lung-resident memory T cells.
Specimen part, Subject
View Samples