Project description:Studies of human fetal lung in explant culture and in isolated epithelial cells have demonstrated that both glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP promote differentiated alveolar type II cell phenotype as assessed by ultrastructural morphology and surfactant production. This project profiles changes in gene expression associated with hormone induced differentiation. Undifferentiated human fetal lung (13-20 wk) epithelial cells were cultured in serum-free medium (control) or with dexamethasone/8-Bromo cyclic AMP/isobutylmethylxanthine (DCI) to promote type II cell differentiation. RNA from five sets of experiments (10 samples) was evaluated using the U133A Affymetrix GeneChip set. Keywords: Hormone treatment
Project description:The goal of this study was to select the optimal myometrial cells for our high-throughput drug discovery assay, as well as determine the similarity or differences of myometrial cells to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)-the most common off-target of current myometrial therapeutics. RNA-seq was used to: 1) identify which myometrial cells retained the most similar transcriptome profile to native tissue, and 2) compare the uterine myometrial transcriptome to VSMCs in hopes of identifying a uterine-selective transcriptome that was “druggable” for tocolytic or uterotonic use. Four sources of myometrial cells were examined: 1) term pregnant human primary myometrial cells isolated from tissue biopsies obtained at the time of caesarean sections, 2) term pregnant mouse primary myometrial cells, 3) commercially-available immortalized pregnant human myometrial (PHM1) cells and 4) human telomerase immortalized myometrial (hTERT-HM) cells. Correlation analysis of aligned reads identified that the transcriptome of primary human myometrial and hTERT-HM cells showed 85% and 80% correlation, respectively, to human myometrial tissue and that the transcriptome of hTERT-HM and PHM1 cells is 90% or more correlative to human primary myometrial cells. The expression levels (fold-change) of contraction-associciated transcripts (OXTR, PTGFR, PTGS2 and GJA1) strongly correlated (r=0.93) between RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis. Analysis of aligned reads among myometrial cells revealed the number of differentially expressed transcripts (fold-change≥2.0, adjusted p-value≤0.01) relative to primary human myometrial cells: hTERT-HM (946 upregulated and 2,351 downregulated), PHM1 (1,575 upregulated and 2,415 downregulated) and primary mouse myometrial cells (3,435 upregulated and 2,966 downregulated). Correlation analysis showed that the human primary myometrial cell transcriptome is over 90% similar to the transcriptome of VSMCs examined. A number of genes associated with smooth muscle contractile machinery (TPM1, TPM2, CNN1, CALD1, ACTA2 and PLN)were significantly (p≤0.01) upregulated (≥2-fold) in human primary myometrial compared to vascular SMCs. We identified 498 transcripts were identified as upregulated in human primary myometrial cells compared to all three VSMCs examined. Of these, the drug-gene interaction database identified 142 genes as druggable
Project description:During pregnancy, the myometrium remains quiescent but at term, switches to a state capable of producing a series of coordinated contractions for the delivery of the fetus. Myometrial contractions of labour signify the normal physiological end-point of pregnancy but the biochemical onset of labour may occur at or before term via a series of changes in expression of labour associated genes that are responsible for controlling the activity of the uterus during pregnancy and parturition. There is increasing evidence that components of the cAMP-signalling pathway are up-regulated in the human myometrium during pregnancy to promote the relaxation of the myometrium until term. Our aim was to determine which cAMP-associated genes are important during pregnancy and parturition by exposing myometrial cells to forskolin and performing an a gene array. We then plan to study the trend of the cAMP-associated genes at different stages of gestation and during labour. In this study, we used microarrays to elucidate forskolin responsive genes in human myometrium. These data may provide a broader view of gene networks and cellular functions regulated by forskolin in human myometrial cells. In our future study, this will also help us understand the role of cAMP in human parturition. Primary cultures of human myometrial cells were grown from myometrial biopsies obtained at the time of elective caesarean section at term. Cells were exposed to forskolin (100 µM) for 48 hours, and then total RNA were extracted from each culture. Two comparisons were carried out including: 1. Control 2. Forksolin
Project description:Studies of human fetal lung in explant culture and in isolated epithelial cells have demonstrated that both glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP promote differentiated alveolar type II cell phenotype as assessed by ultrastructural morphology and surfactant production. This project profiles changes in gene expression associated with hormone induced differentiation. Undifferentiated human fetal lung (13-20 wk) epithelial cells were cultured in serum-free medium (control) or with dexamethasone/8-Bromo cyclic AMP/isobutylmethylxanthine (DCI) to promote type II cell differentiation. RNA from five sets of experiments (10 samples) was evaluated using the U133A Affymetrix GeneChip set. Experiment Overall Design: Cells were isolated from 13 individual lungs and the cells from each were cultured in the absence (control) and presence of DCI dexamethasone (10 nM)/8-Br-cyclic AMP (0.1 mM)/isobutylxanthine for 72 h. RNA was isolated from the control and treated cells of each prep. For the 5 sets of microarray experiments (10 total chips, 2 for each control and treated pair), RNA from 2 of the cell preps was analysed as individual microarray comparisons. RNA from 11 cell preps was pooled for the other 3 experiments (4, 4, and 3 cell preps) to provide control and DCI-treated RNA pools.
Project description:Inflammation plays a central role in many human diseases. Human parturition also resembles an inflammatory reaction, where progesterone (P4) and progesterone receptors (PRs) have already been demonstrated to suppress contraction-associated gene expression. In our previous studies, we have found that the progesterone actions, including progesterone-induced gene expression and progesterone’s anti-inflammatory effect, are mediated by PR, GR or both. In this study, we used microarrays to find P4 and IL-1β responsive genes and which IL-1β responsive genes were repressed by P4. These data may provide a broader view of gene networks and cellular functions regulated by P4 and IL-1βin human myometrial cells. In our future study, this will also help us understand the role of PR and GR in human parturition. Primary cultures of human myometrial cells were grown from myometrial biopsies obtained at the time of elective caesarean section. Cells were exposed to different stimuli, IL-1β (5ng/mL) and P4 (10 µM), either alone or in combination for 6 h, and then total RNA were extracted from each culture. Three comparisons were carried out including: 1. V vs. P4; 2. V vs. IL-1β; 3. IL-1β vs. IL-1β+P4.
Project description:Circulating progesterone (P4) levels decline before the onset of parturition in most animals, but not in humans. This has led to the suggestion that there is functional withdrawal of P4 action at the myometrial level prior to labor onset. Mifepristone is widely used to induce human labour In this study, we aimed to establish and validate a model of human myometrial explants for the study of P4 action. Myometrial biopsies obtained at Caesearean section at term were dissected into explants after a portion was immediately snap-frozen (t=0). Transcriptomic comparison of paired explants and primary myometrial cells as well as the hTert immortalized myometrial cell line demonstrated that explants more closely resemble t=0. Biopsies obtained from non-laboring women at elective Caesarean section at term were divided into 3: (i) dissected and immediately snap-frozen (t=0), (ii) dissected into 3x3x3mm3myometrial explants and (iii) processed for primary cell culture. Explants, primary cells at passage 4 (the typical passage our group uses for experiments) and hTERT cells were cultured for a period of 30 hours without treatment. Total RNA was extracted and microarray analysis performed. 6 replicates were used for this study.
Project description:Difference in RNA expression levels between Acinetobacter baumannii cells expressing high and low levels of cyclic AMP Total RNA obtained from Acineotbacter baumannii bacterial cells in Log phase gown in MH broth culture, isolated RNA in triplicate from three expreiment. cpdA::Tn mutant and 17978hm strain compared. Assessing increased levels of cAMP within the cell