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Gene expression data from type II pneumocytes from adult mice with and without Trf2

ABSTRACT: Gas exchange in the mammalian lung occurs in the alveolar sacs lined by epithelial cells that form a barrier allowing effective oxygen diffusion. Telomere syndromes have their most common manifestation in degenerative disease of the alveoli, both pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. We tested the role of telomere dysfunction by inducing deletion of the telomere binding protein Trf2 in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2s) that both express the gene encoding surfactant protein C and constitute the regenerative compartment of the alveolar epithelium. Acquired telomere dysfunction in these cells preferentially induced cellular senescence, and mouse lungs were marked by an inflammatory response even though the telomere dysfunction was restricted to the epithelium. Senescent AECs had altered gene expression that differentially fell in inflammatory cell signaling pathways. Bleomycin challenge was uniformly fatal, and Trf2-depleted cells failed to generate clonal alveolar colonies in vitro. The telomere dysfunction response in AEC2s was in part p53-dependent, and we found evidence of a p53-mediated paracrine survival signal to the mesenchyme. These data indicate that telomere dysfunction in the alveolar epithelium limits its regenerative capacity and is sufficient to induce inflammation. It may thus be a primary driving event in telomere-mediated lung disease. Efforts to restore epithelial regenerative capacity may be an effective approach in a subset of fibrosis and emphysema patients. We studied the gene expression changes in adult type II pneumocytes 7 days after deleting Trf2. Mice carried floxed allele of Trf2 and mTmG reporter allele. Type II pneumocytes were collected by FACs sorting GFP+ cells from lungs 7 days after administering tamoxifen.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE56892 | GEO | 2015/04/20

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA244870

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Cellular senescence due to telomere dysfunction has been hypothesized to play a role in age-associated diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It has been postulated that paracrine mediators originating from senescent alveolar epithelia signal to surrounding mesenchymal cells and contribute to disease pathogenesis. However, murine models of telomere-induced alveolar epithelial senescence fail to display the canonical senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that is observed in senescent human cells. In an effort to understand human-specific responses to telomere dysfunction, we modelled telomere dysfunction-induced senescence in a human alveolar epithelial cell line. We hypothesized that this system would enable us to probe for differences in transcriptional and proteomic senescence pathways in vitro and to identify novel secreted protein (secretome) changes that potentially contribute to the pathogenesis of IPF. Following induction of telomere dysfunction, a robust senescence phenotype was observed. RNA-Seq analysis of the senescent cells revealed the SASP and comparisons to previous murine data highlighted species-specific responses to telomere dysfunction. We then conducted a proteomic analysis of the senescent cells using a novel biotin ligase capable of labeling secreted proteins. Candidate biomarkers selected from our transcriptional and secretome data were then evaluated in IPF and control patient plasma. Four novel proteins were found to be differentially expressed between the patient groups: stanniocalcin-1, contactin-1, tenascin C, and total inhibin. Our data show that human telomere-induced, alveolar epithelial senescence results in a transcriptional SASP that is distinct from that seen in analogous murine cells. Our findings suggest that studies in animal models should be carefully validated given the species-specific responses to telomere dysfunction. We also describe a pragmatic approach for the study of the consequences of telomere-induced alveolar epithelial cell senescence in humans.

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Gene expression data from type II pneumocytes from adult mice with and without Trf2

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