Purpose: In all vertebrates, the thymus is necessary and sufficient for production of classic adaptive T cells. The key components of the thymus are cortical and medullary thymic epithelial cells (cTECs and mTECs). Despite the capital role of TECs, our understanding of TEC biology is quite rudimentary. For instance, we ignore what might be the extent of divergence in the functional program of these two TECs populations. It also remains unclear why the number of TECs decreases rapidly with age, thereby leading to progressive thymic insufficiency. Methods: Systems level understanding of cell function begins with gene expression profiling, and the transcriptome is currently the only ''-ome'' that can be reliably tackled in its entirety in freshly harvested primary cells. In order to gain novel insights into TEC biology, we therefore decided to analyse the whole transcriptome of cTECs, mTECs and skin epithelial cells. We elected to analyse gene expression using RNA-seq rather microarrays because RNA-seq has higher sensitivity and dynamic range coupled to lower technical variations. Results: Our deep sequencing approach provides a unique perspective into the transcriptome of TECs. Consistent with their ability to express ectopic genes, we found that mTECs expressed more genes than other cell populations. Out of a total of 15,069 genes expressed in TECs, 25% were differentially expressed by at least 5-fold in cTECs vs. mTECs. Genes expressed at higher levels in cTECs than mTECs regulate numerous cell functions including cell differentiation, cell movement and microtubule dynamics. Almost all positive regulators of the cell cycle were overexpressed in skin ECs relative to TECs. Conclusions: Our RNA-seq data provide novel insights into the transcriptional landscape of TECs, highlight substantial divergences in the transcriptome of TEC subsets and suggest that cell cycle progression is differentially regulated in TECS and skinECs. We believe that our work will therefore represent a valuable resource and will be of great interest to readers working in biological sciences, particularly in the areas of immunology and systems biology. Overall design: The mRNA profiles of cTEC, mTEC (from 14 thymi of 7-days old C57BL/6 mice) and skinEC (from the trunk and dorsum of seven newborn mice) were generated by RNA-sequencing using Illumina HiSeq2000.
Transcriptome sequencing of neonatal thymic epithelial cells.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesGlucocorticoid resistance (GCR) is defined as an unresponsiveness to the anti-inflammatory properties of glucocorticoids (GCs) and their receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). It is a serious problem in the management of inflammatory diseases and occurs frequently. The strong pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF induces an acute form of GCR, not only in mice, but also in several cell lines, e.g. in the hepatoma cell line BWTG3, as evidenced by impaired Dexamethasone (Dex)-induced GR-dependent gene expression. We report that TNF has a significant and broad impact on the transcriptional performance of GR, but no impact on nuclear translocation, dimerization or DNA binding capacity of GR. Proteome-wide proximity-mapping (BioID), however, revealed that the GR interactome is strongly modulated by TNF. One GR cofactor that interacts significantly less with the receptor under GCR conditions is p300. NF?B activation and p300 knockdown both reduce transcriptional output of GR, whereas p300 overexpression and NF?B inhibition revert TNF-induced GCR, which is in support of a cofactor reshuffle model. This hypothesis is supported by FRET studies. This mechanism of GCR opens new avenues for therapeutic interventions in GCR diseases Overall design: Examination of GR induced gene expression in 4 conditions (1 control: NI and 3 treated: DEX, TNF, TNFDEX) starting from 3 biological replicates
TNF-α inhibits glucocorticoid receptor-induced gene expression by reshaping the GR nuclear cofactor profile.
Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesThis experiment was set up in order to identify the (direct) transcriptional targets of the Ethylene Response Factor 115 (ERF115) transcription factor. Because ERF115 expression occurs in quiescent center (QC) cells and strong effects on the QC cells were observed in ERF115 overexpression plants, root tips were harvested for transcript profiling in order to focus on root meristem and QC specific transcriptional targets.
ERF115 controls root quiescent center cell division and stem cell replenishment.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesMesenchymal progenitor cells can be differentiated in vitro into myotubes that exhibit many characteristic features of primary mammalian skeletal muscle fibers. However, in general, they do not show the functional excitation-contraction coupling or the striated sarcomere arrangement typical of mature myofibers. Epigenetic modifications have been shown to play a key role in regulating the progressional changes in transcription necessary for muscle differentiation. In this study, we demonstrate that treatment of murine C2C12 mesenchymal progenitor cells with 10 M of the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5AC) promotes myogenesis, resulting in myotubes with enhanced maturity as compared to untreated myotubes. Specifically, 5AC treatment resulted in the upregulation of muscle genes at the myoblast stage while at later stages nearly 50 % of the 5AC-treated myotubes displayed a mature, well-defined sarcomere organization as well as spontaneous contractions that coincided with action potentials and intracellular calcium transients. Both the percentage of striated myotubes and their contractile activity could be inhibited by 20 nM TTX, 10 M ryanodine and 100 M nifedipine, suggesting that action potential-induced calcium transients are responsible for these characteristics. Our data suggest that genomic demethylation induced by 5AC overcomes an epigenetic barrier that prevents untreated C2C12 myotubes from reaching full maturity.
