Cutaneous malignant melanoma is among the most deadly human cancers, broadly resistant to most clinical therapies. A majority of patients with BRAFV600E melanomas respond well to inhibitors such as vemurafenib, but all ultimately relapse. Moreover, there are no viable treatment options available for other non-BRAF melanoma subtypes in the clinic. A key to improving treatment options lies in a better understanding of mechanisms underlying melanoma progression, which are complex and heterogeneous. In this study we perform gene expression profilling of highly and poorly malignant melanocytic tumors from genetically engineered mouse models to discover important drivers of cancer progression.
Integrated Genomics Identifies miR-32/MCL-1 Pathway as a Critical Driver of Melanomagenesis: Implications for miR-Replacement and Combination Therapy.
Specimen part
View SamplesFibrogenic processes instigate fatal chronic diseases leading to organ failure and death. Underlying biological processes involve induced massive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) by aberrant fibroblasts. We subjected diseased primary human lung fibroblasts to an advanced 3D phenotypic high-content assay and screened a library of FDA/EMA approved small molecules for inhibiting ECM deposition. Fibrotic Pattern Detection by Artificial Intelligence (FANTAIL) identified Tranilast as an effective inhibitor, however, by structure-activity relationship studies we found N-(2-butoxyphenyl)-3-(phenyl)acrylamides (N23Ps) as a novel and highly potent compound class. N23Ps suppressed myofibroblast transdifferentiation, ECM deposition, cellular contractility, and altered cell shapes, thus advocating a unique mode of action. Mechanistically, transcriptomics identified SMAD (de)ubiquitination/Smurf2 as a potential therapeutic target network. Antifibrotic activity of N23Ps was verified by proteomics in a human ex vivo tissue fibrosis disease model, suppressing profibrotic markers SERPINE1/PAI1 and CXCL8/IL8. Conclusively, these data suggest N23Ps as a novel class of highly potent compounds with implications for inhibiting organ fibrosis in patients.
Phenotypic drug screening in a human fibrosis model identified a novel class of antifibrotic therapeutics.
Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesDyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited multi-system disorder, characterized by oral leukoplakia, nail dystrophy, and abnormal skin pigmentation, as well as high rates of bone marrow failure, solid tumors, and other medical problems such as osteopenia. DC and telomere biology disorders (collectively referred to as TBD here) are caused by germline mutations in telomere biology genes leading to very short telomeres and limited proliferative potential of hematopoietic stem cells. We found that skeletal stem cells (SSCs) within the bone marrow stromal cell population (BMSCs, also known as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells), may contribute to the hematological phenotype.
Molecular profile of clonal strains of human skeletal stem/progenitor cells with different potencies.
Cell line
View SamplesIn this study we obtained gene expression profiles of MCFS and parental MCF7 cell lines using Illumina microarrays
In-depth characterization of breast cancer tumor-promoting cell transcriptome by RNA sequencing and microarrays.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Age- and pregnancy-associated DNA methylation changes in mammary epithelial cells.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesMammary gland development and luminal differentiation occur largely postnatally during puberty and pregnancy. We found that pregnancy had the most significant effects on stem cells, inducing a distinct epigenetic state that remained stable through life.
Age- and pregnancy-associated DNA methylation changes in mammary epithelial cells.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesMammary gland development and luminal differentiation occur largely postnatally during puberty and pregnancy. To explore the role of DNA methylation in luminal cell differentiation and pregnancy-induced changes, we determined the genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression profiles of mammary epithelial stem, luminal progenitor, and mature luminal cells at different reproductive stages. We found that pregnancy had the most significant effects on stem cells, inducing a distinct epigenetic state that remained stable through life. Integrated analysis of gene expression, DNA methylation, and histone modification profiles revealed cell type and reproductive stage-specific changes in molecular signatures. We also identified p27 and TGF signaling as key regulators of luminal progenitor cell proliferation based on their expression patterns and by the use of explant cultures. Our results suggest relatively minor changes in DNA methylation during luminal cell differentiation as compared to the significant effects of pregnancy on mammary epithelial stem cells.
