This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
c-Myc Antagonises the Transcriptional Activity of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Affecting Key Gene Networks.
Cell line, Time
View SamplesProstate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in men. The androgen receptor (AR) a ligand-activated transcription factor, constitutes the main drug target for advanced cases of the disease. However, a variety of other transcription factors and signalling networks have been shown to be altered in patients and to influence AR activity. The oncogenic transcription factor c-Myc has been studied extensively in multiple malignancies, but its impact on AR activity in prostate cancer remains elusive. In this study we assessed the impact of clinically relevant levels of c-Myc overexpression on AR activity and transcriptional output. We found that c-Myc and the AR share a substantial amount of binding sites, which exhibit enhancer-like characteristics. Interestingly, c-Myc overexpression altered global AR chromatin occupancy and antagonised a subset of androgen-induced genes. Furthermore, c-Myc overexpression modified histone marks, most notably H3K4me1 and H3K27me3. Lastly, we validated the antagonistic relationship between c-Myc and two AR target genes, KLK3 and GNMT, in patient samples.
c-Myc Antagonises the Transcriptional Activity of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Affecting Key Gene Networks.
Time
View SamplesProstate cancer is the most common male cancer and androgen receptor (AR) is the major driver of the disease. Here we show that Enoyl-CoA delta isomerase 2 (ECI2) is a novel AR-target that promotes prostate cancer cell survival. Increased ECI2 expression predicts mortality in prostate cancer patients (p=0.0086). ECI2 encodes for an enzyme involved in lipid metabolism, and we use multiple metabolite profiling platforms and RNA-seq to show that inhibition of ECI2 expression leads to decreased glucose utilization, accumulation of fatty acids and down-regulation of cell cycle related genes. In normal cells, decrease in fatty acid degradation is compensated by increased consumption of glucose, and here we demonstrate that prostate cancer cells are not able to respond to decreased fatty acid degradation. Instead, prostate cancer cells activate incomplete autophagy, which is followed by activation of the cell death response. Finally, we identified a clinically approved compound, perhexiline, which inhibits fatty acid degradation, and replicates the major findings for ECI2 knockdown. This work shows that prostate cancer cells require lipid degradation for survival and identifies a small molecule inhibitor with therapeutic potential. Overall design: Two biological replicates for prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) and cell line representing normal prostate epithelium (RWPE-1), transfected with scrambled siRNA or two different siRNAs targeting ECI2. RNA was extracted and used for RNA-sequencing. The processed files provided are compressed folders containing multiple output files from CuffDiff runs estimating differentially expressed transcripts between the indicated ECI2 siRNA treated cells versus cells treated with Scrambled siRNAs.
Lipid degradation promotes prostate cancer cell survival.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Androgen Receptor Deregulation Drives Bromodomain-Mediated Chromatin Alterations in Prostate Cancer.
Specimen part, Cell line, Time
View SamplesAltered patterns of transcription factor (TF) binding are now accepted as a hallmark of many aggressive cancers including prostate and breast cancers1,2. This implies that underlying global changes in chromatin accessibility may drive cancer progression, as previously hypothesized3-5. In addition there are epigenetic readers such as bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4), which have been shown to associate with these TFs6-8 and also to contribute to aggressive cancers of many types8,9 including prostate cancer (PC)6,10. Here we show for the first time that formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements followed by sequencing (FAIRE-seq) applied to human prostate tumors tissue can define castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and can be used to inform the discovery of gene-level classifiers for therapy. In addition, we show that the androgen receptor (AR) overexpression alone is a primary driver for chromatin relaxation and that this effect can be reversed using bromodomain inhibitors. We also report that bromodomain-containing proteins (BRDs) are overexpressed in advanced CRPCs and that ATAD2 and BRD2 have prognostic value. In conclusion, this is the first study demonstrating a major impact of BRDs on chromatin accessibility in CRPC in patient samples. Consequently, targeting bromodomains provides a compelling rational for combination therapy in which BRD-mediated TF binding is enhanced or modified as cancer progresses.
Androgen Receptor Deregulation Drives Bromodomain-Mediated Chromatin Alterations in Prostate Cancer.
