Type I IFN-signaling suppresses an excessive IFN-{gamma} response and prevents lung damage and chronic inflammation following Pneumocystis (PC)-infection and clearance in CD4 T cell-competent mice.
Type-I IFN signaling suppresses an excessive IFN-gamma response and thus prevents lung damage and chronic inflammation during Pneumocystis (PC) clearance in CD4 T cell-competent mice.
Specimen part
View SamplesCD8 T cells play a crucial role in immunity to infection and cancer. They are maintained in constant numbers, but upon stimulation with antigen undergo a developmental program characterized by distinct phases encompassing the expansion and then contraction of antigen-specific populations, followed by the persistence of long-lived memory cells. Although this predictable pattern of a CD8 T cell response is well established, the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the transition to memory remain undefined. Here we show that TRAF6, an adapter protein in the TNF-receptor (TNFR) and IL-1R/TLR superfamily, regulates CD8 T cell memory development following infection by modulating fatty acid metabolism. We show that mice with a T cell-specific deletion of TRAF6 mount robust primary CD8 T cell effector responses, but have a profound defect in their ability to generate memory. This defect is CD8 T cell intrinsic and is characterized by the disappearance of antigen-specific cells in the weeks following primary immunization. Microarray analyses revealed that TRAF6-deficient CD8 T cells from early timepoints following immunization exhibit altered expression of genes that regulate fatty acid metabolism. Consistent with this, activated CD8 T cells lacking TRAF6 are unable to upregulate mitochondrial -oxidation in response to growth factor withdrawal in vitro. Treatment with drugs that induce fatty acid oxidation enabled CD8 T cell memory generation in the absence of TRAF6. Remarkably, these treatments also increased CD8 T cell memory in wild type mice, and consequently were able to significantly improve the efficacy of an experimental anti-cancer vaccine.
Enhancing CD8 T-cell memory by modulating fatty acid metabolism.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesThe p53 family is known as a family of transcription factors with functions in tumor suppression and development. Whereas the central DNA binding domain is highly conserved among the three family members p53, p63 and p73, the C-terminal domains (CTDs) are diverse and subject to alternative splicing and post-translational modification. Here we demonstrate that the CTDs strongly influence DNA binding and transcriptional activity. While p53 and the p73 isoform p73gamma have basic CTDs and form weak sequence-specific protein-DNA complexes, the major p73 isoforms alpha, beta and delta have neutral CTDs and bind DNA strongly. A basic CTD has been previously shown to enable sliding along the DNA backbone and to facilitate the search for binding sites in the complex genome. Our experiments, however, reveal that a basic CTD also reduces protein-DNA complex stability, intranuclear mobility, promoter occupancy in vivo, transgene activation and induction of cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. A basic CTD in p53 and p73gamma therefore provides both positive and negative regulatory functions presumably to enable rapid switching of protein activity in response to stress. In contrast, most p73 isoforms exhibit constitutive DNA binding activity consistent with a predominant role in developmental control.
C-terminal diversity within the p53 family accounts for differences in DNA binding and transcriptional activity.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesTo identify the activity-induced gene expression programs in inhibitory and excitatory neurons, we analyzed RNA extracted from cultured E14 mouse MGE- and CTX-derived neurons (DIV 10) after these cultures were membrane-depolarized for 0, 1 and 6 hrs with 55mM extracellular KCl. To identify the gene programs regulated in these cells by the activity-induced early-response transcription factor Npas4, we repeated the same experiment in the MGE- and CTX-cultures lacking Npas4 (Npas4-KO).
Npas4 regulates excitatory-inhibitory balance within neural circuits through cell-type-specific gene programs.
