Project description:Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is an effector of Hippo pathway, which is critical for regulating organ size, cell proliferation and tumor growth in mammals. YAP1 is known to be involved in tumorigenesis in several tissues, yet its role in colorectal cancer(CRC) is not established. To investigate the effect of YAP1 in CRC, we used microarrays to compared human colon cancer cell line HCT116 transfected with a control non-targeting siRNA to cells and transfected with siRNA targeting YAP1.
Project description:The "Cell Painting Assay", an image profile-based drug-discovery platform, identified NB4A as a putative small molecule inhibitor of Yes-associated protein 1 (Yap1). Treatment of KP230 cells with 10 µm NB4A daily for 3 days reduced Yap1 protein levels. Thus, we used RNA sequencing to investigate NB4A-mediated global gene expression changes in these cells.
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 Hippo pathway effector YAP1 controls stem cell fate in epithelial tissues, but its role in stem cells of non-epithelial tissues, such as skeletal muscle, is poorly documented. Here we show that sustained YAP1 activity in mouse activated satellite cells in vivo induces rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) resembling human embryonal RMS (ERMS) with high penetrance and short latency. The transcriptional program of YAP1 in ERMS drives pro-proliferative pathways whilst decreasing MyoD1 and MEF2 pro-differentiation activity to globally maintain the myoblastic phenotype of ERMS. Normalization of YAP1 expression reduced tumor burden and allowed myogenic differentiation of YAP1-driven and RD ERMS xenografts in situ, thereby identifying YAP1 as a potent RMS-causing oncogene and potential target for differentiation therapy. A total of four samples were analyzed. Two ChIP-Seq datasets from RD human cells, containing reads connected to TEAD binding and IgG binding as control/background; two ChIP-Seq datasets from YAP-ERMS mouse cells, containing reads connected to TEAD binding and Input reads as control/background
Project description:Translational research is commonly performed in the C57B6/J mouse strain, chosen for its genetic homogeneity and phenotypic uniformity. Here, we evaluate the suitability of the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as a model organism for aging research, offering a comparative analysis against C57B6/J and diversity outbred (DO) Mus musculus strains. Our study includes comparisons of body composition, skeletal muscle function, and cardiovascular parameters, shedding light on potential applications and limitations of P. leucopus in aging studies. Notably, P. leucopus exhibits distinct body composition characteristics, emphasizing reduced muscle force exertion and a unique metabolism, particularly in fat mass. Cardiovascular assessments showed changes in arterial stiffness, challenging conventional assumptions and highlighting the need for a nuanced interpretation of aging-related phenotypes. Our study also highlights inherent challenges associated with maintaining and phenotyping P. leucopus cohorts. Behavioral considerations, including anxiety-induced responses during handling and phenotyping assessment, pose obstacles in acquiring meaningful data. Moreover, the unique anatomy of P. leucopus necessitates careful adaptation of protocols designed for Mus musculus. While showcasing potential benefits, further extensive analyses across broader age ranges and larger cohorts are necessary to establish the reliability of P. leucopus as a robust and translatable model for aging studies.
Project description:YAP1 (Yes-associated protein 1) and TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif, or WWTR1) are nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling proteins that can function in the nucleus as transcriptional coactivators. Their role in regulating gene transcription has been so far mainly investigated by overexpressing YAP1 or TAZ, while here we sought to determine which genes are regulated by endogenous levels of YAP/TAZ. To this end, we compared MCF10A cells transfected with a control non-targeting siRNA to cells transfected with two independent mixes of siRNA targeting both YAP and TAZ.
Project description:YAP1 (Yes-associated protein 1) and TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif, or WWTR1) are nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling proteins that can function in the nucleus as transcriptional coactivators. Their role in regulating gene transcription has been so far mainly investigated by overexpressing YAP1 or TAZ, while here we sought to determine which genes are regulated by endogenous levels of YAP/TAZ. To this end, we compared MCF10A cells transfected with a control non-targeting siRNA to cells transfected with two independent mixes of siRNA targeting both YAP and TAZ.