Project description:We demonstrated to examine the effect of AhR antagonists on the specific lineage-biased differentiation of HSPC. To confirm this, CD34+ cells isolated from cord blood were cultured with two antagonists (CH223191 and StemRegenin 1) for 14 days to monitor their phenotype, and chromatin immunoprecipitation DNA was extracted from cultured cells on the 14th day of culture. We sought to explain the relationship between the action of AhR-antagonist complex and the megakaryocyte lineage-biased differentiation of HSPC with these ChIP-seq results.
Project description:The AhR is a ligand activated transcription factor that may be important in normal skin physiology. We compared gene expression profiles between AhR Wt and AhR KO primary mouse keratinocyte cultures. We identified 391 genes that were differentially expressed with a 1.5 fold cutoff and p<.05, and identified the AhR as an important regulator of genes involved in normal epidermal differentiation. AhR Wt primary keratinocyte cultures (n=4) were compared with AhR KO primary keratinocyte cultures (n=3)
Project description:The AhR is a ligand activated transcription factor that may be important in normal skin physiology. We compared gene expression profiles between AhR Wt and AhR KO primary mouse keratinocyte cultures. We identified 391 genes that were differentially expressed with a 1.5 fold cutoff and p<.05, and identified the AhR as an important regulator of genes involved in normal epidermal differentiation.
Project description:To examine the changes in RNA expression profile under AhR antagonist treatment in human hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs), CD34+cells were isolated from umbilical cord blood (UCB) unit. CD34+cells were cultured with two different AhR antagonists CH223191 and StemRegenin1 (SR1) ex vivo for 7 days. cultured cells were used to perform RNA sequencing and analyze the changes in RNA expression profile by treatment.
Project description:A greater understanding of the molecular pathways that underpin the unique human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) self-renewal program will improve strategies to expand these critical cell types for regenerative therapies. The post-transcriptional mechanisms guiding HSPC fate during ex vivo expansion have not been closely investigated. Using shRNA-mediated knockdown, we show that the RNA-binding protein (RBP) Musashi-2 (MSI2) is required for human HSPC self-renewal. Conversely, when overexpressed, MSI2 induces multiple pro-self-renewal phenotypes, including significant ex vivo expansion of short- and long-term repopulating cells through direct attenuation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling. Using a global analysis of MSI2-RNA interactions, we determined that MSI2 post-transcriptionally downregulates canonical AHR pathway components in cord blood HSPCs. Our study provides new mechanistic insight into RBP-controlled RNA networks that underlie the self-renewal process and provides evidence that manipulating such networks can provide a novel means to enhance the regenerative potential of human HSPCs expanded ex vivo.
Project description:To investigate the RNA differences in muscle with and without constitutive AHR activation. AAV9 was used to express either a green fluorescent protein (control) or mutant AHR protein that exhibits constitutive transcriptional activity
Project description:Neural control of visceral organ function is essential for homeostasis and health. Intestinal peristalsis is critical for digestive physiology and host defence and is often dysregulated in gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Luminal factors, such as diet and microbiota regulate neurogenic programs of gut motility, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that the transcription factor Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) functions as a biosensor in intestinal neural circuits linking their functional output to the microbial environment of the gut lumen. Using nuclear RNA sequencing of mouse enteric neurons representing distinct intestinal segments and microbiota states, we demonstrate that the intrinsic neural networks of the colon exhibit unique transcriptional profiles controlled by the combined effects of host genetic programmes and microbial colonisation. Microbiota-induced expression of AhR in neurons of the distal gastrointestinal tract enables them to respond to the luminal environment and induce expression of neuron-specific effector mechanisms. Neuron-specific deletion of Ahr or constitutive overexpression of its negative feedback regulator CYP1A1, results in reduced peristaltic activity of the colon, similar to that observed in microbiota-depleted mice. Finally, expression of Ahr in enteric neurons of antibiotic-treated mice partially restores intestinal motility. Taken together, our experiments identify AhR signalling in enteric neurons as a regulatory node that integrates the luminal environment with the physiological output of intestinal neural circuits towards gut homeostasis and health. The enteric nervous system (ENS) encompasses the intrinsic neural networks of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which regulate most aspects of intestinal physiology, including peristalsis. In addition to host-specific genetic programmes, microbiota and diet have emerged as critical regulators of gut tissue physiology and changes in the microbial composition of the lumen often accompany GI disorders. We found that gut environmental sensor Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is induced in colonic neurons in response to microbiota colonisation and regulates intestinal peristalsis in an AhR ligand-dependent manner. In this experiment, we used RNA sequencing to identify genes regulated in mouse colonic neurons by AhR activation.
Project description:To investigate the RNA differences in skeletal muscle in muscle-specific AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor) knockout mice and their AHR-floxed littermate controls (wildtype) following a 16-week chronic cigarette smoke exposure intervention