Project description:Studies of the Natural History, Pathogenesis, and Outcome of Autoinflammatory Diseases (NOMID/CAPS, DIRA, CANDLE, SAVI, NLRC4-MAS, Still’s-like Diseases, and other Undifferentiated Autoinflammatory Diseases)
Project description:Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an aggressive liver disease threatening public health, however its natural history is poorly understood. Unlike ob/ob mice, Lep∆I14/∆I14 rats develop unique NASH phenotype with an inflection point of inflammation at postnatal week 16. Using Lep∆I14/∆I14 rats, we studied the natural history of NASH progression by performing an integrated analysis of hepatic transcriptome from postnatal week 4 to 48. Leptin deficiency leads to the precipitously increasing expression of genes encoding rate-limiting enzymes in lipid metabolism. However, hepatic inflammation related genes, pathways and immune-cell infiltration are restricted after week 16, implying an essential role of LEPTIN in regulating hepatic inflammation. Lep∆I14/∆I14 rats share more genes with NASH patients than known mouse models, therefore will provide a better genetic platform for studying NASH than mice.
Project description:Natural history museum specimens of historical honeybees have been successfully used to explore the genomic past of the honeybee, indicating fast and rapid changes between historical and modern specimens, possibly as a response to current challenges. In our study we explore a potential untapped archive from natural history collections - specimens of beeswax. We examine an Apis mellifera mellifera queen cell specimen from the 19th century. The intact and closed cell was analysed by X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) to reveal a perfectly preserved queen bee inside her cell. Subsequently, a micro-destructive approach was used to evaluate the possibility of protein extraction from the cell. Our results show that studies on specimens such as these provide valuable information about the past rearing of queens, their diet and development, which is relevant for understanding current honeybee behaviour. In addition we evaluate the feasibility of using historical beeswax as a biomolecular archive for ancient proteins to study honeybees.