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1.
mSystems ; 8(5): e0066123, 2023 Oct 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37610205

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: We show that simultaneous study of stool and nasopharyngeal microbiome reveals divergent timing and patterns of maturation, suggesting that local mucosal factors may influence microbiome composition in the gut and respiratory system. Antibiotic exposure in early life as occurs commonly, may have an adverse effect on vaccine responsiveness. Abundance of gut and/or nasopharyngeal bacteria with the machinery to produce lipopolysaccharide-a toll-like receptor 4 agonist-may positively affect future vaccine protection, potentially by acting as a natural adjuvant. The increased levels of serum phenylpyruvic acid in infants with lower vaccine-induced antibody levels suggest an increased abundance of hydrogen peroxide, leading to more oxidative stress in low vaccine-responding infants.


Subject(s)
Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Microbiota , Vaccines , Infant , Child , Humans , Metabolome , Vaccination
2.
J Am Chem Soc ; 145(30): 16289-16296, 2023 08 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37471577

ABSTRACT

The characterization of ligand binding modes is a crucial step in the drug discovery process and is especially important in campaigns arising from phenotypic screening, where the protein target and binding mode are unknown at the outset. Elucidation of target binding regions is typically achieved by X-ray crystallography or photoaffinity labeling (PAL) approaches; yet, these methods present significant challenges. X-ray crystallography is a mainstay technique that has revolutionized drug discovery, but in many cases structural characterization is challenging or impossible. PAL has also enabled binding site mapping with peptide- and amino-acid-level resolution; however, the stoichiometric activation mode can lead to poor signal and coverage of the resident binding pocket. Additionally, each PAL probe can have its own fragmentation pattern, complicating the analysis by mass spectrometry. Here, we establish a robust and general photocatalytic approach toward the mapping of protein binding sites, which we define as identification of residues proximal to the ligand binding pocket. By utilizing a catalytic mode of activation, we obtain sets of labeled amino acids in the proximity of the target protein binding site. We use this methodology to map, in vitro, the binding sites of six protein targets, including several kinases and molecular glue targets, and furthermore to investigate the binding site of the STAT3 inhibitor MM-206, a ligand with no known crystal structure. Finally, we demonstrate the successful mapping of drug binding sites in live cells. These results establish µMap as a powerful method for the generation of amino-acid- and peptide-level target engagement data.


Subject(s)
Peptides , Proteins , Ligands , Proteins/chemistry , Binding Sites , Peptides/chemistry , Protein Binding
3.
Cell Chem Biol ; 30(10): 1313-1322.e7, 2023 10 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37499664

ABSTRACT

Identifying virus-host interactions on the cell surface can improve our understanding of viral entry and pathogenesis. SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 disease, uses ACE2 as a receptor to enter cells. Yet the full repertoire of cell surface proteins that contribute to viral entry is unknown. We developed a photocatalyst-based viral-host protein microenvironment mapping platform (ViraMap) to probe the molecular neighborhood of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on the human cell surface. Application of ViraMap to ACE2-expressing cells captured ACE2, the established co-receptor NRP1, and several novel cell surface proteins. We systematically analyzed the relevance of these candidate proteins to SARS-CoV-2 entry by knockdown and overexpression approaches in pseudovirus and authentic infection models and identified PTGFRN and EFNB1 as bona fide viral entry factors. Our results highlight additional host targets that participate in SARS-CoV-2 infection and showcase ViraMap as a powerful platform for defining viral interactions on the cell surface.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 , Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus , Viral Proteins/metabolism , Protein Binding
4.
iScience ; 26(2): 105948, 2023 Feb 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36756375

ABSTRACT

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Despite continued efforts to understand the pathophysiology of sepsis, no effective therapies are currently available. While singular components of the aberrant immune response have been investigated, comprehensive studies linking different data layers are lacking. Using an integrated systems immunology approach, we evaluated neutrophil phenotypes and concomitant changes in cytokines and metabolites in patients with sepsis. Our findings identify differentially expressed mature and immature neutrophil subsets in patients with sepsis. These subsets correlate with various proteins, metabolites, and lipids, including pentraxin-3, angiopoietin-2, and lysophosphatidylcholines, in patients with sepsis. These results enabled the construction of a statistical model based on weighted multi-omics linear regression analysis for sepsis biomarker identification. These findings could help inform early patient stratification and treatment options, and facilitate further mechanistic studies targeting the trifecta of surface marker expression, cytokines, and metabolites.

