Some neuropsychiatric disease, including schizophrenia, may originate during prenatal development, following periods of gestational hypoxia and placental oxidative stress. Here we investigated if gestational hypoxia promotes damaging secretions from the placenta that affect fetal development and whether a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ might prevent this. Gestational hypoxia caused low birth-weight and changes in young adult offspring brain, mimicking those in human neuropsychiatric disease. Exposure of cultured neurons to fetal plasma or to secretions from the placenta or from model trophoblast barriers that had been exposed to altered oxygenation caused similar morphological changes. The secretions and plasma contained altered microRNAs whose targets were linked with changes in gene expression in the fetal brain and with human schizophrenia loci. Molecular and morphological changes in vivo and in vitro were prevented by a single dose of MitoQ bound to nanoparticles, which were shown to localise and prevent oxidative stress in the placenta but not in the fetus. We suggest the possibility of developing preventative treatments that target the placenta and not the fetus to reduce risk of psychiatric disease in later life. Overall design: 16 samples (4 biological replicates per group) were analysed using RNA sequencing. The 4 groups were: Normoxia+Saline (control sample), Normoxia+MitoQ-NP, Hypoxia+Saline and Hypoxia+MitoQ-NPs. Pair-wise comparison between all groups was performed.
Treating the placenta to prevent adverse effects of gestational hypoxia on fetal brain development.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesAims to look at the targets of the bHLH transcription factor in Arabidopsis roots.
A basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor controls cell growth and size in root hairs.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe NuRD complex is generally thought to repress transcription at both hyper- and hypomethylated regions in the genome. In addition, the complex is involved in the DNA damage response. Here, we show that ZMYND8 bridges NuRD to a number of putative DNA-binding zinc finger proteins. The ZMYND8 MYND domain directly interacts with PPPL? motifs in the NuRD subunit GATAD2A. Furthermore, GATAD2A and GATAD2B exclusively form homodimers and they thus define mutually exclusive NuRD subcomplexes. ZMYND8 and MBD3 share a large number of genome-wide binding sites, mostly active promoters and enhancers. Depletion of ZMYND8 does not affect NuRD occupancy genome-wide and expression of NuRD/ZMYND8 target genes in steady-state asynchronous cells. However, ZMYND8 facilitates immediate recruitment of GATAD2A/NuRD to induced sites of DNA damage. These results thus show that a specific substoichiometric interaction with a NuRD subunit paralogue provides unique functionality to a distinct NuRD subcomplex. Overall design: RNA-seq samples for HeLa FRT-TO mock, ZMYND8KO, and ZMYND8KO-rescue cells
ZMYND8 Co-localizes with NuRD on Target Genes and Regulates Poly(ADP-Ribose)-Dependent Recruitment of GATAD2A/NuRD to Sites of DNA Damage.
Subject
View SamplesThe guanosine triphosphatases of the Rho and Rac subfamilies regulate protumorigenic pathways and are activated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (Rho GEFs), which could be potential targets for anticancer therapies. We report that two Rho GEFs, Vav2 and Vav3, play synergistic roles in breast cancer by sustaining tumor growth, neoangiogenesis, and many of the steps involved in lung-specific metastasis. The involvement of Vav proteins in these processes did not correlate with Rac1 and RhoA activity or cell migration, implying the presence of additional biological programs. Microarray analyses revealed that Vav2 and Vav3 controlled a vast transcriptional program in breast cancer cells through mechanisms that were shared between the two proteins, isoform-specific or synergistic. Furthermore, the abundance of Vav regulated transcripts was modulated by Rac1-dependent and Rac1-independent pathways. This transcriptome encoded therapeutically targetable proteins that played non redundant roles in primary tumorigenesis and lung-specific metastasis, such as integrin-linked kinase (Ilk), the transforming growth factorb family ligand inhibin bA, cyclooxygenase-2, and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule Tacstd2. It also contained gene signatures that predicted disease outcome in breast cancer patients. These results identify possible targets for treating breast cancer and lung metastases and provide a potential diagnostic tool for clinical use.
The rho exchange factors vav2 and vav3 control a lung metastasis-specific transcriptional program in breast cancer cells.
