Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is altered in several epithelial cancers and represents a potential therapeutic target. Here, STAT3 expression, activity and cellular functions were examined in two main histotypes of esophageal carcinomas. In situ, immunohistochemistry for STAT3 and STAT3-Tyr705 phosphorylation (P-STAT3) in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) and Barretts adenocarcinomas (BAC) revealed similar STAT3 expression in ESCCs and BACs, but preferentially activated P-STAT3 in ESCCs. In vitro, strong STAT3 activation was seen by EGF-stimulation in OE21 (ESCC) cells, whilst OE33 (BAC) cells showed constitutive weak STAT3 activation. STAT3 knockdown significantly reduced cell proliferation of OE21 and OE33 cells and reduced cell migration in OE33, but not in OE21 cells. Transcriptome analysis identified STAT3-knockdown associated down-regulation of cell cycle processes and the selective down-regulation of cyclins and cyclin dependent kinaes associated genes in both OE21 and OE33 cells. Moreover, the transcriptome response showed changes in cell migration/invasion related genes that correlated with the associated phenotype measurements. This study demonstrates the importance of STAT3 expression and activation in esophageal carcinomas, whereby the extent differs between ESCCs and BACs. STAT3 knockdown significantly reduces cell proliferation in both types of esophageal cancer cells and inhibits migration in BAC cells. Thus, STAT3 may be further exploited as potential novel therapeutic target for esophageal cancers.
STAT3 expression, activity and functional consequences of STAT3 inhibition in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas and Barrett's adenocarcinomas.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesUsp22, a component of the SAGA complex, is over expressed in highly aggressive cancers, but the normal functions of this deubiquitinase are not well defined. We determined that loss of Usp22 in mice results in embryonic lethality due to defects in extra-embryonic placental tissues and failure to establish proper vascular interactions with the maternal circulatory system. These phenotypes arise from abnormal gene expression patterns that reflect defective kinase signaling, including TGFß and several receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathways. Usp22 deletion in endothelial cells and pericytes induced from embryonic stem cells also hinders these signaling cascades with detrimental effects on cell survival and differentiation as well as ability to form vessels. Our findings provide new insights to Usp22 functions during development that may offer clues to its role in disease states. Overall design: To determine changes in gene expression profile upon Usp22 loss in the developing placenta, RNA from day E9.5 placentas from wild-type and Ups22-/- mice s was isolated for deep sequencing, in triplicates and duplicates respectively. Key genes identified from RNAseq were validated by qRT-PCR using RNA from the same samples that were used for sequencing.
USP22 controls multiple signaling pathways that are essential for vasculature formation in the mouse placenta.
Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThe metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of co-occurring complex disorders including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. The Lyon Hypertensive (LH) and Lyon Normotensive (LN) rats are models of MetS sensitivity and resistance, respectively. To identify genetic determinants and mechanisms underlying MetS, 169 rats from an F2 intercross between LH and LN were studied. Multi-dimensional data were obtained including genotypes of 1536 SNPs, 23 physiological traits including blood pressure, plasma lipid and leptin levels, and body weight/adiposity, and more than 150 billion nucleotides of RNA-seq reads from the livers of 36 F2 individuals, 6 LH and 6 LN individuals. We identified 17 pQTLs (physiological quantitative trait loci) and 1200 eQTLs (gene expression quantitative trait loci). Systems biology methods were applied to identify 18 candidate MetS genes, including genes (Prcp and Aqp11) previously shown to be MetS-related. We found an eQTL hotspot on RNO17, which was also located within pQTLs for MetS-related traits. The genes regulated by this eQTL hotspot were mainly in two co-expression network modules (a mitochondria related module and a gene regulation related module) and were predicted to causally affect many MetS-related traits. Multiple evidences strongly and consistently support RGD1562963, a gene regulated in cis by this eQTL hotspot and possibly related to RNA stability, as the eQTL driver gene directly affected by genetic variation between LH and LN rats; the expression of this gene is also correlated with MetS-related traits. Our study sheds light on the intricate pathogenesis of MetS and proved that systems biology with high-throughput sequencing is a powerful method to study the etiology of complicated diseases. Overall design: RNA-Seq of the liver of 6 LH (Lyon Hypertensive) rats and 6 LN (Lyon Normotensive) rats and 36 F2 rats.
