Project description:High-throughput profiling of gene expression in the livers of vervet monkeys fed a high fructose diet or chow diet. Analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed sirtuin signaling and a network of genes regulated by the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha were significantly altered in response to the high fructose diet.
Project description:High-throughput profiling of miRNA expression in the livers of vervet monkeys fed a high fructose or chow diet. Analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs revealed miR-148a-3p, miR-181a-5p, miR-342-5p and miR-574-5p may have regulatory roles in coordinating changes in hepatic gene expression in response to a high fructose diet.
Project description:Transcriptomic profiling is a crucial tool for understanding growth, development, behavior and predisposition to diseases and the development of health biomarkers. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of transcriptomic assessment of cell-free fetal RNA in vervet monkey amniotic fluid supernatant (AFS).
Project description:Epidemiologic and animal studies implicate overconsumption of fructose in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, but the molecular mechanisms underlying fructose-induced chronic liver diseases remains largely unknown. We present evidence supporting the essential function of the lipogenic transcription factor ChREBP in mediating adaptation response to fructose and protecting against fructose-induced hepatotoxicity. High-fructose diet (HFrD) activates hepatic lipogenesis via a ChREBP-dependent manner in wildtype mice, while inducing steatohepatitis in Chrebp-KO mice. In Chrebp-KO mouse livers, HFrD reduces levels of molecular chaperones and activates the CHOP-dependent unfolded protein response, whereas administration of chemical chaperone or Chop shRNA rescues liver injury. Gene expression profiling revealed elevated expression of cholesterol biosynthesis genes in Chrebp-KO livers after HFrD, in parallel with increased abundance of nuclear SREBP2. genes expression were compared between livers of wildtype mice fed 70%-fructose-diet v.s. regular chow, and between livers of Chrebp-/- mice v.s. wildtype mice fed 70%-fructose-diet.
Project description:This report is based on an ongoing study to examine gene expression differences in monkey lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). For this study, samples from an Old World species, vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), were cross-hybridized to the Rhesus Macaque Genome Array (Affymetrix). Microarray analysis was performed using laser capture microdissected populations of individual neuronal cell bodies isolated from the LGN compared to heterogeneous samples from whole lamina. We show here that cross-species hybridization of microdissected brain tissue samples from vervet monkeys to the Rhesus array produced reliable and biologically relevant data sets. We present the first list of genes enriched in the large neuronal cell bodies of the LGN. We found that these cell bodies are concentrated with genes involved in metabolic processes and protein synthesis, whereas signaling molecules including chemokines and integrins were expressed at higher levels within heterogeneous samples. Our data set provides support for a contribution of Wnt signaling in adult monkey LGN. Keywords: gene expression profile
Project description:DNA methylation data from vervet cerebral cortex, blood, and liver using highly conserved mammalian CpGs represented on the mammalian methylation array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We selected a total of 240 samples representing the entire vervet lifespan, from neonatal to senile stages: 144 samples from the peripheral blood, 48 samples from the liver, and 48 samples from the cortical brain area BA10.
Project description:Elucidating the developmental patterns of gene expression across brain regions is a critical step toward understanding brain development and disease. We previously studied the transcriptome of multiple brain regions and peripheral tissues across development in the vervet monkey, and identified transcripts related to hippocampal size in 59 animals across 10 developmental timepoints, ranging between 7 days to 9 years of age. Here, we extended this analysis with a focus on transcriptomic changes in hippocampus across early development in vervet neonates and infants under 1 year of age. We combined this dataset with the previously analyzed data. We identified groups of transcripts with age-related patterns, which correlated well with existing human resources. Additionally, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis identified two further genes, RAB31 and CHMP1B, associated with hippocampal volume, refining the previously identified locus. This dataset provides unique developmental expression data in the hippocampus of a non-human primate, and expands our catalog of local and distant eQTL in this brain region.
Project description:The limbus is a unique anatomic structure that is highly innervated and vascularized yet sets the boundary for the avascularized cornea. The corneal epithelial stem cells are believed to reside at the limbus. The intrinsic and external molecular signals that modulate the differentiation and proliferation of the limbal stems cells are still largely unidentified because of a lack of known specific markers. In this study, we used microarray technology to identify the unique gene expression profile in the limbus by comparing directly to that of its immediate adjacent structures, the cornea and conjunctiva, in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Many new genes were found to be preferentially expressed in the limbus, and two new biological pathways, melanin metabolism and apoptosis, were among other previously known processes identified in the limbus. These findings may shed light on the molecular components of limbal stem cells and their niche. Keywords: transcription profiling, gene expression