Of the members of mitochondrial transcription termination factors (mTERFs) found in metazoans and plants known to regulate organellar gene expression at various levels, plant mTERF6 promotes maturation of a tRNA
Definition of a core module for the nuclear retrograde response to altered organellar gene expression identifies GLK overexpressors as gun mutants.
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View SamplesGUN1 integrates retrograde signals in the chloroplast but the underlying mechanism is elusive. FUG1, a chloroplast translation initiation factor, and GUN1 are co-expressed at the transcript level, and FUG1 co-immunoprecipitates with GUN1. We used mutants of GUN1 (gun1-103) and FUG1 (fug1-3) to analyse their functional relationship at the physiological and systems-wide level, the latter including transcriptome and proteome analyses. Absence of GUN1 aggravates the effects of decreased FUG1 levels on chloroplast protein translation, resulting in transient additive phenotypes with respect to photosynthesis, leaf coloration, growth and cold acclimation. Variegation of the var2 mutant is enhanced by gun1-103 in terms of increasing the fraction of white sectors, in contrast to fug1-3 that acts as suppressor. The transcriptomes of fug1-3 and gun1-103 are very similar, but absence of GUN1 alone has almost no effects on protein levels, whereas chloroplast protein accumulation is markedly decreased in fug1-3. In gun1 fug1 double mutants, effects on transcriptomes and particularly proteomes are enhanced. Our results show that GUN1 function becomes critical when chloroplast proteostasis is perturbed by decreased translation (fug1) or degradation (var2) of chloroplast proteins. The functions of FUG1 and GUN1 appear to be related, corroborating the view that GUN1 operates in chloroplast proteostasis. Overall design: Examination of differential gene expression in the Arabdidopsis thaliana gun1, fug1 and gun1 fug1 mutants compared to wild type in three replicates
Relationship of GUN1 to FUG1 in chloroplast protein homeostasis.
Subject
View SamplesChanges ins organellar gene expression trigger retrograde signalling. Prolyl-tRNA synthetase (PRORS1) is located in chloroplasts and mitochondria. Thus, prors1-2 mutants are impaired in chloroplast and mitochondrial gene expression.
Identification of target genes and transcription factors implicated in translation-dependent retrograde signaling in Arabidopsis.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesHuman induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) resemble embryonic stem cells and can differentiate into cell derivatives of all three germ layers. However, frequently the differentiation efficiency of iPS cells into some lineages is rather poor. Here, we found that fusion of iPS cells with human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) enhances iPS cell differentiation. Such iPS hybrids showed a prominent differentiation bias towards hematopoietic lineages but also towards other mesendodermal lineages. Additionally, during differentiation of iPS hybrids expression of early mesendodermal markers - Brachyury (T), MIX1 Homeobox-Like Protein 1 (MIXL1) and Goosecoid (GSC) - appeared with faster kinetics than in parental iPS cells. Following iPS hybrid differentiation there was a prominent induction of NODAL and inhibition of NODAL signaling blunted mesendodermal differentiation. This indicates that NODAL signaling is critically involved in mesendodermal bias of iPS hybrid differentiation. In summary, we demonstrate that iPS cell fusion with HSC prominently enhances iPS differentiation.
Cell fusion enhances mesendodermal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesComparison of expression of Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and T-DNA insertion line of RAP2.4a under time dependent light stress by transfer to high light
Meta-analysis of retrograde signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals a core module of genes embedded in complex cellular signaling networks.
Specimen part
View SamplesSTN7-dependent phosphorylation of an as yet unknown thylakoid protein triggers the signaling events associated with the long-term acclimatory response (LTR). The LTR-associated signaling events regulate the expression of photosynthesis-related genes on the post-transcriptional level (nucleus), as indicated by transcript profiling in LTR mutants.
Arabidopsis STN7 kinase provides a link between short- and long-term photosynthetic acclimation.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe in vitro test battery of the European research consortium ESNATS (novel stem cell-based test systems) has been used to screen for potential human developmental toxicants. As part of this effort, the migration of neural crest (MINC) assay has been used to evaluate chemical effects on neural crest function. It identified some drug-like compounds in addition to known environmental toxicants. The hits included the HSP90 inhibitor geldanamycin, the chemotherapeutic arsenic trioxide, the flame-retardant PBDE-99, the pesticide triadimefon and the histone deacetylase inhibitors valproic acid and trichostatin A. Transcriptome changes triggered by these substances in human neural crest cells were recorded and analysed here to answer three questions: (1) can toxicants be individually identified based on their transcript profile; (2) how can the toxicity pattern reflected by transcript changes be compacted/ dimensionality-reduced for practical regulatory use; (3) how can a reduced set of biomarkers be selected for large-scale follow up? Transcript profiling allowed clear separation of different toxicants and the identification of toxicant types in a blinded test study. We also developed a diagrammatic system to visualize and compare toxicity patterns of a group of chemicals by giving a quantitative overview of altered superordinate biological processes (e.g. activation of KEGG pathways or overrepresentation of gene ontology terms). The transcript data were mined for potential markers of toxicity, and 39 transcripts were selected to either indicate general developmental toxicity or distinguish compounds with different modes-of-action in read-across. In summary, we found inclusion of transcriptome data to largely increase the information from the MINC phenotypic test.
