Project description:To comprehensively understand how dendritic cells (DCs) are reprogrammed by lung fibroblasts- and their derived COX-2/PGE2, we employed lung fibroblasts isolated from WT or Ptgs2-/- mice, and collect their conditioned medium (CM) to stimulate the ex vivo cultured bone marrow (BM)-derived DCs (BM-DCs), with the PGE2 treatment as a control. After the treatment, BM-DCs were harvested for RNA extraction and the transcriptional profiles were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq).
Project description:Chondrocytes are subject to continuous loads placed upon them throughout development and physical activity. Normal physiological loads enable the maintenance of the articular cartilage health, however abnormal loads contribute to pathological joint ageing. Similarly, the growth plate cartilage is exposed to a number of loads during growth and development. Due to the high-water content of cartilage, hydrostatic pressure is considered one of the main biomechanical influences on chondrocytes and it plays an important role in the mechanoregulation of cartilage. Therefore in this study we conducted RNA-seq analysis of ex vivo hip cap (articular) and metatarsal (growth) cartilage cultures after physiological and injurious hydrostatic pressure. Gene expression in response to 5mPa (physiological) or 50mPa (injurious) hydrostatic pressure was quantified by transcriptome analysis using the Illumina platform
Project description:Osteoarthritis (OA) is an age-related degenerative musculoskeletal disease characterised by loss of articular cartilage, synovitis, abnormal bone proliferation and subchondral bone sclerosis. The underlying pathogenesis of OA is yet to be fully elucidated with no OA specific biomarkers in clinical use. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) allow identification of the global metabolome and proteome respectively. During this study, ex-vivo equine cartilage explants (n=5) were incubated in TNF-α/IL-1β supplemented culture media for 8 days, with media removed and replaced at 2, 5 and 8 days. Acetonitrile metabolite extractions of 8 day cartilage explants and media samples at all time points underwent 1H NMR metabolic analysis with media samples also undergoing MS proteomic analysis. Within the cartilage, metabolites glucose and lysine were elevated following TNF-α/IL-1β treatment whilst adenosine, alanine, betaine, creatine, myo-inositol and uridine levels decreased. Within the culture media, four, four and six metabolites were identified as being differentially abundant between control and treatment groups for 1-2 day, 3-5 day and 6-8 day time points respectively. Culture media proteomics identified 154, 138 and 72 proteins differentially abundant, with > 2 fold change, between control and treatment groups for 1-2 day, 3-5 day and 6-8 day time points respectively. Nine potential novel OA neopeptides were elevated in treated media. This is the first study to use a multi ‘omics’ approach to simultaneously investigate the metabolomic profile of ex-vivo cartilage and metabolomic/proteomic profiles of culture media using the TNF-α/IL-1β ex-vivo OA cartilage model. This study has identified a panel of metabolites, proteins and extracellular matrix derived neopeptides which are differentially abundant during an early phase of the OA model which may provide further information on underlying disease pathogenesis, allow potential translation for clinical markers and possible novel therapeutic targets.
Project description:This is an investigation of whole genome gene expression level in tissues of mice stimulated by LPS, FK565 or LPS + FK565 in vivo and ex vivo. We show that parenteral administration of a pure synthetic Nod1 ligand, FK565, induces site-specific vascular inflammation in mice, which is prominent in aortic root including aortic valves, slight in aorta and absent in other arteries. The degree of respective vascular inflammation is associated with persistent high expression of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine genes in each tissue in vivo by microarray analysis, and not with Nod1 expression levels. The ex vivo production of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine by Nod1 ligand is higher in aortic root than in other arteries from normal murine vascular tissues, and also higher in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) than in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), suggesting that site-specific vascular inflammation is at least in part ascribed to an intrinsic nature of the vascular tissue/cell itself.
