The role of paracrine/autocrine factors in inflammation, immune response and tumor development is well established. There is also an evidence that some of the cytokines there involved may participate in the regulation of the male gonads. However, their involvement in pathogenesis of male infertility has not been well defined yet. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression levels of IL-1 family members, IL-6, IL-10, TNF family, SCF and c-kit in infertile patients with idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) compared to men with normal spermatogenesis
The gene expression analysis of paracrine/autocrine factors in patients with spermatogenetic failure compared with normal spermatogenesis.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesWe analyzed gene expression profiles of human testicular biopsies in men with idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia. Using new generation oligonucleotide microarray platform GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST, we identified genes which could be potential biomarkers of azoospermia and molecular indicators that could determine a particular stage of impaired spermatogenesis. Thus, we shed light on genes which were had so far been weakly characterized and which were had never related to infertility before. These studies also included the comparative analysis of the hierarchical clustering of gene expression profile with histopathological data provided for azoospermic patients.
Potential biomarkers of nonobstructive azoospermia identified in microarray gene expression analysis.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesThe success of many pathogens relies on their ability to circumvent the innate and adaptive immune defenses. How bacterial pathogens subvert host responses is not clear. Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) represent an expansive family of homologous pore-forming toxins produced by more than 20 Gram-positive bacterial species. Here we show that listeriolysin O (LLO), a prototype CDC produced by Listeria monocytogenes, inhibits antigen receptor-induced T cell proliferation. In vivo proliferation of OT II T cells was highly diminished in the presence of wild type but not the LLO-deficient bacteria. T cells pre-exposed to LLO ex vivo were also impaired in proliferation upon TCR activation in vivo and in vitro. Our results suggest that LLO-induced T cell unresponsiveness is due to the sub-threshold activation of T cells via the induction of a calcium-NFAT dependent transcriptional program that drives the expression of negative regulators of TCR signaling.
Listeria monocytogenes induces T cell receptor unresponsiveness through pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesTo identify epigenetically silenced genes in multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines and to determine the effects of 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A on gene expression. We treated 3 multiple myeloma cell lines (MM1, NCI-H929, U266) with 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine and/or trichostatin A.
Genome-wide transcriptional response to 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin a in multiple myeloma cells.
Specimen part, Disease, Cell line
View SamplesType I Interferons encompasses a large family of closely related cytokines comprising of at least 13 IFN- isotypes and single IFN-. Both IFN- and IFN- exert their activity through a common receptor IFNAR. Type I Interferons have broad regulatory effects and various subtypes of dendritic cells are influenced by this cytokines. In our study we asked question whether the low, constitutive levels of type I Interferons produced under steady state conditions are important for proper function of splenic conventional dendritic cells.
Absence of IFN-beta impairs antigen presentation capacity of splenic dendritic cells via down-regulation of heat shock protein 70.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesMorbidity and mortality associated with retinoblastoma have decreased drastically in recent decades, in large part due to better prediction of high-risk disease and appropriate treatment stratification. High-risk histopathologic features and severe anaplasia both predict the need for more aggressive treatment; however, not all centers are able to easily assess tumor samples for degree of anaplasia. Instead, identification of genetic signatures able to distinguish among anaplastic grades and thus predict high versus low risk retinoblastoma would facilitate appropriate risk stratification in a wider patient population. A better understanding of genes dysregulated in anaplasia would also yield valuable insights into pathways underlying the development of more severe retinoblastoma. Here, we present the histopathologic and gene expression analysis of 28 retinoblastoma cases using microarray analysis. Tumors of differing anaplastic grade show clear differential gene expression, with significant dysregulation of unique genes and pathways in severe anaplasia. Photoreceptor and nucleoporin expression in particular are identified as highly dysregulated in severe anaplasia and suggest particular cellular processes contributing to the development of increased retinoblastoma severity. A limited set of highly differentially expressed genes are also able to accurately predict severe anaplasia in our dataset. Together, these data contribute to the understanding of the development of anaplasia and facilitate the identification of genetic markers of high-risk retinoblastoma.
