Mounting evidence points to a link between a cancer possessing stem-like properties and a worse prognosis. To understand the biology, a common approach is to integrate network biology with signal processing mechanics. That said, even with the right tools, predicting the risk for a highly susceptible target using only a handful of gene signatures remains very difficult. By compiling the expression profiles of a panel of tumor stem-like cells (TSLCs) originating in different tissues, comparing these to their parental tumor cells (PTCs) and the human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), and integrating network analysis with signaling mechanics, we propose that network topologically-weighted signaling processing measurements under tissue-specific conditions can provide scalable and predicable target identification.
Network biology of tumor stem-like cells identified a regulatory role of CBX5 in lung cancer.
Specimen part
View SamplesOsteoclasts are derived from the monocyte/macrophage lineage, but little is known about osteoclast precursors in circulation. Bone marrow cells were subdivided into three populations; RANKhighFmslow, RANKhighFmshigh and RANKlowFmshigh. GeneChip analysis confirmed that the expression levels of monocyte-macrophage markers such as Emr1 (F4/80), Itgam (CD11b) and Csf1 (c-Fms) were lower in the RANKhighFmslow than RANKlowFmshigh population. In contrast, cells in the RANKhighFmslow population expressed higher levels of osteoclast markers such as Car ll (carbonic anhydrase ll), Mmp9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9), Acp5 (acid phosphatase 5) and Tfrc (transferrin receptor). These results suggest that RANKhighFmslow cells express few of the phenotypes of monocytes, and their differentiation into osteoclasts occurs at a slightly more advanced stage than that of the RANKlowFmshigh population.
No associated publication
Specimen part
View SamplesMicroarrays were used to determine relative global gene expression changes in WT and BRCA1-mutation carrier breast epithelium as well as tumors created from WT and BRCA1-mutation carrier breast epithelial cells.
Genetic predisposition directs breast cancer phenotype by dictating progenitor cell fate.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesThe goal of this study is to identify, in the head of adult flies, mRNA species whose expresson level are altered by overexpression of the Drosophila RNA-binding protein LARK in CNS neurons.
The LARK RNA-binding protein selectively regulates the circadian eclosion rhythm by controlling E74 protein expression.
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View SamplesCircadian behaviors are regulated by intrinsic biological clocks consisting of central molecular oscillators and output pathways. Despite significant progress in elucidating the central timekeeping mechanisms, the molecular pathways coupling the circadian pacemaker to overt rhythmic behavior and physiology remain elusive. The Drosophila LARK RNA-binding protein is a candidate for such a coupling factor. Previous research indicates that LARK functions downstream of the clock to mediate behavioral outputs. To better understand the roles of LARK in the Drosophila circadian system, we sought to identify RNA molecules associated with LARK in vivo, using a novel strategy that involves capturing the RNA ligands by immunoprecipitation, visualizing the captured RNAs using whole gene microarrays, and identifying functionally relevant targets through genetic screens.
The LARK RNA-binding protein selectively regulates the circadian eclosion rhythm by controlling E74 protein expression.
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View SamplesAnalysis of baseline gene expression in bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC) from female CBA/J (CBA) and C57BL/6 (BL/6) mice. Results provide insight into strain-dependent differences in gene expression.
CD209a expression on dendritic cells is critical for the development of pathogenic Th17 cell responses in murine schistosomiasis.
Specimen part
View SamplesEnhanced BMP or canonical Wnt (cWnt) signaling are therapeutic strategies employed to enhance bone formation and fracture repair, but the mechanisms each pathway utilizes to specify cell fate of bone-forming osteoblasts remain poorly understood. Among all BMPs expressed in bone, we find that singular deficiency of Bmp2 blocks the ability of cWnt signaling to specify osteoblasts from limb bud or bone marrow progenitors. When exposed to cWnts, Bmp2-deficient cells fail to progress through the Runx2/Osx1 checkpoint and thus do not upregulate multiple genes controlling mineral metabolism in osteoblasts. Cells lacking Bmp2 after induction of Osx1 differentiate normally in response to cWnts, supporting pre-Osx1+ osteoprogenitors as a critical source and target of BMP2. Our analysis furthermore reveals Grainyhead-like 3 (Grhl3) is to date an unidentified transcription factor in the osteoblast gene regulatory network that is induced during bone development and bone repair, and acts upstream of Osx in a BMP2-dependent manner. The Runx2/Osx1 transition therefore receives critical regulatory inputs from BMP2 that are not compensated for by cWnt signaling, and this is mediated at least in part by induction and activation of Grhl3.
