scholarly journals Transcriptional profiling of equine endometrium before, during and after capsule disintegration during normal pregnancy and after oxytocin-induced luteostasis in non-pregnant mares

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0257161
Author(s):  
Claudia Klein ◽  
Phoebe Bruce ◽  
Jutta Hammermueller ◽  
Tony Hayes ◽  
Brandon Lillie ◽  
...  

The current study used RNA sequencing to determine transcriptional profiles of equine endometrium collected 14, 22, and 28 days after ovulation from pregnant mares. In addition, the transcriptomes of endometrial samples obtained 20 days after ovulation from pregnant mares, and from non-pregnant mares which displayed and failed to display extended luteal function following the administration of oxytocin, were determined and compared in order to delineate genes whose expressions depend on the presence of the conceptus as opposed to elevated progesterone alone. A mere fifty-five transcripts were differentially expressed between samples collected from mares at Day 22 and Day 28 of pregnancy. This likely reflects the longer-term exposure to a relatively constant, progesterone-dominated environment with little change in factors secreted by the conceptus that would affect endometrial gene expression. The complement system was amongst the canonical pathways significantly enriched in transcripts differentially expressed between Day 14 and Day 22/28 of pregnancy. The expression of complement components 7 and 8 was confirmed using in situ hybridization. The expression of SERPING1, an inhibitor of the complement system, was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. In line with the resumed capacity of the endometrium to produce prostaglandin, prostaglandin G/H synthase 1 was expressed at higher levels at Days 22 and 28 than at Day 14 of pregnancy. Our data suggest that this up-regulation is enhanced by the presence of the conceptus; samples obtained from mares at Day 20 of pregnancy had significantly higher levels of prostaglandin G/H synthase 1 transcript than mares with extended luteal function.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Copenhaver ◽  
Chack-Yung Yu ◽  
Robert P. Hoffman

Introduction: Increased systemic inflammation plays a significant role in the development of adult cardiometabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. The complement system is a part of the innate immune system and plays a key role in the regulation of inflammation. Of particular importance is the activation of complement components C3 and C4. C3 is produced primarily by the liver but is also produced in adipocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells, all of which are present in adipose tissues. Dietary fat and chylomicrons stimulate C3 production. Adipocytes in addition to producing C3 also have receptors for activated C3 and other complement components and thus also respond to as well as produce a target for complement. C3adesArg, also known as acylation stimulation factor, increases adipocyte triglyceride synthesis and release. These physiological effects play a significant role in the development of metabolic syndrome. Epidemiologically, obese adults and non-obese adults with cardiometabolic disease who are not obese have been shown to have increased complement levels. C4 levels also correlate with body mass index. Genetically, specific C3 polymorphisms have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events and. D decreased C4 long gene copy number is associated with increased longevity. Conclusion: Future research is clearly needed to clarify the role of complement in the development of cardiovascular disease and mechanisms for its action. The complement system may provide a new area for intervention in the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amer Toutonji ◽  
Mamatha Mandava ◽  
Silvia Guglietta ◽  
Stephen Tomlinson

AbstractActivation of the complement system propagates neuroinflammation and brain damage early and chronically after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The complement system is complex and comprises more than 50 components, many of which remain to be characterized in the normal and injured brain. Moreover, complement therapeutic studies have focused on a limited number of histopathological outcomes, which while informative, do not assess the effect of complement inhibition on neuroprotection and inflammation in a comprehensive manner. Using high throughput gene expression technology (NanoString), we simultaneously analyzed complement gene expression profiles with other neuroinflammatory pathway genes at different time points after TBI. We additionally assessed the effects of complement inhibition on neuropathological processes. Analyses of neuroinflammatory genes were performed at days 3, 7, and 28 post injury in male C57BL/6 mice following a controlled cortical impact injury. We also characterized the expression of 59 complement genes at similar time points, and also at 1- and 2-years post injury. Overall, TBI upregulated the expression of markers of astrogliosis, immune cell activation, and cellular stress, and downregulated the expression of neuronal and synaptic markers from day 3 through 28 post injury. Moreover, TBI upregulated gene expression across most complement activation and effector pathways, with an early emphasis on classical pathway genes and with continued upregulation of C2, C3 and C4 expression 2 years post injury. Treatment using the targeted complement inhibitor, CR2-Crry, significantly ameliorated TBI-induced transcriptomic changes at all time points. Nevertheless, some immune and synaptic genes remained dysregulated with CR2-Crry treatment, suggesting adjuvant anti-inflammatory and neurotropic therapy may confer additional neuroprotection. In addition to characterizing complement gene expression in the normal and aging brain, our results demonstrate broad and chronic dysregulation of the complement system after TBI, and strengthen the view that the complement system is an attractive target for TBI therapy.


Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. De ◽  
M.T. McMaster ◽  
S.K. Dey ◽  
G.K. Andrews

Oligodeoxyribonucleotide excess solution hybridization, Northern blot and in situ hybridization were used to analyze metallothionein gene expression in mouse decidua and placentae during gestation. Metallothionein (MT) -I and -II mRNA levels were constitutively elevated, 11- and 13-fold, respectively, relative to the adult liver, in the deciduum (D8), and decreased coordinately about 6-fold during the period of development when the deciduum is replaced by the developing placenta (D10-16). Coincident with this decline, levels of MT mRNA increased dramatically in the visceral yolk sac endoderm. In situ hybridization established that MT-I mRNA was present at low levels in the uterine luminal epithelium (D4), but was elevated at the site of embryo implantation exclusively in the primary decidual zone by D5, and then in the secondary decidual zone (D6-8). Although low levels of MT mRNA were detected in total placental RNA, in situ hybridization revealed constitutively high levels in the outer placental spongiotrophoblasts. Analysis of pulse-labeled proteins from decidua and placentae established that these tissues are active in the synthesis of MT. The constitutively high levels of MT mRNA in decidua were only slightly elevated following injection of cadmium (Cd) and/or zinc (Zn), whereas in placentae they increased several-fold. MT mRNA levels were equally high in decidua and experimentally induced deciduomata (D8) which establishes that decidual MT gene expression is not dependent on the presence of the embryo or some embryo-derived factor. Although the functional role of MT during development is speculative, these results establish the concept that, from the time of implantation to late in gestation, the mouse embryo is surrounded by cells, interposed between the maternal and embryonic environments, which actively express the MT genes. This suggests that MT plays an important role in the establishment and maintenance of normal pregnancy.


2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 787-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Suzuki ◽  
Yasuo Yoshioka ◽  
Etsuko Kitano ◽  
Tatsunobu Yoshioka ◽  
Hiroaki Oka ◽  
...  

Cell therapy is expected to relieve the shortage of donors needed for organ transplantation. When patients are treated with allogeneic or xenogeneic cells, it is necessary to develop a means by which to isolate administered cells from an immune attack by the host. We have developed “cytomedicine, ” which consists of functional cells entrapped in semipermeable polymer, and previously reported that alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate microcapsules and agarose microbeads could protect the entrapped cells from injury by cellular immunity. However, their ability to isolate from humoral immunity was insufficient. It is well known that the complement system plays an essential role in rejection of transplanted cells by host humoral immunity. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to develop a novel cytomedical device containing a polymer capable of inactivating complement. In the screening of various polymers, polyvinyl sulfate (PVS) exhibited high anticomplement activity and low cytotoxicity. Murine pancreatic β-cell line (MIN6 cell) entrapped in agarose microbeads containing PVS maintained viability and physiological insulin secretion, replying in response to glucose concentration, and resisted rabbit antisera in vitro. PVS inhibited hemolysis of sensitized sheep erythrocytes (EAs) and rabbit erythrocytes by the complement system. This result suggests that PVS inhibits both the classical and alternative complement pathways of the complement system. Next, the manner in which PVS exerts its effects on complement components was examined. PVS was found to inhibit generation of C4a and Ba generation in activation of the classical and alternative pathways, respectively. Moreover, when the EAC1 cells, which were carrying C1 on the EAs, treated with PVS were exposed to C1-deficient serum, hemolysis decreased in a PVS dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that PVS inhibits C1 in the classical pathway and C3 convertase formation in the alternative pathway. Therefore, PVS may be a useful polymer for developing an anticomplement device for cytomedical therapy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Vuocolo ◽  
Keren Byrne ◽  
Jason White ◽  
Sean McWilliam ◽  
Antonio Reverter ◽  
...  

