Human lymphoid tissues harbor, in addition to CD56bright and CD56dim natural killer (NK) cells, a third NK cell population: CD69+CXCR6+ lymphoid tissue (lt)NK cells. The function and development of ltNK cells remain poorly understood. In this study we performed RNA sequencing on the CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells (from bone marrow and blood), and the ltNK cells (from bone marrow). In addition, the blood derived CD56dim, and bone marrow derived ltNK cells were further subdivided into a NKG2A+ and NKG2A- fraction. Paired blood and bone marrow samples of 4 healthy donors were included. When comparing the NKG2A fractions, only 3 genes (of 9382 genes included) had a significantly differential expression. Therefore, we pooled the expression data proportionally from the NKG2A+ and NKG2A- fractions in subsequent analyses. In ltNK cells, 1353 genes were differentially expressed compared to circulating NK cells. Several molecules involved in migration were downregulated in ltNK cells: S1PR1, SELPLG and CD62L. By flow cytometry we confirmed that the expression profile of adhesion molecules (CD49e-, CD29low, CD81high, CD62L-, CD11c-) and transcription factors (Eomeshigh, Tbetlow) of ltNK cells differed from their circulating counterparts. LtNK cells were characterized by enhanced expression of inhibitory receptors TIGIT and CD96 and low expression of DNAM1 and cytolytic molecules (GZMB, GZMH, GNLY). Their proliferative capacity was reduced compared to the circulating NK cells. By performing gene set enrichment analysis we identified DUSP6 and EGR2 as potential regulators of the ltNK cell transcriptome. Remarkably, comparison of the ltNK cell transcriptome to the published human spleen-resident memory CD8+ T (Trm) cell transcriptome revealed an overlapping gene signature. Moreover, the phenotypic profile of ltNK cells resembled that of CD8+ Trm cells in bone marrow. Together, we provide a comprehensive molecular framework of the conventional CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells as well as the tissue-resident ltNK cells and provide a core gene signature which might be involved in promoting tissue-residency. Overall design: mRNA sequencing of NK cell populations isolated from blood: CD56bright, NKG2A+ CD56dim and NKG2A- CD56dim, and bone marrow: CD56bright, CD56dim, NKG2A+ ltNK, and NKG2A- ltNK. Each sample has 4 biological replicates.
Human Bone Marrow-Resident Natural Killer Cells Have a Unique Transcriptional Profile and Resemble Resident Memory CD8<sup>+</sup> T Cells.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesRationale: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is ubiquitous in the environment. Inhalation of LPS has been implicated in the pathogenesis and/or severity of several lung diseases, including pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Alveolar macrophages are the main resident leukocytes exposed to inhaled antigens. Objectives: To obtain insight into which innate immune pathways become activated within human alveolar macrophages upon exposure to LPS in vivo.
Gene expression profiles in alveolar macrophages induced by lipopolysaccharide in humans.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesTolerogenic dendritic cells (DCs) induce regulatory T-cells and dampen pathogenic T-cell responses. Hereby, they have gained interest as a therapeutic target in the combat against autoimmune diseases. In this study we investigated whether tolerogenic DCs are induced by the phytonutrient carvacrol, a molecule with known anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, bone marrow derived DCs were treated with carvacrol in combination with thermal stress. Gene expression profiles were obtained by microarray analysis to test for an induced tolerogenic phenotype. To investigate the tolerogenic properties of treated DCs in vivo, T-cell anergy or the induction of a regulatory T-cell phenotype was studied in antigen specific T-cells. Finally, treated DCs were tested by transfer into an experimental arthritis model.
Tolerogenic dendritic cells that inhibit autoimmune arthritis can be induced by a combination of carvacrol and thermal stress.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Compound
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Candidate DNA methylation drivers of acquired cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer identified by methylome and expression profiling.
Disease, Cell line
View SamplesMultiple DNA methylation changes have been associated with the acquisition of drug resistance; however it remains uncertain how many of these changes may represent critical DNA methylation drivers of chemoresistance. Using gene expression profiling method on HGU133plus2 array, we identified a total of 1370 genes showing significant gene expression changes with 687 genes going up and 683 genes going down in the resistant (cp70) versus sensitive cell lines (A2780) by Rank Product (FDR<5%). Combining expression profiling with methylation profiling data we found out of 245 hypermethylated and down-regulated genes in the resistant cell line, 41 genes were up-regulated following Decitabine treatment alone, 45 genes up-regulated following combined treatment of Decitabine and PXD101, and only 10 genes up-regulated following PXD101 treatment alone. Altogether we found a small set of genes as being potential key drivers of chemoresistance and should be further evaluated as predictive biomarkers, both to existing chemotherapies, but also to epigenetic therapies used to modulate drug resistance.
Candidate DNA methylation drivers of acquired cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer identified by methylome and expression profiling.
Cell line
View SamplesPurpose: Presence of pelvic lymph node metastases is the main prognostic factor in early stage cervical cancer patients, primarily treated with surgery. Aim of this study was to identify cellular tumor pathways associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis in early stage cervical cancer.
Involvement of the TGF-beta and beta-catenin pathways in pelvic lymph node metastasis in early-stage cervical cancer.
