Project description:Expression profiling of lumbar spinal cord from MLC/SOD1G93A mice and age matched controls at 120 days of age. We used Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Gene expression 2.0 st Array to determine differential gene expression.
Project description:Spinal motor atrophy mice (SMN delta 7 mice) and wild-type control hindlimb skeletal muscle tissue was used for transcriptome profiling by mRNA-seq.
Project description:Mice lacking the developmental axon guidance molecule EphA4 have previously been shown to exhibit extensive axonal regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury. To assess mechanisms by which EphA4 may modify the response to neural injury, a microarray was performed on spinal cord tissue from mice with spinal cord injury and sham injured controls. RNA was purified from spinal cords of adult EphA4 knockout and wild-type mice four days following lumbar spinal cord hemisection or laminectomy only and was hybridised to Affymetrix All-Exon Array 1.0 GeneChips. While subsequent analyses indicated that several pathways were altered in EphA4 knockout mice, of particular interest was the attenuated or otherwise altered expression of a number of inflammatory genes, including Arginase 1, expression of which was lower in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type mice. Immunohistological analyses of different cellular components of the immune response were then performed in injured EphA4 knockout and wild-type spinal cords. While numbers of infiltrating CD3+ T cells were low in the hemisection model, a robust CD11b+ macrophage / microglial response was observed post-injury. There was no difference in the overall number or spread of macrophages / activated microglia in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type spinal cords at two, four or fourteen days post-injury, however a lower proportion of Arginase-1 immunoreactive macrophages / activated microglia was observed in EphA4 knockout spinal cords at four days post-injury. Subtle alterations in the neuroinflammatory response in injured EphA4 knockout spinal cords may contribute to the regeneration and recovery observed in these mice following injury.
Project description:Mice lacking the developmental axon guidance molecule EphA4 have previously been shown to exhibit extensive axonal regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury. To assess mechanisms by which EphA4 may modify the response to neural injury, a microarray was performed on spinal cord tissue from mice with spinal cord injury and sham injured controls. RNA was purified from spinal cords of adult EphA4 knockout and wild-type mice four days following lumbar spinal cord hemisection or laminectomy only and was hybridised to Affymetrix All-Exon Array 1.0 GeneChips. While subsequent analyses indicated that several pathways were altered in EphA4 knockout mice, of particular interest was the attenuated or otherwise altered expression of a number of inflammatory genes, including Arginase 1, expression of which was lower in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type mice. Immunohistological analyses of different cellular components of the immune response were then performed in injured EphA4 knockout and wild-type spinal cords. While numbers of infiltrating CD3+ T cells were low in the hemisection model, a robust CD11b+ macrophage / microglial response was observed post-injury. There was no difference in the overall number or spread of macrophages / activated microglia in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type spinal cords at two, four or fourteen days post-injury, however a lower proportion of Arginase-1 immunoreactive macrophages / activated microglia was observed in EphA4 knockout spinal cords at four days post-injury. Subtle alterations in the neuroinflammatory response in injured EphA4 knockout spinal cords may contribute to the regeneration and recovery observed in these mice following injury. Comparison was made between gene expression in wild-type and knockout samples both before and after injury. 3 replicates per group.
Project description:The aim of this experiment was to determine the influence of early spinal circuit activity upon gene expression in the mouse spinal cord by comparing mRNA expression between wild-type and Munc18-1 null mice (Verhage et al., Science, 2000). RNA was extracted from the lumbar spinal cords of 4 wild-type and 4 Munc18-1 -/- littermates (2 of each genotype from 2 different litters) at E12.5, processed and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse Gene 2.0 st arrays. The genotype of mice was determined by PCR, and validated by antibodies against Munc18-1. Mice were maintained on a C57/BL6 background. The processed data file arises from RMA processing performed using the Affymetrix Array console software.
Project description:Fibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed to induced renal tubular epithelial cells (iRECs) using four transcription factors. These engineered cells may be used for disease modeling, cell replacement therapy or drug and toxicity testing. Direct reprogramming induces drastic changes in the transcriptional landscape, protein expression, morphological and functional properties of cells. However, how the metabolome is changed by reprogramming and to what degree it resembles the target cell type remains unknown. Using untargeted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and targeted liquid chromatography-MS, we characterized the metabolome of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), iRECs, mIMCD-3 cells, and whole kidneys. Metabolic fingerprinting can distinguish each cell type reliably, revealing iRECs are most similar to mIMCD-3 cells and clearly separate from MEFs used for reprogramming. Treatment with the cytotoxic drug cisplatin induced typical changes in the metabolic profile of iRECs commonly occurring in acute renal injury. Interestingly, metabolites in the medium of iRECs, but not of mIMCD-3 cells or fibroblast could distinguish treated and non-treated cells by cluster analysis. In conclusion, direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into renal tubular epithelial cells strongly influences the metabolome of engineered cells, suggesting that metabolic profiling may aid in establishing iRECs as in vitro models for nephrotoxicity testing in the future.
Project description:To identify differentially expressed genes in the developmental mouse dorsal spinal cord, we characterized the global gene expression profiling of mouse embryonic dorsal spinal cord commissural neurons at E10.5, E11.5 and E12.5. We used the Affymetrix Mouse Exon 1.0 ST Array platform to analyze the gene expression profiling. We included the gene expression data obtained from dorsal spinal cord commissural neuron at different embryonic stage. 2 Biological replicates were performed.
