Project description:CAAs were generated by co-culturing human adipocytes with a human pancreatic cancer cell line (Panc-1), and exosomes were isolated from the CAA-conditioned medium (CAA-CM). We then performed gene expression profiling analysis using small RNA-seq of three differernt CAA-CMs and normal A-CMs.
Project description:The role of adipocytes in cancer microenvironment has gained focus during the recent years. However, the characteristics of the cancer-associated adipocytes (CAA) in human breast cancer tissues and the underlying regulatory mechanism are not clearly understood. We reviewed pathology specimens of breast cancer patients to understand the morphologic characteristics of CAA, and profiled the mRNA and miRNA expression of CAA by using indirect co-culture system in vitro.
Project description:Gas hydrates, also known as clathrates, are cages of ice-like water crystals encasing gas molecules such as methane (CH4). Despite the global importance of gas hydrates, their microbiomes remain mysterious. Microbial cells are physically associated with hydrates, and the taxonomy of these hydrate-associated microbiomes is distinct from non-hydrate-bearing sites. Global 16S rRNA gene surveys show that members of sub-clade JS-1 of the uncultivated bacterial candidate phylum Atribacteria are the dominant taxa in gas hydrates. The Atribacteria phylogeny is highly diverse, suggesting the potential for wide functional variation and niche specialization. Here, we examined the distribution, phylogeny, and metabolic potential of uncultivated Atribacteria in cold, salty, and high-pressure sediments beneath Hydrate Ridge, off the coast of Oregon, USA, using a combination of 16S rRNA gene amplicon, metagenomic, and metaproteomic analysis. Methods were developed to extract bacterial cellular protein from these sediments, as outlined below. Sample Description Three sediments samples were collected from beneath Hydrate Ridge, off the coast of Oregon, USA. Sediments were cored at ODP site 1244 (44°35.1784´N; 125°7.1902´W; 895 m water depth) on the eastern flank of Hydrate Ridge ~3 km northeast of the southern summit on ODP Leg 204 in 2002 and stored at -80°C at the IODP Gulf Coast Repository. E10H5 sediment is from 68.5 meters below sediment surface interface C1H2 sediment is from 2 meters below sediment surface interface. C3H4 sediment is from 21 meters below sediment surface interface.
Project description:Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the leading cause of vascular dementia among the elderly. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are commonly manifested in CAA patients but are usually considered as consequences of CAA pathology. Here, we report that chronic stress promotes CAA progression, which enhances deposition of amyloid protein beta (Aβ) in brain blood vessels and exacerbates subsequent brain injury. Mechanistically, neutrophil is implicated in CAA development. Aβ that accumulated in brain vasculature induces neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by activating STAT6 signaling, which inhibits neutrophil apoptosis and switches the programmed cell death toward NETosis. During chronic stress, circulatory Norepinephrine (NE) strengthens STAT6 activation in neutrophil and promotes NET formation, thus exacerbates the NET-dependent angiopathy. We demonstrate that inhibiting neutrophil chemotaxis towards brain or suppressing NET formation both ameliorate CAA severity in the context of chronic stress. Therefore, we propose that stress-associated psychological disorders and NETs are promising therapeutic targets in CAA.
Project description:Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the leading cause of vascular dementia among the elderly. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are commonly manifested in CAA patients but are usually considered as consequences of CAA pathology. Here, we report that chronic stress promotes CAA progression, which enhances deposition of amyloid protein beta (Aβ) in brain blood vessels and exacerbates subsequent brain injury. Mechanistically, neutrophil is implicated in CAA development. Aβ that accumulated in brain vasculature induces neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by activating STAT6 signaling, which inhibits neutrophil apoptosis and switches the programmed cell death toward NETosis. During chronic stress, circulatory Norepinephrine (NE) strengthens STAT6 activation in neutrophil and promotes NET formation, thus exacerbates the NET-dependent angiopathy. We demonstrate that inhibiting neutrophil chemotaxis towards brain or suppressing NET formation both ameliorate CAA severity in the context of chronic stress. Therefore, we propose that stress-associated psychological disorders and NETs are promising therapeutic targets in CAA.
