Project description:We investigated the biological function of INSIG1 in acute (CCl4) and chronic (NASH) liver damage. Male whole-body Insig1 wild-type (WT), Heterozygous (HET) and Knock-out (KO) mice were: 1) challenged with Olive Oil or CCl4 single IP injection and sacrificed 4 days after the treatment; 2) fed Low Fat Diet (LFD) or Western Diet plus Sugar Water (WDSW) and sacrificed after 12 weeks of the challenge. Hepatic RNA was extracted and studied by Next Generation Sequencing to highlight changes in the transcriptome driven by the challenges and genotype-associated differences.
Project description:The possibility that ancestral environmental conditions and exposures could result in effects inherited across generations, with potential impact for human health, has been long debated. Here, we comprehensively investigate transgenerational effects of the hepatotoxicant carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the hepatic wound-healing response in male rats. Detailed microscopic and clinical pathology evaluations do not support adaptive phenotypic suppression of the hepatic wound-healing response or a greater fitness of animals with ancestral liver injury exposure as originally reported. We produced RNAseq libraries on the F2 liver samples to further characterize any adaptive effect based on molecular changes.
Project description:Impaired skin wound healing is a significant global health issue, especially among the elderly. Wound healing is a well-orchestrated process involving the sequential phases of inflammation, proliferation, and tissue remodeling. Although wound healing is a highly dynamic and energy-requiring process, the role of metabolism remains largely unexplored. By combining transcriptomics and metabolomics of human skin biopsy samples, we mapped the core bioenergetic and metabolic changes in normal acute as well as chronic wounds in elderly subjects. We found upregulation of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glutaminolysis, and β-oxidation in the later stages of acute wound healing and in chronic wounds. To ascertain the role of these metabolic pathways on wound healing, we targeted each pathway in a wound healing assay as well as in a human skin explant model using metabolic inhibitors and stimulants. Enhancement or inhibition of glycolysis and, to a lesser extent, glutaminolysis had a far greater impact on wound healing than similar manipulations of oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid β-oxidation. These findings increase the understanding of wound metabolism and identify glycolysis and glutaminolysis as potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
Project description:The process of wound healing in humans is poorly understood. To identify spatiotemporal gene expression patterns during human wound healing, we performed single cell and spatial transcriptomics profiling of human in vivo wound samples.
Project description:Urinary bladder wound healing is today pooorly chracterized. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules with regulatory functions. In this study we aimed at identifying microRNAs expressed during bladder wound healing. We performed Affymetrix microRNA profiling of the rodent urinary bladder during healing of a surgically created wound.
Project description:The process of wound healing in humans is poorly understood. To identify spatiotemporal gene expression patterns during human wound healing, we performed spatial transcriptomics profiling of human in vivo wound samples.
Project description:Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are one of the major complications in type II diabetes patients and can result in amputation and morbidity. Although multiple approaches are used clinically to help wound closure, many patients still lack adequate treatment. Here we show that IL-20 subfamily cytokines are upregulated during normal wound healing. While there is a redundant role for each individual cytokine in this subfamily in wound healing, mice deficient in IL-22R, the common receptor chain for IL-20, IL-22, and IL-24, display a significant delay in wound healing. Furthermore, IL-20, IL-22 and IL-24 are all able to promote wound healing in type II diabetic db/db mice. When compared to other growth factors such as VEGF and PDGF that accelerate wound healing in this model, IL-22 uniquely induced genes involved in reepithelialization, tissue remodeling and innate host defense mechanisms from wounded skin. Interestingly, IL-22 treatment showed superior efficacy compared to PDGF or VEGF in an infectious diabetic wound model. Taken together, our data suggest that IL-20 subfamily cytokines, particularly IL-20, IL-22, and IL-24, might provide therapeutic benefit for patients with DFU.