Project description:Live cell imaging allows direct observation and monitoring of phenotypes that are difficult to infer from the transcriptome. However, existing methods for linking microscopy and single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) have limited scalability. Here, we describe an upgraded version of Single Cell Optical Phenotyping and Expression (SCOPE-seq2), which builds on our earlier efforts to combine single-cell imaging and expression profiling, with substantial improvements in throughput, molecular capture efficiency, linking accuracy, and compatibility with standard microscopy instrumentation. We introduce improved optically decodable mRNA capture beads and implement a more scalable and simplified optical decoding process. We demonstrated the utility of SCOPE-seq2 for fluorescence, morphological, and expression profiling of individual primary cells from a human glioblastoma (GBM) surgical sample, revealing relationships between simple imaging features and cellular identity, particularly among malignantly transformed tumor cells.
Project description:Spatially targeted optical microproteomics (STOMP) is a novel proteomics technique for interrogating micron-scale regions of interest (ROI) in mammalian tissue, with no requirement for genetic manipulation. Methanol or formalin fixed specimens are stained with fluorescent dyes or antibodies to visualize ROIs, then soaked in solutions containing the photo-tag: 4-benzoylbenzyl-glycyl-hexahistidine. Confocal imaging along with two photon excitation are used to covalently couple photo-tags to all proteins within each ROI, to a resolution of 0.67 µm in the xy-plane and 1.48 µm axially. After tissue solubilization, photo-tagged proteins are isolated and identified by mass spectrometry. As a test case, we examined amyloid plaques in an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse model and a postmortem AD case, confirming known plaque constituents and discovering new ones. STOMP can be applied to various biological samples including cell lines, primary cell cultures, ex vivo specimens, biopsy samples and fixed postmortem tissue.
Project description:Refractive eye development is regulated by optical defocus in a process of emmetropization. Excessive exposure to negative optical defocus often leads to the development of myopia. However, it is still largely unknown how optical defocus is detected by the retina. Here, we used genome-wide RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) to conduct analysis of the retinal genetic networks underlying contrast perception and refractive eye development. We report that the genetic network subserving contrast perception plays an important role in optical defocus detection and emmetropization. Our results demonstrate an interaction between contrast perception, the retinal circadian clock pathway and the signaling pathway underlying optical defocus detection. We also observe that the relative majority of genes causing human myopia are involved in the processing of optical defocus. Together, our results support the hypothesis that optical defocus is perceived by the retina using contrast as a proxy and provide new insights into molecular signaling underlying refractive eye development.
Project description:The ERCC1-XPF heterodimer is a multifunctional endonuclease involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER), inter-strand crosslink (ICL) repair, and DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Only two patients with inherited ERCC1 defects have been reported who both died at an early age. Here, we describe a new case of ERCC1 deficiency in two siblings (11 and 13 years) who show mild features of Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Cockayne Syndrome. Both patients displayed microcephaly, mild developmental delay, mild photosensitivity, and severe cholestatic liver problems. Genetic analysis revealed a maternal deletion and a paternal missense variant in ERCC1 (R156W) that affect a salt bridge just below the XPA-binding pocket. Studies in patient-derived fibroblasts and reconstituted knockout cells confirmed that mutant ERCC1 is not efficiently recruited to the NER complex due to a decreased interaction with XPA. Consequently, patient cells show a strong NER defect, although residual repair could be detected. The steady-state protein levels of ERCC1 and XPF were severely reduced in patient cells, but this only led to a mild defect in ICL repair, and no impact on DSB repair. We report a new case of ERCC1 deficiency that particularly affect NER and has only a mild impact on other ERCC1-dependent repair pathways.
Project description:Segal et al., 2007, Nature Biotechnology (doi:10.1038/nbt1306): Decoding global gene expression programs in liver cancer by noninvasive imaging. ABSTRACT: Paralleling the diversity of genetic and protein activities, pathologic human tissues also exhibit diverse radiographic features. Here we show that dynamic imaging traits in non-invasive computed tomography (CT) systematically correlate with the global gene expression programs of primary human liver cancer. Combinations of twenty-eight imaging traits can reconstruct 78% of the global gene expression profiles, revealing cell proliferation, liver synthetic function, and patient prognosis. Thus, genomic activity of human liver cancers can be decoded by noninvasive imaging, thereby enabling noninvasive, serial and frequent molecular profiling for personalized medicine.
Project description:Sandhoff disease, one of the GM2 gangliosidoses, is a lysosomal storage disorder characterized by the absence of b-hexosaminidase A and B activity and the concomitant lysosomal accumulation of its substrate, GM2 ganglioside. It features catastrophic neurodegeneration and death in early childhood. How the lysosomal accumulation of ganglioside might affect the early development of the nervous system is not understood. Recently, cerebral organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have illuminated early developmental events altered by disease processes. To develop an early neurodevelopmental model of Sandhoff disease, we first generated iPS cells from the fibroblasts of an infantile Sandhoff disease patient, then corrected one of the mutant HEXB alleles in those iPS cells with CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing technology, thereby creating isogenic controls. Next, we used the parental Sandhoff disease iPS cells and isogenic HEXB-corrected iPS cell clones to generate cerebral organoids that modeled the first trimester of neurodevelopment. The Sandhoff disease organoids but not the HEXB-corrected organoids accumulated GM2 ganglioside, and exhibited increased size and cellular proliferation compared with the HEXB-corrected organoids. Whole-transcriptome analysis demonstrated that development was impaired in the Sandhoff disease organoids, suggesting that alterations in neuronal differentiation may occur during early development in the GM2 gangliosidoses