5.
Org Biomol Chem ; 21(1): 98-106, 2022 12 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36477737

ABSTRACT

Receptor-ligand interactions play essential signaling roles within intercellular contact regions. This is particularly important within the context of the immune synapse where protein communication at the surface of physically interacting T cells and antigen-presenting cells regulate downstream immune signaling responses. To identify protein microenvironments within immunological synapses, we combined a flavin-dependent photocatalytic labeling strategy with quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Using α-PD-L1 or α-PD-1 single-domain antibody (VHH)-based photocatalyst targeting modalities, we profiled protein microenvironments within the intercellular region of an immune synapse-forming co-culture system. In addition to enrichment of both PD-L1 and PD-1 with either targeting modality, we also observed enrichment of both known immune synapse residing receptor-ligand pairs and surface proteins, as well as previously unknown synapse residing proteins.


Subject(s)
B7-H1 Antigen , Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor , Ligands , Proteomics , Catalysis
6.
Nat Chem Biol ; 18(8): 850-858, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35654846

ABSTRACT

The growing appreciation of immune cell-cell interactions within disease environments has led to extensive efforts to develop immunotherapies. However, characterizing complex cell-cell interfaces in high resolution remains challenging. Thus, technologies leveraging therapeutic-based modalities to profile intercellular environments offer opportunities to study cell-cell interactions with molecular-level insight. We introduce photocatalytic cell tagging (PhoTag) for interrogating cell-cell interactions using single-domain antibodies (VHHs) conjugated to photoactivatable flavin-based cofactors. Following irradiation with visible light, the flavin photocatalyst generates phenoxy radical tags for targeted labeling. Using this technology, we demonstrate selective synaptic labeling across the PD-1/PD-L1 axis in antigen-presenting cell-T cell systems. In combination with multiomics single-cell sequencing, we monitored interactions between peripheral blood mononuclear cells and Raji PD-L1 B cells, revealing differences in transient interactions with specific T cell subtypes. The utility of PhoTag in capturing cell-cell interactions will enable detailed profiling of intercellular communication across different biological systems.


Subject(s)
B7-H1 Antigen , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , Cell Communication , Flavins , Immunotherapy
7.
Elife ; 112022 03 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35256050

ABSTRACT

Pregnancy 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations are associated with maternal and fetal health outcomes. Using physiological human placental perfusion and villous explants, we investigate the role of the placenta in regulating the relationships between maternal 25(OH)D and fetal physiology. We demonstrate active placental uptake of 25(OH)D3 by endocytosis, placental metabolism of 25(OH)D3 into 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D3], with subsequent release of these metabolites into both the maternal and fetal circulations. Active placental transport of 25(OH)D3 and synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D3 demonstrate that fetal supply is dependent on placental function rather than simply the availability of maternal 25(OH)D3. We demonstrate that 25(OH)D3 exposure induces rapid effects on the placental transcriptome and proteome. These map to multiple pathways central to placental function and thereby fetal development, independent of vitamin D transfer. Our data suggest that the underlying epigenetic landscape helps dictate the transcriptional response to vitamin D treatment. This is the first quantitative study demonstrating vitamin D transfer and metabolism by the human placenta, with widespread effects on the placenta itself. These data demonstrate a complex interplay between vitamin D and the placenta and will inform future interventions using vitamin D to support fetal development and maternal adaptations to pregnancy.


Subject(s)
Placenta , Vitamin D , Calcifediol/metabolism , Female , Fetus/metabolism , Humans , Placenta/metabolism , Pregnancy , Vitamin D/metabolism , Vitamins/metabolism
8.
Vaccines (Basel) ; 9(11)2021 Nov 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34835271

