Project description:Though expression of the homeobox transcription factor Nanog is generally restricted to pluripotent cells and early germ cells, recent reports have found that Nanog is re-expressed in somatic and germ cell tumors associated with poor differentiation and aggressive disease progression. To elucidate its oncogenic properties, a modified Tet-On system was utilised to generate Nanog-inducible mice. By dexamethasone and doxycycline injection, similar Nanog expression levels as in wild-type embryonic stem cells were obtained in all major organs except for brain. Ectopic Nanog expression resulted in intestinal and colonic epithelium hyperplasia-intestinal villi had doubled in length and hyperplastic epithelium outgrowths were seen after 7 days. The tumor suppressor gene Cdx2 was downregulated at onset of Nanog expression, suggesting that crosstalk between Nanog and Cdx2 is conserved from early embryo development to adulthood. Although the mice died before they could form tumors, Cdx2 repression and intestinal hyperplasia links Nanog to tumor initiation. 8 samples were analyzed. Intestine-: Mouse intestine cells without Nanog overexpression, 2 biological rep Intestine+: Mouse intestine cells with Nanog overexpression, 2 biological rep Colon-: Mouse colon cells without Nanog overexpression, 2 biological rep Colon+: Mouse colon cells with Nanog overexpression, 2 biological rep
Project description:Though expression of the homeobox transcription factor Nanog is generally restricted to pluripotent cells and early germ cells, recent reports have found that Nanog is re-expressed in somatic and germ cell tumors associated with poor differentiation and aggressive disease progression. To elucidate its oncogenic properties, a modified Tet-On system was utilised to generate Nanog-inducible mice. By dexamethasone and doxycycline injection, similar Nanog expression levels as in wild-type embryonic stem cells were obtained in all major organs except for brain. Ectopic Nanog expression resulted in intestinal and colonic epithelium hyperplasia-intestinal villi had doubled in length and hyperplastic epithelium outgrowths were seen after 7 days. The tumor suppressor gene Cdx2 was downregulated at onset of Nanog expression, suggesting that crosstalk between Nanog and Cdx2 is conserved from early embryo development to adulthood. Although the mice died before they could form tumors, Cdx2 repression and intestinal hyperplasia links Nanog to tumor initiation.
Project description:Acetaminophen is a widely used antipyretic and analgesic drug, and its overdose is the leading cause of drug-induced acute liver failure. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of Lacticaseibacillus casei Shirota (LcS), an extensively used and highly studied probiotic, on acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury. C57BL/6 mice were gavaged with LcS suspension or saline once daily for 7 days before the acute liver injury was induced via intraperitoneal injection of 300 mg/kg acetaminophen. The results showed that LcS significantly decreased acetaminophen-induced liver and ileum injury, as demonstrated by reductions in the increases in aspartate aminotransferase, total bile acids, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and hepatic cell necrosis. Moreover, LcS alleviated the acetaminophen-induced intestinal mucosal permeability, elevation in serum IL-1α and lipopolysaccharide, and decreased levels of serum eosinophil chemokine (eotaxin) and hepatic glutathione levels. Furthermore, analysis of the gut microbiota and metabolome showed that LcS reduced the acetaminophen-enriched levels of Cyanobacteria, Oxyphotobacteria, long-chain fatty acids, cholesterol and sugars in the gut. Additionally, the transcriptome and proteomics showed that LcS mitigated the downregulation of metabolism and immune pathways as well as glutathione formation during acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury. This is the first study showing that pretreatment with LcS alleviates acetaminophen-enriched acute liver injury, and it provides a reference for the application of LcS.