Project description:OBJECTIVE: Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder with excess growth hormone (GH) production. This disorder has important metabolic effects in insulin resistance and lipolysis. The objective of this study was to explore transcriptional changes induced by GH in adipose tissue. METHODS: The patients underwent clinical and metabolic profiling including assessment of HOMA-IR. Explants of adipose tissue were assayed ex-vivo for lipolysis and ceramide levels. Adipose tissue was analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). RESULTS: There was evidence of reduced insulin sensitivity based on the increase in fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR score. We observed several previously reported transcriptional changes (IGF1, IGFBP3) as well as several novel transcriptional changes, some of which may be important for GH signal regulation (PTPN3 and PTPN4) and the effect of GH on growth and proliferation. Several transcripts could potentially be important in GH-induced metabolic changes. Specifically, induction of LPL, ABHD5, and ACVR1C could contribute to enhanced lipolysis and may explain the suggestive enhancement of adipose tissue lipolysis in acromegaly patients as reflected by glycerol release from the explants of the two groups of patients (p=0.09). Higher expression of SCD and TCF7L2 could contribute to insulin resistance. Expression of HSD11B1 was reduced and GR was increased, predicting modified glucocorticoid activity in acromegaly. CONCLUSIONS: We identified the acromegaly gene expression signature in human adipose tissue. The significance of altered expression of specific transcripts will enhance our understanding of the metabolic and proliferative changes associated with acromegaly. DESIGN: Patients with acromegaly (n=9) or non-functioning pituitary adenoma (n=11) were prospectively observed from March 2011 to June 2012. Sequencing was performed on RNA from 7 acromegaly patients and 11 controls.
Project description:OBJECTIVE: Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder with excess growth hormone (GH) production. This disorder has important metabolic effects in insulin resistance and lipolysis. The objective of this study was to explore transcriptional changes induced by GH in adipose tissue. METHODS: The patients underwent clinical and metabolic profiling including assessment of HOMA-IR. Explants of adipose tissue were assayed ex-vivo for lipolysis and ceramide levels. Adipose tissue was analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). RESULTS: There was evidence of reduced insulin sensitivity based on the increase in fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR score. We observed several previously reported transcriptional changes (IGF1, IGFBP3) as well as several novel transcriptional changes, some of which may be important for GH signal regulation (PTPN3 and PTPN4) and the effect of GH on growth and proliferation. Several transcripts could potentially be important in GH-induced metabolic changes. Specifically, induction of LPL, ABHD5, and ACVR1C could contribute to enhanced lipolysis and may explain the suggestive enhancement of adipose tissue lipolysis in acromegaly patients as reflected by glycerol release from the explants of the two groups of patients (p=0.09). Higher expression of SCD and TCF7L2 could contribute to insulin resistance. Expression of HSD11B1 was reduced and GR was increased, predicting modified glucocorticoid activity in acromegaly. CONCLUSIONS: We identified the acromegaly gene expression signature in human adipose tissue. The significance of altered expression of specific transcripts will enhance our understanding of the metabolic and proliferative changes associated with acromegaly.
Project description:Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) were harvested from subcutaneous adipose tissue of patients with obesity or healthy controls and expanded for 3-4 passages, and 5hmC profiles were examined through hydroxymethylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (hMeDIP-seq). We hypothesized that obesity and cardiovascular risk factors induce functionally-relevant, locus-specific changes in overall exonic coverage of 5hmC in human adipose-derived MSCs.
Project description:Gene expression profiling of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells with hTERT/E6/E7 transfected MSCs. hTERT may change gene expression in MSCs. Goal was to determine the gene expressions of immortalized MSCs.
Project description:We have sequenced miRNA libraries from human embryonic, neural and foetal mesenchymal stem cells. We report that the majority of miRNA genes encode mature isomers that vary in size by one or more bases at the 3’ and/or 5’ end of the miRNA. Northern blotting for individual miRNAs showed that the proportions of isomiRs expressed by a single miRNA gene often differ between cell and tissue types. IsomiRs were readily co-immunoprecipitated with Argonaute proteins in vivo and were active in luciferase assays, indicating that they are functional. Bioinformatics analysis predicts substantial differences in targeting between miRNAs with minor 5’ differences and in support of this we report that a 5’ isomiR-9-1 gained the ability to inhibit the expression of DNMT3B and NCAM2 but lost the ability to inhibit CDH1 in vitro. This result was confirmed by the use of isomiR-specific sponges. Our analysis of the miRGator database indicates that a small percentage of human miRNA genes express isomiRs as the dominant transcript in certain cell types and analysis of miRBase shows that 5’ isomiRs have replaced canonical miRNAs many times during evolution. This strongly indicates that isomiRs are of functional importance and have contributed to the evolution of miRNA genes