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Yang C, Wang Z, Qian L, Fu J, Sun H. Deciphering the molecular landscape: evolutionary progression from gynecomastia to aggressive male breast cancer. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2024:10.1007/s13402-024-00964-4. [PMID: 38888848 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-024-00964-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gynecomastia denotes the benign proliferation of glandular breast tissue and stands as a recognized risk factor for male breast cancer. Nonetheless, the underlying carcinogenic mechanisms orchestrating the progression from gynecomastia to cancer remain poorly understood. METHODS This study employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to meticulously dissect the cellular landscape of gynecomastia and unravel potential associations with male breast cancer at a single-cell resolution. Pseudotime and evolutionary analyses were executed to delineate the distinct features characterizing gynecomastia and male breast cancer. The TCGA database, along with cell-cell communication analysis and immunohistochemistry staining, was harnessed to validate differential gene expression, specifically focusing on CD13. RESULT From the copy number variation profiles and evolutionary tree, we inferred shared mutation characteristics (18p+ and 18q+) underpinning both conditions. The developmental trajectory unveiled an intriguing overlap between gynecomastia and malignant epithelial cells. Moreover, the differential gene CD13 emerged as a common denominator in both gynecomastia and male breast cancer when compared with normal mammary tissue. Cell-cell interaction analysis and communication dynamics within the tumor microenvironment spotlighted distinctions between CD13+ and CD13- subsets, with the former exhibiting elevated expression of FGFR1-FGF7. CONCLUSIONS Our investigation provides novel insights into the evolutionary progression from gynecomastia to male breast cancer, shedding light on the pivotal role of CD13 in driving this transition. The identification of CD13 as a potential therapeutic target suggests the feasibility of CD13-targeted interventions, specifically tailored for male breast cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuang Yang
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
| | - Zhonglin Wang
- The Second People's Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang, 222006, China
| | - Lijun Qian
- The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Jingyue Fu
- The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Handong Sun
- Department of Breast, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Women and Children's Healthcare Hospital, Nanjing, 210004, China.
- Jiangsu Breast Disease Center, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
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Zhang X, Procopio SB, Ding H, Semel MG, Schroder EA, Seward TS, Du P, Wu K, Johnson SR, Prabhat A, Schneider DJ, Stumpf IG, Rozmus ER, Huo Z, Delisle BP, Esser KA. New role for cardiomyocyte Bmal1 in the regulation of sex-specific heart transcriptomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.18.590181. [PMID: 38659967 PMCID: PMC11042278 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.18.590181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
It has been well established that cardiovascular diseases exhibit significant differences between sexes in both preclinical models and humans. In addition, there is growing recognition that disrupted circadian rhythms can contribute to the onset and progression of cardiovascular diseases. However little is known about sex differences between the cardiac circadian clock and circadian transcriptomes in mice. Here, we show that the the core clock genes are expressed in common in both sexes but the circadian transcriptome of the mouse heart is very sex-specific. Hearts from female mice expressed significantly more rhythmically expressed genes (REGs) than male hearts and the temporal pattern of REGs was distinctly different between sexes. We next used a cardiomyocyte-specific knock out of the core clock gene, Bmal1, to investigate its role in sex-specific gene expression in the heart. All sex differences in the circadian transcriptomes were significantly diminished with cardiomyocyte-specific loss of Bmal1. Surprisingly, loss of cardiomyocyte Bmal1 also resulted in a roughly 8-fold reduction in the number of all the differentially expressed genes between male and female hearts. We conclude that cardiomyocyte-specific Bmal1, and potentially the core clock mechanism, is vital in conferring sex-specific gene expression in the adult mouse heart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiping Zhang
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
- These authors contributed equally to this paper
| | - Spencer B. Procopio
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
- These authors contributed equally to this paper
| | - Haocheng Ding
- Department of Biostatics, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
| | - Maya G. Semel
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Schroder
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Tanya S. Seward
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Ping Du
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
| | - Kevin Wu
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
| | - Sidney R. Johnson
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Abhilash Prabhat
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - David J. Schneider
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Isabel G Stumpf
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Ezekiel R Rozmus
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Zhiguang Huo
- Department of Biostatics, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
| | - Brian P. Delisle
- Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Karyn A. Esser
- Department of Physiology and Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, United States
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3
