Parathyroid hormone (PTH) plays an essential role in regulating calcium and bone homeostasis in the adult, but whether PTH is required at all for regulating fetal-placental mineral homeostasis is uncertain. To address this we treated Pth-null mice in utero with 1 nmol PTH (1-84) or saline and examined placental calcium transfer 90 minutes later. It was found that placental calcium transfer increased in Pth-null fetuses treated with PTH as compared to Pth-null fetuses treated with saline. Subsequently, to determine the effect of PTH treatment on placental gene expression, in a separate experiment, 90 minutes after the fetal injections the placentas were removed for subsequent RNA extraction and microarray analysis.
Parathyroid hormone regulates fetal-placental mineral homeostasis.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesProspective isolation is critical to understand the cellular and molecular aspects of stem cell heterogeneity. Here we identify the cell surface antigen CD9 as a novel positive marker that provides a simple alternative for hematopoietic stem cell-isolation at high purity Overall design: mRNA profiles of LT and ST HSCs
The tetraspanin CD9 affords high-purity capture of all murine hematopoietic stem cells.
Subject
View SamplesThe NEET proteins mitoNEET (mNT) and nutrient-deprivation autophagy factor-1 (NAF-1) are required for cancer cell proliferation and resistance to oxidative stress. MitoNEET and NAF-1 are also implicated in a number of other human pathologies including diabetes, neurodegeneration and heart disease, as well as in development, differentiation and aging. Previous studies suggested that mNT and NAF-1 could function in the same pathway in cancer cells, preventing the over-accumulation of iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether these two proteins interact in cells, and how they mediate their function. Here we demonstrate, using yeast two-hybrid, in vivo bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), direct coupling analysis (DCA), RNA- sequencing, ROS and iron imaging, and single and double shRNA lines with suppressed mNT, NAF-1 and mNT/NAF-1 expression, that mNT and NAF-1 interact in cancer cells and function in the same cellular pathway. We further show using an in vitro cluster transfer assay that mNT can transfer its clusters to NAF-1. Our study suggests that mNT and NAF-1 could function as part of an iron-sulfur (2Fe-2S) cluster relay to maintain the levels of iron and Fe-S clusters under control in the mitochondria of cancer cells, thereby preventing the activation of apoptosis and/or autophagy and thus promoting rapid cellular proliferation. Overall design: Examination of the effect of suppression of mNT in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Two sample types were analyzed, MCF-7 suppressed for mNT and MCF-7 Empty vector control, three replicates for each.
Interactions between mitoNEET and NAF-1 in cells.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesEstrogens are an important regulator of breast cancer disease progression, and they function by binding the estrogen receptor- (ER) to regulate changes in gene expression. ER is able to both activate and inhibit gene transcription in a gene-specific manner and do so by binding target DNA sequences and recruiting coactivators and corepressors which can modulate the chromatin environment. Silencing mediator of retinoic acid and thyroid hormone receptor (SMRT) is known to act as coactivator and corepressor of ER in a gene-specific manner.
The SMRT coregulator enhances growth of estrogen receptor-α-positive breast cancer cells by promotion of cell cycle progression and inhibition of apoptosis.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesNutrient autophagy factor 1 (NAF-1) is an iron-sulfur protein found on the outer mitochondrial membrane and the ER. Recent studies highlighted an important role for NAF-1 in regulating autophagy via interaction with BCL-2. We recently reported that the level of NAF-1 is elevated in cancer cells and that NAF-1 is required for tumor growth. Here we report that shRNA suppression of NAF-1 results in the activation of apoptosis in xenograft tumors and cancer cells grown in culture. Suppression of NAF-1 resulted in a depletion in the cytosolic iron pool, facilitated uptake of iron, and accumulation of iron and ROS in mitochondria, a shift to glycolysis and glutaminolysis, and the activation of cellular stress pathways associated with HIF1a, AMPK and mTOR. Suppression of NAF-1 in breast cancer cells appears therefore to reduce their tumorigenicity by interfering with cellular iron distribution and energy metabolism resulting in the activation of apoptosis. Overall design: Examination of the effect of suppression of NAF-1 in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Two sample types were analyzed, MCF-7 suppressed for NAF-1 and MCF-7 Empty vector control, three replicates for each.
