Project description:Transcriptome sequencing analysis of Hs578T control (CTRL sh) and CCN3 knockdown (CCN3 sh) cell lines. CCN3, also known as nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV, NOVH), has been associated with cell migration, invasion, angiogenesis, adhesion and proliferation in several cancer types like Ewing’s sarcoma, glioma, prostate cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, chondrosarcoma and melanoma. These results provide information about gene expression affected by CCN3 in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines.
Project description:Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) as a positive inducer of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transgenic mice with hepatocyte-specific expression of AEG-1 were challenged with N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) and developed multinodular HCC with steatotic features. Thus, we have identified the follwoing AEG-1 functions: induction of steatosis, inhibition of senescence and activation of coagulation pathway to augment an aggressive hepatocarcinogenic phenotype. Transgenic Mice liver tumors compared against WT mice liver tumors.
Project description:Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) as a positive inducer of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transgenic mice with hepatocyte-specific expression of AEG-1 were challenged with N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) and developed multinodular HCC with steatotic features. Thus, we have identified the follwoing AEG-1 functions: induction of steatosis, inhibition of senescence and activation of coagulation pathway to augment an aggressive hepatocarcinogenic phenotype.
Project description:Resistance formation is one of the major hurdles in cancer therapy. Metronomic anti-angiogenic treatment of xenografted prostate cancer tumors in SCID mice with cyclophosphamide (CPA) results in the appearance of resistant tumors. To investigate the complex molecular changes occurring during resistance formation, we performed a comprehensive gene expression analysis of the resistant tumors in vivo. We observed a multitude of differentially expressed genes, e.g., PASD1, ANXA3, NTS or PLAT, when comparing resistant to in vivo passaged tumor samples. Furthermore, tumor cells from in vivo and in vitro conditions showed a significant difference in target gene expression. We assigned the differentially expressed genes to functional pathways like axon guidance, steroid biosynthesis and complement and coagulation cascades. Most of the genes were involved in anti-coagulation, indicating its possible importance. Upregulation of anti-coagulatory ANXA3 and PLAT and downregulation of PLAT inhibitor SERPINA were validated by qPCR. In contrast, coagulation factor F3 was upregulated, accompanied by the expression of an altered gene product. These findings give insights into the resistance mechanisms of metronomical CPA treatment suggesting an important role of anti-coagulation in resistance formation. 4 cell lines * 2 treatments * 4 replicates = 32 arrays. One sample (C3-T) was identified as an outlier and was omitted from further analysis; it is not included here.
Project description:Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC) is a rare type of primary liver cancer that often arises in children, adolescents and young adults. At the pathological level, FLC display pure morphology or can present with mixed morphology involving a conventional HCC component. Owing to the rarity of the disease, its genetic landscape is fully unknown. Pure FLC showed less chromosomic aberrations than mixed FLC and hepatocellular carcinoma arising in non-cirrhotic liverᄉ. Nevertheless; they displayed more gains in 16q23 and more LOH in 21q22. We also analyzed the mutational landscape of 8 FLC by whole-exome sequencing and showed mutations in the coagulation pathway.
Project description:Expression of miR-4730 in hepatocellular carcinoma suppresses tumor progression, and might be a prognostic marker or a therapeutic target of miRNA-based therapies.
Project description:<p>The mechanisms by which macrophage metabolism is regulated and the effects of metabolism on diseases remain largely unknown. We show here that TGF-β regulates the glycolysis of macrophages independently of inflammatory cytokine production, and thus affects the survival in experimental sepsis. Specifically, TGF-β increased expression and activity of phosphofructokinase-1 liver type (PFKL) in macrophages and thus promoted their glycolysis during cell activation, yet paradoxically suppressed the production of proinflammatory cytokines in the same macrophages. The upregulation of glycolysis was mediated by a mTOR-c-MYC dependent pathway, whereas the inhibition of cytokines was ascribed to the activation of SMAD3 and a downregulated activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factors AP-1, NFkB and STAT1. Importantly, in an LPS-induced endotoxemia and CLP-sepsis models, TGF-β enhancement of macrophage glycolysis led to a decreased survival in mice, which was associated with increased blood coagulation. Analysis of cohorts of patients with sepsis and covid-19 revealed that the expression of PFKL, TGF-β receptor TGFBRI and coagulation factor F13A1 in myeloid cells positively correlated with the progression of the disease. Thus, TGF-β is emerging as a critical cytokine regulating macrophage metabolism and could serve as a therapeutic target in patients with sepsis.</p>
Project description:Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an incurable group of early-onset dementias that can be caused by deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau in patient brains. However, the mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration remain largely unknown. Here, we combined single-cell analyses of FTD patient brains with a stem cell culture and transplantation model of FTD. We identified disease phenotypes in FTD neurons carrying the MAPT-N279K mutation, which were related to oxidative stress, oxidative phosphorylation and neuroinflammation with an upregulation of the inflammation-associated protein osteopontin (OPN). Human FTD neurons survived less and elicited an increased microglial response after transplantation into the mouse forebrain, that we further characterized by single nucleus RNA-sequencing of microdissected grafts. Notably, downregulation of OPN in engrafted FTD neurons resulted in improved engraftment and reduced microglial infiltration, indicating an immune-modulatory role of OPN in patient neurons, which may represent a potential therapeutic target in FTD.