Age- and pregnancy-associated DNA methylation changes in mammary epithelial cells.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesMET expression is elevated in a majority of human skin cancers but its contributions to pathogenesis have not been evaluated. In a mouse model of constitutive overexpression of HGF (MT-HGF), the incidence of squamous cell skin tumors induced by initiation with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) followed by exposure to 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) is increased fivefold over control groups. Half of these tumors carry Hras1 or Kras mutations. Without DMBA initiation, tumors also erupt on MT-HGF mouse skin but only when TPA promotion is enhanced by crossing these mice with mice overexpressing cutaneous PKC. None of these tumors have Ras mutations. In culture, MT-HGF keratinocytes share identical MET mediated phenotypic and biochemical features with wildtype keratinocytes transformed by oncogenic RAS. In both cell types, these common features of initiated keratinocytes arise from autocrine activation of EGFR through elevated expression and release of EGFR ligands. Inhibition of EGFR ablates the initiated signature of MT-HGF keratinocytes in vitro and causes regression of MT-HGF induced tumors in vivo. Global gene expression data indicate that MT-HGF and RAS transformed keratinocytes share largely an identical profile of over 5000 mRNAs. Gene ontology analysis reveals the most affected concordant signature is enriched for functions relevant to tissue development and response to wounding, accompanied by cytokine and growth factor activity, and peptidase and endopeptidase activity previously not linked to initiated keratinocytes. Furthermore, gene co-expression analysis in skin cancer patients revealed a core RAS/MET co-expression network considerably activated in pre cancerous and cancerous lesions. Thus MET activation though EGFR contributes to human cutaneous cancers, and inhibitors could be efficacious in advanced lesions such as those seen in transplant recipient patients.
MET signaling in keratinocytes activates EGFR and initiates squamous carcinogenesis.
Specimen part
View SamplesIn Multiple Sclerosis, the pathological interaction of autoreactive helper T (TH) cells with mononuclear phagocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) drives initiation and maintenance of chronic neuroinflammation. Herein, we found that intrathecal transplantation of neural stem cells (NPCs) in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) impairs the accumulation of inflammatory monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) in the CNS leading to improved clinical outcome. NPCs treatment reduced in the CNS IL-23, IL-1 and TNF-a, cytokines required for terminal differentiation of TH cells and accordingly GM-CSF-producing pathogenic TH cells. In vivo and in vitro transcriptome analyses disclosed that NPC secreted factors induce an inhibition of DC differentiation and maturation, favoring a fate switch towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype. We identified TGF-ß2 as the crucial mediator of NPC immunomodulation: TGFß2 knockout NPCs transplanted in EAE are ineffective in impairing moDC accumulation within the CNS and fail to drive clinical improvement. This study provides evidence that intrathecally injected NPCs interfere with CNS-compartmentalized inflammation of the effector phase of EAE, reprogramming, through the secretion of TGF-ß2, inflammatory monocyte-derived DCs towards anti-inflammatory myeloid cells. Overall design: mRNA profiles of monocyte derived-dendritic cells (moDCs) isolated by FACS sorting at 7 days post-treatment from the CNS (hindbrain and spinal cord) of quadruplicate pool of 4–7 MOG35-55-immunized C57Bl/6 mice either intrathecally injected with PBS or 1 million neural precursor cells (NPCs) at the peak of the disease (2-4 days after clinical onset).
Neural precursor cell-secreted TGF-β2 redirects inflammatory monocyte-derived cells in CNS autoimmunity.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesDyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited multi-system disorder, characterized by oral leukoplakia, nail dystrophy, and abnormal skin pigmentation, as well as high rates of bone marrow failure, solid tumors, and other medical problems such as osteopenia. DC and telomere biology disorders (collectively referred to as TBD here) are caused by germline mutations in telomere biology genes leading to very short telomeres and limited proliferative potential of hematopoietic stem cells. We found that skeletal stem cells (SSCs) within the bone marrow stromal cell population (BMSCs, also known as bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells), may contribute to the hematological phenotype.
Bone marrow skeletal stem/progenitor cell defects in dyskeratosis congenita and telomere biology disorders.
Cell line
View Samples