Project description:Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which has been proposed as the major determinant of processes involving tumor invasion and metastasis. To study whether circulating DNA (cirDNA) in blood plasma reflects the changes that the tumor cells undergo under IH conditions, we used a xenografted murine model. Mice engrafted with TC1 epithelial lung and controls were exposed to IH or room air (RA) conditions. Plasma cirDNA amounts were significantly increased in mice exposed to IH (p<0.05). We found a significant correlation between plasma cirDNA concentration and tumor size, weight and invasiveness (p<0.05). Using a microarray-based approach, we identified 2,094 regions showing significant differential cirDNA modifications. System biology analysis revealed an association with molecular pathways misregulated in cancer progression and with distal and TSS-associated transcription factor binding sites. We detected clusters of highly variable regions in chromosomes 7, 13, 14 and X, which may highlight hotspots for DNA deletions. Single locus displayed high intragroup variation, suggesting cellular heterogeneity within the tissue may be associated to cirDNA release. Our result showed that exposure to IH increases the shedding of cirDNA into circulation, which carries epigenetic modifications that may characterize cell populations within the tumor that preferentially release their DNA upon IH exposure. 6 xenografted mouse samples were analyzed by microarray analysis: Mouse exposed to IH (n=3, XenoIH group) and mouse exposed to room air conditions (n=3, XenoRA group)
Project description:Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which has been proposed as the major determinant of processes involving tumor invasion and metastasis. To study whether circulating DNA (cirDNA) in blood plasma reflects the changes that the tumor cells undergo under IH conditions, we used a xenografted murine model. Mice engrafted with TC1 epithelial lung and controls were exposed to IH or room air (RA) conditions. Plasma cirDNA amounts were significantly increased in mice exposed to IH (p<0.05). We found a significant correlation between plasma cirDNA concentration and tumor size, weight and invasiveness (p<0.05). Using a microarray-based approach, we identified 2,094 regions showing significant differential cirDNA modifications. System biology analysis revealed an association with molecular pathways misregulated in cancer progression and with distal and TSS-associated transcription factor binding sites. We detected clusters of highly variable regions in chromosomes 7, 13, 14 and X, which may highlight hotspots for DNA deletions. Single locus displayed high intragroup variation, suggesting cellular heterogeneity within the tissue may be associated to cirDNA release. Our result showed that exposure to IH increases the shedding of cirDNA into circulation, which carries epigenetic modifications that may characterize cell populations within the tumor that preferentially release their DNA upon IH exposure.
Project description:Expression data from mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia and mice reared for 12 months. We used microarrays to analyze the transcriptome of hippocampus from mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia or aged mice.
Project description:We hypothesize that the culture media collected from macrophages exposed to intermittent hypoxia will induce a greater pro-inflammatory gene profile in naïve cultured macrophages than will culture media collected from macrophages exposed to sustained hypoxia. We will evaluate gene expression using microarray analysis of RNA collected from RAW 264.7 macrophages cultured for 24 hours in DMEM media obtained from 1) cells cultured with intermittent hypoxia (2 minute cycles: 90 seconds at 40 Torr and 30 seconds at 8 Torr), 2) media exposed to intermittent hypoxia, 3) cells cultured with sustained hypoxia (8 Torr), 4) media exposed to sustained hypoxia and 4) standard tissue culture conditions (fresh DMEM media; reference).
Project description:ChIP-seq targeting H3K9ac and H3K27me3 histone modifications was carried out on macrophages isolated from aortas of mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia or room air conditions.
Project description:We hypothesize that cultured macrophages directly exposed intermittent hypoxia will have a greater change in expression in genes related to inflammatory response than macrophages exposed to sustained hypoxia. We will evaluate gene expression using microarray analysis of RNA collected from RAW 264.7 macrophages cultured under the following environmental conditions: 1) 4 hours of intermittent hypoxia (2 minute cycles: 90 seconds at 40 Torr and 30 seconds at 8 Torr), 2) 4 hours of sustained hypoxia (8 Torr), and 3 ) standard tissue culture conditions (141 Torr; reference).
Project description:We analyzed gene expression via RNA-sequencing in medulla and C3-C6 cervical spinal cord microglia isolated from young adult rats exposed to gestational intermittent normoxia or gestational intermittent hypoxia
Project description:The long-term effects of neonatal intermittent hypoxia (IH), an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia, are unclear. We have previously shown lasting “programming” effects on the HPA axis in adult rats exposed to neonatal IH. We hypothesized that neonatal rat exposure to IH will subsequently result in a heightened inflammatory state in the adult. Rat pups were exposed to normoxia (control) or six cycles of 5% IH or 10% IH over one hour daily from postnatal day 2 – 6. Plasma samples from blood obtained at 114 days of age were analyzed by assessing the capacity to induce transcription in a healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) population and read using a high-density microarray. The analysis of plasma from adult rats previously exposed to neonatal 5% IH vs. 10% IH resulted in 2,579 significantly regulated genes including increased expression of Cxcl1, Cxcl2, Ccl3, Il1a, and Il1b. We conclude that neonatal exposure to intermittent hypoxia elicits a long-lasting programming effect in the adult resulting in an upregulation of inflammatory-related genes. Apnea is the most common cause of neonatal hypoxia affecting about 50% of preterm births (30 – 31 weeks), usually due to immature respiratory development. Upregulation of inflammatory genes and pathways in children 7 – 10 years of age has been shown, and there is a known increased risk of insulin resistance in adulthood when the fetus is exposed to maternal hypoxia, but the mechanism is unclear. The long-term metabolic, endocrine, and immunological effects of neonatal intermittent hypoxia (IH) exposure, an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia, have not been thoroughly evaluated. Recent studies in rats have shown that perinatal IH exposure can result in oxidative stress, causing a permanent immune response subsequently resulting in features of diabetes mellitus. We have previously examined adult rats exposed to neonatal intermittent hypoxia and perinatal continuous hypoxia, and have found lasting “programming” effects on the HPA axis. We now assess the long term effects of an accepted model of apnea-induced hypoxia using a validated transcriptional bioassay to study the extracellular milieu of adult rats exposed to neonatal intermittent hypoxia. We hypothesize that exposure to neonatal intermittent hypoxia will result in an increased inflammatory state in the adult as a result of long-lasting programming.
Project description:ApoE knockout mice were exposed to intermittent hypoxia and hypercapnia (treatment) or room air (controls). Perturbations in the gut microbiome were profiled longitudinally using LC-MS/MS to study the impact of treatment on the gut metabolome over the course of the day. Samples were collected after 6 days of exposure to conditions. Samples were collected every 4 hours for 24hrs (6 timepoints) to examine circadian rhythm dynamics.