Age
View SamplesAlmost a quarter of pediatric patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) suffer from relapses. The biological mechanisms underlying therapy response and development of relapses have remained unclear. In an attempt to better understand this phenomenon, we have analyzed 41 matched diagnosis relapse pairs of ALL patients using genomewide expression arrays (82 arrays) on purified leukemic cells. In roughly half of the patients very few differences between diagnosis and relapse samples were found (stable group), suggesting that mostly extra-leukemic factors (e.g., drug distribution, drug metabolism, compliance) contributed to the relapse. Therefore, we focused our further analysis on 20 samples with clear differences in gene expression (skewed group), reasoning that these would allow us to better study the biological mechanisms underlying relapsed ALL. After finding the differences between diagnosis and relapse pairs in this group, we identified four major gene clusters corresponding to several pathways associated with changes in cell cycle, DNA replication, recombination and repair, as well as B cell developmental genes. We also identified cancer genes commonly associated with colon carcinomas and ubiquitination to be upregulated in relapsed ALL. Thus, about half of relapses are due to selection or emergence of a clone with deregulated expression of a genes involved in pathways that regulate B cell signaling, development, cell cycle, cellular division and replication.
Genome-wide expression analysis of paired diagnosis-relapse samples in ALL indicates involvement of pathways related to DNA replication, cell cycle and DNA repair, independent of immune phenotype.
Sex, Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesBackground and Purpose—Analyzing genes involved in development and rupture of intracranial aneurysms can enhance knowledge about the pathogenesis of aneurysms, and identify new treatment strategies. We compared gene expression between ruptured and unruptured aneurysms and control intracranial arteries. Methods—We determined expression levels with RNA sequencing. Applying a multivariate negative binomial model, we identified genes that were differentially expressed between 44 aneurysms and 16 control arteries, and between 22 ruptured and 21 unruptured aneurysms. The differential expression of 8 relevant and highly significant genes was validated using digital polymerase chain reaction. Pathway analysis was used to identify enriched pathways. We also analyzed genes with an extreme pattern of differential expression: only expressed in 1 condition without any expression in the other. Results—We found 229 differentially expressed genes in aneurysms versus controls and 1489 in ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms. The differential expression of all 8 genes selected for digital polymerase chain reaction validation was confirmed. Extracellular matrix pathways were enriched in aneurysms versus controls, whereas pathways involved in immune response and the lysosome pathway were enriched in ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms. Immunoglobulin genes were expressed in aneurysms, but showed no expression in controls. Conclusions—For rupture of intracranial aneurysms, we identified the lysosome pathway as a new pathway and found further evidence for the role of the immune response. Our results also point toward a role for immunoglobulins in the pathogenesis of aneurysms. Immune-modifying drugs are, therefore, interesting candidate treatment strategies in the prevention of aneurysm development and rupture. Overall design: RNA sequencing of 44 intracranial aneurysm samples (including 21 unruptured, 22 ruptured and 1 undetermined) and 16 control samples of the intracranial cortical artery
RNA Sequencing Analysis of Intracranial Aneurysm Walls Reveals Involvement of Lysosomes and Immunoglobulins in Rupture.
Sex, Age, Subject
View SamplesColon cancer is a major cause of cancer deaths in Western countries and is associated with diets high in red meat. Heme, the iron-porphyrin pigment of red meat, induces cytotoxicity of gut contents which injures surface cells leading to compensatory hyperproliferation of crypt cells. This hyperproliferation results in epithelial hyperplasia which increases the risk of colon cancer. In humans, a high red-meat diet increases Bacteroides spp in feces. Therefore, we simultaneously investigated the effects of dietary heme on colonic microbiota and on the host mucosa of mice. Whole genome microarrays showed that heme injured the colonic surface epithelium and induced hyperproliferation by changing the surface to crypt signaling. Using 16S rRNA phylogenetic microarrays, we investigated whether bacteria play a role in this changed signaling. Heme increased Bacteroidetes and decreased Firmicutes in colonic contents. This shift was most likely caused by a selective susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria to heme cytotoxic fecal water, which is not observed for Gram-negative bacteria, allowing expansion of the Gram-negative community. The increased amount of Gram-negative bacteria most probably increased LPS exposure to colonocytes, however, there is no appreciable immune response detected in the heme-fed mice. There was no functional change in the sensing of the bacteria by the mucosa, as changes in inflammation pathways and Toll- like receptor signaling were not detected. This unaltered host-microbe cross-talk indicates that the changes in microbiota did not play a causal role in the observed hyperproliferation and hyperplasia.
Dietary heme alters microbiota and mucosa of mouse colon without functional changes in host-microbe cross-talk.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesPreviously, we showed that dietary heme injured the colonic surface epithelium and induced hyperproliferation by changing the surface to crypt signaling. In this study we investigated whether bacteria play a role in this changed signaling. Dietary heme increased the Bacteroidetes and decreased the Firmicutes in colonic content. This shift was caused by a selective susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria to the heme cytotoxic fecal waters, which is not observed for Gram-negative bacteria allowing expansion of the Gram-negative community. The increased amount of Gram-negative bacteria increased LPS exposure to colonocytes, however, there is no appreciable immune response detected in the heme-fed mice. There were no signs of sensing of the bacteria by the mucosa, as changes in TLR signaling were not present. This lack of microbe-host cross talk indicated that the changes in microbiota do not play a causal role in the heme-induced hyperproliferation.
Dietary heme alters microbiota and mucosa of mouse colon without functional changes in host-microbe cross-talk.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Treatment
View Samples