The presence of different types of immune cells in adipose tissue has been demonstrated in numerous studies. Whereas cells of the immune system in white adipose tissue contribute to the low-grade chronic inflammation under obese conditions, their function in brown adipose tissue (BAT) remains largely elusive. Here we report a role of regulatory T (Treg) cells in BAT physiology.Ablation of Treg cells resulted in massive invasion of macrophages into BAT concordant with rearrangement of BAT morphology. Treg ablated animals displayed reduced energy expenditure. Our results for the first time demonstrate a functional role of Treg cells in the regulation of energy homeostasis.
Brown adipose tissue harbors a distinct sub-population of regulatory T cells.
Treatment
View SamplesPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer fatalities in Western societies, characterized by high metastatic potential and resistance to chemotherapy. Critical molecular mechanisms of these phenotypical features still remain unknown, thus hampering the development of effective prognostic and therapeutic measures in PDAC. Here we show that transcriptional co-factor Transducin beta-like (TBL) 1 was over-expressed in both human and murine PDAC. Inactivation of TBL1 in human and mouse pancreatic cancer cells reduced cellular proliferation and enhanced chemosensitivity, correlating with diminished glucose uptake, glycolytic flux, and PI3kinase signaling. TBL1 deficiency both prevented and reversed pancreatic tumor growth in mice, triggering transcriptional PI3kinase inhibition also in vivo. As TBL1 mRNA levels were also found to correlate with overall and disease-free survival in a cohort of human PDAC patients and to predict therapy responsiveness in these subjects, TBL1 expression may serve both as a novel prognostic marker and molecular target in the treatment of human PDAC.
Transcriptional co-factor Transducin beta-like (TBL) 1 acts as a checkpoint in pancreatic cancer malignancy.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disorder in industrialized countries. Liver samples from morbidly obese patients (N=45) with all stages of NAFLD and controls (N=18) were analysed by array-based DNA methylation and mRNA expression profiling. NAFLD-specific expression and methylation differences were seen for nine genes coding for key enzymes in intermediate metabolism (including PC, ACLY, PLCG1) and insulin/insulin-like signalling (including IGF1, IGFBP2, PRKCE) and replicated by bisulfite pyrosequening (independent N=39). Transcription factor binding sites at NAFLD-specific CpG sites were >1000-fold enriched for ZNF274, PGC1A and SREBP2. Intra-individual comparison of liver biopsies before and after bariatric surgery showed NAFLD-associated methylation changes to be partially reversible. Post-bariatric and NAFLD-specific methylation signatures were clearly distinct both in gene-ontology and transcription factor binding site analyses, with >400-fold enrichment of NRF1, HSF1 and ESRRA sites. Our findings provide one of the first examples of treatment-induced epigenetic organ remodelling in humans.
DNA methylation analysis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease suggests distinct disease-specific and remodeling signatures after bariatric surgery.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Obesity accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver.
Sex, Age, Disease, Subject
View SamplesN=134 human liver samples from morbidly obese patients and healthy controls were analysed by array-based mRNA expression profiling. Liver messenger RNA expression datasets from the German patients were generated on the HuGene 1.1 ST gene array The purpose of the study was to correlate these gene expression data with body mass index and with an epigenetic measure of age acceleration based on DNA methylation data.
Obesity accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver.
Sex, Age, Disease, Subject
View SamplesMicroRNA-520f regulates EMT, as it activates CDH1 (mRNA) and E-cadherin (protein) expression, and it suppresses tumor cell invasion. We have characterized miR-520f target genes through whole genome transcriptional profiling of miRNA transfected pancreas cancer cells (PANC-1).
miRNA-520f Reverses Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting <i>ADAM9</i> and <i>TGFBR2</i>.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesStudies investigating the causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) point to genetic as well as epigenetic mechanisms of the disease. Identification of epigenetic processes that contribute to ASD development and progression is of major importance and may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Here we identify the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain containing transcriptional regulators (BETs) as epigenetic drivers of an ASD-like disorder in mice. We found that the pharmacological suppression of the BET proteins by a novel, highly selective and brain-permeable inhibitor, I-BET858, leads to selective suppression of neuronal gene expression followed by the development of an autism-like syndrome in mice. Many of the I-BET858 affected genes have been linked to ASD in humans thus suggesting the key role of the BET-controlled gene network in ASD. Our studies also suggest that environmental factors controlling BET proteins or their target genes may contribute to the epigenetic mechanism of ASD.
Autism-like syndrome is induced by pharmacological suppression of BET proteins in young mice.
Specimen part
View SamplesTwo-dimensional patterning of the follicular epithelium in Drosophila oogenesis is required for the formation of three-dimensional eggshell structures. Our analysis of a large number of published gene expression patterns in the follicle cells suggests that they follow a simple combinatorial code based on six spatial building blocks and the operations of union, difference, intersection, and addition. The building blocks are related to the distribution of inductive signals, provided by the highly conserved epidermal growth factor receptor and Decapentaplegic
A combinatorial code for pattern formation in Drosophila oogenesis.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesE47 represses Foxp3 transcription, albeit indirectly through the activation of unknown negative regulatory of Foxp3 transcription.
Id3 Maintains Foxp3 Expression in Regulatory T Cells by Controlling a Transcriptional Network of E47, Spi-B, and SOCS3.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesIn chicks, the avian homologue of the early growth response protein-1 (ZENK) has been shown to be increased in a special cell type of the retina, the glucagonergic amacrine cells, under conditions that lead to a reduction in eye growth (myopic defocus, recovery of myopia) and decreased under conditions that enhance ocular growth (hyperopic defocus, form-deprivation). The investigation of Egr-1 knock-out mice showed that homozygous knock-out mice with no functional Egr-1 protein developed relative axial myopia at the age of 42 and 56 days, compared to heterozygous- and wildtype Egr-1 knock-out mice.
Microarray analysis of retinal gene expression in Egr-1 knockout mice.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
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