Transplanting renal allografts represents the major curative treatment of chronic renal failure. Despite recent advances in immunosuppressive therapy, long-term survival of allografts remains a major clinical problem. Kidney function depends in part on transport proteins such as MRP2 (ABCC2) which facilitates renal secretion of amphiphilic exogenous and endogenous compounds. Inherited variants of genes not related to the immune system have been shown to modify the outcome after renal transplantation. We investigated whether ABCC2 gene variants in the donor kidney affect renal graft function.
Multidrug resistance-related protein 2 genotype of the donor affects kidney graft function.
Sex
View SamplesPericytes derived from skin dermis can substantially enhance the short-term tissue-regenerative capacity of human epidermal cells already committed to differentiation; they also display both phenotypic and functional properties of mesenchymal stem cells. In this microarray analysis, we compared the gene expression profile of dermal pericytes to that of the remaining dermal cells of neonatal human foreskin.
A role for pericytes as microenvironmental regulators of human skin tissue regeneration.
Specimen part
View SamplesWNT-induced secreted protein 1 (WISP1/CCN4), a member of the CCN protein family, acts as a downstream factor of the canonical WNT-signaling pathway. A dysregulated expression of WISP1 often reflects its oncogenic potential by inhibition of apoptosis, a necessary form of cell death that protect cell populations for transformation into malignant phenotypes. WISP1-signaling is also known to affect proliferation and differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which are fundamental for the constitution and maintenance of the musculoskeletal system. Our study emphasizes the importance of WISP1-signaling for cell survival of primary human cells. Therefore, we established a successful down-regulation of endogenous WISP1 transcripts through gene silencing in hMSCs. We were able to demonstrate the consequence of cell death immediately after WISP1 down-regulation took place. Bioinformatical analyses of subsequent performed microarrays from WISP1 down-regulated vs. control samples confirmed this observation. We uncovered several clusters of differential expressed genes important for cellular apoptosis induction and immuno-regulatory processes, thereby indicating TRAIL-induced and p53-mediated apoptosis as well as IFNbeta-signaling. Since all of them act as potent inhibitors for malignant cell growth, in vitro knowledge about the connection with WISP1-signaling could help to find new therapeutic approaches concerning cancerogenesis and tumor growth in musculoskeletal tissues.
WISP 1 is an important survival factor in human mesenchymal stromal cells.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesIn this study we analyzed the myeloma cell contact-mediated changes on the transcriptome of skeletal precursor cells. Therefore, human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and osteogenic precursor cells (OPC) were co-cultured with the representative myeloma cell line INA-6 for 24 h. Afterwards, MSC and OPC were separated from INA-6 cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting. Total RNA of MSC and OPC fractions was used for whole genome array analysis.
Contact of myeloma cells induces a characteristic transcriptome signature in skeletal precursor cells -Implications for myeloma bone disease.
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Disease stage
View SamplesGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified dozens of genomic loci, whose single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) predispose to prostate cancer (PCa). However, the biological functions of these common genetic variants and the mechanisms to increase disease risk are largely unknown. We integrated chromatin-IP coupled sequencing (ChIP-seq) and microarray expression profiling in the TMPRSS2-ERG gene rearrangement positive DuCaP cell model with the NHGRI GWAS PCa risk SNPs catalog, in an attempt to identify disease susceptibility SNPs localized within functional androgen receptor binding sites (ARBSs). Among the 48 GWAS index SNPs and 2,702 linked SNPs defined by the 1000G project 104 were found to be localized in the AR ChIP-seq peaks. Of these risk SNPs, rs11891426 T/G in the 7th intron of its host gene melanophilin (MLPH) was found located within a putative auxiliary ARE motif, which we found enriched in the neighborhood of canonical ARE motifs. Exchange of T to G attenuated the transcriptional activity of the MLPH-ARBS in a reporter gene assay. The expression of MLPH protein in tissue samples from prostate cancer patients was significantly lower in those with the G compared to the T allele. Moreover, a significant positive correlation of AR and MLPH protein expression levels was also confirmed in tissue samples. These results unravel a hidden link between AR and a functional PCa risk SNP rs11891426, whose allele alteration affects androgen regulation of its host gene MLPH. This study shows the power of integrative studies to pin down functional risk SNPs and justifies further investigations.
Putative Prostate Cancer Risk SNP in an Androgen Receptor-Binding Site of the Melanophilin Gene Illustrates Enrichment of Risk SNPs in Androgen Receptor Target Sites.
