Project description:This multi-center study will compare multi-target DNA and quantitative FIT stool-based testing to colonoscopy in individuals with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) undergoing colon cancer screening with colonoscopy. The primary endpoint is detection of any adenomas, including advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer (CRC).
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, opportunistic bacterium and a major etiological agent in monogenic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). High density colonies of P. aeruginosa are often isolated from hypoxic mucus plugs in respiratory tract of CF patients, indicating high adaptive capacities of the bacterium. Despite the high prevalence and related patient mortality, the protein machinery enabling the bacterium to adapt to this hypoxic environment remains to be fully elucidated. We investigated this by performing both SWATH mass spectrometry and data-dependent SPS-MS3 of TMT labelled peptides to profile the proteomes of two P. aeruginosa CF isolates, PASS2 and PASS3, and a laboratory reference strain, PAO1, grown under hypoxic stress (O2<1%) and aerobic conditions in media that mimics the nutrient components of the CF lung. 3,967 P. aeruginosa proteins were quantitated (FDR <1%) across all three strains, reflecting approximately 71% of predicted ORFs in PAO1 and representing the most comprehensive proteome of clinically relevant P. aeruginosa to date. Comparative analysis revealed 735, 640 and 364 proteins were altered by two-fold or more when comparing low oxygen to aerobic growth in PAO1, PASS2 and PASS3 respectively. Strikingly, under hypoxic stress, all strains showed concurrent increased abundance of proteins required for both aerobic (cbb3-1 and cbb3-2 terminal oxidases) and anaerobic denitrification and arginine fermentation, with the two clinical isolates showing higher relative expression of proteins in these pathways. Additionally, functional annotation revealed that clinical strains portray a unique expression profile of replication, membrane biogenesis and virulence proteins during hypoxia which may endow these bacteria with a survival advantage. These protein profiles illuminate the diversity of P. aeruginosa mechanisms to adapt to low oxygen and shows that CF isolates initiate a robust molecular response to persist under these conditions.
Project description:Cystic Fibrosis is a life limiting disease due to mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Conductance Gene Regulator (CFTR). This is associated with a multiorgan disease combining pancreatic insufficiency, chronic infected bronchopathy and production of a salty sweat. Increased survival of patients leads to observation of new complications, including proximal tubule transport dysfunctions with increased output of glucose, amino acids, phosphate, calcium, uric acid, and low Molecular Weight proteins, which ultimately triggers tubulo-interstitial injury and chronic kidney disease. (Jouret et al. 2007) Exosomes are membrane vesicles stemming from Multi-Vesicular Bodies. They reflect the biological state of the cell they stem from because they incorporate various bioactive molecules from their cell of origin, which can be transferred to target cells. They are therefore ideal biomarkers for early diagnosis, prediction of disease progression or response to treatment. Urinary exosomes have been largely investigated in kidney or urothelial diseases and exosomal proteins proved to be biomarkers reflecting renal cellular biology. We hypothetized that urinary exosomal proteins might be differentially expressed, according to the presence of the mutation in the CFTR gene and its correction. We analyzed urinary exosomes of patients with CF and healthy controls based on their protein content determined by high resolution mass spectrometry, in combination with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. These results were compared to those obtained in exosomes collected in patients treated with CFTR modulators.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa undergoes genetic change during chronic infection of the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. One common change is mutation of lasR. LasR is a transcriptional regulator that responds to one of the quorum sensing signals in P. aeruginosa, and regulates acute virulence factor expression as well as central metabolic functions. P. aeruginosa mutants in which lasR was inactivated emerged in the airways of CF patients early during chronic infection, and during growth in the laboratory on Luria-Bertani agar. Both environments are rich in amino acids. Inactivation of lasR in these isolates conferred a growth advantage with amino acids, a phenotype that could account for selection of lasR mutants both in vivo and in vitro. P. aeruginosa lasR mutants were identified by their distinctive colony morphology, including autolysis that correlated with an imbalance in 4-hydroxy-2-alkylquinolines (HAQs), and an iridescent metallic sheen likely caused by the accumulation of one such HAQ. The alterations in transcriptional profile due to inactivation of lasR were conserved in isolates from multiple young CF patients. P. aeruginosa lasR mutations may represent surrogate markers to delineate stages in the natural history of CF airway disease, each with different prognostic and therapeutic implications, analogous to the markers used to direct cancer treatment. Similar to cancer cell mutations that promote unrestricted growth, lasR mutations may promote unrestricted growth of P. aeruginosa in the CF airway by enabling more efficient utilization of available amino acids. Analyse the effects of mutation of the lasR gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients by comparing the transcriptional profile of an isolate from a young patient with that of an isogenic engineered lasR mutant.
