Project description:Given that diseases associated with anti-SSA/Ro autoantibodies such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome are linked with an upregulation of IFN and type I IFN-stimulated genes, including Sialic Acid-Binding Ig-Like Lectin 1 (Siglec-1), a receptor on monocytes/macrophages, recent attention has focused on a potential role for IFN and IFN-stimulated genes in the pathogenesis of congenital heart block (CHB). Accordingly, three approaches were leveraged to address the association of IFN, IFN-stimulated genes, and the phenotype of macrophages in affected fetal cardiac tissue: a) cultured healthy human macrophages transfected with hY3, an anti-SSA/Ro-associated single-stranded RNA, b) RNA isolated from freshly sorted human leukocytes/macrophages after Langendorff perfusion of three fetal hearts dying with CHB and three healthy gestational age-matched hearts, and c) autopsy tissue from three additional human CHB hearts and one healthy heart. TLR ligation of macrophages with hY3 led to the upregulation of a panel of IFN transcripts, including SIGLEC1, a result corroborated using qPCR. Utilizing independent and agnostic bioinformatics approaches, CD45+CD11c+ and CD45+CD11c- human leukocytes flow sorted from the CHB hearts highly expressed type I IFN response genes inclusive of SIGLEC1. Furthermore, Siglec-1 expression was identified in the septal region of several affected fetal hearts. These data now provide a link between IFN, IFN-stimulated genes, and the inflammatory and possibly fibrosing components of CHB, positioning Siglec-1-positive macrophages as integral to the process.
Project description:Alteration of kidney morphogenesis in diabetic pregnancies is poorly described, especially changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and glomerular basement membrane (GBM during glomerulogenesis. Addressing the ECM proteome, or matrisome, in the mouse fetal kidney in a healthy and diabetic environment will improve understanding about the association between ECM changes in the kidney as potential reprogramming mechanisms of kidney differentiation in diabetic pregnancies. Therefore, to better understand ECM composition and remodelling in kidney developmental and appreciate the alterations associated to the maternal diabetes, this project aimed to define the matrisome in the mouse fetal kidney on embryonic day 19. For this, we used an ECM enrichment approach combined with high resolution label-free tandem mass spectrometry to define the matrisome in the fetal mouse kidney (healthy and hyperglycemic) to test the hypothesis that maternal diabetes influences ECM composition, assembly and, therefore, biology.
Project description:There were 3 patients with CHB and 3 patients with SC HBV in microarray analysis. As for the liver function parameters, the average HBsAg and HBeAg levels of CHB group were obviously higher than SC HBV group. The obtained RNAs expression profiles were analyzed by microarray analysis. A total of 513 lncRNAs, 256 mRNAs and 48 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed (DE) in patients with CHB compared with patients with SC HBV (fold change > 1.2 and P < 0.05).
Project description:We used microarrays to examine gene expression levels in individuals from different populations (cephgp, chb, jpt, yri). The chb and jpt populations are combined in the analysis.
Project description:To gain insight into the molecular regulation of human heart development, a detailed comparison of the mRNA and miRNA transcriptomes across differentiating human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)–derived cardiomyocytes and biopsies from fetal, adult, and hypertensive human hearts was performed. Gene ontology analysis of the mRNA expression levels of the hiPSCs differentiating into cardiomyocytes revealed 3 distinct groups of genes: pluripotent specific, transitional cardiac specification, and mature cardiomyocyte specific. Hierarchical clustering of the mRNA data revealed that the transcriptome of hiPSC cardiomyocytes largely stabilizes 20 days after initiation of differentiation. Nevertheless, analysis of cells continuously cultured for 120 days indicated that the cardiomyocytes continued to mature toward a more adult-like gene expression pattern. Analysis of cardiomyocyte-specific miRNAs (miR-1, miR-133a/b, and miR-208a/b) revealed a miRNA pattern indicative of stem cell to cardiomyocyte specification. A biostatistitical approach integrated the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles revealing a cardiomyocyte differentiation miRNA network and identified putative mRNAs targeted by multiple miRNAs. Together, these data reveal the miRNA network in human heart development and support the notion that overlapping miRNA networks re-enforce transcriptional control during developmental specification. Comparison of mRNA expression profiling of differentiating human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)–derived cardiomyocytes, biopsies from fetal, adult and hypertensive human hearts and primary cardiomyocytes
Project description:Antenatal hypoxia has critial impacts on fetal heart development. The molecular mechanism of the antenaltal hypoxia effect on the heart development is still unknown. We performed DNA methylome and transcriptome analyses of antenatal hypoxia induced rat fetal and adult offspring hearts to understand the hypoxia-mediated epigenomic programming in the heart development. Heart tissue from fetal (E21) and adult rat (5 months old) were collected. mRNA and genomic DNA methylation profiles of the heart tissue were generated by RNAseq and reduced representation bisulfite seuqencing (RRBS) techniques. We found 323 and 112 differential expressed genes between control and hypoxia groups in the fetal and adult hearts, respectively. Meanwhile, 2828 and 2193 differential methylated regions were identified in the fetal and adult hearts. Furthermore, opposite gobal DNA methylation pattern changes in transcription start site regions (TSS ± 1kb) were observed between fetal and adult hearts. Combining transcriptome, data indicates a significant difference in the responding genes and pathways between fetal and adult hearts in responding to the antenatal hypoxia. Our study provides an initial framework and new insights into fetal hypoxia-mediated epigenetic programming of pro-inflammatory phenotype in the heart development, linking antenatal stress, and developmental programming of heart vulnerability to disease later in life.