scholarly journals Expression Patterns of the Neuropeptide Urocortin 3 and Its Receptor CRFR2 in the Mouse Central Auditory System

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Pagella ◽  
Jan M. Deussing ◽  
Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug

Sensory systems have to be malleable to context-dependent modulations occurring over different time scales, in order to serve their evolutionary function of informing about the external world while also eliciting survival-promoting behaviors. Stress is a major context-dependent signal that can have fast and delayed effects on sensory systems, especially on the auditory system. Urocortin 3 (UCN3) is a member of the corticotropin-releasing factor family. As a neuropeptide, UCN3 regulates synaptic activity much faster than the classic steroid hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Moreover, due to the lack of synaptic re-uptake mechanisms, UCN3 can have more long-lasting and far-reaching effects. To date, a modest number of studies have reported the presence of UCN3 or its receptor CRFR2 in the auditory system, particularly in the cochlea and the superior olivary complex, and have highlighted the importance of this stress neuropeptide for protecting auditory function. However, a comprehensive map of all neurons synthesizing UCN3 or CRFR2 within the auditory pathway is lacking. Here, we utilize two reporter mouse lines to elucidate the expression patterns of UCN3 and CRFR2 in the auditory system. Additional immunolabelling enables further characterization of the neurons that synthesize UCN3 or CRFR2. Surprisingly, our results indicate that within the auditory system, UCN3 is expressed predominantly in principal cells, whereas CRFR2 expression is strongest in non-principal, presumably multisensory, cell types. Based on the presence or absence of overlap between UCN3 and CRFR2 labeling, our data suggest unusual modes of neuromodulation by UCN3, involving volume transmission and autocrine signaling.

Author(s):  
Nuriye Yıldırım Gökay ◽  
Bülent Gündüz ◽  
Fatih Söke ◽  
Recep Karamert

Purpose The effects of neurological diseases on the auditory system have been a notable issue for investigators because the auditory pathway is closely associated with neural systems. The purposes of this study are to evaluate the efferent auditory system function and hearing quality in Parkinson's disease (PD) and to compare the findings with age-matched individuals without PD to present a perspective on aging. Method The study included 35 individuals with PD (mean age of 48.50 ± 8.00 years) and 35 normal-hearing peers (mean age of 49 ± 10 years). The following tests were administered for all participants: the first section of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale; pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflexes; and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and contralateral suppression of DPOAEs. SPSS Version 25 was used for statistical analyses, and values of p < .05 were considered statistically significant. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the pure-tone audiometry thresholds and DPOAE responses between the individuals with PD and their normal-hearing peers ( p = .732). However, statistically significant differences were found between the groups in suppression levels of DPOAEs and hearing quality ( p < .05). In addition, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the amount of suppression at some frequencies and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale scores. Conclusions This study indicates that medial olivocochlear efferent system function and the hearing quality of individuals with PD were affected adversely due to the results of PD pathophysiology on the hearing system. For optimal intervention and follow-up, tasks related to hearing quality in daily life can also be added to therapies for PD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (S3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Li ◽  
Ping Luo ◽  
Yi Lu ◽  
Fang-Xiang Wu

Abstract Background With the development of the technology of single-cell sequence, revealing homogeneity and heterogeneity between cells has become a new area of computational systems biology research. However, the clustering of cell types becomes more complex with the mutual penetration between different types of cells and the instability of gene expression. One way of overcoming this problem is to group similar, related single cells together by the means of various clustering analysis methods. Although some methods such as spectral clustering can do well in the identification of cell types, they only consider the similarities between cells and ignore the influence of dissimilarities on clustering results. This methodology may limit the performance of most of the conventional clustering algorithms for the identification of clusters, it needs to develop special methods for high-dimensional sparse categorical data. Results Inspired by the phenomenon that same type cells have similar gene expression patterns, but different types of cells evoke dissimilar gene expression patterns, we improve the existing spectral clustering method for clustering single-cell data that is based on both similarities and dissimilarities between cells. The method first measures the similarity/dissimilarity among cells, then constructs the incidence matrix by fusing similarity matrix with dissimilarity matrix, and, finally, uses the eigenvalues of the incidence matrix to perform dimensionality reduction and employs the K-means algorithm in the low dimensional space to achieve clustering. The proposed improved spectral clustering method is compared with the conventional spectral clustering method in recognizing cell types on several real single-cell RNA-seq datasets. Conclusions In summary, we show that adding intercellular dissimilarity can effectively improve accuracy and achieve robustness and that improved spectral clustering method outperforms the traditional spectral clustering method in grouping cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Halsall ◽  
Simon Andrews ◽  
Felix Krueger ◽  
Charlotte E. Rutledge ◽  
Gabriella Ficz ◽  
...  

