In this study we investigated the mechanisms involved in memory T-cell mediated protection using mice vaccinated with the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Our working hypothesis was that rapid activation of cells of the innate immune system, in particular inflammatory Ly6C+ monocytes, were essential in effective protection, in a memory T cell-dependent manner. Thus we generated a comprehensive comparison of the genetic program of activated Ly6C+ monocytes during a primary or a secondary infection with Listeria monocytogenes, at 8 hours post challenge infection.
Memory-T-cell-derived interferon-γ instructs potent innate cell activation for protective immunity.
Specimen part
View SamplesTF1a AML cell line was selected for in vitro modelling of dormancy in AML. TF1-a were subjected to AML-niche-mimicking in vitro conditioning by culture with TGFB1 and the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. Also TF1a cells were in vitro cultured with prolonged sublethal doses of Etoposide.
A molecular signature of dormancy in CD34<sup>+</sup>CD38<sup>-</sup> acute myeloid leukaemia cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesTransplant recipients spontaneously accepting their grafts in the absence of immunosuppression demonstrate the feasibility of attaining allograft tolerance in humans. Previous studies have identified blood transcriptional and cell phenotypic markers specific for either liver or kidney tolerant recipients, but the two settings have not been directly compared yet employing the same platforms. To identify potential similarities in immune parameters between recipients tolerant to different organs, we analyzed blood samples from tolerant and non-tolerant liver and kidney recipients employing whole genome expression microarrays. Tolerant and non-tolerant liver and kidney recipients differed in their peripheral blood expression patterns, but no significant overlap was observed between the two datasets. This was confirmed at the functional level by employing gene set enrichment analysis.The lack of obvious similarities in immune parameters associated with liver and kidney tolerant recipients implies the involvement of different mechanisms in the two settings and argues against the existence of a common immunological constant of spontaneous operational tolerance in clinical transplantation.
Comparison of transcriptional and blood cell-phenotypic markers between operationally tolerant liver and kidney recipients.
Specimen part
View SamplesDue to its low level of nephrotoxicity and capacity to harness tolerogenic pathways, sirolimus (SRL) has been proposed as an alternative to calcineurin inhibitors in transplantation. The exact mechanisms underlying its unique immunosuppressive profile in humans, however, are still not well understood. In the current study we aimed to depict the in vivo effects of SRL in comparison with cyclosporin A (CSA) by employing gene expression profiling and multiparameter flow cytometry on blood cells collected from stable kidney recipients under immunosuppressant monotherapy. SRL recipients displayed an increased frequency of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ T cells. However, this was accompanied by an increased number of effector memory T cells and by enrichment in NFkB-related pro-inflammatory expression pathways and monocyte and NK cell lineage-specific transcripts. Furthermore, measurement of a transcriptional signature characteristic of operationally tolerant kidney recipients failed to detect differences between SRL and CSA treated recipients. In conclusion, we show here that the blood transcriptional profile induced by SRL monotherapy in vivo does not resemble that of operationally tolerant recipients and is dominated by innate immune cells and NFkB-related pro-inflammatory events. These data provide novel insights on the complex effects of SLR on the immune system in clinical transplantation.
Comparative transcriptional and phenotypic peripheral blood analysis of kidney recipients under cyclosporin A or sirolimus monotherapy.
Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesGastric cancers with mismatch repair (MMR) inactivation are characterised by microsatellite instability (MSI). In this study, the transcriptional profile of 38 gastric cancers with and without MSI was analysed.
Genome-wide expression profile of sporadic gastric cancers with microsatellite instability.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesJuvenile hormone (JH) and 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E) are highly versatile hormones, coordinating development, growth, and reproduction in insects. Pulses of 20E provide key signals for initiating developmental and physiological transitions, while JH promotes or inhibits these signals in a stage-specific manner. Previous evidence suggests that JH and 20E might modulate innate immunity, but whether and how these hormones interact to regulate the immune response remains unclear. Here we show that JH and 20E have antagonistic effects on the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in Drosophila melanogaster. In S2* cells challenged with bacterial peptidoglycans, 20E induces promoter activity and expression of AMPs in a dose-dependent manner, while JH III and its synthetic analogs (JHa) methoprene and pyriproxyfen abolish this 20E-dependent response. Using microarrays and GFP reporter gene assays in adult flies, we confirm that JH is a hormonal immuno-suppressor in vivo. When silencing both partners of the ecdysone receptor (EcR ) / ultraspiracle (USP) heterodimer with RNAi in S2* cells, 20E fails to activate Diptericin (Dpt) expression, suggesting that 20E regulates expression of this gene through EcR / USP signaling. In contrast, silencing methoprene-tolerant (MET), a candidate JH receptor, does not impair the immuno-suppressive action of JH III and JHa, indicating that in this context MET does not function as a JH receptor. Our results suggest that the balance of 20E and JH is a major determinant of immune homeostasis in insects.