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Fisher JL, Clark AD, Jones EF, Lasseigne BN. Sex-biased gene expression and gene-regulatory networks of sex-biased adverse event drug targets and drug metabolism genes. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 2024; 25:5. [PMID: 38167211 PMCID: PMC10763002 DOI: 10.1186/s40360-023-00727-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous pharmacovigilance studies and a retroactive review of cancer clinical trial studies identified that women were more likely to experience drug adverse events (i.e., any unintended effects of medication), and men were more likely to experience adverse events that resulted in hospitalization or death. These sex-biased adverse events (SBAEs) are due to many factors not entirely understood, including differences in body mass, hormones, pharmacokinetics, and liver drug metabolism enzymes and transporters. METHODS We first identified drugs associated with SBAEs from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. Next, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression of the known drug targets and metabolism enzymes for those SBAE-associated drugs. We also constructed sex-specific tissue gene-regulatory networks to determine if these known drug targets and metabolism enzymes from the SBAE-associated drugs had sex-specific gene-regulatory network properties and predicted regulatory relationships. RESULTS We identified liver-specific gene-regulatory differences for drug metabolism genes between males and females, which could explain observed sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In addition, we found that ~ 85% of SBAE-associated drug targets had sex-biased gene expression or were core genes of sex- and tissue-specific network communities, significantly higher than randomly selected drug targets. Lastly, we provide the sex-biased drug-adverse event pairs, drug targets, and drug metabolism enzymes as a resource for the research community. CONCLUSIONS Overall, we provide evidence that many SBAEs are associated with drug targets and drug metabolism genes that are differentially expressed and regulated between males and females. These SBAE-associated drug metabolism enzymes and drug targets may be useful for future studies seeking to explain or predict SBAEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Amanda D Clark
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Emma F Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Brittany N Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
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4
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Fisher JL, Clark AD, Jones EF, Lasseigne BN. Sex-biased gene expression and gene-regulatory networks of sex-biased adverse event drug targets and drug metabolism genes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.23.541950. [PMID: 37362157 PMCID: PMC10290285 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.23.541950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Background Previous pharmacovigilance studies and a retroactive review of cancer clinical trial studies identified that women were more likely to experience drug adverse events (i.e., any unintended effects of medication), and men were more likely to experience adverse events that resulted in hospitalization or death. These sex-biased adverse events (SBAEs) are due to many factors not entirely understood, including differences in body mass, hormones, pharmacokinetics, and liver drug metabolism enzymes and transporters. Methods We first identified drugs associated with SBAEs from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. Next, we evaluated sex-specific gene expression of the known drug targets and metabolism enzymes for those SBAE-associated drugs. We also constructed sex-specific tissue gene-regulatory networks to determine if these known drug targets and metabolism enzymes from the SBAE-associated drugs had sex-specific gene-regulatory network properties and predicted regulatory relationships. Results We identified liver-specific gene-regulatory differences for drug metabolism genes between males and females, which could explain observed sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In addition, we found that ~85% of SBAE-associated drug targets had sex-biased gene expression or were core genes of sex- and tissue-specific network communities, significantly higher than randomly selected drug targets. Lastly, we provide the sex-biased drug-adverse event pairs, drug targets, and drug metabolism enzymes as a resource for the research community. Conclusions Overall, we provide evidence that many SBAEs are associated with drug targets and drug metabolism genes that are differentially expressed and regulated between males and females. These SBAE-associated drug metabolism enzymes and drug targets may be useful for future studies seeking to explain or predict SBAEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Amanda D. Clark
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Emma F. Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
| | - Brittany N. Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, USA
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5
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Teefy BB, Lemus AJJ, Adler A, Xu A, Bhala R, Hsu K, Benayoun BA. Widespread sex dimorphism across single-cell transcriptomes of adult African turquoise killifish tissues. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113237. [PMID: 37837621 PMCID: PMC10842523 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be bred in captivity, is an emerging model organism for aging research. Here, we describe a multitissue, single-cell gene expression atlas of female and male blood, kidney, liver, and spleen. We annotate 22 cell types, define marker genes, and infer differentiation trajectories. We find pervasive sex-dimorphic gene expression across cell types. Sex-dimorphic genes tend to be linked to lipid metabolism, consistent with clear differences in lipid storage in female vs. male turquoise killifish livers. We use machine learning to predict sex using single-cell gene expression and identify potential markers for molecular sex identity. As a proof of principle, we show that our atlas can be used to deconvolute existing bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data to obtain accurate estimates of cell type proportions. This atlas can be a resource to the community that could be leveraged to develop cell-type-specific expression in transgenic animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan B Teefy