AbstractChromatin configuration influences gene expression in eukaryotes at multiple levels, from individual nucleosomes to chromatin domains several Mb long. Post-translational modifications (PTM) of core histones seem to be involved in chromatin structural transitions, but how remains unclear. To explore this, we used ChIP-seq and two cell types, HeLa and lymphoblastoid (LCL), to define how changes in chromatin packaging through the cell cycle influence the distributions of three transcription-associated histone modifications, H3K9ac, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3. We show that chromosome regions (bands) of 10–50 Mb, detectable by immunofluorescence microscopy of metaphase (M) chromosomes, are also present in G1 and G2. They comprise 1–5 Mb sub-bands that differ between HeLa and LCL but remain consistent through the cell cycle. The same sub-bands are defined by H3K9ac and H3K4me3, while H3K27me3 spreads more widely. We found little change between cell cycle phases, whether compared by 5 Kb rolling windows or when analysis was restricted to functional elements such as transcription start sites and topologically associating domains. Only a small number of genes showed cell-cycle related changes: at genes encoding proteins involved in mitosis, H3K9 became highly acetylated in G2M, possibly because of ongoing transcription. In conclusion, modified histone isoforms H3K9ac, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 exhibit a characteristic genomic distribution at resolutions of 1 Mb and below that differs between HeLa and lymphoblastoid cells but remains remarkably consistent through the cell cycle. We suggest that this cell-type-specific chromosomal bar-code is part of a homeostatic mechanism by which cells retain their characteristic gene expression patterns, and hence their identity, through multiple mitoses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 9585
Author(s):  
Melania Dovizio ◽  
Patrizia Ballerini ◽  
Rosa Fullone ◽  
Stefania Tacconelli ◽  
Annalisa Contursi ◽  
...  

Platelets contribute to several types of cancer through plenty of mechanisms. Upon activation, platelets release many molecules, including growth and angiogenic factors, lipids, and extracellular vesicles, and activate numerous cell types, including vascular and immune cells, fibroblasts, and cancer cells. Hence, platelets are a crucial component of cell–cell communication. In particular, their interaction with cancer cells can enhance their malignancy and facilitate the invasion and colonization of distant organs. These findings suggest the use of antiplatelet agents to restrain cancer development and progression. Another peculiarity of platelets is their capability to uptake proteins and transcripts from the circulation. Thus, cancer-patient platelets show specific proteomic and transcriptomic expression patterns, a phenomenon called tumor-educated platelets (TEP). The transcriptomic/proteomic profile of platelets can provide information for the early detection of cancer and disease monitoring. Platelet ability to interact with tumor cells and transfer their molecular cargo has been exploited to design platelet-mediated drug delivery systems to enhance the efficacy and reduce toxicity often associated with traditional chemotherapy. Platelets are extraordinary cells with many functions whose exploitation will improve cancer diagnosis and treatment.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Piludu ◽  
Sean A. Rayment ◽  
Bing Liu ◽  
Gwynneth D. Offner ◽  
Frank G. Oppenheim ◽  
...  

The human salivary mucins MG1 and MG2 are well characterized biochemically and functionally. However, there is disagreement regarding their cellular and glandular sources. The aim of this study was to define the localization and distribution of these two mucins in human salivary glands using a postembedding immunogold labeling method. Normal salivary glands obtained at surgery were fixed in 3% paraformaldehyde-0.1% glutaraldehyde and embedded in Lowicryl K4M or LR Gold resin. Thin sections were labeled with rabbit antibodies to MG1 or to an N-terminal synthetic peptide of MG2, followed by gold-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG. The granules of all mucous cells of the submandibular and sublingual glands were intensely reactive with anti-MG1. No reaction was detected in serous cells. With anti-MG2, the granules of both mucous and serous cells showed reactivity. The labeling was variable in both cell types, with mucous cells exhibiting a stronger reaction in some glands and serous cells in others. In serous granules, the electron-lucent regions were more reactive than the dense cores. Intercalated duct cells near the acini displayed both MG1 and MG2 reactivity in their apical granules. In addition, the basal and lateral membranes of intercalated duct cells were labeled with anti-MG2. These results confirm those of earlier studies on MG1 localization in mucous cells and suggest that MG2 is produced by both mucous and serous cells. They also indicate differences in protein expression patterns among salivary serous cells.


