Project description:Prostate of SD rats was injected with 0.1 ml 1% carrageenan to induce chronic nonbacterial prostatitis, and the control rats injected with sterile saline. Then, the cecal contents were collected for 16S rDNA sequencing.
Project description:We found that mainstream cigarette smoking (4 cigarettes/day, 5 days/week for 2 weeks using Kentucky Research Cigarettes 3R4F) resulted in >20% decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in Atg16l1 T300A mice but showed minimal effect in wildtype littermate control mice, indicating that Atg16l1 T300A polymorphism confers sensitivity to cigarette smoking-induced Paneth cell damage. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing to identify potential microbiota changes associated with Paneth cell defect in Atg16l1 T300A mice exposed to cigarette smoking. Female mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Cigarette smoking was performed using smoking chamber with the dosage and schedule as described above. The fecal samples from the mice were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing analysis after completing 6 weeks of smoking.
Project description:Benzene is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant abundant in household products, petrochemicals and cigarette smoke. Benzene is a well-known carcinogen in humans and experimental animals; however, little is known about the cardiovascular toxicity of benzene. Recent population-based studies indicate that benzene exposure is associated with an increased risk for heart failure. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether benzene exposure is sufficient to induce and/or exacerbate heart failure. We examined the effects of benzene (50 ppm, 6 h/day, 5 days/week, 6 weeks) or HEPA-filtered air exposure on transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced pressure overload in male C57BL/6J mice. Our data show that benzene exposure had no effect on cardiac function in the Sham group; however, it significantly compromised cardiac function as depicted by a significant decrease in fractional shortening and ejection fraction, as compared with TAC/Air-exposed mice. RNA-seq analysis of the cardiac tissue from the TAC/benzene-exposed mice showed a significant increase in several genes associated with adhesion molecules, cell-cell adhesion, inflammation, and stress response. In particular, neutrophils were implicated in our unbiased analyzes. Indeed, immunofluorescence studies showed that TAC/benzene exposure promotes infiltration of CD11b+/S100A8+/myeloperoxidase+-positive neutrophils in the hearts by 3-fold. In vitro, the benzene metabolites, hydroquinone and catechol, induced the expression of P-selectin in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells by 5-fold and increased the adhesion of neutrophils to these endothelial cells by 1.5-2.0-fold. Benzene metabolite-induced adhesion of neutrophils to the endothelial cells was attenuated by anti-P-selectin antibody. Together, these data suggest that benzene exacerbates heart failure by promoting endothelial activation and neutrophil recruitment.
Project description:We utilized the well-characterized murine T cell transfer model of colitis to find specific alterations in the intestinal luminal proteome associated with inflammation. Mass spectrometry proteomic analysis of colonic samples permitted the identification of ~10,000-12,000 unique peptides that corresponded to 5610 protein clusters identified across three groups, including the colitic Rag1 -/- T cell recipients, isogenic Rag1 -/- controls, as well as wild-type mice. Bioinformatic analyses on host and microbial proteins found specific proteins and GO term functionalities unique to each group, as well as GO terms shared across the three cohorts. We further demonstrated that the colitic mice exhibited a significant increase in Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia that was substantiated with 16S rDNA sequencing.
Project description:The relationship between the microbial changes with clinical-pathological outcomes are still far from being conclusive. Herein, we investigate the ability of metagenomics (MG) and metaproteomics (MP) saliva data in distinguishing C, L0 and L1 patients. For that, we combined two strategies using MG analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing of saliva cells, and MP analysis using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry of saliva supernatant and cells.
Project description:To identify potential methylation biomarkers in occupationally benzene-exposed individuals and to elucidate mechanisms of benzene hematotoxicity.
