Accumulating evidences suggest that sex affects lung development. During the fetal period, male lung maturation is delayed compared with female and surfactant production appears earlier in female than in male fetal lungs.
Gene expression profile of androgen modulated genes in the murine fetal developing lung.
Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesPURPOSE: Hyperoxia is toxic to photoreceptors, and this toxicity may be important in the progress of retinal dystrophies. This microarray study examines gene expression induced in the C57BL/6J mouse retina by hyperoxia over the 14-day period during which photoreceptors first resist, then succumb to, hyperoxia. METHODS: Young adult C57BL/6J mice were exposed to hyperoxia (75% oxygen) for up to 14 days. On day 0 (control), day 3, day 7, and day 14, retinal RNA was extracted and processed on Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 arrays. Microarray data were analyzed using GCOS Version 1.4 and GeneSpring Version 7.3.1. RESULTS: The overall numbers of hyperoxia-regulated genes increased monotonically with exposure. Within that increase, however, a distinctive temporal pattern was apparent. At 3 days exposure, there was prominent upregulation of genes associated with neuroprotection. By day 14, these early-responsive genes were downregulated, and genes related to cell death were strongly expressed. At day 7, the regulation of these genes was mixed, indicating a possible transition period from stability at day 3 to degeneration at day 14. CONCLUSIONS: Microarray analysis of the response of the retina to prolonged hyperoxia demonstrated a temporal pattern involving early neuroprotection and later cell death, and provided insight into the mechanisms involved in the two phases of response. As hyperoxia is a consistent feature of the late stages of photoreceptor degenerations, understanding the mechanisms of oxygen toxicity may be important therapeutically.
Gene regulation induced in the C57BL/6J mouse retina by hyperoxia: a temporal microarray study.
Specimen part
View SamplesMEG3 (Maternally Expressed Gene 3) is a non-coding RNA that is highly expressed in the normal human brain and pituitary. Expression of MEG3 is lost in gonadotroph-derived clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas. Meg3 knock-out mice were generated to identify targets and potential functions of this gene in embryonic development and tumorigenesis. Gene expression profiles were compared in the brains of Meg3-null embryos and wild-type litter-mate controls using microarray analysis. Microarray data were analyzed with GeneSifter which uses Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) classifications to identify signaling cascades and functional categories of interest within the data set. Differences were found in signaling pathways and ontologies related to angiogenesis between wild-type and knock-out embryos. Quantitative RT-PCR and histological staining showed increased expression of some VEGF pathway genes and increased cortical microvessel density in the knock-out embryos. These results are consistent with reported increases in VEGF signaling observed in human clinically non-functioning pituitary adenomas. In conclusion, Meg3 may play an important role in control of vascularization in the brain and may function as a tumor suppressor by preventing angiogenesis.
Increased expression of angiogenic genes in the brains of mouse meg3-null embryos.
Specimen part
View SamplesCD4+ T cell help is critical for optimal CD8+ T cell expansion after priming in many experimental systems. However, a role for CD4+ T cells in regulating the initial steps of CD8+ T cell effector differentiation is not well established. Here we demonstrate that absence of CD4+ T cells at the time of replication-incompetent adenovirus vector immunization of C57BL/6 mice led to immediate CD8+ T cell dysfunction characteristic of exhaustion at the first detectable timepoints as well as impaired expansion of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. The absence of CD4+ T cell help resulted in antigen-specific CD8+ T cells that had reduced ex vivo cytotoxicity and decreased capacity to produce IFN- and TNF-. CD8+ T cells primed in the absence of CD4+ T cells expressed elevated levels of the inhibitory receptors PD-1, LAG-3, and Tim-3, and these cells exhibited transcriptomic exhaustion profiles by gene set enrichment analysis. This dysfunctional state was imprinted within 3 days of immunization and could not be reversed by provision of CD4+ T cell help after priming. Partial rescue of unhelped CD8+ T cell expansion and effector differentiation could be achieved by PD-1 pathway blockade or recombinant IL-2 administration.
Immediate Dysfunction of Vaccine-Elicited CD8+ T Cells Primed in the Absence of CD4+ T Cells.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesSphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid whose levels are tightly regulated by its synthesis and degradation. Intracellularly, S1P is dephosphoryled by the actions of two S1P-specific phosphatases, sphingosine 1-phosphate phosphatase 1 and 2. To identify the physiologic functions of S1P phosphatase 1, we have studied mice with its gene, Sgpp1, deleted. Sgpp1-/- mice appeared normal at birth but during the first week of life, they exhibited stunted growth, suffered desquamation, and most died before weaning. Interestingly, the epidermal permeability barrier developed normally during embryogenesis. Sgpp1 -/- pups and surviving adults exhibited epidermal hyperplasia and abnormal expression of keratinocyte differentiation markers. Keratinocytes isolated from Sgpp1 -/- skin had increased intracellular S1P levels, and expressed a gene expression profile that indicated enhanced differentiation. The results reveal S1P metabolism as a regulator of keratinocyte differentiation and epidermal homeostasis.
Sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatase 1 regulates keratinocyte differentiation and epidermal homeostasis.
