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Zhang S, Afanassiev A, Greenstreet L, Matsumoto T, Schiebinger G. Optimal transport analysis reveals trajectories in steady-state systems. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009466. [PMID: 34860824 PMCID: PMC8691649 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding how cells change their identity and behaviour in living systems is an important question in many fields of biology. The problem of inferring cell trajectories from single-cell measurements has been a major topic in the single-cell analysis community, with different methods developed for equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems (e.g. haematopoeisis vs. embryonic development). We show that optimal transport analysis, a technique originally designed for analysing time-courses, may also be applied to infer cellular trajectories from a single snapshot of a population in equilibrium. Therefore, optimal transport provides a unified approach to inferring trajectories that is applicable to both stationary and non-stationary systems. Our method, StationaryOT, is mathematically motivated in a natural way from the hypothesis of a Waddington's epigenetic landscape. We implement StationaryOT as a software package and demonstrate its efficacy in applications to simulated data as well as single-cell data from Arabidopsis thaliana root development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Zhang
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Anton Afanassiev
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Laura Greenstreet
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Tetsuya Matsumoto
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Jiang L, Litwin-Kumar A. Models of heterogeneous dopamine signaling in an insect learning and memory center. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009205. [PMID: 34375329 PMCID: PMC8354444 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The Drosophila mushroom body exhibits dopamine dependent synaptic plasticity that underlies the acquisition of associative memories. Recordings of dopamine neurons in this system have identified signals related to external reinforcement such as reward and punishment. However, other factors including locomotion, novelty, reward expectation, and internal state have also recently been shown to modulate dopamine neurons. This heterogeneity is at odds with typical modeling approaches in which these neurons are assumed to encode a global, scalar error signal. How is dopamine dependent plasticity coordinated in the presence of such heterogeneity? We develop a modeling approach that infers a pattern of dopamine activity sufficient to solve defined behavioral tasks, given architectural constraints informed by knowledge of mushroom body circuitry. Model dopamine neurons exhibit diverse tuning to task parameters while nonetheless producing coherent learned behaviors. Notably, reward prediction error emerges as a mode of population activity distributed across these neurons. Our results provide a mechanistic framework that accounts for the heterogeneity of dopamine activity during learning and behavior. Dopamine neurons across the animal kingdom are involved in the formation of associative memories. While numerous studies have recorded activity in these neurons related to external and predicted rewards, the diversity of these neurons’ activity and their tuning to non-reward-related quantities such as novelty, movement, and internal state have proved challenging to account for in traditional modeling approaches. Using a well-characterized model system for learning and memory, the mushroom body of Drosophila fruit flies, Jiang and Litwin-Kumar provide an account of the diversity of signals across dopamine neurons. They show that models optimized to solve tasks like those encountered by flies exhibit heterogeneous activity across dopamine neurons, but nonetheless this activity is sufficient for the system to solve the tasks. The models will be useful to generate testable hypotheses about dopamine neuron activity across different experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linnie Jiang
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Ashok Litwin-Kumar
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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3
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Lötsch D, Kirchhofer D, Englinger B, Jiang L, Okonechnikov K, Senfter D, Laemmerer A, Gabler L, Pirker C, Donson AM, Bannauer P, Korbel P, Jaunecker CN, Hübner JM, Mayr L, Madlener S, Schmook MT, Ricken G, Maaß K, Grusch M, Holzmann K, Grasl-Kraupp B, Spiegl-Kreinecker S, Hsu J, Dorfer C, Rössler K, Azizi AA, Foreman NK, Peyrl A, Haberler C, Czech T, Slavc I, Filbin MG, Pajtler KW, Kool M, Berger W, Gojo J. Targeting fibroblast growth factor receptors to combat aggressive ependymoma. Acta Neuropathol 2021; 142:339-360. [PMID: 34046693 PMCID: PMC8270873 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02327-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Ependymomas (EPN) are central nervous system tumors comprising both aggressive and more benign molecular subtypes. However, therapy of the high-risk subtypes posterior fossa group A (PF-A) and supratentorial RELA-fusion positive (ST-RELA) is limited to gross total resection and radiotherapy, as effective systemic treatment concepts are still lacking. We have recently described fibroblast growth factor receptors 1 and 3 (FGFR1/FGFR3) as oncogenic drivers of EPN. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and their potential as therapeutic targets have not yet been investigated in detail. Making use of transcriptomic data across 467 EPN tissues, we found that FGFR1 and FGFR3 were both widely expressed across all molecular groups. FGFR3 mRNA levels were enriched in ST-RELA showing the highest expression among EPN as well as other brain tumors. We further identified high expression levels of fibroblast growth factor 1 and 2 (FGF1, FGF2) across all EPN subtypes while FGF9 was elevated in ST-EPN. Interrogation of our EPN single-cell RNA-sequencing data revealed that FGFR3 was further enriched in cycling and progenitor-like cell populations. Corroboratively, we found FGFR3 to be predominantly expressed in radial glia cells in both mouse embryonal and human brain datasets. Moreover, we detected alternative splicing of the FGFR1/3-IIIc variant, which is known to enhance ligand affinity and FGFR signaling. Dominant-negative interruption of FGFR1/3 activation in PF-A and ST-RELA cell models demonstrated inhibition of key oncogenic pathways leading to reduced cell growth and stem cell characteristics. To explore the feasibility of therapeutically targeting FGFR, we tested a panel of FGFR inhibitors in 12 patient-derived EPN cell models revealing sensitivity in the low-micromolar to nano-molar range. Finally, we gain the first clinical evidence for the activity of the FGFR inhibitor nintedanib in the treatment of a patient with recurrent ST-RELA. Together, these preclinical and clinical data suggest FGFR inhibition as a novel and feasible approach to combat aggressive EPN.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Central Nervous System Neoplasms/genetics
