Project description:The aim of this experiment was to compare transcript abundances in parthenotes (i.e. organisms derived by parthenogenetic development of gametes) of two life cycle mutants of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus with transcript abundances in the wild type sporophyte and gametophyte generations. This is of interest because the two mutations, immediate upright (imm) and ouroboros (oro), cause partial and almost complete hometic conversion, respectively, of the sporophyte into the gametophyte. imm parthenotes exhibit gametophyte-like morphology during early development but remain sporophytes in functional terms (they do not produce gametes) whereas oro parthenotes behave as functional gametophytes and are morphologically indistinguishable from gametophytes apart from the appearance some minor sporophyte-like features very early in development in some individuals. To minimise genetic background effects the samples for this experiment were derived from a segregating population derived from an imm/IMM oro/ORO sporophyte. Four classes of gametophyte were derived from this sporophyte were IMM/ORO (wild type), imm/ORO, IMM/oro and imm/oro. Parthenomes were bulked to provide a wild type sporophyte sample, samples corresponding to the two individual mutants, plus the double mutant. A wild type gametophyte sample was also compared for comparison. Hybridisations with cDNA derived from these five samples were carried out using a NimbleGen expressed-sequence-tag-(EST-)based microarray carrying probes corresponding to 10,600 of the 16,256 genes identified in the Ectocarpus genome.
Project description:Purpose:We aimed to investigate the role of circulating exosomal microRNAs (e-miRNAs) in recurrent ischemic events in ICAD Methods: consecutive patients with severe ICAD undergoing intensive medical management (IMM) were prospectively enrolled. Those with recurrent ischemic events despite IMM during 6-month follow up were algorithmically matched to IMM responders. Baseline blood e-miRNA expression levels of the matched patients were measured using next generation sequencing Results: a total of 122 e-miRNAs were isolated from blood samples of 10 non-responders and 11 responders. Thirteen e-miRNAs predicted IMM failure with 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) determined 10 of the 13 e-miRNAs were significantly associated with angiogenesis-related biological functions (p < 0.025) and angiogenic factors that have been associated with recurrent ischemic events in ICAD. These e-miRNAs included miR-122-5p, miR-192-5p, miR-27b-3p, miR-16-5p, miR-486-5p, miR-30c-5p, miR-10b-5p, miR-10a-5p, miR-101-3p, and miR-24-3p. As predicted by IPA, the specific expression profiles of these 10 e-miRNAs in non-responders had a net result of inhibition of the angiogenesis-related functions and up expression of the antiangiogenic factors conclusion: This study revealed distinct expression profiles of circulating e-miRNAs in refractory ICAD, suggesting an antiangiogenic mechanism underlying IMM failure.
Project description:The vertebrate skeleton is mostly composed of three specific cell types: immature chondrocytes (IMM), mature (hypertrophic) chondrocytes (MAT), and osteoblasts (OST). These three cell types are distinct, but they also share the expression of many genes. This overlapping gene expression can be attributed to two transcription factors, SOX9 and RUNX2, which operate near the top of hierarchy of the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying IMM, MAT, and OST. Sox9 drives IMM differentiation, whereas Runx2 regulates OST differentiation. Importantly, MAT do not form without the function of either Sox9 or Runx2, but little is known about mechanisms of GRN regulation in MAT. During MAT differentiation, the expression of Runx2 increases, and many genes regulated by this transcription such as Spp1, Mef2c, Ibsp, and Alpl are activated. To understand regulatory control of gene expression in mature chondrocytes, ChIP-seq experiments were performed using the mouse chondrogenic cell line ATDC5. These experiments identified in vitro RUNX2 binding sites at different stages of chondrogenesis. RUNX2 appeared to bind in most genes enriched in MAT at both day 3 of differentiation. The ChIP-seq analyses presented here verified the molecular mechanisms predicted here to regulate transcription of the many genomic loci in MAT, proving more insight into regulatory control during cartilage maturation.
Project description:The study aimed to characterize miRNA expression in rainbow trout ovary during ovarian development from immature to mature stages. Whole ovary were collected at the following stages: immature pre-vitelogenesis (IMM), mid-vitellogenesis (MV), late vitellogenesis (LV), post-vitellogenesis (PV) and mature while meiotic maturation is in progress (MAT).
Project description:S. Typhimurium 112910a parental strain and an isogenic ΔscsA strain were grown to stationary phase in SPI2 inducing minimal medium (MM5.8 - Erikkson et al., 2006 Inf & Imm., 74:1243) with or without supplementation with 1µM cortisol
Project description:Immune responses generally decline with age. We used multiple ‘omics’ technologies to capture population- and individual- level changes in the human immune system of 135 healthy adult individuals of different ages sampled longitudinally over a nine-year period. We observe a high inter-individual variability in the rates of change of cellular frequencies that correlate with baseline values, allowing identification of steady state levels towards which a cell subset converges and the ordered convergence of multiple cell subsets towards an older adult homeostasis. These form a high dimensional trajectory of immune-aging (IMM-AGE) that describes a person’s immune status better than chronological age. We show the IMM-AGE score predicts all-cause mortality beyond well-established risk factors in the Framingham Heart Study.
Project description:Immune responses generally decline with age. We used multiple ‘omics’ technologies to capture population- and individual- level changes in the human immune system of 135 healthy adult individuals of different ages sampled longitudinally over a nine-year period. We observe a high inter-individual variability in the rates of change of cellular frequencies that correlate with baseline values, allowing identification of steady state levels towards which a cell subset converges and the ordered convergence of multiple cell subsets towards an older adult homeostasis. These form a high dimensional trajectory of immune-aging (IMM-AGE) that describes a person’s immune status better than chronological age. We show the IMM-AGE score predicts all-cause mortality beyond well-established risk factors in the Framingham Heart Study.