We have begun to approach gd T cells more as prospective innate cells than as conventional T cells. Recent results indicated that purified gd T cells are primed directly in response to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to better respond to secondary signals and increase expression of chemokine and activation-related genes. In microarray and real time PCR analyses of RNA derived from bovine and human gd T cells, transcripts encoding Nod2 were repeatedly amplified. Nod2 is the intracellular receptor for muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a subunit of PGN, functions in regulating innate activities, and was thought to be expressed primarily in APCs. Given our repeated detection of Nod2 transcripts in gd T cells, the specific direct response of gd T cells to MDP was analyzed by microarray, real time PCR, proteome array and in a functional priming assay. The results indicate a subtle activation in response to MDP akin to priming, and suggest a unique mechanism for differential gene expression.
The distinct response of gammadelta T cells to the Nod2 agonist muramyl dipeptide.
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View Samplesgd T cells recognize unprocessed or non-peptide antigens, respond rapidly to infection, and localize to mucosal surfaces. We have hypothesized that the innate functions of gd T cells may be more similar to those of cells of the myeloid lineage than to other T cells. To begin to test this assumption, we have analyzed the direct response of cultured human and peripheral blood bovine gd T cells to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in the absence of APCs using microarray, real time RT-PCR, proteome array, and chemotaxis assays. Our results indicate that purified gd T cells respond directly to PAMPs by increasing expression of chemokine and activation related genes. The response was distinct from that to known gd T cell antigens and different from the response of myeloid cells to PAMPs. In addition, we have analyzed the expression of a variety of PAMP receptors in gd T cells. Freshly purified bovine gd T cells responded more robustly to PAMPs than did cultured human cells and expressed measurable mRNA encoding a variety of PAMP receptors. Our results suggest that rapid response to PAMPs through the expression of PAMP receptors may be another innate role of gd T cells.
Gamma delta T cells respond directly to pathogen-associated molecular patterns.
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View SamplesYamoa is marketed and sold as a dietary supplement with anecdotal positive effects in asthma and hay fever. We determined that Yamoa (ground bark of Funtumia elastica tree) stimulated innate immunity in part by affecting gamma delta T cells. Yamoa had distinct priming effects, very similar to, but more robust than, that of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), on bovine, mouse and human gamma delta T cells. However, the optimal effect was dependent on the presence of accessory cells. Gene expression patterns in bovine gamma delta T cells and monocytes induced by Yamoa were very similar to those induced by ultrapure LPS, but the agonists in Yamoa did not signal entirely through TLR4. Yamoa stimulated human cells to produce cytokines involved innate protection. The bioactive component of Yamoa was delineated to a complex polysaccharide fraction (Yam-I). Intraperitoneal injection of Yamoa and very low doses of Yam-I in mice induced rapid increases peritoneal neutrophils directed by changes chemokine expression. Yamoa and Yam-I were effective as therapeutic treatments in mice with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (ST) induced enterocolitis that resulted in decreased bacterial counts in feces. This initial characterization of the immune stimulatory properties of polysaccharides derived from Yamoa suggests potential mechanisms for positive effects in asthma and that they have potential for application in infectious disease settings. .
Polysaccharides derived from Yamoa (Funtumia elastica) prime gammadelta T cells in vitro and enhance innate immune responses in vivo.
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View SamplesPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options. Familial predisposition to PDAC occurs in ~10% of cases, but causative genes have not been identified in most families. Uncovering the genetic basis for PDAC susceptibility has immediate prognostic implications for families and can provide mechanistic clues to PDAC pathogenesis. Here, we perform whole-genome sequence analysis in a family with multiple cases of PDAC and identify a germline nonsense mutation in the member of RAS oncogene family-like 3 (RABL3) gene never before directly associated with hereditary cancer. The truncated mutant allele (RABL3_p.S36*) co-segregates with cancer occurrence. To evaluate the contribution of the RABL3 mutant allele in hereditary cancer, we generated rabl3 heterozygous mutant zebrafish and found increased susceptibility to cancer formation in two independent cancer models. Unbiased approaches implicate RABL3 in RAS pathway regulation: the transcriptome of juvenile rabl3 mutants reveals a KRAS upregulation signature, and affinity-purification mass spectrometry for proteins associated with RABL3 or RABL3_p.S36* identifies Rap1 GTPase-GDP Dissociation Stimulator 1 (RAP1GDS1, SmgGDS), a chaperone that regulates prenylation of RAS GTPases. Indeed, we find that RABL3_p.S36* accelerates KRAS prenylation and requires RAS proteins to promote cell proliferation. Furthermore, rabl3 homozygous mutant zebrafish develop severe craniofacial, skeletal, and growth defects consistent with human RASopathies, and these defects are partially rescued with the MEK inhibitor trametinib. Finally, we identify additional germline mutations in RABL3 that impact RAS activity in vivo and have a significant burden in a cohort of patients with developmental disorders, suggesting a role in undiagnosed RASopathies. Moreover, RABL3 is upregulated in multiple human PDAC cell lines and knockdown abrogates proliferation, consistent with a broader role for RABL3 in PDAC. Our studies identify the RABL3 mutation as a new target for genetic testing in cancer families and uncover a novel mechanism for dysregulated RAS activity in development and cancer. Overall design: WT (4 replicates) and homozygous rabl3-TR41 mutant (3 replicates) larval zebrafish at 21 days of age.
