Project description:Using a hitherto uncharacterized knockout mouse model of Notch 3, a Notch signaling receptor paralogue highly expressed in vascular SMCs, we uncover a striking susceptibility to ischemic stroke upon challenge. Cellular and molecular analyses of vascular SMCs derived from these animals associate Notch 3 activity to the expression of specific gene targets, whereas genetic rescue experiments unambiguously link Notch 3 function in vessels to the ischemic phenotype.
Project description:Using a hitherto uncharacterized knockout mouse model of Notch 3, a Notch signaling receptor paralogue highly expressed in vascular SMCs, we uncover a striking susceptibility to ischemic stroke upon challenge. Cellular and molecular analyses of vascular SMCs derived from these animals associate Notch 3 activity to the expression of specific gene targets, whereas genetic rescue experiments unambiguously link Notch 3 function in vessels to the ischemic phenotype. Microarray Studies. Biotinylated cRNA samples from freshly sorted brain SMCs (four Notch 3 +/- mice and five Notch 3 -/- mice) were fragmented before hybridization (15 ug each) onto mouse 430 2.0 Affymetrix chips. The chips were washed, stained by using strepavidin-phycoerytrin, and scanned the next day as described in ref. 24. For data normalization, all probe sets were scaled to a target intensity of 150. Microarray data analysis was performed by using Rosetta Resolver. All cells were from 10- to 12-week-old male mice. Gene Ontology Analyses. PANTHER software was used to define over- and underrepresented functions in the list of signature genes found by microarray analysis (25). P values were calculated by using binomial statistics.
Project description:Background: Ischemic stroke is a disease with high rate of death and disability worldwide. This study investigated key circRNAs related to ischemic stroke. Methods: Three ischemic stroke patients and three healthy individuals were included in the current study to obtain the circRNA expression profiles by RNA sequencing. Through bioinformatic analysis, differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were identified, and GO and pathway analyses for the host genes of DEcircRNAs were conducted. To further explore the functions of key circRNAs, a DEcircRNA-miRNA interaction network was constructed. Finally, the expression levels of selected circRNAs were validated with qRT-PCR. Results: A total of 736 DEcircRNAs were detected in ischemic stroke. Functional annotation of host genes of DEcircRNAs revealed several significantly enriched pathways, including Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway, B cell receptor signaling pathway, and T cell receptor signaling pathway. A circRNA-miRNA network, including 1544 circRNA-miRNA pairs, 456 circRNAs and 4 miRNAs, was obtained. The qRT-PCR results were largely in keeping with our RNA-seq data. Conclusion: The results of our study may help to elucidate the specific mechanism underlying ischemic stroke.
Project description:The purpose of this project was to elucidate gene expression in the peripheral whole blood of acute ischemic stroke patients to identify a panel of genes for the diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. Peripheral blood samples were collected in Paxgene Blood RNA tubes from stroke patients who were >18 years of age with MRI diagnosed ischemic stroke and controls who were non-stroke neurologically healthy. The results suggest a panel of genes can be used to diagnose ischemic stroke, and provide information about the biological pathways involved in the response to acute ischemic stroke in humans. Total RNA extracted from whole blood in n=39 ischemic stroke patients compared to n=24 healthy control subjects.