Project description:Regionalized disease prevalence is a common feature of the gastrointestinal tract. Herein, we employed regionally resolved Smart-seq3 single-cell sequencing, generating a comprehensive cell atlas of the adult oesophagus. Characterizing the oesophageal axis, we unveil non-uniform distribution of epithelial basal cells, fibroblasts and immune cells. In addition, we reveal a position-dependent, but cell subpopulation-independent, transcriptional signature, collectively generating a regionalized landscape. Combining in vivo models with organoid co-cultures, we demonstrate that proximal and distal basal progenitor cell states are functionally distinct. We find that proximal fibroblasts are more permissive for organoid growth compared to distal fibroblasts and that the immune cell profile is regionalized in two dimensions, where proximal-distal and epithelial-stromal gradients impact epithelial maintenance. Finally, we predict and verify how WNT-, BMP-, IGF- and NRG-signalling are differentially engaged along the oesophageal axis. We establish a cellular and transcriptional framework for understanding oesophageal regionalization, providing a functional basis for epithelial disease susceptibility.
Project description:Differential gene expression analysis of oesophageal cells stimulated with a low pH environment. Study designed to identify pathways involved in progression of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease through Barrett's oesophagus to adenocarcinoma. Identified many subsets of genes with involvement in pathogenesis. Keywords = GORD Keywords = Barrett's Oesophagus Keywords = Oesopageal Adenocarcinoma. Keywords: time-course
Project description:The Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip arrays were performed on a collection of primary oesophageal cancer-associated myofibroblasts (CAM) and their patient-matched adjacent tissue myofibroblasts (ATM). CAM and ATM samples were obtained from patients with oesophageal adenocarcinomas undergoing cancer surgery.
Project description:The clinical management of locally advanced oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) commonly involves neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT), but complete pathological response to CRT only occurs in 20-30% of patients, as radioresistance remains a major clinical challenge. In this study we used an established isogenic cell line model of radioresistant OAC to detect proteomic signatures of radioresistance in order to identify novel potential molecular and cellular targets of radioresistance in OAC. Intracellular proteins obtained from radiosensitive (OE33P) and radioresistant (OE33R) cells were subjected to LC-MS/MS analysis. We identified 5785 proteins of which 251 were significantly modulated in OE33R cells, when compared to OE33P. Gene ontology and pathway analysis of the significantly modulated proteins demonstrated altered metabolism in radioresistant cells accompanied by an inhibition of apoptosis in OE33R cells. In addition, radioresistant cells were predicted to have an activation of inflammatory and angiogenic pathways when compared to the radiosensitive cells. For the first time, we performed a comprehensive proteomic profiling of our established isogenic cell line model of radioresistant OAC, providing insights into the molecular and cellular pathways which regulates radioresistance in OAC, and we provided pathway specific signatures of radioresistance that will aid further studies on the development of targeted therapies and personalised approaches to radiotherapy, with the ultimate goal of improving response to radiotherapy in cancer patients.
Project description:The purpose of this single cell experiment is to compare and characterize at molecular level oesophageal epithelial cells at different points in post-natal development (post-natal day 7 and 28) and at the onset of homeostasis (over p70). With the aim of identifying differences in timepoints showing the key molecular markers of the transition from a rapidly expanding tissue to one that is stable in size and function. Previous data has suggested this transition point occurs around P28 and we hope to see here a similarity in the profile of P28 samples with that of adults. Single cell suspensions of pooled oesophageal epithelial and stroma cells were sorted for EpCam+ and CD45- expression to select for epithelium cells for RNA-sequencing.
Project description:Exosomes were purified from 250 ul serum using ExoQuickTm. The presence of particles consistent in size with exosomes (60-150nm) was confirmed using a Nanosight LM10. miRNA was extracted from exosomes using an miRNeasy Serum/Plasma kit (Qiagen, #217184). miRNA was reversed transcribed using a TaqMan® microRNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Life technologies, #4366596). miRNA profiling was performed with a high throughput TaqMan® OpenArray® Human microRNA panel (Life technologies, #4461104). The panel consisted of probes for 754 human miRNAs that are based on miRNA sequences derived from Sanger miRBase v14. MegaplexTM Primer Human Pool A v2.1 and Human Pool B v2.0 or v3.0 The poor prognosis and rising incidence of oesophageal adenocarcinoma highlight the need for improved methods for detection of this cancer. Molecular biomarkers offer potential for this. The potential for circulating miRNAs as biomarkers in some other cancers has been shown, but circulating miRNAs have not been well characterized in oesophageal adenocarcinoma. This study investigated whether circulating miRNAs could be used to detect oesophageal adenocarcinoma.
Project description:Background: Successful treatment of oesophageal cancer is hampered by recurrent drug resistant disease. We have previously demonstrated the importance of apoptosis and autophagy for the recovery of oesophageal cancer cells following drug treatment. When apoptosis (with autophagy) is induced, these cells are chemosensitive and will not recover following chemotherapy treatment. In contrast, when cancer cells exhibit only autophagy and limited Type II cell death, they are chemoresistant and recover following drug withdrawal. Methods: MicroRNA (miRNA) expression profiling of an oesophageal cancer cell line panel was used to identify miRNAs that were important in the regulation of apoptosis and autophagy. The effects of miRNA overexpression on cell death mechanisms and recovery were assessed in the chemoresistant (autophagy inducing) KYSE450 oesophageal cancer cells. Results: MiR-193b was the most differentially expressed miRNA between the chemosensitive and chemoresistant cell lines with higher expression in chemosensitive apoptosis inducing cell lines. Colony formation assays showed that overexpression of miR-193b significantly impedes the ability of KYSE450 cells to recover following 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment. The critical mRNA targets of miR-193b are unknown but target prediction and siRNA data analysis suggest that it may mediate some of its effects through stathmin 1 regulation. Apoptosis was not involved in the enhanced cytotoxicity. Overexpression of miR- 193b in these cells induced autophagic flux and non-apoptotic cell death. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of miR-193b in determining oesophageal cancer cell viability and demonstrate an enhancement of chemotoxicity that is independent of apoptosis induction.