Project description:Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy can lead to severe brain damage and is a common cause of neurological handicaps in adulthood. To elucidate the molecular events occurring in cerebral cortices of mature rats (8 weeks old) after neonatal HI brain insult, we performed comprehensive gene expression and gene network analyses using a DNA microarray system (Agilent 4x44K). A rat model of neonatal HI encephalopathy (Rice model) was obtained by unilateral ligation of the common carotid artery of 7-day-old rats with hypoxia (exposure to 8% oxygen). Due to the HI insult-related breakdown of the ipsilateral hemisphere in the brain, RNAs were prepared from the contralateral cerebral cortices of 8-week-old rats and analyzed by DNA microarray. Biofunctional analysis of differentially regulated genes revealed that many upregulated genes were related to cell death signaling, such as the arachidonic acid cascade. In contrast, many downregulated genes were related to gene expression, reflecting progressive damage by the HI insult, even within the contralateral cerebral hemisphere.
Project description:Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy can lead to severe brain damage and is a common cause of neurological handicaps in adulthood. To elucidate the molecular events occurring in cerebral cortices of mature rats (8 weeks old) after neonatal HI brain insult, we performed comprehensive gene expression and gene network analyses using a DNA microarray system (Agilent 4x44K). A rat model of neonatal HI encephalopathy (Rice model) was obtained by unilateral ligation of the common carotid artery of 7-day-old rats with hypoxia (exposure to 8% oxygen). Due to the HI insult-related breakdown of the ipsilateral hemisphere in the brain, RNAs were prepared from the contralateral cerebral cortices of 8-week-old rats and analyzed by DNA microarray. Biofunctional analysis of differentially regulated genes revealed that many upregulated genes were related to cell death signaling, such as the arachidonic acid cascade. In contrast, many downregulated genes were related to gene expression, reflecting progressive damage by the HI insult, even within the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Seven-day-old Wistar rats were assigned to two groups: the control group and the Rice group (four pups in each group). HI brain insult was not induced in the control group rats. The Rice group rats were subjected to a modified LevineM-bM-^@M-^Ys procedure to induce HI brain injury. The Rice group rats were anesthetized with ether, and the left carotid artery was sectioned between double ligatures with 4-0 surgical silk. The rats were allowed to recover for 1M-bM-^@M-^S2 h and then exposed to 1 h of hypoxia in a plastic chamber that was perfused with a mixture of humidified 8% oxygen balanced with nitrogen. The temperature inside the chamber was maintained at 33 M-BM-0C, the usual temperature generated when pups huddle with the mother. The cerebral cortexes contralateral to the HI brain insult and those of the same side of the control animals were used for the experiment.
Project description:In order to establish a rat embryonic stem cell transcriptome, mRNA from rESC cell line DAc8, the first male germline competent rat ESC line to be described and the first to be used to generate a knockout rat model was characterized using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. 2 biological replicates of RRRC#464 DA-EC8/Rrrc cell line were sequenced with 50bp paired end reads using Illumina Hi-Seq 2000
Project description:Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), as a degenerative multifactorial disease, affects the quality of life and mental health of patients, and also brings a huge socioeconomic burden. Treating synovitis have shown promise as anti-inflammatory therapeutics in mitigating OA symptoms and disease progression. Here, by analysing synovial single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from KOA, we found that synovial fibroblasts (FLS) in OA synovium showed a distinct pro-inflammatory phenotype. We collected synovial tissue from patients with clinical OA as well as from healthy donors, and histological examination was consistent with findings in scRNA-seq. Inspired by recent cross-tissue fibroblast lineage studies, we identified by sequencing that healthy FLS in synovial tissues share transcriptome-level similarities with dermal fibroblasts (DFb). Subsequently, we revealed the local as well as systemic distribution of intra-articular injected DFbs by constructing/extracting two types of rat fibroblasts (luciferase DFbs as well as GFP DFbs). The results demonstrate that DFbs can be locally retained in the synovium for up to three weeks following targeted engrafting on it. And intra-articular injection does not result in DFbs migration to vital organs or the occurrence of histological changes in these organs. A rat model of KOA was constructed by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in order to study the therapeutic effect of DFbs on KOA. After injection, the rats showed improvement in painful gait. In addition, histological as well as imaging results showed reduced synovitis and improvement in articular cartilage. Finally we verified the protective effect of DFbs on cytokine-stimulated chondrocytes in a co-culture system.