The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) contains the essential protein RICTOR and is activated by growth factors. mTORC2 in adipose tissue contributes to regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. In the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) mTORC2 ensures normal vascular reactivity by controlling expression of inflammatory molecules. To assess whether RICTOR/mTORC2 contributes to blood pressure regulation, we applied a radiotelemetry approach in control and Rictor knockout (RictoraP2KO) mice generated by using adipocyte protein-2 gene promoter-driven CRE recombinase to delete Rictor. 24 hour mean arterial pressure (MAP) was increased in RictoraP2KO mice, and the physiologic decline in MAP during the dark period impaired. In parallel, heart rate and locomotor activity were elevated during the dark period with a pattern similar to blood pressure changes. This phenotype was associated with mild cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, decreased cardiac natriuretic peptides (NPs) and NP receptor expression in adipocytes. Moreover, clock gene expression was dampened or phase-shifted in PVAT. No differences in clock gene expression were observed in the master clock suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), though Rictor gene expression was also lower in brain of RictoraP2KO mice. Thus, the present study underscores the importance of RICTOR/mTORC2 for interactions between vasculature, adipocytes and brain to tune physiological outcomes such as blood pressure and locomotion.
Deletion of Rictor in brain and fat alters peripheral clock gene expression and increases blood pressure.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesLncRNA H19X was silienced in dermal fibroblats of systemic sclerosis patients with antisense oligonuclotides. The hypothesis tested in the present study was that H19X is an important factor in the development of TGFb-driven fibrosis. Results provide important information about the role H19X in fibroblasts in particolar on extracellular matrix production and cell cycle regulation.
Long noncoding RNA H19X is a key mediator of TGF-β-driven fibrosis.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Treatment
View SamplesGlucocorticoids are a well recognized and common cause of muscle atrophy. Glucocorticoid-induced atrophy can be prevented by testosterone, but the molecular mechanisms underlying such protection have not been described. Thus, the global effects of testosterone on dexamethasone-induced changes in gene expression were evaluated in rat gastrocnemius muscle using Affymetrix 230_2 DNA microarrays. Gene expression was analyzed after 7 days administration of dexamethasone, dexamethasone plus testosterone, or vehicle. Effects of these agents on weights of gastrocnemius muscles from these animals has been reported (1. Zhao W, Pan J, Zhao Z, Wu Y, Bauman WA, and Cardozo CP. Testosterone protects against dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy, protein degradation and MAFbx upregulation. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 110: 125-129, 2008.) Dexamethasone changed expression of 876 probe sets by at least 2-fold, of which 474 probe sets were changed by at least two fold in the opposite direction in the dexamethasone plus testosterone group (genes in opposition). Major biological themes represented by genes in opposition included IGF-1 signaling, protein synthesis, myogenesis and muscle development, and ubiquitin conjugases and ligases. Testosterone blocked increased expression of DDIT4 and eIF4EBP1, FOXO1 and of the p85 regulatory subunit of the IGF-1 receptor, while preventing decreased expression of IRS-1. Testosterone blocked decreased expression of LXR and suppressed upregulation of C/EBP beta and delta. Testosterone prevented increase expression of Cdkn1A (p21) and decrease expression of cyclins B and D, as well as many other changes that would be expected to reduce cell cycle progression. Testosterone prevented increased expression of muscle development factors Csrp3 and Mbn1 and blocked reduced expression of Wnt4. These data suggest that testosterone blocks multiple changes in gene expression that, collectively, would otherwise downregulate molecular signals that promote protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy and that stimulate muscle protein catabolism.
REDD1 is a major target of testosterone action in preventing dexamethasone-induced muscle loss.
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View SamplesHuman aging is associated with loss of function and regenerative capacity. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) are involved in tissue regeneration, evidenced by their capacity to differentiate into several lineages and therefore are considered the gold standard for cell-based regeneration therapy. Tissue maintenance and regeneration is dependent on stem cells and declines with age and aging is thought to influence therapeutic efficacy, therefore, more insight in the process of aging of hMSCs is of high interest. We, therefore, hypothesized that hMSCs might reflect signs of aging. In order to find markers for donor age, early passage hMSCs were isolated from bone marrow of 61 donors, with ages varying from 17-84, and clinical parameters, in vitro characteristics and microarray analysis were assessed. Although clinical parameters and in vitro performance did not yield reliable markers for aging since large donor variations were present, genome-wide microarray analysis resulted in a considerable list of genes correlating with human age. By comparing the transcriptional profile of aging in human with the one from rat, we discovered follistatin as a common marker for aging in both species. The gene signature presented here could be a useful tool for drug testing to rejuvenate hMSCs or for the selection of more potent, hMSCs for cell-based therapy.
A mesenchymal stromal cell gene signature for donor age.
