Project description:Pairwise comparison of expression of alternate splicing in the Tlr4 pathway using custom designed Combimatix oligonucleotide arrays. Bone marrow derived macrophages (BMMs) from C57Bl6/J mice (6 wks male) exposed to LPS (10ng/ml) for 7hrs. Keywords: Response to LPS
Project description:The experiment was designed to determine the gene expression changes cultured brown adipocytes in response to the inflammatory stimulus of LPS treatment. Both wild type and TLR4 knockout cells were applied to enable assessment of the contribution of TLR4 to the response.
Project description:In this study, we report that the TLR4 ligand, LPS, and TLR3 ligand polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid failed to activate IRF3 or STAT1 in bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMMs) isolated from two independently generated lines of Rosa26-integrated Cas9-expressing C57BL/6J (B6) mice. RNA-sequencing analysis reveals that hundreds to thousands of genes including IFN-stimulated genes were differentially expressed in BMMs from these Cas9 strains compared with B6 upon LPS stimulation. Furthermore, the NF-kB signaling axis and TRIF-mediated necroptosis were also strongly reduced in response to LPS and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid. In contrast, there were no defects in the responses of BMMs to ligands of the RIG-I, STING, TLR2, TLR9, and IFN receptors. Defects in TLR3 and TLR4 signaling were observed in mice with the B6 but not 129 background, and when Cas9 was integrated at the Rosa26 but not H11 locus. However, integration at the Rosa26 site, CAG promoter–driven Cas9 or eGFP were not individually sufficient to cause the defect. Taken together, the results of this study suggest a putative TRIF-mediated defect in TLR-3/4 signaling in BMMs from commercially available and widely used B6–Cas9–expressing mice. ImmunoHorizons, 2021, 5: 818–829.
Project description:This is an investigation of whole genome gene expression level in tissues of mice stimulated by LPS, FK565 or LPS + FK565 in vivo and ex vivo. We show that parenteral administration of a pure synthetic Nod1 ligand, FK565, induces site-specific vascular inflammation in mice, which is prominent in aortic root including aortic valves, slight in aorta and absent in other arteries. The degree of respective vascular inflammation is associated with persistent high expression of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine genes in each tissue in vivo by microarray analysis, and not with Nod1 expression levels. The ex vivo production of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine by Nod1 ligand is higher in aortic root than in other arteries from normal murine vascular tissues, and also higher in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) than in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), suggesting that site-specific vascular inflammation is at least in part ascribed to an intrinsic nature of the vascular tissue/cell itself. A fourty chip study using total RNA recovered from four isolated tissues of mice which were stimulated by various reagents. Aortic root, pulmonary artery, aorta and spleen of mice in 3 groups: 1) intraperitoneal injection of 20M-NM-<g of LPS priming only, 2) oral administration of FK565 (100M-NM-<g) for consecutive days, 3) oral administration of FK565 (100M-NM-<g) for consecutive days 1 day after LPS priming, at day 2, 4, and 7. And six chip study using total RNA recovered from three isolated vascular tissues of mice which were stimulated by FK565 (10M-NM-<g/mL) ex vivo.
Project description:This is an investigation of whole genome gene expression level in tissues of mice stimulated by LPS, FK565 or LPS + FK565 in vivo and ex vivo. We show that parenteral administration of a pure synthetic Nod1 ligand, FK565, induces site-specific vascular inflammation in mice, which is prominent in aortic root including aortic valves, slight in aorta and absent in other arteries. The degree of respective vascular inflammation is associated with persistent high expression of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine genes in each tissue in vivo by microarray analysis, and not with Nod1 expression levels. The ex vivo production of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine by Nod1 ligand is higher in aortic root than in other arteries from normal murine vascular tissues, and also higher in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) than in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), suggesting that site-specific vascular inflammation is at least in part ascribed to an intrinsic nature of the vascular tissue/cell itself.
