Project description:KANK1 belongs to the KANK family of scaffolding proteins that is expressed in epithelial cells and connects focal adhesions with the adjacent cortical microtubule stabilizing complex. Although KANK1 overexpression studies was shown to suppress the growth of different cancer cell lines in vitro, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database indicates that high rather than low KANK1 levels are associated with poor prognosis in a wide spectrum of human malignancies. In the present study, we addressed this discrepancy and characterized how KANK1 regulates tumor development in the Polyoma Middle T (PyMT)-driven murine breast cancer model and upon orthotopic implantation of human breast cancer cells in immune-deficient mice. Our results revealed that KANK1 promotes cell proliferation and cell survival of PyMT-transformed tumor cells in vivo. Mechanistically, KANK1 localizes to the basal side of basement membrane (BM)-attached transformed luminal epithelial cells. However, when these cells detach from the BM and disassemble integrin adhesions, KANK1 translocates to cell-cell junctions where it competes with the polarity and tumor suppressor protein SCRIB for NOS1AP binding and thereby curbs the ability of SCRIB to activate the Hippo pathway. The consequences are stabilization and nuclear accumulation of TAZ, growth and survival of tumor cells and elevated breast cancer development. Importantly, the oncogenic pathway induced by KANK1 at cell-cell junctions also operates in human breast cancer.
Project description:Elevated glucocorticoids feature body’s responses to a variety of psychological and physiological stressors. To understand how glucocorticoids affect brain endothelial cells that form the blood-brain barrier, we applied quantitative proteomics to study changes in the proteome of a mouse brain endothelial cell line, bEnd3, upon acute 24-hour treatment with 5 uM corticosterone in vitro.
Project description:Yamanaka factors (YFs) can reverse some aging features in mammalian tissues, but their effects on the brain remain largely unexplored. Here, we induced YFs in the mouse brain in a controlled spatio-temporal manner in two different scenarios: brain development, and adult stages in the context of neurodegeneration. Embryonic induction of YFs perturbed cell identity of both progenitors and neurons, but transient and low-level expression is tolerated by these cells during development. Under these conditions, YFs induction led to expanded neurogenesis, increased number of upper cortical neurons, and enhanced motor and social behavior of adult mice. Additionally, controlled YF induction is tolerated by principal neurons in the adult dorsal hippocampus and prevented the development of several hallmarks of Alzheimers disease, including cognitive decline and altered molecular signatures, in the 5xFAD mouse model. Overall, these results highlight the powerful impact of YFs on neurogenesis and their potential use in brain disorders.
Project description:We introduce a novel approach, termed time-segment acquisition (Seg), to enhance the identification of peptides and proteins in trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS)-Time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometry. Our method exploits the positive correlation between ion mobility values and liquid chromatography (LC) retention time to improve ion separation and resolution. By dividing the LC retention time into multiple segments and applying a segment-specific narrower ion mobility range within the TIMS tunnel, we achieve better separation and higher resolution of ion mobility, resulting in a subtantial increase in peptide identification. This submission contains two parts of data: 1), timsTOF runs of standard Hela Digest at varying amount (5ng-200ng) and LC gradients (30min, 60 min and 90 min) using three different TIMS scan methods. a) Narrow (with TIMS ion mobility scan range 85-130); b) Seg (with a dynamics ion mobility scan ranges), and c) Wide (with 'std' method from 0.6-1.6 ion mobility). 2). Phoshoproteomics analysis of HeLa cell culture using both methods (Seg and Std ion mobility for TIMS scan). The phosphopeptides were enriched using TiO2 and fractioned by high pH reversed-phased LC (15 fractions from B1-B15, for Seg and Std TIMS method analysis).
Project description:Loiasis, caused by the filarial nematode Loa loa, imposes a significant burden of disease in endemic regions in West and Central Africa. Manifestations include microfilaria in the blood (MF) and migration of the adult eye worm (EW), with clinical presentations ranging from asymptomatic infections to life threatening organ involvement. The diagnostic gold standard, microscopic detection of microfilaria in the blood, remains difficult due to widely varying microfilaria counts, frequent amicrofilaraemia in patients with EW, and unreliable serological assays. By applying high-throughput plasma proteomics, we investigated the human host response in 274 patients with different L. loa disease states (INF), including EW (n=148), MF (n=42), or both (EWMF; n=84), compared to 136 loa-negative (LN) controls. Five proteins were elevated in INF compared to LN, including IGHG3, IGHG4, and LCP1. Four followed the trend from LN to EW to MF and EWMF, reflecting a more pronounced host response to higher microfilaria couMoMoreover, IGHG4 correlated positively with eosinophil and microfilarial counts underlining its role in chronic, parasitic infections. 63 plasma proteins exhibited notable differences depending on self-reported symptoms. The proteomic signature allowed for accurate classification of EW (AUROC = 0.73) and microfilaria positive (0.84) individuals. Together, L. loa infection leads to relevant alterations of the host plasma proteome, highlighting the importance of further in-depth research on this highly neglected parasitic disease.
