We have previously demonstrated that pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF) ais a biomarker in sepsis and sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) with genetic variants conferring ALI susceptibility118. In the current study, we explored the mechanistic participation of PBEF in ALI and ventilator-induced associated lung injury (VIALI). Initial in vitro studies and demonstrated rhPBEF aas a direct rat neutrophil chemotactic factor in vitro producing marked in vivo increases in BAL leukocytes (PMNs) in vivo following (intratracheal injection (,IT) in C57B6 mice. These latter changes were accompanied by increased BAL levels of the PMN chemoattractants (, KC and MIP2), and modest changes in lung vascular and but were not associated with significant increasesin alveolar permeability. We next explored the potential synergism between rhPBEF administration (IT) and a mechanical ventilation model of modest VILI lung injury (4 hours, 30 ml/kg tidal volume). We and observed dramatic synergistic increases in BAL PMNs, and both BAL protein and cytokine levels (IL-6, TNF-?, KC). Gene expression profiling Microarray analysis further supported a major role for PBEF in the induction of gene modules associated with ALI and VALI (NFkB pathway, leukocyte extravasation, apoptosis, toll receptor signaling). Finally, we exposed wild type and heterozygous PBEF+/- mice (targeted deletion of a single PBEF allele deletion) to a model of severe VILImechanical ventilation-induced lung injury (4 hours, 40 ml/kg tidal volume). PBEF+/- mice were significantly protected from VIALI-associated increases in BAL protein and BAL IL-6 levels and exhibited significantly reduced expression of ALI-associated gene expression modules. Together, these results indicate that PBEF is a key inflammatory mediator intimately involved in both the development and severity of ventilator-induced ALI.
Essential role of pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor in ventilator-induced lung injury.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesBackground: Microvascular injury and increased vascular leakage are prominent features of the radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) which follows cancerassociated thoracic irradiation. The mechanisms of RILI are incompletely understood and therapeutic strategies to limit RILI are currently unavailable. We established a murine model of radiation pneumonitis in order to assess mechanism-based therapies for RILI-induced inflammation and vascular barrier dysfunction. Based on prior studies, we investigated the therapeutic potential of simvastatin as a vascular barrier protective agent in RILI.
Simvastatin attenuates radiation-induced murine lung injury and dysregulated lung gene expression.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesWe used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression dependent upon Stat3 in regulatory T cells
CD4+ regulatory T cells control TH17 responses in a Stat3-dependent manner.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesWe are investigating the transcriptional response of mice infected with Helicobacter hepaticus and links to liver cancer
Genetic susceptibility to chronic hepatitis is inherited codominantly in Helicobacter hepaticus-infected AB6F1 and B6AF1 hybrid male mice, and progression to hepatocellular carcinoma is linked to hepatic expression of lipogenic genes and immune function-associated networks.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesMethylazoxymethanol (MAM), the genotoxic metabolite of the cycad azoxyglucoside cycasin, induces genetic alterations in bacteria, yeast, plants, insects and mammalian cells, but adult nerve cells are thought to be unaffected. We show that the brains of young adult mice treated with a single systemic dose of MAM display DNA damage (O6-methylguanine lesions) that peaks at 48 hours and decline to near-normal levels at 7 days post-treatment. By contrast, at this time, MAM-treated mice lacking the gene encoding the DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), showed persistent O6-methylguanine DNA damage. The DNA damage was linked to cell-signaling pathways that are perturbed in cancer and neurodegenerative disease. These data are consistent with the established carcinogenic and developmental neurotoxic properties of MAM in rodents, and they support the proposal that cancer and neurodegeneration share common signal transduction pathways. They also strengthen the hypothesis that early life exposure to the MAM glucoside cycasin has an etiological association with a declining, prototypical neurodegenerative disease seen in Guam, Japan, and New Guinea populations that formerly used the neurotoxic cycad plant for medicine and/or food. Exposure to environmental genotoxins may have relevance to the etiology of related tauopathies, notably, Alzheimers disease, as well as cancer.
The cycad genotoxin MAM modulates brain cellular pathways involved in neurodegenerative disease and cancer in a DNA damage-linked manner.
Sex, Specimen part, Time
View SamplesThe pathways by which oncogenes, such as MLL-AF9, initiate transformation and leukemia in humans and mice are incompletely defined. In a study of target cells and oncogene dosage, we found that Mll-AF9, when under endogenous regulatory control, efficiently transformed LSK (Lin- Sca1+ c-kit+) stem cells while committed granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs) were transformation-resistant and did not cause leukemia. Mll-AF9 was expressed at higher levels in hematopoietic stem (HSC) than GMP cells. Mll- AF9 gene dosage effects were directly shown in experiments where GMPs were efficiently transformed by the high dosage of Mll-AF9 resulting from retroviral transduction. Mll-AF9 up-regulated expression of 196 genes in both LSK and progenitor cells, but to higher levels in LSKs than in committed myeloid progenitors.
Malignant transformation initiated by Mll-AF9: gene dosage and critical target cells.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesNeuroprotective therapies for retinal degeneration may be used to rescue retinal cells and preserve vision. Hypoxic preconditioning stabilizes the transcription factor HIF-1 in the retina and strongly protects photoreceptors in an animal model of light-induced retinal degeneration.
Analysis of the retinal gene expression profile after hypoxic preconditioning identifies candidate genes for neuroprotection.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesGoal of the experiment: Analysis of gene expression changes in the cortex, striatum, hippocampus, hypothalamus, Drd2-MSNs and Drd1-MSNs of mice with a postnatal, neuron-specific ablation of GLP or G9a as compared to control mice.
Control of cognition and adaptive behavior by the GLP/G9a epigenetic suppressor complex.
Specimen part
View SamplesLeukemias with MLL-rearrangements are characterized by high expression of the homeo box gene MEIS1. In these studies, we knocked down Meis1 expression by shRNA lentivirus transduction in murine Mll-AF9 leukemia cells. Meis1 knockdown resulted in decreased proliferation and survival of murine Mll-AF9 leukemia cells. We also observed reduced clonogenic capacity and increased monocytic differentiation. The establishment of leukemia in transplant recipients was significantly delayed by Meis1 knockdown. Gene expression profiling of cells transduced with Meis1 shRNA showed reduced expression of genes associated with cell cycle entry and progression. shRNA mediated knockdown of MEIS1 in human MLL-fusion gene leukemia cell lines resulted in reduced cell growth. These results show that MEIS1 expression is important for MLL-rearranged leukemias and suggest that MEIS1 promotes cell cycle entry. Targeting MEIS1 may have therapeutic potential for treating leukemias expressing this transcription factor.
A role for MEIS1 in MLL-fusion gene leukemia.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesWnt-4 signaling is critical for embryonic female sexual development. When Wnt-4 gene is deleted during embryonic development, the knock-out females present a partial sex reversal.
Identification of the genes regulated by Wnt-4, a critical signal for commitment of the ovary.
Specimen part
View Samples