Identification of transcriptome signatures and biomarkers specific for potential developmental toxicants inhibiting human neural crest cell migration.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesHuman mucosal surfaces contain a wide range of microorganisms. The biological effects of these organisms are largely unknown. Large-scale metagenomic sequencing is emerging as a method to identify novel microbes. Unexpectedly, we identified DNA sequences homologous to virus ATCV-1, an algal virus not previously known to infect humans, in oropharyngeal samples obtained from healthy adults. The presence of ATCV-1 was associated with a modest but measurable decrease in cognitive functioning. A relationship between ATCV-1 and cognitive functioning was confirmed in a mouse model, which also indicated that exposure to ATCV-1 resulted in changes in gene expression within the brain. Our study indicates that viruses in the environment not thought to infect humans can have biological effects.
Chlorovirus ATCV-1 is part of the human oropharyngeal virome and is associated with changes in cognitive functions in humans and mice.
Treatment
View SamplesSafety sciences and the identification chemical hazard have been seen as one of the most immediate practical applications of human pluripotent stem cell technology. Protocols for the generation of many desirable human cell types have been developed, but optimization of neuronal models for toxicological use has been astonishingly slow, and the wide, clinically- important field of peripheral neurotoxicity is still largely unexplored. Here, a 2-step protocol to generate large lots of identical peripheral human neuronal precursors was characterized and adapted to the measurement of peripheral neurotoxicity. High content imaging allowed an unbiased assessment of cell morphology and viability. The computational quantification of neurite growth as functional parameter highly sensitive to disturbances by toxicants was used as endpoint reflecting specific neurotoxicity. The differentiation of cells towards dorsal root ganglia neurons was tracked in relation to a large background data set based on gene expression microarrays. On this basis, a peripheral neurotoxicity (PeriTox) test was developed as first toxicological assay that harnesses the potential of human pluripotent stem cells to generate cell types/tissues that are not otherwise available for prediction of human systemic organ toxicity. Testing of more than 30 chemicals showed that human neurotoxicants, as well as neurite growth enhancers, were correctly identified. Various classes of chemotherapeutics causing human peripheral neuropathies were identified, while they were missed when tested on human central neurons. The PeriTox-test established here shows the potential of human stem cells for clinically-relevant safety testing of drugs in use and of new emerging candidates.
Stem Cell-Derived Immature Human Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons to Identify Peripheral Neurotoxicants.
Sex, Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesDevelopmental neurotoxicity (DNT) may be induced when chemicals disturb a key neurodevelopmental process, and many tests focus on this type of toxicity. Alternatively, DNT may occur when chemicals are cytotoxic only during a specific neurodevelopmental stage. The toxicant sensitivity is affected by the expression of toxicant targets and by resilience factors. Although cellular metabolism plays an important role, little is known how it changes during human neurogenesis, and how potential alterations affect toxicant sensitivity of mature vs. immature neurons. We used immature (d0) and mature (d6) LUHMES cells (dopaminergic human neurons) to provide initial answers to these questions. Transcriptome profiling and characterization of energy metabolism suggested a switch from predominantly glycolytic energy generation to a more pronounced contribution of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) during neuronal maturation. Therefore, we used pulsed stable isotope-resolved metabolomics (pSIRM) to determine intracellular metabolite pool sizes (concentrations), and isotopically non-stationary 13C-metabolic flux analysis (INST 13C MFA) to calculate metabolic fluxes. We found that d0 cells mainly use glutamine to fuel the TCA. Furthermore, they rely on extracellular pyruvate to allow continuous growth. This metabolic situation does not allow for mitochondrial or glycolytic spare capacity, i.e. the ability to adapt energy generation to altered needs. Accordingly, neuronal precursor cells displayed a higher sensitivity to several mitochondrial toxicants than mature neurons differentiated from them. In summary, this study shows that precursor cells lose their glutamine dependency during differentiation while they gain flexibility of energy generation and thereby increase their resistance to low concentrations of mitochondrial toxicants.
Stage-specific metabolic features of differentiating neurons: Implications for toxicant sensitivity.
Sex, Specimen part, Time
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