Project description:Phytoplankton blooms represent hotspots of primary production and lead to the formation of particulate organic matter composed of living and dead algal cells. These particles are characterized by steep chemical gradients, for instance in oxygen concentration, that provide diverse ecological niches for specifically adapted microbes to thrive. Particulate fractions were collected at almost daily intervals between early March and late May in 2018. Amplicon sequencing and Meta-omics was used to asses microbial community composition and functionality at different time points.
Project description:Background/Aims: Cholestatic liver diseases (CLD) are the leading indication for pediatric liver transplantation. Increased intrahepatic bile acid concentrations cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated to maintain homeostasis. UPR dysregulation, including the inositol-requiring enzyme 1α/X-box protein 1 (IRE1α/XBP1) pathway, is associated with several adult liver diseases. We evaluated hepatic UPR expression in pediatric patients with end-stage CLD and hypothesize that an inability to appropriately activate the hepatic IRE1α/XBP1 pathway is associated with the pathogenesis of CLD. Methods: We evaluated 34 human liver explants. Cohorts included: pediatric CLD (Alagille, ALGS, and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, PFIC), pediatric non-cholestatic liver disease controls (autoimmune hepatitis, AIH), adult CLD, and normal controls. We performed RNA-seq, quantitative PCR, and western blotting to measure expression differences of the hepatic UPR and other signaling pathways. Results: Metascape pathway analysis demonstrated that the KEGG ‘protein processing in ER’ pathway was downregulated in pediatric CLD compared to normal controls. Pediatric CLD had decreased hepatic IRE1α/XBP1 pathway gene expression and decreased protein expression of p-IRE1α compared to normal controls. These CLD changes were not disease-specific to ALGS or PFIC. IRE1α/XBP1 pathway gene expression was decreased in pediatric CLD compared to AIH disease controls. Conclusion: Pediatric CLD explants have decreased gene and protein expression of the protective IRE1α/XBP1 pathway and down-regulated KEGG protein processing in the ER pathways. IRE1α/XBP1 pathway expression differences occur when compared to both normal and non-cholestatic disease controls. Attenuated expression of the IRE1α/XBP1 pathway is associated with cholestatic diseases and could be targeted to treat pediatric CLD.