- Central Nervous System Neoplasms/pathology
- Ependymoma/genetics
- Ependymoma/pathology
- Humans
- Mice
- Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/genetics
- Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/metabolism
- Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1/genetics
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1/metabolism
- Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3/metabolism
- Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor/genetics
- Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Lötsch
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dominik Kirchhofer
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bernhard Englinger
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, USA
| | - Li Jiang
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, USA
| | - Konstantin Okonechnikov
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniel Senfter
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anna Laemmerer
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa Gabler
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christine Pirker
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrew M Donson
- Morgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Program, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Peter Bannauer
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Pia Korbel
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Carola N Jaunecker
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jens-Martin Hübner
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lisa Mayr
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sibylle Madlener
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria T Schmook
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerda Ricken
- Division of Neuropathology and Neurochemistry, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kendra Maaß
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Grusch
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Klaus Holzmann
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bettina Grasl-Kraupp
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sabine Spiegl-Kreinecker
- Department of Neurosurgery, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria
| | - Jennifer Hsu
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Dorfer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl Rössler
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Amedeo A Azizi
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nicholas K Foreman
- Morgan Adams Foundation Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Program, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Andreas Peyrl
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christine Haberler
- Division of Neuropathology and Neurochemistry, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Czech
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Irene Slavc
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mariella G Filbin
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, USA
| | - Kristian W Pajtler
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Haematology and Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marcel Kool
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
- Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Walter Berger
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Gojo
- Department of Medicine I, Institute of Cancer Research and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Division of Pediatric Neurooncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.
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4
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Shao DD, Straussberg R, Ahmed H, Khan A, Tian S, Hill RS, Smith RS, Majmundar AJ, Ameziane N, Neil JE, Yang E, Al Tenaiji A, Jamuar SS, Schlaeger TM, Al-Saffar M, Hovel I, Al-Shamsi A, Basel-Salmon L, Amir AZ, Rento LM, Lim JY, Ganesan I, Shril S, Evrony G, Barkovich AJ, Bauer P, Hildebrandt F, Dong M, Borck G, Beetz C, Al-Gazali L, Eyaid W, Walsh CA. A recurrent, homozygous EMC10 frameshift variant is associated with a syndrome of developmental delay with variable seizures and dysmorphic features. Genet Med 2021; 23:1158-1162. [PMID: 33531666 PMCID: PMC8187145 DOI: 10.1038/s41436-021-01097-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex (EMC) is a highly conserved, multifunctional 10-protein complex related to membrane protein biology. In seven families, we identified 13 individuals with highly overlapping phenotypes who harbor a single identical homozygous frameshift variant in EMC10. METHODS Using exome, genome, and Sanger sequencing, a recurrent frameshift EMC10 variant was identified in affected individuals in an international cohort of consanguineous families. Multiple families were independently identified and connected via Matchmaker Exchange and internal databases. We assessed the effect of the frameshift variant on EMC10 RNA and protein expression and evaluated EMC10 expression in normal human brain tissue using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS A homozygous variant EMC10 c.287delG (Refseq NM_206538.3, p.Gly96Alafs*9) segregated with affected individuals in each family, who exhibited a phenotypic spectrum of intellectual disability (ID) and global developmental delay (GDD), variable seizures and variable dysmorphic features (elongated face, curly hair, cubitus valgus, and arachnodactyly). The variant arose on two founder haplotypes and results in significantly reduced EMC10 RNA expression and an unstable truncated EMC10 protein. CONCLUSION We propose that a homozygous loss-of-function variant in EMC10 causes a novel syndromic neurodevelopmental phenotype. Remarkably, the recurrent variant is likely the result of a hypermutable site and arose on distinct founder haplotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane D Shao
