Project description:Evaluating sedimentary DNA for tracing eutrophication-associated cyanobacteria species in subrecent varved sediments of lake Tiefer See, NE Germany.
Project description:NE-4C is a mouse neural stem cell line used for study of neuronal differentiation. Setdb1 is an epigenetic modification factor responsible for catalyzing the histone modification H3K9me3. Transcription of Setdb1 gene is enriched in embryonic neural cells during vertebrate embryogenesis. Setdb1 is upregulated in cancer cells and promotes cancers. We found that knockdown of Setdb1 in NE-4C cells led to neuronal differentiation.
Project description:The development of therapy resistance is inevitable in prostate cancer (PCa) despite maximal inhibition of androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Here, we for the first time purified a rare AR-negative NE-cell subset from primary fresh human PCa tissue based on cell-surface receptor CXCR2 and showed that they possess gene signatures of lethal cancer through transcriptional profiling. Functional studies demonstrate CXCR2 to be a driver of NE cells’ key phenotypes, including loss of AR expression, lineage plasticity, and resistance to hormonal-therapy. Furthermore, CXCR2-driven NE cells are critical for the tumor microenvironment by providing a survival niche for the bulk AR+ luminal cells. Importantly, inhibition of CXCR2 by a chemical inhibitor or genetic manipulation dramatically inhibits aggressive PCa cells in-vitro and in-vivo, demonstrating a central role of NE cells in human PCa. Therefore, we firmly established that targeting NE cells through CXCR2 represents a novel, AR-independent therapeutic strategy that will eliminate all tumor cells (NE and luminal), achieving superior therapeutic efficacy.