Project description:Canine mammary gland tumors can be used as predictive models for human breast cancer. There are several types of microRNAs common in human breast cancer and canine mammary gland tumors. The functions of microRNAs in canine mammary gland tumors are not well understood. In the present study, we compared the characterization of microRNA expression in two-dimensional and three-dimensional canine mammary gland tumor cell models. The expression of microRNA-210 in the three-dimensional-SNP cells was 10.19 times higher than that in the two-dimensional-SNP cells.
Project description:Biomarkers to more accurately determine severity and prognosis following spinal cord injury (SCI) are needed to ensure that patients are assigned to the most suitable treatment and rehabilitation regimes. This study aimed to characterise the blood proteome following SCI in clinical rat injury models to identify novel candidate biomarkers and altered biological pathways.
Project description:Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women causing the greatest number of cancer-related deaths. Cancer heterogeneity is a main obstacle to therapies. Around 96% of the drugs fail from discovery to the clinical trial phase probably because of the current unreliable preclinical models. New models emerge such as companion dogs who develop spontaneous mammary tumors resembling human breast cancer in many clinical and molecular aspects. The present work aimed at developing a robust canine mammary tumor model in the form of tumoroids which recapitulate the tumor diversity and heterogeneity. We conducted a complete characterization of these canine mammary tumoroids through histologic, molecular and proteomic analysis, demonstrating their strong similarity to the primary tumor. We demonstrated that these tumoroids can be used as a drug screening model. Due to easy tissue availability, tumoroids can be produced at larger scale and cryopreserved to constitute a biobank. We have demonstrated that cryopreserved tumoroids keep the same histologic and molecular features (ER, PR and HER2 expression) as fresh tumoroids. Two techniques of cryopreservation were compared demonstrating that tumoroids made from frozen tumor material allowed to maintain a higher molecular diversity. These findings revealed that canine mammary tumoroids can be easily generated at large scale and can represent a more reliable preclinical model to investigate tumorigenesis mechanisms and develop new treatments for both veterinary and human medicine.
Project description:The study of male infertility after spinal cord injury (SCI) has enhanced the understanding of seminal plasma (SP) as an important regulator of spermatozoa function. However, the most important factors leading to the diminished sperm motility and viability observed in semen of men with SCI remained unknown. Thus, to explore SP related molecular mechanisms underlying infertility after SCI we used mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics to compare SP retrieved from SCI patients to normal controls. As a result, we present an in-depth characterization of the human SP proteome, identifying ~2,800 unique proteins, and describe, in detail, the differential proteome observed in SCI. Our analysis demonstrates that a hyper-activation of the immune system may influence some seminal processes, which probably are not triggered by microbial infection. Moreover, we show evidence of an important prostate gland functional failure, i.e. diminished abundance of metabolic enzymes related to ATP turnover, secreted via prostasomes and identify the main outcome related to this fact and that it is intrinsically linked to the low sperm motility in SCI. Together, our data suggest the molecular pathways hindering fertility in SCI and shed new light on other causes of male infertility.
Project description:Development and characterization of two canine melanoma cell lines with distinct clinical profiles: new models for comparative oncology
Project description:Despite the recognized importance of the spinal cord in sensory processing, motor behaviors, and/or neural diseases, the underlying organization of neuronal clusters remain elusive. Recently, several studies have attempted to define the neuronal types and functional heterogeneity in the spinal cord using single-cell and/or single-nucleus RNA-sequencing in various animal models. However, molecular evidence of neuronal heterogeneity in the human spinal cord has not yet been established. Here, we sought to classify spinal cord neurons from human donors using high-throughput single-nucleus RNA-sequencing. The functional heterogeneity among the identified cell types and signaling pathways that connect neuronal subtypes were explored. Moreover, we compared the transcriptional patterns obtained in human samples with previously published single-cell transcriptomic profiles of the mouse spinal cord. As a result, we generated the first comprehensive transcriptomic atlas of human spinal cord neurons and defined 18 neuronal clusters. In addition to identifying new and functionally distinct neuronal subtypes, our results also provide novel marker genes for previously described neuronal types. The comparison with mouse transcriptomic profiles revealed an overall similarity in the cellular composition of the spinal cord between the two species, while simultaneously highlighting some degree of heterogeneity. In summary, these results illustrate the complexity and diversity of neuronal types in the human spinal cord and provide an important resource for future research to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying spinal cord physiology and diseases.
