Project description:Recent sequencing-based experiments mapping ensemble interaction frequency among regulatory elements in cancer cells support the existence of complex topological assemblies of enhancers and promoters known as promoter-enhancer hubs or cliques. Yet, the prevalence of promoter-enhancer hubs in individual cells, factors regulating their dynamics and assembly, as well as their role in transcriptional dysregulation in cancer remain unclear. Here, we systematically integrated functional genomics, transcription factor screening, and optical mapping of promoter-enhancer interactions to identify key promoter-enhancer hubs, examine heterogeneity of their assembly, determine their regulators, and elucidate their role in gene expression control in individual triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Optical mapping of individual SOX9 and MYC alleles revealed the existence of frequent multiway interactions among gene promoters and enhancers within promoter-enhancer hubs. Our single-allele studies further demonstrated that lineage-determining SOX9 and signaling-dependent NOTCH1 transcription factors compact MYC and SOX9 promoter-enhancer hubs, respectively. Together, our findings suggest that promoter-enhancer hubs are dynamic and heterogeneous topological assemblies controlled by oncogenic transcription factors potentially in a cancer subtype-restricted manner to facilitate aberrant gene expression.
Project description:Recent sequencing-based experiments mapping ensemble interaction frequency among regulatory elements in cancer cells support the existence of complex topological assemblies of enhancers and promoters known as promoter-enhancer hubs or cliques. Yet, the prevalence of promoter-enhancer hubs in individual cells, factors regulating their dynamics and assembly, as well as their role in transcriptional dysregulation in cancer remain unclear. Here, we systematically integrated functional genomics, transcription factor screening, and optical mapping of promoter-enhancer interactions to identify key promoter-enhancer hubs, examine heterogeneity of their assembly, determine their regulators, and elucidate their role in gene expression control in individual triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Optical mapping of individual SOX9 and MYC alleles revealed the existence of frequent multiway interactions among gene promoters and enhancers within promoter-enhancer hubs. Our single-allele studies further demonstrated that lineage-determining SOX9 and signaling-dependent NOTCH1 transcription factors compact MYC and SOX9 promoter-enhancer hubs, respectively. Together, our findings suggest that promoter-enhancer hubs are dynamic and heterogeneous topological assemblies controlled by oncogenic transcription factors potentially in a cancer subtype-restricted manner to facilitate aberrant gene expression.
Project description:DELLA proteins act as hubs that relay environmental information to the multiple transcriptional circuits that control growth and development through physical interaction with transcription factors from different families. We have analyzed the presence of one DELLA protein at the Arabidopsis genome by chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to large-scale sequencing and we find that it binds at the promoters of multiple genes. Enrichment analysis shows a strong preference for cis elements recognized by specific transcription factor families. In particular, we demonstrate that DELLA proteins are recruited by type-B ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE REGULATORS (ARR) to the promoters of cytokinin-regulated genes, where they act as transcriptional co-activators. The biological relevance of this mechanism is underpinned by the necessity of simultaneous presence of DELLAs and ARRs to restrict root meristem growth and to promote photomorphogenesis. Provided are 3 biological replicates analysing RGA binding sites in Arabidopsis seedlings. ChIP-seq was performed on plants expressing RGA-GFP under the native RGA promoter and on non-transgenic control plants as reference
Project description:The trillions of microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract are an underexplored aspect of pharmacology. Despite numerous examples of microbial effects on drug efficacy and toxicity, there is often an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here, we dissect the inactivation of the commonly prescribed cardiac glycoside, digoxin, by Eggerthella lenta. Whole genome transcriptional profiling, comparative genomics, and culture-based assays revealed a cytochrome-encoding operon up-regulated by digoxin, absent in non-metabolizing E. lenta strains, and predictive of the efficiency of digoxin inactivation by the human gut microbiome. Digoxin inactivation was further enhanced by microbial interactions and inhibited by arginine. Pharmacokinetic studies using gnotobiotic mice revealed that increasing dietary protein reduces the in vivo metabolism of digoxin by E. lenta, with significant changes to drug concentration in the urine and serum. These results emphasize the importance of viewing pharmacology from the perspective of both our human and microbial genomes. RNA-Seq analysis of Eggerthella lenta cultured with or without digoxin.
