Project description:We are investigating the transcriptional response of newborns in response to prenatal arsenic exposure We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression response due to prenatal arsenic exposure Keywords: dose (arsenic)
Project description:We are investigating the transcriptional response of newborns in response to prenatal arsenic exposure; We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression response due to prenatal arsenic exposure Experiment Overall Design: cord blood was collected at birth from infants whose mothers were exposed or unexposed to arsenic
Project description:Effects of current therapeutic foods in undernourished Bangladeshi children compared to microbiota-directed food prototypes in gnotobiotic mice and piglets
Project description:We illustrate an approach for integrating preclinical gnotobiotic animal models with human studies to understand the contributions of perturbed gut microbiota development to childhood undernutrition, and to identify new microbiota-directed therapeutic concepts/leads. Combining metabolomic and proteomic analyses of serially collected plasma samples with metagenomic analyses of serially collected fecal samples, we characterized the biological state of Bangladeshi children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) as they transitioned to moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) after standard treatment. Gnotobiotic mice were subsequently colonized with a defined consortium of bacterial strains representing different stages of microbiota development in healthy children from Bangladesh. Administering different combinations of Bangladeshi complementary food ingredients to colonized mice and germ-free controls revealed diet-dependent changes in representation and metabolism of targeted weaning-phase strains, including accompanying increases in branched-chain amino acids, plus diet- and colonization-dependent augmentation of IGF-1/mTOR signaling. Host and microbial effects of microbiota-directed complementary food (MDCF) prototypes were subsequently examined in gnotobiotic mice colonized with post-SAM MAM microbiota and in gnotobiotic piglets colonized with a defined consortium of targeted age- and growth-discriminatory bacteria. Finally, ar andomized, double-blind study revealed a lead MDCF that affected the representation of targeted bacterial taxa and increased levels of biomarkers and mediators of growth, bone formation, neurodevelopment, and immune function.
Project description:The Biomarkers of Exposure to ARsenic (BEAR) pregnancy cohort in Gómez Palacio, Mexico was recently established to better understand the impacts of prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs). In this study, we examined a subset (n = 40) of newborn cord blood samples for microRNA (miRNA) expression changes associated with in utero arsenic exposure. Levels of iAs in maternal drinking water (DW-iAs) and maternal urine were assessed. Levels of DW-iAs ranged from below detectable values to 236 µg/L (mean = 51.7 µg/L). Total arsenic in maternal urine (U-tAs) was defined as the sum of iAs and its monomethylated and dimethylated metabolites (MMAs and DMAs, respectively) and ranged from 6.2 to 319.7 µg/L (mean = 64.5 µg/L). Genome-wide miRNA expression analysis of cord blood revealed 12 miRNAs with increasing expression associated with U-tAs. Transcriptional targets of the miRNAs were computationally predicted and subsequently assessed using transcriptional profiling. Pathway analysis demonstrated that the U-tAs-associated miRNAs are involved in signaling pathways related to known health outcomes of iAs exposure including cancer and diabetes mellitus. Immune response-related mRNAs were also identified with decreased expression levels associated with U-tAs, and predicted to be mediated in part by the arsenic-responsive miRNAs. Results of this study highlight miRNAs as novel responders to prenatal arsenic exposure that may contribute to associated immune response perturbations.
2014-01-22 | GSE48353 | GEO
Project description:Prenatal arsenic exposure and the epigenome
Project description:Broad-spectrum antibiotics are frequently prescribed to children. The period of early-childhood represents a time where the developing microbiota may be more sensitive to environmental perturbations, which thus might have long-lasting host consequences. We hypothesized that even a single early-life broad-spectrum antibiotic course at a therapeutic dose (PAT) leads to durable alterations in both the gut microbiota and host immunity. In C57BL/6 mice, a single early-life tylosin (macrolide) course markedly altered the intestinal microbiome, and affected specific intestinal T-cell populations and secretory IgA expression, but PAT-exposed adult dams had minimal immunologic alterations. No immunological effects were detected in PAT-exposed germ-free animals; indicating that microbiota are required for the observed activities. Together these results indicate the impact of a single therapeutic early-life antibiotic course altering the microbiota and modulating host immune phenotypes that persist long after exposure has ceased.
