Unr (upstream of N-ras) is a cytoplasmic RNA-binding protein with cold shock domains, involved in regulation of messenger RNA stability and translation. To address the biological role of Unr, we inactivated the unr gene by homologous recombination in mice and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Embryos deficient for Unr die at mid-gestation, and the main phenotypic defects observed, growth deficiency and absence of neural tube closure, suggest a role of Unr in the balance proliferation/differentiation during early development. Here, we report that in Unr-null ES cell cultures, we observed a greater proportion of partially differentiated colonies, together with dispersed, refractile cells with stellate morphology, reminiscent of primitive endoderm (PrE) cells. DNA microarray, immunostaining, and RNA analyses revealed that Unr-null ES cells express a set of PrE markers, including the GATA6 transcription factor, a key inducer of PrE. Although Unr-deficient cells did not downregulate the pluripotency regulators Oct4, Nanog and Sox2, they grew more slowly than the wild-type lines, and their clonogenicity was lower. Silencing of Unr by RNA interference in ES E14 (129 genetic background) resulted in similar phenotypic and molecular changes as those observed in unr-/- ES cells (C57Bl/6 background). Finally, we show that ectopic expression of Unr in unr-/- ES cells partially reverses the endoderm-specific gene expression and the differentiation phenotype.
The RNA-binding protein Unr prevents mouse embryonic stem cells differentiation toward the primitive endoderm lineage.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesZBTB4 is a mammalian transcription factor with Zinc fingers and a BTB/POZ domain, which can bind methylated CpGs, as well as certain unmethylated consensus sequences. ZBTB4 is frequently downregulated in human cancers, but it is unclear whether this is a cause or consequence of transformation. To investigate the role of ZBTB4 in normal and pathological conditions, we generated Zbtb4-/- mice
Loss of the Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein ZBTB4 Alters Mitotic Checkpoint, Increases Aneuploidy, and Promotes Tumorigenesis.
Specimen part
View SamplesTranscript data from livers from fasted-state BXD strains on chow or high fat diet
Multilayered genetic and omics dissection of mitochondrial activity in a mouse reference population.
Specimen part
View SamplesmRNA expression in colon cancer tumores
Mice that express human interleukin-8 have increased mobilization of immature myeloid cells, which exacerbates inflammation and accelerates colon carcinogenesis.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
The nuclear bile acid receptor FXR is a PKA- and FOXA2-sensitive activator of fasting hepatic gluconeogenesis.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesIdentified genes deregulated in mouse primary hepatocytes after modulation of expression/activity of FOXA2 and FXR in glucagon or insulin state
The nuclear bile acid receptor FXR is a PKA- and FOXA2-sensitive activator of fasting hepatic gluconeogenesis.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesThe bifunctional enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase-4 (PFKFB4) controls metabolic flux through allosteric regulation of glycolysis. Here we show that p53 regulates the expression of PFKFB4 and that p53-deficient cancer cells are highly dependent on the function of this enzyme. We found that p53 down-regulates PFKFB4 expression by binding to its promoter and mediating transcriptional repression via histone deacetylases. Depletion of PFKFB4 from p53 deficient cancer cells increased levels of the allosteric regulator fructose 2,6-bisphophate, leading to increased glycolytic activity but decreased routing of metabolites through the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway. PFKFB4 was also required to support the synthesis and regeneration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) in p53 deficient cancer cells. Moreover, depletion of PFKFB4 attenuated cellular biosynthetic activity and resulted in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and cell death in the absence of p53. Finally, silencing of PFKFB4 induced apoptosis in p53 deficient cancer cells in vivo and interfered with tumour growth. These results demonstrate that PFKFB4 is essential to support anabolic metabolism in p53-deficient cancer cells and suggest that inhibition of PFKFB4 could be an effective strategy for cancer treatment. Overall design: Gene expression changes in HCT116 p53+/+ and p53-/- xenograft tumours after PFKFB4 silencing
6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 4 is essential for p53-null cancer cells.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThe gene expression of murine splenic myeloid derived suppressor cells treated with Tff2 is characterized. The motivation of the study originates in the fact that Gr1+Cd11b+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which resemble immature myeloid cells (IMCs), expand during cancer in response to inflammatory cytokines and accumulate in the spleen. MDSCs promote neoplastic progression through their suppression of anti-tumourigenic cytotoxic T-cells. MDSCs are also rapidly expanded following acute insults, but in cancer as opposed to acute inflammation, MDSCs persist. It is now recognized that a vagally-mediated, anti-inflammatory reflex arc promoting acetylcholine secretion by Cd4+ (Cd44hiSelllo) T cells, is necessary for a return to homeostasis after an acute insult. Failure of this restorative neural circuit might contribute to unabated procarcinogenic inflammation, with the chronic expansion of MDSCs driving carcinogenesis. Trefoil factor 2 (Tff2) is a secreted anti-inflammatory peptide produced by both epithelial cells and a small subset of splenic T cell.
Neural innervation stimulates splenic TFF2 to arrest myeloid cell expansion and cancer.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesLivers from wild-type (WT) or Ppara knock-out (Ppara KO) C57Bl6 mice were used to prepare RNA which was then processed for analysis using MoGene-2_0-st Affymetrix microarrays according to standard procedures.
The logic of transcriptional regulator recruitment architecture at <i>cis</i>-regulatory modules controlling liver functions.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesMedulloblastoma is the most common pediatric CNS cancer. In order to identify important molecules important for deregulated tumor cell growth, we use microarray to detail the global gene expression profile in Shh-driven mouse medulloblastomas and determine the most differentially expressed genes compared to the control wild-type cerebellum.
Voltage-gated potassium channel EAG2 controls mitotic entry and tumor growth in medulloblastoma via regulating cell volume dynamics.
Age, Specimen part
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