Project description:CoMet, a fully automated Computational Metabolomics method to predict changes in metabolite levels in cancer cells compared to normal references has been developed and applied to Jurkat T leukemia cells with the goal of testing the following hypothesis: up or down regulation in cancer cells of the expression of genes encoding for metabolic enzymes leads to changes in intracellular metabolite concentrations that contribute to disease progression. Nine metabolites predicted to be lowered in Jurkat cells with respect to normal lymphoblasts were examined: riboflavin, tryptamine, 3-sulfino-L-alanine, menaquinone, dehydroepiandrosterone, α-hydroxystearic acid, hydroxyacetone, seleno-L-methionine and 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole. All, alone or in combination, exhibited antiproliferative activity. Of eleven metabolites predicted to be increased or unchanged in Jurkat cells, only two (bilirubin and androsterone) exhibited significant antiproliferative activity. These results suggest that cancer cell metabolism may be regulated to reduce the intracellular concentration of certain antiproliferative metabolites, resulting in uninhibited cellular growth and have the implication that many other endogenous metabolites with important roles in carcinogenesis are awaiting discovery. Keywords: cell type
Project description:Increasing seawater’s calcium concentration has shown to increase reef building (scleractinian) coral’s calcification rates. In this way the expression of the genes that are associated with the calcification process also altered and, thus can be identified. Needless to say that the overall gene repertoire that participate in the coral calcification process and its molecular mechanisms have not yet been revealed, although sporadic genes that are related to the process have been discovered and investigated. In this study, nubbins of the Red Sea scleractinian coral, Stylophora pistillata were treated with increased calcium concentrations seawater (addition of 100 gm/L) and the genes that have been up-regulated were compared to the genes expression profile of corals with natural seawater calcium concentration. Measurements of AT were taken at mid-day (11:00) and in nighttime (23:00), to record the calcification rates of coral individuals under normal and increased calcium seawater concentrations. In order to reveal the gene involved in the calcification process, S. pistillata fragments of normal and of increased calcium concentrations were sampled for microarray RNA transcriptional profiling at two time-points (mid-day and nighttime).Results of this study have revealed that Smad genes may play a role in the coral skeletal growth apparatus. This study show that the calcification molecular mechanism is conserved Among identified genes are large group of genes that are characterized in the TGF-b/BMP signal transduction pathways which have been revealed in other organisms to participate in bone and cartilage tissue development molecular processes.
Project description:Straw return is crucial for the sustainable development of rice planting. To investigate the response of rice leaves to rice straw return, we analyzed the physiological index of rice leaves and measured differentially expressed protein (DEPs) and differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) levels in rice leaves by the use of proteomics and metabolomics approaches. The results showed that, compared with no rice straw return, rice straw return significantly decreased the dry weight of rice plants and nonstructural carbohydrate contents and destroyed the chloroplast ultrastructure. In rice leaves under rice straw return, 329 DEPs were upregulated, 303 DEPs were downregulated, 44 DEMs were upregulated, and 71 DEMs were downregulated. These DEPs and DEMs were mainly involved in various molecular processes, including photosynthesis, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, glycolysis, and the citric acid cycle. Rice straw return promoted the accumulation of osmotic adjustment substances, such as organic acids, amino acids, and other substances, and reduced the material supply and energy production of carbon metabolism, thus inhibiting the growth of rice.
Project description:Calpain 15 (CAPN15), part of the non-classical SOL family, plays a key role in neurodevelopment. This study used RNA-seq in P2 mice (7 KO and 7 WT) to investigate transcriptomic changes after loss of CAPN15. Differential expression analysis identified Pax2 targets as significantly regulated in CAPN15 KO mice. This work provides insight into CAPN15's molecular mechanisms and its potential role in human developmental disorders.