Project description:The skin is vital for protecting the body and perceiving external stimuli in the environment. Ability to adapt between environments is in part based on skin plasticity, indicating evolved homeostasis between skin and environment. This homeostasis reflects the greater relationship between the body and the environment, and disruptions in this balance may lead to accumulation of susceptibility factors for autoimmune disorders like psoriasis. We collected skin tissue biopsies from individuals with psoriasis and compared gene expression in psoriatic plaques to non-plaque psoriatic skin. We then compared these data with non-psoriatic skin transcriptome data from multiple primate species. We found 67 genes showing human-specific skin expression that are also differentially regulated in psoriatic skin; these genes are significantly enriched for skin barrier function, immunity, and neuronal development. We identified 6 gene clusters with differential expression in the context of human evolution and psoriasis, suggesting underlying regulatory mechanisms in these loci. Human and psoriasis-specific enrichment of neuroimmune genes shows the importance of the ongoing evolved homeostatic relationship between skin and external environment. These results have implications for both evolutionary medicine and public health, using transcriptomic data to acknowledge the importance of an individual's surroundings on their overall health.
Project description:Whether epidermal factors play a primary role in immune-mediated skin diseases such as psoriasis is unknown. We now show that the pro-differentiation transcription factor Grainyhead-like 3 (GRHL3), essential during epidermal development but dispensable in adult skin homeostasis, is required for barrier repair after adult epidermal injury. Consistent with activation of a GRHL3-regulated repair pathway in psoriasis, we find GRHL3 up-regulation in lesional skin where GRHL3 binds known epidermal differentiation gene targets. Furthermore, we show the functionality of this pathway in the Imiquimod mouse model of immune-mediated epidermal hyperplasia where loss of Grhl3 exacerbates the epidermal damage response, conferring greater sensitivity to disease induction, delayed resolution of epidermal lesions, and resistance to anti-IL-22 therapy. ChIP-seq and gene expression profiling studies show that while GRHL3 regulates differentiation genes both in development and during repair from immune-mediated damage, it targets distinct sets of genes in the two processes. In particular, GRHL3 suppresses a number of alarmin and other pro-inflammatory genes after immune injury. This study identifies a GRHL3-regulated epidermal barrier repair pathway that suppresses disease initiation and helps resolve existing lesions in immune-mediated epidermal hyperplasia. A single timepoint was assessed after physical injury of the epidermal barrier and two timepoints were assessed after immune mediated injury of the epidermis following Imiquimod treatment (psoriasis mouse model)
Project description:<p>Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only known curative option for many hematologic disorders. After transplantation, many patients develop immune mediated disorders that may be life-threatening. Post-HCT immune mediated disorders are rare relative to other diseases but the prototype of graft versus host disease (GVHD) develops in 30-70% of patients. The morbidity and mortality associated with these HCT-associated immune mediated disorders are major barriers to successful use of transplantation to cure rare hematologic malignancies such as leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative syndromes amongst other diseases.</p> <p>The purpose of this study is to characterize and more completely define the onset and course of immune mediated disorders after allogeneic HCT, focusing on participants who develop cutaneous sclerosis, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), late acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD), and chronic GVHD. <ul> <li>Of the participants undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), can we, the researchers better identify who will develop immune-mediated disorders, what types of disorders participants will have, and whether these disorders will be severe or respond to currently available therapies?</li> </ul> </p> <p>This is a longitudinal study of 1118 individuals (1081 adults and 100 children). Those participating in this study will be evaluated over a 3 year period at 9 study sites. Participants will be enrolled pre-transplant, or up to day 121 post transplantation. This wide enrollment window will allow sites to use recruitment methods that are most efficient at their institutions. At least 2 years of follow-up will ensure an adequate sample size, and sufficient time for observation of the full spectrum of immune mediated disorders. The data of 1023 individuals have been submitted to dbGaP.</p>
Project description:Numerous microRNAs and their target mRNAs are co-expressed across diverse cell types. However, it is unknown whether they are regulated in a cellular context-independent or -dependent manner. Here, we explored transcriptome-wide targeting and gene regulation by miR-155, whose activation-induced expression plays important roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Through mapping of miR-155 targets using differential Argonaute iCLIP, mRNA quantification with RNA-Seq, and 3’UTR usage analysis using polyadenylation (polyA)-Seq in activated miR-155-sufficient and deficient macrophages, dendritic cells, T and B lymphocytes, we identified numerous targets differentially bound by miR-155. While alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (ApA) contributed to differential miR-155 binding to some transcripts, in a majority of cases identical 3’UTR isoforms were differentially regulated across cell types, suggesting ApA-independent and cellular context-dependent miR-155-mediated gene regulation reminiscent of sequence-specific transcription factors. Our study provides comprehensive maps of miR-155 regulatory RNA networks and offers a valuable resource for dissecting context-dependent and -independent miRNA-mediated gene regulation in key cell types of the adaptive and innate immune systems.
Project description:Numerous microRNAs and their target mRNAs are co-expressed across diverse cell types. However, it is unknown whether they are regulated in a cellular context-independent or -dependent manner. Here, we explored transcriptome-wide targeting and gene regulation by miR-155, whose activation-induced expression plays important roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Through mapping of miR-155 targets using differential Argonaute iCLIP, mRNA quantification with RNA-Seq, and 3’UTR usage analysis using polyadenylation (polyA)-Seq in activated miR-155-sufficient and deficient macrophages, dendritic cells, T and B lymphocytes, we identified numerous targets differentially bound by miR-155. While alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (ApA) contributed to differential miR-155 binding to some transcripts, in a majority of cases identical 3’UTR isoforms were differentially regulated across cell types, suggesting ApA-independent and cellular context-dependent miR-155-mediated gene regulation reminiscent of sequence-specific transcription factors. Our study provides comprehensive maps of miR-155 regulatory RNA networks and offers a valuable resource for dissecting context-dependent and -independent miRNA-mediated gene regulation in key cell types of the adaptive and innate immune systems.
Project description:Numerous microRNAs and their target mRNAs are co-expressed across diverse cell types. However, it is unknown whether they are regulated in a cellular context-independent or -dependent manner. Here, we explored transcriptome-wide targeting and gene regulation by miR-155, whose activation-induced expression plays important roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Through mapping of miR-155 targets using differential Argonaute iCLIP, mRNA quantification with RNA-Seq, and 3’UTR usage analysis using polyadenylation (polyA)-Seq in activated miR-155-sufficient and deficient macrophages, dendritic cells, T and B lymphocytes, we identified numerous targets differentially bound by miR-155. While alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (ApA) contributed to differential miR-155 binding to some transcripts, in a majority of cases identical 3’UTR isoforms were differentially regulated across cell types, suggesting ApA-independent and cellular context-dependent miR-155-mediated gene regulation reminiscent of sequence-specific transcription factors. Our study provides comprehensive maps of miR-155 regulatory RNA networks and offers a valuable resource for dissecting context-dependent and -independent miRNA-mediated gene regulation in key cell types of the adaptive and innate immune systems.
Project description:There have been clinical reports of splenectomy as a treatment option for immune-mediated hematologic diseases in humans and dogs. We focused on the efficacy of splenectomy as a treatment for dogs with precursor-targeted immune-mediated anemia. We collected serum samples of pre and post splenectomy in these dogs to investigate the factors that might improve non-regenerative anemia after splenectomy.