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Aaron J J Lemus
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Molecular and Computational Biology Department, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ari Adler
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Alan Xu
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Quantitative & Computational Biology Department, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Rajyk Bhala
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Katelyn Hsu
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Molecular and Computational Biology Department, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Bérénice A Benayoun
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Molecular and Computational Biology Department, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Department, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; USC Stem Cell Initiative, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
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6
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Zhang C, Tan G, Zhang Y, Zhong X, Zhao Z, Peng Y, Cheng Q, Xue K, Xu Y, Li X, Li F, Zhang Y. Comprehensive analyses of brain cell communications based on multiple scRNA-seq and snRNA-seq datasets for revealing novel mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023; 29:2775-2786. [PMID: 37269061 PMCID: PMC10493674 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Complex cellular communications between glial cells and neurons are critical for brain normal function and disorders, and single-cell level RNA-sequencing datasets display more advantages for analyzing cell communications. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically explore brain cell communications when considering factors such as sex and brain region. METHODS We extracted a total of 1,039,459 cells derived from 28 brain single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) or single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) datasets from the GEO database, including 12 human and 16 mouse datasets. These datasets were further divided into 71 new sub-datasets when considering disease, sex, and region conditions. In the meanwhile, we integrated four methods to evaluate ligand-receptor interaction score among six major brain cell types (microglia, neuron, astrocyte, oligodendrocyte, OPC, and endothelial cell). RESULTS For Alzheimer's disease (AD), disease-specific ligand-receptor pairs when compared with normal sub-datasets, such as SEMA4A-NRP1, were identified. Furthermore, we explored the sex- and region-specific cell communications and identified that WNT5A-ROR1 among microglia cells displayed close communications in male, and SPP1-ITGAV displayed close communications in the meninges region from microglia to neurons. Furthermore, based on the AD-specific cell communications, we constructed a model for AD early prediction and confirmed the predictive performance using multiple independent datasets. Finally, we developed an online platform for researchers to explore brain condition-specific cell communications. CONCLUSION This research provided a comprehensive study to explore brain cell communications, which could reveal novel biological mechanisms involved in normal brain function and neurodegenerative diseases such as AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunlong Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Guiyuan Tan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yuxi Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Xiaoling Zhong
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Ziyan Zhao
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yunyi Peng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Qian Cheng
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Ke Xue
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yanjun Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Xia Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Feng Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
| | - Yunpeng Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbinChina
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7
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Szakats S, McAtamney A, Cross H, Wilson MJ. Sex-biased gene and microRNA expression in the developing mouse brain is associated with neurodevelopmental functions and neurological phenotypes. Biol Sex Differ 2023; 14:57. [PMID: 37679839 PMCID: PMC10486049 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00538-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex differences pose a challenge and an opportunity in biomedical research. Understanding how sex chromosomes and hormones affect disease-causing mechanisms will shed light on the mechanisms underlying predominantly idiopathic sex-biased neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism. Gene expression is a crucial conduit for the influence of sex on developmental processes; therefore, this study focused on sex differences in gene expression and the regulation of gene expression. The increasing interest in microRNAs (miRNAs), small, non-coding RNAs, for their contribution to normal and pathological neurodevelopment prompted us to test how miRNA expression differs between the sexes in the developing brain. METHODS High-throughput sequencing approaches were used to identify transcripts, including miRNAs, that showed significantly different expression between male and female brains on day 15.5 of development (E15.5). RESULTS Robust sex differences were identified for some genes and miRNAs, confirming the