Glioblastomas grow in a rich neurochemical mileu, but targeting neurochemical signaling as a potential therapeutic avenue for these incurable tumors has been underexplored. Thus, we probed patient derived glioblastoma stem cells with a focused library of neurochemicals, to identify new therapeutic targets. Dopaminergic, serotonergic and cholinergic pathways were found to be active against glioblastoma. In particular, dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) antagonists selectively inhibited glioblastoma growth in vitro and in vivo, in addition to showing synergistic effect with temozolomide. Small molecule or genetic antagonism of DRD4 suppressed ERK1/2 signaling and impaired autophagic flux causing accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and ubiquitinated proteins, associated with G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. These data suggest a new mechanism for treating glioblastoma through modulating dopamine DRD4 signaling.
Inhibition of Dopamine Receptor D4 Impedes Autophagic Flux, Proliferation, and Survival of Glioblastoma Stem Cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesIn this randomised placebo-controlled trial, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients were treated with faecal material from a healthy donor (n=8, allogenic FMT) or with their own faecal microbiota (n=8, autologous FMT). The faecal transplant was administered by whole colonoscopy into the caecum (30 g of stool in 150 ml sterile saline). Two weeks before the FMT (baseline) as well as two and eight weeks after the FMT, the participants underwent a sigmoidoscopy, and biopsies were collected at a standardised location (20-25 cm from the anal verge at the crossing with the arteria iliaca communis) from an uncleansed sigmoid. In patients treated with allogenic FMT, predominantly immune response-related genes sets were induced, with the strongest response two weeks after FMT. In patients treated with autologous FMT, predominantly metabolism-related gene sets were affected.
Allogenic Faecal Microbiota Transfer Induces Immune-Related Gene Sets in the Colon Mucosa of Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Age, Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesImatinib has become the current standard therapy for patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML). For a better understanding of the Imatinib-related molecular effects in vivo, we assessed gene expression profiles of Philadelphia Chromosome positive (Ph+) CD34+ cells from peripheral blood of 6 patients with de novo CML in chronic phase. After 7 days of treatment with Imatinib the Ph+ CD34+ cells were reassessed to look for changes in the transcriptome. The expression level of 303 genes was significantly different comparing the transcriptome of the Ph+ CD34+ cells before and after 7 days of Imatinib therapy (183 down-regulated, 120 up-regulated, lower bound 1.2-fold). For a substantial number of genes governing cell cycle and DNA replication, the level of expression significantly decreased (CDC2, RRM2, PCNA, MCM4). On the other hand, therapy with Imatinib was associated with an increase of genes related to adhesive interactions, such as L-selectin or CD44. A group of 8 genes with differential expression levels were confirmed using a gene specific quantitative real-time PCR. Thus, during the first week of treatment, Imatinib is preferentially counteracting the bcr-abl induced effects related to a disturbed cell cycle and defective adhesion of leukemic Ph+ CD34+ cells.
Early in vivo changes of the transcriptome in Philadelphia chromosome-positive CD34+ cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia following imatinib therapy.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe molecules RhoC and RhoA are essential factors for invasion/metastasis of tumor cells proliferation, respectively. RhoC over-expression was especially linked to aggressive cancers, which requires loss of epithelial polarity and deregulation of cellular adhesion. This epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) includes a change in gene expression pattern through several transcription factors, like Snail, ZEB1 or Twist. Here we analyze the potential of RhoC to induce EMT, migration and invasion and to regulate specific genes involved in tumorigenesis. We established stable MCF-10A cell lines with RhoA/RhoC expression under the control of a doxycycline-regulated trans-activator and a transcriptional silencer allowing conditional expression of RhoA and RhoC, respectively. We additionally quantified the transcriptional response from two bacterial toxins: Escherichia coli Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor 1 (CNF1) and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor (CNFY) to directly activate the endogenous pool of Rho GTPases and characterized changes in morphology, migration and invasion upon induction of RhoA/RhoC expression or activation by the toxins in MCF-10A grown in two- and three-dimensions. The transcriptome response identified PTGS2 as RhoC specific target genes involved in pro-migratory changes which was experimentally validated.
Specific role of RhoC in tumor invasion and metastasis.
