A survey of ovary-, testis-, and soma-biased gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster adults

BACKGROUND: Sexual dimorphism results in the formation of two types of individuals with specialized reproductive roles and is most evident in the germ cells and gonads. RESULTS: We have undertaken a global analysis of transcription between the sexes using a 31,464 element FlyGEM microarray to determine what fraction of the genome shows sex-biased expression, what tissues express these genes, the predicted functions of these genes, and where these genes map onto the genome. Females and males (both with and without gonads), dissected testis and ovary, females and males with genetically ablated germlines, and sex-transformed flies were sampled. CONCLUSIONS: Using any of a number of criteria, we find extensive sex-biased expression in adults. The majority of cases of sex differential gene expression are attributable to the germ cells. There is also a large class of genes with soma-biased expression. There is little germline-biased expression indicating that nearly all genes with germline expression also show sex-bias. Monte Carlo simulations show that some genes with sex-biased expression are non-randomly distributed in the genome

Acute Myocardial Infarction and Pulmonary Diseases Result in Two Different Degradation Profiles of Elastin as Quantified by Two Novel ELISAs.

Elastin is a signature protein of the arteries and lungs, thus it was hypothesized that elastin is subject to enzymatic degradation during cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. The aim was to investigate if different fragments of the same protein entail different information associated to two different diseases and if these fragments have the potential of being diagnostic biomarkers.Monoclonal antibodies were raised against an identified fragment (the ELM-2 neoepitope) generated at the amino acid position '552 in elastin by matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -9/-12. A newly identified ELM neoepitope was generated by the same proteases but at amino acid position '441. The distribution of ELM-2 and ELM, in human arterial plaques and fibrotic lung tissues were investigated by immunohistochemistry. A competitive ELISA for ELM-2 was developed. The clinical relevance of the ELM and ELM-2 ELISAs was evaluated in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), no AMI, high coronary calcium, or low coronary calcium. The serological release of ELM-2 in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was compared to controls.ELM and ELM-2 neoepitopes were both localized in diseased carotid arteries and fibrotic lungs. In the cardiovascular cohort, ELM-2 levels were 66% higher in serum from AMI patients compared to patients with no AMI (p<0.01). Levels of ELM were not significantly increased in these patients and no correlation was observed between ELM-2 and ELM. ELM-2 was not elevated in the COPD and IPF patients and was not correlated to ELM. ELM was shown to be correlated with smoking habits (p<0.01).The ELM-2 neoepitope was related to AMI whereas the ELM neoepitope was related to pulmonary diseases. These results indicate that elastin neoepitopes generated by the same proteases but at different amino acid sites provide different tissue-related information depending on the disease in question

Tissue distribution of CD68, elastin (ELN), ELM and ELM-2.

<p>ELM and ELM-2 monoclonal antibodies were also mixed with the related free peptide as a control. A) Cross section of the plaque shoulder of a carotid artery from a 77 old man B) Left lung from a patient diagnosed with IPF. All pictures were taken with 10× magnification.</p

Summary table of the technical validation of the ELM-2 ELISA.

*<p>Percentage dilution recovery was calculated as the mean of 4 human samples diluted 1∶2 and 1∶4. **Inter- and intra-assay validation was calculated as the mean variation between 8 individual determinations of each human serum sample. ***The stability of the analyte (human serum) was calculated as the mean of three different serum samples tested after freeze/thaw for one to 4 times.</p