Project description:Ameloblastomas are odontogenic tumors that are rare in people but have a relatively high prevalence in dogs. Because canine acanthomatous ameloblastomas (CAA) have clinicopathologic and molecular features in common with human ameloblastomas (AM), spontaneous CAA can serve as a useful translational model of disease. However, the molecular basis of CAA and how it compares to AM are incompletely understood. In this study, we compared the global genomic expression profile of CAA with AM and evaluated their dental origin by using a bulk RNA-seq approach. For these studies, healthy gingiva (HGIN) and canine oral squamous cell carcinoma (COSCC) served as controls. We found that aberrant RAS signaling, and activation of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition cellular program are involved in the pathogenesis of CAA, and that CAA is enriched with genes known to be upregulated in AM including those expressed during the early stages of tooth development, suggesting a high level of molecular homology. These results support the model that domestic dogs with spontaneous CAA have potential for pre-clinical assessment of targeted therapeutic modalities against AM.
Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of age-related dementia worldwide with limited effective treatments. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is one of the key pathological hallmarks of AD characterized by amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in the cerebral vasculature and is associated with intracerebral hemorrhage, cerebrovascular dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. CAA is also considered to underlie the main adverse effect of anti-Aβ immunotherapies, the amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA). Substantial evidence from clinical and animal studies has shown that elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and its main protein component, apolipoprotein (APO) A-I, are associated with reduced CAA and superior cognitive function. 4F is an APOA-I/HDL-mimetic peptide that has advanced into clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to investigate whether treatment with the HDL mimetic peptide 4F modulates CAA and associated cognitive deficits and neuropathologies in the well-established transgenic Tg-SwDI mouse model of CAA/AD. Age- and sex-matched Tg-SwDI mice received daily treatments of 4F or vehicle (PBS), respectively, by intraperitoneal injections for 12 weeks. The results showed that the 4F treatment reduced CAA as well as overall Aβ plaque deposition, and attenuated microgliosis associated with CAA. Unbiased brain transcriptomic analysis revealed a heightened inflammatory state in the brain of SwDI mice, and that 4F treatment reversed the overactivation of vascular cells, in particular vascular smooth muscle cells, relieving cerebrovascular inflammation in CAA/AD mice. Our study provides experimental evidence for the therapeutic potential of 4F to mitigate CAA and its associated pathogenic processes in AD, including ARIA.
Project description:Abstract: Nanoparticles (NPs) are expected to make their way into the aquatic environment where sedimentation of particles will likely occur, putting benthic organisms at particular risk. Therefore, organisms such as Hyalella azteca, an epibenthic crustacean which forages at the sediment surface, is likely to have a high potential exposure. Here we show that Zinc Oxide (ZnO) NPs are more toxic to H. azteca compared with the corresponding metal ion, Zn2+. Dissolution of ZnO NPs contributes about 50% of the Zn measured in the ZnO NP suspensions, and cannot account for the toxicity of these particles to H. azteca. However, gene expression analysis is unable to distinguish between the ZnO NP exposures and Zinc Sulfate (ZnSO4) exposures at equitoxic concentrations. These results lead us to hypothesize that ZnO NPs provide and an enhanced exposure route for Zn2+ uptake into H. azteca, and possibly other sediment dwelling organisms. Our study supports the prediction that sediment dwelling organisms are highly susceptible to the effects of ZnO NPs and should be considered in the risk assessment of these nanomaterials.
Project description:The role of adipocytes in cancer microenvironment has gained focus during the recent years. However, the characteristics of the cancer-associated adipocytes (CAA) in human breast cancer tissues and the underlying regulatory mechanism are not clearly understood. We reviewed pathology specimens of breast cancer patients to understand the morphologic characteristics of CAA, and profiled the mRNA and miRNA expression of CAA by using indirect co-culture system in vitro.