Project description:Whole blood transcriptomes from a longitudinal study of 5 Malawian children who first present with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and return in one month with mild malaria We used microarrays to identify transcripts that were associated with each clinical presentation. A blood sample was taken upon presentation during the severe and mild malaria episodes in 5 Malawian children (total n=5 pairs) followed by RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST Array, using a paired analysis
Project description:Whole blood transcriptomes from a longitudinal study of 5 Malawian children who first present with severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and return in one month with mild malaria We used microarrays to identify transcripts that were associated with each clinical presentation.
Project description:Total RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and neutrophils from children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were separately compared to pediatric control samples. Keywords: pediatric rheumatic disease, blood, PBMC, neutrophil, JIA, JDM JIA PBMC n = 14 JIA neutrophils n=14 JDM PBMC n = 13 JDM neutrophils n = 14 pediatric control PBMC n = 15 pediatric control neutrophils n = 13
Project description:We aimed at finding differently expressed genes in whole blood cells of African children with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection (A), uncomplicated malaria (U), severe malarial anemia (A) and cerebral malaria (Ce) compared one to another and to healthy children (Co). Understanding malarial immunopathology in the human host represents and enormous challenge for transcriptomic research. In this work, we used microarray and real-time RT-PCR technology to pursue deeper knowledge about the mechanisms underlying this disease in African children. To this end, we investigated the genomic transcriptional profiles in whole blood of healthy children and children with asymptomatic infection, uncomplicated malaria, malaria associated with severe anemia and cerebral malaria and compared them with previously published microarray results. We were able to discriminate between the different presentations of P. falciparum infection using supervised and unsupervised clustering of microarray data and unsupervised double-hierarchical clustering of real-time RT-PCR results of a set of 22 genes known to be expressed in at least one of the principal blood cell lineages. We further found considerable overlap between genes regulated in Kenyan and Gabonese children with symptomatic malaria, in contrast to adults with acute malaria from Cameroon. Different signatures for transcription factor binding sites in promoters of genes either up-regulated in symptomatic disease, specifically up-regulated in uncomplicated malaria or specifically down-regulated in cerebral malaria point out that similar gene expression in each of these clinical presentations is probably a result of common regulation at the transcriptional level. Immunoglobulin production, complement regulation and IFN beta signalling emerged as most discrepant features between uncomplicated malaria and all other investigated presentations, correlating with IRF7 and ISRE binding signatures in the corresponding genes. Down-regulation of several genes in cerebral malaria seems instead to be a response to hypoxia orchestrated by AhRF, GABP and HIF1 transcription factors. ARG1, BPI, CD163, IFI27, HP and TNFAIP6 transcript levels correlated positively with lactatemia and inversely with hemoglobin concentration and should be evaluated as prognostic markers to direct early therapeutic measures and prevent malarial disease evolution and death.
Project description:We used microarrays to characterize the whole blood global gene expression profiles in 98 children with P. falciparum cerebral malaria We associated retinopathy status with host genes and pathways to explore mechanisms of infected red sequestration to the microvasculature in CM
Project description:Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a chronic diffuse inflammation of the small intestine, is associated with stunting in children in the developing world. The pathobiology of EED is poorly understood because of the lack of a method to elucidate the host response. This study utilized a novel microarray method to interrogate the host transcriptome in feces in Malawian children with EED. Our data showed that the children studied had a range of %L values, consistent a spectrum of EED from normal to severe. We identified 12 transcripts associated with the severity of EED, including chemokines that stimulate T-cell proliferation, Fc fragments of multiple immunoglobulin families, interferon-induced proteins, activators of neutrophils and B-cells, and mediators that dampen cellular responses to hormones. EED associated transcripts mapped to pathways related to cell adhesion, and responses to a broad spectrum of viral, bacterial and parasitic microbes and enhanced phagocytosis. Several mucins, regulatory factors and protein kinases associated with the maintenance of the mucous layer were expressed less in children with EED than normal children. In conclusion, EED represents the focused activation of elements of the immune system and is associated with widespread intestinal barrier disruption. The differentially expressed transcripts may be explored as potential biomarkers. In 259 children, EED was measured by lactulose permeability (%L) in the small intestine. After isolating low copy numbers of mRNA, the transcriptome was reliably and reproducibly profiled. mRNA copy number was correlated with %L using analyses of covariance. The transcripts identified were mapped to biological pathways and processes.
