Transcriptome profiling of endometrial biopsies inflammatory response to Chlamydia trachomatis genital tract infection
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ABSTRACT: Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium that frequently causes an asymptomatic genital tract infection, gradually cleared by host immunity Transcriptome profiles were made of endometrial tissue from women with or without genital tract C. trachomatis infection, to characterize host responses to infection. Profiles showed that infection polarized host defense toward Type 2 immune responses. Responses included fibrin deposition, enhanced wound repair, and tissue remodeling. Trans-cervical endometrial biopsy specimens were collected from 10 women with no identified upper or lower genital tract infection and 12 women with C. trachomatis endometrial infection.
Project description:Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium that frequently causes an asymptomatic genital tract infection, gradually cleared by host immunity Transcriptome profiles were made of endometrial tissue from women with or without genital tract C. trachomatis infection, to characterize host responses to infection. Profiles showed that infection polarized host defense toward Type 2 immune responses. Responses included fibrin deposition, enhanced wound repair, and tissue remodeling.
Project description:Transcriptome profile of receptive phase endometrium among infertile women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) in two different endometrial preparation protocols for FET was analyzed: natural cycle (NC-FET) vs. artificial cycle (AC-FET). Fifteen endometrial biopsy samples were obtained: women with unexplained RIF (n = 5) in natural cycles for FET (NC-FET), women with unexplained RIF undergoing artificial endometrial preparation (n = 5) for FET (AC-FET), and healthy women (n = 5) with proven fertility in natural cycles (NC-FC) (Control group). All endometrial biopsies were obtained during the mid-secretory phase, at the time of ‘window of implantation’.
Project description:Transcriptome profile of receptive phase endometrium among infertile women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) in two different endometrial preparation protocols for FET was analyzed: natural cycle (NC-FET) vs. artificial cycle (AC-FET). Fifteen endometrial biopsy samples were obtained: women with unexplained RIF (n = 5) in natural cycles for FET (NC-FET), women with unexplained RIF undergoing artificial endometrial preparation (n = 5) for FET (AC-FET), and healthy women (n = 5) with proven fertility in natural cycles (NC-FC) (Control group). All endometrial biopsies were obtained during the mid-secretory phase, at the time of ‘window of implantation’.
Project description:Progesterone regulated genes in the endometrial stromal compartment were studied in proven fertile women using laser dissection capture microscopy followed by microarray. Endometrial biopsies were obtained from women before (control group, n=9) and after (study group, n=9) treatment with mifepristone. Stromal cells were isolated by Laser-capture microdissection and RNA was extracted. The gene expression was analyzed by microarray and reconfirmed by real-time PCR.
Project description:The objectives of the present study were to determine whether obesity impacts human decidualization and the endometrial control of trophoblast invasion (both of which are required for embryo implantation) and evaluate the potential involvement of endometrial extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the regulation of these physiological processes. Using primary human cell cultures, we first demonstrated that obesity is associated with significantly lower in vitro decidualization of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). We then showed that the trophoblastic cell line’s invasive ability was greater in the presence of conditioned media from cultures of ESCs from obese women. Using mass-spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics, we found that EVs isolated from uterine supernatants of biopsies from obese women (vs. nonobese women) presented a molecular signature focused on cell remodeling and angiogenesis. Lastly, the results of functional assays indicated that supplementation of the culture medium with EVs from nonobese women can rescue (at least in part) the defect in in vitro decidualization described in ESCs from obese women. Lastly, the addition of endometrial EVs from obese women (vs. nonobese women) was associated with significantly greater invasive activity by HTR-8/SVneo cells. In conclusion, our results provided new insights into the endometrial EVs’ pivotal role in the poor uterine receptivity observed in obese women.
Project description:Memory antigen-specific CD4+ T cells against Chlamydia trachomatis are necessary for protection against secondary genital tract infection. While it is known that naïve antigen-specific CD4+ T cells can traffic to the genital tract in an antigen-specific manner, these T cells are not protective during primary infection. Here, we sought to compare the differences between memory and naïve antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in the same mouse following secondary infection using transgenic CD4+ T cells (NR1 T cells). Using RNA sequencing, we found that there were subtle but distinct differences between these two T cell populations. Naïve NR1 T cells significantly upregulated cell cycle genes and were more proliferative than memory NR1 T cells in the draining lymph node. In contrast, memory NR1 T cells were more activated than naïve NR1 T cells and were enriched in the genital tract. Together, our data provide insight into the differences between memory and naïve antigen-specific CD4+ T cells during C. trachomatis infection.
