Project description:The effect of folic acid (FA) on breast cancer (BC) risk is uncertain. We hypothesised that this uncertainty may be due, in part, to differential effects of FA between BC cells with different phenotype. To test this we investigated the effect of treatment with FA concentrations within the range of unmetabolised FA reported in humans on the expression of the transcriptomes of non-transformed (MCF10a) and cancerous (MCF7 and Hs578T) BC cells. Total RNA obtained from three breast cancer cell lines (MCF10a, MCF7, Hs578T) treated with 100nmoles/l folic acid untreated control cells. Six replicates per treatment group.
Project description:We have previously shown that withdrawal of folic acid led to metabolic reprogramming and a less aggressive phenotype in a cell model of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Herein, we evaluate the effects of folic acid withdrawal on transcriptomic profiles in these cells. Murine cell lines were originally derived from a pool of spontaneous mammary tumors grown in MMTV-Wnt1 transgenic mice. Based on their differential molecular characteristics and metastatic potential, these cell lines were previously characterized as non-metastatic epithelial (E-Wnt), non-metastatic mesenchymal (M-Wnt) and metastatic mesenchymal (metM-Wntliver) cells.
Project description:Background: Endothelial progenitor cells play an important role in vascular wall repair. Patients with type 1 diabetes have reduced levels of endothelial progenitor cells of which their functional capacity is impaired. Reduced nitric oxide bioavailability and increased oxidative stress play a role in endothelial progenitor cell dysfunction in these patients. Folic acid, a B-vitamin with anti-oxidant properties, may be able to improve endothelial progenitor cell function. In this study, we investigated the gene expression profiles of endothelial progenitor cells from patients with type 1 diabetes compared to endothelial progenitor cells from healthy subjects. Furthermore, we studied the effect of folic acid on gene expression profiles of endothelial progenitor cells from patients with type 1 diabetes. Methods: We used microarray analysis to investigate the gene expression profiles of endothelial progenitor cells from type 1 diabetes patients before (n=11) and after a four week period of folic acid supplementation (n=10) compared to the gene expression profiles of endothelial progenitor cells from healthy subjects (n=11). The probability of genes being differentially expressed among the classes was computed using a random-variance t-test. A multivariate permutation test was used to identify genes that were differentially expressed among the two classes. Functional classification of differentially expressed genes was performed using the biological process ontology in the Gene Ontology database. Results: Type 1 diabetes significantly modulated the expression of 1591 genes compared to healthy controls. These genes were found to be involved in processes regulating development, cell communication, cell adhesion and localization. After folic acid treatment, endothelial progenitor cell gene expression profiles from diabetic patients were similar to those from healthy controls. Genes that were normalized by folic acid played a prominent role in development, such as the transcription factors ID1 and MAFF. Few oxidative-stress related genes were affected by folic acid. Conclusion: Folic acid normalizes endothelial progenitor cell gene expression profiles of patients with type 1 diabetes. Signaling pathways modulated by folic acid may be potential therapeutic targets to improve endothelial progenitor cell function.
Project description:We determined the effects of excess folic acid supplementation (5x recommendation) on maternal and fetal offspring metabolic health. Using a mouse (female C57BL/6J) model of gestational dibetes (GDM; 45% kcal fat diet) and control mice (10% kcal diet) we show that folic acid supplementation increased weight gain and fat mass in both GDM and control mice but improved insulin sensitivity in GDM mice and worsened insulin sensitivity in control mice. We found no unmetabolized folic acid in liver from supplemented mice suggesting the metabolic effects of folic acid supplementation may not be due to unmetabolized folic acid. Male fetal (gestational day 18.5) offspring from folic acid supplemented dams (GDM and control) had greater beta cell mass and density than those from unsupplemented dams; this was not observed in female offspring. Differential sex-specific hepatic gene expression profiles were observed in the offspring from supplemented dams but this differed between GDM and controls. Our findings suggest that folic acid supplementation affects insulin sensitivity in female mice, but is dependent on their metabolic phenotype, and has sex-specific effects on offspring pancreas and liver.
Project description:Folic acid is present in pre-natal vitamins, fortified cereal grains and multi-vitamin supplements. High intake of folic acid through these sources has resulted in populations with increased levels of serum folate and unmetabolized folic acid. Although the benefits of folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects are undeniable, the impact of long-term consumption of folic acid on the prostate is not fully understood. In this study, we used a rodent model to test whether dietary folic acid (FA) supplementation changes prostate homeostasis and response to androgen deprivation. Although intact prostate weights do not differ between diet groups, we made the surprising observation that dietary folic acid supplementation confers partial resistance to castration-mediated prostate involution. More specifically, male mice that were fed a folic acid supplemented diet and then castrated had greater prostate wet weights, greater prostatic luminal epithelial cell heights, and more abundant RNAs encoding prostate secretory proteins compared to mice that were fed a control diet and castrated. We used RNA-seq to identify signaling pathways enriched in the castrated prostates from folic acid supplemented diet fed mice compared to control mice. We observed differential expression of genes involved in several metabolic pathways in the FA supplemented mice. Together, our results show that dietary FA supplementation can impact metabolism in the prostate and attenuate the prostate’s response to androgen deprivation. This has important implications for androgen deprivation therapies used in the treatment of prostate disease, as consumption of high levels of folic acid could reduce the efficacy of these treatments.
Project description:The effect of folic acid (FA) on breast cancer (BC) risk is uncertain. We hypothesised that this uncertainty may be due, in part, to differential effects of FA between BC cells with different phenotype. To test this we investigated the effect of treatment with FA concentrations within the range of unmetabolised FA reported in humans on the expression of the transcriptomes of non-transformed (MCF10a) and cancerous (MCF7 and Hs578T) BC cells.