Cell line, Treatment, Time
View SamplesGrowth factor independence genes (Gfi1 and Gfi1b) repress recombination activating genes (Rag) transcription in developing B lymphocytes. Because all blood lineages originate from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and different lineage progenitors have been shown to share transcription factor networks prior to cell fate commitment, we hypothesized that GFI family proteins may also play a role in repressing Rag transcription or a global lymphoid transcriptional program in other blood lineages. We tested the level of Rag transcription in various blood cells when Gfi1 and Gfi1b were deleted, and observed an upregulation of Rag expression in plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). Using microarray analysis, we observed that Gfi1 and Gfi1b regulate a broad spectrum of cellular processes in pDCs, but not a lymphoid specific transcriptional program. This study establishes a role for Gfi1 and Gfi1b in Rag regulation in a non-B lineage cell type
Gfi1 and gfi1b repress rag transcription in plasmacytoid dendritic cells in vitro.
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View SamplesDepression is a complex and heterogeneous disorder and a leading contributor to the global burden of of disease. Most previous research has focused on individual brain regions and individual genes that contribute to depression. However, emerging evidence in both humans and animal models suggests that dysregulated circuit function and gene expression across multiple brain regions drive depressive phenotypes. Here we use a bioinformatics approach intersecting differential expression analysis with weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify transcriptional networks that regulate susceptibility to depressive-like symptoms in mice. We performed RNA-sequencing on multiple brain regions from control animals and those either susceptible or resilient to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) at multiple time points after defeat. We bioinformatically identified several transcriptional networks that regulate depression susceptibility, and in vivo manipulations of these networks confirmed their functional significance at the levels of gene transcription, synaptic regulation, and behavior. Our findings reveal novel transcriptional networks that control stress susceptibility and offer fundamentally new leads for antidepressant drug discovery. Overall design: RNA-seq samples were generated from 4 brain regions (nucleus accumbens (NAC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala (AMY) and ventral hippocampus (VHIP) ) at 3 time-points (48h, 28d, 28d +1h stress) after chronic social defeat stress in control, susceptible and resilient mice. Additionally, RNA-seq samples were generated from virally infected VHIP tissue (HSV-GFP or HSV-Dkkl1) after an accelerated social defeat to assess the effect of Dkkl1 over-expression.
Circuit-wide Transcriptional Profiling Reveals Brain Region-Specific Gene Networks Regulating Depression Susceptibility.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject, Time
View SamplesThe protease activity of the paracaspase MALT1 plays an important role in antigen receptor-mediated lymphocyte activation by controlling the activity of the transcription factor NF-kB and is thus essential for the expression of inflammatory target genes.
MALT1 Protease Activity Controls the Expression of Inflammatory Genes in Keratinocytes upon Zymosan Stimulation.
Treatment
View SamplesPurpose: In acute myeloid leukemia (AML) without retinoic acid receptor (RAR) rearrangement the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is still poorly understood despite an association of NPM1 mutation and ATRA response. Recently, PRAME (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma) has been shown to be a dominant repressor of RAR-signaling. Experimental design: Thus, we further investigated ATRA response mechanisms, especially the impact of PRAME expression on ATRA-responsiveness by profiling gene expression in K562 cell lines. Results: Our data revealed a PRAME-expression associated gene pattern to be significantly enriched for genes involved in the retinoic acid metabolic process. In leukemia cell line models we could demonstrate that retinoic acid-regulated cell proliferation and differentiation are impacted by PRAME expression. Conclusions: PRAME seems to impair differentiation and to increase proliferation likely via blocking RAR-signaling, which might be reversed by ATRA.
PRAME-induced inhibition of retinoic acid receptor signaling-mediated differentiation--a possible target for ATRA response in AML without t(15;17).
Treatment
View SamplesThe transcription factor Evi1 is essential for the formation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, and induces clonal dominance with malignant progression upon constitutive activation by chromosomal rearrangements or transgene integration events. To understand the immediate and adaptive response of primary murine hematopoietic cells to the transcriptional upregulation of Evi1, we developed an inducible lentiviral vector system with a robust expression switch. We found that Evi1 delays differentiation and promotes survival in myeloid culture conditions, orchestrating a battery of genes involved in stemness (Aldh1a1, Ly6a [Sca1], Abca1, Epcam, among others). Importantly, Evi1 suppresses Cyclins and Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk), while it upregulates Cdk inhibitors, inducing quiescence in various proliferation-inducing cytokine conditions and operating in a strictly dose-dependent manner. Hematopoietic cells with persisting Evi1-induction tend to adopt a relatively low expression level. We thus classify Evi1 as a dormancy-inducing oncogene, likely requiring epigenetic and genetic compensation for cell expansion and malignant progression.
Activation of Evi1 inhibits cell cycle progression and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.
Specimen part
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