Different types of hair follicles can be found in the skin of mice. It is believed that the signals that control hair follicle differentiation arise from cells in a structure called the dermal papilla. Understanding the nature of those signals is of interest for the biology of the normal tissue.
Sox2-positive dermal papilla cells specify hair follicle type in mammalian epidermis.
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View SamplesThe glucocorticoid receptor overexpression in early life is sufficient to alter gene expression patterns for the rest of the animal's life.
Early-life forebrain glucocorticoid receptor overexpression increases anxiety behavior and cocaine sensitization.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesA soy diet worsens the progression of an inherited form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in male mice when compared to casein-fed mice. Females are largely resistant to this diet effect and better preserve cardiac function. We hypothesized that the abundant phytoestrogens found in soy are mainly responsible for this diet-dependent phenotype. Indeed, feeding male mice a phytoestrogen-supplemented casein-based diet can recapitulate the negative outcome seen when male mice are fed a standard soy-based diet.
Estrogenic compounds are not always cardioprotective and can be lethal in males with genetic heart disease.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesComparative analysis of cerebellar gene expression changes occurring in Sca1154Q/2Q and Sca7266Q/5Q knock-in mice
The insulin-like growth factor pathway is altered in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 and type 7.
Sex, Age
View SamplesDifferentiation of naive CD4 T cells into type 2 helper (Th2) cells is accompanied by chromatin remodeling and increased expression of a set of Th2-specific genes including those encoding Th2 cytokines. IL-4-mediated STAT6 activation induces high levels of transcription of GATA3, a master regulator of Th2 cell differentiation, and enforced expression of GATA3 induces Th2 cytokine expression. However, it remains unclear whether the expression of other Th2-specific genes is induced directly by GATA3. A genome-wide unbiased ChIP-seq analysis revealed that GATA3 bound to 1,279 genes selectively in Th2 cells, and 101 genes in both Th1 and Th2 cells. Simultaneously, we identified 26 highly Th2-specific STAT6-dependent inducible genes by a DNA microarray analysis-based three-step selection processes, and among them 17 genes showed GATA3 binding. We assessed dependency on GATA3 for the transcription of these 26 Th2-specific genes, and 10 genes showed increased transcription in a GATA3-dependent manner while 16 genes showed no significant responses. The transcription of the 16 GATA3-nonresponding genes was clearly increased by the introduction of an active form of STAT6, STAT6VT. Therefore, although GATA3 has been recognized as a master regulator of Th2 cell differentiation, many Th2-specific genes are not regulated by GATA3 itself but in collaboration with STAT6.
Genome-wide analysis reveals unique regulation of transcription of Th2-specific genes by GATA3.
Specimen part
View SamplesSexual dimorphism of the behaviors or physiological functions in mammals is mainly due to the sex difference of the brain. The goal of this study is to identify genes mediating sexaul dimorphism of the brain.
Microarray analysis of perinatal-estrogen-induced changes in gene expression related to brain sexual differentiation in mice.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesWe have found that the cell yield of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are higher in 31.5 than in 37 not by suppression of apoptosis but by enhancement of proliferation.
Hypothermia-induced increase of oligodendrocyte precursor cells: Possible involvement of plasmalemmal voltage-dependent anion channel 1.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe transcriptional control of CNS myelin gene expression is poorly understood. Here we identify gene model 98, which we have named Myelin-gene Regulatory Factor (MRF), as a transcriptional regulator required for CNS myelination. Within the CNS, MRF is specifically expressed by postmitotic oligodendrocytes. MRF is a nuclear protein containing an evolutionarily conserved DNA binding domain homologous to a yeast transcription factor. Knockdown of MRF in oligodendrocytes by RNA interference prevents expression of most CNS myelin genes; conversely, overexpression of MRF within cultured oligodendrocyte progenitors or the chick spinal cord promotes expression of myelin genes. In mice lacking MRF within the oligodendrocyte lineage, pre-myelinating oligodendrocytes are generated but display severe deficits in myelin gene expression and fail to myelinate. These mice display severe neurological abnormalities, and die due to seizures during the third postnatal week. These findings establish MRF as a critical transcriptional regulator essential for oligodendrocyte maturation and CNS myelination.
Myelin gene regulatory factor is a critical transcriptional regulator required for CNS myelination.
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View SamplesFunctionally polarized CD4+ T helper (Th) cells such as Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells are central to the regulation of acquired immunity. However, the molecular mechanisms governing the maintenance of the polarized functions of Th cells remain unclear. GATA3, a master regulator of Th2 cell differentiation, initiates the expressions of Th2 cytokine genes and other Th2-specific genes. GATA3 also plays important roles in maintaining Th2 cell function and in continuous chromatin remodeling of Th2 cytokine gene loci. However, it is unclear whether continuous expression of GATA3 is required to maintain the expression of various other Th2-specific genes. In this report, genome-wide DNA gene expression profiling revealed that GATA3 expression is critical for the expression of a certain set of Th2-specific genes. We demonstrated that GATA3 dependency is reduced for some Th2-specific genes in fully developed Th2 cells compared to that observed in effector Th2 cells, whereas it is unchanged for other genes. Moreover, effects of a loss of GATA3 expression in Th2 cells on the expression of cytokine and cytokine receptor genes were examined in detail. A critical role of GATA3 in the regulation of Th2-specific gene expression is confirmed in in vivo generated antigen-specific memory Th2 cells. Therefore, GATA3 is required for the continuous expression of the majority of Th2-specific genes involved in maintaining the Th2 cell identity.
Genome-Wide Gene Expression Profiling Revealed a Critical Role for GATA3 in the Maintenance of the Th2 Cell Identity.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesSTAT3, an essential transcription factor with pleiotropic functions, plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. Despite recent data linking STAT3 with inflammatory bowel disease, exactly how it contributes to chronic intestinal inflammation is not known. Using a T cell transfer model of colitis we found that STAT3 expression in T cells was essential for the induction of both colitis and systemic inflammation. STAT3 was critical in modulating the balance of T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells, as well as in promoting CD4+ T cell proliferation. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation and massive parallel sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to define the genome-wide targets of STAT3 in CD4+ T cells. We found that STAT3 bound to multiple genes involved in Th17 cell differentiation, cell activation, proliferation and survival, regulating both expression and epigenetic modifications. Thus, STAT3 orchestrates multiple critical aspects of T cell function in inflammation and homeostasis.
Diverse targets of the transcription factor STAT3 contribute to T cell pathogenicity and homeostasis.
Specimen part
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