influence of biological sex on RNA. Many miRNAs that exhibit the greatest differences between males and females have established roles in neurodevelopment, implying that sex-biased expression may drive sex differences in developmental processes. In addition to highlighting sex differences for individual miRNAs, gene ontology analysis suggested several broad categories in which sex-biased RNAs might act to establish sex differences in the embryonic mouse brain. Finally, mining publicly available SNP data indicated that some sex-biased miRNAs reside near the genomic regions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. CONCLUSIONS Together, these findings reinforce the importance of cataloguing sex differences in molecular biology research and highlight genes, miRNAs, and pathways of interest that may be important for sexual differentiation in the mouse and possibly the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Szakats
- Developmental Genomics Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Alice McAtamney
- Developmental Genomics Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Hugh Cross
- Developmental Genomics Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Megan J Wilson
- Developmental Genomics Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
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Dennison J, Mendez A, Szeto A, Lohse I, Wahlestedt C, Volmar CH. Low-Dose Chidamide Treatment Displays Sex-Specific Differences in the 3xTg-AD Mouse. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1324. [PMID: 37759724 PMCID: PMC10526199 DOI: 10.3390/biom13091324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic compounds have become attractive small molecules for targeting the multifaceted aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although AD disproportionately affects women, most of the current literature investigating epigenetic compounds for the treatment of AD do not report sex-specific results. This is remarkable because there is rising evidence that epigenetic compounds intrinsically affect males and females differently. This manuscript explores the sexual dimorphism observed after chronic, low-dose administration of a clinically relevant histone deacetylase inhibitor, chidamide (Tucidinostat), in the 3xTg-AD mouse model. We found that chidamide treatment significantly improves glucose tolerance and increases expression of glucose transporters in the brain of males. We also report a decrease in total tau in chidamide-treated mice. Differentially expressed genes in chidamide-treated mice were much greater in males than females. Genes involved in the neuroinflammatory pathway and amyloid processing pathway were mostly upregulated in chidamide-treated males while downregulated in chidamide-treated females. This work highlights the need for drug discovery projects to consider sex as a biological variable to facilitate translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Dennison
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.D.)
- Center for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Armando Mendez
- Diabetes Research Institute, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Angela Szeto
- Diabetes Research Institute, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Ines Lohse
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.D.)
- Center for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Claes Wahlestedt
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.D.)
- Center for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Claude-Henry Volmar
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA; (J.D.)
- Center for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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Patik I, Redhu NS, Eran A, Bao B, Nandy A, Tang Y, El Sayed S, Shen Z, Glickman J, Fox JG, Snapper SB, Horwitz BH. The IL-10 receptor inhibits cell extrinsic signals necessary for STAT1-dependent macrophage accumulation during colitis. Mucosal Immunol 2023; 16:233-249. [PMID: 36868479 PMCID: PMC10431098 DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
The loss of IL-10R function leads to severe early onset colitis and, in murine models, is associated with the accumulation of immature inflammatory colonic macrophages. We have shown that IL-10R-deficient colonic macrophages exhibit increased STAT1-dependent gene expression, suggesting that IL-10R-mediated inhibition of STAT1 signaling in newly recruited colonic macrophages might interfere with the development of an inflammatory phenotype. Indeed, STAT1-/- mice exhibit defects in colonic macrophage accumulation after Helicobacter hepaticus infection and IL-10R blockade, and this was phenocopied in mice lacking IFNγR, an inducer of STAT1 activation. Radiation chimeras demonstrated that reduced accumulation of STAT1-deficient macrophages was based on a cell-intrinsic defect. Unexpectedly, mixed radiation chimeras generated with both wild-type and IL-10R-deficient bone marrow indicated that rather than directly interfering with STAT1 function, IL-10R inhibits the generation of cell extrinsic signals that promote the accumulation of immature macrophages. These results define the essential mechanisms controlling the inflammatory macrophage accumulation in inflammatory bowel diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izabel Patik
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Naresh S Redhu
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Morphic Therapeutic, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alal Eran
- Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bin Bao
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anubhab Nandy
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ying Tang
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Shorouk El Sayed
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Ash Sharkia, Egypt
| | - Zeli Shen
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jonathan Glickman
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - James G Fox
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Scott B Snapper
