Project description:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the brain. Among characteristics of MS pathology are cortical grey matter abnormalities, which have been linked to clinical signs such as cognitive impairment. To understand MS cortical grey matter lesion pathogenesis, we performed differential gene expression analysis of MS cortical normal-appearing grey matter (NAGM) and grey matter lesions. HLA-DRB1 is the transcript with highest expression in MS NAGM with a bimodal distribution among the examined cases. Genotyping revealed that every case with the MS-associated HLA-DR15 haplotype also shows high HLA-DRB1 expression. Quantitative immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the higher expression of HLA-DRB1 in HLA-DRB1*15:01 cases at the protein level. Analysis of grey matter lesion size revealed a significant increase of cortical lesion size in cases with high HLA-DRB1 expression. Our data indicate that increased HLA-DRB1 expression in the brain of MS patients may be an important factor in how the HLA-DR15 haplotype contributes to MS risk in the target organ.
Project description:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the brain. Among characteristics of MS pathology are cortical grey matter abnormalities, which have been linked to clinical signs such as cognitive impairment. To understand MS cortical grey matter pathogenesis, we performed differential gene expression analysis of MS normal appearing grey matter (NAGM) and control grey matter. HLA-DRB1 is the transcript with highest expression in MS NAGM with a bimodal distribution among the examined cases. Genotyping revealed that every case with the MS-associated HLA-DR15 haplotype also shows high HLA-DRB1 expression. Quantitative immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the higher expression of HLA-DRB1 in HLA-DRB1*15:01 cases at the protein level. Analysis of grey matter lesion size revealed a significant increase of cortical lesion size in cases with high HLA-DRB1 expression. Our data indicate that increased HLA-DRB1 expression in the brain of MS patients may be an important factor in how the HLA-DR15 haplotype contributes to MS risk in the target organ.
Project description:To determine the extent to which the major small RNA pathways functions across the Arabidopsis thaliana genome, small RNA populations from several tissues of wild-type (wt) and mutant plants were amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced using high-throughput 454 sequencing technology. Keywords: small RNAs, high-throughput sequencing
Project description:The molecular responses of Grey poplar (Populus x canescens) following root hypoxia were studied in roots and leaves using transcript profiling. Grey poplar is a flooding tolerant tree species and analysis of the molecular response to hypoxia may indicate possible adaptation mechanisms to this stress.
Project description:Organotin compounds are highly persistent organic pollutants that bioaccumulate in marine biota, behaving as potent endocrine disruptors. Tributyltin (TBT) has been described as an environmental obesogen, as it contributes in mammals to lipid accumulation in a mechanism mediated by PPARγ and RXR. With the aim of studying the molecular mechanisms that elicit TBT-induced pathogenesis in fish, thicklip grey mullets Chelon labrosus were exposed to low (10 ng/L) and high (500 ng/L) TBT concentrations for 1, 7 and 21 days, and gene transcription and metabolome profiles were studied. With this purpose, the multitissue transcriptome of mullet was sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing obtaining 126 Mb of sequence information. Assembly and annotation allowed spotting 8330 gene signatures on an oligonucleotide microarray that was used to identify hepatic gene transcription profiles specific to each TBT exposure set-up. Functional pathway analysis revealed that early profiles were characterized by genes related to response to organic substances and to oxidative stress and glucose metabolic processes. After 21 days of exposure, enriched GO terms in both concentrations were related to lipid homeostasis with a significant regulation of steroid metabolic and cholesterol biosynthetic processes. Also, the androgen receptor signalling pathway was regulated while PPAR signalling appeared as the most significantly regulated KEGG pathway. Neutral lipid accumulation measured by Oil-Red-O histochemistry did not show any treatment-related effect but hepatic and plasma NMR and GC-MS metabolomic analysis revealed distinctive metabolites. Aqueous profiles were characterised by lactate, glucose and alanine while GC-MS revealed a whole set of discriminating polyunsaturated fatty acids. Thus, TBT pathogenesis involves alterations of lipid metabolism through a mechanism that could involve PPARγ-regulated processes confirming the obesogen hypothesis for TBT in fish. Thicklip grey mullets were exposed to tributyltin (TBT). 3 treatments: control, TBT low dose (10ng/L), TBT high dose (500ng/L); 3 sampling times: 1 day, 1 week, 3 weeks. 6 mullets were dissected in each sampling point and group.