Near-Complete Genome Sequences of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Indiana Laboratory Strains HR and T1026R1 and Plaque Isolates 22-20 and 22-25

We report four near-complete genome sequences of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) Indiana obtained with Sanger and Illumina next-generation sequencing, namely, laboratory strains HR (heat resistant) and T1026R1 and isolates 22-20 and 22-25. Previously, only the M gene of these viruses had been sequenced, and these sequences were not deposited in GenBank

Glioblastoma cellular cross-talk converges on NF-κB to attenuate EGFR inhibitor sensitivity

Funding Information: We thank Dr. David James, Dr. Frederick Lang, Dr. Cameron Brennan, and Dr. Harley Kornblum for GBM-PDX neurospheres. We thank Dr. Karen Arden for continuous support and critical evaluation of the results. We thank Dr. Robert Davis, Dr. German Gomez, Dr. Tiffany Taylor, Dr. Rachel Reed, Dr. Melissa Mcalonis, and Dr. Sora Lee for technical support. In memory of Rosa Lupo. This work was supported by the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative, a subsidiary of the National Brain Tumor Society (F.B.F. and P.S.M.), R01-NS080939 (F.B.F.), the James S. McDonnell Foundation (F.B.F.), the National Cancer Institute (2T32CA009523-29A1) (A.H.T), and 1RO1NS097649-01 (C.C.C.). C.Z. was partially supported by an American-Italian Cancer Foundation post-doctoral research fellowship. F.L. received a Gao Feng Gao Yuan Scholarship Award. T.C.G., A.K.S., P.S.M., W.K.C., and F.B.F. receive salary and additional support from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Zanca et al.In glioblastoma (GBM), heterogeneous expression of amplified and mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) presents a substantial challenge for the effective use of EGFR-directed therapeutics. Here we demonstrate that heterogeneous expression of the wild-type receptor and its constitutively active mutant form, EGFRvIII, limits sensitivity to these therapies through an interclonal communication mechanism mediated by interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine secreted from EGFRvIII-positive tumor cells. IL-6 activates a NF-κB signaling axis in a paracrine and autocrine manner, leading to bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4)-dependent expression of the prosurvival protein survivin (BIRC5) and attenuation of sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). NF-κB and survivin are coordinately up-regulated in GBM patient tumors, and functional inhibition of either protein or BRD4 in in vitro and in vivo models restores sensitivity to EGFR TKIs. These results provide a rationale for improving anti-EGFR therapeutic efficacy through pharmacological uncoupling of a convergence point of NF-κB-mediated survival that is leveraged by an interclonal circuitry mechanism established by intratumoral mutational heterogeneity.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Multiplatform Analysis of 12 Cancer Types Reveals Molecular Classification within and across Tissues of Origin

Recent genomic analyses of pathologically-defined tumor types identify “within-a-tissue” disease subtypes. However, the extent to which genomic signatures are shared across tissues is still unclear. We performed an integrative analysis using five genome-wide platforms and one proteomic platform on 3,527 specimens from 12 cancer types, revealing a unified classification into 11 major subtypes. Five subtypes were nearly identical to their tissue-of-origin counterparts, but several distinct cancer types were found to converge into common subtypes. Lung squamous, head & neck, and a subset of bladder cancers coalesced into one subtype typified by TP53 alterations, TP63 amplifications, and high expression of immune and proliferation pathway genes. Of note, bladder cancers split into three pan-cancer subtypes. The multi-platform classification, while correlated with tissue-of-origin, provides independent information for predicting clinical outcomes. All datasets are available for data-mining from a unified resource to support further biological discoveries and insights into novel therapeutic strategies

A single-cell perspective on infection

Thesis: Ph. D. in Bioinformatics, Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, 2016.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-94).The clinical course of infection is ultimately determined by a series of cellular interactions between invading pathogens and host immune cells. It has long been understood that these interactions, even when they occur in tissue culture models, give rise to a wide variety of different outcomes, some beneficial to the host, others to the pathogen. These cellular interactions, however, are typically studied at a bulk level; masking this cell-to-cell variation, losing important information about the full range of possible host-pathogen interactions, and leaving the mechanistic basis for these different outcomes largely unexplored. Here, we present a system that combines single-cell RNA sequencing with fluorescent markers of infection outcome to directly correlate host transcription signatures with infection outcome at the single cell level. Applying this system to the well-characterized model of Salmonella enterica infection of mouse macrophages, we found: 1) Unique transcription signatures associated with bacterial exposure and bacterial infection, 2) Sustained high levels of heterogeneity in immune pathways in infected macrophages, and 3) A novel subpopulation of macrophages characterized by high expression of the Type I Interferon response after infection. Upon further investigation we found that this heterogeneity in the host Type I Interferon response was the result of heterogeneity in the population of infecting bacteria, namely in the extent of PhoPQ-mediated LPS modifications. This work highlights the importance of heterogeneity as a characteristic of bacterial populations that can influence the host immune response. It also demonstrates the benefits of examining infection with single-cell resolution.by Nathan Scott Haseley.Ph. D. in Bioinformatic

