Project description:Functional gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders affect a substantial proportion of the global population and are often preceded by intestinal infections that cause injury to enteric neurons and glia through unrestrained immune responses. However, the mechanisms that limit infection-induced inflammation and protect the enteric nervous system remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated neuron-glia-macrophage interactions after West Nile virus (WNV) infection, a model neurotropic virus that causes GI tract dysmotility via injury of enteric neurons through a T cell-mediated cytolytic mechanism. In response to WNV infection, resident muscularis macrophages upregulate antiviral, proinflammatory, and immunomodulatory genes. However, pharmacological depletion of resident macrophages did not affect viral burden in the GI tract, but rather reshaped the enteric glial response to WNV, resulting in excessive production of T cell and neutrophil chemoattractants. This amplified recruitment of immune cells worsened enteric neuronal injury. Together, our findings identify resident muscularis macrophages as key regulators of glia-driven inflammation during enteric viral infection and reveal their role in protecting enteric neurons from immune-mediated damage.
Project description:Functional gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders affect a substantial proportion of the global population and are often preceded by intestinal infections that cause injury to enteric neurons and glia through unrestrained immune responses. However, the mechanisms that limit infection-induced inflammation and protect the enteric nervous system remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated neuron-glia-macrophage interactions after West Nile virus (WNV) infection, a model neurotropic virus that causes GI tract dysmotility via injury of enteric neurons through a T cell-mediated cytolytic mechanism. In response to WNV infection, resident muscularis macrophages upregulate antiviral, proinflammatory, and immunomodulatory genes. However, pharmacological depletion of resident macrophages did not affect viral burden in the GI tract, but rather reshaped the enteric glial response to WNV, resulting in excessive production of T cell and neutrophil chemoattractants. This amplified recruitment of immune cells worsened enteric neuronal injury. Together, our findings identify resident muscularis macrophages as key regulators of glia-driven inflammation during enteric viral infection and reveal their role in protecting enteric neurons from immune-mediated damage.
Project description:Functional gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders affect a substantial proportion of the global population and are often preceded by intestinal infections that cause injury to enteric neurons and glia through unrestrained immune responses. However, the mechanisms that limit infection-induced inflammation and protect the enteric nervous system remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated neuron-glia-macrophage interactions after West Nile virus (WNV) infection, a model neurotropic virus that causes GI tract dysmotility via injury of enteric neurons through a T cell-mediated cytolytic mechanism. In response to WNV infection, resident muscularis macrophages upregulate antiviral, proinflammatory, and immunomodulatory genes. However, pharmacological depletion of resident macrophages did not affect viral burden in the GI tract, but rather reshaped the enteric glial response to WNV, resulting in excessive production of T cell and neutrophil chemoattractants. This amplified recruitment of immune cells worsened enteric neuronal injury. Together, our findings identify resident muscularis macrophages as key regulators of glia-driven inflammation during enteric viral infection and reveal their role in protecting enteric neurons from immune-mediated damage.
Project description:Functional gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders affect a substantial proportion of the global population and are often preceded by intestinal infections that cause injury to enteric neurons and glia through unrestrained immune responses. However, the mechanisms that limit infection-induced inflammation and protect the enteric nervous system remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated neuron-glia-macrophage interactions after West Nile virus (WNV) infection, a model neurotropic virus that causes GI tract dysmotility via injury of enteric neurons through a T cell-mediated cytolytic mechanism. In response to WNV infection, resident muscularis macrophages upregulate antiviral, proinflammatory, and immunomodulatory genes. However, pharmacological depletion of resident macrophages did not affect viral burden in the GI tract, but rather reshaped the enteric glial response to WNV, resulting in excessive production of T cell and neutrophil chemoattractants. This amplified recruitment of immune cells worsened enteric neuronal injury. Together, our findings identify resident muscularis macrophages as key regulators of glia-driven inflammation during enteric viral infection and reveal their role in protecting enteric neurons from immune-mediated damage.
Project description:This study brings new insight into the heterogeneity of human enteric glia, contributing to our understanding of enteric glial diversity in health and disease.
