Project description:TWIST1 is known to play a role in the metastatic progression of melanoma. However, the range of TWIST1 targets is poorly charachterized. Here microarray analysis was used to define the TWIST1 regulated transcriptome in the human melanoma cell line WM793.
Project description:Twist1 is a transcription factor that induces EMT and drives metastasis in prostate cancer. We examined global gene expression in Myc-CaP mouse prostate cancer cells following overexpression of Twist1 and the Twist1 mutants F191G, AQA, and DQD. 15 total samples were analysed, with 3 replicates of 5 groups: Twist1-WT, Twist1-AQA, Twist1-DQD, Twist1-F191G, and vector control. We performed the comparisons: WT > VEC, F191G > VEC. Samples were normalized by Twist1 expression in addition to normal
Project description:The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of HD that result in late, and fatal, neurodegeneration are still not fully understood. The monogenic nature of HD is in contradiction with the complexity of the cellular alterations found in patients with HD. Huntingtin interacts with a broad range of proteins within the cell, and it is altered by the expanded polyglutamine tract. Transcriptional dysregulation is a common finding in genetic models and in human HD patients, and it is thought to play an important role in the disease. Although the onset of the disease is late in life, growing lines of evidence suggest that mHtt causes alterations in development. In this microarray study, the effects of mHtt on the transcriptome were investigated with a full-length human huntingtin (96 CAG repeats) expressing transgenic rat model of HD at an early stage of development (E14).
Project description:Twist1 is a transcription factor that induces EMT and drives metastasis in prostate cancer. We examined global gene expression in Myc-CaP mouse prostate cancer cells following overexpression of Twist1 and the Twist1 mutants F191G, AQA, and DQD.
Project description:Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor among adults, which is characterized by high invasion, migration and proliferation abilities. One important process that contributes to the invasiveness of GBM is the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is regulated by a set of defined transcription factors which tightly regulate this process, among them is the basic helix-loop-helix family member, TWIST1. Here we show that TWIST1 is methylated on lysine-33 at chromatin by SETD6, a methyltransferase with expression levels correlating with poor survival in GBM patients. RNA-seq analysis in U251 GBM cells suggested that both SETD6 and TWIST1 regulate cell adhesion and migration processes. We further show that TWIST1 methylation attenuates the expression of the long-non-coding RNA, LINC-PINT, thereby suppressing EMT in GBM. Mechanistically, TWIST1 methylation represses the transcription of LINC-PINT by increasing the occupancy of EZH2 and the catalysis of the repressive H3K27me3 mark at the LINC-PINT locus. Under un-methylated conditions, TWIST1 dissociates from the LINC-PINT locus, allowing the expression of LINC-PINT which leads to increased cell adhesion and decreased cell migration. Together, our findings unravel a new mechanistic dimension for selective expression of LINC-PINT mediated by TWIST1 methylation.
Project description:Multiomic single-cell analyses on human IPF lungs identify a global opening of TWIST1 and other E-box motifs in IPF myofibroblasts, with in vivo murine models confirming a critical regulatory function for TWIST1 in IPF myofibroblast activity.
Project description:Malformations of the cardiovascular system are the most common type of birth defect in humans, affecting predominantly the formation of valves and septa. During heart valve and septa formation, cells from the atrio-ventricular canal (AVC) and outflow tract (OFT) regions of the heart undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and invade the underlying extracellular matrix to give rise to endocardial cushions. Subsequent maturation of newly formed mesenchyme cells leads to thin stress-resistant leaflets. TWIST1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor expressed in newly formed mesenchyme cells of the AVC and OFT that has been shown to play roles in cell survival, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the role and downstream targets of TWIST1 during heart valve formation remain unclear. To identify genes important for heart valve development downstream of Twist1 we performed global gene expression profiling of AVC, OFT, atria and ventricles of the embryonic day 10.5 mouse heart by tag-sequencing (Tag-seq). Using this resource we identified a novel set of 1246 genes, including 201 regulators of transcription, enriched in the valve forming regions of the heart. We compared these genes to a Tag-seq library from the Twist1 null developing valves revealing significant gene expression changes. These changes were consistent with a role of TWIST1 in controlling differentiation of mesenchymal cells following their transformation from endothelium in the mouse. To study the role of TWIST1 at the DNA level we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation and identified novel direct targets of TWIST1 in the developing heart valves. Our findings are consistent with a role for TWIST1 in the differentiation of AVC mesenchyme post-EMT in the mouse, and suggest that TWIST1 exerts its function by direct DNA binding to activate valve specific gene expression. Profiled the AVC, OFT, atria and ventricles of the embryonic day 10.5 mouse heart by tag-sequencing (Tag-seq) (no replicates). We also produced a Tag-seq library from Twist1 null developing valves to reveal the gene expression changes associated with loss of this gene.