Specification of osteoblast cell fate by canonical Wnt signaling requires Bmp2.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesEfferent inhibition of cochlear outer hair cells is mediated by nicotinic cholinergic receptors containing alpha9 (a9) and alpha10 subunits. Mice lacking a9 nicotinic subunits fail to exhibit classic olivocochlear responses and are characterized by abnormal synaptic morphology at the base of outer hair cells. To detail molecular changes induced upon the loss of a9 subunit, we sampled cochlear RNA from wild type and a9 null mice at postnatal (P) days spanning periods of synapse formation and maturation (P3, P7, P13 and P60). Our findings point to a delay in cochlear maturation starting at the onset of hearing (P13), as well as an up-regulation of various GABA receptor subunits in adult mice lacking the a9 nicotinic subunit.
Lack of nAChR activity depresses cochlear maturation and up-regulates GABA system components: temporal profiling of gene expression in alpha9 null mice.
Specimen part
View SamplesWhile aging leads to a reduction in the capacity for regeneration after pneumonectomy (PNX) in most mammals, this biological phenomenon has not been characterized over the lifetime of mice. We measured the age-specific (3, 9, 24 month) effects of PNX on physiology, morphometry, cell proliferation and apoptosis, global gene expression, and lung fibroblast phenotype and clonogenicity in female C57BL6 mice. The data show that only 3 month old mice were fully capable of restoring lung volumes by day 7 and total alveolar surface area. By 9 months, the rate of regeneration was slower (with incomplete regeneration by 21 days), and by 24 months there was no regrowth 21 days post-PNX. The early decline in regeneration rate was not associated with changes in alveolar epithelial cell type II (AECII) proliferation or apoptosis rate. However, significant apoptosis and lack of cell proliferation was evident after PNX in both total cells and AECII cells in 24 mo mice. Analysis of gene expression at several time points (1, 3 and 7 days) post-PNX in 3 versus 9 month mice was consistent with a myofibroblast signature (increased Tnc, Lox1, Col3A1, Eln and Tnfrsf12a) and more alpha smooth muscle actin (SMA) positive myofibroblasts were present after PNX in 9 month than 3 month mice.
No associated publication
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesThe adult human lung has a very limited capacity to regenerate functional alveoli. In contrast, adult mice have a remarkable capacity for neoalveolarization following either lung resection or injury. The molecular basis for this unique capability to regenerate lung tissue in mice is largely unknown. We examined the transcriptomic responses to single lung pneumonectomy in adult mice in order to elucidate prospective molecular signaling used in this species during lung regeneration. Unilateral left pneumonectomy or sham thoracotomy was performed under general anesthesia (n = 8 mice per group for each of the four time points). Total RNA was isolated from the remaining lung tissue at four time points post-surgery (6 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days) and analyzed using microarray technology. The observed transcriptomic patterns revealed mesenchymal cell signaling, including up-regulation of genes previously associated with activated fibroblasts (Tnfrsf12a, Tnc, Eln, Col3A1), as well as modulation of Igf1-mediated signaling. The data set also revealed early down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine transcripts, up-regulation of genes involved in T cell development and function, but few similarities to transcriptomic patterns observed during embryonic or post-natal lung development. Immunohistochemical analysis suggests that early fibroblast but not myofibroblast proliferation is important during lung regeneration and may explain the preponderance of mesenchymal-associated genes that are over-expressed in this model. This appears to differ from embryonic alveologenesis. These data suggest that modulation of mesenchymal cell signaling and proliferation may act in concert with immunomodulation to control inflammation during post-pneumonectomy lung regeneration in adult mice.
Global gene expression patterns in the post-pneumonectomy lung of adult mice.
Sex, Treatment, Time
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