Upon antigen recognition within peripheral lymphoid organs, B cells interact with T cells and other immune cells to transiently form morphological structures called germinal centers (GCs), which are required for B cells clonal expansion, immunoglobulin class switching, and affinity maturation. This process, known as the GC response, is an energetically demanding process that requires metabolic reprogramming of B cells. Here, we showed that the Ras-related guanosine triphosphate hydrolase (GTPase) R-Ras2 (also known as TC21) plays an essential, nonredundant, and B cellintrinsic role in the GC response. Both the conversion of B cells into GC B cells and their expansion were impaired in mice lacking R-Ras2, but not in those lacking a highly-related R-Ras subfamily member or both the classic H-Ras and N-Ras GTPases. In the absence of R-Ras2, activated B cells did not increase oxidative phosphorylation or aerobic glycolysis. We showed that R-Ras2 was an effector of both the B cell receptor (BCR) and CD40 and that, in its absence, B cells exhibited impaired activation of the PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 pathway, reduced mitochondrial DNA replication, and decreased expression of genes involved in glucose metabolism. Because most human B cell lymphomas originate from GC B cells or B cells that have undergone the GC response, our data suggests that R-Ras2 may also regulate metabolism in B cell malignancies.
R-Ras2 is required for germinal center formation to aid B cells during energetically demanding processes.
Specimen part
View SamplesMicrophthalmos is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by reduced eye size and visual deficits of variable degrees. Sporadic and hereditary microphthalmos has been associated to heterozygous mutations in genes fundamental for eye development. Yet, many cases are idiopathic or await the identification of molecular causes. Here we show that haploinsufficiency of Meis1, a transcription factor with an evolutionary conserved expression in the embryonic trunk, brain and sensory organs, including the eye, causes microphthalmic traits and visual impairment, in adult mice. In the trunk, Meis1 acts as a cofactor for genes of the Hox complex, mostly binding to Hox-Pbx target sequence on the DNA. By combining the analysis of Meis1 loss-of-function and conditional Meis1 functional rescue with ChIPseq and RNAseq approaches, we show that during the development of the optic cup, an Hox-free region, Meis1 binds instead to Hox/Pbx-independent Meis binding site, and coordinates, in a dose-dependent manner, retinal proliferation and differentiation by regulating the expression of components of the Notch signalling pathway. Meis1 also controls the activity of genes responsible for human microphthalmia and eye patterning so that in Meis1-/- embryos, the eye size is reduced and boundaries among the different eye territories are shifted or blurred. We thus propose that Meis1 is at the core of a genetic network implicated in microphthalmia, itself representing an additional candidate for syndromic cases of these ocular malformations. Overall design: Transcriptomics and Meis1 Occupancy analysis on mouse isolated optic cups and ChIP data for histone methylation marks were obtained from about 100 eyes of E10.5 CD1 embryos.
Meis1 coordinates a network of genes implicated in eye development and microphthalmia.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesWe report the application of single-molecule-based sequencing technology for high-throughput profiling of NSC transcriptome. Overall design: Wild type and Sox2-deleted NSC were sequenced; three independent samples from wild type, and three from Sox2-deleted brains (different individual mice).
Mapping the Global Chromatin Connectivity Network for Sox2 Function in Neural Stem Cell Maintenance.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesThe ERG gene belongs to the ETS family of transcription factors and has been found involved in atypical chromosomal rearrangements in several cancers. To gain insight into the oncogenic activity of ERG, we compared the gene expression profile of NIH-3T3 cells stably expressing the coding regions of the three main ERG oncogenic fusions: TMPRSS2/ERG (tERG), EWS/ERG and FUS/ERG,. We found that all the three ERG fusions significantly up-regulate PIM-1 expression in the NIH-3T3 cell line. PIM-1 is a serine/threonine kinase frequently over-expressed in cancers of haematological and epithelial origin. We show here that tERG expression induces PIM-1 in the non-malignant prostate cell line RWPE-1, strengthening the relation between tERG and PIM-1 up-regulation in the initial stages of prostate carcinogenesis. Silencing of tERG reversed PIM-1 induction. A significant association between ERG and PIM-1 expression in clinical prostate carcinoma specimens was found, suggesting that such a mechanism may be relevant in vivo. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation experiments showed that tERG directly binds to PIM-1 promoter in the RWPE-1 prostate cell line, suggesting that tERG could be a direct regulator of PIM-1 expression. The up-regulation of PIM-1 induced by tERG over-expression significantly modified CyclinB1 levels and increased the percentage of aneuploid cells in the RWPE-1 cell line after 24hrs of taxane-based treatment. Here we provide the first evidence for an ERG-mediated PIM-1 up-regulation in prostate cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting a direct effect of ERG transcriptional activity in the alteration of genetic stability.
