Project description:A study to explore the transcriptome response of hymenophyllum dentatum in a desiccation-rehydration cycle using high-throughput sequencing (Illumina).
Project description:We explored molecules involved in in vitro exsheathment of Oesophagostomum dentatum L3s using a proteomic-transcriptomic-bioinformatic approach. Analysis of L3s before, during and after exsheathment identified 11 proteins that were over-expressed exclusively during exsheathment. These proteins (including key enzymes, heat shock, structural and nematode-specific proteins) were inferred to be involved in development, metabolism, structure, motility and/or host-parasite interactions. Some of these molecules represented homologues linked to entry into and exit from the dauer stage in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The approach established here provides a basis for investigations of ecdysis in other strongylid nematodes.
Project description:The activity of enhancers and promoters fine-tunes the transcriptional program of mammalian cells through the recruitment and interplay between cell type-specific and ubiquitous transcription factors. Despite their key role in modulating transcription, the identification of enhancers is challenged by their limited sequence conservation and highly variable distance from target genes. Although enhancers are characterised by the strong enrichment of mono-methylation at lysine 4 of histone H3, mirrored by low tri-methylation at the same residue, a comprehensive list of enhancers-associated histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) is still lacking. We undertook a proteomics investigation, based on chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry (MS), to identify histone marks specifically associated to cis-regulatory elements in macrophages, focusing on enhancers. We also profiled their plasticity during the transcriptional activation induced by an inflammatory stimulus. The proteomic analysis suggested novel PTM associations, which were validated by analysis of ChIP- and RNA-seq data, whose intersection revealed the existence of novel sub-populations of enhancers marked by specific signatures: the dual mark H3K4me1/K36me2 labels transcription at enhancers, whereas H3K4me1/K36me3 and H3K4me1/K79me2 tag distinct intronic enhancers. While demonstrating that analyzing restricted genomic regions can disclose the combinatorial language of histone modifications, this study highlights the potential of MS-based proteomics in addressing fundamental questions in epigenetics.
Project description:The Spanish slug, Arion vulgaris, is considered one of the hundred most invasive species in Central Europe. The lack of natural predators can refer to the potential toxicity of slugs. However, no transcriptomic or proteomic study has been done so far in Arion vulgaris. In this study, we present the first investigation of expression profile in Arion vulgaris at the protein level. Two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS were used to resolve and identify proteins from slug mantel and slug eggs. To facilitate proteomics in non-model organisms, mRNA-derived protein database was used for protein identification.
Project description:Atelocollagen gel is often used for three-dimensional culture of articular cartilage-derived cells, but further knowledge is needed about the effect of atelocollagen gel on cells. We performed a microarray analysis using human articular cartilage-derived cells cultured in three different methods (2D culture, 3D culture with atelocollagen gel, and 3D culture without atelocollagen gel).
Project description:Mass spectrometry (MS)-based top-down proteomics (TDP) delineates proteoforms in cells and requires high-resolution proteoform separation. Herein, for the first time, we employed an automated capillary isoelectric focusing-tandem MS (cIEF-MS/MS) system for large-scale TDP of complex proteomes. Single-shot cIEF-MS/MS identified 771 proteoforms from an Escherichia coli (E. coli) proteome consuming only nanograms of proteins. Coupling two-dimensional size exclusion chromatography (SEC)-cIEF, named “gel-free 2D-PAGE”, to ESI-MS/MS enabled the identification of nearly 2000 proteoforms from the E. coli proteome. Label-free quantitative TDP of zebrafish male and female brains using the SEC-cIEF-MS/MS quantified thousands of proteoforms and revealed sex-dependent proteoform profiles in brains. We discovered several proteolytic proteoforms of pro-opiomelanocortin and prodynorphin with significantly higher abundance in male brains as potential endogenous hormone proteoforms. Multi-level quantitative proteomic analyses (TDP and bottom-up proteomics (BUP)) of the brains revealed that majority of proteoforms having statistically significant difference in abundance between genders (TDP) showed no abundance difference at the corresponding protein group level (BUP), which highlights the importance of delineating proteins in a proteoform-specific manner for accurately understanding protein function.
Project description:We obtained accesses to brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the only available post- mortem mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) patient which became available only recently. We performed mass spectrometry (MS)- based proteomics. Our data demonstrate that pathological players detected in Mcoln1-/- mice are also relevant in the human disease. Moreover, we suggest some previously un-known pathological players. We complement this study by using Mcoln1-/- mice, and were able to confirm that many pathological pathways are evident early in disease development, emphasizing the need for early therapeutic intervention.