Epigenetics: DNA demethylation promotes skeletal myotube maturation.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesGenetic studies in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia have uncovered a remarkable complexity of oncogenic and loss-of-function mutations. Amongst this plethora of genetic changes, NOTCH1 activating mutations stand out as the most frequently occurring genetic defect, identified in more than 50% of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias, supporting an essential driver role for this gene in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia oncogenesis. In this study, we aimed to establish a comprehensive compendium of the long non-coding RNA transcriptome under control of Notch signaling. For this purpose, we measured the transcriptional response of all protein coding genes and long non-coding RNAs upon pharmacological Notch inhibition in the human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line CUTLL1 using RNA-sequencing. Similar Notch dependent profiles were established for normal human CD34+ thymic T-cell progenitors exposed to Notch signaling activity in vivo. In addition, we generated long non-coding RNA expression profiles (array data) from GSI treated T-ALL cell lines, ex vivo isolated Notch active CD34+ and Notch inactive CD4+CD8+ thymocytes and from a primary cohort of 15 T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with known NOTCH1 mutation status. Integration of these expression datasets with publically available Notch1 ChIP-sequencing data resulted in the identification of long non-coding RNAs directly regulated by Notch activity in normal and malignant T-cell context. Given the central role of Notch in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia oncogenesis, these data pave the way towards development of novel therapeutic strategies that target hyperactive Notch1 signaling in human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Overall design: CUTLL1 cell lines were treated with Compound E (GSI) or DMSO (solvent control). Cells were collected 12 h and 48 h after treatment. This was performed for 3 replicates. RNA-sequencing was performed on these samples.
The Notch driven long non-coding RNA repertoire in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesStudy on gene expression in multifunctional protein 2 deficient mice. Liver samples of two days old mice in normal conditions are used. In total 8 arrays were hybridized corresponding to 4 KO mice and 4 WT mice Results: Cholesterol synthesis is induced and ppar alpha targets also differentially expressed between KO and WT.
Coordinate induction of PPAR alpha and SREBP2 in multifunctional protein 2 deficient mice.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesRNAi mediated knockdown of BTG1 in the acute lymphoblastic cell line RS4;11 causes this cell line to become resistant to prednisolone treatment when compared to control cells.
BTG1 regulates glucocorticoid receptor autoinduction in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesHeparan sulfate (HS), a long linear polysaccharide, is implicated in various steps of tumorigenesis, including angiogenesis. We successfully interfered with HS biosynthesis using a peracetylated 4-deoxy analog of the HS constituent GlcNAc and studied the compounds metabolic fate and its effect on angiogenesis. The 4-deoxy analog was activated intracellularly into UDP-4-deoxy-GlcNAc and HS expression was inhibited up to ~96% (IC50 = 16 M). HS chain size was reduced, without detectable incorporation of the 4-deoxy analog, likely due to reduced levels of UDP-GlcNAc and/or inhibition of glycosyltransferase activity. Comprehensive gene expression analysis revealed reduced expression of genes regulated by HS binding growth factors as FGF-2 and VEGF. Cellular binding and signaling of these angiogenic factors was inhibited. Micro-injection in zebrafish embryos strongly reduced HS biosynthesis, and angiogenesis was inhibited in both zebrafish and chicken model systems. All these data identify 4-deoxy-GlcNAc as a potent inhibitor of HS synthesis which hampers pro-angiogenic signaling and neo-vessel formation.
Interfering with UDP-GlcNAc metabolism and heparan sulfate expression using a sugar analogue reduces angiogenesis.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesHeterologous expression of the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum Avr2 in Arabidopsis plants.
The Cladosporium fulvum virulence protein Avr2 inhibits host proteases required for basal defense.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThese arrays contain data from the livers of 10 week old L-Pex5 -/- male mice
Carbohydrate metabolism is perturbed in peroxisome-deficient hepatocytes due to mitochondrial dysfunction, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) suppression.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View Samples