ERG deregulation induces PIM1 over-expression and aneuploidy in prostate epithelial cells.
Cell line
View SamplesBackground In flowering plants, the anther is the site of male gametophyte development. Two major events in the development of the male germline are meiosis and the asymmetric division in the male gametophyte that gives rise to the vegetative and generative cells, and the following mitotic division in the generative cell that produces two sperm cells. Anther transcriptomes have been analyzed at progressive stages of development by using microarray and sequence by synthesis technologies to identify genes that regulate anther development. Here we have carried out a comprehensive analysis of rice anther transcriptomes at four distinct stages of development with a focus to identify regulatory components contributing to male meiosis and germline development. Further, these transcriptomes have been compared with transcriptomes of 10 stages of rice vegetative and seed development to identify genes that express specifically during anther development. Results - To understand the molecular processes that lead to male gametophyte development, transcriptome profiling of four stages of anther development in rice [pre-meiotic (PMA), meiotic (MA), anthers at single-celled (SCP) and tri-nucleate pollen (TPA)] was conducted. Around 22,000 genes were found to be expressed in at least one of the anther developmental stages, with the highest number in MA (18,090) and lowest (15,465) in TPA. Comparison of these transcriptome profiles to an in-house generated microarray-based transcriptomics database comprising of 10 stages/tissues of vegetative as well as reproductive development in rice resulted in the identification of1,000 genes that are specifically expressed in anther stages. Of them the expression of 453 genes was found to be specific to TPA, whereas 78 and 184 genes were expressed specifically in MA and SCP. Gene ontology and pathway analysis of specifically expressed genes revealed that transcription factors and protein folding, sorting and degradation pathway genes dominated in MA, whereas in TPA, those coding for cell structure and signal transduction components were in abundance. Interestingly, about 50% of the genes with anther-specific expression have not been annotated so far. Conclusions - These data not only provide the transcriptome constituents of four landmark stages of anther development but also identify genes that express exclusively in these stages and therefore may contribute to specific aspects of anther and/or male gametophyte development in rice. Moreover, these gene sets assist in building a deeper understanding of underlying regulatory networks and in selecting candidates for gene function validation.
Analysis of anther transcriptomes to identify genes contributing to meiosis and male gametophyte development in rice.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Differential Methylation of H3K79 Reveals DOT1L Target Genes and Function in the Cerebellum In Vivo.
Specimen part
View SamplesDOT1L as methyltransferase of H3K79 is implicated in brian development. Here, we further defined DOT1L function in gene expression during cerebellar development using Microarrays. For that we generated Dot1l knockout mice using a Atoh-Cre driver line resulting in a Dot1l knockout within the cerebellum. The RNA of cerebellar tissue of the Dot1l knockout animals was thereby compared to controls. Additionally we compared the RNA levels of cultured CGNP and CGN samples treated with a DOT1L inhibitor versus DMSO treated cells. The data sets reveals potential new gene expression targets of DOT1L in vivo and in vitro, which ensure a correct development of the cerebellum.
Differential Methylation of H3K79 Reveals DOT1L Target Genes and Function in the Cerebellum In Vivo.
Specimen part
View SamplesAnalysis of gene expression change induced by myeloma cells in pDCs. The hypothesis tested in the present study was that myeloma cells inhibit pDCs function by direct contact. Results provide important information of gene expression change in the cocultured of pDCs and myeloma, such as IFNs and IFN regulatory genes, TLR9 signaling pathways.
E-cadherin expression on multiple myeloma cells activates tumor-promoting properties in plasmacytoid DCs.
Specimen part
View SamplesIdentify differentially expressed genes related to the neurodegenerative process in a new animal model of hepatic encephalopathy (HE).
Cerebellar neurodegeneration in a new rat model of episodic hepatic encephalopathy.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesCD4+ T cells optimize the cytotoxic T cell (CTL) response in magnitude and quality, by unknown molecular mechanisms. We here present the transcriptomic changes, resulting from CD4+ T-cell help during priming, as apparent in effector CTLs. This gene expression signature reveals that CD4+ T-cell help optimizes CTLs in the expression of cytotoxic effector molecules, but also in many other functions that ensure optimal efficacy of CTLs throughout their life cycle. Overall design: Whole transcriptome analysis of effector CD8 T cells primed in the presence or absence of CD4 T cell help after vaccination or virus infection, or treated with agonistic CD27 or blocking CD70 antibody after vaccination.
CD4<sup>+</sup> T Cell Help Confers a Cytotoxic T Cell Effector Program Including Coinhibitory Receptor Downregulation and Increased Tissue Invasiveness.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View Samples