Specimen part, Treatment, Time
View SamplesAlthough the induction of C-FOS in the brain has been extensively studied for several decades to date there has been no attempt to identify the targets of C-FOS at a genome wide level, and it was not known how many genes C-FOS activates in a given cell. To identify potential C-FOS target genes, we performed microarray analysis on RNA obtained from mouse cortical (mCTX) neurons infected with lentivirus containing either a control shRNA (targeting firefly luciferase) or c-Fos shRNA that were subsequently depolarized with 0, 1, 3, or 6 hours of KCl.
Genome-wide identification and characterization of functional neuronal activity-dependent enhancers.
Specimen part
View SamplesCD38, a multi-functional membrane receptor and enzyme, consumes NAD+ to generate products such as cyclic-ADP-ribose. CD38 knockout mice show elevated tissue and blood NAD+ level. Chronic feeding of high-fat, high-sucrose diet to wild type mice leads to exercise intolerance and reduced metabolic flexibility. Loss of CD38 by genetic mutation protects mice from diet-induced metabolic deficit. These animal model results suggest that elevation of tissue NAD+ through genetic ablation of CD38 can profoundly alter energy homeostasis in animals that are maintained on a calorically-excessive Western diet.
Genetic Ablation of CD38 Protects against Western Diet-Induced Exercise Intolerance and Metabolic Inflexibility.
Specimen part
View SamplesDespite advances in investigating functional aspects of osteoblast (OB) differentiation, especially studies on how bone proteins are deposited and mineralized, there has been little research on the intracellular trafficking of bone proteins during OB differentiation. Collagen synthesis and secretion is markedly upregulated upon Ascorbic Acid (AA) stimulation. Understanding the mechanism by which collagen is mobilized in specialized OB cells is important for both basic cell biology and diseases involving defects in bone secretion and deposition. RabGTPases are major regulators on protein trafficking throughout the cell. In this study, we identified the Rab GTPases that are upregulated during 5-day AA differentiation of OBs using microarray analysis, namely Rab1, Rab3d and Rab27b.
Rab GTPase mediated procollagen trafficking in ascorbic acid stimulated osteoblasts.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesPurpose: To identify the changes in postnatal mouse conjunctival forniceal gene expression and their regulation by Klf4 around eye opening stage when the goblet cells first appear.
Mouse conjunctival forniceal gene expression during postnatal development and its regulation by Kruppel-like factor 4.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesThere are a few markers for embryonic hepatic stellate cells in mouse embryonic livers
Isolation of a unique hepatic stellate cell population expressing integrin α8 from embryonic mouse livers.
Specimen part
View SamplesRationale: While modulation of the serotonin transporter (5HTT) has shown to be a risk factor for pulmonary arterial hypertension for almost 40 years, there is a lack of in vivo data about the broad molecular effects of pulmonary inhibition of 5HTT. Previous studies have suggested effects on inflammation, proliferation, and vasoconstriction. The goal of this study was to determine which of these were supported by alterations in gene expression in serotonin transporter knockout mice. Methods: Eight week old normoxic mice with a 5-HTT knock-out (5HTT-/-) and their heterozygote(5HTT+/-) or wild-type(5HTT+/+) littermates had right ventricular systolic pressure(RVSP) assessed, lungs collected for RNA, pooled, and used in duplicate in Affymetrix array analysis. Representative genes were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot. Results: RVSP was normal in all groups. Only 124 genes were reliably changed between 5HTT-/- and 5HTT+/+ mice. More than half of these were either involved in inflammatory response or muscle function and organization; in addition, some matrix, heme oxygenase, developmental, and energy metabolism genes showed altered expression. Quantitative RT-PCR for examples from each major group confirmed changes seen by array, with an intermediate level in 5HTT+/- mice. Conclusions: These results for the first time show the in vivo effects of 5HTT knockout in lungs, and show that many of the downstream mechanisms suggested by cell culture and ex vivo experiments are also operational in vivo. This suggests that the effect of 5HTT on pulmonary vascular function arises from its impact on several systems, including vasoreactivity, proliferation, and immune function.
Gene expression in lungs of mice lacking the 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter gene.
No sample metadata fields
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