Hormonal regulation of the humoral innate immune response in Drosophila melanogaster.
Sex
View SamplesBackground: The bromodomain containing 1 (BRD1) gene has been implicated with transcriptional regulation, brain development and susceptibility to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Identification of the BRD1 interaction network and its impact on mental disorder risk.
Cell line
View SamplesPrevious in vitro studies in our lab have shown that CD24, a cell surface receptor, actively regulates lipid accumulation in adipocytes. But how CD24 regulates this process remains unknown. In order to answer this question, we initially tested to determine if CD24 regulates lipid accumulation by regulating glucose uptake in adipocytes in vitro. We observed that instead, CD24 caused the dysregulation of the expression of 134 genes as determined by DNA microarray analysis. We then validated the expression of select four genes, when CD24 is knocked down during the different stages of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes in vitro. To further confirm the role of these genes, we then determined the expression patterns of these four genes in primary cells undergoing adipogenesis that were isolated from the epididymal and inguinal white adipose tissue depots of CD24 knockout mice. Surprisingly, we found that these genes were dysregulated in the inguinal but not the epididymal depot in vitro. Overall, the data presented here suggests that CD24 is necessary for select gene expression, but not glucose uptake, during adipogenesis in vitro.
CD24 is required for regulating gene expression, but not glucose uptake, during adipogenesis.
Cell line
View SamplesWe sorted Eomes-negative NK cells (CD3- CD56+ CXCR6- CD16-) and Eomes-positive NK cells (CD3- CD56+ CXCR6+) from total leukocytes isolated from the perfusion fluid of five healthy human livers destined for transplantation. Total RNA was extracted from sorted cells, cDNA generated and RNASeq performed. Overall design: Examination of mRNA levels in paired Eomes-negative/Eomes-positive NK cells from the same donor.
Eomeshi NK Cells in Human Liver Are Long-Lived and Do Not Recirculate but Can Be Replenished from the Circulation.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesForced sustained swimming exercise at optimal speed enhances growth in many fish species, particularly through hypertrophy of the white skeletal muscle. The exact mechanism of this effect has not been resolved yet. To explore the mechanism, we first subjected wild-type zebrafish to an exercise protocol validated for exercise-enhanced growth, and showed that exercised zebrafish, which indeed showed enhanced growth, had higher cortisol levels than the non-exercised controls. A central role was therefore hypothesized for the steroid hormone cortisol acting through the Glucocorticoid receptor (Gr). Second, we subjected wild-type zebrafish and zebrafish with a mutant Gr to exercise at optimal, suboptimal and super-optimal speeds and compared them with non-exercised controls. Exercised zebrafish showed growth enhancement at all speeds, with highest growth at optimal speeds. In the Gr mutant fish, exercise resulted in growth enhancement similar to wild-type zebrafish, indicating that cortisol cannot be considered as a main determinant of exercise-enhanced growth. Finally, the transcriptome of white skeletal muscle tissue was analysed by RNA sequencing. The results of this analysis showed that in the muscle tissue of Gr mutant fish a lower number of genes is regulated by exercise than in wild-type fish (183 versus 351). A cluster of 36 genes was regulated by exercise in both wild-type and mutant fish. In this cluster, genes involved in transcriptional regulation and protein ubiquitination were overrepresented. Since growth was enhanced similarly in both wild-type fish and mutants, these processes may play an important role in exercise-enhanced growth. Overall design: Deep-sequencing transcriptome analysis of white muscle samples derived from wild-type (++) or glucocorticoid receptor (Gr) mutant (--) Danio rerio specimens that were exposed to either a resting (REST) or a swimming (UOPT) regimen: wild-type resting (REST++; n=3), Gr mutant resting (REST--; n=3), wild-type swimming (UOPT++; n=3), Gr mutant swimming (UOPT--; n=3).
Cortisol Acting Through the Glucocorticoid Receptor Is Not Involved in Exercise-Enhanced Growth, But Does Affect the White Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome in Zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>).
Specimen part, Treatment, Subject
View Samples