Project description:Dysfunctional umbilical cord blood (CB) is an important factor for the development of IUGR in utero. However, the genetic mechanism underlying the miRNAs in CB exosomes influence the development of IUGR is not well characterized. Herein, we present a comprehensive investigation of miRNA transcriptome of umbilical cord vein and artery between IUGR and normal littermate. We total identified 636 unique miRNAs. There were 116 significant differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs between umbilical vein of normal (NV) and IUGR (IV) and 226 DE miRNAs between umbilical artery of normal (NA) and IUGR (IA) (P < 0.001). Cluster analysis revealed that umbilical artery had the most striking divergence, implied it plays more prominent role in the development of IUGR. The miRNAs enriched in NA mainly participate in blood vessel development, regulation of transcription and growth. The miRNAs highly expressed in IA mainly enriched in apoptosis, cell death, embryonic development and immune system development Besides, miRNAs related to oxygen transfer (miR-210, miR-424), angiogenesis (miR-130a, miR-150, miR-34a) and immune system development (miR-181a, miR-155) were lower expressed in IUGR. Our findings demonstrate that CB derived miRNAs participate in fetal epigenetic regulation during pregnancy, which may supply a new explanation for abnormal embryologic development and some congenital diseases.
Project description:Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy related multisystemic syndrome, which shows symptomes after the 20th week of the pregnancy. It affects 5-8% of all pregnancies, caused by placental disfunction and commonly combined with fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Exosomes mediate cell-to-cell communication with their cargo, such as different types of RNA molecules. The exosomal RNA cargo is unique, gives information about the molecular condition of the donor cells and promotes altered gene expression in the acceptor cells. To address a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of PE combined with IUGR, we investigated the differences of plasma exosomal regulatory small RNA content between healthy and PE+IUGR pregnancies before the development of symptoms. We created a high-throughput exosomal small RNA sequencing based method using first-trimester maternal plasma samples from 5 control and 5 PE+IUGR pregnancies to find differences in regulatory small RNA expression levels, such as miRNAs and piRNAs. The differential exosomal expression was corrected for the completed gestational weeks at sampling time calculated on the basis of the Crown-Rump Length (CRL). The analysis has shown differential exosomal expression in case of 16 miRNAs and 6 piRNAs in the PE+IUGR pregnancies compared to normal conditions (p-value ≤ 0.05) . All of the miRNAs and 3 piRNAs were up-regulated, wherease 3 piRNAs were down-regulated. Our results also supported the importance of gestational age at sampling time on exosomal small RNA expression.
Project description:We have completed the high quality reference genome for domestic sheep (Oar v3.1) and performed a detailed survey of gene expression across different tissues. RNA-seq data of 7 tissue types from the reference female Texel and skin tissue from a Gansu alpine fine wool sheep were sequenced.
Project description:Exosomes are membranous extracellular vesicles 50–100 nm in size and are involved in cellular communication via the delivery of proteins, lipids, and RNAs. Emerging evidence shows that exosomes play a critical role in cancer. A recent study has revealed that maternal and umbilical cord serum-derived exosomes may enhance endothelial cell proliferation and migration. However, the role of exosomes isolated from the human umbilical cord in cancer development has not been investigated. To explore the potential differences in the composition and function of proteins from umbilical cord blood exosomes and maternal serum exosomes, we conducted a proteomic analysis of exosomes by mass spectrometry and bioinformatics analysis. We used the CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry to study the biological effects of umbilical serum exosomes on hepatoma cells. Our study shows that umbilical cord blood is enriched with proteins involved in ECM-receptor interactions, which may be closely related to cell metastasis and proliferation. Our findings indicate that exosomes derived from human umbilical serum can suppress the viability of hepatoma cells and may induce apoptosis of hepatoma cells. This evidence suggests that umbilical cord serum-derived exosomes may be potential leads for the development of biotherapy for liver cancer.
Project description:We have completed the high quality reference genome for domestic sheep (Oar v3.1). Early-stage Illumina GA sequence platform sequenced less reads in high GC content regions than in other regions. To read through higher GC content regions, we generated 2 Gb MeDIP-seq data for filling gaps in sheep reference genome assembly.