The virulent Lassa fever virus (LASV) and the non-pathogenic Mopeia virus (MOPV) infect rodents and incidentally people in West Africa. The mechanism of LASV damage in human beings is unclear. A live-attenuated reassortant of MOPV and LASV protects rodents and primates from Lassa fever disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy human subjects were expose to either LASV or ML29 in order to identify early cellular responses that could be attributed to the difference in virulence between both viruses. Differential expression of interferon-related genes as well as coagulation-related genes could lead to an explanation for Lassa fever pathogenesis and lead to protective treatments for Lassa fever disease.
Transcriptome analysis of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to Lassa virus and to the attenuated Mopeia/Lassa reassortant 29 (ML29), a vaccine candidate.
Specimen part
View SamplesLassa fever (LF) is a rodent-borne viral disease that can be fatal for human beings. In this study, an attenuated Lassa vaccine candidate, ML29, was tested in SIV-infected rhesus macaques for its ability to elicit immune responses without instigating signs of virulent disease. ML29 is a reassortant between Lassa and Mopeia viruses that causes a transient infection in non-human primates and confers sterilizing protection from lethal Lassa viral challenge. However, since the LF endemic area of West Africa also has high HIV seroprevalence, it is important to determine whether vaccination could be safe in the context of AIDS. SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques were vaccinated with the ML29 virus and monitored for classical and non-classical signs of arenavirus disease. Classical disease signs included viremia, rash, weight loss, high liver enzyme levels, and virus invasion of the central nervous system. Non-classical signs derived from profiling the blood transcriptome of virulent and non-virulent arenavirus infections included increased expression of interferon response genes and decreased expression of COX2, IL-1?, coagulation intermediates and nuclear receptors needed for stress signaling. Here it is demonstrated that SIV-infected and uninfected rhesus macaques responded similarly to ML29 vaccination, and that none developed signs of arenavirus disease or persistence. Furthermore, 5 of 5 animals given a heterologous challenge with a lethal dose of LCMV-WE survived without developing disease signs.
An attenuated Lassa vaccine in SIV-infected rhesus macaques does not persist or cause arenavirus disease but does elicit Lassa virus-specific immunity.
Specimen part
View SamplesIn mammals, chromosomes are partitioned into megabase-sized topologically associating domains (TADs). TADs can be in either A (active) or B (inactive) subnuclear compartments, which correspond to early (E) and late (L) replicating timing (RT) domains, respectively. Here, we show that RT changes are tightly correlated with A/B compartment changes during mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) differentiation. A/B compartments changed mostly by a “boundary shift,” frequently causing compartment switching of single TADs, which coincided with or preceded RT changes. Upon differentiation, mESCs acquired an A/B compartment organization that closely resembled EpiSCs (epiblast-derived stem cells), suggesting that accumulation of compartment boundary repositioning eventually led to naïve-to-primed pluripotency transition in A/B compartment organization. We propose that large-scale reorganization of A/B compartments, which is reflected in RT domain reorganization, represents major cell fate changes. Collectively, our data provides valuable insights into the regulatory principles of 3-dimensional (3D) genome organization during early embryonic stages. Overall design: RNA-Seq: 9 cell types, with a total of 34 individual replicates.
Single-cell DNA replication profiling identifies spatiotemporal developmental dynamics of chromosome organization.
Specimen part, Subject
View SamplesOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease of the joint. Data from our lab indicates that Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is activated in human OA and murine models of OA (Lin et al., 2009, Nature Medicine). To identify Hh target genes, microarray analyses were performed to detect changes in gene expression when the Hh pathway was inhibited in human OA cartilage samples.
Regulation of Cholesterol Homeostasis by Hedgehog Signaling in Osteoarthritic Cartilage.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesThe aim of this study was to identify chemoresistance-associated genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Identification of transmembrane protein 98 as a novel chemoresistance-conferring gene in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Cell line
View SamplesWe are currently studying the mechanisms that confer tumour initiating potential upon SP, and as part of this work, we undertook gene profiling studies comparing expression between SP and non-SP cells, initially focusing on the most common soft tissue sarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma (or MFH)
Hedgehog and Notch signaling regulate self-renewal of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesPrimitive neural stem cells (NSCs) could be derived from pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, and then differentiate into definitive-type neural stem cells which resemble NSCs obtained from the central nervous system. Hence, primitive NSCs define an early stage of neural induction and provide a model to understand the mechanism that controls initial neural commitment.
LIF-dependent primitive neural stem cells derived from mouse ES cells represent a reversible stage of neural commitment.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesTumours contain heterogeneous cell populations. A population enriched in tumour-initiating potential has been identified in soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) by the isolation of side population (SP) cells. In this study, we compared the gene expression profiles of SP and non-SP cells in STS and identified Hedgehog (Hh) and Notch pathways as potential candidates for the targeting of SP cells. Upon verification of the activation of these pathways in SP cells, using primary tumor xenografts in NOD-SCID mice as our experimental model, we used the Hh blocker Triparanol and the Notch blocker DAPT to demonstrate that the suppression of these pathways effectively depleted the abundance of SP cells, reduced tumour growth, and inhibited the tumour-initiating potential of the treated sarcoma cells upon secondary transplantation. The data provide additional evidence that SP cells act as tumour initiating cells and points to Hh and Notch pathways as enticing targets for developing potential cancer therapies.
Hedgehog and Notch signaling regulate self-renewal of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas.
Specimen part
View SamplesWe compared the gene expression of A549 cells following 24 and 48 hours of treatment with a no-observed-effect level dose of cisplatin. The objective of the study is to identify genes that are differentially expressed in response to sub-lethal doses of cisplatin. This study helps identify not only treatment responses but also changes in gene expression that may confer cytoprotective mechanisms that allow these cells to survive treatment and to develop treatment resistance.
Combined Use of Gene Expression Modeling and siRNA Screening Identifies Genes and Pathways Which Enhance the Activity of Cisplatin When Added at No Effect Levels to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells In Vitro.
Cell line, Treatment, Time
View SamplesMice of indicated ages and genotypes were perfused and their brains dissected and dissociated. Cells were fixed, immunolabeled and FACS sorted. RNA was extracted from neuron, astrocyte, and microglial cell populations. Typical RIN=4-5 for neurons, 6-8 for astrocytes, and 5-7 for microglia. Typical RNA yields ~100ng for neurons, ~20ng for microglia, and ~10ng for astrocytes. cDNA was generated from up to 25 ng of total RNA using Nugen’s RNA-Seq method for low-input RNA samples, Ovation RNA-Seq System V2 (NuGEN). (Per manufacturers instructions, total RNA was neither depleted of rRNA nor polyA-selected.) 1 µg of sheared cDNA was taken into further processing, starting at end repair step, using Illumina’s TruSeq RNA Sample Preparation Kit v2 (Illumina). The "SAMPLE_ID" sample characteristic is a sample identifier internal to Genentech. The ID of this project in Genentech''s ExpressionPlot database is PRJ0006149 Overall design: Astrocytes, microglia and neurons were sorted from 7- or 13-month old PS2APP or non-transgenic mice, 4 = n = 7 per group.
Untangling the brain's neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative transcriptional responses.
Age, Specimen part, Subject
View Samples