Project description:Small extracellular vesicles (sEV) are nano-sized (40-150 nm), membrane-encapsulated vesicles that are released by malignant or pathologic and non-pathologic cells into the extracellular space and function as intercellular signaling vectors through the horizontal transfer of biologic molecules, including microRNA (miRNA) and other small non-coding RNA (ncRNA), that can alter the phenotype of recipient cells. sEV are present in essentially all extracellular biofluids, including serum, urine and saliva, and offer a new avenue for discovery and development of novel biomarkers of various disease states and exposures. The objective of this study was to determine the similarities and differences between sEV ncRNA derived from saliva, serum and urine, as well as cell-free ncRNA from serum. Saliva, urine and serum were concomitantly collected from 4 healthy donors, and sEV were isolated from each respective biofluid, along with cfRNA from serum. sEVs were isolated from the respective biofluids via differential ultracentrifugation. Small RNA-sequencing was performed on each sample, and cluster analysis was performed based on ncRNA profiles. While some similarities existed in terms of sEV ncRNA cargo across biofluids, there are also notable differences in ncRNA class and ncRNA secretion, with each sEVs in each biofluid bearing a unique ncRNA profile. We conclude that sEV ncRNA cargo varies according to biofluid, so thus should be carefully selected and interpreted when designing translational or epidemiological studies.
Project description:We aimed to identify urinary exosomal ncRNAs as novel biomarkers for diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for this, we examined 15 exosomal ncRNA profiles in urine samples from CKD patients from four different stages (I, II, III and IV) and compared them to 10 healthy controls. We identified a significant number of novel, differentially expressed ncRNAs in CKD patients compared to healthy, which might be employed as early diagnostic markers in CKD in the future.
Project description:MicroRNA (miRNA) biomarkers for fragile X syndrome were searched by urine microRNA (miRNA) profiling using deep sequencing. The urine miRNA profile of twin boys who shared the same environment but one had a FXS full mutation and the other carried a premutation allele was compared based on the similar sequence reads. The urine of twin boys showed 28 differentiatially regulated miRNAs when 219 reliable identified miRNAs were compared.
Project description:The method DFI-seq was developed to enable identification of differentially expressed genes in uropathogenic E. coli strain UTI89 during growth in human urine and in bladder epithelial cells. By utilising this new method, the aim was to identify novel virulence genes in UTI89. DFI-seq is a combination of differential fluorescence induction (DFI) with next-generation sequencing. DFI-seq was compared to DFI by analysing gene expression of UPEC in human urine and thereby confirming that DFI-seq gives a better overview of gene expression. DFI-seq was hereafter used to look at gene expression in UTI89 while infecting bladder epithelial cells. We demonstrate the usefulness of DFI-seq for identification of genes required for optimal growth of UPEC in human urine, as well as potential virulence genes upregulated during infection of bladder epithelial cells. DFI-seq holds potential for the study of bacterial gene expression in live-animal infection systems.
Project description:Background: Urine is a potential source of biomarkers for diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract. RNA, including microRNA, is present in the urine enclosed in detached cells or in extracellular vesicles (EVs) or bound and protected by extracellular proteins. Detection of cell- and disease-specific microRNA in urine may aid early diagnosis of organ-specific pathology. In this study, we applied barcoded deep sequencing to profile microRNAs in urine of healthy volunteers, and characterized the effects of sex, urine fraction (cells vs. EVs) and repeated voids by the same individuals. Results: Compared to urine-cell-derived small RNA libraries, urine-EV-derived libraries were relatively enriched with miRNA, and accordingly had lesser content of other small RNA such as rRNA, tRNA and sn/snoRNA. Unsupervised clustering of specimens in relation to miRNA expression levels showed prominent bundling by specimen type (urine cells or EVs) and by sex, as well as a tendency of repeated (first and second void) samples to neighbor closely. Likewise, miRNA profile correlations between void repeats, as well as fraction counterparts (cells and EVs from the same specimen) were distinctly higher than correlations between miRNA profiles overall. Differential miRNA expression by sex was similar in cells and EVs. Conclusions: miRNA profiling of both urine EVs and sediment cells can convey biologically important differences between individuals. However, to be useful as urine biomarkers, careful consideration is needed for biofluid fractionation and sex-specific analysis, while the time of voiding appears to be less important.
Project description:Exsome microRNA stably present in various body fluids (such as amniotic fluid, breast milk, blood, bronchial lavage, malignant ascites fluid, tears, saliva, and urine) shown to be associated with various pathological conditions. We report the microRNA expression profiles in porcine serum, plasma, semen, urine and bile exsome at postnatal 180-days-old by a deep sequencing technology.
Project description:Upon Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection of human B lymphocytes non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) regulate expression of viral and cellular genes. In this study, we generated a specialized cDNA library from EBV-immortalized cells and subjected it to deep sequencing. We identified 631 unique ncRNA genes, comprised of 321 potential novel differentially expressed ncRNA candidates. Subsequently, we investigated differential expression of known and potential novel ncRNA candidates by custom-designed microchips by comparing expression of ncRNA genes of EBV-immortalized versus non-infected control cells. Among the differentially expressed candidates from chip analysis, differential expression of six novel ncRNA candidates was verified by northern blot analysis. In addition, microchip analysis resulted in observation of increased expression levels of a significant number of potential ncRNA candidates that were preferentially derived from genomic loci annotated as Alu repetitive elements. Alu elements are members of the repeat subfamily of short interspersed nuclear elements (SINE) and were reported to be transcribed upon stress stimulation. While EBV infection significantly up-regulated expression of Alu-derived RNA transcripts, no significant increase in expression of these transcripts was observed under additional tested stress conditions. By employing deep sequencing followed by custom microchip analysis, we identified six novel differentially expressed ncRNAs as well as significantly increased expression levels of Alu-derived RNA transcripts. These transcripts might be involved in crucial functions upon infection by EBV.
Project description:Small open reading frame encoded peptides (SEPs), also called microproteins, play a vital role in biological processes. Plenty of their open reading frames are located on the non-coding RNA (ncRNA) range. Recent research has demonstrated that ncRNA-encoded polypeptides have essential functions and exist ubiquitously in various tissues. To better understand the role of microproteins and ncRNA-encoded polypeptide expression in different tissues, we profiled the proteomic characterization of five mouse tissues by mass spectrometry, including bottom-up, top-down, and de novo sequencing strategies. Bottom-up and top-down with database-dependent searches identified 791 microproteins in the OpenProt database. De novo sequencing obtained 309 microproteins and ten ncRNA-encoded polypeptides that were not in the SEP database. In this study, we discovered 1100 microproteins in total, including 208 ncRNA-encoded polypeptides. From the annotation of these microproteins, we found that the brain contains the largest number of neuropeptides, while the spleen contains the most immunoassociated microproteins.
Project description:Urine passes through the entire kidney and urinary tract system starting from the glomerulus and ending to the urethra. Cells in the kidney and urinary tract could be exfoliated from the epithelium into the urine, while leukocyte could infiltrate from the local tissue into the urine, which makes the urine a useful subject for clinical evaluation of relevant diseases. We performed scRNA-seq on voided urine samples. 50–100 mL middle stream urine samples were collected from 12 Chinese healthy adults and combined for droplet-based single-cell RNA sequencing after flow cytometric sorting of live cells. We presented the first single-cell atlas of adult human urine and identified multiple previously unrecognized cell types. Based on our scRNA-seq analysis data, a SOX9+ cell population was identified in adult human urine which we speculated to have progenitor potential.