Project description:In clinical routine, the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) is still a challenge due to the limitations of diagnosis guidelines and tests. A diagnosis test of choice, the sweat test measures eccrine sweat chloride concentration as a byproduct of the eccrine sweat gland CFTR function. Despite the combined use of CFTR genotyping and direct physiologic testing of CFTR function, reports of inconclusive diagnosis justified the need for alternative tests and new biomarkers. Meanwhile, eccrine sweat composition has already been linked to disease-specific profiles of non-electrolytes (i.e. proteins, peptides and metabolites). In this study, we analyzed sweat samples from 28 healthy volunteers and 14 CF patients by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-based Shotgun proteomics, to address CF-related changes in sweat protein composition and abundance. Over 1000 proteins were identified and quantified in a label-free manner. Beside similar protein composition, enrichment and functional classifications, HV and CF samples were grouped apart since protein abundance profiles were significantly correlated with CF status and degree of severity (ΔF508 homozygous and pancreatic insufficiency onset). Four-hundred and two proteins in CF-specific abundance, 68 proteins in genotype-specific abundance and 71 proteins in abundance related to pancreatic status, respectively, highlighted eccrine gland cell perturbations in protein biosynthesis & trafficking, CFTR proteostasis & membrane stability, cell-cell adherence, membrane integrity & cytoskeleton crosstalk. Cytoskeleton-related biomarkers were of utmost interest because of consistent abundances between CF sweat and other CF tissues. Nine clinical CF diagnosis biomarker (CUTA, ARG1, EZR, AGA, FLNA, MAN1A1, MIA3, LFNG, SIAE) and 5 CF severity biomarker (ARG1, GPT, MDH2, EML4 (ΔF508 homozygous), MGAT1 (pancreatic insufficiency)) candidates were deemed suitable for further verification.
Project description:Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive, monogenetic disorder caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The gene defect was first described 25 years ago and much progress has been made since then in our understanding of how CFTR mutations cause disease and how this can be addressed therapeutically. CFTR is a transmembrane protein that transports ions across the surface of epithelial cells. CFTR dysfunction affects many organs; however, lung disease is responsible for the vast majority of morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis. Prenatal diagnostics, newborn screening and new treatment algorithms are changing the incidence and the prevalence of the disease. Until recently, the standard of care in cystic fibrosis treatment focused on preventing and treating complications of the disease; now, novel treatment strategies directly targeting the ion channel abnormality are becoming available and it will be important to evaluate how these treatments affect disease progression and the quality of life of patients. In this Primer, we summarize the current knowledge, and provide an outlook on how cystic fibrosis clinical care and research will be affected by new knowledge and therapeutic options in the near future. For an illustrated summary of this Primer, visit: http://go.nature.com/4VrefN.
Project description:Summary: CF patients homozygous for the DF08 DF08 genotype present a full range of phenotypic manifestations that exist within the pulmonary system. This project aims to identify candidate genes that influence the severity of pulmonary disease Hypothesis: The goal is to find genes predictive of progression in CF. More information can be found at http://www.hopkins-genomics.org/cf/cf001/index.html Keywords: other
Project description:Sweat plays a crucial role in thermo-regulation and skin health and potentially antimicrobial defense. Its composition is highly dynamic and its homeostasis involves a fine tuning of metabolic pathways. In-depth profiling of sweat protein composition will increase our understanding of skin disorders. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is associated with high NaCl sweat concentration due to the absence of the CFTR protein. Patients with CF (pwCF) often display aquagenic palmoplantar keratodermia, a rare skin disorder characterized by skin wrinkling with oedema and whitish papules on the palms and/or soles, the pathophysiology of which is unknown. We report an in-depth analysis of the human sweat proteome of pwCF patients in comparison with that of healthy subjects (S).
Project description:Mutations of the CFTR gene cause cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common recessive monogenic disease worldwide. These mutations alter the synthesis, processing, function, or half-life of CFTR, the main chloride channel expressed in the apical membrane of epithelial cells in the airway, intestine, pancreas, and reproductive tract. Lung disease is the most critical manifestation of CF. It is characterized by airway obstruction, infection, and inflammation that lead to fatal tissue destruction. In spite of great advances in early and multidisciplinary medical care, and in our understanding of the pathophysiology, CF is still considerably reducing the life expectancy of patients. This review highlights the current development in pharmacological modulators of CFTR, which aim at rescuing the expression and/or function of mutated CFTR. While only Kalydeco® and Orkambi® are currently available to patients, many other families of CFTR modulators are undergoing preclinical and clinical investigations. Drug repositioning and personalized medicine are particularly detailed in this review as they represent the most promising strategies for restoring CFTR function in CF.
Project description:Our laboratory has held a long interest in the glycosylation changes seen on the surface of airway epithelia of patients with the disease cystic fibrosis (CF). Experiments from our laboratory have detailed a CF glycosylation phenotype of increased Fuca1,3/4 and decreased Fuca1,2 and sialic acid on the surfaces of immortalized and primary CF cells compared to non-CF cells. Further, we have shown that gene transfer and subsequent expression of a wild type CF plasmid in CF airway cells results in correction or reversal of this glycosylation phenotype. We hypothesize that the changes in glycosylation seen in CF cells are key in the pathophysiology of the cystic fibrosis airway disease. For example, it has been shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that has a predilection for colonizing CF airways, adheres to asialylated glycolipids and glycoconjugates with terminal Fuca1,3/4. One focus of our laboratory is to elucidate the etiology of the glycosylation changes seen in CF cells and the mechanism by which these changes are reversed by wild type CFTR gene transfer. We propose to study the gene expression of immortalized and primary CF and non-CF airway epithelial cells: 1. CF/T43 vs. BEAS-2B cells. These are two widely used immortalized airway cell lines that we have used extensively in the past. 2. C38 cells; C38 cells are IB3 cells expressing wtCFTR. The experimental focus is to elucidate the etiology of the glycosylation changes seen in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) cells and the mechanism by which these changes are reversed by wild type CFTR gene transfer. To do so, the gene expression of immortalized and primary CF and non-CF airway epithelial cells were compared and studied. Cell lines used were CF/T43 and BEAS-2B, both widely used immortalized airway cell lines. Other cell lines studied included C38 cell lines (clonal derivatives of IB3 cells expressing wtCFTR).