Nod2 has been extensively characterized as a bacterial sensor that induces an antimicrobial and inflammatory gene expression program. Therefore, it is unclear why Nod2 mutations that disrupt bacterial recognition are paradoxically among the highest risk factors for Crohns disease, which involves an exaggerated immune response directed at intestinal bacteria. Previous studies from our lab have shown that mice deficient in Atg16L1, another Crohns disease susceptibility gene, develop abnormalities in Paneth cells, specialized epithelial cells in the small intestine involved in antimicrobial responses.
Bacterial sensor Nod2 prevents inflammation of the small intestine by restricting the expansion of the commensal Bacteroides vulgatus.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesWe previously found that mice deficient in the CD susceptibility gene Nod2 develop small intestinal abnormalities including impaired mucus production by goblet cells and susceptibility to injury, which were associated with interferon-gamma producing intraepithelial lymphocytes. These abnormalities were caused by a striking expansion of a common member of the microbiota, Bacteroides vulgatus. Remarkably, infection of Nod2-deficient mice with the helminth Trichuris muris led to a TH2 response that eliminated B. vulgatus colonization and intestinal abnormalities. In addition, treatment with recombinant IL13 (rIL13) or recombinant IL4 reduced B. vulgatus levels and eliminated goblet cell defects, suggesting that type 2 cytokines alone can reverse intestinal abnormalities in the absence of helminth infection. To determine the mechanism by which type 2 cytokines protected Nod2-/- mice from intestinal abnormalities, we performed RNA-seq on small intestinal tissue from WT, Nod2-/- and rIL13 treated Nod2-/- mice. We found that rIL13 treatment induced a wound healing response characterized by M2 macrophage activation genes. Hence, type 2 cytokines can reverse inflammatory imbalances in the composition of the gut microbiota that occurs in a genetically susceptible host. Overall design: Comparison of small intestinal transcriptome in WT, Nod2-/-, and rIL-13 treated Nod2-/- mice.
Helminth infection promotes colonization resistance via type 2 immunity.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesC3H10T1/2 stem cells are committed to the adipocyte lineage by treatment with BMP-4 and grown to postconfluence. When subjected to our standard differentiation protocol, the committed cells differentiate into adipocytes in a manner indistinguishable from that of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. In contrast, C3H10T1/2 cells not committed with BMP-4 remain undifferentiated despite treatment with differentiation inducers. The molecular basis of the commitment process, however, has not been elucidated. Since postconfluent uncommitted and committed C3H10T1/2 cells respond differently to the differentiation inducers, it was reasoned that the two cell types differed at the gene expression level. Therefore, we undertook microarray gene expression profiling to detect changes between the two cell populations at postconfluence to identify expressed genes that may be responsible for the dramatic change in phenotype.
BMP-4 treatment of C3H10T1/2 stem cells blocks expression of MMP-3 and MMP-13.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesFlaviviruses, particularly Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and West Nile virus (WNV), are important causes of virus-induced central nervous system (CNS) disease in humans. We used microarray analysis to identify cellular genes that are differentially regulated following infection of the brain with JEV (P3) or WNV (New York 99). Gene expression data for these flaviviruses was compared to that induced following infection of the brain with reovirus (Type 3 Dearing), an unrelated neurotropic virus. Although several studies have described gene expression changes following virus infection of the brain, this report is the first to directly compare large-scale gene expression data from different viruses. We found that a large number of genes were up-regulated in common to infections with all 3 viruses (fold change > 2, P < 0.001), including genes associated with interferon signaling, the immune system, inflammation and cell death/survival signaling. In addition, genes associated with glutamate signaling were down-regulated in common to infections with all 3 viruses (fold change > 2, P < 0.001). These genes may serve broad spectrum therapeutic targets for virus-induced CNS disease. A distinct set of genes were up-regulated following flavivirus-infection, but not following infection with reovirus. These genes were associated with tRNA charging and may serve as therapeutic targets for flavivirus-induce CNS disease.
Virus-induced transcriptional changes in the brain include the differential expression of genes associated with interferon, apoptosis, interleukin 17 receptor A, and glutamate signaling as well as flavivirus-specific upregulation of tRNA synthetases.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesIncreasing evidence supports the existence of a subpopulation of cancer cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation into diverse cell lineages. These cancer stem-like or cancer-initiating cells (CICs) also demonstrate resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy and may function as a primary source of cancer recurrence. We report here on the isolation and in vitro propagation of multicellular ovarian cancer spheroids from a well-established ovarian cancer cell line (OVCAR-3). The spheroid-derived cells (SDCs) display self-renewal potential, the ability to produce differentiated progeny, and increased expression of genes previously associated with CICs. SDCs also demonstrate higher invasiveness, migration potential, and enhanced resistance to standard anticancer agents relative to parental OVCAR-3 cells. Furthermore, SDCs display up-regulation of genes associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), anticancer drug resistance and/or decreased susceptibility to apoptosis, as well as, down-regulation of genes typically associated with the epithelial cell phenotype and pro-apoptotic genes. Pathway and biological process enrichment analyses indicate significant differences between the SDCs and precursor OVCAR-3 cells in TGF-beta-dependent induction of EMT, regulation of lipid metabolism, NOTCH and Hedgehog signaling. Collectively, our results indicate that these SDCs will be a useful model for the study of ovarian CICs and for the development of novel CIC-targeted therapies.
