Project description:The developing brain has a complex and well-organized anatomical structure comprising different types of neural and non-neural cells. Stem cells, progenitors, and newborn neurons tightly interact with their neighbouring cells and tissue microenvironment, and this intricate interplay ultimately shapes the output of neurogenesis. Given the relevance of spatial cues during brain development, we acknowledge the necessity for a transcriptomics atlas within the tissue context accessible to the neurodevelopmental community. To fulfil this need, we offer an open-access spatial gene expression browser of the embryonic mouse brain at the peak of neurogenesis. Using 10x Visium technology, we generated spatially-resolved RNAseq data from E13.5 embryonic brain sections. Unsupervised clustering reliably defined specific cell type populations of diverse lineages and maturational states. Differential expression analysis revealed unique transcriptional signatures across specific embryonic brain areas, uncovering novel features inherent to particular anatomical domains. Furthermore, we integrated single-cell RNAseq data from E13.5 mouse brains into our Spatial Transcriptomics data, adding tissue context to single-cell resolution. In summary, we provide a valuable tool that enables the exploration and discovery of unforeseen molecular players involved in neurogenesis, particularly in the crosstalk between different cell types.
Project description:Protein kinase signalling is a major mechanism by which embryonic stem cell pluripotency and differentiation is controlled. However, the pathways and components that regulate embryonic stem cell identity have not been systematically defined. Here, we employ FGF4 signalling as a model system to investigate phosphoproteome dynamics in differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells. We report identification and quantitation of more than 10,000 phosphopeptides, of which hundreds of phosphophoylation sites are regulated more than 2-fold by acute FGF4 stimulation. We hypothesise that phosphorylation sites in this dataset are relevant for regulating the transition of mouse embryonic stem cells from pluripotency towards lineage specific differentiation.
Project description:Genome-wide transcriptome analyses have allowed for systems- level insights into gene regulatory networks. Due to the limited depth of quantitative proteomics, however, our understanding of post-transcriptional gene regulation and its effects on protein complex stoichiometry are lagging behind. Here, we employ deep sequencing and iTRAQ technology to determine transcript and protein expression changes of a Drosophila brain tumour model at near genome-wide resolution. In total, we quantify more than 6,200 tissue-specific proteins, corresponding to about 70% of all transcribed protein-coding genes. Using our integrated data set, we demonstrate that post-transcriptional gene regulation varies considerably with biological function and is surprisingly high for genes regulating transcription. We combine our quantitative data with protein-protein interaction data and show that post-transcriptional mechanisms significantly enhance co-regulation of protein complex subunits beyond transcriptional co-regulation. Interestingly, our results suggest that only about 11% of the annotated Drosophila protein complexes are co-regulated in the brain. Finally, we refine the composition of some of these core protein complexes by analysing the co-regulation of potential subunits. Our comprehensive transcriptome and proteome data provide a rich resource for quantitative biology and offer novel insights into understanding post- transcriptional gene regulation in a tumour model. Transcriptomes of 1-3 day old adult female Drosophila melanogaster heads of control and brat mutant were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina GAIIx.
Project description:The formation of hematopoietic cells relies on the chromatin remodeling activities of ISWI ATPase SMARCA5 (SNF2H) and its complexes. The Smarca5 null and conditional alleles have been used to study its functions in embryonic and organ development in mice. These mouse model phenotypes vary from embryonic lethality of constitutive knockout to less severe phenotypes observed in tissue-specific Smarca5 deletions, e.g., in the hematopoietic system. Here we show that, in a gene dosage-dependent manner, the hypomorphic allele of SMARCA5 (S5tg) can rescue not only the developmental arrest in hematopoiesis in the hCD2iCre model but also the lethal phenotypes associated with constitutive Smarca5 deletion or Vav1iCre-driven conditional knockout in hematopoietic progenitor cells. Interestingly, the latter model also provided evidence for the role of SMARCA5 expression level in hematopoietic stem cells, as the Vav1iCre S5tg animals accumulate stem and progenitor cells. Furthermore, their hematopoietic stem cells exhibited impaired lymphoid lineage entry and differentiation. This observation contrasts with the myeloid lineage which is developing without significant disturbances. Our findings indicate that animals with low expression of SMARCA5 exhibit normal embryonic development with altered lymphoid entry within the hematopoietic stem cell compartment.
Project description:Genome-wide transcriptome analyses have allowed for systems- level insights into gene regulatory networks. Due to the limited depth of quantitative proteomics, however, our understanding of post-transcriptional gene regulation and its effects on protein complex stoichiometry are lagging behind. Here, we employ deep sequencing and iTRAQ technology to determine transcript and protein expression changes of a Drosophila brain tumour model at near genome-wide resolution. In total, we quantify more than 6,200 tissue-specific proteins, corresponding to about 70% of all transcribed protein-coding genes. Using our integrated data set, we demonstrate that post-transcriptional gene regulation varies considerably with biological function and is surprisingly high for genes regulating transcription. We combine our quantitative data with protein-protein interaction data and show that post-transcriptional mechanisms significantly enhance co-regulation of protein complex subunits beyond transcriptional co-regulation. Interestingly, our results suggest that only about 11% of the annotated Drosophila protein complexes are co-regulated in the brain. Finally, we refine the composition of some of these core protein complexes by analysing the co-regulation of potential subunits. Our comprehensive transcriptome and proteome data provide a rich resource for quantitative biology and offer novel insights into understanding post- transcriptional gene regulation in a tumour model.