Project description:To characterize the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility in detail, we used a systems genetics approach, integrating mapping of gene expression traits with sterility phenotypes and QTL. We measured genome-wide testis expression in 305 male F2s from a cross between wild-derived inbred strains of M. musculus musculus and M. m. domesticus. We identified several thousand cis- and trans-acting QTL contributing to expression variation (eQTL). Many trans eQTL cluster into eleven ‘hotspots,’ seven of which co-localize with QTL for sterility phenotypes identified in the cross. The number and clustering of trans eQTL - but not cis eQTL - were substantially lower when mapping was restricted to a ‘fertile’ subset of mice, providing evidence that trans eQTL hotspots are related to sterility. Functional annotation of transcripts with eQTL provides insights into the biological processes disrupted by sterility loci and guides prioritization of candidate genes. Using a conditional mapping approach, we identified eQTL dependent on interactions between loci, revealing a complex system of epistasis. Our results illuminate established patterns, including the role of the X chromosome in hybrid sterility.
Project description:To characterize the relationship between IRF5 and Lyn in innate immune responses at a genome-wide scale, we performed gene expression microarray analysis for wild-type (WT), Irf5-KO, Lyn-KO and Lyn/Irf5-DKO bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) with or without 6 h-stimulation with 150 nM CpG-B ODN. We extracted the transcripts that were upregulated by CpG-B ODN in WT BMDCs, further upregulated in Lyn-KO BMDCs and then downregulated in Lyn/Irf5-DKO BMDCs (fold change â?¥ 2, false discovery rate < 0.05). When these 79 transcripts were sorted by their expression levels in Lyn-KO BMDCs, most of the top 20 genes (13 out of 20) were those encoding type I interferons (IFNs), indicating that Lyn particularly suppresses IRF5 induction of type I IFNs. BMDCs from WT, Irf5-KO, Lyn-KO and Lyn/Irf5-DKO mice in a C57BL/6 background were unstimulated or stimulated with CpG-B ODN. Biological triplicate for each genotype were analyzed (24 samples in total).
Project description:This is an investigation of whole genome gene expression level in tissues of mice stimulated by LPS, FK565 or LPS + FK565 in vivo and ex vivo. We show that parenteral administration of a pure synthetic Nod1 ligand, FK565, induces site-specific vascular inflammation in mice, which is prominent in aortic root including aortic valves, slight in aorta and absent in other arteries. The degree of respective vascular inflammation is associated with persistent high expression of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine genes in each tissue in vivo by microarray analysis, and not with Nod1 expression levels. The ex vivo production of proinflammatory chemokine/cytokine by Nod1 ligand is higher in aortic root than in other arteries from normal murine vascular tissues, and also higher in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) than in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC), suggesting that site-specific vascular inflammation is at least in part ascribed to an intrinsic nature of the vascular tissue/cell itself.
Project description:The aim of the study was to investigate whether the trefoil peptide genes, in concerted action with a miRNA regulatory network, were contributing to nutritional maintrenance. Using a Tff3 knock-out mouse model, 21 specific miRNAs were noted to be significantly deregulated when compared to the wild type strain.
