Project description:Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains the most efficacious treatment for many hematological malignancies. However, its therapeutic potential is affected by the most prominent side effect graft versus host disease. Despite advances in the treatment of graft versus host disease in recent years, morbidity and mortality remains high, which requires the development of new treatment approaches. We therefore implemented mouse models to assess potential treatment options for graft versus host disease. In in vivo experiments, we had observed a protective effect of LCN2 on graft versus host disease of the gastrointestinal tract. We also observed higher numbers of anti-inflammatory macrophages in the intestinal tissues of these animals. Therefore, we aimed to determine potentially regulated genes in these cells by using an in vitro approach of LCN2-treated macrophages.
Project description:Investigated bone marrow metabolism in response to acute overnutrition (high calorie diet) and calorie deprivation (fasting). Bone marrow serum and peripheral serum were collected before and after each dietary intervention. Using proteomics analyses of the sera, we characterized nutritional influences on the local and systemic environments. In brief, proteomic analysis of the bone marrow serum after high calorie diet showed an upregulation of proteins related to an inflammatory/complement pathway, while bone marrow serum after fasting showed a significant downregulation of inflammatory/complement pathway proteins. In contrast, the peripheral serum showed signs of an increased inflammatory response that may be due to a rapid increase in body weight and fat mass seen in participants after 10 days of a high calorie diet. After fasting, peripheral serum did show a strong inflammatory response, but there was evidence of increased lipid biosynthesis. Overall, our results demonstrate key differences in inflammatory response and lipid metabolism between high calorie diet and fasting, despite a nearly identical bone marrow adipose phenotype.
Project description:RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining chemotherapy with bone marrow transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more tumor cells.
PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of bone marrow transplantation in treating patients who have hematologic cancer.
Project description:Lipocalin 24p3 (24p3) is a neutrophil secondary granule protein. 24p3 is also a siderocalin, which binds several bacterial siderophores. It was therefore proposed that synthesis and secretion of 24p3 by stimulated macrophages or release of 24p3 upon neutrophil degranulation sequesters iron-laden siderophores to attenuate bacterial growth. Accordingly, 24p3-deficient mice are susceptible to bacterial pathogens whose siderophores would normally be chelated by 24p3. Specific granule deficiency (SGD) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by complete absence of proteins in secondary granules. Neutrophils from SGD patients, who are prone to bacterial infections, lack normal functions but the potential role of 24p3 in neutrophil dysfunction in SGD is not known. Here we show that neutrophils from 24p3-deficient mice are defective in many neutrophil functions. Specifically, neutrophils in 24p3-deficient mice do not extravasate to sites of infection and are defective for chemotaxis. A transcriptome analysis revealed that genes that control cytoskeletal reorganization are selectively suppressed in 24p3-deficient neutrophils. Additionally, small regulatory RNAs (miRNAs) that control upstream regulators of cytoskeletal proteins are also increased in 24p3-deficient neutrophils. Further, 24p3-deficient neutrophils failed to phagocytose bacteria, which may account for the enhanced sensitivity of 24p3-deficient mice to both intracellular (Listeria monocytogenes) and extracellular (Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus) pathogens. Interestingly, Listeria does not secrete siderophores and additionally, the siderophore secreted by Candida is not sequestered by 24p3. Therefore, the heightened sensitivity of 24p3-deficient mice to these pathogens is not due to sequestration of siderophores limiting iron availability, but is a consequence of impaired neutrophil function. Key words: Lipocalin, 24p3, neutrophils, cell motility, chemotaxis, MIRNA-362-3p To address the role of lipocalin 2 in unstimulated and fMLP-stimulated neutrophils derived from mouse bone marrow, we performed micorarray analysis of gene expression in unstimulated wild type (N=3), unstimulated lcn2 knockout (N=3), fMLP-stimulated wild type (N=2) and fMLP-stimulated lcn2 knockout (N=2) neutrophils. Upon stimulation, neutrophils were treated by fMLP at 10 micromolar for 20 minutes at 37 centigrade.
Project description:The nuclear orphan receptor Nur77 (NR4A1, TR3, or NGFI-B) has been shown to exhibit an anti-inflammatory function in macrophages. To further elucidate the role of Nur77 in macrophage physiology, we compared the transcriptome of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM) from wild-type (WT) and Nur77-knockout (KO) mice both before and after stimulation with IL4 or LPS. Comparison of gene expression in bone marrow-derived macrophages, isolated from 3 wild-type (control) and 3 Nur77-/- mice (case), left untreated or stimulated in triplicate for 8 hours with LPS or IL-4