Systems biology with high-throughput sequencing reveals genetic mechanisms underlying the metabolic syndrome in the Lyon hypertensive rat.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMalignant gliomas constitute one of the most significant areas of unmet medical need, due to the invariable failure of surgical eradication and their marked molecular heterogeneity. Accumulating evidence has revealed a critical contribution by the Polycomb axis of epigenetic repression. However, a coherent understanding of the regulatory networks affected by Polycomb during gliomagenesis is still lacking. Here we integrate transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses to define Polycomb-dependent networks that promote gliomagenesis, validating them both in two independent mouse models and in a large cohort of human samples. We found that Polycomb dysregulation in gliomagenesis affects transcriptional networks associated to invasiveness and de-differentiation. The dissection of these networks uncovers Zfp423 as a crtitical Polycomb-dependent transcription factor whose silencing negatively impacts survival. The anti-gliomagenic activity of Zfp423 requires interaction with the SMAD proteins within the BMP signaling pathway, pointing to a novel synergic circuit through which Polycomb inhibits BMP signaling. Overall design: Transcriptomic analysis of two different stages of gliomagenesis
Polycomb dysregulation in gliomagenesis targets a Zfp423-dependent differentiation network.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesTransdifferentiation of fibroblasts into induced Neuronal cells (iNs) by neuronal-specific transcription factors Brn2, Myt1l and Ascl1 is a paradigmatic example of inter-lineage conversion across epigenetically distant cells. Despite tremendous progress on the transcriptional hierarchy underlying transdifferentiation, the enablers of the concomitant epigenome resetting remain to be elucidated. Here we investigated the role of KMT2A and KMT2B, two histone H3 lysine 4 methylases with cardinal roles in development, through individual and combined inactivation. We found that Kmt2b, whose human homologue's mutations cause dystonia, is selectively required for iN conversion through the suppression of the alternative myocyte program and the induction of neuronal maturation genes. Overall design: In order to study the role of KMT2A and KMT2B during transdifferentiation, we employed conditional mouse strains carrying: i) the exon 2 of Kmt2a and/or Kmt2b flanked by LoxP sites; ii) the knock-in of the YFP-coding gene into one Rosa26 allele, downstream of a LoxP-flanked transcription termination cassette (STOP cassette); and iii) the gene coding for the tamoxifen-inducible version of Cre recombinase knocked into the second Rosa26 allele (Glaser et al., 2006; Kranz et al., 2010; Testa et al., 2004). MEFs were derived from Kmt2a (and/or Kmt2b)fl/fl Cre+ YFP+ embryos and from Kmt2a+/+Kmt2b+/+ Cre+ YFP+ or Kmt2afl/+ Cre+ YFP+ for Kmt2a conditional KO (cKO) as controls (Figure 1A), and were subjected to transdifferentiation. After 13 days of BAM treatment, cells were FACS sorted for PSA-NCAM expression, and the transcriptome of positive and negative cells were independently profiled.
KMT2B Is Selectively Required for Neuronal Transdifferentiation, and Its Loss Exposes Dystonia Candidate Genes.
Specimen part, Subject
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7q11.23 dosage-dependent dysregulation in human pluripotent stem cells affects transcriptional programs in disease-relevant lineages.
Sex, Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesWe apply the cellular reprogramming experimental paradigm to two disorders caused by symmetrical copy number variations (CNV) of 7q11.23 and displaying a striking combination of shared as well as symmetrically opposite phenotypes: Williams Beuren syndrome (WBS) and 7q microduplication syndrome (7dup). Through a uniquely large and informative cohort of transgene-free patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), along with their differentiated derivatives, we find that 7q11.23 CNV disrupt transcriptional circuits in disease-relevant pathways already at the pluripotent state. These alterations are then selectively amplified upon differentiation into disease-relevant lineages, thereby establishing the value of large iPSC cohorts in the elucidation of disease-relevant developmental pathways. In addition, we functionally define the quota of transcriptional dysregulation specifically caused by dosage imbalances in GTF2I (also known as TFII-I), a transcription factor in 7q11.23 thought to play a critical role in the two conditions, which we found associated to key repressive chromatin modifiers. Finally, we created an open-access web-based platform (accessible at http://bio.ieo.eu/wbs/ ) to make accessible our multi-layered datasets and integrate contributions by the entire community working on the molecular dissection of the 7q11.23 syndromes.
7q11.23 dosage-dependent dysregulation in human pluripotent stem cells affects transcriptional programs in disease-relevant lineages.
Sex, Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesFunctional characterization of AtWRKY72 using Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion lines showed that this gene is important for basal defense to root-knot nematode (RKN) and Hyaloperonospora parasitica arabidopsis (Hpa), but not several tested R gene-mediated defenses.To profile transcriptional reprogramming associated with AtWRKY72-dependent basal defense we used Affymetrix ATH1 GeneChips representing ~24,000 Arabidopsis genes. Three independent biological replicates were performed with Col-0, wrky72-1 and wrky72-2 plants at 96 hpt with HpaNoco2 or mock treatment. Using a false discovery rate of less than 0.05 we identified for each of these three lines genes that showed significant transcriptional changes in response to HpaNoco2 compared to the mock-treated controls. Identification of downstream targets of WRKY72 in Arabidopsis by this microarray suggests that WRKY72 uses a unique signaling pathway that involves AP2/ERF TFs independent of the ethylene signaling pathway.
WRKY72-type transcription factors contribute to basal immunity in tomato and Arabidopsis as well as gene-for-gene resistance mediated by the tomato R gene Mi-1.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
GeneChip analysis of human embryonic stem cell differentiation into hemangioblasts: an in silico dissection of mixed phenotypes.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesTo understand the differentiation process of embryonic stem cells into hemangioblasts, gene expression profiles of ES, EB and Blast cells (BL) were analyzed.
GeneChip analysis of human embryonic stem cell differentiation into hemangioblasts: an in silico dissection of mixed phenotypes.
No sample metadata fields
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