A detailed knowledge of the mechanisms underlying brain aging is fundamental to understand its functional decline and the baseline upon which brain pathologies superimpose. Endogenous protective mechanisms must contribute to the adaptability and plasticity still present in the healthy aged brain. Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) is one of the few genes with a consistent and evolutionarily conserved up-regulation in the aged brain. ApoD protecting roles upon stress or injury are well known, but a study of the effects of ApoD expression in the normal aging process is still missing. Using an ApoD-knockout mouse we analyze the effects of ApoD on factors contributing to the functional maintenance of the aged brain. We focused our cellular and molecular analyses in cortex and hippocampus at an age representing the onset of senescence where mortality risks are below 25%, avoiding bias towards long-lived animals. Lack of ApoD causes a prematurely aged brain without altering lifespan. Age-dependent hyperkinesia and memory deficits are accompanied by differential molecular effects in cortex and hippocampus. Transcriptome analyses reveal distinct effects of ApoD loss on the molecular age-dependent patterns of cortex and hippocampus, with different cell-type contributions to age-regulated gene expression. Markers of glial reactivity, proteostasis, and oxidative and inflammatory damage reveal early signs of aging and enhanced brain deterioration in the ApoD-knockout brain. The lack of ApoD results in an age-enhanced significant reduction in neuronal calcium-dependent functionality markers and signs of early reduction of neuronal numbers in the cortex, thus impinging upon parameters clearly differentiating neurodegenerative conditions from healthy brain aging. Our data support the hypothesis that the physiological increased brain expression of ApoD represents a homeostatic anti-aging mechanism.
Aging without Apolipoprotein D: Molecular and cellular modifications in the hippocampus and cortex.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesThe data presented is intended to analyse the changes in the expression profiles of human MSCs (Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells) associated to different tissue specific stimulus.
Insights into the human mesenchymal stromal/stem cell identity through integrative transcriptomic profiling.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant clonal disorder of the hematopoietic system caused by the expression of the BCR/ABL fusion oncogene. It is well known that CML cells are genetically unstable. However, the mechanisms by which these cells acquire genetic alterations are poorly understood. Imatinib mesylate (IM) is the standard therapy for newly diagnosed CML patients. IM targets the oncogenic kinase activity of BCR-ABL. Objective: To study the gene expression profile of BM hematopoietic cells in the same patients with CML before and one month after imatinib therapy. Methods: Samples from patients with CML were analyzed using Affymetrix GeneChip Expression Arrays. Results: A total of 594 differentially expressed genes, most of which (393 genes) were downregulated, as a result of imatinib therapy were observed. Conclusions: The blockade of oncoprotein Bcr-abl by imatinib could cause a decrease in the expression of key DNA repair genes, and cells try to restore the normal gene expression levels required for cell proliferation and chromosomal integrity.
Imatinib therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia restores the expression levels of key genes for DNA damage and cell-cycle progression.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesIn this study we analyzed the behavior of bone marrow MSC (BM-MSC) from MPN patients with the mutation in JAK2V617F. We initially characterized the biological function and gene expression profile changes in BM-MSC from MPN patients when compared to BM-MSC of healthy donors (HD). Then, we established co-cultures between MSC cell lines (HTERT and HS5) and the UKE-1 MPN cell line, and performed RT-PCR to study if the leukemic cells were able to modify the genes related to hematopoietic support.
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) from JAK2+ myeloproliferative neoplasms differ from normal MSC and contribute to the maintenance of neoplastic hematopoiesis.
Specimen part, Disease stage, Subject
View SamplesCytokine genes are targets of multiple epigenetic mechanisms in T lymphocytes. 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) is a nucleoside-based DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) inhibitor which induces demethylation and gene reactivation. In the current study, we analyzed the effect of 5-azaC in T-cell function and observed that 5-azaC inhibits T-cell proliferation and activation, blocking cell cycle in G0-G1 phase and decreasing the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF and IFN. This effect was not due to a pro-apoptotic effect of the drug but to the down-regulation of genes involved in T-cell cycle progression and activation such as CCNG2, MTCP1, CD58, and ADK and up-regulation of genes which induce cell growth arrest, such as DCUN1D2, U2AF2, GADD45B or p53. In spite of being also up-regulated, we did not find any effect of 5-azaC on the methylation pattern of FOXP3. Finally, the administration of 5-azaC at 60 and 84 hours post-transplant prevented the development of GVHD leading to a significant increase in survival in a fully mismatched BMT mouse model. In conclusion, the current study shows the effect of 5-azaC in T-lymphocytes and illustrates its role in the allogeneic transplantation setting as an immunomodulatory drug, describing new pathways which must be explored in order to prevent graft-versus-host disease.