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rachel Straussberg
- Neurogenetics Clinic, Neurology Unit, Schneider Children Medical Center, Petah Tikvah, Israel
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Hind Ahmed
- Genetics Division, Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs (NGHA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amjad Khan
- Genetics Division, Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs (NGHA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Songhai Tian
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R Sean Hill
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Richard S Smith
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amar J Majmundar
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Jennifer E Neil
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Edward Yang
- Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amal Al Tenaiji
- Medical Institute of Medical Affairs, Sheikh Khalifa Medica City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - Saumya S Jamuar
- Department of Pediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- SingHealth Duke-NUS Genomic Medicine Centre, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Thorsten M Schlaeger
- Stem Cell Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Muna Al-Saffar
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | | | - Aisha Al-Shamsi
- Division of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE
| | - Lina Basel-Salmon
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- Raphael Recanati Genetic Institute, Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital and Pediatric Genetics Clinic, Schneider Children's Medical Center, and Felsenstein Medical Research Center, Petah Tikvah, Israel
| | - Achiya Z Amir
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Clinic, Dana-Dwek Children's Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Lariza M Rento
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jiin Ying Lim
- Department of Pediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Ramat Aviv, Israel
- SingHealth Duke-NUS Genomic Medicine Centre, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Indra Ganesan
- Department of Pediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Shirlee Shril
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gilad Evrony
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- New York University School of Medicine, Center for Human Genetics & Genomics, New York, NY, USA
| | - A James Barkovich
- Neuroradiology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Friedhelm Hildebrandt
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Min Dong
- Department of Urology, Boston Children's Hospital, and Department of Surgery and Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Guntram Borck
- Center for Rare Diseases (ZSE Ulm), Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany
- genetikum, Neu-Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Lihadh Al-Gazali
- Department of Pediatrics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE
| | - Wafaa Eyaid
- Genetics Division, Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs (NGHA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Christopher A Walsh
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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5
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Graziano VR, Walker FC, Kennedy EA, Wei J, Ettayebi K, Strine MS, Filler RB, Hassan E, Hsieh LL, Kim AS, Kolawole AO, Wobus CE, Lindesmith LC, Baric RS, Estes MK, Orchard RC, Baldridge MT, Wilen CB. CD300lf is the primary physiologic receptor of murine norovirus but not human norovirus. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008242. [PMID: 32251490 PMCID: PMC7162533 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Murine norovirus (MNoV) is an important model of human norovirus (HNoV) and mucosal virus infection more broadly. Viral receptor utilization is a major determinant of cell tropism, host range, and pathogenesis. The bona fide receptor for HNoV is unknown. Recently, we identified CD300lf as a proteinaceous receptor for MNoV. Interestingly, its paralogue CD300ld was also sufficient for MNoV infection in vitro. Here we explored whether CD300lf is the sole physiologic receptor in vivo and whether HNoV can use a CD300 ortholog as an entry receptor. We report that both CD300ld and CD300lf are sufficient for infection by diverse MNoV strains in vitro. We further demonstrate that CD300lf is essential for both oral and parenteral MNoV infection and to elicit anti-MNoV humoral responses in vivo. In mice deficient in STAT1 signaling, CD300lf is required for MNoV-induced lethality. Finally, we demonstrate that human CD300lf (huCD300lf) is not essential for HNoV infection, nor does huCD300lf inhibit binding of HNoV virus-like particles to glycans. Thus, we report huCD300lf is not a receptor for HNoV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent R. Graziano
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Forrest C. Walker
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Kennedy
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Jin Wei
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Khalil Ettayebi
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Madison S. Strine
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Renata B. Filler
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Ebrahim Hassan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Leon L. Hsieh
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Arthur S. Kim
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Abimbola O. Kolawole
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Christiane E. Wobus
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Lisa C. Lindesmith
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ralph S. Baric
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Mary K. Estes
- Departments of Medicine and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Robert C. Orchard
- Department of Immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Megan T. Baldridge
