Expression of the Thyroid Hormone Receptor Gene, erbAα, in B Lymphocytes: Alternative mRNA Processing is Independent of Differentiation but Correlates with Antisense RNA Levels

The erbAα gene encodes two α-thyroid hormone receptor isoforms, TRα1 and TRα2, which arise from alternatively processed mRNAs, erbAα1 (α1) and erb α2 (α2). The splicing and alternative polyadenylation patterns of these mRNAs resemble that of mRNAs encoding different forms of immunoglobulin heavy chains, which are regulated at the level of alternative processing during B cell differentiation. This study examines the levels of erbAα mRNA in eight B cell lines representing four stages of differentiation in order to determine whether regulation of the alternatively processed α1 and α2 mRNAs parallels the processing of immunoglobulin heavy chain mRNAs. Results show that the pattern of α1 and α2 mRNA expression is clearly different from that observed for immunoglobulin heavy chain mRNAs. B cell lines display characteristic ratios of α1/α2 mRNA at distinct stages of differentiation. Furthermore, expression of an overlapping gene, Rev-ErbAα (RevErb), was found to correlate strongly with an increase in the ratio of α1/α2 mRNA. These results suggest that alternative processing of erbAα mRNAs is regulated by a mechanism which is distinct from that regulating immunoglobulin mRNA. The correlation between RevErb and erbAα mRNA is consistent with negative regulation of α2 via antisense interactions with the complementary RevErb mRNA

Tapping the “Town and Gown” Potential for Correctional Health Research Collaborations

Background: Collaborations between juvenile justice systems (town) and academia (gown) promise to significantly enhance what we understand about high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) found among detained populations, particularly African American young women. However, research related to the sexual health of adolescent detainees has not occurred in proportion to the magnitude of issues found in the population. While there are many challenges to conducting research with this population, there are also lessons learned and best practices from other studies that may provide guidance. Methods: In 2015, we implemented a pilot project with young women in a detention center to understand the association between STIs and relationship dynamics. Using a formative assessment-based approach, the team periodically compared expectations to actual milestones and outcomes. This approach has provided feedback, guidance and lessons learned that we will use to adjust our pilot project. Results: Three challenges emerged from our review: concerns related to different agendas, bureaucratic difficulties and human protection. In addressing these challenges, we identified study procedures to revise and to incorporate into future works. Conclusions: Juvenile justice and academic partnerships require extensive pre-research work to account for the many challenges to implementing and conducting projects with this population. However, “town and gown” approaches to understanding and improving the sexual health of detainees can result in a more complete assessment of these issues compared to either a solely academic or juvenile justice investigation

Moving towards effective therapeutic strategies for Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis.

The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a family of autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorders that annually affect 1:100,000 live births worldwide. This family of diseases results from mutations in one of 14 different genes that share common clinical and pathological etiologies. Clinically, the diseases are subcategorized into infantile, late-infantile, juvenile and adult forms based on their age of onset. Though the disease phenotypes may vary in their age and order of presentation, all typically include progressive visual deterioration and blindness, cognitive impairment, motor deficits and seizures. Pathological hallmarks of NCLs include the accumulation of storage material or ceroid in the lysosome, progressive neuronal degeneration and massive glial activation. Advances have been made in genetic diagnosis and counseling for families. However, comprehensive treatment programs that delay or halt disease progression have been elusive. Current disease management is primarily targeted at controlling the symptoms rather than curing the disease. Recognizing the growing need for transparency and synergistic efforts to move the field forward, this review will provide an overview of the therapeutic approaches currently being pursued in preclinical and clinical trials to treat different forms of NCL as well as provide insight to novel therapeutic approaches in development for the NCLs

Searching for Novel Biomarkers Using a Mouse Model of CLN3-Batten Disease

CLN3-Batten disease is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder involving seizures, visual, motor and cognitive decline, and premature death. The Cln3Δex7/8 mouse model recapitulates several phenotypic characteristics of the most common 1.02kb disease-associated deletion. Identification of reproducible biomarker(s) to facilitate longitudinal monitoring of disease progression and provide readouts for therapeutic response has remained elusive. One factor that has complicated the identification of suitable biomarkers in this mouse model has been that variations in animal husbandry appear to significantly influence readouts. In the current study, we cross-compared a number of biological parameters in blood from Cln3Δex7/8 mice and control, non-disease mice on the same genetic background from multiple animal facilities in an attempt to better define a surrogate marker of CLN3-Batten disease. Interestingly, we found that significant differences between Batten and non-disease mice found at one site were generally not maintained across different facilities. Our results suggest that colony variation in the Cln3Δex7/8 mouse model of CLN3-Batten disease can influence potential biomarkers of the disease

MicroRNAs are exported from malignant cells in customized particles

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are released from cells in association with proteins or microvesicles. We previously reported that malignant transformation changes the assortment of released miRNAs by affecting whether a particular miRNA species is released or retained by the cell. How this selectivity occurs is unclear. Here we report that selectively exported miRNAs, whose release is increased in malignant cells, are packaged in structures that are different from those that carry neutrally released miRNAs (n-miRNAs), whose release is not affected by malignancy. By separating breast cancer cell microvesicles, we find that selectively released miRNAs associate with exosomes and nucleosomes. However, n-miRNAs of breast cancer cells associate with unconventional exosomes, which are larger than conventional exosomes and enriched in CD44, a protein relevant to breast cancer metastasis. Based on their large size, we call these vesicles L-exosomes. Contrary to the distribution of miRNAs among different microvesicles of breast cancer cells, normal cells release all measured miRNAs in a single type of vesicle. Our results suggest that malignant transformation alters the pathways through which specific miRNAs are exported from cells. These changes in the particles and their miRNA cargo could be used to detect the presence of malignant cells in the body

