Project description:Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is death of a child over one year of age that is unexplained after review of clinical history, circumstances of death, and complete autopsy with ancillary testing. Multiple etiologies may cause SUDC, with parallels to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in SUDC with a history of febrile seizures, suggesting possible abnormalities in hippocampus and cortex. To identify molecular signaling pathways underlying SUDC, we performed label-free quantitative mass spectrometry on microdissected frontal cortex, hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), and cornu ammonis (CA1-3) in SUDC (n=19) and pediatric control cases (n=19) with an explained cause of death.
Project description:Centrosomes act as microtubule organizing centers and are critical for faithful chromosome segregation in mitosis. Deregulated centrosome numbers are frequently found in human cancer and can promote malignancies in model organisms. Current research aims to clarify if extra centrosomes are cause or consequence of malignant transformation, and if their biogenesis can be targeted for therapy. Here, we show that oncogene-driven blood cancer is inert to genetic manipulation of centrosome numbers, whereas the formation of DNA damage-induced malignancies is delayed. This unexpected phenomenon is due to extra centrosomes eliciting a pro death signal engaging the apoptotic machinery. Cell death initiation requires the PIDDosome multiprotein complex, as it can be abrogated by loss of any of its three components, Caspase-2, Raidd/Cradd or Pidd1. BCL2 overexpression equally blocks cell death documenting for the first time induction of mitochondrial apoptosis downstream of extra centrosomes. Our findings demonstrate context-dependent effects of centrosome amplification during transformation and ask to adjust current believe that extra centrosomes are intrinsically pro-tumorigenic.
Project description:Purpose: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect and the main noninfectious cause of death during the neonatal stage. Currently, hemizygous loss-of-function variants in NONO(The non-POU domain containing, octamer-binding) gene have been described as the cause of congenital heart defects in males. However, the effects of NONO on cardiac development have not been fully elucidated.
Project description:Septic shock is the most common cause of death in intensive care units. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of circular RNA (circRNA) and mRNA expression profiles and functional networks in aortic tissue of septic shock.
Project description:Lung cancer is the worldwide leading cause of death from cancer. This GEO series correspond to one of the BAC aCGH data sets used as validation cohort for the study: Landscape of somatic allelic imbalances and copy number alterations in human lung cancer, Int J Cancer 2013.
Project description:Chlamydia trachomatis is a prevalent bacterial cause of urogenital and ocular infections. The pathogen uses the effector CpoS to suppress a host defense response that aborts intracellular bacterial growth by inducing host cell death. We conducted a CRISPR knockout screen to identify host genes contributing to this response, thereby revealing modulators of C. trachomatis parasitophorous vacuole stability. In brief, we transduced HeLa cells, a human cervical epithelial cell line, with a genome-wide knockout library. More specifically, we used the Brunello sgRNA library (which targets 19,114 genes and comprises a total of 77,441 sgRNAs, including about four sgRNAs per gene and 1000 non-targeting control sgRNAs). An aliquot of the transduced cells was collected to determine the composition of the pre-selection cell population (= sample “Pre”). In the selection procedure, we infected transduced cells with C. trachomatis L2/434/Bu, either wildtype (CTL2) or a strain carrying an insertional disruption of cpoS (CTL2-cpoS::cat). Later, we collected cells resistant to infection-mediated killing, that is, cells resistant to late-stage lytic death in the case of CTL2 or premature death in the case of CTL2-cpoS::cat. Hence, we included four distinct conditions: uninfected cells and cells infected with CTL2-cpoS::cat collected at 30 hours post infection (samples “UI30h” and “KO30h”), and uninfected cells and cells infected with CTL2 collected at 60 hours post infection (samples “UI60h” and “WT60h”). The screen was performed in two independent replicates (R1+R2).
Project description:The pediatric tumor neuroblastoma is the second cause of cancer-related death in children. Although several recurrent gene aberrations have been found, the main signaling networks in the neuroblastoma cell, that can give important clues for more specific, more efficient treatment, is still unknown. Here we demonstrate an analysis of the MEIS1 pathway in neuroblastic tumors. It suggests important regulatory connections to tumor differentiation, cell cycle, and cell death. Time-course experiment of MEIS1-shRNA induction, with 5 timepoints.
Project description:SP110b is an interferon (IFN)-induced nuclear protein and may function as a transcriptional co-activator/repressor. IFNγ activates monocytes/macrophages thereby mediating inflammation. However, uncontrolled activation induces monocyte/macrophage cell death, which may cause immunopathology. We have demonstrated that SP110b expression prevented IFNγ-mediated monocyte/macrophage cell death. To explore the molecular mechanisms by which SP110b suppresses IFNγ-induced cell death, we performed a genome-wide microarray analysis to identify genetic determinants associated with IFNγ-induced cell death and regulated by SP110b.