Project description:Purpose: RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analyses of articular cartilage obtained after DMM surgery in Oscar-/- and WT mice. The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate how the deficiency of Oscar gene affects downstream signal transduction in articular cartilage. Methods: Articular cartilage mRNA profiles of 10-weeks-old wild-type (WT) and Oscar knockout (Oscar−/−) mice were performed for the destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) and each cartilage tissue sample was harvested from two time-points (2- and 4-weeks after surgery). Sequencing libraries were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions (TruSeq Stranded mRNA Library Prep Kit; Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). Paired-end sequencing of 101-mer read length was performed using a HISEQ 2500 sequencing system (Illumina). The sequencing quality of raw FASTQ files was assessed using FastQC (https://www.bioinformatics.babraham.ac.uk/projects/fastqc/). Low-quality reads and adapter sequences in reads were eliminated using BBDuk (http://jgi.doe.gov/data-and-tools/bb-tools/). Results: Usinig RNA-Seq data in articular cartilage tissues from WT and Oscar–/– mice subjected to sham or DMM surgery and each cartilage sample obtained from 2- and 4-week time points after surgery, respectively. And we found that significantly enriched pathways in the 1270 common genes. Conclusions: Our study represents the Oscar gene deficiency analysis of articular cartilage transcriptomes, with biologic replicates, generated by RNA-seq technology. The optimized data analysis workflows reported here should provide a framework for comparative investigations of expression profiles. Our results show that NGS offers a comprehensive and more accurate quantitative and qualitative evaluation of mRNA content within a cell or tissue. We conclude that RNA-seq based transcriptome characterization would expedite genetic network analyses and permit the dissection of complex biologic functions.
Project description:Using a conditional inactivation approach in the mouse, we examined the importance of SOX9 in adult growth plate and articular cartilage. We specifically investigated the roles of SOX9 in the expression of the pancartilaginous, growth-plate and articular programs and in maintaining the chondrocyte lineage fate.
Project description:Using a conditional inactivation approach in the mouse, we examined the importance of SOX9 in adult growth plate and articular cartilage. We specifically investigated the roles of SOX9 in the expression of the pancartilaginous, growth-plate and articular programs and in maintaining the chondrocyte lineage fate.
Project description:Purpose:The purpose of this study is to measure the gene expression profile in Dnmt3a conditional knockout macrophages. Methods:Dnmt3a conditional knockout macrophages mRNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing,using Illumina. Results: We mapped about 20 million sequence reads per sample to the mouse genome, identified hundreds of genes with significant mRNA variation during Dnmt3a conditional knockout in macrophages. Dnmt3a conditional knockout mRNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing
Project description:Osteoarthritis is a common joint disorder that causes debilitating conditions among the elderly. Risk factors of osteoarthritis include age, which is often associated with the thinning of articular cartilage. We generated conditional knockout mice that lack salt-inducible kinase 3 (Sik3) specifically in chondrocytes after birth by tamoxifen administration. Deletion of Sik3 at 2 or 8 weeks after birth increased the thickness of articular cartilage by increasing the chondrocyte population. Additionally, Sik3 deletion protected cartilage against osteoarthritis development. We identified the edible Pteridium aquilinum ingredient, pterosin B, as a compound that inhibits the Sik3 pathway. Intraarticular injection of pterosin B protected cartilage against osteoarthritis development. Sik3 deletion or pterosin B treatment inhibited activation of the hypertrophic program through the histone deacetylase 4 (Hdac4) pathway, increased Prg4 expression in chondrocytes, and protected cartilage against osteoarthritic attack. Collectively, our results suggest Sik3 is a regulator that regulates homeostasis of articular cartilage thickness and a target for treatment of osteoarthritis, and that pterosin B can be the lead compound for relevant drugs.
Project description:Steroid and xenobiotic receptor (SXR) and its murine ortholog pregnane X receptor (PXR) are nuclear receptors that are expressed mainly in the liver and the intestine. They function as xenobiotic sensors by inducing genes involved in detoxification and drug excretion. Recent evidence showed that SXR and PXR are also expressed in bone tissue where they mediate bone metabolism. Here we report that systemic deletion of PXR results in aging-dependent wearing of articular cartilage of knee joints. Histomorphometrical analysis showed remarkable reduction of width and an enlarged gap between femoral and tibial articular cartilage in PXR knockout mice. We hypothesized that genes induced by SXR in chondrocytes have a protective effect on articular cartilage and identified Fam20a (family with sequence similarity 20a) as an SXR-dependent gene induced by the known SXR ligands, rifampicin and vitamin K2. Lastly, we demonstrated the biological significance of Fam20a expression in chondrocytes by evaluating osteoarthritis-related gene expression of primary articular chondrocytes. Consistent with epidemiological findings, our findings indicate that SXR/PXR protects against aging-dependent wearing of articular cartilage and that ligands for SXR/PXR have potential role in preventing osteoarthritis caused by aging. ADC5 cells were infected with adeno-SXR or adeno-DsRed and cultured in phenol red-free DMEM with charcoal/dextran-treated FCS (5%) containing rifampicin (10 μM), vitamin K2 (10 μM), or ethanol. Total RNA was extracted from the cells using the ToTALLY RNA Kit (Ambion, Austin, TX). Profiling of mRNA was performed on Affymetrix Mouse Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix Inc., Santa Clara, USA) according to the Gene Chip labeling assay manual version 4.
Project description:Purpose:The purpose of this study is to measure the gene expression profile in Dnmt3a conditional knockout macrophages. Methods:Dnmt3a conditional knockout macrophages mRNA profiles were generated by deep sequencing,using Illumina. Results: We mapped about 20 million sequence reads per sample to the mouse genome, identified hundreds of genes with significant mRNA variation during Dnmt3a conditional knockout in macrophages.
Project description:Steroid and xenobiotic receptor (SXR) and its murine ortholog pregnane X receptor (PXR) are nuclear receptors that are expressed mainly in the liver and the intestine. They function as xenobiotic sensors by inducing genes involved in detoxification and drug excretion. Recent evidence showed that SXR and PXR are also expressed in bone tissue where they mediate bone metabolism. Here we report that systemic deletion of PXR results in aging-dependent wearing of articular cartilage of knee joints. Histomorphometrical analysis showed remarkable reduction of width and an enlarged gap between femoral and tibial articular cartilage in PXR knockout mice. We hypothesized that genes induced by SXR in chondrocytes have a protective effect on articular cartilage and identified Fam20a (family with sequence similarity 20a) as an SXR-dependent gene induced by the known SXR ligands, rifampicin and vitamin K2. Lastly, we demonstrated the biological significance of Fam20a expression in chondrocytes by evaluating osteoarthritis-related gene expression of primary articular chondrocytes. Consistent with epidemiological findings, our findings indicate that SXR/PXR protects against aging-dependent wearing of articular cartilage and that ligands for SXR/PXR have potential role in preventing osteoarthritis caused by aging.