Project description:Chitinophaga pinensis Sangkhobol and Skerman 1981 is the type strain of the species which is the type species of the rapidly growing genus Chitinophaga in the sphingobacterial family 'Chitinophagaceae'. Members of the genus Chitinophaga vary in shape between filaments and spherical bodies without the production of a fruiting body, produce myxospores, and are of special interest for their ability to degrade chitin. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence, and annotation. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the family 'Chitinophagaceae', and the 9,127,347 bp long single replicon genome with its 7,397 protein-coding and 95 RNA genes is part of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project.
Project description:Introduction: Amplification at chromosome 8q24 is one of the most frequent genomic abnormalities in human cancers and is associated with reduced survival duration in breast and ovarian cancers. The minimal amplified region encodes c-MYC and the non-coding RNA, PVT1 including miR-1204 encoded in exon 1b. Here we analyzed the genomic changes at chromosome 8q24.21 in breast cancer and the functional roles of miR-1204 in breast and ovarian cancer progression. Methods: The genomic changes at chromosome 8q24.21 were detected in 997 breast cancer tumors and 40 breast cancer cell lines. Expression of miR-1204 in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines was investigated by qRT-PCR method. The role of miR-1204 in the tumorigenesis of breast and ovarian cancer was explored using both knockdown and overexpression of miR-1204 in vitro. Candidate miR-1204 target genes from two independent expression microarray datasets and computational predict programs were identified and further validated by qRT-PCR and western blot methods. The role of inhibition of miR-1204 on tamoxifen sensitivity in breast cancer cells was also investigated. Results: MiR-1204 is frequently co-amplified with MYC and expression of miR-1204 is strongly correlated with the expression and amplification of the noncoding PVT1 transcript and less so with MYC in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. Inhibition of miR-1204 decreases cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines with 8q24 amplification, but not in lines without amplification and so may be involved in Myc-induced apoptosis. Additionally, overexpression of miR-1204 enhances both breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and Myc-initiated Rat1A cell transformation. Computational and experimental analyses 30 promising candidate miR-1204 target genes. mRNA levels for these genes were assessed after over expression and knockdown of miR-1204 as were protein levels for 10 genes for which antibodies were available. These studies implicated VDR and ESR1 as miR-1204 targets. Inhibition of miR-1204 increased response to tamoxifen in Estrogen Receptor negative breast cancer cell lines. Conclusions: We conclude that amplification of miR-1204 contributes to breast and ovarian pathophysiology at least in part, by increasing proliferation and down regulating apoptosis and by decreasing expression of VDR and ESR1. Seven cell line sample pairs, where samples are LNA transfected with antimiR-1204 or antimiR-1204 control
Project description:The mechanism by which aging induces aortic aneurysm and dissection (AAD) remains unclear. A total of 430 subjects were recruited for screening of differentially expressed plasma microRNAs. We found that miR-1204 was significantly increased in both plasma and aorta of elder patients with AAD, and was positively correlated with age. Cell senescence induced the expression of miR-1204 through p53 interaction with plasmacytoma variant translocation 1, and miR-1204 induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) senescence to form a positive feedback loop. miR-1204 aggravated angiotensin II-induced AAD formation, and inhibition of miR-1204 attenuated β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate-induced AAD formation. Mechanistically, miR-1204 directly targeted myosin light chain kinase (MYLK) to promote VSMCs to acquire senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and lose their contractile phenotype. Overexpression of MYLK reversed miR-1204-induced VSMC senescence, SASP and contractile phenotype changes, and the decrease of transforming growth factor-β signaling pathway. Our findings suggest aging aggravates AAD via 75 miR-1204-MYLK signaling axis.
Project description:Bacteria from the Bacteroidetes phylum are known producers of the chemotaxonomic relevant flexirubins. These orange pigments comprise a non-isoprenoid aryl-polyene carboxylic acid esterified with a dialkylresorcinol. Herein, we report a gene cluster from Chitinophaga pinensis encoding the biosynthesis of the polyene moiety and the biochemical characterization of a tyrosine ammonia-lyase and a 4-coumarate-CoA ligase responsible for the initiation of the polyene biosynthesis. Additionally, the flexirubin of C. pinensis was characterized by a combination of feeding experiments, high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.
