Project description:The aim of the study was to investigate whether the trefoil peptide genes, in concerted action with a miRNA regulatory network, were contributing to nutritional maintrenance. Using a Tff3 knock-out mouse model, 21 specific miRNAs were noted to be significantly deregulated when compared to the wild type strain.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:Cellular binary fate decisions require the progeny to silence genes associated with the alternative fate. The major subsets of alpha:beta T cells have been extensively studied as a model system for fate decisions. While the transcription factor RUNX3 is required for the initiation of Cd4 silencing in CD8 T cell progenitors, it is not required to maintain the silencing of Cd4 and other helper T lineage genes. The other runt domain containing protein, RUNX1, silences Cd4 in an earlier T cell progenitor, but this silencing is reversed whereas the gene silencing after RUNX3 expression is not reverse. Therefore, we hypothesized that RUNX3 and not RUNX1 recruits other factors that maintains the silencing of helper T lineage genes in CD8 T cells. To this end, we performed a proteomics screen of RUNX1 and RUNX3 to determine candidate silencing factors.
Project description:In this study we compared the effects of IL-2, IL-15, and IL-21 on the gene expression, activation of cell signaling pathways, and functional properties of cells derived from the CD4+ cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Whereas both IL-2 and IL-15 that signal through receptors that share the common gamma chain and the beta chain modulated the expression of >1,000 genes, IL-21 that signals via the receptor also containing gamma chain up-regulated <40 genes. All three cytokines induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak1 and Jak3. However, only IL-2 and IL-15 strongly activated STAT5, PI3K/Akt, and MEK/ERK signaling pathways. In contrast, IL-21 selectively activated STAT3. Whereas all three cytokines protected CTCL cells from apoptosis, only IL-2 and IL-15 promoted their proliferation. The effects of the cytokine stimulation were Jak3- and Jak1-kinase dependent. These findings document the vastly different impact of IL-2 and IL-15 vs. IL-21 on malignant CD4+ T cells. They also suggest two novel therapeutic approaches to CTCL and, possibly, other CD4+ T cell lymphomas: inhibition of the Jak1/Jak3 kinase complex and, given the known strong immunostimulatory properties of IL-21 on CD8+ T, NK, and B cells, application of this cytokine to boost an immune response against malignant CD4+ T cells. Keywords: 3 replicates in each of 4 conditions
Project description:In this study we compared the effects of IL-2, IL-15, and IL-21 on the gene expression, activation of cell signaling pathways, and functional properties of cells derived from the CD4+ cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Whereas both IL-2 and IL-15 that signal through receptors that share the common gamma chain and the beta chain modulated the expression of >1,000 genes, IL-21 that signals via the receptor also containing gamma chain up-regulated <40 genes. All three cytokines induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak1 and Jak3. However, only IL-2 and IL-15 strongly activated STAT5, PI3K/Akt, and MEK/ERK signaling pathways. In contrast, IL-21 selectively activated STAT3. Whereas all three cytokines protected CTCL cells from apoptosis, only IL-2 and IL-15 promoted their proliferation. The effects of the cytokine stimulation were Jak3- and Jak1-kinase dependent. These findings document the vastly different impact of IL-2 and IL-15 vs. IL-21 on malignant CD4+ T cells. They also suggest two novel therapeutic approaches to CTCL and, possibly, other CD4+ T cell lymphomas: inhibition of the Jak1/Jak3 kinase complex and, given the known strong immunostimulatory properties of IL-21 on CD8+ T, NK, and B cells, application of this cytokine to boost an immune response against malignant CD4+ T cells. Keywords: 3 replicates in each of 4 conditions