Time
View SamplesDuring activation, T cells integrate multiple signals from APCs and cytokine milieu. The blockade of these signals can have clinical benefits as exemplified by CTLA4-Ig, which blocks interaction of B7 co-stimulatory molecules on APCs with CD28 on T cells. Variants of CTLA4-Ig, abatacept and belatacept are FDA approved as immunosuppressive agents in arthritis and transplantation whereas murine studies suggested that CTLA4-Ig can be beneficial in a number of other diseases. However, detailed analysis of human CD4 cell hyporesponsivness induced by CTLA4-Ig has not been performed. Herein, we established a model to study effect of CTLA4-Ig on the activation of human naïve T cells in a human mixed lymphocytes system. Comparison of human CD4 cells activated in the presence or absence of CTLA4-Ig, showed that co-stimulation blockade during TCR activation does not affect NFAT signaling but results in decreased activation of NF-kB and AP-1 transcription factors followed by profound decrease in proliferation and cytokine production. The resulting T cells become hyporesponsive to secondary activation and, although capable of receiving TCR signals, fail to proliferate or produce cytokines, demonstrating properties of anergic cells. However, unlike some models of T cell anergy, these cells did not possess increased levels of TCR signaling inhibitor CBLB. Rather, the CTLA4-Ig induced hyporesponsiveness was associated with an elevated level of p27kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Overall design: Time series. Human resting and activated T cell dUTP mRNA-Seq profiles were generated on Illumina HiSeq2500
Functional characterization of human T cell hyporesponsiveness induced by CTLA4-Ig.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe development of CRISPR-Cas systems for targeting DNA and RNA in diverse organisms has transformed biotechnology and biological research. Moreover, the CRISPR revolution has highlighted bacterial adaptive immune systems as a rich and largely unexplored frontier for discovery of new genome engineering technologies. In particular, the class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems, which use single RNA-guided DNA-targeting nucleases such as Cas9, have been widely applied for targeting DNA sequences in eukaryotic genomes. Here, we report DNA-targeting and transcriptional control with class I CRISPR-Cas systems. Specifically, we repurpose the effector complex from type I variants of class 1 CRISPR-Cas systems, the most prevalent CRISPR loci in nature, that target DNA via a multi-component RNA-guided complex termed Cascade. We validate Cascade expression, complex formation, and nuclear localization in human cells and demonstrate programmable CRISPR RNA (crRNA)-mediated targeting of specific loci in the human genome. By tethering transactivation domains to Cascade, we modulate the expression of targeted chromosomal genes in both human cells and plants. This study expands the toolbox for engineering eukaryotic genomes and establishes Cascade as a novel CRISPR-based technology for targeted eukaryotic gene regulation. Overall design: Examination of transcriptome-wide changes in gene expression with Cascade-mediated activation of endogenous genes.
Targeted transcriptional modulation with type I CRISPR-Cas systems in human cells.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesGametogenesis is dependent on the expression of germline-specific genes. However, it remains unknown how the germline epigenome is distinctly established from that of somatic lineages. Here we show that genes commonly expressed in somatic lineages and spermatogenesis-progenitor cells undergo repression in a genome-wide manner in late stages of the male germline and identify underlying mechanisms. SCML2, a germline-specific subunit of a Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), establishes the unique epigenome of the male germline through two distinct antithetical mechanisms. SCML2 works with PRC1 and promotes RNF2-dependent ubiquitination of H2A, thereby marking somatic/progenitor genes on autosomes for repression. Paradoxically, SCML2 also prevents RNF2-dependent ubiquitination of H2A on sex chromosomes during meiosis, thereby enabling unique epigenetic programming of sex chromosomes for male reproduction. Our results reveal divergent mechanisms involving a shared regulator by which the male germline epigenome is distinguished from that of the soma and progenitor cells. Overall design: RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses using wild-type and Scml2-KO spermatogenic cells
Poised chromatin and bivalent domains facilitate the mitosis-to-meiosis transition in the male germline.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesPrevalence and severity of allergic diseases have increased worldwide. To date, respiratory allergy phenotypes are not fully characterized and, in addition, the mechanisms underlying sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) are still unknown.
Exploring novel systemic biomarker approaches in grass-pollen sublingual immunotherapy using omics.
Specimen part, Treatment, Time
View SamplesThe activation profiles of macrophages under different immune and inflammatory conditions have generated great interest. LPS, in particular, is a commonly used in vitro model of infection and inflammation studies in macrophages. We have used gene expression microarrays to define the effects of each of three variables; LPS dose, LPS vs. interferons beta and gamma, and genetic background on the transcriptional response of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages
Analysis of the transcriptional networks underpinning the activation of murine macrophages by inflammatory mediators.
No sample metadata fields
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