Distinct Gene Expression Profiles Define Anaplastic Grade in Retinoblastoma.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Genome-wide CpG island methylation analyses in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Specimen part, Disease, Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesEpigenetic changes largely contribute to the regulation of gene expression in cancer cells. DNA methylation is part of the epigenetic gene regulation complex which is relevant for the pathogenesis of cancer. We performed a genome-wide search for methylated CpG islands in tumors and corresponding non-malignant lung tissue samples of 101 stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients by combining methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and microarray analysis using NimbleGens 385K Human CpG Island plus Promoter arrays. By testing for differences in methylation between tumors and corresponding non-malignant lung tissues, we identified 298 tumor-specifically methylated genes. From many of these genes epigenetic regulation was unknown so far. Gene Ontology analysis revealed an over-representation of genes involved in regulation of gene expression and cell adhesion. Expression of 182 of 298 genes was found to be upregulated after 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (Aza-dC) and/or trichostatin A (TSA) treatment of 3 NSCLC cell lines by Affymetrix microarray analysis. In addition, methylation of selected genes in primary NSCLCs and corresponding non-malignant lung tissue samples were analyzed by methylation-sensitive high resolution melting analysis (MS-HRM). Our results obtained by MS-HRM analysis confirmed our data obtained by MeDIP-chip analysis. Moreover, by comparing methylation results from MeDIP-chip analysis with clinico-pathological parameters of the patients we observed methylation of HOXA2 as potential parameter for shorter disease-free survival of NSCLC patients. In conclusion, using a genome-wide approach we identified a large number of tumor-specifically methylated genes in NSCLC patients. Our results stress the importance of DNA methylation for the pathogenesis of NSCLCs.
Genome-wide CpG island methylation analyses in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesSingle-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) offers new possibilities to address biological and medical questions. However, systematic comparisons of the performance of diverse scRNA-seq protocols are lacking. We generated data from 583 mouse embryonic stem cells to evaluate six prominent scRNA-seq methods: CEL-seq2, Drop-seq, MARS-seq, SCRB-seq, Smart-seq and Smart-seq2. While Smart-seq2 detected the most genes per cell and across cells, CEL-seq2, Drop-seq, MARS-seq and SCRB-seq quantified mRNA levels with less amplification noise due to the use of unique molecular identifiers (UMIs). Power simulations at different sequencing depths showed that Drop-seq is more cost-efficient for transcriptome quantification of large numbers of cells, while MARS-seq, SCRB-seq and Smart-seq2 are more efficient when analyzing fewer cells. Our quantitative comparison offers the basis for an informed choice among six prominent scRNA-seq methods and provides a framework for benchmarking further improvements of scRNA-seq protocols. Overall design: J1 mESC in two replicates per library preparation method.
A systematic evaluation of single cell RNA-seq analysis pipelines.
Cell line, Subject
View SamplesBackground Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) experiments typically analyze hundreds or thousands of cells after amplification of the cDNA. The high throughput is made possible by the early introduction of sample-specific bar codes (BCs), and the amplification bias is alleviated by unique molecular identifiers (UMIs). Thus, the ideal analysis pipeline for scRNA-seq data needs to efficiently tabulate reads according to both BC and UMI. Findings zUMIs is a pipeline that can handle both known and random BCs and also efficiently collapse UMIs, either just for exon mapping reads or for both exon and intron mapping reads. If BC annotation is missing, zUMIs can accurately detect intact cells from the distribution of sequencing reads. Another unique feature of zUMIs is the adaptive downsampling function that facilitates dealing with hugely varying library sizes but also allows the user to evaluate whether the library has been sequenced to saturation. To illustrate the utility of zUMIs, we analyzed a single-nucleus RNA-seq dataset and show that more than 35% of all reads map to introns. Also, we show that these intronic reads are informative about expression levels, significantly increasing the number of detected genes and improving the cluster resolution. Conclusions zUMIs flexibility makes if possible to accommodate data generated with any of the major scRNA-seq protocols that use BCs and UMIs and is the most feature-rich, fast, and user-friendly pipeline to process such scRNA-seq data. Overall design: HEK293T cells were sequenced using the mcSCRB-seq protocol (Bagnoli et al., 2017)
zUMIs - A fast and flexible pipeline to process RNA sequencing data with UMIs.
Cell line, Subject
View Samples