Plasma Components Affect Accuracy of Circulating Cancer-Related MicroRNA Quantitation

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as candidate biomarkers of various diseases and conditions including malignancy and pregnancy. This approach requires sensitive and accurate quantitation of miRNA concentrations in body fluids. Herein we report that enzyme-based miRNA quantitation, which is currently the mainstream approach for identifying differences in miRNA abundance among samples, is skewed by endogenous serum factors that co-purify with miRNAs and anticoagulant agents used during collection. Of importance, different miRNAs were affected to varying extent among patient samples. By developing measures to overcome these interfering activities, we increased the accuracy, and improved the sensitivity of miRNA detection up to 30-fold. Overall, the present study outlines key factors that prevent accurate miRNA quantitation in body fluids and provides approaches that enable faithful quantitation of miRNA abundance in body fluids

MicroRNA Detection in Plasma Samples

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Comprehensive splice-site analysis using comparative genomics

We have collected over half a million splice sites from five species—Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and Arabidopsis thaliana—and classified them into four subtypes: U2-type GT–AG and GC–AG and U12-type GT–AG and AT–AC. We have also found new examples of rare splice-site categories, such as U12-type introns without canonical borders, and U2-dependent AT–AC introns. The splice-site sequences and several tools to explore them are available on a public website (SpliceRack). For the U12-type introns, we find several features conserved across species, as well as a clustering of these introns on genes. Using the information content of the splice-site motifs, and the phylogenetic distance between them, we identify: (i) a higher degree of conservation in the exonic portion of the U2-type splice sites in more complex organisms; (ii) conservation of exonic nucleotides for U12-type splice sites; (iii) divergent evolution of C.elegans 3′ splice sites (3′ss) and (iv) distinct evolutionary histories of 5′ and 3′ss. Our study proves that the identification of broad patterns in naturally-occurring splice sites, through the analysis of genomic datasets, provides mechanistic and evolutionary insights into pre-mRNA splicing

A second generation radiation hybrid map to aid the assembly of the bovine genome sequence

BACKGROUND: Several approaches can be used to determine the order of loci on chromosomes and hence develop maps of the genome. However, all mapping approaches are prone to errors either arising from technical deficiencies or lack of statistical support to distinguish between alternative orders of loci. The accuracy of the genome maps could be improved, in principle, if information from different sources was combined to produce integrated maps. The publicly available bovine genomic sequence assembly with 6× coverage (Btau_2.0) is based on whole genome shotgun sequence data and limited mapping data however, it is recognised that this assembly is a draft that contains errors. Correcting the sequence assembly requires extensive additional mapping information to improve the reliability of the ordering of sequence scaffolds on chromosomes. The radiation hybrid (RH) map described here has been contributed to the international sequencing project to aid this process. RESULTS: An RH map for the 30 bovine chromosomes is presented. The map was built using the Roslin 3000-rad RH panel (BovGen RH map) and contains 3966 markers including 2473 new loci in addition to 262 amplified fragment-length polymorphisms (AFLP) and 1231 markers previously published with the first generation RH map. Sequences of the mapped loci were aligned with published bovine genome maps to identify inconsistencies. In addition to differences in the order of loci, several cases were observed where the chromosomal assignment of loci differed between maps. All the chromosome maps were aligned with the current 6× bovine assembly (Btau_2.0) and 2898 loci were unambiguously located in the bovine sequence. The order of loci on the RH map for BTA 5, 7, 16, 22, 25 and 29 differed substantially from the assembled bovine sequence. From the 2898 loci unambiguously identified in the bovine sequence assembly, 131 mapped to different chromosomes in the BovGen RH map. CONCLUSION: Alignment of the BovGen RH map with other published RH and genetic maps showed higher consistency in marker order and chromosome assignment than with the current 6× sequence assembly. This suggests that the bovine sequence assembly could be significantly improved by incorporating additional independent mapping information

Biogenesis of mammalian microRNAs by a non-canonical processing pathway

Canonical microRNA biogenesis requires the Microprocessor components, Drosha and DGCR8, to generate precursor-miRNA, and Dicer to form mature miRNA. The Microprocessor is not required for processing of some miRNAs, including mirtrons, in which spliceosome-excised introns are direct Dicer substrates. In this study, we examine the processing of putative human mirtrons and demonstrate that although some are splicing-dependent, as expected, the predicted mirtrons, miR-1225 and miR-1228, are produced in the absence of splicing. Remarkably, knockout cell lines and knockdown experiments demonstrated that biogenesis of these splicing-independent mirtron-like miRNAs, termed ‘simtrons’, does not require the canonical miRNA biogenesis components, DGCR8, Dicer, Exportin-5 or Argonaute 2. However, simtron biogenesis was reduced by expression of a dominant negative form of Drosha. Simtrons are bound by Drosha and processed in vitro in a Drosha-dependent manner. Both simtrons and mirtrons function in silencing of target transcripts and are found in the RISC complex as demonstrated by their interaction with Argonaute proteins. These findings reveal a non-canonical miRNA biogenesis pathway that can produce functional regulatory RNAs