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bruce H Horwitz
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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10
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Big Data in Gastroenterology Research. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032458. [PMID: 36768780 PMCID: PMC9916510 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Studying individual data types in isolation provides only limited and incomplete answers to complex biological questions and particularly falls short in revealing sufficient mechanistic and kinetic details. In contrast, multi-omics approaches to studying health and disease permit the generation and integration of multiple data types on a much larger scale, offering a comprehensive picture of biological and disease processes. Gastroenterology and hepatobiliary research are particularly well-suited to such analyses, given the unique position of the luminal gastrointestinal (GI) tract at the nexus between the gut (mucosa and luminal contents), brain, immune and endocrine systems, and GI microbiome. The generation of 'big data' from multi-omic, multi-site studies can enhance investigations into the connections between these organ systems and organisms and more broadly and accurately appraise the effects of dietary, pharmacological, and other therapeutic interventions. In this review, we describe a variety of useful omics approaches and how they can be integrated to provide a holistic depiction of the human and microbial genetic and proteomic changes underlying physiological and pathophysiological phenomena. We highlight the potential pitfalls and alternatives to help avoid the common errors in study design, execution, and analysis. We focus on the application, integration, and analysis of big data in gastroenterology and hepatobiliary research.
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11
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Brownrigg GP, Xia YH, Chu CMJ, Wang S, Chao C, Zhang JA, Skovsø S, Panzhinskiy E, Hu X, Johnson JD, Rideout EJ. Sex differences in islet stress responses support female β cell resilience. Mol Metab 2023; 69:101678. [PMID: 36690328 PMCID: PMC9971554 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Pancreatic β cells play a key role in maintaining glucose homeostasis; dysfunction of this critical cell type causes type 2 diabetes (T2D). Emerging evidence points to sex differences in β cells, but few studies have examined male-female differences in β cell stress responses and resilience across multiple contexts, including diabetes. Here, we address the need for high-quality information on sex differences in β cell and islet gene expression and function using both human and rodent samples. METHODS In humans, we compared β cell gene expression and insulin secretion in donors with T2D to non-diabetic donors in both males and females. In mice, we generated a well-powered islet RNAseq dataset from 20-week-old male and female siblings with similar insulin sensitivity. Our unbiased gene expression analysis pointed to a sex difference in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. Based on this analysis, we hypothesized female islets would be more resilient to ER stress than male islets. To test this, we subjected islets isolated from age-matched male and female mice to thapsigargin treatment and monitored protein synthesis, cell death, and β cell insulin production and secretion. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were used to characterize sex differences in islet responses to ER stress. RESULTS Our single-cell analysis of human β cells revealed sex-specific changes to gene expression and function in T2D, correlating with more robust insulin secretion in human islets isolated from female donors with T2D compared to male donors with T2D. In mice, RNA sequencing revealed differential enrichment of unfolded protein response pathway-associated genes, where female islets showed higher expression of genes linked with protein synthesis, folding, and processing. This differential expression was physiologically significant, as islets isolated from female mice were more resilient to ER stress induction with thapsigargin. Specifically, female islets showed a greater ability to maintain glucose-stimulated insulin production and secretion during ER stress compared with males. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate sex differences in β cell gene expression in both humans and mice, and that female β cells show a greater ability to maintain glucose-stimulated insulin secretion across multiple physiological and pathological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- George P Brownrigg
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Yi Han Xia
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Chieh Min Jamie Chu
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Su Wang
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Charlotte Chao
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Jiashuo Aaron Zhang
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Søs Skovsø
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Evgeniy Panzhinskiy
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Xiaoke Hu
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - James D Johnson
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - Elizabeth J Rideout
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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12
