Project description:Classically considered short-lived, purely defensive leukocytes, neutrophils are unique in their fast and moldable response to stimulation. This plastic behavior may underlie variable and even antagonistic functions during inflammation or cancer, yet the full spectrum of neutrophil properties as they enter healthy tissues remains unexplored. Using a new model to track neutrophil fates, we found short but variable lifetimes across multiple tissues. Through analysis of the receptor, transcriptional and chromatin accessibility landscapes, we identify varying neutrophil states and assign non-canonical functions, including vascular repair and hematopoietic homeostasis.
Project description:Vessel co-option is an alternative mode of tumor vascularization, which contributes to resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy (AAT). In contrast to vessel sprouting (angiogenesis), knowledge about the mechanisms underlying vessel co-option is minimal, precluding therapeutic strategies. We therefore single-cell RNA-sequenced 31,964 cells from a murine lung metastasis model with vessel co-option, characterized by resistance to AAT. Unexpectedly, co-opted endothelial cells (ECs) were transcriptomically indistinguishable from healthy ECs and lacked an activation signature, while co-opted pericytes expressed a quiescence signature, in contrast to activated pericytes during angiogenesis. Compared with cancer cells during angiogenesis, co-opting cancer cells were phenotypically more diverse and enriched in invasive subpopulations. Together, these data reveal new insight into vessel co-option, with possible implications for the development of therapeutic targets.
Project description:The movement of repetitive elements in the germline creates widespread genomic alterations and pressure for resolution. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis clade took advantage of two transposon expansions by integrating hundreds of elements into its germline transcriptional network. We find that about one-third of C. elegans germline-specific promoters have been co-opted from CERP2 and CELE2 MITE elements and are regulated by HIM-17, a THAP domain-containing transcription factor related to a transposase. An ancestral CERP2 expansion took place in the common Caenorhabditis ancestor, concurrently with mutations in HIM-17 fixed by positive selection, whereas CELE2 expanded only in C. elegans. Through comparative analyses in C. briggsae, we find conservation as well as species-specific CERP2 co-option. Our work reveals the emergence of a novel transcriptional network driven by TE co-option and its impact on regulatory evolution.
Project description:The movement of repetitive elements in the germline creates widespread genomic alterations and pressure for resolution. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis clade took advantage of two transposon expansions by integrating hundreds of elements into its germline transcriptional network. We find that about one-third of C. elegans germline-specific promoters have been co-opted from CERP2 and CELE2 MITE elements and are regulated by HIM-17, a THAP domain-containing transcription factor related to a transposase. An ancestral CERP2 expansion took place in the common Caenorhabditis ancestor, concurrently with mutations in HIM-17 fixed by positive selection, whereas CELE2 expanded only in C. elegans. Through comparative analyses in C. briggsae, we find conservation as well as species-specific CERP2 co-option. Our work reveals the emergence of a novel transcriptional network driven by TE co-option and its impact on regulatory evolution.
Project description:The movement of repetitive elements in the germline creates widespread genomic alterations and pressure for resolution. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis clade took advantage of two transposon expansions by integrating hundreds of elements into its germline transcriptional network. We find that about one-third of C. elegans germline-specific promoters have been co-opted from CERP2 and CELE2 MITE elements and are regulated by HIM-17, a THAP domain-containing transcription factor related to a transposase. An ancestral CERP2 expansion took place in the common Caenorhabditis ancestor, concurrently with mutations in HIM-17 fixed by positive selection, whereas CELE2 expanded only in C. elegans. Through comparative analyses in C. briggsae, we find conservation as well as species-specific CERP2 co-option. Our work reveals the emergence of a novel transcriptional network driven by TE co-option and its impact on regulatory evolution.
Project description:The movement of repetitive elements in the germline creates widespread genomic alterations and pressure for resolution. Here we show that the Caenorhabditis clade took advantage of two transposon expansions by integrating hundreds of elements into its germline transcriptional network. We find that about one-third of C. elegans germline-specific promoters have been co-opted from CERP2 and CELE2 MITE elements and are regulated by HIM-17, a THAP domain-containing transcription factor related to a transposase. An ancestral CERP2 expansion took place in the common Caenorhabditis ancestor, concurrently with mutations in HIM-17 fixed by positive selection, whereas CELE2 expanded only in C. elegans. Through comparative analyses in C. briggsae, we find conservation as well as species-specific CERP2 co-option. Our work reveals the emergence of a novel transcriptional network driven by TE co-option and its impact on regulatory evolution.