Project description:Comparison of temporal gene expression profiles to identify genes/pathways changing during ageing. Jena Centre for Systems Biology of Ageing - JenAge (www.jenage.de)
Project description:The mitochondrial and nuclear genomes contribute to mitochondrial function, and when mitochondrial function is compromised, mitochondrial retrograde signaling alters nuclear gene expression. We performed gene expression profiling of engineered cells that had mitochondria containing a disease-associated mutation that causes mitochondrial dysfunction. By generating networks of transcription factors that targeted these genes, the authors revealed putative mitochondrial retrograde signaling pathways. One such pathway involved retinoic acid receptor alpha (RXRA), the mRNA for which was reduced in the mutant cells. Network analysis and experiments in cells suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the mutation initiated a positive feedback loop that aggravated mitochondrial dysfunction: Reduced RXRA abundance further compromised expression of genes encoding products involved in mitochondrial function and translation. This gene-transcription factor mapping-network approach may reveal targets for therapeutic intervention of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Project description:The mitochondrial and nuclear genomes contribute to mitochondrial function, and when mitochondrial function is compromised, mitochondrial retrograde signaling alters nuclear gene expression. We performed gene expression profiling of engineered cells that had mitochondria containing a disease-associated mutation that causes mitochondrial dysfunction. By generating networks of transcription factors that targeted these genes, the authors revealed putative mitochondrial retrograde signaling pathways. One such pathway involved retinoic acid receptor alpha (RXRA), the mRNA for which was reduced in the mutant cells. Network analysis and experiments in cells suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the mutation initiated a positive feedback loop that aggravated mitochondrial dysfunction: Reduced RXRA abundance further compromised expression of genes encoding products involved in mitochondrial function and translation. This gene-transcription factor mapping-network approach may reveal targets for therapeutic intervention of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. To investigate retrograde signaling pathways induced by the mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the mt3243 mutation, we generated the three types of cybrid cells using a mitochondria-mediated transformation method. Cells lacking mtDNA (rho0) were fused with mtDNAs with the mt3243 mutation isolated from platelets of a diabetic patient with sensorineural hearing loss. We then isolated three types of cybrid cells: W cells had wild-type mtDNA (3243A homoplasmy), H cells had both the mutant and wild-type mtDNA (3243A/G heteroplasmy) with 70% of the mtDNA containing 3243G, and M cells with only mutant mtDNA (3243G homoplasmy). Gene expression profiles of cybrid cells were generated using Illumina HumanHT-12-v3-BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA), which includes 49,896 probes corresponding to 25,202 annotated genes. According to the Illumina protocols, three biological triplicates of each type of cybrid cells were analyzed. Total RNA (500ng) was isolated from cybrid cells using RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, GmbH, Germany). RNA integrity number (RIN) was in the range of RIN = 9.2 and 10 when measured with an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer. RNA was reversely transcribed and amplified using IlluminaTotalPrep RNA amplification kit (Ambion, Austin, TX). In vitro transcription was then carried out to prepare cRNA. The cRNAs were hybridized to the array and then labeled with Cy3-streptavidin (Amersham Bioscience, Little Chalfont, UK). The fluorescent signal on the array was measured with a BeadStation 500 System (Illumina, San Diego, CA).
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.