Project description:Cerebellar post-natal development is particularly sensitive to thyroid hormone and low levels of thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) result in permanent defects in cerebellar architecture and function. All cell types of the cerebellum are affected, but the main sign of hypothyroidism in mice is the persistence of the external granular layer, composed of mitotic neuronal precursors at P21. To make the genetic link between thyroid hormone and cerebellar development, we sought to identify new thyroid hormone target genes, in particular in granule cells which represent the vast majority of cerebellar cells. Primary cultures of cerebellar neurons were made by dissociation of cerebella from newborn wild-type mice. These cells were plated 48 hours in serum-free medium to avoid invasion of the culture by glial cells. In order to include a kinetic and a maximum number of target genes, several cultures were either treated or left untreated as controls for 6 hours (T1), 16 hours (T2), 24 hours (T3) or 48 hours (T4) and results were pairwise compared for each time point.
Project description:Cerebellar post-natal development is particularly sensitive to thyroid hormone and low levels of thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) result in permanent defects in cerebellar architecture and function. All cell types of the cerebellum are affected, but the main sign of hypothyroidism in mice is the persistence of the external granular layer, composed of mitotic neuronal precursors at P21. To make the genetic link between thyroid hormone and cerebellar development, we sought to identify new thyroid hormone target genes, in particular in granule cells which represent the vast majority of cerebellar cells.
Project description:Sex differences in liver gene expression are dictated by sex-differences in circulating growth hormone (GH) profiles. Presently, the pituitary hormone dependence of mouse liver gene expression was investigated on a global scale to discover sex-specific early GH response genes that might contribute to sex-specific regulation of downstream GH targets and to ascertain whether intrinsic sex-differences characterize hepatic responses to plasma GH stimulation. RNA expression analysis using 41,000-feature microarrays revealed two distinct classes of sex-specific mouse liver genes: genes subject to positive regulation (class-I) and genes subject to negative regulation by pituitary hormones (class-II). Genes activated or repressed in hypophysectomized (Hypox) mouse liver within 30-90min of GH pulse treatment at a physiological dose were identified as direct targets of GH action (early response genes). Intrinsic sex-differences in the GH responsiveness of a subset of these early response genes were observed. Notably, 45 male-specific genes, including five encoding transcriptional regulators that may mediate downstream sex-specific transcriptional responses, were rapidly induced by GH (within 30min) in Hypox male but not Hypox female mouse liver. The early GH response genes were enriched in 29 male-specific targets of the transcription factor Mef2, whose activation in hepatic stellate cells is associated with liver fibrosis leading to hepatocellular carcinoma, a male-predominant disease. Thus, the rapid activation by GH pulses of certain sex-specific genes is modulated by intrinsic sex-specific factors, which may be associated with prior hormone exposure (epigenetic mechanisms) or genetic factors that are pituitary-independent, and could contribute to sex-differences in predisposition to liver cancer or other hepatic pathophysiologies.