Project description:Osteoarthritis (OA) is an age-related degenerative musculoskeletal disease characterised by loss of articular cartilage, synovitis, abnormal bone proliferation and subchondral bone sclerosis. Underlying OA pathogenesis is yet to be fully elucidated with no OA specific biomarkers in clinical use. Ex-vivo equine cartilage explants (n=5) were incubated in TNF-α/IL-1β supplemented culture media for 8 days, with media removed and replaced at 2, 5 and 8 days. Acetonitrile metabolite extractions of 8 day cartilage explants and media samples at all time points underwent 1D 1H nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic analysis with media samples also undergoing mass spectrometry proteomic analysis. Within the cartilage, metabolites glucose and lysine were elevated following TNF-α/IL-1β treatment whilst adenosine, alanine, betaine, creatine, myo-inositol and uridine levels decreased. Within the culture media, four, four and six differentially abundant metabolites and 154, 138 and 72 differentially abundant proteins, with > 2 fold change, were identified for 1-2 day, 3-5 day and 6-8 day time points respectively. Nine potential novel OA neopeptides were elevated in treated media. Our novel study identified metabolites, proteins and extracellular matrix derived neopeptides which provides insightful information on OA pathogenesis, enabling potential translation for clinical markers and possible novel therapeutic targets.
Project description:Objective: microRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding molecules that regulate post-transcriptional target gene expression and are involved in mechano-regulation of cellular activities in all physiological systems. It is unknown whether such epigenetic mechanisms are regulated in response to increasing magnitudes of load. This study investigated mechano-regulation of miRs in articular cartilage subjected to ‘physiological’ and ‘non-physiological’ compressive loads in vitro as a model system and validated findings in an in vivo model of abnormal joint loading. Design: Bovine full-depth articular cartilage explants were loaded to 2.5MPa (physiological) or 7MPa (non-physiological) (1Hz, 15 minutes) and mechanically-regulated miRs identified using Next Generation Sequencing and verified using quantitative PCR. Downstream targets were verified using miR-specific mimics or inhibitors in conjunction with 3’-UTR luciferase activity assays. Results: A subset of miRs were mechanically-regulated in ex vivo cartilage explants and in vivo joint cartilage. miR-221, miR-222, miR-21-5p, and miR-27a-5p were increased and miR-483 levels decreased with increasing load magnitude. Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3) and Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation Element Binding Protein 3 (CPEB3) were identified as putative downstream targets. Conclusion: Our data confirms miR-221 and -222 mechano-regulation and demonstrates novel mechano-regulation of miR-21-5p and miR-27a-5p in ex vivo and in vivo cartilage loading models. TIMP3 and CPEB3 are putative miR targets in chondrocytes. Identification of specific miRs that are regulated by increasing load magnitude, and their potential to impact on tissue homeostasis, has direct relevance to other mechano-sensitive physiological systems and provides a mechanism by which load-induced tissue behaviour is regulated, both in health and pathology.
Project description:This is an investigation of whole genome gene expression level in tissues of mice stimulated by LPS, FK565 or LPS + FK565 in vivo and ex vivo. We show that parenteral administration of a pure synthetic Nod1 ligand, FK565, induces site-specific vascular inflammation in mice, which is prominent in aortic root including aortic valves, slight in aorta and absent in other arteries. The degree of respective vascular inflammation is associated with persistent high expression of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine genes in each tissue in vivo by microarray analysis, and not with Nod1 expression levels. The ex vivo production of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine by Nod1 ligand is higher in aortic root than in other arteries from normal murine vascular tissues, and also higher in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) than in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), suggesting that site-specific vascular inflammation is at least in part ascribed to an intrinsic nature of the vascular tissue/cell itself. A fourty chip study using total RNA recovered from four isolated tissues of mice which were stimulated by various reagents. Aortic root, pulmonary artery, aorta and spleen of mice in 3 groups: 1) intraperitoneal injection of 20M-NM-<g of LPS priming only, 2) oral administration of FK565 (100M-NM-<g) for consecutive days, 3) oral administration of FK565 (100M-NM-<g) for consecutive days 1 day after LPS priming, at day 2, 4, and 7. And six chip study using total RNA recovered from three isolated vascular tissues of mice which were stimulated by FK565 (10M-NM-<g/mL) ex vivo.
Project description:Atelocollagen gel is often used for three-dimensional culture of articular cartilage-derived cells, but further knowledge is needed about the effect of atelocollagen gel on cells. We performed a microarray analysis using human articular cartilage-derived cells cultured in three different methods (2D culture, 3D culture with atelocollagen gel, and 3D culture without atelocollagen gel).