Project description:How cell and tissue identity persist despite constant cell turnover is an important biologic question with cell therapy implications. While many mechanisms exist, we investigated the controls for site-specific gene expression in skin given its diverse structures and functions. For example, the transcriptome of in vivo palmoplantar (i.e. volar) epidermis is globally unique including Keratin 9 (KRT9). While volar fibroblasts have the capacity to induce KRT9 in non-volar keratinocytes, we demonstrate here that volar keratinocytes continue to express KRT9 in vitro solo-cultures. Despite this, KRT9 expression is lost with volar keratinocyte passaging, in spite of stable hypo-methylation of its promoter. Coincident with KRT9 loss is a gain of the primitive Keratin 7 and a signature of dsRNA sensing, including the dsRNA receptor DDX58. Exogenous dsRNA inhibits KRT9 expression in early passage volar keratinocytes or in vivo footpads of wild-type mice. Loss of DDX58 in passaged volar keratinocytes rescues KRT9 and inhibits KRT7 expression. Additionally, DDX58 null mice are resistant to the ability of dsRNA to inhibit KRT9 expression. These results demonstrate that the sensing of dsRNA is critical for loss of cell specific gene expression; our results have important implications of how dsRNA sensing is important outside of immune pathways. Keratinocytes were expanded from both the sole and the dorsum of the foot and at passage 4, RNA was extracted and sent for microarray analysis
Project description:How cell and tissue identity persist despite constant cell turnover is an important biologic question with cell therapy implications. While many mechanisms exist, we investigated the controls for site-specific gene expression in skin given its diverse structures and functions. For example, the transcriptome of in vivo palmoplantar (i.e. volar) epidermis is globally unique including Keratin 9 (KRT9). While volar fibroblasts have the capacity to induce KRT9 in non-volar keratinocytes, we demonstrate here that volar keratinocytes continue to express KRT9 in vitro solo-cultures. Despite this, KRT9 expression is lost with volar keratinocyte passaging, in spite of stable hypo-methylation of its promoter. Coincident with KRT9 loss is a gain of the primitive Keratin 7 and a signature of dsRNA sensing, including the dsRNA receptor DDX58. Exogenous dsRNA inhibits KRT9 expression in early passage volar keratinocytes or in vivo footpads of wild-type mice. Loss of DDX58 in passaged volar keratinocytes rescues KRT9 and inhibits KRT7 expression. Additionally, DDX58 null mice are resistant to the ability of dsRNA to inhibit KRT9 expression. These results demonstrate that the sensing of dsRNA is critical for loss of cell specific gene expression; our results have important implications of how dsRNA sensing is important outside of immune pathways. Keratinocytes were expanded from the sole of the foot and at passage 4 or 8, RNA was harvested to identify unique transcripts
Project description:We were interested in defining the gene signature of volar skin. Punch biopsies of skin were split into epidermis and dermis after dispase treatment. Epidermis was trypsinized and sorted for alpha 6 integrin positive basal layer keratinocytes We collected RNA from basal layer keratinocytes of soles and backs of feet and submitted for Affymetrix Exon arrays. 2 replicates of each site from distinct human donors were included; total of 4 samples analyzed