Project description:Within the last decades, invasive fungal infections have gained increasing significance. They are characterized by high mortality rates and are often caused Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus. The increasing number of infections underlines the necessity for additional anti-fungal therapies, which require an extended knowledge of gene regulations during fungal infection. MicroRNAs are regulators of important cellular processes, including immune response. By analyzing their regulation and impact on target genes, novel therapeutic approaches may be developed. Here, we examine the role of microRNAs in human dendritic cells during fungal infections. Dendritic cells represent the bridge between the innate and the adaptive immune systems. Therefore, analysis of gene regulation of dendritic cells is of particular significance. By applying next-generation sequencing of small RNAs, we quantify microRNA expression in monocyte-derived dendritic cells after 6 and 12h of infection with C. albicans and A. fumigatus as well as treatment with LPS. We use two different tools and an online database to determine potential target genes. We identified 29 microRNAs that are differentially regulated after infection by the fungi or LPS. Two and five of them are specific for fungal infections after 6h and 12h, respectively. We further validated interactions of miR-132-5p and miR-212-5p with immunological relevant target genes, such as FKBP1B, KLF4, and SPN, on both RNA and protein level. Our results indicate a fine-tuning function of these microRNAs during fungal infections. Beyond that, we identified previously undiscovered microRNAs. We validated three novel microRNAs via qRT-PCR. A comparison with known microRNAs revealed possible relations with the miR-378 family and miR-1260a/b for two of them, while the third one features a unique sequence with no resemblance to known microRNAs. In summary, this study analyzes the effect of known microRNAs in dendritic cells during fungal infections and proposes novel microRNAs that could be experimentally verified.
Project description:MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate a variety of biological processes. In the last version of the miRBase database (Release 17), 720 mouse microRNAs are accompanied by only 408 rat microRNAs. Given the importance of rat as a model organism, we used next generation sequencing and microarray technologies to discover novel microRNAs in rat kidneys.
Project description:Analysis of microRNA expression at 37 and 40 degrees shows a novel class of microRNAs that regulate fever. Arrays of gene expression at 37 and 40 of THP-1 derived macrophages as well as a thermomiR knockdown experiment.
Project description:Purpose: Extracellular vesicle (EV)‑derived microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of circulating miRNAs located in the plasma that are are now considered the next generation of cancer “theranostic” tools, with a strong clinical relevance. Although the potential role of EV-packaged miRNAs in breast cancer diagnosis has been widely reported, further studies are still demanded to address this challenging issue. The present study examined the expression profiles of EVs and circulating miRNAs with the aim of identifying novel miRNA signatures in breast cancer, and verify their diagnostic accurancy.
Project description:Microarrays with 1,205 human microRNAs and 142 viral microRNAs were used for screening candidate diagnostic markers in the 3 categories of subjects from 24 plasma samples including acute aortic dissection, healthy and aortic aneurysm subjects. There were two microRNAs overlapping in the 3 group comparisons. Finally, 16 candidate microRNAs discovered via microarrays were selected for the further validation.
Project description:MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate a variety of biological processes. In the last version of the miRBase database (Release 17), 720 mouse microRNAs are accompanied by only 408 rat microRNAs. Given the importance of rat as a model organism, we used next generation sequencing and microarray technologies to discover novel microRNAs in rat kidneys. Four male, 6-week-old Big Blue rats were treated with 10.0 mg/kg aristolochic acid(AA) 5 times a week for 12 weeks, four untreated rats as control. The animals were sacrificed 1 day after the last treatment and total RNA were isolated. All eight rat samples were used to deep sequencing analyses (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Microarray Core Facility), while 6 samples (3 AA-treated and 3 control) were used to custom vertebrate microRNA microarray analysis (LC Sciences). We used the miRanalyzer standalone version for the prediction of novel microRNAs and microRNA microarray to confirm novel microRNAs.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, endogenous non-coding RNAs, which play key roles in a variety of developmental and physiological processes by regulating gene expressions at post-transcriptional or translational levels. The objective of our work was to explore conserved and novel miRNAs in Spirodela at the whole-genome level, and further characterize their potential roles in gene regulation.
Project description:The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is one member of a select group of vertebrate animals that has retained the amazing ability to regenerate multiple body parts. In addition to being an important model system for regeneration, the axolotl is also a leading model system for developmental biologists. Many genes used in development have been identified to be reused again during regeneration, however how this molecular circuitry is controlled during regeneration is unknown. In recent years microRNAs have been identified as key regulators of gene expression during development, in many diseases and also in regeneration. Here we have used deep sequencing combined with qRT-PCR to identify microRNAs that are involved in regulating regeneration in axolotl. This approach has enabled us to identify well known families of microRNAs and in addition to identify putative novel microRNAs that differentially regulated in the regenerating tissue. These findings suggest that microRNAs may play key roles in managing the spatial and temporal expression of genes important for ensuring that the correct tissues are regenerated.