Project description:We utilized a Phox2b-H2BCerulean transgene that is expressed at low levels in Enteric Nervous System progenitors (ENPs) and enteric glia that is also expressed at notably higher levels in differentiating enteric neurons to capture these populations during neurogenic phases of ENS development. Collected tissues from 16.5 days post coitus developing mouse intestine included the stomach, small intestine, and colon that were dissociated to single cell suspensions for flow sort capture of Phox2b-H2BCerulaen+ cells. We applied differential gating in flow sorts to capture populations expressing low levels of the Phox2b-H2BCerulaen transgene (ENPs and enteric glia) and while concurrently collecting cells expressing high levels of the Phox2b-H2BCerulaen transgene (developing and maturing enteric neurons) from the same samples. Nuclei were generated from these Phox2b-H2BCerulaen “high” and “low” populations and encapsulated separately to produce single nucleus ATAC-Seq libraries using 10X Genomics chemistry. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina NovaSeq6000 (S4) using PE150 Sequencing targeting >50,000 reads per nucleus. Comparison of the resulting sequence data from the “high” versus “low” cell populations allowed us to identify differentially accessible genome regions in developing enteric neurons compared to ENPs and enteric glia.
Project description:Sewage samples were collected and concentrated for Human and animal viruses. Viruses were cultured on Buffalo Green Monkey Cells (BGMK) and their genomic DNA/RNA were extracted and labeled with Cy3 and Cy5 respectively. Labeled DNA/RNA were hybridized unto the array and signals generated were analyzed to indicate the presence of target viruses. Keywords: Detection of pathogens within environmental sample (Viruses)
Project description:Enteric glia are the predominant cell type in the enteric nervous system yet their identities and roles in gastrointestinal function are not well classified. Using our optimized single nucleus RNA-sequencing method, we identified distinct molecular classes of enteric glia and defined their morphological and spatial diversity. Our findings revealed a functionally specialized biosensor subtype of enteric glia that we call “hub cells.” Deletion of the mechanosensory ion channel PIEZO2 from adult enteric glial hub cells, but not other subtypes of enteric glia, led to defects in intestinal motility and gastric emptying in mice. These results provide insight into the multifaceted functions of different enteric glial cell subtypes in gut health and emphasize that therapies targeting enteric glia could advance the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Project description:<p>Marine viruses play a key role in regulating phytoplankton populations, greatly affecting the biogeochemical cycling of major nutrients in the ocean. Resistance to viral infection has been reported for various phytoplankton species under laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, the occurrence of resistant cells in natural populations is underexplored due to the lack of sensitive tools to detect these rare phenotypes. Consequently, our current understanding of the ecological importance of resistance and its underlying mechanisms is limited. Here, we sought to identify lipid biomarkers for the resistance of the bloom-forming alga <em>Emiliania huxleyi</em> to its specific virus, <em>E. huxleyi</em> virus (EhV). By applying an untargeted lipidomics approach, we identified a group of glycosphingolipid (GSL) biomarkers that characterize resistant <em>E. huxleyi</em> strains and were thus termed resistance-specific GSLs (resGSLs). Further, we detected these lipid biomarkers in <em>E. huxleyi</em> isolates collected from induced <em>E. huxleyi</em> blooms and in samples collected during an open-ocean <em>E. huxleyi</em> bloom, indicating that resistant cells predominantly occur during the demise phase of the bloom. Last, we show that the GSL composition of <em>E. huxleyi</em> cultures that recover following infection and gain resistance to the virus resembles that of resistant strains. These findings highlight the metabolic plasticity and coevolution of the GSL biosynthetic pathway and underscore its central part in this host-virus arms race.</p>
Project description:Diffuse gliomas (DGs) are the most common and lethal primary neoplasms in the central nervous system. The latest 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (CNS) was published in 2021, immensely changing the approach to diagnosis and decision making. As a part of the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) project, our aim was to provide genomic profiling of gliomas in a Chinese cohort. Two hundred eighty six gliomas with different grades were collected over the last decade. Using the Illumina HiSeq platform, over 75.8 million high-quality 150 bp paired-end reads were generated per sample, yielding a total of 43.4 billion reads. We also collected each patient’s clinical and pathological information and used it to annotate their genetic data. This dataset provides an important reference for researchers and will significantly advance our understanding of gliomas.