Calorie restriction (CR) has been shown to extend life- and health-span in model species. For most humans, a life-long CR diet is too arduous to adhere to. The aim of this study was to explore whether weekly intermittent CR can 1) provide long-term beneficial effects and 2) counteract diet-induced obesity in male aging mice. In this study, we have exposed C57Bl/6J mice for 24 months to an intermittent (INT) diet, alternating weekly between CR of a control diet and ad libitum moderate-fat (MF) feeding. This weekly intermittent CR significantly counteracted the adverse effects of the MF diet on mortality, body weight and liver health markers in male 24-month-old mice. Hepatic gene expression profiles of INT-exposed animals appeared much more comparable to CR than to MF-exposed mice. At 12 months of age, a subgroup of MF-exposed mice was transferred to the INT diet. Gene expression profiles in the liver of the 24-month-old diet switch mice were highly similar to the INT-exposed mice. However, a small subset of genes was consistently changed by the MF diet during the first phase of life. Weekly intermittent CR largely, but not completely, reversed adverse effects caused by a MF diet.
Intermittent calorie restriction largely counteracts the adverse health effects of a moderate-fat diet in aging C57BL/6J mice.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesLifelong murine gene expression profiles in relation to chronological and biological aging in multiple organs
Life spanning murine gene expression profiles in relation to chronological and pathological aging in multiple organs.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesDam identification (DamID) is a powerful technique to generate genome-wide maps of chromatin protein binding. Due to its high sensitivity it is particularly suited to study the genome interactions of chromatin proteins in small tissue samples in model organisms such as Drosophila. Here we report an intein-based approach to tune the expression level of Dam and Dam-fusion proteins in Drosophila by addition of a ligand to fly food. This helps to suppress toxic effects of Dam. In addition we describe a strategy for genetically controlled expression of Dam in a specific cell type in complex tissues. We demonstrate the utility of the latter by generating a glia-specific map of Polycomb in small samples of brain tissue. Overall design: RNA sequencing of 3 samples, each using 2 biological replicates.
Inducible DamID systems for genomic mapping of chromatin proteins in Drosophila.
Sex, Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesThe current test strategy for carcinogenicity is generally based on in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity assays. Non-genotoxic carcinogens (NGTXC) are negative for genotoxicity and go undetected. Therefore, alternative tests to detect these chemicals are urgently needed. NGTXC act through different modes of action, which complicates the development of such assays. We have demonstrated recently in primary mouse hepatocytes that some, but certainly not all, NGTXC can be categorized according to their mode of action based on feature detection at a gene expression level (Schaap et al. 2012, PMID22710402). Identification of a wider range of chemicals probably requires multiple in vitro systems. In the current study we describe the added value of using mouse embryonic stem cells. In this study the focus is on NGTXC, but we also included genotoxic carcinogens and non-carcinogens. This approach enables us to assess the robustness of this method and to evaluate the system for recognizing features of chemicals in general, which is important for application in future risk assessment.
A novel toxicogenomics-based approach to categorize (non-)genotoxic carcinogens.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe IFN type I signature is present in over half of primary Sjgrens syndrome (pSS) patients and associated with higher disease-activity and autoantibody presence. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are considered to be the source of enhanced IFN type I expression. The objective of this study was to unravel the molecular pathways underlying IFN type I bioactivity in pDCs of pSS patients.
Contrasting expression pattern of RNA-sensing receptors TLR7, RIG-I and MDA5 in interferon-positive and interferon-negative patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
Sex, Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesWe used microarrays to identify mucosal gene signatures predictive of response to infliximab (IFX) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to gain more insight into the pathogenesis of IBD.
Mucosal gene expression of antimicrobial peptides in inflammatory bowel disease before and after first infliximab treatment.
Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesEukaryotic mRNAs undergo a cycle of transcription, nuclear export, and degradation. A major challenge is to obtain a global, quantitative view of these processes. Here we measured the genome-wide nucleocytoplasmic dynamics of mRNA in Drosophila cells by metabolic labeling in combination with cellular fractionation. By mathematical modeling of these data we determined rates of transcription, export and cytoplasmic decay for >5,000 genes. We characterized these kinetic rates and investigated links with mRNA features, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and chromatin states. We found prominent correlations between mRNA decay rate and transcript size, while nuclear export rates are linked to the size of the 3''UTR. Transcription, export and decay rates are each associated with distinct spectra of RBPs. Specific classes of genes, such as those encoding cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins, exhibit characteristic combinations of rate constants, suggesting modular control. Overall, transcription and decay rates have a major impact on transcript abundance, while nuclear export is of minor importance. Finally, correlations between rate constants suggest global coordination between the three processes. Our approach should be generally applicable to other cell systems and provides insights into the genome-wide nucleocytoplasmic kinetics of mRNA. Overall design: 24 RNA-seq experiments comprising 2 biological replicates: pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 0h (samples 1&13), pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 0.5h (samples 2&14), pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 1.5h (samples 3&15) , pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 3h (samples 4&16), pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 5h (samples 5&17), pre-exsiting nuclear mRNA time 7.5h (samples 6&18), pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 0h (samples 7&19), pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 0.5h (samples 8&20), pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 1.5h (samples 9&21) , pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 3h (samples 10&22), pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 5h (samples 11&23), pre-exsiting cytoplasmic mRNA time 7.5h (samples 12&24)
Comprehensive analysis of nucleocytoplasmic dynamics of mRNA in Drosophila cells.
Cell line, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesIn mammals, the nuclear lamina interacts with hundreds of large genomic regions, termed lamina-associated domains (LADs) that are generally in a transcriptionally repressed state. Lamins form the major structural component of the lamina and have been reported to bind DNA and chromatin. Here we systematically evaluated whether lamins are necessary for the peripheral localization of LADs in murine embryonic stem cells. Surprisingly, removal of essentially all lamins did not have any detectable effect on the genome-wide interaction pattern of chromatin with the inner nuclear membrane. This suggests that other components of the inner nuclear membrane mediate these interactions. Overall design: 2 samples, each with a biological replicate: wt mESC, B type lamin null (dKO) dKO mESC
Nuclear lamins are not required for lamina-associated domain organization in mouse embryonic stem cells.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesReporter genes integrated into the genome are a powerful tool to reveal effects of regulatory elements and local chromatin context on gene expression. However, so far such reporter assays have been of low throughput. Here we describe a multiplexing approach for the parallel monitoring of transcriptional activity of thousands of randomly integrated reporters. More than 27,000 distinct reporter integrations in mouse embryonic stem cells, obtained with two different promoters, show ~1,000-fold variation in expression levels. Data analysis indicates that lamina-associated domains act as attenuators of transcription, likely by reducing access of transcription factors to binding sites. Furthermore, chromatin compaction is predictive of reporter activity. We also found evidence for cross-talk between neighboring genes, and estimate that enhancers can influence gene expression on average over ~20 kb. The multiplexed reporter assay is highly flexible in design and can be modified to query a wide range of aspects of gene regulation. Overall design: mRNA profiles of 11 mouse embryonic cell lines each harboring multiple barcoded reporter constructs with mouse PGK promoter integrated at random positions in the genome, single replicate.
Chromatin position effects assayed by thousands of reporters integrated in parallel.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThe lack of suitable animal models reflecting chronically relapsing inflammation and tissue remodeling have hindered fibrosis research in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This study investigated changes in connective tissue in a chronic murine model using different cycles of dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) to mimic the relapsing nature of the disease.
Unique gene expression and MR T2 relaxometry patterns define chronic murine dextran sodium sulphate colitis as a model for connective tissue changes in human Crohn's disease.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
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