Activation of apoptosis in NAF-1-deficient human epithelial breast cancer cells.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesType I IFNs are implicated in the pathophysiology of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Recently, a Phase I open-label trial was conducted with an anti-IFNAR1 receptor antibody (anifrolumab) in adult SSc patients. In this study, we aim to assess the downstream effects of anifrolumab and elucidate the role of type I IFN in SSc. Serum proteins and extracellular matrix (ECM) markers were measured in relation to IFN pathway activation status and SSc disease activity. Our results demonstrated a robust overexpression of multiple serum proteins in SSc patients, particularly those with an elevated baseline type I IFN gene signature. Anifrolumab administration was associated with significant downregulation of T cellassociated proteins and upregulation of type III collagen degradation marker. Whole-blood and skin microarray results also indicated the inhibition of T cell receptor and ECMrelated transcripts by anifrolumab. In summary, our study demonstrates suppressive effects of anifrolumab on T cell activation and collagen accumulation through which tissue fibrosis may be reduced in SSc patients. The relationship between these peripheral markers and the clinical response to anifrolumab may be examined in larger double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.
Suppression of T Cell Activation and Collagen Accumulation by an Anti-IFNAR1 mAb, Anifrolumab, in Adult Patients with Systemic Sclerosis.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Time
View SamplesSkeletal muscle mass is an important determinant of whole-body glucose disposal. We here show that mice (M-PDK1KO mice) with skeletal muscle–specific deficiency of 3'-phosphoinositide–dependent kinase 1 (PDK1), a key component of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway, manifest a reduced skeletal muscle mass under the static condition as well as impairment of exercise load–induced muscle hypertrophy.
Role of PDK1 in skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by mechanical load.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesMost tumors are epithelial-derived, and although disruption of polarity and aberrant cellular junction formation is a poor prognosticator in human cancer, the role of polarity determinants in oncogenesis is poorly understood. Using in vivo selection, we identified a mammalian orthologue of the Drosophila polarity regulator crumbs as a gene whose loss of expression promotes tumor progression. Immortal baby mouse kidney epithelial (iBMK) cells selected in vivo to acquire tumorigenicity displayed dramatic repression of crumbs3 (crb3) expression associated with disruption of tight junction formation, apicobasal polarity, and contact-inhibited growth. Restoration of crb3 expression restored junctions, polarity and contact inhibition, while suppressing migration and metastasis. These findings suggest a role for mammalian polarity determinants in suppressing tumorigenesis that may be analogous to the well-studied polarity tumor suppressor mechanisms in Drosophila.
Role of the polarity determinant crumbs in suppressing mammalian epithelial tumor progression.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesTo discover novel growth factors for hematopoietic stem- and progenitor cells (HSPCs), we have assessed cytokine responses of cord blood (CB)-derived CD34+ cells in a high-content growth factor screen. We identify the immunoregulatory chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 28 (CCL28) as a novel growth factor that directly stimulates proliferation of primitive hematopoietic cells from different ontogenetic origins.
Identification of the chemokine CCL28 as a growth and survival factor for human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesMalformations of the cardiovascular system are the most common type of birth defect in humans, affecting predominantly the formation of valves and septa. During heart valve and septa formation, cells from the atrio-ventricular canal (AVC) and outflow tract (OFT) regions of the heart undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and invade the underlying extracellular matrix to give rise to endocardial cushions. Subsequent maturation of newly formed mesenchyme cells leads to thin stress-resistant leaflets. TWIST1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor expressed in newly formed mesenchyme cells of the AVC and OFT that has been shown to play roles in cell survival, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the role and downstream targets of TWIST1 during heart valve formation remain unclear. To identify genes important for heart valve development downstream of Twist1 we performed global gene expression profiling of AVC, OFT, atria and ventricles of the embryonic day 10.5 mouse heart by tag-sequencing (Tag-seq). Using this resource we identified a novel set of 1246 genes, including 201 regulators of transcription, enriched in the valve forming regions of the heart. We compared these genes to a Tag-seq library from the Twist1 null developing valves revealing significant gene expression changes. These changes were consistent with a role of TWIST1 in controlling differentiation of mesenchymal cells following their transformation from endothelium in the mouse. To study the role of TWIST1 at the DNA level we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation and identified novel direct targets of TWIST1 in the developing heart valves. Our findings are consistent with a role for TWIST1 in the differentiation of AVC mesenchyme post-EMT in the mouse, and suggest that TWIST1 exerts its function by direct DNA binding to activate valve specific gene expression. Overall design: Profiled the AVC, OFT, atria and ventricles of the embryonic day 10.5 mouse heart by tag-sequencing (Tag-seq) (no replicates). We also produced a Tag-seq library from Twist1 null developing valves to reveal the gene expression changes associated with loss of this gene.
Twist1 transcriptional targets in the developing atrio-ventricular canal of the mouse.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
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