Mutations in RABL3 alter KRAS prenylation and are associated with hereditary pancreatic cancer.
Age, Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesCerebral palsy is caused be an upper motor neuron lesion which casues spasticity as well as secondary effects on muscle . Muscle from cerebral palsy patients is has been shown to be smaller, with more ECM and longer sarcomere lengths
Novel transcriptional profile in wrist muscles from cerebral palsy patients.
Sex, Age
View SamplesA single replicate of exponentially growing DT40 CL18 chicken B lymphoma cells were harvested and extracted RNA was subjected to Illumina GAIIx paired-end sequencing to determine global gene expression. Overall design: Single replicate RNA-seq expression analysis of DT40 cells.
Third Report on Chicken Genes and Chromosomes 2015.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesCritically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients commonly develop severe muscle wasting and impaired muscle function, leading to delayed recovery, with subsequent increased morbidity and financial costs, and decrease quality of life of survivors. Acute Quadriplegic Myopathy (AQM) is one of the most common neuromuscular disorders associated with ICU-acquired muscle weakness. Although there are no available treatments for the ICU-acquired muscle weakness, it has been demonstrated that early mobilization can improve its prognosis and functional outcomes. This study aims at improving our understanding of the effects of passive mechanical loading on skeletal muscle structure and function by using a unique experimental rat ICU model allowing analyses of the temporal sequence of changes in mechanically ventilated and pharmacologically paralyzed animals at durations varying from 6 h to 14 days. Results show that passive mechanical loading alleviated the muscle wasting and the loss of force-generation associated with the ICU intervention, resulting in a doubling of the functional capacity of the loaded vs. unloaded muscles after a 2-week ICU intervention. We demonstrated that the improved maintenance of muscle structure and function is likely a consequence of a reduced oxidative stress, and a reduced loss of the molecular motor protein myosin. A complex temporal gene expression pattern, delineated by microarray analysis, was observed with loading-induced changes in transcript levels of sarcomeric proteins, muscle developmental processes, stress response, ECM/cell adhesion proteins and metabolism. Thus, the results from this study show that passive mechanical loading alleviates the severe negative consequences on muscle structure and function associated with mechanical silencing in ICU patients, strongly supporting early and intense physical therapy in immobilized ICU patients.
Sparing of muscle mass and function by passive loading in an experimental intensive care unit model.
Sex, Specimen part, Time
View SamplesSialic acids on vertebrate cell surfaces mediate many biological roles. Altered expression of certain sialic acid types or their linkages can have prognostic significance in human cancer. A classic but unexplained example is enhanced 2-6-sialylation on N-glycans, resulting from over-expression of the Golgi enzyme -galactoside:2-6-sialyltransferase (ST6Gal-I). Previous data supporting a role for the resulting Sia2-3Gal1-4GlcNAc (Sia6LacNAc) structure in tumor biology were based on in vitro studies in transfected carcinoma cells, in which increased Sia6LacNAc on 1-integrins enhanced their binding to ligands, and stimulated cell motility. Here we examine for the first time the in vivo role of the ST6Gal-I enzyme in the growth and differentiation of spontaneous mammary cancers in mice transgenic for an MMTV-promoter-driven polyoma-middle-T antigen, a tumor in which beta1-integrin function is important for tumorigenesis, and in maintaining the proliferative state of tumor cells. Tumors induced in St6gal1 null animals were more differentiated in comparison to those in the wild-type background, both by histological analysis and by protein expression profiles. Furthermore, we show the St6gal1 null tumors have selectively altered expression of genes associated with focal adhesion signaling, and have decreased phosphorylation of FAK, a downstream target of 1-integrins. This first in vivo evidence for a role of ST6Gal-I in tumor progression was confirmed using a novel approach, which conditionally restored St6gal1 in cell lines derived from the null tumors. These findings indicate a role for ST6Gal-I as a mediator of tumor progression, with its expression causing a less differentiated phenotype, via enhanced 1-integrin function.
alpha 2-6-Linked sialic acids on N-glycans modulate carcinoma differentiation in vivo.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesSynovial sarcoma-like tumors were generated in mice by conditionally expressing the human t(X;18) translocation-derived SYT-SSX2 fusion protein. Using a Tamoxifen-inducible CreER system, we show here that sporadic expression of SYT-SSX2 across multiple tissue types leads to exclusive formation of synovial sarcoma-like tumors while its widespread expression is lethal. CreER-based sporadic expression both avoids the severe early developmental phenotypes associated with widespread SYT-SSX2 expression and better models natural pathogenesis of cancers where transformed cells usually arise within an environment of largely normal cells.
A CreER-based random induction strategy for modeling translocation-associated sarcomas in mice.
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View SamplesA transgenic mouse was generated using a CD2-driven transgene containing the cDNA of Ppp2ca to achieve over-expression of PP2Ac in T cells. Nave CD4 T cells were isolated and lysed at times 0, 6, and 24 hours after stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28
Protein phosphatase 2A enables expression of interleukin 17 (IL-17) through chromatin remodeling.
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