Neuroscience ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 170 (4) ◽  
pp. 1270-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Charitidi ◽  
R.D. Frisina ◽  
O.N. Vasilyeva ◽  
X. Zhu ◽  
B. Canlon

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Uwe Benary ◽  
Elmar Wolf ◽  
Jana Wolf

The human MYC proto-oncogene protein (MYC) is a transcription factor that plays a major role in the regulation of cell proliferation. Deregulation of MYC expression is often found in cancer. In the last years, several hypotheses have been proposed to explain cell type specific MYC target gene expression patterns despite genome wide DNA binding of MYC. In a recent publication, a mathematical modelling approach in combination with experimental data demonstrated that differences in MYC-DNA-binding affinity are sufficient to explain distinct promoter occupancies and allow stratification of distinct MYC-regulated biological processes at different MYC concentrations. Here, we extend the analysis of the published mathematical model of DNA-binding behaviour of MYC to demonstrate that the insights gained in the investigation of the human osteosarcoma cell line U2OS can be generalized to other human cell types.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254194
Author(s):  
Hong-Tae Park ◽  
Woo Bin Park ◽  
Suji Kim ◽  
Jong-Sung Lim ◽  
Gyoungju Nah ◽  
...  

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is a causative agent of Johne’s disease, which is a chronic and debilitating disease in ruminants. MAP is also considered to be a possible cause of Crohn’s disease in humans. However, few studies have focused on the interactions between MAP and human macrophages to elucidate the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease. We sought to determine the initial responses of human THP-1 cells against MAP infection using single-cell RNA-seq analysis. Clustering analysis showed that THP-1 cells were divided into seven different clusters in response to phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) treatment. The characteristics of each cluster were investigated by identifying cluster-specific marker genes. From the results, we found that classically differentiated cells express CD14, CD36, and TLR2, and that this cell type showed the most active responses against MAP infection. The responses included the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as CCL4, CCL3, IL1B, IL8, and CCL20. In addition, the Mreg cell type, a novel cell type differentiated from THP-1 cells, was discovered. Thus, it is suggested that different cell types arise even when the same cell line is treated under the same conditions. Overall, analyzing gene expression patterns via scRNA-seq classification allows a more detailed observation of the response to infection by each cell type.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Becht ◽  
Daniel Tolstrup ◽  
Charles-Antoine Dutertre ◽  
Florent Ginhoux ◽  
Evan W. Newell ◽  
...  

AbstractModern immunologic research increasingly requires high-dimensional analyses in order to understand the complex milieu of cell-types that comprise the tissue microenvironments of disease. To achieve this, we developed Infinity Flow combining hundreds of overlapping flow cytometry panels using machine learning to enable the simultaneous analysis of the co-expression patterns of 100s of surface-expressed proteins across millions of individual cells. In this study, we demonstrate that this approach allows the comprehensive analysis of the cellular constituency of the steady-state murine lung and to identify novel cellular heterogeneity in the lungs of melanoma metastasis bearing mice. We show that by using supervised machine learning, Infinity Flow enhances the accuracy and depth of clustering or dimensionality reduction algorithms. Infinity Flow is a highly scalable, low-cost and accessible solution to single cell proteomics in complex tissues.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devanshi Patel ◽  
Xiaoling Zhang ◽  
John J. Farrell ◽  
Jaeyoon Chung ◽  
Thor D. Stein ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBecause regulation of gene expression is heritable and context-dependent, we investigated AD-related gene expression patterns in cell-types in blood and brain. Cis-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping was performed genome-wide in blood from 5,257 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) participants and in brain donated by 475 Religious Orders Study/Memory & Aging Project (ROSMAP) participants. The association of gene expression with genotypes for all cis SNPs within 1Mb of genes was evaluated using linear regression models for unrelated subjects and linear mixed models for related subjects. Cell type-specific eQTL (ct-eQTL) models included an interaction term for expression of “proxy” genes that discriminate particular cell type. Ct-eQTL analysis identified 11,649 and 2,533 additional significant gene-SNP eQTL pairs in brain and blood, respectively, that were not detected in generic eQTL analysis. Of note, 386 unique target eGenes of significant eQTLs shared between blood and brain were enriched in apoptosis and Wnt signaling pathways. Five of these shared genes are established AD loci. The potential importance and relevance to AD of significant results in myeloid cell-types is supported by the observation that a large portion of GWS ct-eQTLs map within 1Mb of established AD loci and 58% (23/40) of the most significant eGenes in these eQTLs have previously been implicated in AD. This study identified cell-type specific expression patterns for established and potentially novel AD genes, found additional evidence for the role of myeloid cells in AD risk, and discovered potential novel blood and brain AD biomarkers that highlight the importance of cell-type specific analysis.


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