Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a pivotal process in development and disease. In carcinogenesis, various signaling pathways are known to trigger EMT by inducing the expression of EMT transcription factors (EMT-TFs) like SNAIL1, ultimately promoting invasion, metastasis and chemoresistance. However, how EMT is executed downstream of EMT-TFs is incompletely understood. Here, using human colorectal cancer (CRC) and mammary cell line models of EMT, we demonstrate that SNAIL1 critically relies on bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling for EMT execution. This activity requires the transcription factor SMAD4 common to BMP/TGFβ pathways, but is TGFβ signaling-independent. Further, we define a signature of BMP-dependent genes in the EMT-transcriptome which orchestrate EMT-induced invasiveness, and are found to be regulated in human CRC transcriptomes and during EMT in vivo. Collectively, our findings substantially augment the knowledge of mechanistic routes whereby EMT can be effectuated, which is relevant for the conceptual understanding and therapeutic targeting of EMT processes.
Canonical BMP Signaling Executes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Downstream of SNAIL1.
Specimen part
View SamplesTherapeutic efficacy of first-generation hypomethylating agents (HMAs) is limited in elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Therefore, combination strategies with targeted therapies are urgently needed. Here, we discover that priming with SGI-110 (guadecitabine), a next-generation HMA, sensitizes AML cells to ASTX660, a novel antagonist of cellular Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein 1 and 2 (cIAP1/2) and X-linked IAP (XIAP). Importantly, SGI-110 and ASTX660 synergistically induced cell death in a panel of AML cell lines as well as in primary AML samples while largely sparing normal CD34+ human progenitor cells, underlining the translational relevance of this combination. Unbiased transcriptome analysis revealed that SGI-110 alone or in combination with ASTX660 upregulated the expression of key regulators of both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathways such as TNFRSF10B (DR5), FAS and BAX. Individual knockdown of the death receptors TNFR1, DR5 and FAS significantly reduced SGI-110/ASTX660-mediated cell death, whereas blocking antibodies for TRAIL or FASLG failed to provide protection. Also, TNF-blocking antibody Enbrel had little protective effect on SGI110/ASTX660-induced cell death. Further, SGI-110 and ASTX660 acted in concert to promote cleavage of caspase-8 and BID, thereby providing a link between extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Consistently, sequential treatment with SGI-110 and ASTX660 triggered loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and BAX activation, which contributes to cell death as BAX silencing significantly protected from SGI-110/ASTX660-mediated apoptosis. Together, these events culminated in activation of caspases-3/-7, nuclear fragmentation and cell death. In conclusion, SGI-110 and ASTX660 cooperatively induced apoptosis in AML cells by engaging extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways, highlighting the therapeutic potential of this combination for AML.
Next-generation hypomethylating agent SGI-110 primes acute myeloid leukemia cells to IAP antagonist by activating extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways.
Cell line
View SamplesAims: Cardiovascular disease, one of the most common causes of death in western populations, is characterized by changes in RNA splicing and expression. Circular RNAs (circRNA) originate from back-splicing events, which link a downstream 5’ splice site to an upstream 3’ splice site. Several back-splicing junctions (BSJ) have been described in heart biopsies from human, rat and mouse hearts.[1,2] Here, we use human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to identify circRNA and host gene dynamics in cardiac development and disease. In parallel, we explore candidate interactions of selected homologs in mouse and rat via RIP-seq experiments.Methods and Results: Deep RNA sequencing of cardiomyocyte development and ß-adrenergic stimulation uncovered 4,518 circRNAs. The set of circular RNA host genes is enriched for chromatin modifiers and GTPase activity regulators. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR data showed that circular RNA expression is highly dynamic in the hiPSC-CM model with 320 circRNAs showing significant expression changes. Intri-guingly, 82 circRNAs are independently regulated to their host genes. We validated the same circRNA dynamics for circRNAs from ATXN10, CHD7, DNAJC6 and SLC8A1 in biopsy material from human dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and control patients. Finally, we could show that rodent homologs of circMYOD, circSLC8A1, circATXN7 and circPHF21A interact with either the ribosome or Argonaute2 protein complexes.Conclusion: CircRNAs are dynamically expressed in a hiPSC-CM model of cardiac development and stress response. Some circRNAs show similar, host-gene inde-pendent expression dynamics in patient samples and may interact with the ribo-some and RISC complex. In summary, the hiPSC-CM model uncovered a new sig-nature of potentially disease relevant circRNAs which may serve as novel therapeu-tic targets.
