Differential effects of Th1, monocyte/macrophage and Th2 cytokine mixtures on early gene expression for glial and neural-related molecules in central nervous system mixed glial cell cultures: neurotrophins, growth factors and structural proteins-1

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Differential effects of Th1, monocyte/macrophage and Th2 cytokine mixtures on early gene expression for glial and neural-related molecules in central nervous system mixed glial cell cultures: neurotrophins, growth factors and structural proteins"</p><p>http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/4/1/30</p><p>Journal of Neuroinflammation 2007;4():30-30.</p><p>Published online 18 Dec 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2228280.</p><p></p>e IgM and Cy 3-conjugated donkey anti-mouse IgG. Cultures were examined by indirect immunofluoresence as above. Compared to control, the Th1 treated A2B5+ oligodendrocyte precursors have a much more mature appearance including more extensive process formation although the cells still express A2B5, but do not express MHC class II

Differential effects of Th1, monocyte/macrophage and Th2 cytokine mixtures on early gene expression for glial and neural-related molecules in central nervous system mixed glial cell cultures: neurotrophins, growth factors and structural proteins-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Differential effects of Th1, monocyte/macrophage and Th2 cytokine mixtures on early gene expression for glial and neural-related molecules in central nervous system mixed glial cell cultures: neurotrophins, growth factors and structural proteins"</p><p>http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/4/1/30</p><p>Journal of Neuroinflammation 2007;4():30-30.</p><p>Published online 18 Dec 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2228280.</p><p></p>(IgG) followed by Alexa 488-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgM and Cy 3-conjugated donkey anti-mouse IgG. Cultures were examined for indirect immunofluoresence employing a Leitz Orthoplan 2 fluorescent microscope. The Th1 treated microglia (ED-1+ cells) have a different appearance when compared to those incubated with additional medium (control). Control microglia do not express MHC class II whereas Th1 treated microglia strongly express MHC class II molecules

Scatter plot of exon 15 and 19 CNVs in the training cohort.

<p>Scatter plot of exon 15 and 19 CNVs in the training cohort.</p

Kaplan-Meier overall survival estimates in the validation cohort.

<p>Kaplan-Meier overall survival estimates in the validation cohort.</p

Exon 15 cutoff points and hazard ratio for death in the training cohort.

<p>Exon 15 cutoff points and hazard ratio for death in the training cohort.</p

Lead exposure induces changes in 5-hydroxymethylcytosine clusters in CpG islands in human embryonic stem cells and umbilical cord blood

<div><p>Prenatal exposure to neurotoxicants such as lead (Pb) may cause stable changes in the DNA methylation (5mC) profile of the fetal genome. However, few studies have examined its effect on the DNA de-methylation pathway, specifically the dynamic changes of the 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) profile. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the relationship between Pb exposure and 5mC and 5hmC modifications during early development. To study the changes in the 5hmC profile, we use a novel modification of the Infinium™ HumanMethylation450 assay (Illumina, Inc.), which we named HMeDIP-450K assay, in an <i>in vitro</i> human embryonic stem cell model of Pb exposure. We model Pb exposure-associated 5hmC changes as clusters of correlated, adjacent CpG sites, which are co-responding to Pb. We further extend our study to look at Pb-dependent changes in high density 5hmC regions in umbilical cord blood DNA from 48 mother-infant pairs from the Early Life Exposure in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) cohort. For our study, we randomly selected umbilical cord blood from 24 male and 24 female children from the 1st and 4th quartiles of Pb levels. Our data show that Pb-associated changes in the 5hmC and 5mC profiles can be divided into sex-dependent and sex-independent categories. Interestingly, differential 5mC sites are better markers of Pb-associated sex-dependent changes compared to differential 5hmC sites. In this study we identified several 5hmC and 5mC genomic loci, which we believe might have some potential as early biomarkers of prenatal Pb exposure.</p></div

Image_7_Integrated Systems Biology Approach Identifies Novel Maternal and Placental Pathways of Preeclampsia.pdf