Project description:Recent sequencing-based experiments mapping ensemble interaction frequency among regulatory elements in cancer cells support the existence of complex topological assemblies of enhancers and promoters known as promoter-enhancer hubs or cliques. Yet, the prevalence of promoter-enhancer hubs in individual cells, factors regulating their dynamics and assembly, as well as their role in transcriptional dysregulation in cancer remain unclear. Here, we systematically integrated functional genomics, transcription factor screening, and optical mapping of promoter-enhancer interactions to identify key promoter-enhancer hubs, examine heterogeneity of their assembly, determine their regulators, and elucidate their role in gene expression control in individual triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Optical mapping of individual SOX9 and MYC alleles revealed the existence of frequent multiway interactions among gene promoters and enhancers within promoter-enhancer hubs. Our single-allele studies further demonstrated that lineage-determining SOX9 and signaling-dependent NOTCH1 transcription factors compact MYC and SOX9 promoter-enhancer hubs, respectively. Together, our findings suggest that promoter-enhancer hubs are dynamic and heterogeneous topological assemblies controlled by oncogenic transcription factors potentially in a cancer subtype-restricted manner to facilitate aberrant gene expression.
Project description:We developed an analysis pipeline that can extract microbial sequences from Spatial Transcriptomic (ST) data and assign taxonomic labels, generating a spatial microbial abundance matrix in addition to the default host expression matrix, enabling simultaneous analysis of host expression and microbial distribution. We called the pipeline Spatial Meta-transcriptome (SMT) and applied it on both human and murine intestinal sections and validated the spatial microbial abundance information with alternative assays. Biological insights were gained from this novel data that that demonstrated host-microbe interaction at various spatial scales. Finally, we tested experimental modification that can increase microbial capture while preserving host spatial expression quality and, by use of positive controls, quantitatively demonstrated the capture efficiency and recall of our methods. This proof of concept work demonstrates the feasibility of Spatial Meta-transcriptomic analysis, and paves the way for further experimental optimization and application.
Project description:"Omics" technologies have been developed to understand the whole complex microbial systems; however, most omics studies reported so far were utilized to analyze the living matters of “single-species”. To understand the cell-cell interaction in the gut microbial complex, we selected to examine the interaction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (O157) and Bifidobacterium longum (BL), known as a pathogenic and a commensal bacteria, as a first step for understanding the whole gut microbial complex. We have developed a novel time-lapse 2D-NMR metabolic profiling system in order to measure the extracellular metabolites, which are considered a key factor to understand the bacterial crosstalk. Furthermore, in combination with transcriptome and proteome analysis, we found that the relationship between BL and O157 could be partially regarded as the producer and the consumer of nutrients, especially in the case of serine and aspartate metabolism. These findings suggest that our novel profiling systems could be a powerful tool toward understanding crosstalk of the whole microbial complex such as the gut, industrial bioreactors or environmental microbial communities. In vitro mono and coculture were performed. All experiments were performed in duplicate.
