Project description:Male mice on a homogenous C57BL6/J genetic background were sacrificed at 11 to 13 weeks of age by cervical dislocation. Brain, kidneys and liver were immediately harvested, flash frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C until use. Animal handling was in accordance with guidelines approved by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Organ sections (thickness 30 µm) were prepared in a Cryostat (Leica Biosystems, Leica CM3050 S) set to -20 °C and deposited onto SuperFrost glass slides (Carl Roth, H880); the glass slides were pre-cooled to -20°C in the cryostat. ~10 sections were placed on a glass slide, and a total of around 150 sections were prepared for each sample per mouse. Tissue sections on glass slides were then transferred onto metal plates placed on dry ice. The tissue sections were exposed or not to 1 J/cm2 of 254 nm UV light in a XL 1500 UV Spectrolinker (Spectronics Corporation) and subjected to eRIC to determine the RNA-bound proteome. eRIC eluates obtained from the respective organs of two mice were combined per independent experiment. The analyses were conducted in duplicate for each organ studied. For the no crosslink controls, organ sections from four mice were pooled to generate one unique no crosslink eRIC sample per organ studied.
Project description:Filamentous algae (FA) have potential advantages over microalgae for wastewater treatment. However, their implementation at large-scale is hindered by an inability to predict performance. This study compared the cellular responses (photosynthesis and respiration) and composition (pigments and photosystem proteins) of FA Oedogonium acclimatised to average summer and winter conditions (Melbourne, Australia). After 7 days of acclimation the Chl a content of summer acclimated (SA) algae was about half that of the winter acclimated (WA) algae, which can be related to a strategy to reduce photodamage under high light intensities. No statistically significant changes were observed in any identified proteins associated with photosystem PSII and the reaction centre of PSI. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed more prominent lipid bodies within the SA filaments than in WA filaments, but no discernible difference in the abundance of starch granules. Photosynthetic irradiance curves were compared for the SA and WA algae. Consistent with the differences in chlorophyll, the specific gross photosynthetic rate (µP, gross) was generally higher for the WA algae. The relative difference increased from around 2-fold at 15°C to 3-fold at 25°C, and then decreased to less than 1.5-fold at 30 °C and 35 °C. At all the tested temperatures, saturation irradiance levels were in the range of 75 – 500 µmol/m2·s. Photoinhibition was observed at 30 °C (above ~300 µmol/m2·s) and was more severe at 35 °C (above ~500 µmol/m2·s), with WA algae showing greater inhibition. In contrast, the respiration response was similar for the SA and WA algae. The study emphasises the significance of accounting for seasonal variations and their effects on biomass productivity and utilisation. The data obtained will enable the incorporation of acclimation and its effect on biochemistry and photosynthetic response into predictive models of FA performance in outdoor cultures.
Project description:Spatial tissue proteomics integrating whole-slide imaging, laser microdissection and ultrasensitive mass spectrometry is a powerful approach to link cellular phenotypes to functional proteome states in (patho)physiology. To be applicable to large patient cohorts and low sample input amounts, including single-cell applications, loss-minimized and streamlined end-to-end workflows are key. We here introduce an automated sample preparation protocol for laser microdissected samples utilizing the cellenONE® robotic system, which has the capacity to process 192 samples in three hours. Following laser microdissection collection directly into the proteoCHIP LF 48 or EVO 96 chip, our optimized protocol facilitates lysis, formalin de-crosslinking and tryptic digest of low-input archival tissue samples. The seamless integration with the Evosep ONE LC system by centrifugation allows ‘on-the-fly’ sample clean-up, particularly pertinent for laser microdissected workflows. We validate our method in human tonsil archival tissue, where we profile proteomes of spatially-defined B-cell, T-cell and epithelial microregions of 4,000 µm2 to a depth of ~2,000 proteins and with high cell type specificity. We finally provide detailed equipment templates and experimental guidelines for broad accessibility.
Project description:The inflammatory functions of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) rely on its ability to induce cytokine production and to induce cell death. Caspase dependent and independent pathways – apoptosis and necroptosis – respectively, regulate immunogenicity by the release of distinct sets of cellular proteins. To obtain an unbiased, systems-level understanding of this important process, we here applied mass spectrometry-based proteomics to dissect protein release during apoptosis and necroptosis. We report hundreds of proteins released from human myeloid cells in time-course experiments. Both cell death types induce receptor shedding, but only apoptotic cells released nucleosome components. Conversely, necroptotic cells release lysosomal components by activating lysosomal exocytosis at early stages of necroptosis- induced membrane permeabilisation and show reduced release of conventionally secreted cytokines.
Project description:Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized systems-based analysis of cellular pathways. The goals of this study were to compare signals from competent and abnormal human embryos impacted differently on the expression of endometrial receptivity genes in mouse uteri using transcriptome profiling (RNA-seq). Methods: Immature female (25 d C57BL/6) mice were given a hormone treatment of a single dose 1 mg progesterone and 10 mg/kg/day ò-estradiol for a total of 3d to prime the uterus for embryo transfer. The uterine horns of control and study mice were injected with an equal volume (50 ül) of either unconditioned embryo culture medium (ECM), serving as controls, or pooled conditioned media from competent (n = 9) or arresting embryos (n = 18). Uterine mRNA profiles of 25-day-old wild-type (WT) were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed with the following methods: Bowtie Alignment followed by TopHat (splice juntions mapper) and Cufflinks (transcript abundance). qRTâÂÂPCR validation was performed using SYBR Green assays. Results: Using an optimized data analysis workflow, we mapped about 30 million sequence reads per sample to the mouse genome (build mm9) and identified 16,014 transcripts in the uteri WT and NrlâÂÂ/â mice with BWA workflow and 34,115 transcripts with TopHat workflow. RNA-seq data confirmed stable expression of 25 known housekeeping genes, and 12 of these were validated with qRTâÂÂPCR. RNA-seq data had a linear relationship with qRTâÂÂPCR for more than four orders of magnitude and a goodness of fit (R2) of 0.8798. Approximately 10% of the transcripts showed differential expression between the WT and NrlâÂÂ/â retina, with a fold change âÂÂ¥1.5 and p value <0.05. Altered expression of 25 genes was confirmed with qRTâÂÂPCR, demonstrating the high degree of sensitivity of the RNA-seq method. Hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes uncovered several as yet uncharacterized genes that may contribute to retinal function. Data analysis with BWA and TopHat workflows revealed a significant overlap yet provided complementary insights in transcriptome profiling. Conclusions: Our study represents the first detailed analysis of maternal uterine reponse to signals from competent and abnormal human embryos, with biological replicates, generated by RNA-seq technology. Supernatant from competent and abnormal human embryos were flushed into the uterine horns of 25d old C57BL/6 female mice. Uterine mRNA profiles of 21-day old mice were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform (HiSeq).