ABSTRACT

Emerging evidence demonstrates a connection between microbiome composition and suboptimal response to vaccines (vaccine hyporesponse). Harnessing the interaction between microbes and the immune system could provide novel therapeutic strategies for improving vaccine response. Currently we do not fully understand the mechanisms and dynamics by which the microbiome influences vaccine response. Using both mouse and non-human primate models, we report that short-term oral treatment with a single antibiotic (vancomycin) results in the disruption of the gut microbiome and this correlates with a decrease in systemic levels of antigen-specific IgG upon subsequent parenteral vaccination. We further show that recovery of microbial diversity before vaccination prevents antibiotic-induced vaccine hyporesponse, and that the antigen specific IgG response correlates with the recovery of microbiome diversity. RNA sequencing analysis of small intestine, spleen, whole blood, and secondary lymphoid organs from antibiotic treated mice revealed a dramatic impact on the immune system, and a muted inflammatory signature is correlated with loss of bacteria from Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Clostridiaceae. These results suggest that microbially modulated immune pathways may be leveraged to promote vaccine response and will inform future vaccine design and development strategies.

9.
Stem Cell Reports ; 16(9): 2364-2378, 2021 09 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34450035

ABSTRACT

Donor-to-donor variability in primary human organoid cultures has not been well characterized. As these cultures contain multiple cell types, there is greater concern that variability could lead to increased noise. In this work we investigated donor-to-donor variability in human gut adult stem cell (ASC) organoids. We examined intestinal developmental pathways during culture differentiation in ileum- and colon-derived cultures established from multiple donors, showing that differentiation patterns were consistent among cultures. This finding indicates that donor-to-donor variability in this system remains at a manageable level. Intestinal metabolic activity was evaluated by targeted analysis of central carbon metabolites and by analyzing hormone production patterns. Both experiments demonstrated similar metabolic functions among donors. Importantly, this activity reflected intestinal biology, indicating that these ASC organoid cultures are appropriate for studying metabolic processes. This work establishes a framework for generating high-confidence data using human primary cultures through thorough characterization of variability.


Subject(s)
Biological Variation, Population , Cell Culture Techniques, Three Dimensional , Intestines/cytology , Organoids/cytology , Tissue Donors , Biomarkers , Carbon/metabolism , Cell Differentiation/genetics , Colon/metabolism , Energy Metabolism , Epithelial Cells/cytology , Epithelial Cells/metabolism , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Gene Expression Profiling , Humans , Ilium/metabolism , Intestines/metabolism , Organoids/metabolism , Transcriptome
10.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses ; 37(2): 109-121, 2021 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33045840

ABSTRACT

Despite the considerable progress that has been made in identifying cellular factors and pathways that contribute to establishment and maintenance of the latent HIV reservoir, it remains the major obstacle to eradicating this virus. Most recently, noncoding genes have been implicated in regulation of HIV expression. In this study, small RNA sequencing was used to profile expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in a primary CD4+ T cell in vitro model of HIV latency. Previously, we have shown that protein-coding genes dysregulated in this model were enriched for the p53 signaling pathway, which was confirmed experimentally. We further found a link between p53 signaling and dysregulated long noncoding RNAs. In this study, we hypothesized that miRNAs may provide an additional level of regulation of the p53 signaling pathway during HIV latency. Twenty-six miRNAs were identified to be dysregulated in our latency model. A subset of these miRNAs was validated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Predicted messenger RNA (mRNA) targets and cellular pathways enriched for mRNA targets were identified using several analytical methods. Our analyses showed that many protein-coding genes and pathways targeted by dysregulated miRNAs have relevance to regulation of HIV expression or establishment of HIV latency. The p53 signaling pathway was found among pathways that were targeted by dysregulated miRNAs at a greater level than expected by chance. This study provides a mechanistic insight into regulation of the p53 pathway through miRNAs that may contribute to the establishment of latency.


Subject(s)
HIV Infections , HIV-1 , MicroRNAs , RNA, Long Noncoding , Gene Expression Profiling , HIV-1/genetics , Humans , MicroRNAs/genetics , Virus Latency
11.
JCI Insight ; 5(18)2020 09 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32780727