Sex, Age
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Wnt signaling potentiates nevogenesis.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesMelanocytes within benign human nevi are the paradigm for tumor suppressive senescent cells in a pre-malignant neoplasm. These cells typically contain mutations in either the BRAF or N-RAS oncogene and express markers of senescence, including p16. However, a nevus can contain 10s to 100s of thousands of clonal melanocytes and approximately 20-30% of melanoma are thought to arise in association with a pre-existing nevus. Neither observation is indicative of fail-safe senescence-associated proliferation arrest and tumor suppression. We set out to better understand the status of nevus melanocytes. Proliferation-promoting Wnt target genes, such as cyclin D1 and c-myc, were repressed in oncogene-induced senescent melanocytes in vitro, and repression of Wnt signaling in these cells induced a senescent-like state. In contrast, cyclin D1 and c-myc were expressed in many melanocytes of human benign nevi. Specifically, activated Wnt signalling in nevi correlated inversely with nevus maturation, an established dermatopathological correlate of clinical benignancy. Single cell analyses of lone epidermal melanocytes and nevus melanocytes showed that expression of proliferation-promoting Wnt targets correlates with prior proliferative expansion of p16-expressing nevus melanocytes. In a mouse model, activation of Wnt signaling delayed, but did not bypass, senescence of oncogene-expressing melanocytes, leading to massive accumulation of proliferation-arrested, p16-positive non-malignant melanocytes. We conclude that clonal hyperproliferation of oncogene-expressing melanocytes to form a nevus is facilitated by transient delay of senescence due to activated Wnt signaling. The observation that activation of Wnt signaling correlates inversely with nevus maturation, an indicator of clinical benignancy, supports the notion that persistent destabilization of senescence by Wnt signaling contributes to the malignant potential of nevi.
Wnt signaling potentiates nevogenesis.
Specimen part
View SamplesWe evaluated transcriptional profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 54 pregnant women in Kenya, 19 of whom delivered preterm.
Influenza-Induced Interferon Lambda Response Is Associated With Longer Time to Delivery Among Pregnant Kenyan Women.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesDystonia is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions. Its many forms are genetically, phenotypically and etiologically diverse and it is unknown whether their pathogenesis converges on shared pathways. Mutations in THAP1, a zinc-finger transcription factor, cause DYT6, but its neuronal targets and functions are unknown. We used RNA-Seq to assay the in vivo effect of a heterozygote Thap1C54Y or ?Exon2 allele on the gene transcription signatures in neonatal mouse striatum and cerebellum. Enriched pathways and gene ontology terms include eIF2a Signaling, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Neuron Projection Development, Axonal Guidance Signaling, and Synaptic Long Term Depression pathways, which are dysregulated in a genotype and tissue-dependent manner. Electrophysiological and neurite outgrowth assays confirmed the functional significance of those findings. Notably, several of these pathways were recently implicated in other forms of inherited dystonia, including DYT1. We conclude that dysfunction of these pathways may represent a point of convergence on the pathogenesis of unrelated forms of inherited dystonia. Overall design: We used RNA-Seq to assay the in vivo effect of a heterozygote Thap1C54Y or deltaExon2 allele on the gene transcription signatures in neonatal mouse striatum and cerebellum
Mutations in THAP1/DYT6 reveal that diverse dystonia genes disrupt similar neuronal pathways and functions.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesWe sorted for GFP+ cells using the enhancer trap J0571 with the UAS promoter driving the expression of different BIRD genes. Different genetic backgrounds are use and listed below.
Transcriptional control of tissue formation throughout root development.
Specimen part
View SamplesDuring gastrulation, epiblast cells are pluripotent and their fate is thought to be constrained principally by their position. Cell fate is progressively restricted by localised signalling cues from areas including the primitive streak (PS). However, it is unknown whether this restriction accompanies, at the single cell level, a reduction in potency. Investigation of these early transition events in vitro is possible via the use of Epiblast Stem Cells (EpiSCs), self-renewing pluripotent cell lines equivalent to the postimplantation epiblast. Strikingly, EpiSCs express various early lineage-specific markers in self-renewing conditions. However, it is unknown whether cells that express these markers are pluripotent, spontaneously differentiated, or biased towards specific lineages. Here we show that EpiSC are inherently heterogeneous and contain two major and mutually exclusive subpopulations with PS and neural characteristics respectively. Using differentiation assays and embryo grafting we demonstrate that PS-like EpiSCs are biased towards mesoderm and endoderm differentiation but they still retain their pluripotent character. The acquisition of a PS character by undifferentiated EpiSC is mediated by paracrine Wnt signalling. Elevation of Wnt activity promotes further restriction into PS-associated cell fates which occurs via the generation of distinct clonal mesendodermal and neuromesodermal precursors. Collectively, our data suggest that primed pluripotency encompasses a range of reversible lineage-biased states reflecting the birth of pioneer lineage precursors from a pool of uncommitted EpiSCs similar to the earliest cell fate restriction events taking place in the gastrula-stage epiblast.
Distinct Wnt-driven primitive streak-like populations reflect in vivo lineage precursors.
Sex, Specimen part
View Samples