Isolation and characterization of stem-like cells from a human ovarian cancer cell line.
Cell line
View SamplesIn many forms of retinal degenerative diseases in human, microglia relocate to and accumulate in the subretinal space. However, the roles of microglia in retinal degeneration are poorly understood. By leveraging single cell RNA-seq, we identified a distinct microglia subtype in the subretinal space. These microglia underwent transcriptional reprogramming characterized by reduced expression of homeostatic checkpoint genes and upregulation of injury-responsive genes. Importantly, this transition is associated with protection of the retinal pigment epithelium from damage caused by disease. Therefore, our data demonstrated microglial heterogeneity in retinal degeneration and may provide important implications for developing new strategies to prevent loss of vision. Overall design: Transcriptional profiling of Cx3cr1+ single cells from the mouse model of light-induced retinal degeneration with matched control, generated from single cell RNA-sequencing of over 10,000 cells.
Microglial Function Is Distinct in Different Anatomical Locations during Retinal Homeostasis and Degeneration.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThe regional specificity and timing of gene activation following chemotherapy, and how this relates to subsequent mucositis development is currently unknown. The aim of the study was therefore to determine the early time course of gene expression changes along the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of the DA rat following irinotecan treatment, so as to provide an insight into the genetic component of mucositis.
Gene expression analysis of multiple gastrointestinal regions reveals activation of common cell regulatory pathways following cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Sex, Age
View SamplesCoMet, a fully automated Computational Metabolomics method to predict changes in metabolite levels in cancer cells compared to normal references has been developed and applied to Jurkat T leukemia cells with the goal of testing the following hypothesis: up or down regulation in cancer cells of the expression of genes encoding for metabolic enzymes leads to changes in intracellular metabolite concentrations that contribute to disease progression. Nine metabolites predicted to be lowered in Jurkat cells with respect to normal lymphoblasts were examined: riboflavin, tryptamine, 3-sulfino-L-alanine, menaquinone, dehydroepiandrosterone, -hydroxystearic acid, hydroxyacetone, seleno-L-methionine and 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole. All, alone or in combination, exhibited antiproliferative activity. Of eleven metabolites predicted to be increased or unchanged in Jurkat cells, only two (bilirubin and androsterone) exhibited significant antiproliferative activity. These results suggest that cancer cell metabolism may be regulated to reduce the intracellular concentration of certain antiproliferative metabolites, resulting in uninhibited cellular growth and have the implication that many other endogenous metabolites with important roles in carcinogenesis are awaiting discovery.
Identification of metabolites with anticancer properties by computational metabolomics.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesWe used unsupervised hierarchical clustering to analyse expression in primary ovarian tumors and associated abdominal deposits. GeneGo pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes between primary tumors and deposits revealed 4 of the top 10 pathways related to cytoskeleton remodeling and cell adhesion.
LRP1B deletion in high-grade serous ovarian cancers is associated with acquired chemotherapy resistance to liposomal doxorubicin.
Sex, Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (~22 nucleotides) regulatory RNAs that can modulate gene expression and are aberrantly expressed in many diseases including cancer. Previous studies have shown that miRNAs inhibit the translation and facilitate the degradation of their targeted mRNAs making them attractive candidates for use in cancer therapy. However, the potential clinical utility of miRNAs in cancer therapy rests heavily upon our ability to understand and accurately predict the consequences of fluctuations in levels of miRNAs within the context of complex tumor cells. To evaluate the predictive power of current models, levels of miRNAs and their targeted messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were measured in laser captured micro-dissected (LCM) ovarian cancer epithelial cells (CEPI) and compared with levels present in ovarian surface epithelial cells (OSE). We found that the predicted inverse correlation between changes in levels of miRNAs and levels of their mRNA targets held for only ~6-11% of predicted target mRNAs. Our results underscore the complexities of miRNA-mediated regulation in vivo and caution against the widespread clinical application of miRNAs and miRNA inhibitors until the basis of these complexities is more fully understood.
Evidence for the complexity of microRNA-mediated regulation in ovarian cancer: a systems approach.
Cell line
View Samples