Project description:<p>Emerging evidence that the gut microbiota may contribute in important ways to human health and disease has led us and others to hypothesize that both symbiotic and pathological relationships between gut microbes and their host may be key contributors to obesity and the metabolic complications of obesity. Our "Thrifty Microbiome Hypothesis" poses that gut microbiota play a key role in human energy homeostasis. Specifically, constituents of the gut microbial community may introduce a survival advantage to its host in times of nutrient scarcity, promoting positive energy balance by increasing efficiency of nutrient absorption and improving metabolic efficiency and energy storage. However, in the presence of excess nutrients, fat accretion and obesity may result, and in genetically predisposed individuals, increased fat mass may result in preferential abdominal obesity, ectopic fat deposition (liver, muscle), and metabolic complications of obesity (insulin resistance, hypertension, hyperlipidemia). Furthermore, in the presence of excess nutrients, a pathological transition of the gut microbial community may occur, causing leakage of bacterial products into the intestinal lymphatics and portal circulation, thereby inducing an inflammatory state, further aggravating metabolic syndrome traits and accelerating atherosclerosis. This pathological transition and the extent to which antimicrobial leakage occurs and causes inflammatory and other maladaptive sequelae of obesity may also be influenced by host factors, including genetics. In the proposed study, we will directly test the Thrifty Microbiome Hypothesis by performing detailed genomic and functional assessment of gut microbial communities in intensively phenotyped and genotyped human subjects before and after intentional manipulation of the gut microbiome. To address these hypotheses, five specific aims are proposed: (1) enroll three age- and sex-matched groups from the Old Order Amish: (i) 50 obese subjects (BMI > 30 kg/m2) with metabolic syndrome, (ii) 50 obese subjects (BMI > 30 kg/m2) without metabolic syndrome, and (iii) 50 non-obese subjects (BMI < 25 kg/m2) without metabolic syndrome and characterize the architecture of the gut microbiota from the subjects enrolled in this study by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes; (2) characterize the gene content (metagenome) to assess the metabolic potential of the gut microbiota in 75 subjects to determine whether particular genes or pathways are correlated with disease phenotype; (3) characterize the transcriptome in 75 subjects to determine whether differences in gene expression in the gut microbiota are correlated with disease phenotype, (4) determine the effect of manipulation of the gut microbiota with antibiotics on energy homeostasis, inflammation markers, and metabolic syndrome traits in 50 obese subjects with metabolic syndrome and (5) study the relationship between gut microbiota and metabolic and cardiovascular disease traits, weight change, and host genomics in 1,000 Amish already characterized for these traits and in whom 500K Affymetrix SNP chips have already been completed. These studies will provide our deepest understanding to date of the role of gut microbes in terms of 'who's there?', 'what are they doing?', and 'how are they influencing host energy homeostasis, obesity and its metabolic complications? PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study aims to unravel the contribution of the bacteria that normally inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract to the development of obesity, and its more severe metabolic consequences including cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. We will take a multidisciplinary approach to study changes in the structure and function of gut microbial communities in three sets of Old Order Amish patients from Lancaster, Pennsylvania: obese patients, obese patients with metabolic syndrome and non-obese individuals. The Old Order Amish are a genetically closed homogeneous Caucasian population of Central European ancestry ideal for genetic studies. These works have the potential to provide new mechanistic insights into the role of gut microflora in obesity and metabolic syndrome, a disease that is responsible for significant morbidity in the adult population, and may ultimately lead to novel approaches for prevention and treatment of this disorder.</p>
| phs000258 | dbGaP
Project description:Saccharomycetales: the key order in composting process
Project description:Recent advances in high-resolution mapping of spatial interactions among regulatory elements support the existence of complex topological assemblies of enhancers and promoters known as enhancer-promoter hubs or cliques. Yet, organization principles of these multi-interacting enhancer-promoter hubs and their potential role in regulating gene expression in cancer remains unclear. Here, we systematically identified enhancer-promoter hubs in breast cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia. We found that highly interacting enhancer-promoter hubs form at key oncogenes and lineage-associated transcription factors potentially promoting oncogenesis of these diverse cancer types. Genomic and optical mapping of interactions among enhancer and promoter elements further showed that topological alterations in hubs coincide with transcriptional changes underlying acquired resistance to targeted therapy in T cell leukemia and B cell lymphoma. Together, our findings suggest that enhancer-promoter hubs are dynamic and heterogeneous topological assemblies with the potential to control gene expression circuits promoting oncogenesis and drug resistance.