Project description:Childhood abuse significantly increases the lifetime risk of negative mental health outcomes, including psychiatric disorders, such as depression and suicide. While clinical and epidemiological associations are well characterized, the molecular mechanisms through which adverse experiences in early life influence mental health outcomes over the lifespan remain unclear. In this study, we employed laser capture microdissection followed by RNA sequencing (LCM-seq) to investigate transcriptomic alterations to prefrontal deep-layer pyramidal neurons in individuals with a history of childhood abuse (N=24) in comparison to controls (N = 21). We first showed that LCM-seqproduced high-quality transcriptomic data that was strongly enriched for our cell type of interest (95.8% contribution). Differential expression analysis revealed119 genes that were altered between cases versus controls. Using weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) we next identified a network of downregulated genes, in individuals with a history of childhood abuse (r = -0.30, p = 0.04), that was enriched in pathways related to nervous system development and plasticity. The eigengene of this network was significantly correlated (r(23) = 0.490, p = 0.021) with average cell body volume of deep-layer pyramidal neurons. Of the 1042 mRNA genes within this network, 81 were differentially expressed between cases and controls. Using high-throughput qPCR, and comparing with an additional group of depressed subjects who died by suicide without a history of childhood abuse (N = 29), we found 7 genes whose expression levels were significantly (p < 0.05) predicted by a history of childhood abuse but not major depressive disorder and suicide.Our study, therefore, advances our understanding of the long term impact of childhood abuse and points to some of the molecular pathways that may underly previously observed alterations innervous system development and plasticity.
Project description:Long-term survivors of childhood cancer experience treatment-related cardiotoxicity among a broad spectrum of chronic health conditions, which may be further aggrevated by suboptimal life-course social/behavioral/environmental exposures. Epigenetic mechanisms, particularly DNA methylation (DNAm), provide a potential link through which these exposures become biologically embedded and subsequently influence long-term health outcomes. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) identified DNAm signatures associated with both treatment effects as well as life-course exposures. In parallel, DNAm variations were also evaluated in relation to cardiometabolic risk factors, cardiovascular diseases, and other chronic health conditions, revealing individual CpG sites or genes/geomic regions where these CpGs reside linked to clinically relevant phenotypes. Together, these findings support DNAm as a molecular interface connecting diverse exposures to adverse health outcomes. In addition, epigenetic age acceleration, assessed using DNAm-based aging biomarkers, was observed among survivors exposed to cancer treatments. Epigenetic age acceleration mediated a substantial proportion of the associations between cancer treatment exposures and cardiometabolic risk factors or cardiovascular diseases, supporting accelerated biological aging as a key pathway linking cancer treatment to long-term morbidity. Lifestyle and health behaviors, as well as social vulnerability and psychosocial stress, were also associated with variations in epigenetic age acceleration, highlighting the potential modifiability of aging-related pathways in ameliorating late-effects among childhood cancer survivors. In conclusion, these findings establish DNAm—captured through EWAS signatures and epigenetic age acceleration—as central molecular mechanisms linking treatment effects and life-course exposures to cardiotoxicity along with other chronic health conditions in childhood cancer survivors. This integrative epigenetic framework supports the use of DNAm-based biomarkers for risk stratification and nominates modifiable pathways as potential intervention targets to improve long-term survivorship outcomes.
Project description:In this dataset, we include the expression data obtained from KRas expressing tumors, matched Kras expressing tumor spheres, surviving cells and surviving cells after KRas re-expression for 24hs
Project description:In this dataset, we include the expression data obtained from KRas expressing tumors, matched Kras expressing tumor spheres, surviving cells and surviving cells after KRas re-expression for 24hs Data reported here are obtained from 5 independent tumors (from 1 to 5). For each tumor, expression data for the original Tumor (in vivo bulk tumor lesion), the KRas Expressing Spheres derived from the bulk tumor, the matched surviving cells after 8 days of KRas ablation (SCs) and Surviving Cells after 24 hours of KRas re-expression are reported.
Project description:Epigenome-wide DNA Methylation Profiling in the Investigation of Treatment and Life-Course Exposures and Adverse Health Outcomes in Survivors of Childhood Cancer from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort
Project description:Greater ovulatory years is associated with increased ovarian cancer risk. Although ovulation leads to an acute pro-inflammatory local environment, how long-term exposure to ovulation impacts ovarian carcinogenesis is not fully understood. Thus, we examined the association between gene expression profiles of ovarian tumors and lifetime ovulatory years to enhance understanding of associated biological pathways.