Project description:In a rare subtype of XX Disorder of Sex Development (DSD), individuals are negative for SRY, the testis determining factor on the Y chromosome, yet develop testes or ovotestes, and both of these phenotypes occur in the same family. This is a naturally occurring disorder in humans (Homo sapiens) and dogs (C. familiaris), and phenotypes in the canine XX DSD model are strikingly similar to those in this type of human XX DSD. The purposes of this study were to identify 1) a variant associated with XX DSD in the canine model and 2) gene expression alterations in canine embryonic gonads that could be informative to causation. Using a genome wide association study (GWAS) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), we identified a variant on C. familiaris autosome 9 (CFA9) that is significantly associated with XX DSD in the canine model and in affected purebred dogs. This is the first marker and candidate causative variant identified for inherited canine XX DSD. It lies within the canine ortholog for the human disorder (OMIM 278850), which resides on 17q24, upstream of SOX9. Gene expression studies (RNA-seq and PRO-seq) in embryonic gonads at risk of XX DSD from the canine model identified significant RSPO1 downregulation in comparison to XX controls, without significant upregulation of SOX9 or other known testis pathway genes. A novel mechanism is proposed in which the canine XX DSD variant acts upstream of RSPO1 to induce epigenomic gonadal mosaicism.
Project description:In XXTet3-/- mESCs DNA methylation levels are higher than XX wildtype levels. We sought to determine if changes in cytosine modifications observed in XXTet3-/- mESCs impacted gene expression, we performed RNA-seq. 104 genes were up regulated in the mutant XX mESCs relative to wild type controls, and 86 were down regulated To ask whether the XX-specific nuclear enrichment of TET3 is necessary for a developmental transition, we differentiated WT XX and XXTet3-/- mESCs into epiblast-like cells (EpiLCs). Comparison of WT XX and XXTet3-/- EpiLC RNA-seq showed that 404 genes exhibited increased expression and 499 exhibited decreased expression in mutant cells. GO term analysis showed gene expression changes affecting several LIF and BMP signaling pathways. However, despite these changes in signaling pathway driven expression, the expression of mESC markers went down and mEpiLC markers went up comparably upon differentiation WT XX and XXTet3-/- mESCs, suggesting that many key transcriptional changes that characterize this transition can occur without TET3.
Project description:Sry is sufficient to induce testis formation and subsequent male development of internal and external genitalia in chromosomally female mice and humans. In XX sex-reversed males such as XX/Sry-transgenic (XX/Sry) mice, however, testicular germ cells always disappear soon after birth due to germ cell autonomous defects. Therefore, it remains unclear whether or not Sry alone is sufficient to induce a fully functional testicular soma capable of supporting complete spermatogenesis in the XX body. Here we demonstrated that the testicular somatic environment of XX/Sry males is defective in the later phases of spermatogenesis. Spermatogonial transplantation analyses using XX/Sry male mice revealed that donor XY spermatogonia are capable of proliferating, entering meiosis and differentiating into the round spermatid stage. XY donor-derived round spermatids, however, were frequently detached from the XX/Sry seminiferous epithelia and underwent cell death, thereby preventing further progress beyond the elongated spermatid stage. In contrast, immature XY seminiferous tubule segments transplanted under XX/Sry testis capsules clearly displayed proper differentiation into elongated spermatids in the transplanted XY donor tubules. Microarray analysis of seminiferous tubules isolated from XX/Sry testes confirmed missing expression of several Y-linked genes and alterations in the expression profile of genes associated with spermatogenesis. Therefore, our findings indicate dysfunction of the somatic tubule components, probably Sertoli cells, of XX/Sry testes, supporting our hypothesis that Sry alone is insufficient to induce a fully functional Sertoli cell in XX mice. Experiment Overall Design: Whole testes and seminiferous tubules of XX/Sry and W/Wv males were used for microarray expression analysis using the Affymetrix GeneChip system (Affymetrix, CA). In order to isolate the seminiferous tubules, the tunica was carefully removed from the testes which were then incubated in the medium with 5 mg/ml collagnease at 37oC for 40 min. The remaining seminiferous tubules were washed several times with PBS using a 70-ºm cell strainer to remove interstitial cells. After total RNA was extracted using a RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Germantown, MD), double-stranded cDNA and biotin-labeled cRNA were synthesized using One-Cycle cDNA Synthesis and IVT Labeling kits (Affymetrix, CA), respectively. Twenty micrograms of fragmented biotin-labeled cRNA was hybridized to the Affymetrix Mouse Expression Array MOE 430A for 16 hr at 45oC. The chips were washed, stained, and then scanned with the GeneArray Scanner (Hewlett Packard, CA) in accordance with the manufacturer's standard protocols. Finally, the microarray data were analyzed using Microarray Suite ver. 5.0 (Affymetrix). Differential expression was defined as a difference of 2-fold or more in both whole testis and seminiferous tubule samples between two recipient males. Mouse 430A Affymetrix Genome Array IDs were used to query the NetAffx data mining tool for gene annotations.