Project description:Micronutrient deficiencies and environmental exposures have been to known to adversely impact brain and nervous system functions in adults and children worldwide. However, few studies have examined the short and long-term impact of these risk factors on neurodevelopmental outcomes in children in low-income countries, where the effects are likely to be more pronounced due to limited resources for monitoring and insufficient regulations. Biological risk factors of relevance include micronutrient deficiencies such as zinc and exposure to heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Studies have suggested an association between neurodevelopmental impairment and micronutrient deficiency as well as exposure to a number of heavy metals and environmental toxins. Moreover, findings also suggest that risk factors for adverse developmental outcomes that are independently significant may have the potential for causing cumulative increases in adverse effects. In Sub-Saharan Africa, severe malaria is a leading risk factor for long-term neurocognitive impairment in children. Zinc deficiency or exposure to heavy metals could influence risk of severe malaria, modify the risk of neurocognitive impairment in children with severe malaria, or independently affect risk of neurocognitive impairment. Untargeted analyses for potential environmental exposures or metabolomic changes in children with cerebral malaria vs. without cognitive impairment or in children with higher vs. lower cognitive scores, could also identify new risk factors for neurodevelopmental impairment in Ugandan children with cerebral malaria.In our completed study in Kampala, we assessed neurologic and developmental impairment in children with cerebral malaria [CM] or severe malarial anemia [SMA], as compared to health community children from the same extended household as the children with CM or SMA. As an extension of this study, we are interested in determining levels of micronutrients such as zinc in the population, and in addition, determining exposure levels of heavy metals (lead, mercury, copper, manganese etc.) in samples collected from children with severe malaria and community controls. The primary hypotheses of this study is that nutrient deficiencies or exposure to heavy metals influence short and long term neurocognitive outcomes in healthy community children and in children with severe malaria, and that children with cerebral malaria have specific metabolomic changes that relate to long-term neurocognitive impairment. The specific aims of our study are:Aim 1: To determine levels of zinc, heavy metals, and biomarkers associated with inflammation in children presenting with different forms of severe malaria (SM) and in healthy community children (CC). The working hypothesis of this aim is that 1) children with SM will have lower zinc levels compared to CC; 2) children with SM will present with higher toxic metal exposure and higher levels of biomarkers associated with inflammation than CC.Aim 2: To investigate how micronutrient deficiency, toxic metal exposure and inflammatory biomarkers affect short and long term neurodevelopmental outcomes and growth in children with severe malaria and community children (CC).The working hypothesis of this aim is that the lower levels of zinc, and presence of toxic metals in high concentrations will independently contribute to worsening neurodevelopmental outcomes and worsening growth over time in children with severe malaria and in community children. An alternate hypothesis is that micronutrient deficiency, toxic metal exposure and inflammatory states may interact with each other and with severe malaria to produce greater neurodevelopmental impairment, i.e., that the contribution is not independent but interactive.Aim 3: To determine whether the CSF metabolome differs according to level of neurodevelopmental impairment in children with cerebral malaria. The working hypothesis of this aim is that neurodevelopmental impairment in children with cerebral malaria is associated with changes in the CSF metabolome.
Project description:Total RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and neutrophils from children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were separately compared to pediatric control samples. Keywords: pediatric rheumatic disease, blood, PBMC, neutrophil, JIA, JDM
Project description:We used microarrays to characterize the whole blood global gene expression profiles in 98 children with P. falciparum cerebral malaria We associated retinopathy status with host genes and pathways to explore mechanisms of infected red sequestration to the microvasculature in CM Cross sectional study of chidlren with CM, expression profiling derived from study enrollment whole blood sample RNA isolated from sample stored in Tri-Reagent BD; hybridization with Affymetrix Gene Chip Human Gene 1.0 ST Array.