The callipyge mutation in sheep results in postnatal skeletal muscle hypertrophy in the pelvic limbs and loins with little or no effect on anterior skeletal muscles. Associated with the phenotype are changes in the expression of a number of imprinted genes flanking the site of the mutation, which lies in an intergenic region at the telomeric end of ovine chromosome 18. The manner in which these local changes in gene expression are translated into muscle hypertrophy is not known. Microarray-based transcriptional profiling was used to identify differentially expressed genes in longissimus dorsi skeletal muscle samples taken at birth and 12 wk of age from callipyge and wild-type sheep. The phenotype was only expressed at the latter developmental time and associated with decreased type 1 fibers (slow oxidative) and a shift toward type IIx and IIb fibers (fast-twitch glycolytic). We have identified 131 genes in the samples taken at 12 wk of age that were differentially expressed as a function of genotype but not due to the fiber type changes. The gene expression changes occurring as a function of genotype in the samples taken at birth indicated that the transcriptional framework underpinning the phenotype was emerging prior to expression of the phenotype. Eight genes were differentially expressed as a function of genotype at both developmental times. A model is proposed describing a core network of genes and histone epigenetic modifications that is likely to underpin the fiber type changes and muscle hypertrophy characteristic of callipyge sheep.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21013-e21013
Author(s):  
Femke De Snoo ◽  
Justine Peeters ◽  
Kim Robinson ◽  
Lisette Stork-Sloots ◽  
Iris Simon ◽  
...  

e21013 Background: TheraPrint is a microarray-based gene expression panel of 125 genes identified as potential targets for prognosis and therapeutic response. These genes may hold the key to a greater level of personalized prognosis and therapy for BC pts. The aim of the current study was to assess the clinical relevance of the TheraPrint genes for either predictive and/or prognostic value in 2 patient cohorts treated with NCT. Methods: The 1st patient cohort are 68 Stage II-III BC pts treated with NCT. Expression data from Agilent full genome arrays, containing the MammaPrint, BluePrint and TheraPrint diagnostic profiles/probes (Somlo et al, 2009). Median FU 2.3 years. The 2nd patient cohort are 230 Stage I-III BC pts treated with NCT. Expression data from Affymetrix probe sets was publically available (Iwamoto et al, 2011). Median FU 5.2 years. To identify genes that are differentially expressed between responders (pCR/RCBI) and non-responders, a supervised analysis was performed. The analysis was performed across all pts and also within groups of HER2+ and HER2-. Univariate t-tests were performed, with results filtered by permutation p-value (p<0.05) and fold change of >1.5. Global test was also reported. In addition, survival data analysis was performed across all pts. Results: Overlapping genes between the 2 datasets that were significantly differentially expressed between responders and non-responders include: BCL2 (down-regulated) and CDH3, GRB7, KRT6B, KRT17 (up-regulated). When analysing the HER2- subgroup, 3 genes turned out to be differentially expressed between responders and non-responders in the 2 datasets: FLT1, PIK3R1 (down-regulated) and KRT6B (up-regulated). For the HER2+ subgroup, only one gene overlapped for the 2 datasets: IL2RA (up-regulated). The top canonical pathways for the significant genes have been analyzed, and in addition correlation of the TheraPrint gene expression with survival for these pt groups. Conclusions: This study has identified several genes from a panel of 125 TheraPrint genes with statistically significant correlation between expression and response to NCT.


Complement is the essential effector mechanism in humoral immunity to infection. Combination of antibody with antigen causes cross-linking, leading to precipitation of soluble antigens and agglutination of particular antigens, but no more. Unless complement is also present, agglutinated microorganisms can, in appropriate media in vitro grow out and form as lethal a culture as if not reacted with antibody. That this is also true in vivo is apparent from experience with patients with inherited deficiencies in complement components. The pattern is complex because of the presence of two pathways of activation, but in the rare cases of deficiency of the third component, C3, which is central to both pathways, the individuals are susceptible to repeated bacterial infections similar to aggammaglobulinaemics who are unable to synthesize antibodies. Both antibodies and complement are essential for effective humoral immunity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 996-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Perkins ◽  
H. E. Gilbert ◽  
M. Aslam ◽  
J. Hannan ◽  
V. M. Holers ◽  
...  