<p>Preeclampsia is a disease of the mother, fetus, and placenta, and the gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions among their respective disease pathways preclude successful treatment and prevention. The placenta has a key role in the pathogenesis of the terminal pathway characterized by exaggerated maternal systemic inflammation, generalized endothelial damage, hypertension, and proteinuria. This sine qua non of preeclampsia may be triggered by distinct underlying mechanisms that occur at early stages of pregnancy and induce different phenotypes. To gain insights into these molecular pathways, we employed a systems biology approach and integrated different “omics,” clinical, placental, and functional data from patients with distinct phenotypes of preeclampsia. First trimester maternal blood proteomics uncovered an altered abundance of proteins of the renin-angiotensin and immune systems, complement, and coagulation cascades in patients with term or preterm preeclampsia. Moreover, first trimester maternal blood from preterm preeclamptic patients in vitro dysregulated trophoblastic gene expression. Placental transcriptomics of women with preterm preeclampsia identified distinct gene modules associated with maternal or fetal disease. Placental “virtual” liquid biopsy showed that the dysregulation of these disease gene modules originates during the first trimester. In vitro experiments on hub transcription factors of these gene modules demonstrated that DNA hypermethylation in the regulatory region of ZNF554 leads to gene down-regulation and impaired trophoblast invasion, while BCL6 and ARNT2 up-regulation sensitizes the trophoblast to ischemia, hallmarks of preterm preeclampsia. In summary, our data suggest that there are distinct maternal and placental disease pathways, and their interaction influences the clinical presentation of preeclampsia. The activation of maternal disease pathways can be detected in all phenotypes of preeclampsia earlier and upstream of placental dysfunction, not only downstream as described before, and distinct placental disease pathways are superimposed on these maternal pathways. This is a paradigm shift, which, in agreement with epidemiological studies, warrants for the central pathologic role of preexisting maternal diseases or perturbed maternal–fetal–placental immune interactions in preeclampsia. The description of these novel pathways in the “molecular phase” of preeclampsia and the identification of their hub molecules may enable timely molecular characterization of patients with distinct preeclampsia phenotypes.</p

Image_10_Integrated Systems Biology Approach Identifies Novel Maternal and Placental Pathways of Preeclampsia.pdf

<p>Preeclampsia is a disease of the mother, fetus, and placenta, and the gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions among their respective disease pathways preclude successful treatment and prevention. The placenta has a key role in the pathogenesis of the terminal pathway characterized by exaggerated maternal systemic inflammation, generalized endothelial damage, hypertension, and proteinuria. This sine qua non of preeclampsia may be triggered by distinct underlying mechanisms that occur at early stages of pregnancy and induce different phenotypes. To gain insights into these molecular pathways, we employed a systems biology approach and integrated different “omics,” clinical, placental, and functional data from patients with distinct phenotypes of preeclampsia. First trimester maternal blood proteomics uncovered an altered abundance of proteins of the renin-angiotensin and immune systems, complement, and coagulation cascades in patients with term or preterm preeclampsia. Moreover, first trimester maternal blood from preterm preeclamptic patients in vitro dysregulated trophoblastic gene expression. Placental transcriptomics of women with preterm preeclampsia identified distinct gene modules associated with maternal or fetal disease. Placental “virtual” liquid biopsy showed that the dysregulation of these disease gene modules originates during the first trimester. In vitro experiments on hub transcription factors of these gene modules demonstrated that DNA hypermethylation in the regulatory region of ZNF554 leads to gene down-regulation and impaired trophoblast invasion, while BCL6 and ARNT2 up-regulation sensitizes the trophoblast to ischemia, hallmarks of preterm preeclampsia. In summary, our data suggest that there are distinct maternal and placental disease pathways, and their interaction influences the clinical presentation of preeclampsia. The activation of maternal disease pathways can be detected in all phenotypes of preeclampsia earlier and upstream of placental dysfunction, not only downstream as described before, and distinct placental disease pathways are superimposed on these maternal pathways. This is a paradigm shift, which, in agreement with epidemiological studies, warrants for the central pathologic role of preexisting maternal diseases or perturbed maternal–fetal–placental immune interactions in preeclampsia. The description of these novel pathways in the “molecular phase” of preeclampsia and the identification of their hub molecules may enable timely molecular characterization of patients with distinct preeclampsia phenotypes.</p

Image_3_Integrated Systems Biology Approach Identifies Novel Maternal and Placental Pathways of Preeclampsia.pdf

