A genome-wide expression of human articular osteoarthritic cartilage shows different gene-expression profiles related to both inflammatory and immune response processes

Abstract There are many examples of transcription factor families whose members control gene expression profiles of diverse cell types. However, the mechanism by which closely related factors occupy distinct regulatory elements and impart lineage specificity is largely undefined. Here we demonstrate on a genome wide scale that the hematopoietic GATA factors GATA-1 and GATA-2 bind overlapping sets of genes, often at distinct sites, as a means to differentially regulate target gene expression and to regulate the balance between proliferation and differentiation. We also reveal that the GATA switch, which entails a chromatin occupancy exchange between GATA2 and GATA1 in the course of differentiation, operates on more than one-third of GATA1 bound genes. The switch is equally likely to lead to transcriptional activation or repression; and in general, GATA1 and GATA2 act oppositely on switch target genes. In addition, we show that genomic regions co-occupied by GATA2 and the ETS factor ETS1 are strongly enriched for regions marked by H3K4me3 and occupied by Pol II. Finally, by comparing GATA1 occupancy in erythroid cells and megakaryocytes, we find that the presence of ETS factor motifs is a major discriminator of megakaryocyte versus red cell specification.

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Modulation of the Immune Response by Deferasirox in Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patients

Pharmaceuticals ◽

10.3390/ph14010041 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 41

Author(s):

Hana Votavova ◽

Zuzana Urbanova ◽

David Kundrat ◽

Michaela Dostalova Merkerova ◽

Martin Vostry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Immune Response ◽

Blood Cell ◽

Myelodysplastic Syndrome ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Adaptive Immune Response ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Iron Chelator ◽

Multiple Cancer

Deferasirox (DFX) is an oral iron chelator used to reduce iron overload (IO) caused by frequent blood cell transfusions in anemic myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. To study the molecular mechanisms by which DFX improves outcome in MDS, we analyzed the global gene expression in untreated MDS patients and those who were given DFX treatment. The gene expression profiles of bone marrow CD34+ cells were assessed by whole-genome microarrays. Initially, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined between patients with normal ferritin levels and those with IO to address the effect of excessive iron on cellular pathways. These DEGs were annotated to Gene Ontology terms associated with cell cycle, apoptosis, adaptive immune response and protein folding and were enriched in cancer-related pathways. The deregulation of multiple cancer pathways in iron-overloaded patients suggests that IO is a cofactor favoring the progression of MDS. The DEGs between patients with IO and those treated with DFX were involved predominantly in biological processes related to the immune response and inflammation. These data indicate DFX modulates the immune response mainly via neutrophil-related genes. Suppression of negative regulators of blood cell differentiation essential for cell maturation and upregulation of heme metabolism observed in DFX-treated patients may contribute to the hematopoietic improvement.

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Genome-wide gene expression changes in postpartum depression point towards an altered immune landscape

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01270-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Divya Mehta ◽

Karen Grewen ◽

Brenda Pearson ◽

Shivangi Wani ◽

Leanne Wallace ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Postpartum Depression ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Concern ◽

Genome Wide ◽

A Genome ◽

Genome Wide Gene Expression

AbstractMaternal postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant public health concern due to the severe negative impact on maternal and child health and well-being. In this study, we aimed to identify genes associated with PPD. To do this, we investigated genome-wide gene expression profiles of pregnant women during their third trimester of pregnancy and tested the association of gene expression with perinatal depressive symptoms. A total of 137 women from a cohort from the University of North Carolina, USA were assessed. The main phenotypes analysed were Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores at 2 months postpartum and PPD (binary yes/no) based on an EPDS cutoff of 10. Illumina NextSeq500/550 transcriptomic sequencing from whole blood was analysed using the edgeR package. We identified 71 genes significantly associated with postpartum depression scores at 2 months, after correction for multiple testing at 5% FDR. These included several interesting candidates including TNFRSF17, previously reported to be significantly upregulated in women with PPD and MMP8, a matrix metalloproteinase gene, associated with depression in a genome-wide association study. Functional annotation of differentially expressed genes revealed an enrichment of immune response-related biological processes. Additional analysis of genes associated with changes in depressive symptoms from recruitment to 2 months postpartum identified 66 genes significant at an FDR of 5%. Of these genes, 33 genes were also associated with depressive symptoms at 2 months postpartum. Comparing the results with previous studies, we observed that 15.4% of genes associated with PPD in this study overlapped with 700 core maternal genes that showed significant gene expression changes across multiple brain regions (P = 7.9e-05) and 29–53% of the genes were also associated with estradiol changes in a pharmacological model of depression (P values range = 1.2e-4–2.1e-14). In conclusion, we identified novel genes and validated genes previously associated with oestrogen sensitivity in PPD. These results point towards the role of an altered immune transcriptomic landscape as a vulnerability factor for PPD.

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Genome-Wide Identification of Soybean ABC Transporters Relate to Aluminum Toxicity

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22126556 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (12) ◽

pp. 6556

Author(s):

Junjun Huang ◽

Xiaoyu Li ◽

Xin Chen ◽

Yaru Guo ◽

Weihong Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Abc Transporters ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Aluminum Toxicity ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Purifying Selection ◽

Biotic Stresses ◽

Genome Wide ◽

New Germplasm

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter proteins are a gene super-family in plants and play vital roles in growth, development, and response to abiotic and biotic stresses. The ABC transporters have been identified in crop plants such as rice and buckwheat, but little is known about them in soybean. Soybean is an important oil crop and is one of the five major crops in the world. In this study, 255 ABC genes that putatively encode ABC transporters were identified from soybean through bioinformatics and then categorized into eight subfamilies, including 7 ABCAs, 52 ABCBs, 48 ABCCs, 5 ABCDs, 1 ABCEs, 10 ABCFs, 111 ABCGs, and 21 ABCIs. Their phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, and gene expression profiles were characterized. Segmental duplication was the main reason for the expansion of the GmABC genes. Ka/Ks analysis suggested that intense purifying selection was accompanied by the evolution of GmABC genes. The genome-wide collinearity of soybean with other species showed that GmABCs were relatively conserved and that collinear ABCs between species may have originated from the same ancestor. Gene expression analysis of GmABCs revealed the distinct expression pattern in different tissues and diverse developmental stages. The candidate genes GmABCB23, GmABCB25, GmABCB48, GmABCB52, GmABCI1, GmABCI5, and GmABCI13 were responsive to Al toxicity. This work on the GmABC gene family provides useful information for future studies on ABC transporters in soybean and potential targets for the cultivation of new germplasm resources of aluminum-tolerant soybean.

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