Specimen part
View SamplesScaffold proteins regulate intracellular MAP kinase signaling by providing critical spatial and temporal specificity. We have shown previously that the scaffold protein MEK1 partner (MP1) is localized to late endosomes by the adaptor protein p14. Using conditional gene disruption of p14 in livers of mice we analysed protein and transcript signatures in tissue samples. Further biological network analysis predicted that the differentially expressed transcripts and proteins are involved in cell cycle progression and regulation of cellular proliferation. Although some of the here identified signatures were previously linked to phospho-ERK activity, most of them were novel targets of late endosomal p14/MP1/MEK/ERK signaling module. Finally, the proliferation defect was confirmed in a chemically induced liver regeneration model in p14 liver knock-out mice.
Comprehensive proteomic and transcriptomic characterization of hepatic expression signatures affected in p14 liver conditional knockout mice.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe major myeloid blood cell lineages, including erythrocytes, platelets, granulocytes and macrophages, are generated from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) by differentiation through a series of increasingly more committed progenitor cells. Precise phenotypic identification and functional characterization of such intermediate progenitors has important consequences for understanding fundamental differentiation processes and is clinically relevant since such events become dysregulated in various disease settings, including leukemia. While previous studies have suggested a hierarchy for myeloid differentiation involving a common progenitor through which all myeloid lineages are derived, several recent studies have suggested that such a developmental intermediate might not be an absolute requirement. Here, we evaluated the functional in vitro and in vivo potentials of a range of prospectively isolated myeloid precursors with differential expression of CD150, Endoglin and CD41. Our studies reveal a complex hierarchy of myeloerythroid progenitors with distinct and developmentally restricted lineage potentials. Global gene expression signatures of these cellular subsets revealed expression patterns consistent with their functional capacities, while hierarchical clustering analysis provides details on their lineage relationships. These data challenge existing models of hematopoietic differentiation, by suggesting that progenitors of the innate and adaptive immune system in the adult separate late, and to a large extent, following the divergence of megakaryocytic/erythroid potential.
Elucidation of the phenotypic, functional, and molecular topography of a myeloerythroid progenitor cell hierarchy.
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View SamplesThe specific ablation of Rb1 gene in stratified epithelia (RbF/F;K14cre) promotes proliferation and altered differentiation but is insufficient to produce spontaneous tumors. The pRb relative, p107, compensates some of the functions of pRb in these tissues, however RbF/F;K14cre;p107-/- mice die postnatally. Acute pRb loss in stratified epithelia, using an inducible mouse model (RbF/F;K14creERTM), shows that p107 exerts specific tumor suppressor functions in its absence. After simultaneous absence of pRb and p107, p53 transcriptional function is impaired and Pten expression is reduced. All mutant mice develop spontaneous squamous tumors carcinomas rapidly. Gene expression analysis of mouse tumors, besides supporting the impaired p53 function and the susceptibility to Akt/mTOR inhibitors, also revealed significant overlap with human squamous carcinomas. Thus, RbF/F;K14creERTM;p107-/- may constitute a new mouse model for these malignancies. Collectively, these data demonstrate the existence of a previously unreported functional connection between pRb, Pten and p53 tumor suppressors, through p107, of a particular relevance in squamous tumor development.
A novel tumor suppressor network in squamous malignancies.
Specimen part
View SamplesQuantitative assays for human DNA and mRNA were used to examine the paradox that intravenously (IV) infused human multipotent stromal cells (hMSCs) can enhance tissue repair without significant engraftment. After 2 X 106 hMSCs were IV infused into mice, most of the cells were trapped as emboli in lung. The cells in lung disappeared with a half-life of about 24 hr but < 1,000 cells appeared in 6 other tissues. The hMSCs in lung up-regulated expression of multiple genes with a large increase in the anti-inflammatory protein TSG-6. After myocardial infarction, IV hMSCs but not hMSCs transduced with TSG-6 siRNA decreased inflammatory responses, reduced infarct size, and improved cardiac function. IV administration of recombinant TSG-6 also reduced inflammatory responses and reduced infarct size. The results suggest improvements in animal models and patients after IV infusions of MSCs are at least in part explained by activation of MSCs to secrete TSG-6.
Intravenous hMSCs improve myocardial infarction in mice because cells embolized in lung are activated to secrete the anti-inflammatory protein TSG-6.
Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesCalorie restriction (CR) is a dietary intervention that extends lifespan and healthspan in a variety of organisms. CR improves mitochondrial energy production, fuel oxidation and reactive oxygen species scavenging in skeletal muscle and other tissues, and these processes are thought to be critical to the benefits of CR. PGC-1a is a transcriptional coactivator that regulates mitochondrial function and is induced by CR. Consequently, many of the mitochondrial and metabolic benefits of CR are attributed to increased PGC-1a activity. To test this model for the first time, we examined the metabolic and mitochondrial response to CR in mice lacking skeletal muscle PGC-1a (MKO). Surprisingly, MKO mice demonstrated a normal improvement in glucose homeostasis in response to CR, indicating that skeletal muscle PGC-1a is dispensable for the whole-body benefits of CR. In contrast, gene expression profiling and electron microscopy demonstrated that PGC-1a is required for the full CR-induced increases in mitochondrial gene expression and mitochondrial density in skeletal muscle. These results demonstrate that PGC-1a is a major regulator of the mitochondrial response to CR in skeletal muscle, but surprisingly show that neither PGC-1a nor mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle are required for the metabolic benefits of CR.
Skeletal muscle transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α mediates mitochondrial, but not metabolic, changes during calorie restriction.
Specimen part
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