Project description:In vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes retrieved from ovum pick-up (OPU) or ovarian tissue (OT) is a standard approach for patients with specific conditions where prior hormonal stimulation is contraindicated. However, the developmental competence of oocytes matured in vitro is still inferior to that of oocytes matured in vivo. Capacitation-IVM (CAPA-IVM) includes an extra step of pre-maturation culture (PMC) with c-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) as a meiotic arrestor to better synchronize cytoplasmic and nuclear maturity in oocytes. This study aims to evaluate the effect of CAPA-IVM on equine oocyte quality and developmental competence. Immature cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were retrieved from slaughterhouse ovaries and matured in vitro either in CAPA-IVM (short or long) or standard IVM. Matured oocytes from each group were analyzed for calcium-releasing potential and single-oocyte proteomics, and embryo development was assessed after fertilization with Piezo-drilled intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Genetic analysis of developed blastocysts was performed to detect chromosomal aberrations. Our findings demonstrate that CAPA-IVM of equine COCs yields significantly higher maturation rates than controls. Moreover, short CAPA-IVM with six hours pre-maturation culture showed substantially higher embryo development potential than the control group. Genetic analysis revealed a high euploidy rate in equine blastocysts regardless of the maturation conditions. Live calcium imaging of the fertilized oocytes demonstrated the majority of oocytes with non-continuous calcium oscillation patterns, irrespective of maturation conditions. Single oocyte proteomics reveals a comparable proteomic landscape between matured oocytes from short CAPA-IVM and standard IVM. However, a trend of differential expression was observed in specific proteins related to cytoskeleton, cell cycle, and hemostasis in the short CAPA-IVM group. Our findings indicate that CAPA-IVM holds the potential to improve oocyte quality and competence in horses. However, further fine-tuning of culture conditions based on omics analysis would benefit the effective use of these IVM systems. Moreover, given that the mare serves as an excellent model for human reproduction, the molecular trends identified in this study could provide valuable insights for advancing human artificial reproductive technologies.
Project description:Background: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) remains a challenge to lung transplantation (LTx) recipients as a leading cause of poor early outcomes. New methods are needed for the rapid detection of PGD and the measurement of particle flow rate (PFR) from exhaled breath is a novel means to monitor disease. Methods: 22 recipient pigs underwent orthotopic left LTx and were evaluated for PGD on the third post-operative day. Exhaled breath particles (EBPs) and PFR were measured on mechanical ventilation. EBPs were evaluated with mass spectrometry and the proteome was compared to tissue biopsies and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Findings were confirmed in EBPs from 11 human transplant recipients. Results: 9 recipients developed PGD and had significantly higher PFR (686.4 (449.7-8824.0) particles per minute (ppm)) compared to recipients without PGD (116.6 (79.7-307.4) ppm, p=0.0005). From proteomic analysis, porcine and human EBP proteins recapitulated the BAL and adherens and tight junction proteins were underexpressed in PGD tissue. Conclusions: Histological and proteomic analysis found significant changes to the alveolar-capillary barrier to explain the increased PFR in recipients with PGD. Combined with the similarity of proteomic profiles between EBPs and BALF, exhaled breath measurement is proposed as a rapid and non-invasive bedside measurement of PGD.
Project description:Vasculogenic therapies have been investigated for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) with very limited success in clinical trials. The isoform PP2A (protein phosphatase 2)/B55alpha inhibits the activity of the prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2) and activates the hypoxia inducing factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), playing a key role in in vessel remodeling. Thus, PP2A/B55alpha activators may have the potential to induce angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. Herein we investigated the pharmacological attributes of VCE-004.8 (Etrinabdione) and its effectiveness in a murine model of critical limb ischemia.
Project description:The functions of integrins are tightly regulated via multiple mechanisms including trafficking and degradation. Integrins are repeatedly internalized, routed into the endosomal system and either degraded by the lysosome or recycled back to the plasma membrane. The ubiquitin system dictates whether internalized proteins are degraded or recycled. Here, we used a genetic screen and proximity-dependent biotin identification to identify deubiquitinase(s) that control integrin surface levels. We found that a ternary deubiquitinating complex, comprised of USP12 (or the homologous USP46), WDR48 and WDR20, stabilizes β1 integrin (Itgb1) by preventing ESCRT-mediated lysosomal degradation. Mechanistically, the USP12/46-WDR48-WDR20 complex removes ubiquitin from the cytoplasmic tail of internalized Itgb1 in early endosomes, which in turn prevents ESCRT-mediated sorting and Itgb1 degradation.
Project description:Real-time database searching allows for simpler and automated proteomics workflows as it eliminates technical bottlenecks in high throughput experiments. Most importantly, it enables results dependent acquisition (RDA) where search results can be used to guide data acquisition during acquisition. This is especially beneficial for glycoproteomics since the wide range of physicochemical properties of glycopeptides lead to a wide range of optimal acquisition parameters. We established here the GlycoPaSER prototype by extending the Parallel Search Engine in Real-time (PaSER) functionality for real-time glycopeptide identification from fragmentation spectra. Glycopeptide fragmentation spectra were decomposed into peptide- and glycan-moiety spectra using common N-glycan fragments. Each moiety was subsequently identified by a specialized algorithm running in real-time. GlycoPaSER can keep up with the rate of data acquisition for real-time analysis with similar performance to other glycoproteomics software and produces results that are in line with literature reference data. The GlycoPaSER prototype presented here provides the first proof-of-concept for real-time glycopeptide identification that unlocks future development of RDA technology to transcend data acquisition.