Project description:LNCaP cells were cultures in steroid depleted medium for 5 days before treatment with synthetic androgen (R1881, 10nM) for 16h. Transcriptomics analysis was performed to compare gene expression changes induced by androgen withdrawal or androgen treatment. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of LNCaP cells grown in steroid depleted medium, normal (steroid-containing) medium and R1881 treated cells was performed using the Agilent platform
Project description:LNCaP cells were transfected with 3 different REST siRNAs Transcriptomics analysis was performed to compare gene expression changes induced by REST knockdown Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of LNCaP cells transfected with REST siRNA
Project description:Adult renal stem/progenitor cells (ARPCs), first identified in the BowmanM-bM-^@M-^Ys capsule, were recently identified also in the tubular compartment and it was demonstrated that renal progenitors from both locations were positive for PAX-2, CD133 and CD24 and exhibited multipotent differentiation ability. Recent studies indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of noncoding small RNAs that participate in the regulation of gene expression, may play a key role in stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Distinct sets of miRNAs are specifically expressed in pluripotent stem cells but not in adult tissues, suggesting a role for miRNAs in stem cell self-renewal. We compared miRNA expression profiles of renal progenitors with that of renal proximal tubular cells (RPTECs) and of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and found distinct sets of miRNAs that were specifically expressed both in tubular and glomerular ARPCs. In particular, the miR-1915 and miR-1225-5p regulated the expression of important markers of renal progenitors, such as CD133 and PAX-2, and important genes involved in the repair mechanisms of ARPCs, such as TLR2. We demonstrated that the expression of both the renal stem cell markers CD133 and PAX-2 depends, at least in part, on lower miR-1915 levels and showed that the increase of miR-1915 levels improved capacity of ARPCs to differentiate into adipocyte-like and epithelial-like cells. Finally, we found that the low levels of miR-1225-5p were responsible for high TLR2 expression in ARPCs. Therefore, together, the miR-1915 and the miR-1225-5p seems to regulate important trait of ARPCs: the stemness and the repair capacity. Sixteen samples consisting of 5 glomerular and tubular ARPCs each, 3 MSCs, and 3 RPTECS.
Project description:Background: UNC50 has long been recognized as a Golgi apparatus protein in yeast, and is involved in nicotinic receptor trafficking in Caenorhabditis elegans, but little is known about UNC50 gene function in human biology despite it being conserved from yeast to high eukaryotes. Objectives: We investigated the relation between UNC50 and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the potential mechanisms underlying HCC development. Methods: UNC50 mRNA expression patterns in 12 HCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues determined using northern blotting were confirmed by real-time PCR in another 44 paired tissues. Microarray experiments were used to screen for global effects of UNC50 knockdown in the Hep3B cell line, and were confirmed by real-time PCR, western blotting, flow cytometry, and tetrazolium assay in both UNC50 overexpression and knockdown Hep3B cells. Results: UNC50 expression levels were upregulated in HCC tissues in comparison with the adjacent non-cancerous tissues. UNC50 knockdown reduced mRNA levels of the downstream targets of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway: cyclin D1 (CCND1), EGF, matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP7), aldose reductase-like 1 (AKR1B10), cell surfaceM-bM-^@M-^Sassociated mucin 1 (MUC1), and gastrin (GAST). Moreover, UNC50 influenced EGF, inducing cell cycle entry by affecting cell surface EGFR amounts. Conclusions: UNC50 is a potential oncogene that promotes HCC progression by affecting the EGFR pathway. To gain insight into the role UNC50 plays in HCC progression, we used microarray analyses to identify indirect evidence of UNC50 gene function via the knockdown strategy in Hep3B cells. Hep3B cells transfected with the shRNA expression plasmids shR-467, shR-554, shR-749, and shR-MOCK were purified with 1ug/ml puromycin, and the total RNA from each cell was extracted and analyzed with oligo microarrays.
Project description:Six pairs of hepatocellular carcinoma and their corresponding non-tumrous liver parenchymas were analyzed to identify the genes differentially expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and nontumorous liver parenchyma. We analyzed mRNA expression pattern of 6 primary hepatocellular carcinomas and their corresponding nontumourous liver parenchyma. The specimens were obtained from a tissue bank in our hospital. All the clinical informations were de-linked from the specimens.