Project description:In our original grant we proposed to use the NR3B-null mouse model to study the role of NR3B subunit in motor neuron function. We have now successfully generated NR3B null mice. Interestingly, NR3B-null mice invariably die at age P4-P8. Our preliminary examination indicates that the motor strength of these mice is severely impaired prior to death. As we continue to explore the cause of death in NR3B null mice, we propose to conduct gene profiling experiments to search for transcription changes in the brain related to ablation of the NR3B gene. We have used the facility provided by the NINDS/NIMH Microarray Consortium to identify genes that show abnormal expression patterns in these mice. We would like to compare these changes with that opccured in SOD1 mice, a mouse model of motor neuron diseases. Analysis of these genes will help to identify changes in networks and pathways that may cause the death of NR3B-null mice. These studies will further help to elucidate the functional role of NR3B in motor neurons. We will compare samples from motor neurons of wild type and SOD1 mice to identify genes that show abnormal expression patterns, which may be implicated in the death of SOD1 mice and shared with the same changes in NR3B-null mice. We hypothesize that genes with their transcription level changing significantly by ablation of NR3B will be associated with the molecular mechanism underlying the death of motor neurons in NR3B null mice. As NR3B is expressed primarily in the motor neurons of hindbrain and spinal cord, we have first collected and analyzed the spinal cord samples from NR3B null mice and wild-type controls in P4, an age of disease onset. We like to compare motor neuron and spinal cord smaples from SOD1 mice at the age prior to the disease onset. Total RNA from total 12 samples will be purified from ~200 motor neurons obtained by Laser Capture Microdissection and the total spinal cord. Extracted RNAs will be subjected to one or two rounds of amplification and the obtained cRNA will be biotinylated. The purified cRNA will be sent to the NINDS/NIMH Microarray Consortium be used to hybridize the GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array. The hybridization, scanning, and initial data analysis of these GeneChips will be conducted by the Consortium staff. We will analyze the collected data further after data collection. We will first identify genes that show significant changes between wild-type and SOD1 mice and then compare that with the result from NR3B null mice.
Project description:The spinal cord does not spontaneously regenerate after injury and a treatment that ensures functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) is still not available. Recently, fibroblasts have been directly converted into induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) following the forced expression of different combinations of transcription factors. Although directly converted iNSCs have been considered as a potentialcell source for clinical applications, their therapeutic potential has not been investigated yet. Here we show that iNSCs directly converted from mouse fibroblasts enhance the functional recovery after SCI in rats. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were directly converted into iNSCs using four transcription factors (Brn4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc). iNSCs showed gene expression profiles similar to cNSCs as determined by microarray analysis. MEFs were derived from C3H mouse strain embryos at embryonic day (E)13.5 after removing the head and all internal organs including the gonads and the spinal cord. 5x10^4 fibroblasts were transduced with replication-defective retroviral particles coding for Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc, and Brn4. After 48 h, the transduced fibroblasts were cultured in standard NSC medium. iNSC clusters were observed 4-5 weeks after transduction and expanded. Both MEFs and cNSCs were used as negative and positive control, respectively.
Project description:In our original grant we proposed to use the NR3B-null mouse model to study the role of NR3B subunit in motor neuron function. We have now successfully generated NR3B null mice. Interestingly, NR3B-null mice invariably die at age P4-P8. Our preliminary examination indicates that the motor strength of these mice is severely impaired prior to death. As we continue to explore the cause of death in NR3B null mice, we propose to conduct gene profiling experiments to search for transcription changes in the brain related to ablation of the NR3B gene. We have used the facility provided by the NINDS/NIMH Microarray Consortium to identify genes that show abnormal expression patterns in these mice. We would like to compare these changes with that opccured in SOD1 mice, a mouse model of motor neuron diseases. Analysis of these genes will help to identify changes in networks and pathways that may cause the death of NR3B-null mice. These studies will further help to elucidate the functional role of NR3B in motor neurons. We will compare samples from motor neurons of wild type and SOD1 mice to identify genes that show abnormal expression patterns, which may be implicated in the death of SOD1 mice and shared with the same changes in NR3B-null mice. We hypothesize that genes with their transcription level changing significantly by ablation of NR3B will be associated with the molecular mechanism underlying the death of motor neurons in NR3B null mice. As NR3B is expressed primarily in the motor neurons of hindbrain and spinal cord, we have first collected and analyzed the spinal cord samples from NR3B null mice and wild-type controls in P4, an age of disease onset. We like to compare motor neuron and spinal cord smaples from SOD1 mice at the age prior to the disease onset. Total RNA from total 12 samples will be purified from ~200 motor neurons obtained by Laser Capture Microdissection and the total spinal cord. Extracted RNAs will be subjected to one or two rounds of amplification and the obtained cRNA will be biotinylated. The purified cRNA will be sent to the NINDS/NIMH Microarray Consortium be used to hybridize the GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array. The hybridization, scanning, and initial data analysis of these GeneChips will be conducted by the Consortium staff. We will analyze the collected data further after data collection. We will first identify genes that show significant changes between wild-type and SOD1 mice and then compare that with the result from NR3B null mice. Keywords: dose response