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Craig B. Wilen
- Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
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6
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Marinić M, Lynch VJ. Relaxed constraint and functional divergence of the progesterone receptor (PGR) in the human stem-lineage. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008666. [PMID: 32302297 PMCID: PMC7190170 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The steroid hormone progesterone, acting through the progesterone receptor (PR), a ligand-activated DNA-binding transcription factor, plays an essential role in regulating nearly every aspect of female reproductive biology. While many reproductive traits regulated by PR are conserved in mammals, Catarrhine primates evolved several derived traits including spontaneous decidualization, menstruation, and a divergent (and unknown) parturition signal, suggesting that PR may also have evolved divergent functions in Catarrhines. There is conflicting evidence, however, whether the progesterone receptor gene (PGR) was positively selected in the human lineage. Here we show that PGR evolved rapidly in the human stem-lineage (as well as other Catarrhine primates), which likely reflects an episode of relaxed selection intensity rather than positive selection. Coincident with the episode of relaxed selection intensity, ancestral sequence resurrection and functional tests indicate that the major human PR isoforms (PR-A and PR-B) evolved divergent functions in the human stem-lineage. These results suggest that the regulation of progesterone signaling by PR-A and PR-B may also have diverged in the human lineage and that non-human animal models of progesterone signaling may not faithfully recapitulate human biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirna Marinić
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Vincent J. Lynch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
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Savela ES, Schoepp NG, Cooper MM, Rolando JC, Klausner JD, Soge OO, Ismagilov RF. Surfactant-enhanced DNA accessibility to nuclease accelerates phenotypic β-lactam antibiotic susceptibility testing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000651. [PMID: 32191696 PMCID: PMC7081974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) is critically needed to counter widespread antibiotic resistance. Detection of nucleic acids in genotypic AST can be rapid, but it has not been successful for β-lactams (the largest antibiotic class used to treat Ng). Rapid phenotypic AST for Ng is challenged by the pathogen's slow doubling time and the lack of methods to quickly quantify the pathogen's response to β-lactams. Here, we asked two questions: (1) Is it possible to use nucleic acid quantification to measure the β-lactam susceptibility phenotype of Ng very rapidly, using antibiotic-exposure times much shorter than the 1- to 2-h doubling time of Ng? (2) Would such short-term antibiotic exposures predict the antibiotic resistance profile of Ng measured by plate growth assays over multiple days? To answer these questions, we devised an innovative approach for performing a rapid phenotypic AST that measures DNA accessibility to exogenous nucleases after exposure to β-lactams (termed nuclease-accessibility AST [nuc-aAST]). We showed that DNA in antibiotic-susceptible cells has increased accessibility upon exposure to β-lactams and that a judiciously chosen surfactant permeabilized the outer membrane and enhanced this effect. We tested penicillin, cefixime, and ceftriaxone and found good agreement between the results of the nuc-aAST after 15-30 min of antibiotic exposure and the results of the gold-standard culture-based AST measured over days. These results provide a new pathway toward developing a critically needed phenotypic AST for Ng and additional global-health threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily S. Savela
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Nathan G. Schoepp
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Matthew M. Cooper
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Justin C. Rolando
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey D. Klausner
- David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Olusegun O. Soge
- Neisseria Reference Laboratory, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Rustem F. Ismagilov
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
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8
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Schniederberend M, Williams JF, Shine E, Shen C, Jain R, Emonet T, Kazmierczak BI. Modulation of flagellar rotation in surface-attached bacteria: A pathway for rapid surface-sensing after flagellar attachment. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1008149. [PMID: 31682637 PMCID: PMC6855561 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Attachment is a necessary first step in bacterial commitment to surface-associated behaviors that include colonization, biofilm formation, and host-directed virulence. The Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa can initially attach to surfaces via its single polar flagellum. Although many bacteria quickly detach, some become irreversibly attached and express surface-associated structures, such as Type IV pili, and behaviors, including twitching motility and biofilm initiation. P. aeruginosa that lack the GTPase FlhF assemble a randomly placed flagellum that is motile; however, we observed that these mutant bacteria show defects in biofilm formation comparable to those seen for non-motile, aflagellate bacteria. This phenotype was associated with altered behavior of ΔflhF bacteria immediately following surface-attachment. Forward and reverse genetic screens led to the discovery that FlhF interacts with FimV to control flagellar rotation at a surface, and implicated cAMP signaling in this pathway. Although cAMP controls many transcriptional programs in P. aeruginosa, known targets of this second messenger were not required to modulate flagellar rotation in surface-attached bacteria. Instead, alterations in switching behavior of the motor appeared to result from direct or indirect effects of cAMP on switch complex proteins and/or the stators associated with them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Schniederberend
- Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jessica F. Williams
- Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Emilee Shine
- Program in Microbiology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Cong Shen
- Program in Microbiology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Ruchi Jain
- Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Thierry Emonet
- Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Barbara I. Kazmierczak
- Department of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Prospective trial registration is a powerful tool to prevent reporting bias. We aimed to determine the extent to which published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were registered and registered prospectively. METHODS We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from January 2005 to October 2017; we also screened all articles cited by or citing included and excluded studies, and the reference lists of related reviews. We included studies that examined published RCTs and evaluated their registration status, regardless of medical specialty or language. We excluded studies that assessed RCT registration status only through mention of registration in the published RCT, without searching registries or contacting the trial investigators. Two independent reviewers blinded to the other's work performed the selection. Following PRISMA guidelines, two investigators independently extracted data, with discrepancies resolved by consensus. We calculated pooled proportions and 95% confidence intervals using random-effects models. RESULTS We analyzed 40 studies examining 8773 RCTs across a wide range of clinical specialties. The pooled proportion of registered RCTs was 53% (95% confidence interval 44% to 58%), with considerable between-study heterogeneity. A subset of 24 studies reported data on prospective registration across 5529 RCTs. The pooled proportion of prospectively registered RCTs was 20% (95% confidence interval 15% to 25%). Subgroup analyses showed that registration was higher for industry-supported and larger RCTs. A meta-regression analysis across 19 studies (5144 RCTs) showed that the proportion of registered trials significantly increased over time, with a mean proportion increase of 27%, from 25 to 52%, between 2005 and 2015. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of trial registration has increased over time, but only one in five published RCTs is prospectively registered, undermining the validity and integrity of biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Trinquart
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts USA
| | - Adam G. Dunn
- Centre for Health Informatics, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Florence T. Bourgeois
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA
- Center for Pediatric Therapeutics and Regulatory Science, and Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA USA
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10
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Graham L, Banda K, Torres A, Carver BS, Chen Y, Pisano K, Shelkey G, Curley T, Scher HI, Lotan TL, Hsieh AC, Rathkopf DE. A phase II study of the dual mTOR inhibitor MLN0128 in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. Invest New Drugs 2018; 36:458-467. [PMID: 29508246 PMCID: PMC6050986 DOI: 10.1007/s10637-018-0578-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Background MLN0128 is a first-in-class, dual mTOR inhibitor with potential to outperform standard rapalogs through inhibition of TORC1 and TORC2. This phase II study was designed to assess antitumor activity of MLN0128 in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Methods Eligible patients had mCRPC previously treated with abiraterone acetate and/or enzalutamide. Five patients started MLN0128 at 5 mg once daily, subsequently dose reduced to 4 mg because of toxicity. Four subsequent patients started MLN0128 at 4 mg daily. Primary endpoint was progression-free survival at 6 months. Results Nine patients were enrolled and median time on treatment was 11 weeks (range: 3-30). Best response was stable disease. All patients had a rise in PSA on treatment, with a median 159% increase from baseline (range: 12-620%). Median baseline circulating tumor cell count was 1 cell/mL (range: 0-40); none had a decrease in cell count posttreatment. Grade ≤ 2 adverse events included fatigue, anorexia, and rash. The most common serious adverse events were grade 3 dyspnea and maculopapular rash. Eight patients discontinued treatment early because of radiographic progression (n = 1), grade 3 toxicity (n = 5), or investigator discretion (n = 2). Four patients had immediate PSA decline following drug discontinuation, suggesting MLN0128 could cause compensatory increase of androgen receptor (AR) activity. Correlative studies of pretreatment and posttreatment biopsy specimens revealed limited inhibition of AKT phosphorylation, 4EBP1 phosphorylation, and eIF4E activity. Conclusions Clinical efficacy of MLN0128 in mCRPC was limited likely due to dose reductions secondary to toxicity, PSA kinetics suggesting AR activation resulting from mTOR inhibition, and poor inhibition of mTOR signaling targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Graham
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- School of Medicine and Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Kalyan Banda
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- School of Medicine and Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Alba Torres
- Departments of Pathology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Brett S Carver
- Urology Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Yu Chen
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Katie Pisano
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Greg Shelkey
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Tracy Curley
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Howard I Scher
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Tamara L Lotan
- Departments of Pathology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Andrew C Hsieh
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
- School of Medicine and Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Dana E Rathkopf
- Genitourinary Oncology Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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11
