Project description:DNA methylation differences between Newborns and Nonagenarians The study aimed to compare the DNA methylation differences between newborns and nonagenarians using methylation array technology (450K, Illumina). The identified differently methylated CpG were further analyzed for their presence in diseases related to the aging phenotype (Werner and Progeria syndrome).
Project description:Low Birth Weight (LBW) newborns (with weight less than 2500g) suffer a higher frequency and severity of microbial infection than normal birth weight (NBW) newborns. Morbidity and mortality of LBW infants due to infectious diseases are known to be high and it has been associated with compromised immune functions, however, the complete understanding of the cause is lacking. We, therefore, conducted a gene expression study to identify all the defective pathways and functions in the LBW newborns using DNA microarray. RNA were isolated from the umbilical cord blood of the NBW and LBW newborns and processed for chip hybridisation. Our results suggest down-regulation of genes participating in several canonical pathways vital in the defense response against microbes and perpetuation of immune responses. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and Interferon signaling appear to be most significantly impacted pathways. The information generated from this study may help in depth understanding of the cause of higher frequency of infections in LBW and thus, in turn help devise better therapeutic interventions. Total 12 subjects were included in the study. 4 NBW newborns umblical cord blood samples served as control and 8 LBW newborns umblical cord blood samples were treated as the experimental samples for the study.
Project description:Transient leukemia (TL) is evident in 5-10% of all neonates with Down syndrome (DS) and associated with N-terminal truncating GATA1-mutations (GATA1s). Here we analyzed the effect of on gene expression upon ectopic expression of Gata1s or Gata1, while simultaneously knocking down endogenous GATA1, in wild-type CD34+-hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells during myeloid differentiation. Ectopic expression of Gata1s, but not Gata1, in wild-type CD34+-hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells induced hyperproliferation of eosinophil promyelocytes in vitro. While GATA1s retained the function of GATA1 to induce eosinophil genes by occupying their promoter regions, GATA1s was impaired in its ability to repress oncogenic MYC and the pro-proliferative E2F transcription network. We lentivirally transduced wild-type CD34+-hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to ectopically express Gata1s or Gata1, while simultaneously knocking down endogenous GATA1, and cultured them in myeloid differentiation for 0, 4 and 14 days.