Project description:We performed small RNA sequencing in breast cancer cells as well as human mammary epithelial cells (HUMEC) in biological replicates.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Project description:The characterization of microbial community structure via 16S rRNA gene profiling has been greatly advanced in recent years by the application of amplicon pyrosequencing. The possibility of barcode-tagged sequencing of templates gives the opportunity to massively screen multiple samples from environmental or clinical sources for community details. However, an on-going debate questions the reproducibility and semi-quantitative rigour of pyrotag sequencing and, as in the early days of genetic community fingerprinting, pros and cons are continuously provided. In this study we investigate the reproducibility of bacterial 454 pyrotag sequencing over biological and technical replicates of natural microbiota. Moreover, via quantitatively defined template spiking to the natural community, we explore the potential for recovering specific template ratios within complex microbial communities. For this reason, we pyrotag sequenced three biological replicates of three samples, each belonging from yearly sampling campaigns of sediment from a tar oil contaminated aquifer in Düsseldorf, Germany. Furthermore, we subjected one DNA extract to replicate technical analyses as well as to increasing ratios (0, 0.2, 2 and 20%) of 16S rRNA genes from a pure culture (Aliivibrio fisheri) originally not present in the sample. Unexpectedly, taxa abundances were highly reproducible in our hands, with max standard deviation of ~3% abundance across biological and ~2% for technical replicates. Furthermore, our workflow was also capable of recovering A. fisheri amendmend ratios in reliable amounts (0, 0.29, 3.9 and 23.8%). These results highlight that pyrotag sequencing, if done and evaluated with due caution, has the potential to robustly recapture taxa template abundances within environmental microbial communities.
Project description:We performed small RNA sequencing of conditioned media collected from breast cancer cells as well as human mammary epithelial cells (HUMEC) in biological replicates.
Project description:As the evolution of miRNA genes has been found to be one of the important factors in formation of the modern type of man, we performed a comparative analysis of the evolution of miRNA genes in two archaic hominines, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova, and elucidated the expression of their target mRNAs in bain.A comparative analysis of the genomes of primates, including species in the genus Homo, identified a group of miRNA genes having fixed substitutions with important implications for the evolution of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova. The mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with mutations specific for Homo sapiens denisova exhibited enhanced expression during postnatal brain development in modern humans. By contrast, the expression of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs bearing variations specific for Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was shown to be enhanced in prenatal brain development.Our results highlight the importance of changes in miRNA gene sequences in the course of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis evolution. The genetic alterations of miRNAs regulating the spatiotemporal expression of multiple genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain may contribute to the progressive evolution of brain function, which is consistent with the observations of fine technical and typological properties of tools and decorative items reported from archaeological Denisovan sites. The data also suggest that differential spatial-temporal regulation of gene products promoted by the subspecies-specific mutations in the miRNA genes might have occurred in the brains of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, potentially contributing to the cultural differences between these two archaic hominines.