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de St. Maurice A, Harmon J, Nyakarahuka L, Balinandi S, Tumusiime A, Kyondo J, Mulei S, Namutebi A, Knust B, Shoemaker T, Nichol ST, McElroy AK, Spiropoulou CF. Rift valley fever viral load correlates with the human inflammatory response and coagulation pathway abnormalities in humans with hemorrhagic manifestations. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2018; 12:e0006460. [PMID: 29727450 PMCID: PMC5955566 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rift Valley fever virus is an arbovirus that affects both livestock and humans throughout Africa and in the Middle East. Despite its endemicity throughout Africa, it is a rare event to identify an infected individual during the acute phase of the disease and an even rarer event to collect serial blood samples from the affected patient. Severely affected patients can present with hemorrhagic manifestations of disease. In this study we identified three Ugandan men with RVFV disease that was accompanied by hemorrhagic manifestations. Serial blood samples from these men were analyzed for a series of biomarkers specific for various aspects of human pathophysiology including inflammation, endothelial function and coagulopathy. There were significant differences between biomarker levels in controls and cases both early during the illness and after clearance of viremia. Positive correlation of viral load with markers of inflammation (IP-10, CRP, Eotaxin, MCP-2 and Granzyme B), markers of fibrinolysis (tPA and D-dimer), and markers of endothelial function (sICAM-1) were all noted. However, and perhaps most interesting given the fact that these individuals exhibited hemorrhagic manifestations of disease, was the finding of a negative correlation between viral load and P-selectin, ADAMTS13, and fibrinogen all of which are associated with coagulation pathways occurring on the endothelial surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabelle de St. Maurice
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- University of California Los Angeles, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Jessica Harmon
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | | | | | | | | | - Sophia Mulei
- Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
| | | | - Barbara Knust
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Trevor Shoemaker
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Stuart T. Nichol
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Anita K. McElroy
- Viral Special Pathogens Branch, US CDC, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- Emory University, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
- University of Pittsburgh, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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12
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Bhattacharyya S, Bhakta M, Munshi NV. Phenotypically silent Cre recombination within the postnatal ventricular conduction system. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0174517. [PMID: 28358866 PMCID: PMC5373586 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The cardiac conduction system (CCS) is composed of specialized cardiomyocytes that initiate and maintain cardiac rhythm. Any perturbation to the normal sequence of electrical events within the heart can result in cardiac arrhythmias. To understand how cardiac rhythm is established at the molecular level, several genetically modified mouse lines expressing Cre recombinase within specific CCS compartments have been created. In general, Cre driver lines have been generated either by homologous recombination of Cre into an endogenous locus or Cre expression driven by a randomly inserted transgene. However, haploinsufficiency of the endogenous gene compromises the former approach, while position effects negatively impact the latter. To address these limitations, we generated a Cre driver line for the ventricular conduction system (VCS) that preserves endogenous gene expression by targeting the Contactin2 (Cntn2) 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR). Here we show that Cntn23’UTR-IRES-Cre-EGFP/+ mice recombine floxed alleles within the VCS and that Cre expression faithfully recapitulates the spatial distribution of Cntn2 within the heart. We further demonstrate that Cre expression initiates after birth with preservation of native Cntn2 protein. Finally, we show that Cntn23’UTR-IRES-Cre-EGFP/+ mice maintain normal cardiac mechanical and electrical function. Taken together, our results establish a novel VCS-specific Cre driver line without the adverse consequences of haploinsufficiency or position effects. We expect that our new mouse line will add to the accumulating toolkit of CCS-specific mouse reagents and aid characterization of the cell-autonomous molecular circuitry that drives VCS maintenance and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samadrita Bhattacharyya
- Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiology Division), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
| | - Minoti Bhakta
- Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiology Division), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
| | - Nikhil Vilas Munshi
- Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiology Division), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
- Department of Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
- McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
- Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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13