Project description:Gobal expression analysis in four somatic tissues (brain, liver, kidney and muscle) of adult 40,XX and 39,XO mice with the aim of identifying which genes are expressed from both X chromosomes as well as those genes deregulated in X chromosome monosomy. Keywords: Expression profiling by array For each tissue, the RNA samples of seven 40,XX, eight 39,XpO and eight 39,XmO mice were pooled by genotype into 9 groups, representing 3 biological replicates per genotype, as follows: 39,XpO-1 and 39,XpO-2 (3 pooled individuals each), 39,XpO-3 (2 pooled individuals); 39,XmO-1 and 39,XmO-2 (3 pooled individuals each), 39,XmO-3 (2 pooled individuals); 40,XX-1 and 40,XX-2 (3 pooled individuals each) 40,XX-3 (2 pooled individuals)
Project description:Sry is sufficient to induce testis formation and subsequent male development of internal and external genitalia in chromosomally female mice and humans. In XX sex-reversed males such as XX/Sry-transgenic (XX/Sry) mice, however, testicular germ cells always disappear soon after birth due to germ cell autonomous defects. Therefore, it remains unclear whether or not Sry alone is sufficient to induce a fully functional testicular soma capable of supporting complete spermatogenesis in the XX body. Here we demonstrated that the testicular somatic environment of XX/Sry males is defective in the later phases of spermatogenesis. Spermatogonial transplantation analyses using XX/Sry male mice revealed that donor XY spermatogonia are capable of proliferating, entering meiosis and differentiating into the round spermatid stage. XY donor-derived round spermatids, however, were frequently detached from the XX/Sry seminiferous epithelia and underwent cell death, thereby preventing further progress beyond the elongated spermatid stage. In contrast, immature XY seminiferous tubule segments transplanted under XX/Sry testis capsules clearly displayed proper differentiation into elongated spermatids in the transplanted XY donor tubules. Microarray analysis of seminiferous tubules isolated from XX/Sry testes confirmed missing expression of several Y-linked genes and alterations in the expression profile of genes associated with spermatogenesis. Therefore, our findings indicate dysfunction of the somatic tubule components, probably Sertoli cells, of XX/Sry testes, supporting our hypothesis that Sry alone is insufficient to induce a fully functional Sertoli cell in XX mice. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization
Project description:Sexual development in mammals is based on a complicated and delicate network of genes and hormones that have to collaborate in a precise manner. The dark side of this pathway is represented by pathological conditions, wherein sexual development does not occur properly either in the XX and the XY background. Among them a conundrum is represented by the XX individuals with at least a partial testis differentiation even in absence of SRY. This particular condition is present in various mammals including the dog. Seven dogs characterized by XX karyotype, absence of SRY gene and testicular tissue development were analysed by Array-CGH. In two cases the array-CGH analysis detected an interstitial heterozygous duplication of chromosome 9. The duplication contained the SOX9 coding region.In this work we provide for the first time a causative mutation for the XXSR condition in the dog. Moreover this report supports the idea that the dog represents a good animal model for the study of XXSR condition caused by abnormalities in the SOX9 locus.
Project description:To understand the role of the SWI/SNF-like ATP-dependent chromatin remodeller SMARCAD1 in pluripotent murine embryonic stem (ES) cells we determined the genome wide binding of triple FLAG tagged SMARCAD1 in PGK12.1 XX ES cells. ChIP was carried out using an antibody against the FLAG-epitope (F1804, Sigma) in double-cross linked chromatin. As controls, input samples and ChIP of PGK12.1 XX ES cells transfected with the empty triple-flag vector were used. The precipitated DNA was subsequently sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq1500.
Project description:Analysis of acute myeloid leukemia KG1 cells treated with XX-650-23 (5 mM) for 12hrs. XX-650-23 inhibits proliferation of KG1 cells. Results provides insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying by the inhibitory activity of XX-650-23 on acute leukemia.