Project description:Carcinoma VCaP tumors that evolve in denervated rat prostate glands exhibited a significantly altered gene expression profile and phenotype as compared with VCaP tumors that evolve in the normal, innervated rat prostate gland. Interestingly, unilateral denervation resulted in a reduction in tumor size relative to control and the reduction was more pronounced with botox (chemical denervation) as compared with MPG excision (physical denervation). Chemical and Physical denervation yield similar gene expression profiles.
Project description:We showed that nandrolone attenuated subacute, but not acute, denervation atrophy and upregulation of MAFbx. The present study explored the molecular determinants for this time-dependent effect using microarray analysis to identify genes that were differentially regulated by administration of nandrolone for 7 days beginning either concomitantly with denervation (7 days) or 29 days later (35 days)
Project description:Background: Skeletal muscle function crucially depends on motor innervation and after injury on the resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs). However, it is poorly understood how innervation affects MuSC properties. Methods: We investigated the alterations of MuSCs and their immediate niche, the myofiber, after denervation in a surgery-based mouse model of unilateral sciatic nerve transection. FACS-isolated MuSCs were subjected to transcriptomics and proteomics analyses to investigate which changes occur after denervation. We performed Cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury, MuSC transplantation and floating myofiber cultures to assess MuSC functionality after denervation in addition to bioinformatics and histological analyses. Results: We observed a significant increase in the number of MuSCs (Pax7 positive; p-value= 0.0441), proliferating MuSCs (Pax7/Ki67 positive; p-value= 0.0023), activated MuSCs (MyoD positive; p-value= 0.0016) and differentiating MuSCs (Myog positive; p-value= 0.0057) after denervation. This aberrant activation and premature commitment of MuSCs to the myogenic lineage was accompanied by profound alterations on the mRNA (2613 differentially expressed genes, adj. p-value <0.05) and protein (1096 differentially abundant proteins, q-value <0.05) level after denervation. MuSCs from denervated hosts still engrafted and fused to form new myofibers irrespective of the innervation status of the recipient, suggesting the MuSC niche is driving alterations in MuSCs after denervation. The myofiber transcriptome after denervation showed massive changes in the general expression profile (10492 DEGs, p-value <0.05) and in several predicted secreted factors. Incubation of myofiber-associated MuSCs with supernatant from denervated myofibers increased cluster formation, reinforcing myofibers as a source of secreted factors driving MuSC alterations after denervation. Opn and Tgfb1 showed an increased secretion by denervated myofibers (30-fold and 6000-fold, respectively), and incubation with Tgfb1 alone induced Junb expression in myogenic cells, one of the genes highly upregulated in MuSCs after denervation (p-value= 1.85e-18, log2fc= 3.27), demonstrating that myofiber-secreted ligands influence MuSC gene expression. A combination of skeletal muscle injury and denervation led to reduced numbers of proliferating MuSCs (Sham: 47 vs DEN: 19.75 cells per cross section 10 days post-injury) and sustained high levels of developmental myosin heavy chain (Sham: 1 % vs DEN: 40 % of all myofibers 21 days post-injury), indicating hampered MuSC functionality due to changes in the microenvironment. Conclusion: Denervation of skeletal muscle causes alterations in myofiber secretion, leading to activation and profound changes of MuSCs, ultimately resulting in a reduced regenerative capacity. As these alterations are partially reversible, MuSCs are a promising target for novel treatment options for neuromuscular disorders and peripheral nerve injuries.
Project description:The phenotype and genotype of the tumors that arise in denervated prostates is not a measure of the effects of denervation on established tumors. Rather, it is a measure of their ability to escape the regulatory influence of the neural microenvironment and hence develop a resistance phenotype to denervation. This applies to human prostate cancer that arose in prostates with spinal cord injury. Our results indicate that tumors arising in denervated prostates have a significantly altered gene profile as compared to tumors arising in intact prostates.
Project description:Background: Skeletal muscle function crucially depends on motor innervation and after injury on the resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs). However, it is poorly understood how innervation affects MuSC properties. Methods: We investigated the alterations of MuSCs and their immediate niche, the myofiber, after denervation in a surgery-based mouse model of unilateral sciatic nerve transection. FACS-isolated MuSCs were subjected to transcriptomics and proteomics analyses to investigate which changes occur after denervation. We performed Cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury, MuSC transplantation and floating myofiber cultures to assess MuSC functionality after denervation in addition to bioinformatics and histological analyses. Results: We observed a significant increase in the number of MuSCs (Pax7 positive; p-value= 0.0441), proliferating MuSCs (Pax7/Ki67 positive; p-value= 0.0023), activated MuSCs (MyoD positive; p-value= 0.0016) and differentiating MuSCs (Myog positive; p-value= 0.0057) after denervation. This aberrant activation and premature commitment of MuSCs to the myogenic lineage was accompanied by profound alterations on the mRNA (2613 differentially expressed genes, adj. p-value <0.05) and protein (1096 differentially abundant proteins, q-value <0.05) level after denervation. MuSCs from denervated hosts still engrafted and fused to form new myofibers irrespective of the innervation status of the recipient, suggesting the MuSC niche is driving alterations in MuSCs after denervation. The myofiber transcriptome after denervation showed massive changes in the general expression profile (10492 DEGs, p-value <0.05) and in several predicted secreted factors. Incubation of myofiber-associated MuSCs with supernatant from denervated myofibers increased cluster formation, reinforcing myofibers as a source of secreted factors driving MuSC alterations after denervation. Opn and Tgfb1 showed an increased secretion by denervated myofibers (30-fold and 6000-fold, respectively), and incubation with Tgfb1 alone induced Junb expression in myogenic cells, one of the genes highly upregulated in MuSCs after denervation (p-value= 1.85e-18, log2fc= 3.27), demonstrating that myofiber-secreted ligands influence MuSC gene expression. A combination of skeletal muscle injury and denervation led to reduced numbers of proliferating MuSCs (Sham: 47 vs DEN: 19.75 cells per cross section 10 days post-injury) and sustained high levels of developmental myosin heavy chain (Sham: 1 % vs DEN: 40 % of all myofibers 21 days post-injury), indicating hampered MuSC functionality due to changes in the microenvironment. Conclusion: Denervation of skeletal muscle causes alterations in myofiber secretion, leading to activation and profound changes of MuSCs, ultimately resulting in a reduced regenerative capacity. As these alterations are partially reversible, MuSCs are a promising target for novel treatment options for neuromuscular disorders and peripheral nerve injuries.
Project description:The prostate gland mainly contains basal and luminal cells constructed as a pseudostratified epithelium. Annotation of prostate epithelial transcriptomes provides a foundation for discoveries that can impact disease understanding and treatment. Here, we describe a whole-genome transcriptome analysis of human benign prostatic basal and luminal populations by using deep RNA sequencing. Combined with comprehensive molecular and biological characterizations, we show that the differential gene expression profiles account for their distinct functional phenotypes. Strikingly, in contrast to luminal cells, basal cells preferentially express gene categories associated with stem cells, neural and neuronal development and RNA processing. Consistent with their expression profiles, basal cells functionally exhibit intrinsic stem-like and proneural properties with enhanced ribosome RNA (rRNA) transcription activity. Of clinical relevance, the treatment failed castration-resistant and anaplastic prostate cancers molecularly resemble a basal-like phenotype. Therefore, we link the cell-type specific gene signatures to subtypes of prostate cancer development, and identify genes associated with patient clinical outcome.