Therapeutic potential of KLF2-induced exosomal microRNAs in pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe disorder of lung vasculature that causes right heart failure. Homeostatic effects of flow-activated transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) are compromised in PAH. Here we show that KLF2-induced exosomal microRNAs, miR-181a-5p and miR-324-5p act together to attenuate pulmonary vascular remodeling and that their actions are mediated by Notch4 and ETS1 and other key regulators of vascular homeostasis. Expressions of KLF2, miR-181a-5p and miR-324-5p are reduced, while levels of their target genes are elevated in pre-clinical PAH, idiopathic PAH and heritable PAH with missense p.H288Y KLF2 mutation. Therapeutic supplementation of miR-181a-5p and miR-324-5p reduces proliferative and angiogenic responses in patient-derived cells and attenuates disease progression in PAH mice. This study shows that reduced KLF2 signaling is a common feature of human PAH and highlights the potential therapeutic role of KLF2-regulated exosomal miRNAs in PAH and other diseases associated with vascular remodelling

Experimental Verification of a Predicted Intronic MicroRNA in Human NGFR Gene with a Potential Pro-Apoptotic Function

Neurotrophins (NTs) are a family of secreted growth factor proteins primarily involved in the regulation of survival and appropriate development of neural cells, functioning by binding to their specific (TrkA, TtkB, and TrkC) and/or common NGFR receptor. NGFR is the common receptor of NTs, binding with low-affinity to all members of the family. Among different functions assigned to NGFR, it is also involved in apoptosis induction and tumorigenesis processes. Interestingly, some of the functions of NGFR appear to be ligand-independent, suggesting a probable involvement of non-coding RNA residing within the sequence of the gene. Here, we are reporting the existence of a conserved putative microRNA, named Hsa-mir-6165 [EBI accession#: FR873488]. Transfection of a DNA segment corresponding to the pre-mir-6165 sequence in Hela cell line caused the generation of mature exogenous mir-6165 (a ∼200,000 fold overexpression). Furthermore, using specific primers, we succeeded to detect the endogenous expression of mir-6165 in several glioma cell lines and glioma primary tumors known to express NGFR. Similar to the pro-apoptotic role of NGFR in some cell types, overexpression of pre-mir-6165 in U87 cell line resulted in an elevated rate of apoptosis. Moreover, coordinated with the increased level of mir-6165 in the transfected U87 cell line, two of its predicted target genes (Pkd1 and DAGLA) were significantly down-regulated. The latter findings suggest that some of the previously attributed functions of NGFR could be explained indirectly by co-transcription of mir-6165 in the cells

MicroRNAs hsa-miR-99b, hsa-miR-330, hsa-miR-126 and hsa-miR-30c: Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Natural Killer (NK) Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) is a complex multisystem disease of unknown aetiology which causes debilitating symptoms in up to 1% of the global population. Although a large cohort of genes have been shown to exhibit altered expression in CFS/ME patients, it is currently unknown whether microRNA (miRNA) molecules which regulate gene translation contribute to disease pathogenesis. We hypothesized that changes in microRNA expression in patient leukocytes contribute to CFS/ME pathology, and may therefore represent useful diagnostic biomarkers that can be detected in the peripheral blood of CFS/ME patients.miRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from CFS/ME patients and healthy controls was analysed using the Ambion Bioarray V1. miRNA demonstrating differential expression were validated by qRT-PCR and then replicated in fractionated blood leukocyte subsets from an independent patient cohort. The CFS/ME associated miRNA identified by these experiments were then transfected into primary NK cells and gene expression analyses conducted to identify their gene targets.Microarray analysis identified differential expression of 34 miRNA, all of which were up-regulated. Four of the 34 miRNA had confirmed expression changes by qRT-PCR. Fractionating PBMC samples by cell type from an independent patient cohort identified changes in miRNA expression in NK-cells, B-cells and monocytes with the most significant abnormalities occurring in NK cells. Transfecting primary NK cells with hsa-miR-99b or hsa-miR-330-3p, resulted in gene expression changes consistent with NK cell activation but diminished cytotoxicity, suggesting that defective NK cell function contributes to CFS/ME pathology.This study demonstrates altered microRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CFS/ME patients, which are potential diagnostic biomarkers. The greatest degree of miRNA deregulation was identified in NK cells with targets consistent with cellular activation and altered effector function

Long non-coding RNAs and cancer: a new frontier of translational research?