Project description:The Biomarkers of Exposure to ARsenic (BEAR) pregnancy cohort in Gómez Palacio, Mexico was recently established to better understand the impacts of prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs). In this study, we examined a subset (n = 40) of newborn cord blood samples for microRNA (miRNA) expression changes associated with in utero arsenic exposure. Levels of iAs in maternal drinking water (DW-iAs) and maternal urine were assessed. Levels of DW-iAs ranged from below detectable values to 236 µg/L (mean = 51.7 µg/L). Total arsenic in maternal urine (U-tAs) was defined as the sum of iAs and its monomethylated and dimethylated metabolites (MMAs and DMAs, respectively) and ranged from 6.2 to 319.7 µg/L (mean = 64.5 µg/L). Genome-wide miRNA expression analysis of cord blood revealed 12 miRNAs with increasing expression associated with U-tAs. Transcriptional targets of the miRNAs were computationally predicted and subsequently assessed using transcriptional profiling. Pathway analysis demonstrated that the U-tAs-associated miRNAs are involved in signaling pathways related to known health outcomes of iAs exposure including cancer and diabetes mellitus. Immune response-related mRNAs were also identified with decreased expression levels associated with U-tAs, and predicted to be mediated in part by the arsenic-responsive miRNAs. Results of this study highlight miRNAs as novel responders to prenatal arsenic exposure that may contribute to associated immune response perturbations.
Project description:The Biomarkers of Exposure to ARsenic (BEAR) pregnancy cohort in Gómez Palacio, Mexico was recently established to better understand the impacts of prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs). In this study, we examined a subset (n = 40) of newborn cord blood samples for microRNA (miRNA) expression changes associated with in utero arsenic exposure. Levels of iAs in maternal drinking water (DW-iAs) and maternal urine were assessed. Levels of DW-iAs ranged from below detectable values to 236 µg/L (mean = 51.7 µg/L). Total arsenic in maternal urine (U-tAs) was defined as the sum of iAs and its monomethylated and dimethylated metabolites (MMAs and DMAs, respectively) and ranged from 6.2 to 319.7 µg/L (mean = 64.5 µg/L). Genome-wide miRNA expression analysis of cord blood revealed 12 miRNAs with increasing expression associated with U-tAs. Transcriptional targets of the miRNAs were computationally predicted and subsequently assessed using transcriptional profiling. Pathway analysis demonstrated that the U-tAs-associated miRNAs are involved in signaling pathways related to known health outcomes of iAs exposure including cancer and diabetes mellitus. Immune response-related mRNAs were also identified with decreased expression levels associated with U-tAs, and predicted to be mediated in part by the arsenic-responsive miRNAs. Results of this study highlight miRNAs as novel responders to prenatal arsenic exposure that may contribute to associated immune response perturbations. We assessed the impact of prenatal exposure to arsenic on genome-wide miRNA expression profiles and their potential influence on gene expression patterns in the Biomarkers of Exposure to ARsenic (BEAR) prospective pregnancy cohort. This cohort includes residents from Gómez Palacio, located in the state of Durango in the Lagunera region of Northern Mexico. A total of 200 pregnant women residing in Gómez Palacio, State of Durango, Mexico, were recruited at the General Hospital of Gómez Palacio to participate in the BEAR prospective pregnancy cohort. The present study focuses on miRNA expression profiles and utilizes 40 samples obtained from mother-newborn pairs selected from the larger cohort (n=200). The subcohort was selected to include subjects exposed to varying levels of arsenic as determined by both total arsenic in maternal urine (U-tAs) and inorganic arsenic in drinking water (DW-iAs). Cord blood samples were collected from the newborns immediately after infant delivery. Blood samples were collected using PreAnalytix PaxGene RNA tubes and extracted using the PAXgene RNA Kit, per standard protocol (Qiagen, Valencia, CA). Isolated RNA used for microarray analysis were amplified and labeled using the NuGEN Ovation Pico WTA System V2 and Encore Biotin Module, respectively (NuGEN, San Carlos, CA). RNA isolated from 40 cord blood samples were labeled and hybridized to the Agilent Human miRNA Microarray, based off miRBase v16.0.