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Gene expression profiling of PBL in response to ionising radiation and modeled microgravity

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Ionizing radiation (IR) can be extremely harmful for human cells since an improper DNA-damage response (DDR) to IR can contribute to carcinogenesis initiation. Perturbations in DDR pathway can originate from alteration in the functionality of the microRNA-mediated gene regulation, being microRNAs (miRNAs) small noncoding RNA that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. In this study we gained insight into the role of miRNAs in the regulation of DDR to IR under microgravity, a condition of weightlessness experienced by astronauts during space missions, which could have a synergistic action on cells, increasing the risk of radiation exposure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed miRNA expression profile of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) incubated for 4 and 24 h in normal gravity (1 g) and in modeled microgravity (MMG) during the repair time after irradiation with 0.2 and 2Gy of γ-rays. Our results show that MMG alters miRNA expression signature of irradiated PBL by decreasing the number of radio-responsive miRNAs. Moreover, let-7i*, miR-7, miR-7-1*, miR-27a, miR-144, miR-200a, miR-598, miR-650 are deregulated by the combined action of radiation and MMG. Integrated analyses of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles, carried out on PBL of the same donors, identified significant miRNA-mRNA anti-correlations of DDR pathway. Gene Ontology analysis reports that the biological category of "Response to DNA damage" is enriched when PBL are incubated in 1 g but not in MMG. Moreover, some anti-correlated genes of p53-pathway show a different expression level between 1 g and MMG. Functional validation assays using luciferase reporter constructs confirmed miRNA-mRNA interactions derived from target prediction analyses. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: On the whole, by integrating the transcriptome and microRNome, we provide evidence that modeled microgravity can affects the DNA-damage response to IR in human PBL.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE20173 | GEO | 2012/04/10

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA125639

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:In the present study we analyzed miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) incubated in microgravity condition, simulated by a ground-based Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) bioreactor. Our results show that 42 miRNAs were differentially expressed in MMG-incubated PBLs compared with 1g-incubated ones. Among these, miR-9-5p, miR-9-3p, miR-155-5p, miR-150-3p, and miR-378-3p were the most dysregulated. To improve the detection of functional miRNA-mRNA pairs we performed gene expression profiles on the same samples assayed for miRNA profiling and we integrated miRNA and mRNA expression data. The functional classification of miRNA-correlated genes evidenced significant enrichments in the biological processes of immune/inflammatory response, signal transduction, regulation of response to stress, regulation of programmed cell death and regulation of cell proliferation. We identified the correlation between miR-9-3p, miR-155-5p, miR-150-3p and miR-378-3p expression with that of genes involved in immune/inflammatory response (eg. IFNG and IL17F), apoptosis (eg. PDCD4 and PTEN) and cell proliferation (eg. NKX3-1 and GADD45A). Experimental assays of cell viability and apoptosis induction validated the results obtained by bioinformatics analyses demonstrating that in human PBLs the exposure to reduced gravitational force increases the frequency of apoptosis and decreases cell proliferation. microRNA expression profiling were carried out on total RNA extracted from PBLs of twelve healthy donors at the end of 24h-incubation time in MMG and in 1g conditions. Analyses were performed by using the M-bM-^@M-^\Human miRNA Microarray kit (V2)M-bM-^@M-^] (Agilent Technologies), that allows the detection of 723 known human (miRBase v.10.1) and 76 human viral miRNAs.By comparing the expression profile of MMG-incubated vs. 1g-incubated PBLs of the same donor, we found 42 differentially expressed miRNAs, 25 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated.

Project description:DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex process, essential for cell survival. Especially deleterious type of DNA damage are DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), which can lead to genomic instability and malignant transformation if not repaired correctly. The central player in DSB detection and repair is the ATM kinase which orchestrates the action of several downstream factors. Despite substantial knowledge of DNA repair processes, still several aspects of DNA damage detection and signaling are not fully understood. Recent studies have suggested that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in DDR. Here, we aimed to identify lncRNAs induced upon DNA damage in an ATM-dependent manner. 7 mRNAs and 10 lncRNAs were significantly induced 1h after ionizing radiation (IR) in healthy donors, whereas none in AT patients. 447 mRNAs and 149 lncRNAs were induced 8h after IR in the control group, while only 100 mRNAs and 3 lncRNAs in AT patients. Among IR-induced mRNAs, we found several genes with well-known functions in DDR. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and Gene Ontology revealed delayed induction of key DDR pathways in AT patients compared to controls. The induction and dynamics of selected 9 lncRNAs were confirmed by RT-qPCR at several time-points after IR on a larger cohort. Moreover, inhibition of ATM with a specific inhibitor (KU-60019) proved that those lncRNAs are dependent on ATM. Some of the detected lncRNAs are localized next to protein-coding genes involved in DDR. We observed that induction of lncRNAs after IR preceded changes in expression of adjacent genes. This indicates that IR-induced lncRNAs may regulate the transcription of nearby genes. Subcellular fractionation into chromatin, nuclear, and cytoplasmic fractions revealed that the majority of studied lncRNAs are localized in chromatin, which further suggests their role in regulation of gene expression. In summary, our study revealed several lncRNAs induced by IR in an ATM-dependent manner. Their co-localization and co-expression with genes involved in DDR suggest that those lncRNAs may be important players in cellular response to DNA damage.

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Gene expression profiling of PBL in response to ionising radiation and modeled microgravity

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