Project description:An updated representation of S. meliloti metabolism that was manually-curated and encompasses information from 240 literature sources, which includes transposon-sequencing (Tn-seq) data and Phenotype MicroArray data for wild-type and mutant strains.
Project description:Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two neurodegenerative diseases linked, at the pathologic and genetic level, to the macrutubule associated protein tau. We identified and replicated a dose-dependent effect of the risk-associated H1 haplotype on methylation levels within the region in independent datasets in blood and brain. These data reveal that the H1 haplotype increases risk for tauopathy via differential methylation, indicating a mediating role for methylation in dementia pathophysiology. We studied epigenetic changes (DNA methylation levels) in peripheral blood from patients with PSP, FTD, and unaffected controls. Analysis of genome-wide methylation patterns revealed significant differentially methylated probes in patients versus unaffected controls.
Project description:Limited functional annotation of the Z. mobilis genome is a current barrier to both basic studies of Z. mobilis and its development as a synthetic-biology chassis. To gain insight, we collected sample-matched multiomics data including RNA-seq, transcription start site sequencing (TSS-seq), termination sequencing (term-seq), ribosome profiling, and label-free shotgun proteomic mass spectrometry across different growth conditions to improve annotation and assign functional sites in the Z. mobilis genome. Proteomics and ribosome profiling informed revisions of protein-coding genes, which included 44 start codon changes and 42 added proteins.
Project description:Purpose: To explore the side population (SP) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) for its gene expression profile and its association to cancer stem cells (CSC) and to evaluate the value of genes from its gene signature on patient survival. Experimental design: Side and main population (MP) cells were isolated from 11 human PDAC resection specimens using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) after Hoechst incubation. Total RNA was extracted for whole-genome analysis. A gene signature for the purified SP (pSP; depleted from immune/endothelial CD45+/CD31+ cells) was developed and validated with the nCounter system on expression data of 78 primary PDAC using Cox regression analyses for disease-free and overall survival. Results: An SP was identified in all PDAC samples. Whole-genome expression profiling of pSP revealed upregulation of genes related to therapy-resistance and of CSC-associated genes and pathways. A pSP signature of 32 up- or downregulated genes was capable of discriminating SP from MP in an independent set of 10 PDAC samples, and some contributing genes had a prognostic value in a separate series of 78 patients who underwent surgery for PDAC. Conclusion: Pancreatic cancer contains an SP with chemo-resistant and CSC-associated molecular characteristics. Genes from a newly defined pSP gene signature are related to survival of patients who undergo surgical resection for pancreatic cancer, and might therefore represent potential therapeutic targets. Microarray analysis was performed on SP and MP samples from 11 different human PDAC samples.
Project description:We established new methods for differentiating hiPSCs into MSCs via mesoderm-like and neuroepithelium-like cells. We named MSCs via mesoderm-like as PSP-MSC, and MSCs via neuroepithelium-like cells. To further characterize our PSP-MSCs and RA-Pα-MSCs, we compared their genome-wide expression patterns with those of human iPSCs and BM-MSCs (PRC-010; Bay bioscience) using DNA microarrays.
Project description:Purpose: To explore the side population (SP) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) for its gene expression profile and its association to cancer stem cells (CSC) and to evaluate the value of genes from its gene signature on patient survival. Experimental design: Side and main population (MP) cells were isolated from 11 human PDAC resection specimens using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) after Hoechst incubation. Total RNA was extracted for whole-genome analysis. A gene signature for the purified SP (pSP; depleted from immune/endothelial CD45+/CD31+ cells) was developed and validated with the nCounter system on expression data of 78 primary PDAC using Cox regression analyses for disease-free and overall survival. Results: An SP was identified in all PDAC samples. Whole-genome expression profiling of pSP revealed upregulation of genes related to therapy-resistance and of CSC-associated genes and pathways. A pSP signature of 32 up- or downregulated genes was capable of discriminating SP from MP in an independent set of 10 PDAC samples, and some contributing genes had a prognostic value in a separate series of 78 patients who underwent surgery for PDAC. Conclusion: Pancreatic cancer contains an SP with chemo-resistant and CSC-associated molecular characteristics. Genes from a newly defined pSP gene signature are related to survival of patients who undergo surgical resection for pancreatic cancer, and might therefore represent potential therapeutic targets.
Project description:Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder clinically characterized by progressive postural instability, supranuclear gaze palsy, parkinsonism, and cognitive decline caused by degeneration in specific areas of the brain including globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra, and subthalamic nucleus. However, the pathogenetic mechanism of PSP remains unclear to date. Unbiased global proteome analysis of patients’ brain samples is an important step toward understanding PSP pathogenesis, as proteins serve as workhorses and building blocks of the cell. In this study, we conducted unbiased mass spectrometry-based global proteome analysis of GP samples from 15 PSP patients, 15 Parkinson disease (PD) patients, and 15 healthy control (HC) individuals. To analyze 45 samples, we conducted 5 batches of 11-plex isobaric tandem mass tag (TMT)-based multiplexing experiments, identifying 10,231 proteins. The gene set enrichment analysis results showed that the PD pathway was the most highly enriched, followed by pathways for oxidative phosphorylation, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) when PSP was compared to HC or PD. Most of the proteins enriched in the gene set enrichment analysis were mitochondrial proteins such as cytochrome c oxidase, NADH dehydrogenase, acyl carrier protein, succinate dehydrogenase, ADP/ATP translocase, cytochrome b-c1 complex, and/or ATP synthase. Strikingly, all of the enriched mitochondrial proteins in the PD pathway were downregulated in PSP compared to both HC and PD. The subsequent Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) further supported that the mitochondrial proteins were the most highly enriched in PSP. This is the first global proteome analysis of human GP from PSP patients, and this study paves the way to understanding the pathogenesis mechanism of PSP.
Project description:Subsequently, using a combination of BSA-seq, transcriptomic sequencing (RNA-seq), and proteomic sequencing approaches, we identified the candidate gene Nitab4.5_0008674g0010 that encodes dihydroneopterin aldolase as a factor associated with tobacco leaf yellowing.
Project description:Pituitary adenomas cause significant endocrine and mass-related morbidity. Not much is known about mechanisms underlying pituitary tumor pathogenesis. We searched for a side population (SP) in pituitary tumor, representing cells with high efflux capacity and potentially enriching for cancer/tumor stem cells (CSC/TSC). Human pituitary adenomas contain a SP irrespective of hormonal phenotype. This adenoma SP, as well as the further purified SP (pSP) depleted from endothelial and immune cells, enriches for cells that express ‘tumor stemness’ markers and signaling pathways, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-linked factors. The adenomas were found to contain self-renewing sphere-forming cells, considered a property of TSC. The sphere-initiating cells were retrieved in the pSP. Because benign pituitary adenomas do not grow in vitro and failed to expand in immunodeficient mice, the pituitary tumor cell line AtT20 was further used. We identified a SP in this cell line and found it more tumorigenic than the main population (MP). Of the two EMT-regulatory pathways tested, inhibition of Cxcr4 signaling reduced EMT-linked cell motility in vitro as well as xenograft tumor growth, whereas activation of TGFβ had no effect. The tumor pSP showed upregulated expression of the pituitary stem cell marker SOX2. Pituitaries from dopamine receptor D2 knockout (Drd2-/-) mice bearing prolactinomas, contain more pSP, Sox2+ and colony-forming cells than wildtype glands. In conclusion, we detected a SP in pituitary tumors and identified TSC-associated characteristics. Our study may contribute to a better understanding of pituitary tumor pathogenesis and lead to new therapeutic targets. We determined gene expression profiles for 5 human pituitary adenoma samples (all NF-A type). The samples were obtained immediately after transsphenoidal resection (by the neurosurgeon Dr. van Loon, Division Neurosurgery, University Hospitals Leuven). Informed consent was received from the patients. Hormonal phenotype was determined by the Department of Imaging and Pathology (University Hospitals Leuven). For each sample, CD31¯/CD45¯ SP (purified SP or pSP) and pMP cells were sorted by FACS. Separate assays were run subsequently for the two fractions. As such we present data from 10 microarrays.