Cell line
View SamplesThe reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) upon overexpression of OCT4, KLF4, SOX2 and c-MYC (OKSM) provides a powerful system to interrogate basic mechanisms of cell fate change. However, iPSC formation with standard methods is typically protracted and inefficient, resulting in heterogeneous cell populations. We show that exposure of OKSM-expressing cells to both ascorbic acid and a GSK3- inhibitor (AGi) facilitates more synchronous and rapid iPSC formation from several mouse cell types. AGi treatment restored the ability of refractory cell populations to yield iPSC colonies, and it attenuated the activation of developmental regulators commonly observed during the reprogramming process. Moreover, AGi supplementation gave rise to chimera-competent iPSCs after as little as 48 h of OKSM expression. Our results offer a simple modification to the reprogramming protocol, facilitating iPSC induction at unparalleled efficiencies and enabling dissection of the underlying mechanisms in more homogeneous cell populations.
Small molecules facilitate rapid and synchronous iPSC generation.
Specimen part, Treatment, Time
View SamplesHuman intervention study with two doses of iron (as ferrous gluconate via intestinal perfusion) to study the effect on genome-wide gene expression in the small intestine, in order to obtain detailed information about intestinal transcriptomics in vivo.
Gene expression in human small intestinal mucosa in vivo is mediated by iron-induced oxidative stress.
Sex, Disease, Disease stage, Subject
View SamplesBrief expression of pluripotency-associated factors such as Oct4, Klf4, Sox2 and c-Myc (OKSM), in combination with differentiation-inducing signals, has been reported to trigger transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into other cell types. Here we show that OKSM expression in mouse fibroblasts gives rise to both induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) under conditions previously shown to induce only iNSCs. Fibroblast-derived iNSC colonies silenced retroviral transgenes and reactivated silenced X chromosomes, both hallmarks of pluripotent stem cells. Moreover, lineage tracing with an Oct4-CreER labeling system demonstrated that virtually all iNSC colonies originated from cells transiently expressing Oct4, whereas ablation of Oct4+ cells prevented iNSC formation. Lastly, an alternative transdifferentiation cocktail that lacks Oct4 and was reportedly unable to support induced pluripotency yielded iPSCs and iNSCs carrying the Oct4-CreER-derived lineage label. Together, these data suggest that iNSC generation from fibroblasts using OKSM and other pluripotency-related reprogramming factors requires passage through a transient iPSC state.
Lineage conversion induced by pluripotency factors involves transient passage through an iPSC stage.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesProbiotic bacteria, specific representatives of bacterial species that are a common part of the human microbiota, are proposed to deliver health benefits to the consumer by modulation of intestinal function via largely unknown molecular mechanisms. To explore in vivo mucosal responses of healthy adults to probiotics, we obtained transcriptomes in an intervention study following a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design. In the mucosa of the proximal small intestine of healthy volunteers, probiotic strains from the species Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei and L. rhamnosus each induced differential gene regulatory networks and pathways in the human mucosa. Comprehensive analyses revealed that these transcriptional networks regulate major basal mucosal processes, and uncovered remarkable similarity to response profiles obtained for specific bioactive molecules and drugs. This study elucidates how intestinal mucosa of healthy humans perceive different probiotics and provides avenues for rationally designed tests of clinical applications.
Human mucosal in vivo transcriptome responses to three lactobacilli indicate how probiotics may modulate human cellular pathways.
Specimen part
View SamplesWe used genome-wide expression analyses to study the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to stress throughout a 15-day wine fermentation. Forty percent of the yeast genome significantly changed expression levels to mediate long-term adaptation to an environment in which ethanol is both a stressor and a carbon source. Within this set, we identify a group of 223 genes, designated as the Fermentation Stress Response (FSR), that are dramatically and permanently induced; FSR genes exhibited changes ranging from four-to eighty-fold. The FSR is novel; 62% of the genes involved have not been implicated in global stress responses and 28% of the genes have no functional annotation. Genes involved in respiratory metabolism and gluconeogenesis were expressed during fermentation despite the presence of high concentrations of glucose. Ethanol, rather than nutrient depletion, was responsible for entry of yeast cells into stationary phase. Ethanol seems to regulate yeast metabolism through hitherto undiscovered regulatory networks during wine fermentation.
Dynamics of the yeast transcriptome during wine fermentation reveals a novel fermentation stress response.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesWe used microfluidic single cell RNA-seq on adult isolated CC10-CreERT2 (negative) integrin beta4(pos) cells lung epithelial cells in order to determine the transcriptional profile of this putative progenitor population. Overall design: CC10-CreERT2 / tdTomato (negative) integrin beta4(pos) cells were isolated by FACS, as were Krt5-CreERT2 / tdTomato (positive) cells. These cells were pooled and loaded onto the Fluidigm C1 device.
Lineage-negative progenitors mobilize to regenerate lung epithelium after major injury.
No sample metadata fields
View Samples