Project description:Single cell RNAseq was performed on PBMC isolated from health workers who received two doses of Pfizer COVID19 vaccine and determined as either normal responders or low responders by antibody test. Each group has 4 patients. Cells from each patient were labeled with Totalseq C hashing antibodies and mixed 1:1:1:1 for each group. Single cells were further captured using 10x chromium Next GEM 5 prime kit.
Project description:The long-term effects of neonatal intermittent hypoxia (IH), an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia, are unclear. We have previously shown lasting âprogrammingâ effects on the HPA axis in adult rats exposed to neonatal IH. We hypothesized that neonatal rat exposure to IH will subsequently result in a heightened inflammatory state in the adult. Rat pups were exposed to normoxia (control) or six cycles of 5% IH or 10% IH over one hour daily from postnatal day 2 â 6. Plasma samples from blood obtained at 114 days of age were analyzed by assessing the capacity to induce transcription in a healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) population and read using a high-density microarray. The analysis of plasma from adult rats previously exposed to neonatal 5% IH vs. 10% IH resulted in 2,579 significantly regulated genes including increased expression of Cxcl1, Cxcl2, Ccl3, Il1a, and Il1b. We conclude that neonatal exposure to intermittent hypoxia elicits a long-lasting programming effect in the adult resulting in an upregulation of inflammatory-related genes. Apnea is the most common cause of neonatal hypoxia affecting about 50% of preterm births (30 â 31 weeks), usually due to immature respiratory development. Upregulation of inflammatory genes and pathways in children 7 â 10 years of age has been shown, and there is a known increased risk of insulin resistance in adulthood when the fetus is exposed to maternal hypoxia, but the mechanism is unclear. The long-term metabolic, endocrine, and immunological effects of neonatal intermittent hypoxia (IH) exposure, an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia, have not been thoroughly evaluated. Recent studies in rats have shown that perinatal IH exposure can result in oxidative stress, causing a permanent immune response subsequently resulting in features of diabetes mellitus. We have previously examined adult rats exposed to neonatal intermittent hypoxia and perinatal continuous hypoxia, and have found lasting âÂÂprogrammingâ effects on the HPA axis. We now assess the long term effects of an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia using a validated transcriptional bioassay to study the extracellular milieu of adult rats exposed to neonatal intermittent hypoxia. We hypothesize that exposure to neonatal intermittent hypoxia will result in an increased inflammatory state in the adult as a result of long-lasting programming. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups were treated with neonatal normoxia (21% O2, control), 5% intermittent hypoxia (IH), or 10% IH on postnatal days (PD) 2-6, daily over 1 hr. They were reared normally by birth dams and weaned at PD22. Males were allowed to mature and sacrificed at age PD114 after an overnight fast. Whole blood collected by decapitation into tubes with EDTA, and plasma saved for further analysis. Two adult (~180 day) male Brown Norway (BN) rats served as PBMC donors. Cells were incubated with 20% plasma that was either autologous BN (self-control), or one of 3 pools: a) SD normoxic N=8, b) SD 5% IH treated N=5, and c) SD 10% IH N=3.
Project description:Frozen PBMC samples containing at least 1 million cells were thawed for 1 minute at 37C and washed twice with RPMI complete media (10% FBS with glutamate and Pen/Strep). All of the samples had >80% viable cells. Sample processing for single-cell RNA-seq was done using Chromium Single Cell 3’ Library and Gel bead kit v2 (PN-120237) following manufacturer’s user guide (CG00052, 10x Genomics, Pleasanton, CA). The total cell density was used to impute the volume of single cell suspension needed in the reverse transcription (RT) master mix, aiming to achieve ~ 6,000 cells per sample. cDNAs and libraries were prepared following manufacturer’s user guide (10x Genomics). cDNA amplification and indexed libraries were prepared using 12 and 14 cycles of PCR, respectively. Libraries were profiled, quantified, and sequenced as 5’ single-cell gene expression libraries.
Project description:Eighteen patients admitted to CSMC and diagnosed with COVID19 by RT-PCR were stratified into COVID19 mild/moderate, severe, and recovery groups (n=5-6/group). Venous blood was collected into EDTA coated tubes and centrifuged to separate plasma and buffy coat. Plasma was collected and frozen at -80C, and the buffy coat was collected into cryo-preservation media and frozen at -80C. Recovered cells are sorted for live-dead staining, then fixed with methanol. Fixed single cells were further captured using 10x chromium Next GEM 3 prime v3.1 kit. Two patients samples from the same group were mixed, captured and sequenced together.
Project description:The BCR repertoire characteristics of severe and mild MuSK-MG patients were compared to those of COVID19 patients and age and sex matched healthy controls