Project description:Comparison of two Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cells that are dependent on iNOS to terminate Chlamydia replication in epithelial cells to two Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cells that are iNOS-independent: Chlamydia trachomatis urogenital serovars replicate predominately in epithelial cells lining the reproductive tract. This tissue tropism poses a unique challenge for the host immune system and vaccine development. Studies utilizing the Chlamydia muridarum mouse model have shown that CD4 T cells are critical and sufficient to clear primary genital tract infections. In vitro studies have shown that CD4 T cells terminate the infection in epithelial cells by up regulating epithelial iNOS transcription and nitric oxide production via IFN-gamma and T cell-epithelial cell interactions mediated by LFA-1-ICAM-1. This mechanism however is not critical as iNOS-deficient mice clear infections normally, and IFN-gamma deficient mice clear 99.9% of the infection with near normal kinetics. We recently showed that a subset of Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cell clones were able to terminate replication in epithelial cells using a mechanism that was independent of iNOS and IFN-gamma. That mechanism did not require physical lysis of infected cells, but instead required T cell degranulation. In this study we advanced that work using gene expression microarrays to compare CD4 T cell clones that are able to terminate epithelial replication via an iNOS-independent mechanism to iNOS-dependent CD4 T cell clones. Micro array experiments showed that Plac8 was differentially expressed by the T cell clones having the iNOS-independent mechanism. Plac8-deficient mice had significantly delayed clearance of C. muridarum genital tract infections, and that the large majority of Plac8-deficient mice treated with the iNOS-inhibitor N-monomethyl-L-arginine (MLA) were unable to resolve a C. muridarum genital tract infection over 8 weeks. These results demonstrate that there are two independent and redundant T cell mechanisms for clearing C. muridarum genital tract infections; one mechanism dependent on iNOS, the other mechanism dependent on Plac8. While T cells subsets have been defined by cytokine profiles, there are important subdivisions by effector functions, in this case CD4Plac8. Gene expression study using 4 experimental groups with 4 replicates each.
Project description:Global gene expression patterns associated with early stage endometrial cancer have been reported, but changes in molecular expression associated with tumor grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and non-endometrioid histology have not been previously elucidated. Our group hypothesized there are unique genetic events underlying early endometrial carcinogenesis. Ninety-two samples of pathologically reviewed stage I endometrial cancers (80 endometrioid and 12 serous) with a heterogeneous distribution of grade and depth of myometrial invasion (i.e. 9 IAG1, 14 IAG2, 7 IAG3, 14 IBG1, 12 IBG2, 13 IBG3, 7 ICG1, 10 ICG2, and 6 ICG3) were examined in relation to 12 samples of atrophic endometrium from postmenopausal women. Specimens were analyzed using oligonucleotide microarray analysis and a subset of the differentially expressed transcripts was validated using quantitative PCR. Comparison of early stage cancers with normal endometrium samples by the univariate t-test with 10,000 permutations identified 900 genes that were differentially regulated by at least 4-fold at a p value of <0.001. Unsupervised analysis revealed that when compared to normal endometrium, serous and endometrioid stage I cancers appeared to have similar expression patterns. However, when compared in the absence of normal controls, they were distinct. Differential expression analysis revealed a number of transcripts that were common as well as unique to both histologic types. This data uncovers previously unrecognized, novel pathways involved in early stage endometrial cancers and identifys targets for prevention strategies that are inclusive of both endometrioid and serous histologic subtypes. Ninety-one samples of pathologically reviewed stage I endometrial cancers (79 endometrioid and 12 serous) with a heterogeneous distribution of grade and depth of myometrial invasion (i.e. 9 IAG1, 14 IAG2, 7 IAG3, 14 IBG1, 12 IBG2, 13 IBG3, 7 ICG1, 10 ICG2, and 6 ICG3) were examined in relation to 12 samples of atrophic endometrium from postmenopausal women. Specimens were analyzed using oligonucleotide array analysis.
Project description:By comparing blood mRNA responses of women with biopsy confimed Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and/or Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) induced pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) to those from women with CT and/or GC infection limited to their cervix and asymptomatic uninfected women determined via microarray, we discovered important pathogenic mechanisms in PID and response differences that provide a pathway to biomarker discovery. Women with GC and/or CT-induced PID exhibit overexpression of myeloid cell genes and suppression of protein synthesis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and T-cell specific genes. Coinfected women exhibited the greatest activation of cell death pathways and suppression of responses essential for adaptive immunity. Blood microarrays reveal discrete pathobiological endotypes in women with PID that are driven by pathogen invasion of the upper genital tract.
Project description:To investigate the role of cell type-intrinsic gene expression to fibrotic sequelae of Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection of the upper female genital tract, we compared the transcriptomic response of primary human endocervical epithelial cells (HCECs, see GSE198272) to that in vaginal epithelial cells (HVEs).