Anatomy and Neuroscience - Research Publications
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ItemCeruloplasmin Is a Novel Adipokine Which Is Overexpressed in Adipose Tissue of Obese Subjects and in Obesity-Associated Cancer Cells(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2014-03-27)Obesity confers an increased risk of developing specific cancer forms. Although the mechanisms are unclear, increased fat cell secretion of specific proteins (adipokines) may promote/facilitate development of malignant tumors in obesity via cross-talk between adipose tissue(s) and the tissues prone to develop cancer among obese. We searched for novel adipokines that were overexpressed in adipose tissue of obese subjects as well as in tumor cells derived from cancers commonly associated with obesity. For this purpose expression data from human adipose tissue of obese and non-obese as well as from a large panel of human cancer cell lines and corresponding primary cells and tissues were explored. We found expression of ceruloplasmin to be the most enriched in obesity-associated cancer cells. This gene was also significantly up-regulated in adipose tissue of obese subjects. Ceruloplasmin is the body's main copper carrier and is involved in angiogenesis. We demonstrate that ceruloplasmin is a novel adipokine, which is produced and secreted at increased rates in obesity. In the obese state, adipose tissue contributed markedly (up to 22%) to the total circulating protein level. In summary, we have through bioinformatic screening identified ceruloplasmin as a novel adipokine with increased expression in adipose tissue of obese subjects as well as in cells from obesity-associated cancers. Whether there is a causal relationship between adipose overexpression of ceruloplasmin and cancer development in obesity cannot be answered by these cross-sectional comparisons.
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ItemCCL2 enhances pluripotency of human induced pluripotent stem cells by activating hypoxia related genes(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2014-06-24)Standard culture of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) requires basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) to maintain the pluripotent state, whereas hiPSC more closely resemble epiblast stem cells than true naïve state ES which requires LIF to maintain pluripotency. Here we show that chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) enhances the expression of pluripotent marker genes through the phosphorylation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) protein. Moreover, comparison of transcriptomes between hiPSCs cultured with CCL2 versus with bFGF, we found that CCL2 activates hypoxia related genes, suggesting that CCL2 enhanced pluripotency by inducing a hypoxic-like response.Further, we show that hiPSCs cultured with CCL2 can differentiate at a higher efficiency than culturing withjust bFGF and we show CCL2 can be used in feeder-free conditions [corrected]. Taken together, our finding indicates the novel functions of CCL2 in enhancing its pluripotency in hiPSCs.
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ItemTranscriptional ontogeny of first trimester human fetal and placental mesenchymal stem cells: Gestational age versus niche.(Elsevier BV, 2014-12)Early fetal and placental MSCs have translationally-advantageous characteristics compared to later pregnancy MSCs. During the first trimester, the fetus and placenta grow rapidly with divergent developmental requirements, but studies comparing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from different origins have paid little attention to the effect of gestational age over this temporal window. Here we present the transcriptome through first trimester development of MSC isolated from fetal bone marrow (BM) or placental structures. Samples were collected weekly from 8 to 12 weeks. The raw microarray data are available on the ArrayExpress database (www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress) under accession number E-TABM-1224. Additionally, the data have been integrated into the stem cell collaboration platform www.Stemformatics.org. These data provide a valuable resource for developmental biology and stem cell investigation.
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ItemAn epigenomic roadmap to induced pluripotency reveals DNA methylation as a reprogramming modulator(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2014-12)Reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells involves a dynamic rearrangement of the epigenetic landscape. To characterize this epigenomic roadmap, we have performed MethylC-seq, ChIP-seq (H3K4/K27/K36me3) and RNA-Seq on samples taken at several time points during murine secondary reprogramming as part of Project Grandiose. We find that DNA methylation gain during reprogramming occurs gradually, while loss is achieved only at the ESC-like state. Binding sites of activated factors exhibit focal demethylation during reprogramming, while ESC-like pluripotent cells are distinguished by extension of demethylation to the wider neighbourhood. We observed that genes with CpG-rich promoters demonstrate stable low methylation and strong engagement of histone marks, whereas genes with CpG-poor promoters are safeguarded by methylation. Such DNA methylation-driven control is the key to the regulation of ESC-pluripotency genes, including Dppa4, Dppa5a and Esrrb. These results reveal the crucial role that DNA methylation plays as an epigenetic switch driving somatic cells to pluripotency.
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ItemSingle-Cell Gene Expression Profiles Define Self-Renewing, Pluripotent, and Lineage Primed States of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells(CELL PRESS, 2014-06-03)Pluripotent stem cells display significant heterogeneity in gene expression, but whether this diversity is an inherent feature of the pluripotent state remains unknown. Single-cell gene expression analysis in cell subsets defined by surface antigen expression revealed that human embryonic stem cell cultures exist as a continuum of cell states, even under defined conditions that drive self-renewal. The majority of the population expressed canonical pluripotency transcription factors and could differentiate into derivatives of all three germ layers. A minority subpopulation of cells displayed high self-renewal capacity, consistently high transcripts for all pluripotency-related genes studied, and no lineage priming. This subpopulation was characterized by its expression of a particular set of intercellular signaling molecules whose genes shared common regulatory features. Our data support a model of an inherently metastable self-renewing population that gives rise to a continuum of intermediate pluripotent states, which ultimately become primed for lineage specification.
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ItemGene Expression Variability as a Unifying Element of the Pluripotency Network(CELL PRESS, 2014-08-12)Heterogeneity is a hallmark of stem cell populations, in part due to the molecular differences between cells undergoing self-renewal and those poised to differentiate. We examined phenotypic and molecular heterogeneity in pluripotent stem cell populations, using public gene expression data sets. A high degree of concordance was observed between global gene expression variability and the reported heterogeneity of different human pluripotent lines. Network analysis demonstrated that low-variability genes were the most highly connected, suggesting that these are the most stable elements of the gene regulatory network and are under the highest regulatory constraints. Known drivers of pluripotency were among these, with lowest expression variability of POU5F1 in cells with the highest capacity for self-renewal. Variability of gene expression provides a reliable measure of phenotypic and molecular heterogeneity and predicts those genes with the highest degree of regulatory constraint within the pluripotency network.