Project description:To identify genes involved in responses to psychosocial stressor, we analysed RNAseq transcriptomic profiles in whole blood of 15 juvenile male vervet monkeys from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts at three experimental time points: day 0 (baseline), day 3 and day 5 of exposure to the stressor.
Project description:The limbus is a unique anatomic structure that is highly innervated and vascularized yet sets the boundary for the avascularized cornea. The corneal epithelial stem cells are believed to reside at the limbus. The intrinsic and external molecular signals that modulate the differentiation and proliferation of the limbal stems cells are still largely unidentified because of a lack of known specific markers. In this study, we used microarray technology to identify the unique gene expression profile in the limbus by comparing directly to that of its immediate adjacent structures, the cornea and conjunctiva, in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Many new genes were found to be preferentially expressed in the limbus, and two new biological pathways, melanin metabolism and apoptosis, were among other previously known processes identified in the limbus. These findings may shed light on the molecular components of limbal stem cells and their niche. Experiment Overall Design: The study consisted of gene expression profile comparisons across three anatomical structures of the eye. The parts of the eye compared included the cornea, the conjunctiva, and the limbus.
Project description:The limbus is a unique anatomic structure that is highly innervated and vascularized yet sets the boundary for the avascularized cornea. The corneal epithelial stem cells are believed to reside at the limbus. The intrinsic and external molecular signals that modulate the differentiation and proliferation of the limbal stems cells are still largely unidentified because of a lack of known specific markers. In this study, we used microarray technology to identify the unique gene expression profile in the limbus by comparing directly to that of its immediate adjacent structures, the cornea and conjunctiva, in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Many new genes were found to be preferentially expressed in the limbus, and two new biological pathways, melanin metabolism and apoptosis, were among other previously known processes identified in the limbus. These findings may shed light on the molecular components of limbal stem cells and their niche. Keywords: transcription profiling, gene expression