Project description:Eosinophils are important in fighting parasitic infections and are implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergy. Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is a critical regulator of eosinophil development, controlling proliferation, differentiation and maturation of the lineage. Mice that constitutively express IL-5 have more than 10 fold more eosinophils in the haematopoietic organs than their wild type counterparts. We have identified that much of this expansion is in a population of Siglec-F high eosinophils, which are rare in wild type mice. In this study we assessed transcription in myeloid progenitors, eosinophil precursors and Siglec-F medium and Siglec-F high eosinophils from IL-5 transgenic mice and in doing so have created a useful resource for eosinophil biologists. We have then utilised these populations to construct an eosinophil trajectory based on gene expression and to identify gene sets that are associated with eosinophil lineage progression. Cell cycle genes were significantly associated with the trajectory, and we experimentally demonstrate an increasing trend towards quiescence along the trajectory. Additionally we found gene expression changes associated with constitutive IL-5 signalling in eosinophil progenitors, many of which were not observed in eosinophils.
Project description:Eosinophils are important in fighting parasitic infections and are implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergy. IL-5 is a critical regulator of eosinophil development, controlling proliferation, differentiation, and maturation of the lineage. Mice that constitutively express IL-5 have in excess of 10-fold more eosinophils in the hematopoietic organs than their wild type (WT) counterparts. We have identified that much of this expansion is in a population of Siglec-F high eosinophils, which are rare in WT mice. In this study, we assessed transcription in myeloid progenitors, eosinophil precursors, and Siglec-F medium and Siglec-F high eosinophils from IL-5 transgenic mice and in doing so have created a useful resource for eosinophil biologists. We have then utilized these populations to construct an eosinophil trajectory based on gene expression and to identify gene sets that are associated with eosinophil lineage progression. Cell cycle genes were significantly associated with the trajectory, and we experimentally demonstrate an increasing trend toward quiescence along the trajectory. Additionally, we found gene expression changes associated with constitutive IL-5 signaling in eosinophil progenitors, many of which were not observed in eosinophils.
Project description:RNA-seq of the 4 eosinophil maturation stages in the murine bone marrow during Interleukin-33 induced eosinophilia combined with Anti-IL5 or Control isotype injections.
Project description:Total RNA was isolated from interleukin 7 (overexpressed) transgenic mice-derived pre-leukaemic cell line B3, labelled cRNA was prepared and hybridised to Affymetrix Mouse 430 2.0 arrays.
Project description:To identify regulators of homeostatic eosinophilopoiesis in mice, we took a global approach to identify genome-wide transcriptome and epigenome changes that occur during homeostasis at critical developmental stages, including eosinophil-lineage commitment (eosinophil progenitor [EoP] compared to granulocyte-monocyte progenitor [GMP]) and lineage maturation (eosinophil compared to EoP). Our analyses revealed markedly greater transcriptome alterations associated with eosinophil maturation (1199 genes) compared to eosinophil-lineage commitment (490 genes), highlighting the greater transcriptional investment necessary for differentiation. Our analyses also delineated a 976 gene eosinophil-lineage transcriptome that included a repertoire of 56 transcription factors, many of which have never previously been associated with eosinophils. Epigenomic studies revealed that genes that were specifically induced with eosinophil-lineage commitment in EoPs were “poised” with active chromatin marks in GMPs, despite not being expressed in GMPs. In contrast, a majority of the genes that were highly and specifically induced with maturation in eosinophils was not associated with poised chromatin, suggesting distinct epigenetic regulation between genes induced with lineage commitment compared to genes induced with cell maturation during eosinophil development.
Project description:MicroRNA have been implicated in the differentiation and control of eosinophilia in allergic inflammation, however, a detailed investigation of miRNA expression patterns employed during differentiation has not yet been performed [35-37]. The aim of our study is to explore miRNA expression profiling and analysis in silico in order to improve our understanding of the factors and circuits that are involved in the regulation eosinophil growth and differentiation.
Project description:Distinct subsets of eosinophils are reported in inflammatory and healthy tissues, yet the functions of uniquely specialized eosinophils and the signals that elicit them, particularly in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), are not well understood. Herein, we report an ex-vivo system wherein freshly isolated human eosinophils were cocultured with esophageal epithelial cells and disease-relevant pro-inflammatory (IL-13) or pro-fibrotic (TGF-β) cytokines. Our results demonstrate that disease-relevant pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic signals present in the esophagus of EoE patients cause distinct profiles of eosinophil activation and gene expression.
Project description:Increased intestinal permeability can exacerbate psoriasis, a systemic inflammatory disease with complex pathogenesis. Using a mouse model of psoriasis elicited by the TLR7 ligand imiquimod, we found that psoriatic dermatitis was accompanied by small-intestinal inflammatory changes associated with eosinophil degranulation which led to impaired intestinal barrier integrity. Inflammatory responses in the skin and small intestine were accelerated in mice that are prone to eosinophil degranulation. Caco-2 human intestinal epithelial cells treated with media containing eosinophil granule proteins exhibited signs of inflammation and damage. Imiquimod-induced skin and intestinal inflammatory changes were attenuated in eosinophil-deficient mice, and this attenuation was counteracted by eosinophil transfer. Imiquimod levels and eosinophil distribution were positively correlated in the intestine. TLR7-deficient mice did not show intestinal eosinophil degranulation and exhibited attenuated skin and small-intestinal inflammation following imiquimod application. These results suggest a TLR7-dependent bidirectional skin-to-gut communication in psoriatic inflammation, and that intestinal inflammatory changes can accelerate psoriasis.
Project description:The goal of this study is to evaluate the function of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) pathogenesis and assess its potential as a disease activity marker.