Project description:Functional-assay limitations are an emerging issue in characterizing human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). With rodent PSCs, chimera formation, using pre-implantation embryos, is the gold-standard assay of pluripotency. In hPSCs, this can only be monitored via teratoma formation or in vitro differentiation, as ethical concerns preclude generation of human-animal chimera. To circumvent this issue, we established a functional assay utilizing interspecific blastocyst injection and in vitro culture (interspecies in vitro chimera assay). The assay uses mouse pre-implantation embryos and human PSCs to make interspecies chimeras cultured in vitro to the early egg cylinder stage. When hiPSCs, both conventional and naive type, which called M-bM-^@M-^\reset cellM-bM-^@M-^], were injected into mouse embryos and cultured. The cells were never integrated into the epiblast of egg cylinder stage-embryo. These results suggest that hPSCs, including naM-CM-/ve type, are unable to form chimera with mouse embryo. Reset cells were converted from conventional human iPSC line PB004, and then compared their gene expression profile with or without transgene overexpression induced by doxycyclin treatment.
Project description:The zinc cluster proteins are a family of transcription factors that are unique to the fungal kingdom. In the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans, zinc cluster transcription factors control the expression of virulence-associated traits and play key roles in the development of antifungal drug resistance. Gain-of-function mutations in several zinc cluster transcription factors, which result in constitutive overexpression of their target genes, are a frequent cause of azole resistance in clinical C. albicans isolates. We found that zinc cluster proteins can also be artificially activated by C-terminal fusion with the heterologous Gal4 activation domain. We used this strategy to create a comprehensive library of C. albicans strains expressing all 82 zinc cluster transcription factors of this fungus in a potentially hyperactive form. Screening of this library identified regulators of invasive filamentous growth and other phenotypes that are important during an infection. In addition, the approach uncovered several novel mediators of fluconazole resistance, including the multidrug resistance regulator Mrr2, which controls the expression of the major C. albicans multidrug efflux pump CDR1. Artificial activation therefore is a highly useful method to study the role of zinc cluster transcription factors in C. albicans and other fungi of medical, agricultural, and biotechnological importance. In total, 15 samples are analysed: 3 replicates of 5 different strains. The 3 replicates of SC5314 are the wild type reference.
Project description:Irradiated granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-transduced autologous tumor cells induce substantial antitumor immunity through the maturation and migration of dendritic cells (DCs). However, little is known about the key molecules involved in GM-CSF-sensitized DCs (GM-DCs) in tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLNs). We initially confirmed that mice subcutaneously injected with poorly immunogenic syngeneic Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells transduced with Sendai virus encoding GM-CSF (LLC/SeV/GM) significantly rejected the tumor growth. Using microarray expression profiling, we obtained a large number of gene expression data files from GM-DCs and control DCs in TDLNs, and subjected them to network-based cluster analysis and unexpectedly unraveled the expression levels of type I IFNs-related genes specifically expressed in plasmacytoid DCs (pDC) were robustly up-regulated in GM-DCs. In vivo depletion assay showed that pDC-depleted mice treated with subcutaneous LLC/SeV/GM cells abrogated the antitumor effects observed in control mice. Moreover combination use of imiquimod for TLR7 triggering on pDC with irradiated LLC/SeV/GM cells induced a significant therapeutic antitumor effect with marked induction of CD9+ pDC with antitumor phenotype, whereas other control mice groups had only minimal to-modest antitumor responses, implicating that this combined vaccine strategy using imiquimod could be promising for improvement of GM-CSF-induced antitumor immunity. Mouse GM-CSF induced gene expression in mature dendritic cells in tumor draining lymph nodes from C57/BL6N female mouse was measured at 2 days after s.c. tumor challenge with GM-CSF gene-transduced LLC cells (LLC/SeV/GM) or control cells (LLC, LLC/SeV/GFP).
