Project description:Normal pregnancy requires adaptations of the maternal vasculature. During preeclampsia these adjustments are not well established, resulting in maternal hypertension and proteinuria. The effects of preeclampsia on the maternal vasculature are not yet fully understood. We aimed to identify gene expression differences in the aorta between non pregnant, healthy pregnant, and experimental preeclamptic rats using a genome wide approach. Whole aortic tissue was isolated from rats with low-dose LPS-induced preeclampsia, healthy pregnant and non-pregnant rats. Gene expression was measured by a whole genome microarray.
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.
Project description:The study determined whether there were gender differences in the <br>expression of hippocampal genes in adult rats in association with dissimilarity <br>in their behavior, and how these were affected by prenatal stress. Pregnant <br>Wistar rats were subjected to varied stress once daily on days 14-20 of <br>gestation.<br>
Project description:Background: Platelets may be pivotal mediators of the thrombo-haemorrhagic complications of preeclampsia (PE), linking inflammation and thrombosis with endothelial and vascular dysfunction. While gestational hypertension (GH) falls within the spectrum of hypertensive complications of pregnancy and is a risk factor for preeclampsia, it is unclear what biomarkers distinguish PE from GH. Aim: To identify specific plasma and platelet thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers indicative of preeclampsia and distinguish PE from GH. Methods: We performed multiplex immunoassays, assessed platelet and plasma proteomics and metabolomics data of PE patients, and compared with non-pregnant (NP), healthy pregnant (PC) and GH participants. Results: We report plasma proteins upregulated, enriched plasma metabolites and proteins distinctly overexpressed in platelets of PE and GH compared to NP and PC. Whilst procoagulation in PC may be fibrinogen driven, Inter-Alpha-Trypsin Inhibitors ITIH2 and ITIH3 were enriched in hypertensive complications of pregnancy (PE and GH), and fibronectin and S100A8/9 may be major procoagulant agonists in PE but not GH. In addition, platelet leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 27 and 42 (LRRC27/42) subunits of volume-regulated VRAC anion channels were markedly overexpressed in preeclampsia and may contribute to the heightened glucose sensitivity and the pro-thrombotic tendency of this disorder. Additionally, our multiplex immunoassays confirmed previous reports of increases in preeclampsia plasma cytokines, including SDF-1α, which can directly activate platelets; but also, i-309 and CTACK cytokines, whose effects on platelets we explored using STRING analysis. Conclusion: We identified biomarkers that may be monitored for preeclampsia onset and progression, and distinguish PE from GH. Also, through protein-protein interactions analysis, we generated a new hypothesis for platelets’ contribution to the thrombo-inflammatory states of preeclampsia.
Project description:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to establish exhausted-exercise model by motorized rodent treadmill. Yu-Ping-Feng-San at doses of 2.18 g/kg was administrated by gavage before exercise training for 10 consecutive days. Quantitative proteomics was performed for assessing the related mechanism of Yu-Ping-Feng-San.
Project description:Maternal serum levels of calcyclin and heat shock protein 90 were compared throughout pregnancy from the first trimester till term among women with preeclampsia (PE) and age-matched normotensive pregnant controls (C). Serum samples from two different studies, a nested case-control study embedded in the Rotterdam periconception cohort and the Lepra Study both conducted at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. They were collected in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy in 43 patients with preeclampsia, consisting of 20 early-onset and 23 late-onset preeclampsia, and 46 normotensive pregnant controls. A serum based 2D LC-MS assay on Parallel Reaction Monitoring mode using a high resolution tribrid mass spectrometer was used to quantify both calcyclin and heat shock protein 90.
Project description:Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy that affects 4-5% of pregnant women around the world. At present, there is a lack of early identification of high-risk patients of preeclampsia in clinical practice, which restricts the development of disease prevention and treatment. Previous studies have indicated that plasma exosomal miRNAs in pregnant women could serve as biomarkers of preeclampsia, but few is focused on exosomal miRNAs from preeclampsia pregnancy with severe features(sPE). Therefore, we detected and compared the plasma exosomal miRNA profiles between normal pregancy and sPE to explore potential biomarkers and pathogenic mechanisms of sPE.
Project description:Preeclampsia is one of the most common pregnancy disorders, and characterized by insufficient trophoblast invasion and placental inflammation. RNA sequencing was performed using placental tissues collected from PE patients and control healthy pregnant women. The results showed that OTU deubiquitinase, ubiquitin aldehyde binding 2 (OTUB2) was downregulated in placenta from PE patients.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of miRNAs from rat brain tissues comparing controls (Sham) with ischemic rats (tMCAO) and neuroprotected rats (RLIP) Internal normalization: ischemic core vs. periischemic and ANOVA comparison across three experimental conditions: Sham, tMCAO and RLIP
Project description:Pregnant rats were received i.p. injection of L‑NAME (250 mg/kg/day) from gestational day 15 to 20 to establish preeclampsia model. Proteome analysis of cerebrospinal fluid on postnatal day 5 were performed on male offspring.