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Guo B, Lei C, Ito T, Jiang Y, Ozeki Y, Goda K. High-Throughput Accurate Single-Cell Screening of Euglena gracilis with Fluorescence-Assisted Optofluidic Time-Stretch Microscopy. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166214. [PMID: 27846239 PMCID: PMC5112898 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of reliable, sustainable, and economical sources of alternative fuels is an important, but challenging goal for the world. As an alternative to liquid fossil fuels, algal biofuel is expected to play a key role in alleviating global warming since algae absorb atmospheric CO2 via photosynthesis. Among various algae for fuel production, Euglena gracilis is an attractive microalgal species as it is known to produce wax ester (good for biodiesel and aviation fuel) within lipid droplets. To date, while there exist many techniques for inducing microalgal cells to produce and accumulate lipid with high efficiency, few analytical methods are available for characterizing a population of such lipid-accumulated microalgae including E. gracilis with high throughout, high accuracy, and single-cell resolution simultaneously. Here we demonstrate high-throughput, high-accuracy, single-cell screening of E. gracilis with fluorescence-assisted optofluidic time-stretch microscopy-a method that combines the strengths of microfluidic cell focusing, optical time-stretch microscopy, and fluorescence detection used in conventional flow cytometry. Specifically, our fluorescence-assisted optofluidic time-stretch microscope consists of an optical time-stretch microscope and a fluorescence analyzer on top of a hydrodynamically focusing microfluidic device and can detect fluorescence from every E. gracilis cell in a population and simultaneously obtain its image with a high throughput of 10,000 cells/s. With the multi-dimensional information acquired by the system, we classify nitrogen-sufficient (ordinary) and nitrogen-deficient (lipid-accumulated) E. gracilis cells with a low false positive rate of 1.0%. This method holds promise for evaluating cultivation techniques and selective breeding for microalgae-based biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoshan Guo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
| | - Cheng Lei
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
- * E-mail: (CL); (KG)
| | - Takuro Ito
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi 332–0012, Japan
| | - Yiyue Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Ozeki
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–8656, Japan
| | - Keisuke Goda
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi 332–0012, Japan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90095, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CL); (KG)
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14
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Koh W, Gonzalez V, Natarajan S, Carter R, Brown PO, Gawad C. Dynamic ASXL1 Exon Skipping and Alternative Circular Splicing in Single Human Cells. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164085. [PMID: 27736885 PMCID: PMC5063410 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Circular RNAs comprise a poorly understood new class of noncoding RNA. In this study, we used a combination of targeted deletion, high-resolution splicing detection, and single-cell sequencing to deeply probe ASXL1 circular splicing. We found that efficient circular splicing required the canonical transcriptional start site and inverted AluSx elements. Sequencing-based interrogation of isoforms after ASXL1 overexpression identified promiscuous linear splicing between all exons, with the two most abundant non-canonical linear products skipping the exons that produced the circular isoforms. Single-cell sequencing revealed a strong preference for either the linear or circular ASXL1 isoforms in each cell, and found the predominant exon skipping product is frequently co-expressed with its reciprocal circular isoform. Finally, absolute quantification of ASXL1 isoforms confirmed our findings and suggests that standard methods overestimate circRNA abundance. Taken together, these data reveal a dynamic new view of circRNA genesis, providing additional framework for studying their roles in cellular biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winston Koh
- Departments of Bioengineering and Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States of America
| | - Veronica Gonzalez
- Departments of Oncology and Computational Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, United States of America
| | - Sivaraman Natarajan
- Departments of Oncology and Computational Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, United States of America
| | - Robert Carter
- Departments of Oncology and Computational Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, United States of America
| | - Patrick O. Brown
- Department of Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States of America
| | - Charles Gawad
- Departments of Oncology and Computational Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38105, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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15
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Patra N, Ioannidis EI, Kulik HJ. Computational Investigation of the Interplay of Substrate Positioning and Reactivity in Catechol O-Methyltransferase. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0161868. [PMID: 27564542 PMCID: PMC5001633 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 08/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) is a SAM- and Mg2+-dependent methyltransferase that regulates neurotransmitters through methylation. Simulations and experiments have identified divergent catecholamine substrate orientations in the COMT active site: molecular dynamics simulations have favored a monodentate coordination of catecholate substrates to the active site Mg2+, and crystal structures instead preserve bidentate coordination along with short (2.65 Å) methyl donor-acceptor distances. We carry out longer dynamics (up to 350 ns) to quantify interconversion between bidentate and monodentate binding poses. We provide a systematic determination of the relative free energy of the monodentate and bidentate structures in order to identify whether structural differences alter the nature of the methyl transfer mechanism and source of enzymatic rate enhancement. We demonstrate that the bidentate and monodentate binding modes are close in energy but separated by a 7 kcal/mol free energy barrier. Analysis of interactions in the two binding modes reveals that the driving force for monodentate catecholate orientations in classical molecular dynamics simulations is derived from stronger electrostatic stabilization afforded by alternate Mg2+ coordination with strongly charged active site carboxylates. Mixed semi-empirical-classical (SQM/MM) substrate C-O distances (2.7 Å) for the bidentate case are in excellent agreement with COMT X-ray crystal structures, as long as charge transfer between the substrates, Mg2+, and surrounding ligands is permitted. SQM/MM free energy barriers for methyl transfer from bidentate and monodentate catecholate configurations are comparable at around 21-22 kcal/mol, in good agreement with experiment (18-19 kcal/mol). Overall, the work suggests that both binding poses are viable for methyl transfer, and accurate descriptions of charge transfer and electrostatics are needed to provide balanced relative barriers when multiple binding poses are accessible, for example in other transferases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niladri Patra