Project description:Acquired resistance to trastuzumab, a rationally designed HER-2 targeting antibody, remains a major hurdle in management of HER-2 positive breast cancer (HER-2+ BC) patients. Potential resistance mechanisms are numerous, derived primarily from studies where HER-2 positive cell lines are chronically exposed to trastuzumab. Recent evidence suggests a role for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in trastuzumab resistance, but a definitive link between the two has been difficult to establish because relevant model systems are lacking. When sub-populations of trastuzumab sensitive SKBR-3 cells were isolated using cloning rings, an (EMT) occurred spontaneously in several (3/8) clones. SKBR-3 EMT-clones featured increased spindle morphology, expressed N-glycosylated M-NM-21-integrin, and decreased HER-2, all characteristics shared by JIMT-1, a cell lines with intrinsic resistance to trastuzumab. SKBR-3 EMT-clones were characterized by gene expression profiling and mammosphere formation. The N-glycosylated isoform of M-NM-2-itnegrin was targeted with M-NM-2-integrin inhibiting antibody, AIIB2. Transcriptional profiling revealed that SKBR-3 EMT-clones underwent a shift from a luminal molecular subtype to a more aggressive mesenchymal/ basal phenotype. Isolating clones from SKBR-3 cells with enforced expression of a M-NM-2-integrin isoform lacking extensive N-glycosylation failed to increase the likelihood for spontaneous EMT in SKBR-3. However, specific inhibition of the heavily N-glycosylated variant of M-NM-21-integrin expressed by SKBR-3 EMT-clones restored epithelial morphology and impaired mammosphere formation. Furthermore, when SKBR-3 EMT-clones were treated with relevant doses of trastuzumab and lapatinib, they showed M-bM-^@M-^\spontaneousM-bM-^@M-^] resistance. In this study we describe a model of spontaneous EMT following clonal selection in HER-2+ cell line, SKBR-3. Using this model we establish the first direct link between EMT and resistance to HER-2 targeted therapies. We also identify the N-glycosylated isoform of M-NM-2-integrin as a potential biomarker and target in HER-2+ BC refractory to HER-2 targeted therapies. RNA was isolated from 10 breast cancer cell lines in triplicate. Pairwise gene expression differences were compared between each of the SKBR-3 cell lines (SKBR-3/ b1, SK-EV-C4, and SK-B1-C1). Features selected had at least a 2X difference in at least one comparison, with a one-way ANOVA corrected p-value of >0.05. In addition, expression profiles from SKBR-3/ EV and SK-B1-C1 cell were compared and a differential gene list was generated to include genes that differed by at least 1.5X, with a t-test p-value of >0.02 (unpaired, Bonferroni corrected). A total of 1940 entities met these criteria and the expression of these genes was investigated in all breast cancer cell lines.
Project description:Purpose: There is a quest for novel non-invasive diagnostic markers for the detection of breast cancer. The goal of this study is to identify circulating microRNA signatures using a cohort of Asian Chinese breast cancer patients, and to compare microRNA profiles between tumour and serum samples. Experimental design: MicroRNAs from paired breast cancer tumours, normal tissue and serum samples derived from 32 patients were comprehensively profiled using microarrays (1300 microRNAs against tumour and normal tissues) or LNA RT-PCR panels (742 microRNAs against serum samples). Serum samples from healthy individuals (n=22) were also employed as normal controls. Significant serum microRNAs, identified by logistic regression, were validated in an independent set of serum samples from patients (n=82) and healthy controls (n=53). Results: The 20 most significant microRNAs differentially expressed in breast cancer tumours included miR-21, miR-10b, and miR-145, previously shown to be dysregulated in breast cancer. Interestingly, 16 of the 20 most significant microRNAs differentially expressed in serum samples were novel. MiR-1, miR-92a, miR-133a and miR-133b were identified as the most important diagnostic markers, and were successfully validated; receiver operating characteristic curves derived from combinations of these microRNAs exhibited areas under the curves of 0.944-0.946. Only seven microRNAs were overexpressed in both tumours and serum, suggesting that microRNAs may be released into the serum selectively. Conclusion: The clinical employment of microRNA signatures as a non-invasive diagnostic strategy is promising, but should be further validated for different subtypes of breast cancers. "_A" and "_B" are two tissue sections of the same sample; "_1" and "_2" represents 2 runs of the same sample; na = not available All tissue samples were histologically confirmed by a pathologist using hematoxylin and eosin staining of cryosectioned specimens. One tumour sample was rejected due to failure to detect any tumour cells. Except for two samples (with 30% and 40% tumour cells), all tumour tissues employed had a minimum of 60% tumour cells, as estimated microscopically. Overall, the breast cancer tumour samples had an average of 71% tumour cells. The criteria for adjacent normal tissue were absence of tumour cells and presence of epithelial cells. Hence, after histological confirmation, 31 breast cancer tumours and 23 matched normal tissues were employed for microRNA extraction and profiling using microarray.