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Grant OA, Wang Y, Kumari M, Zabet NR, Schalkwyk L. Characterising sex differences of autosomal DNA methylation in whole blood using the Illumina EPIC array. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:62. [PMID: 35568878 PMCID: PMC9107695 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01279-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex differences are known to play a role in disease aetiology, progression and outcome. Previous studies have revealed autosomal epigenetic differences between males and females in some tissues, including differences in DNA methylation patterns. Here, we report for the first time an analysis of autosomal sex differences in DNAme using the Illumina EPIC array in human whole blood by performing a discovery (n = 1171) and validation (n = 2471) analysis. RESULTS We identified and validated 396 sex-associated differentially methylated CpG sites (saDMPs) with the majority found to be female-biased CpGs (74%). These saDMP's are enriched in CpG islands and CpG shores and located preferentially at 5'UTRs, 3'UTRs and enhancers. Additionally, we identified 266 significant sex-associated differentially methylated regions overlapping genes, which have previously been shown to exhibit epigenetic sex differences, and novel genes. Transcription factor binding site enrichment revealed enrichment of transcription factors related to critical developmental processes and sex determination such as SRY and ESR1. CONCLUSION Our study reports a reliable catalogue of sex-associated CpG sites and elucidates several characteristics of these sites using large-scale discovery and validation data sets. This resource will benefit future studies aiming to investigate sex specific epigenetic signatures and further our understanding of the role of DNA methylation in sex differences in human whole blood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia A Grant
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
- Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
- Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
| | - Yucheng Wang
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
- School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Meena Kumari
- Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Nicolae Radu Zabet
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
- Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK.
| | - Leonard Schalkwyk
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
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Fisher JL, Jones EF, Flanary VL, Williams AS, Ramsey EJ, Lasseigne BN. Considerations and challenges for sex-aware drug repurposing. Biol Sex Differ 2022; 13:13. [PMID: 35337371 PMCID: PMC8949654 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00420-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sex differences are essential factors in disease etiology and manifestation in many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration [33]. The biological influence of sex differences (including genomic, epigenetic, hormonal, immunological, and metabolic differences between males and females) and the lack of biomedical studies considering sex differences in their study design has led to several policies. For example, the National Institute of Health's (NIH) sex as a biological variable (SABV) and Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) policies to motivate researchers to consider sex differences [204]. However, drug repurposing, a promising alternative to traditional drug discovery by identifying novel uses for FDA-approved drugs, lacks sex-aware methods that can improve the identification of drugs that have sex-specific responses [7, 11, 14, 33]. Sex-aware drug repurposing methods either select drug candidates that are more efficacious in one sex or deprioritize drug candidates based on if they are predicted to cause a sex-bias adverse event (SBAE), unintended therapeutic effects that are more likely to occur in one sex. Computational drug repurposing methods are encouraging approaches to develop for sex-aware drug repurposing because they can prioritize sex-specific drug candidates or SBAEs at lower cost and time than traditional drug discovery. Sex-aware methods currently exist for clinical, genomic, and transcriptomic information [1, 7, 155]. They have not expanded to other data types, such as DNA variation, which has been beneficial in other drug repurposing methods that do not consider sex [114]. Additionally, some sex-aware methods suffer from poorer performance because a disproportionate number of male and female samples are available to train computational methods [7]. However, there is development potential for several different categories (i.e., data mining, ligand binding predictions, molecular associations, and networks). Low-dimensional representations of molecular association and network approaches are also especially promising candidates for future sex-aware drug repurposing methodologies because they reduce the multiple hypothesis testing burden and capture sex-specific variation better than the other methods [151, 159]. Here we review how sex influences drug response, the current state of drug repurposing including with respect to sex-bias drug response, and how model organism study design choices influence drug repurposing validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L. Fisher
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Emma F. Jones
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Victoria L. Flanary
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Avery S. Williams
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Elizabeth J. Ramsey
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
| | - Brittany N. Lasseigne
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA
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14
