Tissue-resident memory T cells (Trm) are non-circulating memory T cells that localize to portals of pathogen entry such as the skin, gut and lung where they provide efficient early protection against reinfection. Trm are characterized by a molecular profile that actively prevents egress from peripheral sites including the constitutive expression of the lectin CD69 and down-regulation of the chemokine receptor (CCR)7 and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1). This program is partially mediated by down-regulation of the transcription factor KLF2; however, to date no transcriptional regulator specific to Trm has been identified. Here we show that the Blimp1 related transcription factor Hobit is specifically upregulated in Trm and together with Blimp1, mediates the development and maintenance of Trm in various tissues including skin, gut, liver and kidney. Importantly, we found that the Hobit/Blimp1 transcriptional module is also required for other tissue-resident lymphocytes including Natural Killer T (NKT) cells and liver tissue-resident NK cells (trNK). We show that these populations share a universal transcriptional program with Trm instructed by Hobit and Blimp1 that includes the repression of CCR7, S1PR1 and KLF2 thereby enforcing tissue retention. Our results identify Hobit and Blimp1 as major common regulators that drive the differentiation of distinct populations of tissue-resident lymphocytes. Overall design: RNA-seq data were generated for multiple tissues in mice to investigate global expression difference between resident and circulating cells.
Hobit and Blimp1 instruct a universal transcriptional program of tissue residency in lymphocytes.
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View SamplesNatural killer T (NKT) cells identified by CD1d-tetramer and TCRb were isolated from the thymi of wild type and Ezh2 knockout mice. The NKT cells were FACS sorted into different stages based on the surface expression of CD44 and NK1.1. Overall design: For both wildtype and knockout mice, RNA was extracted from two biological replicates of CD44+ NK1.1- cells, one replicate of CD44+ NK1.1+ cells and one replicate of CD44- NK1.1- cells. Each RNA sample was divided into four and sequenced on four lanes of an Illumina HiSeq sequencer.
A non-canonical function of Ezh2 preserves immune homeostasis.
Specimen part, Subject
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Pi3kcb links Hippo-YAP and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways to promote cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackgroundYAP, the nuclear effector of Hippo signaling, regulates cellular growth and survival in multiple organs, including the heart, by interacting with TEAD sequence specific DNA-binding proteins. Recent studies showed that YAP stimulates cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival. However, the direct transcriptional targets through which YAP exerts its effects are poorly defined. Methods and ResultsTo identify genes directly regulated by YAP in cardiomyocytes, we combined differential gene expression analysis in YAP gain- and loss-of-function with genome-wide identification of YAP bound loci using chromatin immunoprecipitation and high throughput sequencing. This screen identified Pik3cb, encoding p110, a catalytic subunit of phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), as a candidate YAP effector that promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival. We validated YAP and TEAD occupancy of a conserved enhancer within the first intron of Pik3cb, and show that this enhancer drives YAP-dependent reporter gene expression. Yap gain- and loss-of-function studies indicated that YAP is necessary and sufficient to activate the PI3K-Akt pathway. Like Yap, Pik3cb gain-of-function stimulated cardiomyocyte proliferation, and Pik3cb knockdown dampened the YAP mitogenic activity. Reciprocally, Yap loss-of-function impaired heart function and reduced cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival, all of which were significantly rescued by AAV-mediated Pik3cb expression. ConclusionPik3cb is a crucial direct target of YAP, through which the YAP activates PI3K-AKT pathway and regulates cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival.
Pi3kcb links Hippo-YAP and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways to promote cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival.
Specimen part
View SamplesSince the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells there has been intense interest in understanding the mechanisms that allow a somatic cell to be reprogrammed back to a pluripotent state. Several groups have studied the alterations in gene expression that occur as somatic cells modify their genome to that of an embryonic stem cell. Underpinning many of the gene expression changes are modifications to the epigenetic profile of the associated chromatin. We have used a large-scale shRNA screen to identify epigenetic modifiers that act as barriers to reprogramming. We have uncovered an important role for TRIM28 in cells resisting transition between somatic and pluripotent states. TRIM28 achieves this by maintaining the H3K9me3 repressed state and keeping endogenous retroviruses silenced. We propose that knockdown of TRIM28 during reprogramming results in more plastic H3K9me3 domains, dysregulation of genes nearby H3K9me3 marks, and up regulation of endogenous retroviruses, thus facilitating the transition through reprogramming. Overall design: Gene expression profiling using high through put sequencing at day 7 of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and cMyc (OSKM) expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts with or without Trim28 / Setdb1 knockdown
TRIM28 is an Epigenetic Barrier to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Reprogramming.
Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesIn this study, we used a cardiac-specific, inducible expression system to activate YAP in adult mouse heart. Activation of YAP in adult heart promoted cardiomyocyte proliferation and did not deleteriously affect heart function. Furthermore, YAP activation after myocardial infarction (MI) preserved heart function and reduced infarct size. Using adeno-associated virus subtype 9 (AAV9) as a delivery vector, we expressed human YAP in the murine myocardium immediately after MI. We found that AAV9:hYAP significantly improved cardiac function and mouse survival. AAV9:hYAP did not exert its salutary effects by reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Rather, we found that AAV9:hYAP stimulated adult cardiomyocyte proliferation. Gene expression profiling indicated that AAV9:hYAP stimulated cell cycle gene expression, enhanced TGF-signaling, and activated of components of the inflammatory response.Cardiac specific YAP activation after MI mitigated myocardial injury after MI, improved cardiac function and mouse survival. These findings suggest that therapeutic activation of hYAP or its downstream targets, potentially through AAV-mediated gene therapy, may be a strategy to improve outcome after MI.
