Project description:Sea spray aerosols (SSAs) have profound effects on our climate and ecosystems. They also contain microbiota and biogenic molecules which could affect human health. Yet the exposure and effects of SSAs on human health remain poorly studied. Here, we exposed human lung cancer cells to extracts of a natural sea spray aerosol collected at the seashore in Belgium, a laboratory-generated SSA, the marine algal toxin homoyessotoxin and a chemical inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. We observed significant increased expression of genes related to the mTOR pathway and Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) after exposure to homoyessotoxin and the laboratory-generated SSA. In contrast, we observed a significant decrease in gene expression in the mTOR pathway and of PCSK9 after exposure to the natural SSA and the mTOR inhibitor, suggesting induction of apoptosis. Our results indicate that marine biogenics in SSAs interact with PCSK9 and the mTOR pathway and can be used in new potential pharmaceutical applications. Overall, our results provide a substantial molecular evidence base for potential beneficial health effects at environmentally relevant concentrations of natural SSAs.
Project description:IL10-/-DC pulsed for 6h with 0, SEA, LPS, or co-pulsed with SEA/LPS together to compare changes in LPS-induced gene expression mediated by SEA (Schistosome soluble egg antigen) Keywords: other
Project description:This study aimed to unveil the biological mechanisms modulated in response to the dietary administration of SDPP in the gilthead sea bream gut.
Project description:A sea bass oligo microarray platform was used to profile gene expression in whole heads of 38 days-old sea bass affected by prognathism, a skeletal malformation that strongly affects sea bass production. Two different conditions: i) prognathous individuals, and ii) normal individuals were analyzed. For each condition, total RNA was extracted from three (3) independent biological replicates, each consisting of pools of five (5) heads. Statistical analysis with SAM (Significance Analysis of Microarray) didn’t identify any difference in expression patterns between the two groups. Samples were then employed as biological replicates to determine array-to-array reproducibility, the degree of mutual agreement among replicates was estimated using Pearson correlation coefficients on the entire set of expression values. For all pairs of experiments correlation coefficients were always significant (p-value <0.01) and never less than 0.99.
Project description:We identified cis-regulatory elements based on their dynamic chromatin accessibility during the gastrula-larva stages of sea urchin and sea star and studied their evolution in these echinoderm species
Project description:This study observes the origin of the last living sea nomad group in Indonesia using genome-wide SNP data, and tracks their dispersal in the archipelago. This study involves new samples on not only the sea nomad group, but also surrounding populations where the sea nomad settled. We revealed the scenario of their origin and unique admixture patterns during their dispersal and re-settlement.