Project description:The mechanism by which aging induces aortic aneurysm and dissection (AAD) remains unclear. We found that miR-1204 was significantly increased in both plasma and aorta of elder patients with AAD, and was positively correlated with age. Cell senescence induced the expression of miR-1204 through p53 interaction with plasmacytoma variant translocation 1, and miR-1204 induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) senescence to form a positive feedback loop.
Project description:Introduction: Amplification at chromosome 8q24 is one of the most frequent genomic abnormalities in human cancers and is associated with reduced survival duration in breast and ovarian cancers. The minimal amplified region encodes c-MYC and the non-coding RNA, PVT1 including miR-1204 encoded in exon 1b. Here we analyzed the genomic changes at chromosome 8q24.21 in breast cancer and the functional roles of miR-1204 in breast and ovarian cancer progression. Methods: The genomic changes at chromosome 8q24.21 were detected in 997 breast cancer tumors and 40 breast cancer cell lines. Expression of miR-1204 in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines was investigated by qRT-PCR method. The role of miR-1204 in the tumorigenesis of breast and ovarian cancer was explored using both knockdown and overexpression of miR-1204 in vitro. Candidate miR-1204 target genes from two independent expression microarray datasets and computational predict programs were identified and further validated by qRT-PCR and western blot methods. The role of inhibition of miR-1204 on tamoxifen sensitivity in breast cancer cells was also investigated. Results: MiR-1204 is frequently co-amplified with MYC and expression of miR-1204 is strongly correlated with the expression and amplification of the noncoding PVT1 transcript and less so with MYC in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. Inhibition of miR-1204 decreases cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines with 8q24 amplification, but not in lines without amplification and so may be involved in Myc-induced apoptosis. Additionally, overexpression of miR-1204 enhances both breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and Myc-initiated Rat1A cell transformation. Computational and experimental analyses 30 promising candidate miR-1204 target genes. mRNA levels for these genes were assessed after over expression and knockdown of miR-1204 as were protein levels for 10 genes for which antibodies were available. These studies implicated VDR and ESR1 as miR-1204 targets. Inhibition of miR-1204 increased response to tamoxifen in Estrogen Receptor negative breast cancer cell lines. Conclusions: We conclude that amplification of miR-1204 contributes to breast and ovarian pathophysiology at least in part, by increasing proliferation and down regulating apoptosis and by decreasing expression of VDR and ESR1.
Project description:The genome and natural habitat of Chitinophaga pinensis suggest it has the ability to degrade a wide variety of carbohydrate-based biomass. Complementing our earlier investigations into the hydrolysis of some plant polysaccharides, we now show that C. pinensis can grow directly on spruce wood and on the fungal fruiting body. Growth was stronger on fungal material, although secreted enzyme activity was high in both cases, and all biomass-induced secretomes showed a predominance of β-glucanase activities. We therefore conducted a screen for growth on and hydrolysis of β-glucans isolated from different sources. Most noncrystalline β-glucans supported good growth, with variable efficiencies of polysaccharide deconstruction and oligosaccharide uptake, depending on the polysaccharide backbone linkage. In all cases, β-glucan was the only type of polysaccharide that was effectively hydrolyzed by secreted enzymes. This contrasts with the secretion of enzymes with a broad range of activities observed during growth on complex heteroglycans. Our findings imply a role for C. pinensis in the turnover of multiple types of biomass and suggest that the species may have two metabolic modes: a "scavenging mode," where multiple different types of glycan may be degraded, and a more "focused mode" of β-glucan metabolism. The significant accumulation of some types of β-gluco-oligosaccharides in growth media may be due to the lack of an appropriate transport mechanism, and we propose that this is due to the specificity of expressed polysaccharide utilization loci. We present a hypothetical model for β-glucan metabolism by C. pinensis that suggests the potential for nutrient sharing among the microbial litter community.IMPORTANCE It is well known that the forest litter layer is inhabited by a complex microbial community of bacteria and fungi. However, while the importance of fungi in the turnover of natural biomass is well established, the role of their bacterial counterparts is less extensively studied. We show that Chitinophaga pinensis, a prominent member of an important bacterial genus, is capable of using both plant and fungal biomass as a nutrient source but is particularly effective at deconstructing dead fungal material. The turnover of dead fungus is key in natural elemental cycles in the forest. We show that C. pinensis can perform extensive degradation of this material to support its own growth while also releasing sugars that may serve as nutrients for other microbial species. Our work adds detail to an increasingly complex picture of life among the environmental microbiota.