MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNA molecules regulating the expression of mRNAs. Target identification of miRNAs is computationally difficult due to the relatively low homology between miRNAs and their targets. We present here an experimental approach to target identification where the cartilage-specific miR-140 was overexpressed and silenced in cells it is normally expressed in separate experiments. Expression of mRNAs was profiled in both experiments and the intersection of mRNAs repressed by miR-140 overexpression and derepressed by silencing of miR-140 was identified. The intersection contained only 49 genes, although both treatments affected the accumulation of hundreds of mRNAs. These 49 genes showed a very strong enrichment for the miR-140 seed sequence implying that the approach is efficient and specific. 21 of these 49 genes were predicted to be direct targets based on the presence of the seed sequence. Interestingly, none of these were predicted by the published target prediction methods we used. One of the potential target mRNAs, Cxcl12, was experimentally validated by Northern blot analysis and a luciferase reporter assay.
Experimental identification of microRNA-140 targets by silencing and overexpressing miR-140.
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View SamplesDNA damage plays a major role in neural cell death by necrosis and/or apoptosis. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of neural cell death remains still incomplete. To acquire a global understanding of the various mediators related to DNA damage-induced neural cell death pathways, we performed a whole genomic wide screen in neural stem cells by using a siRNA library. We identified 80 genes required for DNA damage-induced cell death. 14 genes (17.5%) are directly related to cell death and/or apoptosis. 66 genes have not been previously directly linked to DNA damage-induced cell death. Using an integrated approach with functional and bioinformatics analysis, we have uncovered a molecular network containing several partially overlapping and interconnected pathways and/or protein complexes that are required for DNA damage-induced neural cell death. The identification of the network of neural cell death mediators will greatly enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of neural cell death and provide therapeutic targets for nervous system disorders.
High-Content Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Reveals <i>CCR3</i> as a Key Mediator of Neuronal Cell Death.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesHigh-fat diets are associated with increased obesity and metabolic disease in mice and humans. Here we used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to scrutinize a microarray data set consisting of 10 inbred strains of mice from both sexes fed atherogenic high-fat and control chow diets. An overall F-test was applied to the 40 unique groups of strain-diet-sex to identify 15,288 genes with altered transcription. Bootstrapping k-means clustering separated these changes into four strain-dependent expression patterns, including two sex-related profiles and two diet-related profiles. Sex-induced effects correspond to secretion (males) or fat and energy metabolism (females), whereas diet-induced changes relate to neurological processes (chow) or immune response (high-fat). The full set of pairwise contrasts for differences between strains within sex (90 different statistical tests) uncovered 32,379 total changes. These differences were unevenly distributed across strains and between sexes, indicating that strain-specific responses to high-fat diet differ between sexes. Correlations between expression levels and 8 obesity-related traits identified 5,274 associations between transcript abundance and measured phenotypic endpoints. From this number, 2,678 genes are positively correlated with total cholesterol levels and associate with immune-related categories while 2,596 genes are negatively correlated with cholesterol and connect to cholesterol synthesis.
Practical applications of the bioinformatics toolbox for narrowing quantitative trait loci.
Sex
View SamplesC2C12 cells are mouse skeletal muscle cells. These cells were transfected with shRNA against FoxO1, FoxO3, and FoxO4. FoxO1, FoxO3, and FoxO4 are the known paralogues expressed in this cell line.
Codependent activators direct myoblast-specific MyoD transcription.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesRegulation of mRNA stability by RNA-protein interactions contributes significantly to quantitative aspects of gene expression. We have identified potential mRNA targets of the AU-rich element binding protein AUF1. Myc-tagged AUF1 p42 was induced in mouse NIH-3T3 cells and RNA-protein complexes isolated using anti-myc tag antibody beads. Bound mRNAs were analyzed with Affymetrix microarrays. We have identified 508 potential target mRNAs that were at least 3-fold enriched compared to control cells without myc-AUF1. 22.3% of the enriched mRNAs had an AU-rich cluster in the ARED Organism database, against 16.3% of non-enriched control mRNAs. The enrichment towards AU-rich elements was also visible by AREScore with an average value of 5.2 in the enriched mRNAs versus 4.2 in the control group. Yet, many mRNAs were enriched without a high ARE score suggesting that AUF1 has a broader binding spectrum than standard AUUUA repeats. AUF1 did not preferentially bind to unstable mRNAs. Still, some enriched mRNAs were highly unstable, as those of TNFSF11 (known as RANKL), KLF10, HES1, CCNT2, SMAD6, and BCL6. We have mapped some of the instability determinants. HES1 mRNA appeared to have a coding region determinant. Detailed analysis of the RANKL and BCL6 3UTR revealed for both that full instability required two elements, which are conserved in evolution. In RANKL mRNA both elements are AU-rich and separated by 30 bases, while in BCL6 mRNA one is AU-rich and 60 bases from a non AU-rich element that potentially forms a stem-loop structure.