Author manuscriptTiling array and novel sequencing technologies have made available the transcription profile of the entire human genome. However, the extent of transcription and the function of genetic elements that occur outside of protein-coding genes, particularly those involved in disease, are still a matter of debate. In this review, we focus on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are involved in cancer. We define lncRNAs and present a cancer-oriented list of lncRNAs, list some tools (for example, public databases) that classify lncRNAs or that scan genome spans of interest to find whether known lncRNAs reside there, and describe some of the functions of lncRNAs and the possible genetic mechanisms that underlie lncRNA expression changes in cancer, as well as current and potential future applications of lncRNA research in the treatment of cancer.RS is supported as a fellow of the TALENTS Programme (7th R&D Framework Programme, Specific Programme: PEOPLE—Marie Curie Actions—COFUND). MIA is supported as a PhD fellow of the FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia), Portugal. GAC is supported as a fellow by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Research Trust, as a research scholar by The University of Texas System Regents, and by the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Global Research Foundation. Work in GAC’s laboratory is supported in part by the NIH/ NCI (CA135444); a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Idea Award; Developmental Research Awards from the Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Brain Cancer, Multiple Myeloma and Leukemia Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants from the National Institutes of Health; a 2009 Seena Magowitz–Pancreatic Cancer Action Network AACR Pilot Grant; the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the RGK Foundation

De novo assembly of a transcriptome from the eggs and early embryos of Astropecten aranciacus

Starfish have been instrumental in many fields of biological and ecological research. Oocytes of Astropecten aranciacus, a common species native to the Mediterranean Sea and the East Atlantic, have long been used as an experimental model to study meiotic maturation, fertilization, intracellular Ca2+ signaling, and cell cycle controls. However, investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms has often been hampered by the overall lack of DNA or protein sequences for the species. In this study, we have assembled a transcriptome for this species from the oocytes, eggs, zygotes, and early embryos, which are known to have the highest RNA sequence complexity. Annotation of the transcriptome identified over 32,000 transcripts including the ones that encode 13 distinct cyclins and as many cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK), as well as the expected components of intracellular Ca2+ signaling toolkit. Although the mRNAs of cyclin and CDK families did not undergo significant abundance changes through the stages from oocyte to early embryo, as judged by real-time PCR, the transcript encoding Mos, a negative regulator of mitotic cell cycle, was drastically reduced during the period of rapid cleavages. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using the homologous amino acid sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I from A. aranciacus and 30 other starfish species indicated that Paxillosida, to which A. aranciacus belongs, is not likely to be the most basal order in Asteroidea. Taken together, the first transcriptome we assembled in this species is expected to enable us to perform comparative studies and to design gene-specific molecular tools with which to tackle long-standing biological questions

Physicochemical Properties of Alginate Gel Beads

Alginate gel heads are used in many applications as matrices for release or immobilisation. Until now, the parameters (such as type and concentration of cation, ionic strength and pH) of the beads formation solution in which the Na-alginate solution was dropped were not deeply studied. Therefore, ill this paper, the gel formation of alginate beads and their behavior in demineralized water has been investigated carefully. The results obtained in the present study about the gel formation showed that (1) the type anti the concentration of the cation play a determinant role bl the gel formation phenomenon giving beads of different volumes and characteristics; (2) the weight and volume losses occurring in the 'syneresis' are essentially by water elimination; (3) NaCl, which gives the ionic strength of the beads formation solution, plays two roles. a competitor with calcium and a screen in the electrostatic repulsion; and (4) finally, the pH controls the gel formation process as regulator in the dissociation of the alginate and in the complexation of the calcium cations. A study by weight damage dynamic analysis was also carried out. The results showed that the transfer of a head from its formation solution into demineralized water provokes a modification of its volume, weight and stability. These results are important to understand the behavior of bends in their utilization medium