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUNDTuberculosis (TB) kills more people than any other infection, and new diagnostic tests to identify active cases are required. We aimed to discover and verify novel markers for TB in nondepleted plasma.METHODSWe applied an optimized quantitative proteomics discovery methodology based on multidimensional and orthogonal liquid chromatographic separation combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry to study nondepleted plasma of 11 patients with active TB compared with 10 healthy controls. Prioritized candidates were verified in independent UK (n = 118) and South African cohorts (n = 203).RESULTSWe generated the most comprehensive TB plasma proteome to date, profiling 5022 proteins spanning 11 orders-of-magnitude concentration range with diverse biochemical and molecular properties. We analyzed the predominantly low-molecular weight subproteome, identifying 46 proteins with significantly increased and 90 with decreased abundance (peptide FDR ≤ 1%, q ≤ 0.05). Verification was performed for novel candidate biomarkers (CFHR5, ILF2) in 2 independent cohorts. Receiver operating characteristics analyses using a 5-protein panel (CFHR5, LRG1, CRP, LBP, and SAA1) exhibited discriminatory power in distinguishing TB from other respiratory diseases (AUC = 0.81).CONCLUSIONWe report the most comprehensive TB plasma proteome to date, identifying novel markers with verification in 2 independent cohorts, leading to a 5-protein biosignature with potential to improve TB diagnosis. With further development, these biomarkers have potential as a diagnostic triage test.FUNDINGColciencias, Medical Research Council, Innovate UK, NIHR, Academy of Medical Sciences, Program for Advanced Research Capacities for AIDS, Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research.


Subject(s)
Biomarkers/blood , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/metabolism , Proteome/analysis , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/blood , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/epidemiology , Case-Control Studies , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Gene Regulatory Networks , Humans , Male , Peru/epidemiology , Prospective Studies , Proteome/metabolism , ROC Curve , South Africa/epidemiology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/microbiology , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/pathology
12.
Science ; 367(6482): 1091-1097, 2020 03 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32139536

ABSTRACT

Many disease pathologies can be understood through the elucidation of localized biomolecular networks, or microenvironments. To this end, enzymatic proximity labeling platforms are broadly applied for mapping the wider spatial relationships in subcellular architectures. However, technologies that can map microenvironments with higher precision have long been sought. Here, we describe a microenvironment-mapping platform that exploits photocatalytic carbene generation to selectively identify protein-protein interactions on cell membranes, an approach we term MicroMap (µMap). By using a photocatalyst-antibody conjugate to spatially localize carbene generation, we demonstrate selective labeling of antibody binding targets and their microenvironment protein neighbors. This technique identified the constituent proteins of the programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) microenvironment in live lymphocytes and selectively labeled within an immunosynaptic junction.


Subject(s)
B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism , Cell Membrane/metabolism , Cellular Microenvironment , Lymphocytes/metabolism , Protein Interaction Mapping/methods , Protein Interaction Maps , Catalysis , Cell Membrane/radiation effects , Energy Transfer , Humans , Jurkat Cells , Lymphocytes/radiation effects , Methane/analogs & derivatives , Methane/chemistry , Methane/radiation effects , Photochemical Processes , Ultraviolet Rays
13.
PLoS One ; 14(11): e0224879, 2019.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31710657

ABSTRACT

The latent cellular reservoir of HIV is recognized as the major barrier to cure from HIV infection. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are more tissue and cell type-specific than protein coding genes, and may represent targets of choice for HIV latency reversal. Using two in vitro primary T-cell models, we identified lncRNAs dysregulated in latency. PVT1 and RP11-347C18.3 were up-regulated in common between the two models, and RP11-539L10.2 was down-regulated. The major component of the latent HIV reservoir, memory CD4+ T-cells, had higher expression of these lncRNAs, compared to naïve T-cells. Guilt-by-association analysis demonstrated that lncRNAs dysregulated in latency were associated with several cellular pathways implicated in HIV latency establishment and maintenance: proteasome, spliceosome, p53 signaling, and mammalian target of rapamycin (MTOR). PVT1, RP11-347C18.3, and RP11-539L10.2 were down-regulated by latency reversing agents, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid and Romidepsin, suggesting that modulation of lncRNAs is a possible secondary mechanism of action of these compounds. These results will facilitate prioritization of lncRNAs for evaluation as targets for HIV latency reversal. Importantly, our study provides insights into regulatory function of lncRNA during latent HIV infection.