Short-lived AUF1 p42-binding mRNAs of RANKL and BCL6 have two distinct instability elements each.
Cell line
View SamplesAstrocytes react to brain injury in a heterogeneous manner with only a subset resuming proliferation and acquiring in vitro neural stem cell properties. In order to identify novel regulators of this astrocyte subset, we performed a genome-wide expression analysis of reactive astrocytes isolated 5 days after stab wound injury from the adult mouse cerebral cortex. The expression pattern was compared with astrocytes from normal cortex and adult neural stem cells isolated from the sub-ependymal zone (GSE18765). These comparisons revealed a set of genes up-regulated both in neurogenic neural stem cells and reactive astrocytes, including the lectins Galectin-1 and -3. These results, as well as the pattern of Galectin expression in the lesioned brain, led us to examine the functional significance of these lectins in brains of Galectin-1/3 double-knockout mice.
Astrocyte reactivity after brain injury-: The role of galectins 1 and 3.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment, Time
View SamplesMicroRNAs have emerged as major genetic elements in the genesis and suppression of cancer. Here, multi-dimensional cancer genome analysis and validation has defined a novel Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) tumor suppressor pathway and mechanism of action centered on Quaking (QK), a member of the STAR family of RNA-binding proteins. Combined functional, biochemical and computational studies establish that p53 directly regulates QK gene expression, QK protein binds and stabilizes miR-20a of the cancer-relevant miR-17-92 cluster, and miR-20a in turn functions to regulate TGFR2 and the TGF signaling network. Linkage of these pathway components is supported by their genome and expression status across GBM specimens and by their gain- and loss-of-function interactions in in vitro and in vivo complementation studies. This p53-QK-miR-20a axis expands our understanding of the p53 tumor suppression network in cancer and reveals a novel tumor suppression mechanism involving regulation of specific cancer-relevant microRNAs.
STAR RNA-binding protein Quaking suppresses cancer via stabilization of specific miRNA.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesActivated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT signaling appears to be an obligate event in the development of cancer. The highly related members of the mammalian FoxO transcription factor family, FoxO1, FoxO3, and FoxO4, represent one of several effector arms of PI3K-AKT signaling, prompting genetic analysis of the role of FoxOs in the neoplastic phenotypes linked to PI3K-AKT activation. While germline or somatic deletion of up to five FoxO alleles produced remarkably modest neoplastic phenotypes, broad somatic deletion of all FoxOs engendered a progressive cancer-prone condition characterized by thymic lymphomas and hemangiomas, demonstrating that the mammalian FoxOs are indeed bona fide tumor suppressors. Transcriptome and promoter analyses of differentially affected endothelium identified direct FoxO targets and revealed that FoxO regulation of these targets in vivo is highly context-specific, even in the same cell type. Functional studies validated Sprouty2 and PBX1, among others, as FoxO-regulated mediators of endothelial cell morphogenesis and vascular homeostasis.
FoxOs are lineage-restricted redundant tumor suppressors and regulate endothelial cell homeostasis.
Specimen part
View SamplesIdentify potential QK-regulated mRNAs and linked pathways by comparing the transcriptional profiles of shGFP- and shQK-transduced Ink4a/Arf-/- Pten-/- primary mouse astrocytes
STAR RNA-binding protein Quaking suppresses cancer via stabilization of specific miRNA.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesIdentify potential miR-20a regulated mRNAs and linked pathways in the setting of QK knockdown by comparing the transcriptional profiles of shQK-transduced primary mouse Ink4a/Arf-/- Pten-/- astrocytes together with miR-20a or a scrambled miRNA control (miR-NT)
STAR RNA-binding protein Quaking suppresses cancer via stabilization of specific miRNA.
No sample metadata fields
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