By investigating the germinal center (GC) formation in STAT6ko/WT bone marrow-mixed chimera we found that GC formation in type 2 immune responses is dependent on B cell intrinsic expression of IL-4/IL-13-induced genes. We therefore used microarrays to find Stat6 dependent genes that are important for germinal center formation and/or organization after infection with the nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (N. brasiliensis).
B-cell-intrinsic STAT6 signaling controls germinal center formation.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe Polycomb group (PcG) gene products mediate heritable silencing of developmental regulators in metazoans, participating in one of two distinct multimeric protein complexes, the Polycomb repressive complexes-1 (PRC1) and -2 (PRC2). PRC2 catalyses trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) which in turn is thought to provide a recruitment site for PRC1. Recent studies demonstrate that mono-ubiquitylation of histone H2A at lysine 119 is important in PcG mediated silencing with the core PRC1 component Ring1A/B functioning as the E3 ligase8. PRC2 has been shown to share target genes with the core transcription network to maintain embryonic stem (ES) cells including Oct4 and Nanog. Here we identify an essential role for PRC1 in repressing developmental regulators in ES cells, and thereby in maintaining ES cell pluripotency. A significant proportion of the PRC1 target genes are also repressed by Oct4. We demonstrate that engagement of PRC1 and PRC2 at target genes is Oct4-dependent and moreover that Ring1B interacts with Oct4. Collectively these results show that PcG complexes are instrumental in Oct4-dependent repression required to maintain pluripotency of ES cells. This study provides a first functional link between a core ES cell regulator and global epigenetic regulation of the genome.
Polycomb group proteins Ring1A/B are functionally linked to the core transcriptional regulatory circuitry to maintain ES cell identity.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe Polycomb group (PcG) gene products mediate heritable silencing of developmental regulators in metazoans, participating in one of two distinct multimeric protein complexes, the Polycomb repressive complexes-1 (PRC1) and -2 (PRC2)1-5. PRC2 catalyses trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) which in turn is thought to provide a recruitment site for PRC13-7. Recent studies demonstrate that mono-ubiquitylation of histone H2A at lysine 119 is important in PcG mediated silencing with the core PRC1 component Ring1A/B functioning as the E3 ligase8. PRC2 has been shown to share target genes with the core transcription network to maintain embryonic stem (ES) cells including Oct4 and Nanog9. Here we identify an essential role for PRC1 in repressing developmental regulators in ES cells, and thereby in maintaining ES cell pluripotency. A significant proportion of the PRC1 target genes are also repressed by Oct4. We demonstrate that engagement of PRC1 and PRC2 at target genes is Oct4-dependent and moreover that Ring1B interacts with Oct4. Collectively these results show that PcG complexes are instrumental in Oct4-dependent repression required to maintain pluripotency of ES cells. This study provides a first functional link between a core ES cell regulator and global epigenetic regulation of the genome.
Polycomb group proteins Ring1A/B are functionally linked to the core transcriptional regulatory circuitry to maintain ES cell identity.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe Polycomb group (PcG) gene products mediate heritable silencing of developmental regulators in metazoans, participating in one of two distinct multimeric protein complexes, the Polycomb repressive complexes-1 (PRC1) and -2 (PRC2)1-5. PRC2 catalyses trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) which in turn is thought to provide a recruitment site for PRC13-7. Recent studies demonstrate that mono-ubiquitylation of histone H2A at lysine 119 is important in PcG mediated silencing with the core PRC1 component Ring1A/B functioning as the E3 ligase8. PRC2 has been shown to share target genes with the core transcription network to maintain embryonic stem (ES) cells including Oct4 and Nanog9. Here we identify an essential role for PRC1 in repressing developmental regulators in ES cells, and thereby in maintaining ES cell pluripotency. A significant proportion of the PRC1 target genes are also repressed by Oct4. We demonstrate that engagement of PRC1 and PRC2 at target genes is Oct4-dependent and moreover that Ring1B interacts with Oct4. Collectively these results show that PcG complexes are instrumental in Oct4-dependent repression required to maintain pluripotency of ES cells. This study provides a first functional link between a core ES cell regulator and global epigenetic regulation of the genome.
Polycomb group proteins Ring1A/B are functionally linked to the core transcriptional regulatory circuitry to maintain ES cell identity.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesInvasion of cytotrophoblasts into uterine tissues is essential for placental development. To identify molecules regulating trophoblast invasion, mRNA signatures of purified villous (CTB, poor invasiveness) and extravillous (EVT, high invasiveness) trophoblasts isolated from first trimester human placentae and villous explant cultures, respectively, were compared using GeneChip analyses yielding 991 invasion/migration related transcripts. Several genes involved in physiological and pathologic cell invasion, including ADAM-12,-19,-28 as well as Spondin-2, were upregulated in EVT. Pathway prediction analyses identified several functional modules associated with either the invasive or the non-invasive trophoblast phenotype. One of the genes which were downregulated in the invasive mRNA pool, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), was selected for functional analyses. Real-time PCR analyses, Western blottting, and immunofluorescene of first trimester placentae and differentiating villous explant cultures demonstrated downregulation of HO-1 in invasive EVT as compared to CTB. Modulation of HO-1 expression in loss-of as well as gain-of function cell models (BeWo and HTR8/SVneo, respectively) demonstrated an inverse relationship of HO-1 expression with trophoblast migration in transwell and wound healing assays. Importantly, HO-1 expression led to an increase in protein levels and activity of the nuclear hormone receptor PPARgamma. Pharmacological inhibition of PPARgamma abrogated the inhibitory effects of HO-1 on trophoblast migration. Collectively, our results demonstrate that gene expression profiling of EVT and CTB can be used to unravel novel regulators of cell invasion. Accordingly, we identify heme oxygenase-1 as a negative regulator of trophoblast motility acting via upregulation of PPARgamma.