A highly multiplexed and sensitive RNA-seq protocol for simultaneous analysis of host and pathogen transcriptomes

The ability to simultaneously characterize the bacterial and host expression programs during infection would facilitate a comprehensive understanding of pathogen-host interactions. While RNA-Seq has greatly advanced our ability to study the transcriptomes of prokaryote and eukaryotes separately, limitations in existing protocols for generating and analyzing RNA-Seq data have hindered simultaneous profiling of host and bacterial pathogen transcripts from the same sample. Here we provide a detailed protocol for simultaneous analysis of host and bacterial transcripts by RNA-Seq. Importantly, this protocol details the steps required for efficient host and bacteria lysis, barcoding of samples, technical advances in sample preparation for low yield sample inputs and a computational pipeline to analyze both mammalian and microbial reads from mixed hostpathogen RNA-Seq data. Sample preparation takes 3 d from cultured cells to pooled libraries. Data analysis takes an additional day. Compared with previous methods, the protocol detailed here provides a sensitive, facile and generalizable approach, suitable for large-scale studies, which will enable the field to obtain in-depth analysis of hostpathogen interactions in infection models

The eradication of bacterial persisters with antibiotic-generated hydroxyl radical

During Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, a population of bacteria likely becomes refractory to antibiotic killing in the absence of genotypic resistance, making treatment challenging. We describe an in vitro model capable of yielding a phenotypically antibiotic-tolerant subpopulation of cells, often called persisters, within populations of Mycobacterium smegmatis and M. tuberculosis. We find that persisters are distinct from the larger antibiotic-susceptible population, as a small drop in dissolved oxygen (DO) saturation (20%) allows for their survival in the face of bactericidal antibiotics. In contrast, if high levels of DO are maintained, all cells succumb, sterilizing the culture. With increasing evidence that bactericidal antibiotics induce cell death through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we hypothesized that the drop in DO decreases the concentration of ROS, thereby facilitating persister survival, and maintenance of high DO yields sufficient ROS to kill persisters. Consistent with this hypothesis, the hydroxyl-radical scavenger thiourea, when added to M. smegmatis cultures maintained at high DO levels, rescues the persister population. Conversely, the antibiotic clofazimine, which increases ROS via an NADH-dependent redox cycling pathway, successfully eradicates the persister population. Recent work suggests that environmentally induced antibiotic tolerance of bulk populations may result from enhanced antioxidant capabilities. We now show that the small persister subpopulation within a larger antibiotic-susceptible population also shows differential susceptibility to antibiotic-induced hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, we show that stimulating ROS production can eradicate persisters, thus providing a potential strategy to managing persistent infections.National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) (Grant T32 HG002295

Pathogen Cell-to-Cell Variability Drives Heterogeneity in Host Immune Responses

Encounters between immune cells and invading bacteria ultimately determine the course of infection. These interactions are usually measured in populations of cells, masking cell-to-cell variation that may be important for infection outcome. To characterize the gene expression variation that underlies distinct infection outcomes and monitor infection phenotypes, we developed an experimental system that combines single-cell RNA-seq with fluorescent markers. Probing the responses of individual macrophages to invading Salmonella, we find that variation between individual infected host cells is determined by the heterogeneous activity of bacterial factors in individual infecting bacteria. We illustrate how variable PhoPQ activity in the population of invading bacteria drives variable host type I IFN responses by modifying LPS in a subset of bacteria. This work demonstrates a causative link between host and bacterial variability, with cell-to-cell variation between different bacteria being sufficient to drive radically different host immune responses. This co-variation has implications for host-pathogen dynamics in vivo.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant HG002295)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant DK043351)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant NIH U19AI109725)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant NIH F32 HD075541-02)National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) ((CEGS) Center of Cell Circuits (P50 HG006193))Klarman Cell Observator

Glioblastoma cellular cross-talk converges on NF-κB to attenuate EGFR inhibitor sensitivity

In glioblastoma (GBM), heterogeneous expression of amplified and mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) presents a substantial challenge for the effective use of EGFR-directed therapeutics. Here we demonstrate that heterogeneous expression of the wild-type receptor and its constitutively active mutant form, EGFRvIII, limits sensitivity to these therapies through an interclonal communication mechanism mediated by interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine secreted from EGFRvIII-positive tumor cells. IL-6 activates a NF-κB signaling axis in a paracrine and autocrine manner, leading to bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4)-dependent expression of the prosurvival protein survivin (BIRC5) and attenuation of sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). NF-κB and survivin are coordinately up-regulated in GBM patient tumors, and functional inhibition of either protein or BRD4 in in vitro and in vivo models restores sensitivity to EGFR TKIs. These results provide a rationale for improving anti-EGFR therapeutic efficacy through pharmacological uncoupling of a convergence point of NF-κB-mediated survival that is leveraged by an interclonal circuitry mechanism established by intratumoral mutational heterogeneity