The short consensus/complement repeat (SCR) domain (also known as the complement control protein domain) is the most abundant domain type in the complement system. Crystal and NMR structures for proteins that contain single and multiple SCR domains have now been published. These contain inter-SCR linkers of between three and eight residues, and the structures show much variability in inter-SCR orientations. X-ray and neutron scattering, combined with analytical ultracentrifugation and constrained modelling based on known subunit structures will yield a medium-resolution structure for the protein of interest. The fewer parameters that are associated with the structure of interest, the more defined the structure of interest becomes. These solution studies have been applied to several SCR-containing proteins in the complement system, most notably Factor H with 20 SCR domains, a complement receptor type 2 fragment with two SCR domains, and rat complement receptor-related protein (Crry) which contains five SCR domains. The results show great conformational variability in the inter-SCR orientation, and these will be reviewed. Even though the rotational orientation cannot be modelled, it is nonetheless possible to measure the degree of extension of the multi-SCR proteins and, from this, to obtain functionally useful results.


Endocrinology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (3) ◽  
pp. 1059-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia D. Winn ◽  
Ronit Haimov-Kochman ◽  
Agnes C. Paquet ◽  
Y. Jean Yang ◽  
M. S. Madhusudhan ◽  
...  

Human placentation entails the remarkable integration of fetal and maternal cells into a single functional unit. In the basal plate region (the maternal-fetal interface) of the placenta, fetal cytotrophoblasts from the placenta invade the uterus and remodel the resident vasculature and avoid maternal immune rejection. Knowing the molecular bases for these unique cell-cell interactions is important for understanding how this specialized region functions during normal pregnancy with implications for tumor biology and transplantation immunology. Therefore, we undertook a global analysis of the gene expression profiles at the maternal-fetal interface. Basal plate biopsy specimens were obtained from 36 placentas (14–40 wk) at the conclusion of normal pregnancies. RNA was isolated, processed, and hybridized to HG-U133A&B Affymetrix GeneChips. Surprisingly, there was little change in gene expression during the 14- to 24-wk interval. In contrast, 418 genes were differentially expressed at term (37–40 wk) as compared with midgestation (14–24 wk). Subsequent analyses using quantitative PCR and immunolocalization approaches validated a portion of these results. Many of the differentially expressed genes are known in other contexts to be involved in differentiation, motility, transcription, immunity, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix dissolution, or lipid metabolism. One sixth were nonannotated or encoded hypothetical proteins. Modeling based on structural homology revealed potential functions for 31 of these proteins. These data provide a reference set for understanding the molecular components of the dialogue taking place between maternal and fetal cells in the basal plate as well as for future comparisons of alterations in this region that occur in obstetric complications.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1075-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Na ◽  
Dan Wang ◽  
Weiwei Song

ObjectiveSeveral placental microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as placenta-associated miRNAs with the potential of estimating the condition of the placenta. However, our understanding of these miRNAs is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of 8 placenta-associated miRNAs (miR-512-3p, miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, miR-519a, miR-1185, miR-1283, and miR-1323) in complete hydatidiform mole (CHM).MethodsSamples were obtained from patients with CHM (CHM group, n = 12) and elective terminations of normal pregnancy (control group, n = 20). We detected differentially expressed placenta-associated miRNAs in placenta by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction analysis. Subsequently, we assessed the expression location of differentially expressed miRNAs by in situ hybridization analysis.ResultsFour placenta-associated miRNAs (miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, and miR-519a) were underexpressed in the CHM group, compared with the control group (P < 0.01). When further investigating these 4 miRNAs with regard to in vivo localization by in situ hybridization, we found that 2 miRNAs (miR-517b and miR-518b) were detected exclusively in the trophoblast layer, with little signal (if any) observed in villous stroma cells.ConclusionsThe results show that 4 miRNAs (miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, and miR-519a) are deregulated in CHM, which suggests the involvement of these miRNAs in the functions of CHM placenta.


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