We have discovered subsets of axon guidance molecules and transcription factors that are enriched in specific subsets of olfactory sensory neurons. We have demonstrated guidance activity for three of the candidate axon guidance genes we identified, suggesting that this approach is an efficient method for characterizing guidance systems relevant to olfactory axon targeting. Overall design: Single-cell RNASeq of OMP-expressing olfactory sensory neurons was performed by capture on Fluidigm-C1 followed by sequencing on Illumina HiSeq2500
Coordination of olfactory receptor choice with guidance receptor expression and function in olfactory sensory neurons.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMetazoan development depends on accurate execution of differentiation programs that allow pluripotent stem cells to adopt specific fates. Differentiation is brought about by global changes to chromatin architecture and transcriptional networks, yet whether other regulatory events support cell fate determination is less well understood. Using a human embryonic stem cell model, we identified the vertebrate-specific ubiquitin ligase Cul3KBTBD8 as an essential regulator of neural crest cell formation. Cul3KBTBD8 monoubiquitylates NOLC1 and its paralog TCOF1, whose mutation underlies the developmental disease Treacher Collins Syndrome that is characterized by a loss of cranial neural crest cells. Ubiquitylation of NOLC1 and TCOF1 drives formation of a platform that connects RNA polymerase I with ribosome modification enzymes, thereby altering the translational program of differentiating cells to support the generation of neural crest cells. We conclude that the dynamic regulation of ribosome function is an important feature of cell fate determination.
Cell-fate determination by ubiquitin-dependent regulation of translation.
Cell line
View SamplesTen eleven translocation (TET) enzymes catalyse the oxidative reactions of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to promote the demethylation process. The reaction intermediate 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been shown to be abundant in embryonic stem cells and tissues, but strongly depleted in human cancers. Genetic mutations of TET2 gene were associated with lleukemia, whereas TET1 downregulation has been shown to promote malignancy in breast cancer. Here, we report that TET1 is downregulated in colon tumours from the initial stage. TET1 silencing in primary epithelial colon cells increase their cellular proliferation while its re-expression in colon cancer cells inhibits their proliferation and the growth of tumour xenografts even at later stages. We found that TET1 binds and maintains hypomethylated the promoter of the DKK genes inhibitors of the WNT signalling to promote their expression. Downregulation of TET1 during colon cancer initiation leads to repression, by DNA methylation the promoters of the inhibitors of the WNT pathway resulting in a constitutive activation of the WNT pathway. Thus the DNA hydroxymethylation mediated by TET1 controlling the WNT signalling is a key player of tumour growth. These results provide new insights for understanding how tumours escape cellular controls Overall design: Transcriptome analysis of Caco-2 cell line expressing TET1 protein.
TET1 is a tumour suppressor that inhibits colon cancer growth by derepressing inhibitors of the WNT pathway.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesSignalling via the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) controls the survival, differentiation and proliferation of macrophages which are a source of the somatic growth factor insulin growth factor 1 (IGF1). Treatment of newborn mice with CSF1 has previously been shown to produce an increase in somatic growth rate and we hypothesised that treatment of neonatal low birth weight (LBW) rats with CSF1 would do the same. Growth rates were not affected, yet CSF1 treatment caused an unexpectedly large, but reversible increase in liver size and hepatic fat deposition in both normal and LBW rats. By transcriptional profiling, we have highlighted numerous CSF1-regulated genes known to be involved in lipid droplet formation in the liver and novel candidate genes for further investigation. In contrast to mice and weaner pigs, CSF1 treatment did not increase hepatocyte proliferation in neonatal rats, rather the data were consistent with increased macrophage proliferation instead. This suggests that Kupffer cells promote lipid accumulation in neonates and treatment to ablate CSF1R signalling may reverse lipid accumulation in the liver.
