Project description:Vitamin D insufficiency may exacerbate non-specific inflammation observed in older adults. Here, we tested the hypothesis that an inflammatory gene signature present in old skin following saline injection (as model for non-specific needle injury) normalizes after oral vitamin D3 supplementation. To define the saline-induced signature, we compared gene expression in skin biopsies taken six hours after saline injection in old adults (≥65 years) to biopsies from unmanipulated skin. We then assessed signature expression in saline-injected skin of old and young adults (<40 years), and in paired samples of old adults before and after oral vitamin D3 supplementation (6400 IU/day for 14 weeks), where median serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased from 43 nmol/L (interquartile range 36-53 nmol/L) to 131 nmol/L (interquartile range 115-147 nmol/L). This submission comprises 112 samples from 57 individuals.
Project description:This study investigates the medical and psychosocial consequences of colorectal cancer on adolescents and young adults. Measuring physical function in adolescents and young adults with colorectal cancer may help doctors better understand the level of physical function during cancer treatment and how to improve the management of colorectal cancer in adolescents and young adults. This study may also help design a future exercise program to decrease risk factors including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
Project description:The objectives of this study were to establish a microbiome profile for oral epithelial dysplasia using archival lesion swab samples to characterize the community variations and the functional potential of the microbiome using 16S rRNA gene sequencing
Project description:The microbiome of aging: instability, heterogeneity, and pathogenicity reservoirs in the skin, oral, and gut microbiome of older adults
Project description:In order to evaluate the identification of genes and pathways, the global gene expression profiles were assessed in response to GO and rGO on nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. We performed whole genome DNA microarray experiments using age synchronized young adult C. elegans population exposed to GO and rGO for 24h. We used whole genome microarrays to screen for global changed in C. elegans transcription profiles and with subsequent quantitative analysis conducted on selected genes. Young adults of C.elegans were selected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.
Project description:This study represents the first attempt to perform a profiling analysis of the intergenerational differences in the microRNAs (miRNAs) of melanocytic neoplasms in young adult and older adult groups. Our comparative miRNA profiling provides a novel characterization of the miRnomes of melanocytic neoplasms and melanomas of different age groups and identifies a set of potential diagnostic and potential clinico-pathologic biomarkers that may serve as targets for development of novel miR-based modalities in cancer diagnosis and treatment. An exploratory miRNA analysis of 666 miRs was conducted on formalin fixed and paraffin embedded tissues from 10 adults and 10 young adults including conventional melanoma and melanocytic neoplasms of uncertain biological significance. Age-matched benign melanocytic nevi were used as controls. The comparative profiling was intentionally performed at two extremes of age, i.e., less than 30 years (Mel 30) and greater than 60 years (Mel 60). Primary melanoma in patients greater than 60 years old was characterized by the increased expression of miRs regulating TLR-MyD88-NF-kappaB pathway (hsa-miR -199a), RAS/RAB22A pathway (hsa-miR-204); growth differentiation and migration (hsa-miR337), epithelial mesenchymal transition EMT (let-7b, hsa-miR-10b/10bSTAR(*)), invasion and metastasis (hsa-miR-10b/10bSTAR(*), hsa-miR-30a/e*, hsa-miR-29c*; cellular matrix components (hsa-miR-29c*); invasion-cytokinesis (hsa-miR 99b*) compared to melanoma of younger patients. miR 211 was dramatically downregulated in primary melanoma compared to nevi controls, decreased with increasing age and was among the miRs linked to metastatic processes and potentially targeting the inflammatory receptor CCR10; Primary melanoma in young adult patients was characterized by the increased expression of hsa-miR-449a and decreased expression of hsa-miR146b, hsa-miR 214*. Among the miRs expressed at higher levels in control nevi, compared to adult or young adult melanoma, was hsa-miR 574-3p. Only 2 miRs distinguished adult from young adult-pediatric nevi, hsa-miR374a* and has-miR-566. MiR 30a* appeared to be a strong marker of differentiation in clinical stages I-II adult and pediatric melanoma, and could predict classification of melanoma tissue in the two age groups. Furthermore, lymph node status in the two age groups was characterized by the statistically significant expression of hsa-miR-30a* and hsa-miR-204 (F-test, p-value <0.001).
Project description:Seasonal influenza contributes to a substantial disease burden annually, resulting in approximately 10 million hospital visits and 50 thousand deaths in a typical year in the US. 90% of the annual mortality from influenza occurs in people over the age of 65. While influenza vaccination is the best protection against the virus, it is less effective for the elderly. This may be due to differences in the quantity or type of B cells induced by vaccination in older individuals. To investigate this possibility, we leveraged recent development in single-cell technology that allows for simultaneous measurement of both gene expression profile and the B cell receptor (BCR) at single-cell resolution. Pre- and post-vaccination peripheral blood B cells were sorted from three young and three older adults who responded to the inactivated influenza vaccine and were profiled using single-cell RNAseq with paired BCR sequencing. At pre-vaccination, we observed a higher somatic hypermutation frequency and a higher abundance of activated B cells in older adults than in young adults. Following vaccination, young adults mounted a more clonal response than older adults. The response involved a mix of plasmablasts, activated B cells, and resting memory B cells in both age groups. The response in young adults was dominated by expansion in plasmablasts, while the response in older adults also involved activated B cells. We observed a consistent change in gene expression in plasmablasts after vaccination between age groups but not in the activated B cells. These quantitative and qualitative differences in the B cell response may provide insights into the age-related change of influenza vaccination response.