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Carmena Moratalla A, Carpentier Solorio Y, Lemaitre F, Farzam-Kia N, Levert A, Zandee SEJ, Lahav B, Guimond JV, Haddad E, Girard M, Duquette P, Larochelle C, Prat A, Arbour N. Stress Signal ULBP4, an NKG2D Ligand, Is Upregulated in Multiple Sclerosis and Shapes CD8 + T-Cell Behaviors. NEUROLOGY(R) NEUROIMMUNOLOGY & NEUROINFLAMMATION 2022; 9:9/1/e1119. [PMID: 34873031 PMCID: PMC8656234 DOI: 10.1212/nxi.0000000000001119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We posit the involvement of the natural killer group 2D (NKG2D) pathway in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology via the presence of specific NKG2D ligands (NKG2DLs). We aim to evaluate the expression of NKG2DLs in the CNS and CSF of patients with MS and to identify cellular stressors inducing the expression of UL16-binding protein 4 (ULBP4), the only detectable NKG2DL. Finally, we evaluate the impact of ULBP4 on functions such as cytokine production and motility by CD8+ T lymphocytes, a subset largely expressing NKG2D, the cognate receptor. METHODS Human postmortem brain samples and CSF from patients with MS and controls were used to evaluate NKG2DL expression. In vitro assays using primary cultures of human astrocytes and neurons were performed to identify stressors inducing ULBP4 expression. Human CD8+ T lymphocytes from MS donors and age/sex-matched healthy controls were isolated to evaluate the functional impact of soluble ULBP4. RESULTS We detected mRNA coding for the 8 identified human NKG2DLs in brain samples from patients with MS and controls, but only ULBP4 protein expression was detectable by Western blot. ULBP4 levels were greater in patients with MS, particularly in active and chronic active lesions and normal-appearing white matter, compared with normal-appearing gray matter from MS donors and white and gray matter from controls. Soluble ULBP4 was also detected in CSF of patients with MS and controls, but a smaller shed/soluble form of 25 kDa was significantly elevated in CSF from female patients with MS compared with controls and male patients with MS. Our data indicate that soluble ULBP4 affects various functions of CD8+ T lymphocytes. First, it enhanced the production of the proinflammatory cytokines GM-CSF and interferon-γ (IFNγ). Second, it increased CD8+ T lymphocyte motility and favored a kinapse-like behavior when cultured in the presence of human astrocytes. CD8+ T lymphocytes from patients with MS were especially altered by the presence of soluble ULBP4 compared with healthy controls. DISCUSSION Our study provides new evidence for the involvement of NKG2D and its ligand ULBP4 in MS pathology. Our results point to ULBP4 as a viable target to specifically block 1 component of the NKG2D pathway without altering immune surveillance involving other NKG2DL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Carmena Moratalla
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yves Carpentier Solorio
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Florent Lemaitre
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Negar Farzam-Kia
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Annie Levert
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Stephanie E J Zandee
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Boaz Lahav
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jean Victor Guimond
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Elie Haddad
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marc Girard
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Pierre Duquette
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Catherine Larochelle
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alexandre Prat
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nathalie Arbour
- From the Department of Neurosciences (A.C.M., Y.C.S., F.L., N.F-k., A.L., S.E.J.Z., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P., N.A.), Université de Montréal and Centre de Recherche du CHUM (CRCHUM) Montreal; MS-CHUM Clinic (B.L., M.G., P.D., C.L., A.P.); CLSC des Faubourgs (J.V.G.), CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal; and Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology and Department of Pediatrics (E.H.), Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHU Sainte-Justine), Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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15
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Walker CJ, Schroeder ME, Aguado BA, Anseth KS, Leinwand LA. Matters of the heart: Cellular sex differences. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2021; 160:42-55. [PMID: 34166708 PMCID: PMC8571046 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Nearly all cardiovascular diseases show sexual dimorphisms in prevalence, presentation, and outcomes. Until recently, most clinical trials were carried out in males, and many animal studies either failed to identify the sex of the animals or combined data obtained from males and females. Cellular sex in the heart is relatively understudied and many studies fail to report the sex of the cells used for in vitro experiments. Moreover, in the small number of studies in which sex is reported, most of those studies use male cells. The observation that cells from males and females are inherently different is becoming increasingly clear - either due to acquired differences from hormones and other factors or due to intrinsic differences in genotype (XX or XY). Because of the likely contribution of cellular sex differences in cardiac health and disease, here, we explore differences in mammalian male and female cells in the heart, including the less-studied non-myocyte cell populations. We discuss how the heart's microenvironment impacts male and female cellular phenotypes and vice versa, including how secretory profiles are dependent on cellular sex, and how hormones contribute to sexually dimorphic phenotypes and cellular functions. Intracellular mechanisms that contribute to sex differences, including gene expression and epigenetic remodeling, are also described. Recent single-cell sequencing studies have revealed unexpected sex differences in the composition of cell types in the heart which we discuss. Finally, future recommendations for considering cellular sex differences in the design of bioengineered in vitro disease models of the heart are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cierra J Walker
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America
| | - Megan E Schroeder
- Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America
| | - Brian A Aguado
- Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America
| | - Kristi S Anseth
- Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America
| | - Leslie A Leinwand
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, United States of America; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, United States of America.