Project description:Mammary cancer is the most common type of cancer in female dogs with a lifetime risk of over 24% when dogs are not spayed. The elucidation of the complete canine genome opens new areas for development of cancer therapies. These should be tested first by in vitro models such as cell lines. However, to date, no canine mammary cell lines have been characterized by expression profiling. In this study, canine mammary tumour cell lines with histologically distinct primary tumours of origin were characterized using a newly developed canine cDNA microarray. Comparisons of gene expression profiles showed enrichment for distinct biological pathways and were related to biological properties of the cell lines such as growth rate and in vitro tumourigenicity. Additionally, gene expression profiles of cell lines also showed correspondence to their tumour of origin. Major differences were found in Wnt, cell cycle, cytokine/Rho-GTPase, alternative complement and integrin signalling pathways. Because these pathways show an overlap at the molecular level with those found in human breast cancer, the expression profiling of spontaneous canine mammary cancer may also function as a biological sieve to identify conserved gene expression or pathway profiles of evolutionary significance that are involved in tumourigenesis. These results are the basis for further characterization of canine mammary carcinomas and development of new therapies directed towards specific pathways. In addition these cell lines can be used to further investigate identified deregulated pathways and characterize until now unannotated genes. Keywords: cell line type comparision Three canine mammary tumor cell lines (CMT) originating from benign mixed tumor (CMT-U229), primary mammary osteosarcoma (CMT-U335) and primary mammary anaplastic carcinoma (P114) were compared directly to each other in this study. Total RNA was isolated from cells grown to near confluence. In vitro transcription followed by labeling and hybridization to cDNA microarray was carried out. In a loop design of hybridization, labeled cRNA from cell lines were hybridized against each other. Statistical analysis of the log transformed normalized data was done using SAM (significance analysis of microarray) and differentially expressed genes from each experimental subset (comparison of two cell lines) were identified. Dye swaps and at least one biological replicates were included under each experimental subset (each comparision).
Project description:Summary: We build a model for the molecular and cellular events underlying phenotypic discordance in glycine receptor defects (beta subunit). Some mice progress and die, while their littermates recover and get better, despite the same mutation on an inbred genetic background. We find evidence for glycine neurotransmitter toxicity and loss of glycinergic interneurons early in the disease, but some mice are able to keep things going until they can over-express homomeric alpha1 channels, whereupon they recover. In the mice progressing towards lethality, neurotransmitter toxicity too quickly extends to GABAergic interneurons and motorneurons, and they lose their window of time to upregulate the alpha1 glycine receptor, and they crash and burn. Importantly, human patients with glycine receptor defects typically show a resolution of their phenotype with age, and we propose that the same remodeling events are occuring in human patients. Hypothesis: Our data suggests that functional recovery of GlyRb mutant mice is likely due to expression of homomeric glycine receptors, rescue from excitotoxicity, and subsequent neuronal remodeling. We propose that human patients with hyperekplexia (mutations of glycine receptors) show remodeling similar to that of the recovering spastic mice, as human patients also show a lessening of symptoms as a function of age. Specific Aim: Murine models for human Startle Disease show clinical variability between littermates. Here, we determined the molecular remodeling of spastic GlyRb mutant spinal cord through the course of the disease, and develop a model for clinical disparity between littermates. At young ages, all animals were spastic, showed loss of glycine receptors, increased expression of vesicular glycine/GABA transporter and NMDA receptors, induction of activated caspase3, and preferential loss of glycinergic interneurons consistent with neurotransmitter toxicity model. Those littermates that recovered from symptoms showed strong over-expression of the GlyRa1 subunit, and increased myelination and synaptic plasticity. Littermates that showed a deteriorating clinical course failed to over-express GlyRa1, and also showed relative loss of gephyrin. These molecular changes were associated with preferential loss of GABAergic interneurons, and extensive motorneuron loss. Keywords: other
Project description:Mammary cancer is the most common type of cancer in female dogs with a lifetime risk of over 24% when dogs are not spayed. The elucidation of the complete canine genome opens new areas for development of cancer therapies. These should be tested first by in vitro models such as cell lines. However, to date, no canine mammary cell lines have been characterized by expression profiling. In this study, canine mammary tumour cell lines with histologically distinct primary tumours of origin were characterized using a newly developed canine cDNA microarray. Comparisons of gene expression profiles showed enrichment for distinct biological pathways and were related to biological properties of the cell lines such as growth rate and in vitro tumourigenicity. Additionally, gene expression profiles of cell lines also showed correspondence to their tumour of origin. Major differences were found in Wnt, cell cycle, cytokine/Rho-GTPase, alternative complement and integrin signalling pathways. Because these pathways show an overlap at the molecular level with those found in human breast cancer, the expression profiling of spontaneous canine mammary cancer may also function as a biological sieve to identify conserved gene expression or pathway profiles of evolutionary significance that are involved in tumourigenesis. These results are the basis for further characterization of canine mammary carcinomas and development of new therapies directed towards specific pathways. In addition these cell lines can be used to further investigate identified deregulated pathways and characterize until now unannotated genes. Keywords: cell line type comparision
Project description:We investigated the gene expression profile of monocyte-derived macrophages and microglia following spinal cord injury. Moreover, we investigated the gene expression profole of M-CSF induced macrophages and new-born derived microglia following TGFb1 treatment. monocyte-derived macrophages and microglia following spinal cord injury M-CSF induced macrophages and new-born derived microglia following TGFb1 treatment