Project description:Until now, it is nearly impossible to diagnose malignancy of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma with pathological examinations. The aim of the study is to find the genes which can be applied as a biomarker in the clinic to distinguish benign and malignant forms of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. We generated aCGH profiles of 9 samples of benign tumors and 3 samples of malignant tumors
Project description:Until now, it is nearly impossible to diagnose malignancy of peochormocytoma/paraganglioma with pathological examinations. The aim of the study is to find the genes which can be applied as a biomarker in the clinic to distinguish benign and malignant forms of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. We generated exprssion profiles of 9 samples of benign tumors, 3 samples of malignant tumors and 3 samples of normal adrenal medulla.
Project description:We previously proposed that lymphocyte homeostasis is achieved by a quorum-sensing like mechanism, based on the paracrine sensing of IL-2 by Foxp3(+) regulatory T CD4(+) cells. In turn, these cells will suppress IL-2 producing cells, thereby controlling the total number of T CD4(+) cells. As CD4(+) T regulatory cells are unable to produce IL-2, such control mechanism assumes the complete segregation of both lymphocyte subsets, that is to say they constitute distinct compartments. In the present study, we re-evaluate the above-described quorum-sensing mechanism by considering the non-exclusive possibility that a fraction of IL-2-producing cells might acquire regulatory function, implying the existence of a role for an autocrine sensing of IL-2 in the homeostasis of the regulatory compartment. According to the mouse models used in these experiments, RFP is used as a reporter for the Foxp3 expression. The transcription factor Foxp3 is the main hallmark of T CD4(+) regulatory cells. Therefore RFP(+) cells are associated to T CD4(+) regulatory cells. According to the mouse model, and our last publication (PMID: 24249704), the GFP is a reporter for cells that having activated the IL-2 locus within the last 2-3 weeks. This subset of cells is called IL-2p cells. 4 populations of conventional CD4+ T cell are analysed. 5 replicats for each.
Project description:Analysis of function of CD11c+ cells from middle-aged and young mice at gene level. This experiment provided insight into the different genes that plays roles in inflammation, immune response and mainly arachidonic acid cascade that are differentiall expressed in CD11c+ cells from middle aged and young mice. Total RNA was isolated from pulmonary CD11c cells (separated using magnetic beads) from middle-aged and young mice
Project description:Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a major unsolved health problem. Most drugs that pass preclinical tests fail in these patients, emphasizing the need of appropriate preclinical models to test novel anticancer strategies. We developed four orthotopic mouse models employing primary human PDAC cells expressing Firefly and Gaussia luciferases, enabling bioluminescence monitoring of tumor growth and metastasis formation. Additional tumor characterization was performed using MR and high frequency ultrasound imaging. Genomic and immunohistochemical analysis revealed c-Met amplification and overexpression in one of four models. Analysis of c-Met inhibitors in vitro showed that crizotinib had the most potent effect. Moreover, we demonstrated synergistic effects between crizotinib and gemcitabine M-bM-^@M-^S the standard of care therapeutic in PDAC patients - in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, crizotinib reduced the cytidine deaminase activity in PDAC cells causing prolonged activity of gemcitabine due to diminished metabolic inactivation, as measured by LC-MS/MS. This might at least in part explain the observed prolonged survival of concomitantly treated mice with PDAC tumors and metastases. In conclusion, our orthotopic PDAC models enabled PDAC tumor imaging, and showed genetic, histopathological and metastatic features similar to their originator tumors. This allowed the identification of c-Met as a potential therapeutic target in PDAC, and revealed a cytidine deaminase-mediated synergistic mechanism between crizotinib and gemcitabine, a combination of drugs that warrants further investigation for the potential treatment of PDAC patients. 12 test samples in total [4 PDAC models (PDAC-1, PDAC-2, PDAC-3, PDAC-4; in three panel: primary human PDAC, primary tumor culture and mouse sample)] and reference sample (healthy control (mix/pool of healthy volunteers DNA) were analyzed as following (8 hybridizations); PDAC-1 primary human-Cy3 vs PDAC-4 cultured cells -Cy5 PDAC-1 cultured cells-Cy3 vs PDAC-4 mouse-Cy5 PDAC-1 mouse-Cy3 vs reference-Cy5 PDAC-2 primary human-Cy3 vs reference-Cy5 PDAC-2_cultured cells-Cy3 vs PDAC-2 mouse-Cy5 PDAC-3_primary human-Cy3 vs reference-Cy5 PDAC-3_cultured cells-Cy3 vs PDAC-3 mouse-Cy5 PDAC-4 primary human-Cy5 vs reference-Cy3 Normalized log2 ratio of (sample/references) data were calculated for 12 samples [*txt files on Series records]. Description of experimental/analysis design in r-program to generate 12 samples from 8 raw data files is provided in README.txt [Series supplementary file]
Project description:CGH array of MA1 and MA2 variant cells as compared to the parental SUM149-Luc breast cancer cell line. The MA1 and MA2 variants were isolated based on the ability of rare cancer cells to survive and grow without adding glutamine in culture medium. To gain insight into the characteristic of metabolically adaptable MA cells that enables them to survive severe metabolic challenge, i.e., prolonged lack of glutamine and other challenges [Singh et al., PLoS ONE 7: e36510, 2012], we analyzed CGH array to compare these cells with the parental SUM149-Luc (luciferase-transfected) cells. We analyzed two independently selected cell populations, one from 0.5 million parental cells (designated MA1) and one from 1 million parental cells (designated MA2). Comparing the MA1 and MA2 variants to the common parental SUM149-Luc cell line. One sample each.
Project description:The current study aimed to address the hypothesis that programmed expression of key miRNAs in skeletal muscle mediates the development of insulin resistance, and consequently long-term health. We thus examined microRNA signatures in skeletal muscle of unmedicated newly diagnosed human pre-diabetics and type 2 diabetics. Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis from males with pre-diabetes (PD, n=5) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, n=6) along with age and sex-matched healthy volunteers (H, n=5). Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics (UNSW, sydney, Australia)
Project description:The current study aimed to address the hypothesis that programmed expression of key miRNAs in skeletal muscle mediates the development of insulin resistance, and consequently long-term health. We thus examined microRNA signatures in skeletal muscle of programmed insulin resistant rats offspring from high fat-fed dams vs control offspring from chow fed dams. Skeletal muscle (soleus) was collected from the hind limb of 1 year old male offspring (6 from control dams, 6 from high fat-fed dams) . Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics (UNSW, sydney, Australia)