Macrophage colony-stimulating factor increases hepatic macrophage content, liver growth, and lipid accumulation in neonatal rats.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesAging is a major risk factor for many neurological pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying brain aging and cognitive decline remain elusive. Body tissues are perfused by interstitial fluid (ISF), which is locally reabsorbed via the lymphatic vascular network. In contrast, the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) is devoid of lymphatic vasculature; in the brain, removal of cellular debris and toxic molecules, such as amyloid beta (A?) peptides, is mediated by a combination of transcellular mechanisms of transport across the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers, phagocytosis and digestion by resident microglia and recruited monocytes/macrophages, and CSF influx and ISF efflux through a paravascular route. The recent characterization of meningeal lymphatic vessels prompted a reassessment of the conventional pathways of CNS waste clearance. The role of this vasculature in brain function, specifically in the context of aging and AD, is still poorly understood. Here we show that meningeal lymphatic vessels play an essential role in maintaining brain homeostasis by draining macromolecules from the CNS (CSF and ISF) into the cervical lymph nodes. Using pharmacological, surgical, and genetic models we show that impairment of meningeal lymphatic function in adult mice slows paravascular influx of CSF macromolecules and efflux of ISF macromolecules, and induces cognitive impairment. Treatment with a lymphangiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), enhances meningeal lymphatic drainage of CSF macromolecules, improving brain perfusion and learning and memory performance in aged mice. Disruption of meningeal lymphatic vessels in transgenic mouse models of AD promotes amyloid deposition in the meninges, which closely correlates with human meningeal pathology, and aggravates overall disease severity. Our findings suggest that meningeal lymphatic dysfunction may be an aggravating factor in AD pathology and in age-associated cognitive decline. Thus, augmentation of meningeal lymphatic function might be a promising therapeutic target for preventing or delaying age-associated neurological diseases. Overall design: Male C57BL/6J mice (2 months-old) were injected (intra-cisterna magna) with Visudyne (verteporfin for injection), or vehicle as control, and submitted to a step of photoconversion, to induce meningeal lymphatic vessel ablation. This procedure was repeated 2 weeks later to ensure prolonged meningeal lymphatic dysfunction. 2 weeks after the last surgical procedure, mice were subjected to the MWM test. 3 days after, whole hippocampus was macrodissected and total RNA was extracted for sequencing.
Functional aspects of meningeal lymphatics in ageing and Alzheimer's disease.
Age, Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesAging is a major risk factor for many neurological pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying brain aging and cognitive decline remain elusive. Body tissues are perfused by interstitial fluid (ISF), which is locally reabsorbed via the lymphatic vascular network. In contrast, the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) is devoid of lymphatic vasculature; in the brain, removal of cellular debris and toxic molecules, such as amyloid beta (A?) peptides, is mediated by a combination of transcellular mechanisms of transport across the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers, phagocytosis and digestion by resident microglia and recruited monocytes/macrophages, and CSF influx and ISF efflux through a paravascular route. The recent characterization of meningeal lymphatic vessels prompted a reassessment of the conventional pathways of CNS waste clearance. The role of this vasculature in brain function, specifically in the context of aging and AD, is still poorly understood. Here we show that meningeal lymphatic vessels play an essential role in maintaining brain homeostasis by draining macromolecules from the CNS (CSF and ISF) into the cervical lymph nodes. Using pharmacological, surgical, and genetic models we show that impairment of meningeal lymphatic function in adult mice slows paravascular influx of CSF macromolecules and efflux of ISF macromolecules, and induces cognitive impairment. Treatment with a lymphangiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), enhances meningeal lymphatic drainage of CSF macromolecules, improving brain perfusion and learning and memory performance in aged mice. Disruption of meningeal lymphatic vessels in transgenic mouse models of AD promotes amyloid deposition in the meninges, which closely correlates with human meningeal pathology, and aggravates overall disease severity. Our findings suggest that meningeal lymphatic dysfunction may be an aggravating factor in AD pathology and in age-associated cognitive decline. Thus, augmentation of meningeal lymphatic function might be a promising therapeutic target for preventing or delaying age-associated neurological diseases. Overall design: Male C57BL/6J mice (2 months-old) were injected (intra-cisterna magna) with Visudyne (verteporfin for injection), or vehicle as control, and submitted to a step of photoconversion, to induce meningeal lymphatic vessel ablation. This procedure was repeated 2 weeks later to ensure prolonged meningeal lymphatic dysfunction. 2 weeks after the last surgical procedure, whole hippocampus was macrodissected and total RNA was extracted for sequencing.
Functional aspects of meningeal lymphatics in ageing and Alzheimer's disease.
