Project description:It was our goal to discern the epigenomic signatures of the ventral hippocampus, in male and female mice in a double hit model of acute stress: one hit of acute restraint stress followed by forced swim stress one week later.
Project description:Nuclear remodeling to an extreme condensed state is a hallmark of spermatogenesis. This is achieved by varied degrees of replacement of histones with protamines. Regions retaining nucleosomes may be of functional significance. To determine potential roles for somatic-like chromatin in the paternal gamete, sperm from wild type and transgenic mice harboring a single copy insert of the human protamine cluster were subjected to Micrococcal Nuclease (MNase)-seq. Nuclease footprints linked robust endogenous protamine transcription and transgene suppression to its chromatin environment. Murine footprints were enriched within regulatory regions and sequences expressed in the early embryo. These were highlighted by Ctcf footprints that were enriched within chromatin domain boundaries and sites bound in testes and ESCs. In contrast, Ctcf footprints were absent in human and bull sperm. The continuity of Ctcf binding through the murine germline may permit rapid reconstitution of chromatin organization following fertilization. This likely reflects its preparation for early zygotic genome activation and comparatively accelerated preimplantation embryonic development program observed in mouse as compared to human.
Project description:Double Hit Lymphoma (DHL) were treated with the BRD4 inhibitor 100 nM CPI203 for 6h We used microarrays to uncover the mechanisms underlying CPI203 activity in Double Hit Lymphoma (DHL)
Project description:Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have lifelong increased risk of respiratory morbidities associated with environmental pathogen exposure and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The resident immune cells of the lung play vital roles in host defense. However, the effect of perinatal events associated with BPD on pulmonary-specific immune cells is not well understood. We used a double-hit model of BPD induced by prenatal chorioamnionitis followed by postnatal hyperoxia, and performed global transcriptome analysis of all resident pulmonary immune cells. This is the first comprehensive report delineating transcriptomic changes in resident immune cells of the lung in a translationally relevant double-hit model of BPD.
Project description:Substance use disorders are more prevalent in schizophrenia, worsening its course and prognosis. Here, we used a double-hit rat model, combining maternal immune activation (MIA) and peripubertal stress (PUS), to study cocaine addiction and the underlying neurobehavioral alterations. We injected lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline on gestational days 15 and 16 to pregnant rats. Their male offspring were then subjected to unpredictable stress during adolescence. When rats reached adulthood, we studied their cocaine addiction-like behavior, impulsivity and conditioning processes, and several aspects of brain structure and function by MRI, PET and RNAseq. MIA facilitated the acquisition of cocaine self-administration but PUS reduced cocaine intake, an effect that was reversed by MIA. MIA increased motivation for cocaine and revearsed the effects of PUS during extended access. Incubation of seeking was unaffected. Neither hit alone nor their combination impacted pavlovian or instrumental learning or impulsiveness. At the brain level, PUS reduced hippocampal volume and hyperactivated the dorsal subiculum. When combined, both hits altered the structure and function of the dorsal striatum increasing its volume and interferring with glutamatergic dynamics. MIA alone had no effect on the gene expression of the nucleus accumbens but, when combined with PUS, modulated specific genes that could account for the decreased cocaine intake. PUS had a profund effect on the dorsal striatal transcriptome however, this was obliterated when PUS occurred in animals with MIA. These results describe a complex interplay between MIA and stress on neurodevelopment and in the susceptibility to develop cocaine addiction.
Project description:Activation of the MYC oncogene is common in B-cell lymphomas, and frequently associated with compensatory events that dampen Myc-induced apoptosis, such as over-expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl2-family proteins. For example, concurrent translocations of MYC and BCL2 in a subset of Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) lead to the high-grade “double-hit” lymphoma subtype (DHL), characterized by dismal prognosis in the face of current front-line regimens, thus calling for the pursuit of tailored therapeutic strategies. Here, we show that Myc and Bcl2 modulate the sensitivity of B-cells to IACS-010759, a selective inhibitor of mitochondrial respiratory complex I. Myc activation in non-transformed lymphoid precursors suppressed endogenous Bcl2 and sensitized the cells to IACS-010759-induced apoptosis. Treatment with the Bcl2 inhibitor venetoclax also sensitized to IACS-010759, while overexpression of Bcl-2 was protective. IACS-010759 engaged an ATF4-driven Integrated Stress Response (ISR) with dual anti- and pro-apoptotic effects, the latter mediated by the CHOP transcription factor, which contributed to selective killing of Myc-overexpressing cells. In line with the above data, IACS-010759 and venetoclax synergized in killing human DHL cells, and showed strong combinatorial effects in a pre-clinical setting. In a Bcl2-negative Burkitt’s lymphoma cell line, instead, IACS-010759 synergized with the Mcl-1 inhibitor S63845. Altogether, our data point to the combination of IACS-010759 with distinct Bcl2-family inhibitors for therapeutic reactivation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in Myc-associated B-cell lymphomas
Project description:Post-transcriptional gene regulation plays a significant role in the response to oxygen deprivation. Here, we utilized advances in next-generation sequencing technology to examine changes in transcriptional control, mRNA loading on to polysome, and regulation of ribosome activity during mRNA translation in 7-day-old Arabidopsis seedlings subjected to 2 hour hypoxia treatment. 14 samples, 2 conditions (2 hr hypoxia and 2 hr normoxia), 2 bioreplicates of 3 RNA pools (total mRNA, immunopurified (TRAP) polysomal mRNA, ribosome footprints), 1 bioreplicate of 1 RNA pool (immunopurified (TRAP)-ribosome footprints).