Despite over 3,000 articles published on dystrophin in the last 15 years, the reasons underlying the progression of the human disease, differential muscle involvement, and disparate phenotypes in different species are not understood. The present experiment employed a screen of 12,488 mRNAs in 16-wk-old mouse mdx muscle at a time when the skeletal muscle is avoiding severe dystrophic pathophysiology, despite the absence of a functional dystrophin protein. A number of transcripts whose levels differed between the mdx and human Duchenne muscular dystrophy were noted. A fourfold decrease in myostatin mRNA in the mdx muscle was noted. Differential upregulation of actin-related protein 2/3 (subunit 4), beta-thymosin, calponin, mast cell chymase, and guanidinoacetate methyltransferase mRNA in the more benign mdx was also observed. Transcripts for oxidative and glycolytic enzymes in mdx muscle were not downregulated. These discrepancies could provide candidates for salvage pathways that maintain skeletal muscle integrity in the absence of a functional dystrophin protein in mdx skeletal muscle.
Regenerated mdx mouse skeletal muscle shows differential mRNA expression.
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View SamplesTo define the molecular regulators of metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer, we conducted a rigorous characterization of four isogenic populations of MDA-MB-231 human triple-negative breast cancer cells that display a range of intrinsic spontaneous metastatic capacities in immuno-deficient mice, from non-metastatic to highly metastatic to lung, liver, spleen and spine. PAT-Seq gene expression profiling of primary tumor cells identified the fibroblast growth factor homologous factor, FGF13, as a candidate metastatic virulence gene highly upregulated in aggressively metastatic MDA-MB-231HM tumors. Overall design: Gene expression analysis from PAT-Seq of 4 increasingly metastatic breast cancer xenograft tumours
Functional and genomic characterisation of a xenograft model system for the study of metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesThe polarization of macrophages into an anti-inflammatory or regulatory phenotype plays an important role in resolving inflammation. PGE2 regulates macrophage polarization via a PKA dependent pathway. PKA phosphorylates SIKs, inhibiting their ability to phosphorylate CRTC3 in cells. This in turn allows CRTC3 to translocate to the nucleus where it acts as a co-activator with the transcription factor CREB to induce IL-10 transcription. In line with this we find that either genetic or pharmacological inhibition of SIKs mimics the effect of PGE2 on IL-10 production.
PGE(2) induces macrophage IL-10 production and a regulatory-like phenotype via a protein kinase A-SIK-CRTC3 pathway.
Specimen part
View SamplesOsteoarthritic cartilage has largely been investigated, however supporting structures as the acetabular labrum are less investigated. In this studies we aimed to identify differences in gene expression between healthy and osteoarthritic labrum cells
Distinct dysregulation of the small leucine-rich repeat protein family in osteoarthritic acetabular labrum compared to articular cartilage.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesTemporal genome profiling of DSS colitis
Temporal genomewide expression profiling of DSS colitis reveals novel inflammatory and angiogenesis genes similar to ulcerative colitis.
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View SamplesTo identify mediators of obesity-linked reductions in PGC-1, we tested the effects of cellular nutrients in C2C12 myotubes. While overnight exposure to high insulin, glucose, glucosamine, or amino acids had no effect, saturated fatty acids (FA) potently reduced PGC-1a and b mRNA expression.
Peroxisome proliferator activator receptor gamma coactivator-1 expression is reduced in obesity: potential pathogenic role of saturated fatty acids and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation.
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View SamplesGeminin is a small nucleoprotein that neuralizes ectoderm in the Xenopus embryo. Geminin promotes neural fate acquisition of mouse embryonic stem cells: Geminin knockdown during neural fate acquisition decreased expression of neural precursor cell markers (Pax6, Sox1), while increasing expression of Pitx2, Lefty1 and Cited2, genes involved in formation of the mouse node. Here we differentiated mouse embryonic stem cells into embryoid bodies to study Geminin's ability to repress primitive streak mesendoderm fate acquisition. We used microarrays to define the sets of genes that are regulated by Geminin during cell fate acquisition in embryoid bodies, using Dox-inducible Geminin knockdown or overexpression mouse embryonic stem cell lines.
Geminin restrains mesendodermal fate acquisition of embryonic stem cells and is associated with antagonism of Wnt signaling and enhanced polycomb-mediated repression.
Specimen part
View SamplesFormation of the complex vertebrate nervous system begins when pluripotent cells of the early embryo are directed to acquire a neural fate. Although cell intrinsic controls play an important role in this process, the molecular nature of this regulation is not well defined. Here we assessed the role for Geminin, a nuclear protein expressed in embryonic cells, in neural fate acquisition from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. While Geminin knockdown does not affect the ability of ES cells to maintain or exit pluripotency, we found that it significantly impairs their ability to acquire a neural fate. Conversely, Geminin overexpression promotes neural gene expression, even in the presence of growth factor signaling that antagonizes neural transcriptional responses. These data demonstrate that Geminins activity contributes to mammalian neural cell fate acquisition. We investigated the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon and found that Geminin maintains a hyperacetylated and open chromatin conformation at neural genes. Interestingly, recombinant Geminin protein also rapidly alters chromatin acetylation and accessibility even when Geminin is combined with nuclear extract and chromatin in vitro. These findings define a novel activity for Geminin in regulation of chromatin structure. Together, these data support a role for Geminin as a cell intrinsic regulator of neural fate acquisition that promotes expression of neural genes by regulating chromatin accessibility and histone acetylation.
Geminin promotes neural fate acquisition of embryonic stem cells by maintaining chromatin in an accessible and hyperacetylated state.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesExpression profile of human donor lungs that have developed primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation and those that have not.
Expression profiling of human donor lungs to understand primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation.
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View SamplesThe Lim1 gene has essential functions during several stages of kidney development. In particular, a tissue specific knockout in the early metanephric mesenchyme results in the formation of the earliest nephron precursor, the renal vesicle, but failure of this structure to progress to the next stage, the comma shaped body. To better understand the molecular nature of this developmental arrest we used a laser capture microdissection-microarray strategy to examine the perturbed gene expression pattern of the mutant renal vesicles. Among the genes found differently expressed were Chrdl2, an inhibitor of BMP signaling, the pro-apoptotic factor Bmf, as well as myob5, an atypical myosin which modulates chemokine and transferring signaling, and pdgfr1, which is important in epithelial folding. Of particular interest, the microarray data indicated that the Dkk1 gene, which encodes an inhibitor of Wnt signaling, was downregulated nine fold in mutants. This was confirmed by in situ hybridizations. It is interesting to note that Lim1 and Dkk1 mutant mice have striking similarities in phenotype. These results suggest that the Dkk1 gene might be a key downstream effector of Lim1 function.
Laser capture-microarray analysis of Lim1 mutant kidney development.
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