Subject(s)
HIV-1/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , Virus Latency/genetics , Depsipeptides/pharmacology , Down-Regulation/drug effects , HIV-1/drug effects , Humans , Immunologic Memory , RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Reproducibility of Results , Signal Transduction/drug effects , Signal Transduction/genetics , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Virus Latency/drug effects , Vorinostat/pharmacology
14.
J Biol Chem ; 294(14): 5576-5589, 2019 04 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30745362

ABSTRACT

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors (HDACis) have been widely tested in clinical trials for their ability to reverse HIV latency but have yielded only limited success. One HDACi, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), exhibits off-target effects on host gene expression predicted to interfere with induction of HIV transcription. Romidepsin (RMD) has higher potency and specificity for class I HDACs implicated in maintaining HIV provirus in the latent state. More robust HIV reactivation has indeed been achieved with RMD use ex vivo than with SAHA; however, reduction of viral reservoir size has not been observed in clinical trials. Therefore, using RNA-Seq, we sought to compare the effects of SAHA and RMD on gene expression in primary CD4+ T cells. Among the genes whose expression was modulated by both HDACi agents, we identified genes previously implicated in HIV latency. Two genes, SMARCB1 and PARP1, whose modulation by SAHA and RMD is predicted to inhibit HIV reactivation, were evaluated in the major maturation subsets of CD4+ T cells and were consistently either up- or down-regulated by both HDACi compounds. Our results indicate that despite having different potencies and HDAC specificities, SAHA and RMD modulate an overlapping set of genes, implicated in HIV latency regulation. Some of these genes merit exploration as additional targets to improve the therapeutic outcomes of "shock and kill" strategies. The overall complexity of HDACi-induced responses among host genes with predicted stimulatory or inhibitory effects on HIV expression likely contributes to differential HDACi potencies and dictates the outcome of HIV reactivation.


Subject(s)
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , Depsipeptides/pharmacology , HIV-1/physiology , Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Virus Activation/drug effects , Vorinostat/pharmacology , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/pathology , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/virology , Female , Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Humans , Male , Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1/biosynthesis , SMARCB1 Protein/biosynthesis , Transcription, Genetic/drug effects , Virus Latency/drug effects
15.
Front Immunol ; 9: 603, 2018.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29706951

ABSTRACT

The greatest obstacle to a cure for HIV is the provirus that integrates into the genome of the infected cell and persists despite antiretroviral therapy. A "shock and kill" approach has been proposed as a strategy for an HIV cure whereby drugs and compounds referred to as latency-reversing agents (LRAs) are used to "shock" the silent provirus into active replication to permit "killing" by virus-induced pathology or immune recognition. The LRA most utilized to date in clinical trials has been the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor-vorinostat. Potentially, pathological off-target effects of vorinostat may result from the activation of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), which share common ancestry with exogenous retroviruses including HIV. To explore the effects of HDAC inhibition on HERV transcription, an unbiased pharmacogenomics approach (total RNA-Seq) was used to evaluate HERV expression following the exposure of primary CD4+ T cells to a high dose of vorinostat. Over 2,000 individual HERV elements were found to be significantly modulated by vorinostat, whereby elements belonging to the ERVL family (e.g., LTR16C and LTR33) were predominantly downregulated, in contrast to LTR12 elements of the HERV-9 family, which exhibited the greatest signal, with the upregulation of 140 distinct elements. The modulation of three different LTR12 elements by vorinostat was confirmed by droplet digital PCR along a dose-response curve. The monitoring of LTR12 expression during clinical trials with vorinostat may be indicated to assess the impact of this HERV on the human genome and host immunity.


Subject(s)
Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , Endogenous Retroviruses/physiology , HIV Infections/drug therapy , HIV-1/physiology , Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Vorinostat/pharmacology , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Cells, Cultured , Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Humans , Immunity/drug effects , Proviruses/genetics , Terminal Repeat Sequences/genetics , Virus Activation/drug effects , Virus Latency/drug effects , Vorinostat/therapeutic use
16.
Breast Cancer Res ; 20(1): 19, 2018 03 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29566726

