Project description:The β-thalassemia is a recessively inherited disease affecting millions around the world. Pharmacological induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is an effective therapeutic strategy for the management of β-thalassemia. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors are effective HbF inducers, however was not currently approved for β-thalassemia treatments. Here we report that the newly developed non-nucleoside DNMT1 inhibitor DMT207 strongly reactivates the expression of HbF in HUDEP-2 cells and adult primary erythroblasts with minimal toxicity. Moreover, in a mouse model of β-thalassemia, the administration of DMT207 effectively induces the expression of mouse fetal- and embryonic-type hemoglobin, promotes the maturation of erythroid cells, and alleviates the splenomegaly of mice. Further multi-omics studies expose γ-globin as one of the most sensitive genes in response to DMT207 treatment. Mechanistically, DMT207 inhibits DNMT1 enzymatic activity through trapping DNMT1 into an open conformation and meanwhile enhances interactions between the conformationally-kinked DNMT1 and UHRF1, partially contributing to specific degradation of DNMT1. Thus, we conclude that DMT207 is a promising novel DNMT1 inhibitor that could benefit patients with β-thalassemia.
Project description:We collected whole genome testis expression data from hybrid zone mice. We integrated GWAS mapping of testis expression traits and low testis weight to gain insight into the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:The β-thalassemia is a recessively inherited disease affecting millions around the world. Pharmacological induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is an effective therapeutic strategy for the management of β-thalassemia. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors are effective HbF inducers, however was not currently approved for β-thalassemia treatments. Here we report that the newly developed non-nucleoside DNMT1 inhibitor DMT207 strongly reactivates the expression of HbF in HUDEP-2 cells and adult primary erythroblasts with minimal toxicity. Moreover, in a mouse model of β-thalassemia, the administration of DMT207 effectively induces the expression of mouse fetal- and embryonic-type hemoglobin, promotes the maturation of erythroid cells, and alleviates the splenomegaly of mice. Further multi-omics studies expose γ-globin as one of the most sensitive genes in response to DMT207 treatment. Mechanistically, DMT207 inhibits DNMT1 enzymatic activity through trapping DNMT1 into an open conformation and meanwhile enhances interactions between the conformationally-kinked DNMT1 and UHRF1, partially contributing to specific degradation of DNMT1. Thus, we conclude that DMT207 is a promising novel DNMT1 inhibitor that could benefit patients with β-thalassemia.
Project description:The β-thalassemia is a recessively inherited disease affecting millions around the world. Pharmacological induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is an effective therapeutic strategy for the management of β-thalassemia. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors are effective HbF inducers, however was not currently approved for β-thalassemia treatments. Here we report that the newly developed non-nucleoside DNMT1 inhibitor DMT207 strongly reactivates the expression of HbF in HUDEP-2 cells and adult primary erythroblasts with minimal toxicity. Moreover, in a mouse model of β-thalassemia, the administration of DMT207 effectively induces the expression of mouse fetal- and embryonic-type hemoglobin, promotes the maturation of erythroid cells, and alleviates the splenomegaly of mice. Further multi-omics studies expose γ-globin as one of the most sensitive genes in response to DMT207 treatment. Mechanistically, DMT207 inhibits DNMT1 enzymatic activity through trapping DNMT1 into an open conformation and meanwhile enhances interactions between the conformationally-kinked DNMT1 and UHRF1, partially contributing to specific degradation of DNMT1. Thus, we conclude that DMT207 is a promising novel DNMT1 inhibitor that could benefit patients with β-thalassemia.
Project description:We used microarrays to detail the gene expression profile during WAT -beige transition by treatment of beta adrenergic receptor agonist .
Project description:Background: The thalassemias are highly diverse at both the molecular and clinical levels. Many of the HBB mutations that result in β-thalassemia are missense mutations in the coding region of the β-globin gene, but a few cause alternative splicing, and interfere with normal processing of the β-globin transcripts. Transcriptome profiling in individuals affected with β-thalassemia, especially in individuals who carry novel mutations in the HBB, may improve our understanding of the heterogeneity and molecular mechanisms of the disease. Methods: Members of a family with a daughter affected with thalassemia intermedia, although her mother was not clinically affected, were examined for physical characteristics, hematological parameters and β-globin gene sequences. We also characterized genome-wide gene expression in the family using RT-qPCR and high-throughput RNA-sequencing mRNA expression profiling of blood. Results: Clinical findings, hematological indices, DNA and RNA sequence analysis of individuals with β-thalassemia, including the description of a novel mutation in the β-globin gene, which introduces a cryptic donor splice site. More than 300 genes are differentially expressed in β-thalassemic blood with many of the DEGs involved in pathways relevant to the clinical management of β-thalassemia. β-thalassemia shows important similarities and differences with sickle cell disease at the transcriptome level. Conclusions: We described the down-regulation of the β-globin gene in β-thalassemia by RNA-sequencing analysis using a sample from an affected individual and her mother, who have a novel mutation in the HBB that creates a cryptic donor splice site. The daughter has a typical β-thalassemia allele as well, and an unexpectedly severe phenotype. The DEGs are enriched in pathways that are directly or indirectly related to β-thalassemia such as hemopoiesis, heme biosynthesis, response to oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, immune responses, control of circadian rhythm, apoptosis, and other cellular activities. We compare our findings with published results of RNA-Sequencing analysis of sickle cell disease (SCD) and erythroblasts from a KLF1-null neonate with hydrops fetalis, and recognize similarities and differences in their transcriptional expression patterns.