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Sex, Specimen part, Race
View SamplesThe data contains RNA sequencing data of embryonic stem cell derived cells.
No associated publication
Sex, Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesWe propose that the stochastic combination of alternative transcription events has contributed to complex isoform evolution.
Evolutionary interrogation of human biology in well-annotated genomic framework of rhesus macaque.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThe study entails novel bio-marker discovery of Tumor Aggressive Grade signature (TAGs) genes and their role in recurrence free survival of breast cancer (BC) patients. Current BC dataset was used for co-expression analysis of TAGs genes and their role in BC progression. Additionally, recent findings have suggested an importance of structural organization of sense-antisense gene pairs (SAGPs) for transcription, post-transcriptional and post-translational events and their associations with cancer and disease. We studied SAGPs in which both gene partners are protein encoding genes (coding-coding SAGPs), their role in human BC development and demonstrated their potential for BC stratification and prognosis. Based on gene expression and correlation analyses we identified the robust set of breast cancer-relevant SAGPs (BCR-SAGPs). We isolated and characterized the sense-antisense gene signature (SAGS) and evaluated its prognostic potential in various gene expression datasets comprising 1161 BC patients. The methods used included the Cox proportional survival analysis, statistical analysis of clinicopathologic parameters and differential gene expression. The SAGS was effective in identification of BC patients with the most aggressive disease. Independently, we validated the SAGS using 58 RNA samples of breast cancer tumors purchased from OriGene Technologies (Rockville, MD).
Sense-antisense gene-pairs in breast cancer and associated pathological pathways.
Age, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesCells were grown to saturation in YPD (YEP + 2% glucose) for 24 hours, diluted into YPA (YEP + 2% potassium acetate) at OD600= 0.3 and grown over night at 30C. Cells were washed with sterilized water the next day and re-suspended in SPII medium (0.3% potassium acetate, pH = 7.0) at OD600= 1.9 to induce sporulation. Cells were sporulated at room temperature or 30C as indicated. Sporulation medium containing benomyl was always prepared freshly on the day of the experiment following the directions in {Shonn, 2000 #90}. Briefly, DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide, Sigma-Aldrich) or benomyl [Methyl 1-(butylcarbamoyl)-2-benzimidazolecarbamate, Sigma-Aldrich; 30 mg/ml stock in DMSO] was dissolved in near-boiling SPII medium to avoid precipitation. The medium was then allowed to slowly cool to 30C or room temperature. At the time of drug treatment, cells were filtered and immediately re-suspended in the medium containing benomyl or DMSO.
Novel response to microtubule perturbation in meiosis.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesAn auxin-binding protein (Abp57) was previously isolated from rice and known to activate plasma membrane proton ATPase. The Abp57 function was characterised by overexpression in the rice and Arabidopsis. The transgene expression was driven by constitutive promoter, CaMV35S. Results from physiological experiments showed that the transgenic lines were tolerant to drought and salinity stress.
Microarray dataset of transgenic rice overexpressing <i>Abp57</i>.
Age, Specimen part
View SamplesPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to immunologic dysregulation. Gene expression profiling has emerged as a promising tool for understanding the pathophysiology of PTSD. However, to date, all but one gene expression study was based on whole blood or unsorted peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), a complex tissue consisting of several populations of cells. The objective of this study was to utilize RNA sequencing to simultaneously profile the gene-expression of four immune cell subpopulations in World Trade Center responders. Pathway analyses identified gene sets related to immune response and inflammation as being among the differentially expressed genes in PTSD, including mast cell activation and regulation in CD4T, interferon-beta production in CD8T, and neutrophil related gene sets in monocytes. These findings are suggestive that immune cell dysregulation involves gene expression in various cell populations.
No associated publication
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesK562 single cell RNA-seq study
No associated publication
No sample metadata fields
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