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Early-onset breast cancer (EOBC) affects about one in 300 women aged 40 years or younger and is associated with worse outcomes than later onset breast cancer. This study explored novel serum proteins as surrogate markers of prognosis in patients with EOBC. METHODS: Serum samples from EOBC patients (stages 1-3) were analysed using agnostic high-precision quantitative proteomics. Patients received anthracycline-based chemotherapy. The discovery cohort (n = 399) either had more than 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) (good outcome group, n = 203) or DFS of less than 2 years (poor outcome group, n = 196). Expressed proteins were assessed for differential expression between the two groups. Bioinformatics pathway and network analysis in combination with literature research were used to determine clinically relevant proteins. ELISA analysis against an independent sample set from the Prospective study of Outcomes in Sporadic versus Hereditary breast cancer (POSH) cohort (n = 181) was used to validate expression levels of the selected target. Linear and generalized linear modelling was applied to determine the effect of target markers, body mass index (BMI), lymph node involvement (LN), oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status on patients' outcome. RESULTS: A total of 5346 unique proteins were analysed (peptide FDR p ≤ 0.05). Of these, 812 were differentially expressed in the good vs poor outcome groups and showed significant enrichment for the insulin signalling (p = 0.01) and the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis (p = 0.01) pathways. These proteins further correlated with interaction networks involving glucose and fatty acid metabolism. A consistent nodal protein to these metabolic networks was resistin (upregulated in the good outcome group, p = 0.009). ELISA validation demonstrated resistin to be upregulated in the good outcome group (p = 0.04), irrespective of BMI and ER status. LN involvement was the only covariate with a significant association with resistin measurements (p = 0.004). An ancillary in-silico observation was the induction of the inflammatory response, leucocyte infiltration, lymphocyte migration and recruitment of phagocytes (p < 0.0001, z-score > 2). Survival analysis showed that resistin overexpression was associated with improved DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Higher circulating resistin correlated with node-negative patients and longer DFS independent of BMI and ER status in women with EOBC. Overexpression of serum resistin in EOBC may be a surrogate indicator of improved prognosis.


Subject(s)
Blood Proteins/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/blood , Proteomics , Resistin/blood , Adult , Biomarkers, Tumor/blood , Body Mass Index , Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Insulin Resistance , Lymph Nodes/pathology , Neoplastic Cells, Circulating/pathology , Prognosis , Receptors, Estrogen/genetics , Receptors, Progesterone/genetics
17.
Br J Cancer ; 118(9): 1200-1207, 2018 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29593339

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) form the major stromal component of the tumour microenvironment (TME). The present study aimed to examine the proteomic profiles of CAFs vs. normal fibroblasts (NOFs) from patients with oesophageal adenocarcinoma to gain insight into their pro-oncogenic phenotype. METHODS: CAFs/NOFs from four patients were sub-cultured and analysed using quantitative proteomics. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were subjected to bioinformatics and compared with published proteomics and transcriptomics  datasets. RESULTS: Principal component analysis of all profiled proteins showed that CAFs had high heterogeneity and clustered separately from NOFs. Bioinformatics interrogation of the DEPs demonstrated inhibition of adhesion of epithelial cells, adhesion of connective tissue cells and cell death of fibroblast cell lines in CAFs vs. NOFs (p < 0.0001). KEGG pathway analysis showed a significant enrichment of the insulin-signalling pathway (p = 0.03). Gene ontology terms related with myofibroblast phenotype, metabolism, cell adhesion/migration, hypoxia/oxidative stress, angiogenesis, immune/inflammatory response were enriched in CAFs vs. NOFs. Nestin, a stem-cell marker up-regulated in CAFs vs. NOFs, was confirmed to be expressed in the TME with immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS: The identified pathways and participating proteins may provide novel insight on the tumour-promoting properties of CAFs and unravel novel adjuvant therapeutic targets in the TME.


Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/metabolism , Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts/metabolism , Esophageal Neoplasms/metabolism , Fibroblasts/metabolism , Proteome/analysis , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts/pathology , Cells, Cultured , Datasets as Topic , Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology , Fibroblasts/pathology , Gene Expression Profiling , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Primary Cell Culture , Proteome/metabolism , Proteomics/methods , Transcriptome , Tumor Microenvironment/physiology
18.
PLoS Pathog ; 12(11): e1006026, 2016 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27898737

