Project description:In order to identify genes with differential gene expression or alternative splicing between the groups LL-sh4, uninfected, and shGFP we study 6 hybridizations on the Human Exon 1.0 ST array using mixed model analysis of variance. 842 genes with significant gene expression differences between the groups and 1118 genes with significant exon-group interaction (a symptom of alternative splicing) were found, including 192 genes with both gene and possible splicing differences (p<0.01). Contingency table analysis of the set of studied genes and a dataset of known pathways and gene classifications revealed that the set of alternatively spliced and expressed genes were found to be significantly over-represented in groups of the GOMolFn, GOProcess, GOCellLoc, and Pathway classes (p<0.01). Algorithm ANOVA study of 6 Human Exon 1.0 ST files.
Project description:In order to identify genes with differential gene expression or alternative splicing between the groups LL-sh4, uninfected, and shGFP we study 6 hybridizations on the Human Exon 1.0 ST array using mixed model analysis of variance. 842 genes with significant gene expression differences between the groups and 1118 genes with significant exon-group interaction (a symptom of alternative splicing) were found, including 192 genes with both gene and possible splicing differences (p<0.01). Contingency table analysis of the set of studied genes and a dataset of known pathways and gene classifications revealed that the set of alternatively spliced and expressed genes were found to be significantly over-represented in groups of the GOMolFn, GOProcess, GOCellLoc, and Pathway classes (p<0.01). Algorithm ANOVA study of 6 Human Exon 1.0 ST files. Factorial arrangment
Project description:HnRNPLL was identified as a critical regulator of CD45 alternative splicing in a lentiviral shRNA screen. RNAi-mediated depletion of hnRNPLL eliminated the activation-induced induced transition from the CD45RA to the CD45RO isoform. HnRNPLL is induced during the process of T cell activation, raising the possibility that it regulates a broad program of alternative splicing in activated T cells. To test this possibility and to identify additional potential targets of hnRNPLL, we performed exon array analysis on RNA isolated from five cellular conditions: 1) activated peripheral CD4+ T cells, 2) peripheral CD4+ T cells infected with a control shRNA directed against GFP, 3) peripheral CD4+ T infected with an shRNA directed against hnRNPLL, 4) naïve cord blood CD4+ T cells, and 5) cord blood CD4+ T cells that had been activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 for 24 hours. The RNA was hybridized to Affymetrix human exon arrays and the hybridization signals were analyzed with XRAYTM software (Biotique). Using stringent filters for non-expressed probesets, we identified 132 genes that showed significant alternative exon usage (p<0.01) in response to hnRNPLL knockdown, but not in response to shGFP infection. Of these 132 genes, 36 also showed significant alternative exon usage in response to activation of cord blood cells, which results in an approximate 5-fold increase in hnRNPLL expression. We thus conclude that induction of hnRNPLL represents a mechanism by which cells can rapidly shift their transcriptomes during the process of T cell activation. This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE11832: naive/activated ANOVA group GSE11833: LL-sh4/uninfected/shGFP ANOVA group
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Project description:As the evolution of miRNA genes has been found to be one of the important factors in formation of the modern type of man, we performed a comparative analysis of the evolution of miRNA genes in two archaic hominines, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova, and elucidated the expression of their target mRNAs in bain.A comparative analysis of the genomes of primates, including species in the genus Homo, identified a group of miRNA genes having fixed substitutions with important implications for the evolution of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova. The mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with mutations specific for Homo sapiens denisova exhibited enhanced expression during postnatal brain development in modern humans. By contrast, the expression of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs bearing variations specific for Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was shown to be enhanced in prenatal brain development.Our results highlight the importance of changes in miRNA gene sequences in the course of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis evolution. The genetic alterations of miRNAs regulating the spatiotemporal expression of multiple genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain may contribute to the progressive evolution of brain function, which is consistent with the observations of fine technical and typological properties of tools and decorative items reported from archaeological Denisovan sites. The data also suggest that differential spatial-temporal regulation of gene products promoted by the subspecies-specific mutations in the miRNA genes might have occurred in the brains of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, potentially contributing to the cultural differences between these two archaic hominines.
Project description:PurposeWe investigated the evidence of recent positive selection in the human phototransduction system at single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and gene level.MethodsSNP genotyping data from the International HapMap Project for European, Eastern Asian, and African populations was used to discover differences in haplotype length and allele frequency between these populations. Numeric selection metrics were computed for each SNP and aggregated into gene-level metrics to measure evidence of recent positive selection. The level of recent positive selection in phototransduction genes was evaluated and compared to a set of genes shown previously to be under recent selection, and a set of highly conserved genes as positive and negative controls, respectively.ResultsSix of 20 phototransduction genes evaluated had gene-level selection metrics above the 90th percentile: RGS9, GNB1, RHO, PDE6G, GNAT1, and SLC24A1. The selection signal across these genes was found to be of similar magnitude to the positive control genes and much greater than the negative control genes.ConclusionsThere is evidence for selective pressure in the genes involved in retinal phototransduction, and traces of this selective pressure can be demonstrated using SNP-level and gene-level metrics of allelic variation. We hypothesize that the selective pressure on these genes was related to their role in low light vision and retinal adaptation to ambient light changes. Uncovering the underlying genetics of evolutionary adaptations in phototransduction not only allows greater understanding of vision and visual diseases, but also the development of patient-specific diagnostic and intervention strategies.
Project description:Cortical thickness has been investigated since the beginning of the 20th century, but we do not know how similar the cortical thickness profiles among humans are. In this study, the local similarity of cortical thickness profiles was investigated using sliding window methods. Here, we show that approximately 5% of the cortical thickness profiles are similarly expressed among humans while 45% of the cortical thickness profiles show a high level of heterogeneity. Therefore, heterogeneity is the rule, not the exception. Cortical thickness profiles of somatosensory homunculi and the anterior insula are consistent among humans, while the cortical thickness profiles of the motor homunculus are more variable. Cortical thickness profiles of homunculi that code for muscle position and skin stimulation are highly similar among humans despite large differences in sex, education, and age. This finding suggests that the structure of these cortices remains well preserved over a lifetime. Our observations possibly relativize opinions on cortical plasticity.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:Understanding the timing and character of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa is critical for inferring the colonization and admixture processes that underpin global population history. It has been argued that dispersal out of Africa had an early phase, particularly ~130-90 thousand years ago (ka), that reached only the East Mediterranean Levant, and a later phase, ~60-50?ka, that extended across the diverse environments of Eurasia to Sahul. However, recent findings from East Asia and Sahul challenge this model. Here we show that H. sapiens was in the Arabian Peninsula before 85?ka. We describe the Al Wusta-1 (AW-1) intermediate phalanx from the site of Al Wusta in the Nefud desert, Saudi Arabia. AW-1 is the oldest directly dated fossil of our species outside Africa and the Levant. The palaeoenvironmental context of Al Wusta demonstrates that H. sapiens using Middle Palaeolithic stone tools dispersed into Arabia during a phase of increased precipitation driven by orbital forcing, in association with a primarily African fauna. A Bayesian model incorporating independent chronometric age estimates indicates a chronology for Al Wusta of ~95-86?ka, which we correlate with a humid episode in the later part of Marine Isotope Stage 5 known from various regional records. Al Wusta shows that early dispersals were more spatially and temporally extensive than previously thought. Early H. sapiens dispersals out of Africa were not limited to winter rainfall-fed Levantine Mediterranean woodlands immediately adjacent to Africa, but extended deep into the semi-arid grasslands of Arabia, facilitated by periods of enhanced monsoonal rainfall.