Project description:Microarray analysis on total retinal RNA from 15 day old Sirt6 wild-type (WT) and knock-out (KO) mice. The retina is one of the major energy consuming tissues within the body. In this context, synaptic transmission between light-excited rod photoreceptors and downstream ON-bipolar neurons is a highly demanding energy consuming process. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), a NAD-dependent deacylase, plays a key role in regulating glucose metabolism. In this study, we demonstrate that SIRT6 is highly expressed in the retina, controlling levels of histone H3K9 and H3K56 acetylation. Notably, despite apparent normal histology, SIRT6 deficiency caused major retinal transmission defects concomitant to changes in expression of glycolytic genes and glutamate receptors, as well as elevated levels of apoptosis in inner retina cells. Our results identify SIRT6 as a critical modulator of retinal function, likely through its effects on chromatin. Microarray analysis of total retinal RNA from 15 day old Sirt6 wild-type (WT) and knock-out (KO) mice with 3 replicates in each condition using the Affymetrix Mouse Gene 2.1 ST array (transcript (gene) version).
Project description:Microarray analysis on total retinal RNA from 15 day old Sirt6 wild-type (WT) and knock-out (KO) mice. The retina is one of the major energy consuming tissues within the body. In this context, synaptic transmission between light-excited rod photoreceptors and downstream ON-bipolar neurons is a highly demanding energy consuming process. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), a NAD-dependent deacylase, plays a key role in regulating glucose metabolism. In this study, we demonstrate that SIRT6 is highly expressed in the retina, controlling levels of histone H3K9 and H3K56 acetylation. Notably, despite apparent normal histology, SIRT6 deficiency caused major retinal transmission defects concomitant to changes in expression of glycolytic genes and glutamate receptors, as well as elevated levels of apoptosis in inner retina cells. Our results identify SIRT6 as a critical modulator of retinal function, likely through its effects on chromatin.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:Engrams are considered to be substrates for memory storage, and the functional dysregulation of the engrams leads to cognition impairment.However, the cellular basis for these maladaptive changes lead to the forgetting of memories remains unclear. Here we found that the expression of autophagy protein 7 (Atg7) mRNA was dramatically upregulated in aged DG engrams, and led to the forgetting of contextual fear memory and the activation of surrounding microglia.To determine mechanism by which autophagy in DG engrams activates the surrounding microglia, mice were co-injected AAV-RAM-Cre either with AAV-Dio-Atg7-Flag or AAV-Dio- EYFP in dorsal dentate gyrus to overexpress ATG7 in the DG memory engrams. Microglia were separated using magnetic-activated cell sorting and subjected to RNA-Seq in dorsal hippocampus .Bioinformatics analysis shown overexpression of Atg7 in dorsal DG memory engrams caused an increase in the expression of Tlr2 in the surrounding microglia.Depletion of Toll-like receptor 2/4 (TLR2/4) in DG microglia prohibited excessive microglial activation and synapse elimination induced by the overexpression of ATG7 in DG engrams, and thus prevented forgetting. Furthermore, the expression of Rac1, a Rho-GTPases which regulates active forgetting in both fly and mice, was upregulated in aged engrams. Optogentic activation of Rac1 in DG engrams promoted the autophagy of the engrams, the activation of microglia, and the forgetting of fear memory. Invention of the Atg7 expression and microglia activation attenuated forgetting induced by activation of Rac1 in DG engrams. Together, our findings revealed autophagy-dependent synapse elimination of DG engrams by microglia as a novel forgetting mechanism.
Project description:The ketogenic diet has been successful in promoting weight loss among patients that have struggled with weight gain. This is due to the cellular switch in metabolism that utilizes liver-derived ketone bodies for the primary energy source rather than glucose. Fatty acid transport protein 2 (FATP2) is highly expressed in liver, small intestine, and kidney where it functions in both the transport of exogenous long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and in the activation to CoA thioesters of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA). We have completed a multi-omic study of FATP2-null (Fatp2-/-) mice maintained on a ketogenic diet (KD) or paired control diet (CD), with and without a 24-hour fast (KD-fasted and CD-fasted) to address the impact of deleting FATP2 under high-stress conditions. Control (wt/wt) and Fatp2-/- mice were maintained on their respective diets for 4-weeks. Afterwards, half the population was sacrificed while the remaining were fasted for 24-hours prior to sacrifice. We then performed paired-end RNA-sequencing on the whole liver tissue to investigate differential gene expression. The differentially expressed genes mapped to ontologies such as the metabolism of amino acids and derivatives, fatty acid metabolism, protein localization, and components of the immune system’s complement cascade, and were supported by the proteome and histological staining.
Project description:RNA editing is essential for the formation of functional properties of ionotropic glutamate channels. Previously, we demonstrated the regulation of RNA editing upon manipulation with neural activity in vitro. The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), which serve as a master circadian pacemaker depends on glutamatergic neurotransmission, in particular for signal transmission from the retina, and they exhibit spontaneous 24h rhythmical neural activity. We observed changes in the extent of ionotropic glutamate receptor RNA editing in the SCN during the 24h cycle. Therefore, we aimed to understand the overall role of RNA editing for the mechanism of SCN function and to evaluate the impact of RNA under editing on gene expression.
Project description:Aging leads to a gradual decline in physical activity and disrupted energy homeostasis. The NAD+-dependent SIRT6 deacylase regulates aging and metabolism through mechanisms that largely remain unknown. Here, we show that SIRT6 overexpression leads to a reduction in frailty and lifespan extension in both male and female B6 mice. A combination of physiological assays, in vivo multi-omics analyses and 13C lactate tracing identified an age-dependent decline in glucose homeostasis and hepatic gluconeogenesis (GNG) capacity in wild type mice. In contrast, aged SIRT6-transgenic mice preserve GNG capacity and glucose homeostasis through an improvement in the utilization of two major GNG precursors, lactate and glycerol. To mediate these changes, mechanistically, SIRT6 increases hepatic GNG gene expression, de novo NAD+ synthesis, and systemically enhances glycerol release from adipose tissue. These findings show that SIRT6 optimizes energy homeostasis in old age to delay frailty and preserve healthy aging.