Project description:The purpose of this study was to explore baseline expression of miRNome in Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelial (CFBE41o-) cells stably transfected with wild type (WT) Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance regulator (CFTR) and F508del-CFTR. To fulfill this goal miRNA sequencing was done to see miRNA landscape in CFBE41o- Cells with homozygous F508del mutated CFTR and in CFBE41o- Cells with homozygous WT-CFTR, without any treatment condition.
Project description:The purpose of this study was to explore miRNA mediated Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β1 regulation of F508del Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance regulator (CFTR). To fulfill this goal, miRNA sequencing was done to see miRNA landscape in Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelial (CFBE) Cells with homozygous WT-CFTR and F508del mutated CFTR in response to TGFβ1 treatment.
Project description:The purpose of the study is to compare the transcriptomic profile of the airway epithelium generated from bronchial airway epithelial cells isolated from healthy donors (NCF) and patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Cells were grown at the air-liquid interface for at least 2-months. CF is caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Only patients homozygous for the F508del mutation of the CFTR gene were considered. The reconstituted airway epithelium was mechanically wounded and allowed to repair with time. We considered four steps: 1) intact, non-wounded (NW) epithelium; 2) 24h hours post-wounding (pW); 3) time at which the wound is closed (WC); 4) two days post-wound closure (pWC). We also mimicked infection by exposing the cells to Pseudominas aeruginosa flagelin for NW and WC conditions.
Project description:The F508del mutation, the most frequent in cystic fibrosis (CF), impairs the maturation of the CFTR chloride channel. The F508del defect can be partially overcome at low temperature (27 °C) or with pharmacological correctors. The rescue elicited by low temperature may involve a direct stabilization of mutant CFTR protein and/or a change in cell transcriptome that creates a more favorable proteostasis environment. To assess the effect of low temperature on gene expression we investigated the transcriptome of bronchial epithelial cells derived from CF with F508del mutation. Cells were kept under control conditions or incubated at 27 °C. Microarray data indicate that hypothermia induces a profound and global change in gene expression that may be in part responsible for rescue of F508del-CFTR. Bronchial epithelial cells from cystic fibrosis patients homozygotes for F508del mutation were isolated. Cells differentiated as epithelial monolayers on porous membranes (Snapwell inserts) were incubated for 24 hours at 27 °C or kept under control conditions. Rescue of mutant CFTR channel by low temperature was checked by measuring transepithelial chloride currents with the Ussing chamber technique. Total RNA was extracted from treated and control cells to assess changes in gene expression with microarrays.
Project description:Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited, multi-system disease caused by dysfunction of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein, a ubiquitous ion channel important for epithelial hydration. A direct consequence of this dysfunction is impaired mucociliary clearance, chronic airway infection and a persistent neutrophilic inflammatory response that results in progressive loss of lung function, development of respiratory failure and premature death. Partial restoration of CFTR function is now possible for most CF patients through mutation specific CFTR modulators. Ivacaftor monotherapy produces significant clinical improvement in CF patients with the G511D mutation. Dual therapy, combining ivacaftor with lumacaftor or tezacaftor, results in modest clinical improvements in patients homozygous for F508del. More recently, triple therapy with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) has led to dramatic improvements in lung function and quality of life in patients homozygous and heterozygous for F508del. Sputum proteomics is a powerful research technique capable of identifying important airway disease mechanisms by interrogating the proteome, an entire set of proteins within biological samples. It has confirmed the central role of neutrophilic immune dysregulation in CF and non-CF bronchiectasis, particularly involving the release of antimicrobial proteins and neutrophil-extracellular traps (NETs), and through impaired anti-inflammatory mechanisms. These processes produce distinct molecular signatures within the sputum proteome that become increasingly abnormal with chronic airway infection and progressive lung disease severity. In CF patients, airway and systemic inflammatory cytokines potentially related to these signatures reduce with the various forms of CFTR modulation. To date, no studies of ETI therapy in CF lung disease have assessed large-scale change in protein expression using untargeted proteomics. We hypothesised that ETI therapy would shift the sputum proteome toward health, potentially normalising airway biology in people with CF. The objectives of this study were to investigate changes in the CF sputum proteome with the introduction of ETI, correlate these with changes in clinical markers of disease severity, and make comparisons with the sputum proteome in healthy controls and in repeat samples from CF patients not suitable for ETI therapy. We also explored which molecular pathways associated with CF lung disease did not change with ETI.
Project description:The complex milieu of inflammatory mediators associated with many diseases is often too dilute to directly measure in the periphery, necessitating development of more sensitive measurements suitable for mechanistic studies, earlier diagnosis, guiding selection of therapy, and monitoring interventions. Previously, we determined that plasma of recent-onset (RO) Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients induce a proinflammatory transcriptional signature in fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) relative to that of unrelated healthy controls (HC). Here, using an optimized cryopreserved PBMC-based protocol, we compared the signature found between unrelated healthy controls and non-diabetic cystic fibrosis patients possessing Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary tract infection. UPN727 cells were stimulated with autologous plasma (n=5), unrelated healthy control plasma (n=24), or plasma from patients with cystic fibrosis possessing Psuedomonas aeruginosa pulmonary tract infection (n=20). Gene expression analysis was perfromed in order to evaluate the transcriptional signature associated with cystic fibrosis.
Project description:To identify genes relevant for cystic fibrosis pathophysiology, we profiled blood samples in CF patients and healthy controls using RNA-seq. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis of a transcriptomic dataset allowed us to identify 28 co-expressed modules that correlated with clinical traits of interest in cystic fibrosis.
Project description:Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder CF is caused by mutations of the gene encoding for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein (CFTR), a transmembrane anion channel expressed at the apical membrane of several organs, including the epithelial cells of the airway. CFTR mutations result in dysfunctional ion transport across the apical membrane at the surface of the epithelia, generating thickened and dehydrated secretions. In the lung, this leads to a decrease in the mucociliary clearance, favoring bacterial colonization and progressive obstruction of the duct. Although over 2000 CFTR variants have been identified so far, the most common mutation is a deletion of the phenylalanine in position 508 (F508del), which shows an allelic frequency of around 90% among CF patients. F508del-CFTR is incorrectly folded, causing its retention at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and subsequent proteasomal degradation. Among the several drugs available in CF pharmacological treatment, VX-809 (commercial name Lumacaftor) is the most used drug for patients carrying F508del-CFTR mutation. This drug corrects the aberrant folding of F508del-CFTR by favoring the correct intramolecular interactions, thus enabling a higher number of copies of the defective protein to reach the plasma membrane. We applied SWATH-based proteomics to understand if a pharmacological rescue of F508del-CFTR is associated with changes in global protein expression of the human bronchial epithelium by using the CFBE41o- cell model, a line that stably expresses F508del-CFTR.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Homo sapiens inflammatory skin diseases (whole skin biospies): Psoriasis (Pso), vs Atopic Dermatitis (AD) vs Lichen planus (Li), vs Contact Eczema (KE), vs Healthy control (KO) In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation. In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation.