Project description:The etiology and pathogenesis of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (NSCL/P) are largely unknown. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are thought to play important roles in NSCL/P, but reports on the underlying processes are currently unavailable. Our study focused on children diagnosed with NSCL/P alone. Based on the morphology, patients were categorized as either cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) or cleft palate-only (CPO). When patients received surgery for NSCL/P, tissue excised from the trimmed wound edge was reserved to serve as experimental samples; adjacent normal tissue was used as a positive control. Target lncRNAs in the collected tissues were identified using microarray and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and RT-qPCR were used to verify the target mRNAs. Pathway, gene ontology (GO) enrichment, and TargetScan prediction were employed to construct endogenous RNA networks (ceRNA networks) and explore their potential functions. RNA-Seq analysis revealed 24 upregulated and 43 downregulated lncRNAs in the CL/P and CPO groups compared with those in the control group; of these, MALAT1and NEAT1 were screened and validated using RT-qPCR. Common NSCL/P risk factors positively correlated with MALAT1 and NEAT1 expression (ORMALAT1 = 28.111, 95% CI: 4.054-194.923; ORNEAT1 = 30.556, 95% CI: 4.422-211.142; P < 0.05). Bioinformatics predicted four ceRNA networks: MALAT1-hsa-miR-1224-3p-SP1, MALAT1-hsa-miR-6734-5p/hsa-miR-1224-3p-WNT10A, NEAT1-hsa-miR-140-3p.1-CXCR4, and NEAT1-hsa-miR-3129-5p/hsa-miR-199a-3p/hsa-miR-199b-3p-ZEB1. GO enrichment focused on the potential functions of ceRNA networks, including biosynthesis of organic cyclic compounds, formation of membrane-enclosed and organelle lumens, and Wnt-protein binding. The results of RT-qPCR were consistent with those of IHC staining with regard to expression of related mRNAs. MALAT1 and NEAT1, which are upregulated in NSCL/P, are associated with the severity of NSCL/P. This study provides a new insight into NSCL/P pathogenesis and suggests that MALAT1 and NEAT1 act as potential therapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers for NSCL/P.
Project description:Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulators of chromatin; however, the mechanistic roles for many lncRNAs are poorly understood in part because their direct interactions with genomic loci and proteins are difficult to assess. We used CHART-seq to map the genomic binding sites for two highly expressed human lncRNAs, NEAT1 and MALAT1, which localize within the nucleus to paraspeckles and nuclear speckles, respectively. We show that NEAT1 and MALAT1 localize to hundreds of genomic sites in human cells, primarily over active genes. NEAT1 and MALAT1 exhibit colocalization to many of these loci, but display distinct gene body binding patterns at these sites, suggesting independent but complementary functions for these RNAs. Protein mass spectrometry analysis of CHART-enriched material (CHART-MS) identified numerous proteins enriched by both lncRNAs, supporting complementary binding and function, in addition to unique associated proteins. Transcriptional inhibition or stimulation affects the localization of NEAT1 to active chromatin sites, implying that DNA sequence itself does not target NEAT1 to chromatin and that localization responds to cues involved in the transcription process. Paired-end CHART-seq was performed for a single replicate of each capture oligonucleotide in untreated MCF-7 cells to establish binding sites of these RNAs, for a total of 6 samples. To investigate the effects of transcriptional inhibition and E2 stimulation on the localization of these RNAs, we performed paired-end CHART-seq with each capture oligonucleotide for two biological replicates of flavopiridol- and vehicle (DMSO)-treated MCF-7 cells and for two biological replicates of E2- and vehicle (ethanol)-treated MCF-7 cells. To establish the overlap of NEAT1 and MALAT1 binding sites with a known component of paraspeckles (NEAT1-containing subnuclear body), we performed paired-end ChIP-seq for the paraspeckle component PSF in MCF-7 cells, as well as a single-end biological replicate.
Project description:Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulators of chromatin; however, the mechanistic roles for many lncRNAs are poorly understood in part because their direct interactions with genomic loci and proteins are difficult to assess. We used CHART-seq to map the genomic binding sites for two highly expressed human lncRNAs, NEAT1 and MALAT1, which localize within the nucleus to paraspeckles and nuclear speckles, respectively. We show that NEAT1 and MALAT1 localize to hundreds of genomic sites in human cells, primarily over active genes. NEAT1 and MALAT1 exhibit colocalization to many of these loci, but display distinct gene body binding patterns at these sites, suggesting independent but complementary functions for these RNAs. Protein mass spectrometry analysis of CHART-enriched material (CHART-MS) identified numerous proteins enriched by both lncRNAs, supporting complementary binding and function, in addition to unique associated proteins. Transcriptional inhibition or stimulation affects the localization of NEAT1 to active chromatin sites, implying that DNA sequence itself does not target NEAT1 to chromatin and that localization responds to cues involved in the transcription process.
Project description:Genome-wide DNA methylation profilinf from 67 non syndromic cleft lip and palate samples and controls using whole-blood DNA and Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K Bead array, in which over 485000 CpGs sites were analysed per sample