Cardiac-specific YAP activation improves cardiac function and survival in an experimental murine MI model.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are increasingly implicated as gene regulators and may ultimately be more numerous than protein-coding genes in the human genome. Despite large numbers of reported lncRNAs, reference annotations are likely incomplete due to their lower and tighter tissue-specific expression compared to mRNAs. An unexplored factor potentially confounding lncRNA identification is inter-individual expression variability. Here, we characterize lncRNA natural expression variability in human primary granulocytes. Results: We annotate granulocyte lncRNAs and mRNAs in RNA-seq data from ten healthy individuals, identifying multiple lncRNAs absent from reference annotations, and use this to investigate three known features (higher tissue-specificity, lower expression, and reduced splicing efficiency) of lncRNAs relative to mRNAs. Expression variability was examined in seven individuals sampled three times at one or more than one month intervals. We show that lncRNAs display significantly more inter-individual expression variability compared to mRNAs. We confirm this finding in 2 independent human datasets by analyzing multiple tissues from the GTEx project and lymphoblastoid cell lines from the GEUVADIS project. Using the latter dataset we also show that including more human donors into the transcriptome annotation pipeline allows identification of an increasing number of lncRNAs, but minimally affects mRNA gene number. Conclusions: A comprehensive annotation of lncRNAs is known to require an approach that is sensitive to low and tight tissue-specific expression. Here we show that increased inter-individual expression variability is an additional general lncRNA feature to consider when creating a comprehensive annotation of human lncRNAs or proposing their use as prognostic or disease markers. Overall design: We used PolyA+ RNA-seq data from human primary granulocytes of 10 healthy individuals to de novo annotate lncRNAs and mRNAs in this cell type and ribosomal depleted (total) RNA-seq data from seven of these individuals sampled three times to analyze lncRNA amd mRNA expression variability
Long non-coding RNAs display higher natural expression variation than protein-coding genes in healthy humans.
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View SamplesThe JAK2 mutation V617F is detectable in a majority of patients with Ph-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Enforced expression of JAK2 V617F in mice induces myeloproliferation and bone marrow (BM) fibrosis suggesting a causal role for the JAK2 mutant in the pathogenesis of MPN. However, little is known about mechanisms and effector molecules contributing to JAK2 V617F-induced myeloproliferation and fibrosis. Here we show that JAK2 V617F promotes expression of oncostatin M (OSM) in neoplastic myeloid cells. Correspondingly, OSM was found to be overexpressed in the BM and elevated in the serum of patients with JAK2 V617F+ MPN. In addition, OSM secreted by JAK2 V617F+ cells stimulated growth of fibroblasts and microvascular endothelial cells and induced the production of angiogenic and profibrogenic cytokines (HGF, VEGF, and SDF-1) in BM fibroblasts. All effects of MPN cell-derived OSM were blocked by a neutralizing anti-OSM antibody, whereas the production of OSM in MPN cells was effectively suppressed by a pharmacologic JAK2 inhibitor or RNAi-mediated knockdown of JAK2. In summary, JAK2 V617F-mediated upregulation of OSM may contribute to fibrosis, neoangiogenesis, and the cytokine storm observed in JAK2 V617F+ MPN, suggesting that OSM could serve as a novel therapeutic target molecule in these neoplasms.
Identification of oncostatin M as a JAK2 V617F-dependent amplifier of cytokine production and bone marrow remodeling in myeloproliferative neoplasms.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesAbstract
Gene expression profiles in skeletal muscle after gene electrotransfer.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesPurpose: The ability to rationally manipulate the transcriptional states of cells would be of great use in medicine and bioengineering. We have developed a novel algorithm, NetSurgeon, which utilizes genome-wide gene regulatory networks to identify interventions that force a cell toward a desired expression state. Results: We used NetSurgeon to select transcription factor deletions aimed at improving ethanol production in S. cerevisiae cultures that are catabolizing xylose. We reasoned that interventions that move the transcriptional states of cells utilizing xylose toward the fermentative state typical of cells that are producing ethanol rapidly (while utilizing glucose) might improve xylose fermentation. Some of the interventions selected by NetSurgeon successfully promoted a fermentative transcriptional state in the absence of glucose, resulting in strains with a 2.7-fold increase in xylose import rates, a 4-fold improvement in xylose integration into central carbon metabolism, or a 1.3-fold increase in ethanol production rate. Conclusions: We conclude by presenting an integrated model of transcriptional regulation and metabolic flux that will enable future metabolic engineering efforts aimed at improving xylose fermentation to prioritize functional regulators of central carbon metabolism. Overall design: Mutant and wildtype S. cerevisiae cells were put into 48 hour aerobic batch fermentations of synthetic complete medium supplmented with 2% glucose and 5% xylose and culture samples were taken at 4 hours and 24 hours for transcriptional profiling performed by RNA-Seq analysis. In addition, wildtype S. cerevisiae cells were grown in various single carbon sources for 12 hours and culture samples were taken for transcriptional profiling performed by RNA-Seq analysis.
Model-based transcriptome engineering promotes a fermentative transcriptional state in yeast.
Subject
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