ABSTRACT

The search for an HIV-1 cure has been greatly hindered by the presence of a viral reservoir that persists despite antiretroviral therapy (ART). Studies of HIV-1 latency in vivo are also complicated by the low proportion of latently infected cells in HIV-1 infected individuals. A number of models of HIV-1 latency have been developed to examine the signaling pathways and viral determinants of latency and reactivation. A primary cell model of HIV-1 latency, which incorporates the generation of primary central memory CD4 T cells (TCM), full-length virus infection (HIVNL4-3) and ART to suppress virus replication, was used to investigate the establishment of HIV latency using RNA-Seq. Initially, an investigation of host and viral gene expression in the resting and activated states of this model indicated that the resting condition was reflective of a latent state. Then, a comparison of the host transcriptome between the uninfected and latently infected conditions of this model identified 826 differentially expressed genes, many of which were related to p53 signaling. Inhibition of the transcriptional activity of p53 by pifithrin-α during HIV-1 infection reduced the ability of HIV-1 to be reactivated from its latent state by an unknown mechanism. In conclusion, this model may be used to screen latency reversing agents utilized in shock and kill approaches to cure HIV, to search for cellular markers of latency, and to understand the mechanisms by which HIV-1 establishes latency.


Subject(s)
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/virology , Gene Expression Profiling/methods , HIV Infections/virology , HIV-1/physiology , Signal Transduction/physiology , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/metabolism , Virus Latency/physiology , Flow Cytometry , Humans , Immunologic Memory , In Vitro Techniques , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Transcriptome
19.
Hear Res ; 332: 113-120, 2016 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26706709

ABSTRACT

A cornerstone technique in the study of hearing is the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), an electrophysiologic technique that can be used as a quantitative measure of hearing function. Previous studies have published databases of baseline ABR thresholds for mouse strains, providing a valuable resource for the study of baseline hearing function and genetic mapping of hearing traits in mice. In this study, we further expand upon the existing literature by characterizing the baseline ABR characteristics of 100 inbred mouse strains, 47 of which are newly characterized for hearing function. We identify several distinct patterns of baseline hearing deficits and provide potential avenues for further investigation. Additionally, we characterize the sensitivity of the same 100 strains to noise exposure using permanent thresholds shifts, identifying several distinct patterns of noise-sensitivity. The resulting data provides a new resource for studying hearing loss and noise-sensitivity in mice.


Subject(s)
Brain Stem/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem , Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/physiopathology , Hearing , Noise/adverse effects , Acoustic Stimulation , Animals , Auditory Fatigue , Disease Models, Animal , Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/genetics , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Hearing/genetics , Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/genetics , Hearing Tests , Phenotype , Species Specificity
20.
Antiviral Res ; 123: 78-85, 2015 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26343910

ABSTRACT

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) has been assessed in clinical trials as part of a "shock and kill" strategy to cure HIV-infected patients. While it was effective at inducing expression of HIV RNA ("shock"), treatment with SAHA did not result in a reduction of reservoir size ("kill"). We therefore utilized a combined analysis of effects of SAHA on the host transcriptome and proteome to dissect its mechanisms of action that may explain its limited success in "shock and kill" strategies. CD4+ T cells from HIV seronegative donors were treated with 1µM SAHA or its solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for 24h. Protein expression and post-translational modifications were measured with iTRAQ proteomics using ultra high-precision two-dimensional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Gene expression was assessed by Illumina microarrays. Using limma package in the R computing environment, we identified 185 proteins, 18 phosphorylated forms, 4 acetylated forms and 2982 genes, whose expression was modulated by SAHA. A protein interaction network integrating these 4 data types identified the HIV transcriptional repressor HMGA1 to be upregulated by SAHA at the transcript, protein and acetylated protein levels. Further functional category assessment of proteins and genes modulated by SAHA identified gene ontology terms related to NFκB signaling, protein folding and autophagy, which are all relevant to HIV reactivation. In summary, SAHA modulated numerous host cell transcripts, proteins and post-translational modifications of proteins, which would be expected to have very mixed effects on the induction of HIV-specific transcription and protein function. Proteome profiling highlighted a number of potential counter-regulatory effects of SAHA with respect to viral induction, which transcriptome profiling alone would not have identified. These observations could lead to a more informed selection and design of other HDACi with a more refined targeting profile, and prioritization of latency reversing agents of other classes to be used in combination with SAHA to achieve more potent induction of HIV expression.


Subject(s)
Gene Expression Profiling , HIV/physiology , Hydroxamic Acids/metabolism , Proteome/analysis , Virus Activation/drug effects , Virus Latency/drug effects , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/virology , Cells, Cultured , Chromatography, Liquid , Humans , Microarray Analysis , Tandem Mass Spectrometry , Vorinostat
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