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16
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Valori CF, Possenti A, Brambilla L, Rossi D. Challenges and Opportunities of Targeting Astrocytes to Halt Neurodegenerative Disorders. Cells 2021; 10:cells10082019. [PMID: 34440788 PMCID: PMC8395029 DOI: 10.3390/cells10082019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders whose incidence is likely to duplicate in the next 30 years along with the progressive aging of the western population. Non-cell-specific therapeutics or therapeutics designed to tackle aberrant pathways within neurons failed to slow down or halt neurodegeneration. Yet, in the last few years, our knowledge of the importance of glial cells to maintain the central nervous system homeostasis in health conditions has increased exponentially, along with our awareness of their fundamental and multifaced role in pathological conditions. Among glial cells, astrocytes emerge as promising therapeutic targets in various neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we present the latest evidence showing the astonishing level of specialization that astrocytes display to fulfill the demands of their neuronal partners as well as their plasticity upon injury. Then, we discuss the controversies that fuel the current debate on these cells. We tackle evidence of a potential beneficial effect of cell therapy, achieved by transplanting astrocytes or their precursors. Afterwards, we introduce the different strategies proposed to modulate astrocyte functions in neurodegeneration, ranging from lifestyle changes to environmental cues. Finally, we discuss the challenges and the recent advancements to develop astrocyte-specific delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara F. Valori
- Molecular Neuropathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Correspondence: (C.F.V.); (D.R.); Tel.: +49-7071-9254-122 (C.F.V.); +39-0382-592064 (D.R.)
| | - Agostino Possenti
- Laboratory for Research on Neurodegenerative Disorders, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.P.); (L.B.)
| | - Liliana Brambilla
- Laboratory for Research on Neurodegenerative Disorders, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.P.); (L.B.)
| | - Daniela Rossi
- Laboratory for Research on Neurodegenerative Disorders, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.P.); (L.B.)
- Correspondence: (C.F.V.); (D.R.); Tel.: +49-7071-9254-122 (C.F.V.); +39-0382-592064 (D.R.)
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Faranda AP, Shihan MH, Wang Y, Duncan MK. The effect of sex on the mouse lens transcriptome. Exp Eye Res 2021; 209:108676. [PMID: 34146586 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The transcriptome of mammalian tissues differs between males and females, and these differences can change across the lifespan, likely regulating known sexual dimorphisms in disease prevalence and severity. Cataract, the most prevalent disease of the ocular lens, occurs at similar rates in young individuals, but its incidence is elevated in older women compared to men of the same age. However, the influence of sex on the lens transcriptome was unknown. RNAseq based transcriptomic profiling of young adult C57BL/6J mouse lens epithelial and fiber cells revealed that few genes are differentially expressed between the sexes. In contrast, lens cells from aged (24 month old) male and female C57BL/6J mice differentially expressed many genes, including several whose expression is lens preferred. Like cataracts, posterior capsular opacification (PCO), a major sequela of cataract surgery, may also be more prevalent in women. Lens epithelial cells isolated from mouse eyes 24 h after lens fiber cell removal exhibited numerous transcriptomic differences between the sexes, including genes implicated in complement cascades and extracellular matrix regulation, and these differences are much more pronounced in aged mice than in young mice. These results provide an unbiased basis for future studies on how sex affects the lens response to aging, cataract development, and cataract surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam P Faranda
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Mahbubul H Shihan
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Yan Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Melinda K Duncan
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.
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