Immunomodulatory effect of 5-azacytidine (5-azaC): potential role in the transplantation setting.
Specimen part, Treatment, Time
View SamplesThese data represents a microgenomic approach to dissect the response of the plant steroid hormone, brassinosteroid, in the provascular tissue of the arabidopsis thaliana primary roots. We used two different provascular markers, wooden leg (WOL) and corona (ATHB15) to profile the provascular response to BRs. We used a timecourse analysis with 4 different timepoint; 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours treated with BRs in the WOL domain. Additional trasncriptomic responses of the ATHB15 domain were analyzed after 2 hours BRs treatment.
Regulation of plant stem cell quiescence by a brassinosteroid signaling module.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesAbstract: Drought is the primary cause of global agricultural losses and represents a major threat to worldwide food security. Currently, plant biotechnology stands out as the most promising strategy to increase crop growth in rain-fed conditions. The main mechanisms underlying drought resistance have been uncovered by studies of plant physiology and by engineering crops with drought-resistant genes. However, plants with enhanced drought resistance usually display lower levels of growth, highlighting the need to search for novel strategies capable of uncoupling drought resistance from growth. Here, we show that the brassinosteroid family of receptors, in addition to promoting growth, guides phenotypic adaptation to a great variety of drought stress traits analyzed herein. Whilst mutations in the ubiquitously localized BRI1 receptor pathway show an enhanced drought resistance at the expense of plant growth, we found that vascular-enriched BRL3 receptors confer drought tolerance without penalizing overall growth. Systematic analyses reveal that upon drought stress the BRL3 receptor pathway triggers the synthesis and mobilization of osmoprotectant metabolites, mainly proline and sugars. This preferentially occurs in the vascular tissues of the roots and favors overall plant growth. Altogether, our results uncover a new role for the spatial control of BR signaling in drought tolerance, and offer a novel strategy to address food security issues in an increasingly water-limited climate. Overall design: 28 days old root system were collected from soil, quickly washed in water and flash-frozen. Experiment with a bifactorial design. Factor one is the genotype, which include WT (Col-0) and 35S:BRL3. Factor two is the condition, which include control (Properly watered) and 5 days of drought (water-hold) conditions. 3 Biological replicates were collected per each genotype and condition.
Overexpression of the vascular brassinosteroid receptor BRL3 confers drought resistance without penalizing plant growth.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesGene expression changes in 3 human melanoma cell lines were compared to freshly isolated normal primary melanocytes Overall design: Three biological replicates for each melanoma cell line and primary melanocytes were labeled and run Illumina HiSeq2500. The transcriptome of melanocytes was compared to cell line SK-Mel-28, SK-Mel-147 or UACC-62.
Systems analysis identifies melanoma-enriched pro-oncogenic networks controlled by the RNA binding protein CELF1.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesWe have previously reported that tyrosol (TYR), one of the main phenols in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), promotes lifespan extension in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, also inducing a stronger resistance to thermal and oxidative stress in this animal model. Although the influence of several longevity-related genes in these effects has been reported by our group, we decided to perform a whole genome DNA-microarray approach in order to identify other genes and molecular pathways further involved in TYR effects on C. elegans longevity. Microarray analysis identified 208 differentially expressed genes (206 overexpressed and 2 underexpressed) when comparing TYR-treated nematodes with non-treated controls. Many of these genes seem linked to processes such as regulation of growth, transcription, reproduction, lipid metabolism and body morphogenesis. Data obtained by microarray was validated by qRT-PCR analysis of selected genes. Our results confirm that several important cellular mechanisms related to longevity are influenced by TYR treatment in this animal model. Moreover, we detected an interesting overlap between the expression pattern elicited by TYR and those induced by other dietary polyphenols known to extend lifespan in C. elegans, such as quercetin and tannic acid.
Gene expression profiling to investigate tyrosol-induced lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Treatment
View SamplesExponentially growing cells and type II persister cells from the DS1-(hipQ)-strain
Novel protocol for persister cells isolation.
Specimen part, Disease, Cell line
View Samples