Project description:Analysis of CGTH-W-1 follicular thyroid carcinoma cells transcriptome following 48 hrs siRNA-mediated depletion of PROX1. PROX1 is a homeobox transcription factor. PROX1 depletion decreases migratory ability, motility and invasivness and induces profound cytoskeleton changes of CGTH-W-1 cells. Results provide insight into the role of PROX1 in the thyroid cancer. Three biological replicates for a given condition
Project description:MicroRNAs are important negative regulators of protein coding gene expression, and have been studied intensively over the last few years. To this purpose, different measurement platforms to determine their RNA abundance levels in biological samples have been developed. In this study, we have systematically compared 12 commercially available microRNA expression platforms by measuring an identical set of 20 standardized positive and negative control samples, including human universal reference RNA, human brain RNA and titrations thereof, human serum samples, and synthetic spikes from homologous microRNA family members. We developed novel quality metrics in order to objectively assess platform performance of very different technologies such as small RNA sequencing, RT-qPCR and (microarray) hybridization. We assessed reproducibility, sensitivity, quantitative performance, and specificity. The results indicate that each method has its strengths and weaknesses, which helps guiding informed selection of a quantitative microRNA gene expression platform in function of particular study goals.
Project description:Nucleotide degradation is a universal metabolic capability. Here we combine metabolomics, genetics and biochemistry to characterize the yeast pathway. Nutrient starvation, via PKA, AMPK/SNF1, and TOR, triggers autophagic breakdown of ribosomes into nucleotides. A protein not previously associated with nucleotide degradation, Phm8, converts nucleotide monophosphates into nucleosides. Downstream steps, which involve the purine nucleoside phosphorylase, Pnp1, and pyrimidine nucleoside hydrolase, Urh1, funnel ribose into the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathway. During carbon starvation, the ribose-derived carbon accumulates as sedoheptulose-7-phosphate, whose consumption by transaldolase is impaired due to depletion of transaldolase's other substrate, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. Oxidative stress increases glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, resulting in rapid consumption of sedoheptulose-7-phosphate to make NADPH for antioxidant defense. Ablation of Phm8 or double deletion of Pnp1 and Urh1 prevent effective nucleotide salvage, resulting in metabolite depletion and impaired survival of starving yeast. Thus, ribose salvage provides means of surviving nutrient starvation and oxidative stress.
Project description:To test whether the addition of a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamp, which binds WT KRAS at codon 12, can increase the efficacy of mutation detection for KRASG12D within a targeted NGS setting. We tested the effect of clamping the wild-type KRAS sequence in a reference standard (Tru-Q 7, 1.3% Tier from Horizon Diagnostics, Cambridge, UK) with a KRAS c.35G>A mutation (KRASG12D) at an allelic frequency (AF) of 1.3% assessed by digital droplet PCR (ddPCR). We then re-tested the PNA on circulating-free DNA from a patient harbouring a KRASG12D mutation (at an AF of 3.2%, determined by ddPCR). Multiple runs were conducted using 10, 5, 2.5 and 1ng of DNA input.
Project description:Background: Repair of DNA damage requires chromatin remodeling to permit removal of the lesions. How nucleosomes are remodelled to initiate repair of DNA damage remains largely unknown. Here, we describe how chromatin is altered during repair of UV-induced DNA damage at the level of the linear organisation of nucleosomes. Results: Using MNase-seq, we identified a subset of nucleosomes in the genome that are remodelled in UV-damaged wild-type yeast cells. We mapped the genomic location of these nucleosomes, showing that they contain the histone variant H2A.Z. The remodelling observed is consistent with histone exchange or eviction at these positions. This depends on the yeast SWI/SNF global genome nucleotide excision repair (GG-NER) chromatin-remodelling complex. Remarkably, we found that in the absence of DNA damage, the GG-NER complex occupies chromatin at nucleosome free regions separating adjacent nucleosomes. This establishes the nucleosome structure at these genomic locations, which we refer to as GG-NER complex binding sites (GCBS’s). We observed that these sites are frequently located precisely at certain boundary regions that delineate chromasomally interacting domains (CIDs). These boundaries define chromosomal domains of higher-order nucleosome-nucleosome interaction. We demonstrate that the GG-NER complex redistributes following remodelling of these nucleosomes after DNA damage taking up genomic positions located within the CIDs. This permits the efficient removal of DNA damage at these sites. Conclusions: We argue that organising DNA repair in the genome as described may define origins of DNA repair that greatly reduces the genomic search space for DNA damage recognition, thus ensuring the efficient repair of damage in chromatin.