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, United States of America
| | - Efthymios I. Ioannidis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, United States of America
| | - Heather J. Kulik
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, United States of America
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16
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Valenca GT, Srivastava GP, Oliveira-Filho J, White CC, Yu L, Schneider JA, Buchman AS, Shulman JM, Bennett DA, De Jager PL. The Role of MAPT Haplotype H2 and Isoform 1N/4R in Parkinsonism of Older Adults. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0157452. [PMID: 27458716 PMCID: PMC4961370 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and Objective Recently, we have shown that the Parkinson’s disease (PD) susceptibility locus MAPT (microtubule associated protein tau) is associated with parkinsonism in older adults without a clinical diagnosis of PD. In this study, we investigated the relationship between parkinsonian signs and MAPT transcripts by assessing the effect of MAPT haplotypes on alternative splicing and expression levels of the most common isoforms in two prospective clinicopathologic studies of aging. Materials and Methods using regression analysis, controlling for age, sex, study and neuropathology, we evaluated 976 subjects with clinical, genotyping and brain pathology data for haplotype analysis. For transcript analysis, we obtained MAPT gene and isoform-level expression from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 505 of these subjects. Results The MAPT H2 haplotype was associated with lower total MAPT expression (p = 1.2x10-14) and global parkinsonism at both study entry (p = 0.001) and proximate to death (p = 0.050). Specifically, haplotype H2 was primarily associated with bradykinesia in both assessments (p<0.001 and p = 0.008). MAPT total expression was associated with age and decreases linearly with advancing age (p<0.001). Analysing MAPT alternative splicing, the expression of 1N/4R isoform was inversely associated with global parkinsonism (p = 0.008) and bradykinesia (p = 0.008). Diminished 1N/4R isoform expression was also associated with H2 (p = 0.001). Conclusions Overall, our results suggest that age and H2 are associated with higher parkinsonism score and decreased total MAPT RNA expression. Additionally, we found that H2 and parkinsonism are associated with altered expression levels of specific isoforms. These findings may contribute to the understanding of the association between MAPT locus and parkinsonism in elderly subjects and in some extent to age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme T. Valenca
- Movement Disorders Clinic, Roberto Santos General Hospital, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Reconcavo of Bahia, Santo Antonio de Jesus, BA, Brazil
- Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Program in Translational Neuropsychiatric Genomics, Departments of Neurology & Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Gyan P. Srivastava
- Program in Translational Neuropsychiatric Genomics, Departments of Neurology & Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jamary Oliveira-Filho
- Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil
| | - Charles C. White
- Program in Translational Neuropsychiatric Genomics, Departments of Neurology & Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Lei Yu
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Julie A. Schneider
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Aron S. Buchman
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Joshua M. Shulman
- Departments of Neurology, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neuroscience, and Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - David A. Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Philip L. De Jager
- Program in Translational Neuropsychiatric Genomics, Departments of Neurology & Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Rast TJ, Kullas AL, Southern PJ, Davis DA. Human Epithelial Cells Discriminate between Commensal and Pathogenic Interactions with Candida albicans. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153165. [PMID: 27088599 PMCID: PMC4835109 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The commensal fungus, Candida albicans, can cause life-threatening infections in at risk individuals. C. albicans colonizes mucosal surfaces of most people, adhering to and interacting with epithelial cells. At low concentrations, C. albicans is not pathogenic nor does it cause epithelial cell damage in vitro; at high concentrations, C. albicans causes mucosal infections and kills epithelial cells in vitro. Here we show that while there are quantitative dose-dependent differences in exposed epithelial cell populations, these reflect a fundamental qualitative difference in host cell response to C. albicans. Using transcriptional profiling experiments and real time PCR, we found that wild-type C. albicans induce dose-dependent responses from a FaDu epithelial cell line. However, real time PCR and Western blot analysis using a high dose of various C. albicans strains demonstrated that these dose-dependent responses are associated with ability to promote host cell damage. Our studies support the idea that epithelial cells play a key role in the immune system by monitoring the microbial community at mucosal surfaces and initiating defensive responses when this community is dysfunctional. This places epithelial cells at a pivotal position in the interaction with C. albicans as epithelial cells themselves promote C. albicans stimulated damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J. Rast
- Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Amy L. Kullas
- Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Peter J. Southern
- Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Dana A. Davis
- Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
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