<p>Preeclampsia is a disease of the mother, fetus, and placenta, and the gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions among their respective disease pathways preclude successful treatment and prevention. The placenta has a key role in the pathogenesis of the terminal pathway characterized by exaggerated maternal systemic inflammation, generalized endothelial damage, hypertension, and proteinuria. This sine qua non of preeclampsia may be triggered by distinct underlying mechanisms that occur at early stages of pregnancy and induce different phenotypes. To gain insights into these molecular pathways, we employed a systems biology approach and integrated different “omics,” clinical, placental, and functional data from patients with distinct phenotypes of preeclampsia. First trimester maternal blood proteomics uncovered an altered abundance of proteins of the renin-angiotensin and immune systems, complement, and coagulation cascades in patients with term or preterm preeclampsia. Moreover, first trimester maternal blood from preterm preeclamptic patients in vitro dysregulated trophoblastic gene expression. Placental transcriptomics of women with preterm preeclampsia identified distinct gene modules associated with maternal or fetal disease. Placental “virtual” liquid biopsy showed that the dysregulation of these disease gene modules originates during the first trimester. In vitro experiments on hub transcription factors of these gene modules demonstrated that DNA hypermethylation in the regulatory region of ZNF554 leads to gene down-regulation and impaired trophoblast invasion, while BCL6 and ARNT2 up-regulation sensitizes the trophoblast to ischemia, hallmarks of preterm preeclampsia. In summary, our data suggest that there are distinct maternal and placental disease pathways, and their interaction influences the clinical presentation of preeclampsia. The activation of maternal disease pathways can be detected in all phenotypes of preeclampsia earlier and upstream of placental dysfunction, not only downstream as described before, and distinct placental disease pathways are superimposed on these maternal pathways. This is a paradigm shift, which, in agreement with epidemiological studies, warrants for the central pathologic role of preexisting maternal diseases or perturbed maternal–fetal–placental immune interactions in preeclampsia. The description of these novel pathways in the “molecular phase” of preeclampsia and the identification of their hub molecules may enable timely molecular characterization of patients with distinct preeclampsia phenotypes.</p

Image_11_Integrated Systems Biology Approach Identifies Novel Maternal and Placental Pathways of Preeclampsia.pdf

<p>Preeclampsia is a disease of the mother, fetus, and placenta, and the gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions among their respective disease pathways preclude successful treatment and prevention. The placenta has a key role in the pathogenesis of the terminal pathway characterized by exaggerated maternal systemic inflammation, generalized endothelial damage, hypertension, and proteinuria. This sine qua non of preeclampsia may be triggered by distinct underlying mechanisms that occur at early stages of pregnancy and induce different phenotypes. To gain insights into these molecular pathways, we employed a systems biology approach and integrated different “omics,” clinical, placental, and functional data from patients with distinct phenotypes of preeclampsia. First trimester maternal blood proteomics uncovered an altered abundance of proteins of the renin-angiotensin and immune systems, complement, and coagulation cascades in patients with term or preterm preeclampsia. Moreover, first trimester maternal blood from preterm preeclamptic patients in vitro dysregulated trophoblastic gene expression. Placental transcriptomics of women with preterm preeclampsia identified distinct gene modules associated with maternal or fetal disease. Placental “virtual” liquid biopsy showed that the dysregulation of these disease gene modules originates during the first trimester. In vitro experiments on hub transcription factors of these gene modules demonstrated that DNA hypermethylation in the regulatory region of ZNF554 leads to gene down-regulation and impaired trophoblast invasion, while BCL6 and ARNT2 up-regulation sensitizes the trophoblast to ischemia, hallmarks of preterm preeclampsia. In summary, our data suggest that there are distinct maternal and placental disease pathways, and their interaction influences the clinical presentation of preeclampsia. The activation of maternal disease pathways can be detected in all phenotypes of preeclampsia earlier and upstream of placental dysfunction, not only downstream as described before, and distinct placental disease pathways are superimposed on these maternal pathways. This is a paradigm shift, which, in agreement with epidemiological studies, warrants for the central pathologic role of preexisting maternal diseases or perturbed maternal–fetal–placental immune interactions in preeclampsia. The description of these novel pathways in the “molecular phase” of preeclampsia and the identification of their hub molecules may enable timely molecular characterization of patients with distinct preeclampsia phenotypes.</p