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:Translational research is commonly performed in the C57B6/J mouse strain, chosen for its genetic homogeneity and phenotypic uniformity. Here, we evaluate the suitability of the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as a model organism for aging research, offering a comparative analysis against C57B6/J and diversity outbred (DO) Mus musculus strains. Our study includes comparisons of body composition, skeletal muscle function, and cardiovascular parameters, shedding light on potential applications and limitations of P. leucopus in aging studies. Notably, P. leucopus exhibits distinct body composition characteristics, emphasizing reduced muscle force exertion and a unique metabolism, particularly in fat mass. Cardiovascular assessments showed changes in arterial stiffness, challenging conventional assumptions and highlighting the need for a nuanced interpretation of aging-related phenotypes. Our study also highlights inherent challenges associated with maintaining and phenotyping P. leucopus cohorts. Behavioral considerations, including anxiety-induced responses during handling and phenotyping assessment, pose obstacles in acquiring meaningful data. Moreover, the unique anatomy of P. leucopus necessitates careful adaptation of protocols designed for Mus musculus. While showcasing potential benefits, further extensive analyses across broader age ranges and larger cohorts are necessary to establish the reliability of P. leucopus as a robust and translatable model for aging studies.
Project description:Lipid A (a hexaacylated 1,4 bis-phosphate) is a potent immune stimulant for TLR4/MD-2. Upon lipid A ligation, the TLR4/MD-2 complex dimerizes and initiates signal transduction. Historically, studies also suggested the existence of TLR4/MD-2-independent LPS signaling. Here we define the role of TLR4 and MD-2 in LPS signaling by using genome wide expression profiling in TLR4- and MD-2-deficient macrophages after stimulations with peptidoglycan-free LPS and synthetic E.coli lipid A. Of the 1,396 genes found significantly induced or repressed by any one of the treatments in the wildtype macrophages, none was present in the TLR4- or MD-2-deficient macrophages, confirming that the TLR4/MD-2 complex is the only receptor for endotoxin, and are both absolutely required for responses to LPS. Using a molecular genetics approach, we investigated the mechanism of TLR4/MD-2 activation by combining the known crystal structure of TLR4/MD-2 with computer modeling. We used lipid IVa, a defined lipid A mimetic to model the activation of mouse TLR4/MD2. The two phosphates on lipid A were predicted to interact extensively with the two positively charged patches mouse TLR4 according to our dimeric murine TLR4/MD-2/lipid IVa model. These two patches are composed of K263, R337, and K360 (Positive Patch 1), and K367 and R434 (Positive Patch 2). When either Positive Patch was abolished by mutagenesis into Ala, the responses to LPS and lipid A were almost abrogated. Thus, ionic interactions between the two phosphates on lipid A and the two positively charged patches on murine TLR4 appear to be essential for LPS receptor activation. The gene expression profile of macrophages from C57BL/6 and MD-2-deficient mice following either 10 ng LPS /mL, 100 ng lipid A/mL or 10 nM Pam2 stimulation for 2 hours were compared to PBS-stimulated control cells . In vitro differentiated macrophages from two individual WT and MD-2-deficient mice were cultured and stimulated with agonists separately, comparing the gene expression to PBS-stimulated control cells from the same mouse. Comparisons of PBS-stimulated WT cells to PBS-stimulated MD-2-deficient cells were performed to directly compare basal gene expression in the two genotypes.
Project description:Tight regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated inflammatory responses is important in innate immunity. Here, we show that T cell death-associated gene 51 (TDAG51/PHLDA1) is a novel coactivator of the transcription factor FoxO1, regulating inflammatory mediator production in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response. TDAG51 induction by LPS stimulation was mediated by the TLR2/4 signaling pathway in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs). LPS-induced inflammatory mediator production was significantly decreased in TDAG51-deficient BMMs. In TDAG51-deficient mice, LPS- or pathogenic Escherichia coli infection-induced lethal shock was reduced by decreasing serum proinflammatory cytokine levels. The recruitment of 14-3-3 to FoxO1 was competitively inhibited by the TDAG51-FoxO1 interaction, leading to blockade of FoxO1 cytoplasmic translocation and thereby strengthening FoxO1 nuclear accumulation. TDAG51/FoxO1 double-deficient BMMs showed significantly reduced inflammatory mediator production compared with TDAG51- or FoxO1-deficient BMMs. TDAG51/FoxO1 double deficiency protected mice against LPS- or pathogenic E. coli infection-induced lethal shock by weakening the systemic inflammatory response. Thus, these results indicate that TDAG51 acts as a coactivator of the transcription factor FoxO1, leading to strengthened FoxO1 activity in the LPS-induced inflammatory response.