Identification of novel trophoblast invasion-related genes: heme oxygenase-1 controls motility via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Lamin B1 depletion in senescent cells triggers large-scale changes in gene expression and the chromatin landscape.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesCellular senescence is a stable proliferation arrest in response to stress, associated with an altered secretory pathway (Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP)). Senescence-associated proliferation arrest and the SASP are thought to act in concert to promote tumor suppression and tissue aging. While chromatin regulation and down regulation of lamin B1 have been implicated as effectors of cell senescence, functional interactions between them are poorly understood. We compared the genome-wide distributions of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 between proliferating and senescent primary human cells and found dramatic differences, including large-scale domains of H3K4me3- and H3K27me3-enriched mesas and H3K27me3-depleted canyons in senescent cells. Senescent mesas form at the sites of lamin B1-associated domains (LADs) in proliferating cells. Mesas also overlap with regions that exhibit DNA hypomethylation in cancer, suggesting that chromatin changes in pre-malignant senescent cells foreshadow epigenetic changes in cancer. Proliferating fibroblasts from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome patients expressing mutant lamin A (progerin) also show evidence of H3K4me3 mesas, suggesting a link between premature chromatin changes and accelerated cell senescence and tissue aging. In contrast, canyons form mostly in between LADs and are enriched in genes, gene promoters and enhancers. Strikingly, H3K27me3 loss in canyons is correlated with upregulation of key senescence genes, including genes comprising the SASP, indicating a link between global changes in chromatin structure and local regulation of gene expression. Finally, premature reduction of lamin B1 in midlife proliferating cells triggers formation of senescence-associated mesas and canyons and accelerated senescence. Together, our data illustrate a profound reorganization of chromatin during senescence, and suggest that down regulation of lamin B1 in senescence is a key trigger of global and local chromatin changes that impact gene expression, aging and cancer.
Lamin B1 depletion in senescent cells triggers large-scale changes in gene expression and the chromatin landscape.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesNebulin is a giant filamentous protein that is coextensive with the actin filaments of the skeletal muscle sarcomere. Nebulin mutations are the main cause of nemaline myopathy (NEM), with typical NEM adult patients having low expression of nebulin, yet the roles of nebulin in adult muscle remain poorly understood. To establish nebulins functional roles in adult muscle we performed studies on a novel conditional nebulin KO (Neb cKO) mouse model in which nebulin deletion was driven by the muscle creatine kinase (MCK) promotor. Neb cKO mice are born with high nebulin levels in their skeletal muscle but within weeks after birth nebulin expression rapidly falls to barely detectable levels Surprisingly, a large fraction of the mice survives to adulthood with low nebulin levels (<5% of control), contain nemaline rods, and undergo fiber-type switching towards oxidative types. These microarrays investigate the changes in gene expression when nebulin is deficient.
Nebulin deficiency in adult muscle causes sarcomere defects and muscle-type-dependent changes in trophicity: novel insights in nemaline myopathy.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesMicrophthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is the master regulator of the melanocyte lineage. By tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry, we present a comprehensive characterisation of the MITF interactome comprising multiple novel cofactors involved in transcription, DNA replication and repair and chromatin organisation, including a BRG1 chromatin remodelling complex comprising CHD7. BRG1 is essential for melanoma cell proliferation in vitro and for normal melanocyte development in vivo. MITF and SOX10 actively recruit BRG1 to a set of MITF-associated regulatory elements (MAREs) at active enhancers. MITF, SOX10 and YY1 bind between two BRG1-occupied nucleosomes thus defining both a combinatorial signature of transcription factors essential for the melanocyte lineage and a specific chromatin organisation of MAREs. Nevertheless, BRG1 silencing enhances MITF occupancy at MAREs showing that BRG1 acts to promote dynamic MITF interactions with chromatin. Overall design: 19 samples corresponding to mRNA profiles of 501Mel and Hermes3A after MITF, BRG1 or control shRNA-mediated knockdown were generated by deep sequencing in triplicate (in duplicate for 501_shMITF and corresponding control 501_shSCR2), using HiSeq2500.
Transcription factor MITF and remodeller BRG1 define chromatin organisation at regulatory elements in melanoma cells.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesIschemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in organ transplantation remains a significant problem with limited alternative therapeutic options. Organs that undergo significant damage during IRI, particularly those enduring long warm ischemia times, undergo significant delayed graft function (DGF) after reperfusion and tend to have greater complications long term with the onset of chronic rejection. The gas molecule carbon monoxide (CO) has emerged as an agent that can suppress IRI in rodent models of solid organ transplantation. Since the use of CO is a potential therapeutic modality in humans, we tested if CO can prevent DGF in a pig model of kidney transplantation
Intraoperative administration of inhaled carbon monoxide reduces delayed graft function in kidney allografts in Swine.
Specimen part
View Samples