Cell line
View SamplesWe used microarrays to investigate gene expression changes induced by the inhibition of RRAS2 expression using shRNA techniques to stably knockdown the endogenous transcripts of this GTPase in human MDA-MB-231-Luc cells.
Contribution of the R-Ras2 GTP-binding protein to primary breast tumorigenesis and late-stage metastatic disease.
Cell line
View SamplesThrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) is an anti-angiogenic matricellular protein with regulatory functions in inflammation and cancer. The type 1 repeats (TSR) domains of TSP-1 have been shown to interact with a wide range of proteins that result in the anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor properties of TSP-1. To evaluate potential therapeutic effects of TSRs in inflammatory bowel disease, we conducted clinical, histological and gene microarray analyses on a mouse model of induced colitis.
Thrombospondin-1 type 1 repeats in a model of inflammatory bowel disease: transcript profile and therapeutic effects.
Specimen part
View SamplesCutaneous squamous tumors rely on autocrine/paracrine loops for proper fitness. Targeting this Achilles heel is therefore considered a potential avenue for patient treatment. However, the mechanisms that engage and sustain such programs during tumor ontogeny are poorly understood. Here, we show that two Rho/Rac activators, the exchange factors Vav2 and Vav3, control the expression of an epithelial autocrine/paracrine program that regulates keratinocyte survival and proliferation as well as the creation of an inflammatory microenvironment. Vav proteins are also critically involved in some of the subsequent autocrine signaling loops activated in keratinocytes. The genetic inactivation of both Vav proteins reduces tumor multiplicity without hampering skin homeostasis, thus suggesting that pan-specific Vav therapies may be useful in skin tumor prevention and treatment.
The Rho exchange factors Vav2 and Vav3 favor skin tumor initiation and promotion by engaging extracellular signaling loops.
Specimen part
View SamplesRobles-Valero et al. report a tumor suppression role for the otherwise oncogenic Vav1 Rho GEF. This paradoxical action is mediated by the catalysis-independent buffering of Notch1 signaling in immature T cells.
A Paradoxical Tumor-Suppressor Role for the Rac1 Exchange Factor Vav1 in T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesComplement receptor 2negative (CR2/CD21) B cells have been found enriched in patients with autoimmune diseases and in common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients who are prone to autoimmunity. However, the physiology of CD21/lo B cells remains poorly characterized. We found that some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients also display an increased frequency of CD21/lo B cells in their blood. A majority of CD21/lo B cells from RA and CVID patients expressed germline autoreactive antibodies, which recognized nuclear and cytoplasmic structures. In addition, these B cells were unable to induce calcium flux, become activated, or proliferate in response to B-cell receptor and/or CD40 triggering, suggesting that these autoreactive B cells may be anergic. Moreover, gene array analyses of CD21/lo B cells revealed molecules specifically expressed in these B cells and that are likely to induce their unresponsive stage. Thus, CD21/lo B cells contain mostly autoreactive unresponsive clones, which express a specific set of molecules that may represent new biomarkers to identify anergic B cells in humans.
Complement receptor 2/CD21- human naive B cells contain mostly autoreactive unresponsive clones.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesProtein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) gene segregates with most autoimmune diseases; its risk allele encodes overactive PTPN22 phosphatases that alter B cell receptor (BCR) signaling potentially involved in the regulation of central B cell tolerance. To assess whether PTPN22 risk allele affects the removal of developing autoreactive B cells, we tested by ELISA the reactivity of recombinant antibodies isolated from single B cells from asymptomatic healthy individuals carrying one or two PTPN22 risk allele(s). We found that new emigrant/transitional and mature naive B cells from PTPN22 risk allele carriers contained high frequencies of autoreactive clones compared to non-carrier control donors. Hence, a single PTPN22 risk allele has a dominant effect on altering autoreactive B cell counterselection, suggesting that early B cell tolerance checkpoint defects precede the onset of autoimmunity. In addition, gene array experiments comparing mature nave B cells from healthy individuals carrying or not PTPN22 risk allele(s) revealed that the strength of association of PTPN22 for autoimmunity, second in importance only to the MHC, may not only be due to BCR signaling alteration but also to the regulation of other genes, which themselves have also been identified as involved in the development of autoimmune diseases.
The PTPN22 allele encoding an R620W variant interferes with the removal of developing autoreactive B cells in humans.
Specimen part
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