Age, Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesAging is a major risk factor for many neurological pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying brain aging and cognitive decline remain elusive. Body tissues are perfused by interstitial fluid (ISF), which is locally reabsorbed via the lymphatic vascular network. In contrast, the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS) is devoid of lymphatic vasculature; in the brain, removal of cellular debris and toxic molecules, such as amyloid beta (A?) peptides, is mediated by a combination of transcellular mechanisms of transport across the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers, phagocytosis and digestion by resident microglia and recruited monocytes/macrophages, and CSF influx and ISF efflux through a paravascular route. The recent characterization of meningeal lymphatic vessels prompted a reassessment of the conventional pathways of CNS waste clearance. The role of this vasculature in brain function, specifically in the context of aging and AD, is still poorly understood. Here we show that meningeal lymphatic vessels play an essential role in maintaining brain homeostasis by draining macromolecules from the CNS (CSF and ISF) into the cervical lymph nodes. Using pharmacological, surgical, and genetic models we show that impairment of meningeal lymphatic function in adult mice slows paravascular influx of CSF macromolecules and efflux of ISF macromolecules, and induces cognitive impairment. Treatment with a lymphangiogenic factor, vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), enhances meningeal lymphatic drainage of CSF macromolecules, improving brain perfusion and learning and memory performance in aged mice. Disruption of meningeal lymphatic vessels in transgenic mouse models of AD promotes amyloid deposition in the meninges, which closely correlates with human meningeal pathology, and aggravates overall disease severity. Our findings suggest that meningeal lymphatic dysfunction may be an aggravating factor in AD pathology and in age-associated cognitive decline. Thus, augmentation of meningeal lymphatic function might be a promising therapeutic target for preventing or delaying age-associated neurological diseases. Overall design: Lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) were isolated from meninges of adult (2-3 months-old) or old (20-24 months-old) male C57BL/6 mice. Cells were sorted by FACS according to the following phenotype: CD45-CD31+PDPN+.
Functional aspects of meningeal lymphatics in ageing and Alzheimer's disease.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Dynamic chromatin localization of Sirt6 shapes stress- and aging-related transcriptional networks.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesMicroarray expression profiling has become a valuable tool in the evaluation of the genetic consequences of metabolic disease. Although 3-biased gene expression microarray platforms were the first generation to have widespread availability, newer platforms are gradually emerging that have more up-to-date content and/or higher cost efficiency. Deciphering the relative strengths and weaknesses of these various platforms for metabolic pathway level analyses can be daunting. We sought to determine the practical strengths and weaknesses of four leading commercially-available expression array platforms relative to biologic investigations, as well as assess the feasibility of cross-platform data integration for purposes of biochemical pathway analyses. METHODS: Liver RNA from B6.Alb/cre,Pdss2loxP/loxP mice having primary Coenzyme Q deficiency was extracted either at baseline or following treatment with an antioxidant/antihyperlipidemic agent, probucol. Target RNA samples were prepared and hybridized to Affymetrix 430 2.0, Affymetrix Gene 1.0 ST, Affymetrix Exon 1.0 ST, and Illumina Mouse WG-6 expression arrays. Probes on all platforms were re-mapped to coding sequences in the current version of the mouse genome. Data processing and statistical analysis were performed by R/Bioconductor functions, and pathway analyses were carried out by KEGG Atlas and GSEA. RESULTS: Expression measurements were generally consistent across platforms. However, intensive probe-level comparison suggested that differences in probe locations were a major source of inter-platform variance. In addition, genes expressed at low or intermediate levels had lower inter-platform reproducibility than highly expressed genes. All platforms showed similar patterns of differential expression between sample groups, with steroid biosynthesis consistently identified as the most down-regulated metabolic pathway by probucol treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This work offers a timely guide for metabolic disease investigators to enable informed end-user decisions regarding choice of expression microarray platform best-suited to specific research project goals. Successful cross-platform integration of biochemical pathway expression data is also demonstrated, especially for well-annotated and highly-expressed genes. However, integration of gene-level expression data is limited by individual platform probe design and the expression level of target genes. Cross-platform analyses of biochemical pathway data will require additional data processing and novel computational bioinformatics tools to address unique statistical challenges.
Cross-platform expression microarray performance in a mouse model of mitochondrial disease therapy.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesSirtuins (Sirt) are a family of enzymes that modify chromatin and other proteins to affect gene activity. Loss of Sirt6 leads to a progeria-like phenotype in mice, but the target of SIRT6 action has been elusive. Here we show that Sirt6 binds to thousands of gene promoters in a stress-inducible fashion, guided by the stress-responsive transcription factor NF-B.
Dynamic chromatin localization of Sirt6 shapes stress- and aging-related transcriptional networks.
Specimen part, Treatment
View Samples