JoMa1 cells are pluripotent precursor cells, derived from the neural crest of mice transgenic for tamoxifen-inducible c-Myc. Following transfection with a cDNA encoding for MYCN, cells become immortlized even in the absence of tamoxifen.
MYCN and ALKF1174L are sufficient to drive neuroblastoma development from neural crest progenitor cells.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesThe functioning of a specific tissue depends on the expression pattern of the different genes. We used microarrays to compare gene expression across different murine tissues, to get a better understanding in the expression pattern and functioning of the different tissues. With this analysis, we were not only able to identify genes that were specifically expressed in a spicific tissue but, as important, we also identified genes that were specifically repressed in a tissue, compared to al the other analysed tissues.
Tissue-specific disallowance of housekeeping genes: the other face of cell differentiation.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesUniparental parthenotes are considered an unwanted byproduct of in vitro fertilization. In utero parthenote development is severely compromised by defective organogenesis and in particular by defective cardiogenesis. Although developmentally compromised, apparently pluripotent stem cells can be derived from parthenogenetic blastocysts. Here we hypothesized that nonembryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair. We first confirmed similar fundamental properties in murine PSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), despite notable differences in genetic (allelic variability) and epigenetic (differential imprinting) characteristics. Haploidentity of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in PSCs is particularly attractive for allogeneic cell-based therapies. Accordingly, we confirmed acceptance of PSCs in MHC-matched allotransplantation. Cardiomyocyte derivation from PSCs and ESCs was equally effective. The use of cardiomyocyte-restricted GFP enabled cell sorting and documentation of advanced structural and functional maturation in vitro and in vivo. This included seamless electrical integration of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes into recipient myocardium. Finally, we enriched cardiomyocytes to facilitate engineering of force-generating myocardium and demonstrated the utility of this technique in enhancing regional myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Collectively, our data demonstrate pluripotency, with unrestricted cardiogenicity in PSCs, and introduce this unique cell type as an attractive source for tissue-engineered heart repair.
Parthenogenetic stem cells for tissue-engineered heart repair.
Specimen part
View SamplesPrimary murine osteoblasts were isolated form the calvariae of newborn mice. 10 days after the addition of ascorbic acid (50 g/ml) and -glycerophosphate (10 mM), cells were serum-starved over night and then incubated for 6 hours with condtioned medium of MDA-PCa2b cells or conditioned medium of PC-3 cells
Osteolytic prostate cancer cells induce the expression of specific cytokines in bone-forming osteoblasts through a Stat3/5-dependent mechanism.
Specimen part
View SamplesThe transcription factor Evi1 is essential for the formation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, and induces clonal dominance with malignant progression upon constitutive activation by chromosomal rearrangements or transgene integration events. To understand the immediate and adaptive response of primary murine hematopoietic cells to the transcriptional upregulation of Evi1, we developed an inducible lentiviral vector system with a robust expression switch. We found that Evi1 delays differentiation and promotes survival in myeloid culture conditions, orchestrating a battery of genes involved in stemness (Aldh1a1, Ly6a [Sca1], Abca1, Epcam, among others). Importantly, Evi1 suppresses Cyclins and Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk), while it upregulates Cdk inhibitors, inducing quiescence in various proliferation-inducing cytokine conditions and operating in a strictly dose-dependent manner. Hematopoietic cells with persisting Evi1-induction tend to adopt a relatively low expression level. We thus classify Evi1 as a dormancy-inducing oncogene, likely requiring epigenetic and genetic compensation for cell expansion and malignant progression.
Activation of Evi1 inhibits cell cycle progression and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesPreimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT), which encompasses both Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS), is a form of prenatal screening done on embryos conceived through assisted reproduction techniques (ART) prior to the initiation of pregnancy to ensure that only select embryos are used for transfer. PGT is typically performed on 8-cell embryos derived from either in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) followed by extended culture. PGT requires a highly invasive embryo biopsy procedure that involves 1) incubating embryos in divalent-cation-deficient medium to disrupt cell adhesion, 2) breaching the protective zona pellucida with acid Tyrodes, laser drilling, or mechanical force and 3) aspirating one or two blastomeres. In this study we developed a mouse model of the embryo biopsy procedure inherent to PGT to determine the effect of various aspects of the procedure (incubation in Ca2+/Mg2+-free medium (CMF), acid Tyrodes treatment, blastomere aspiration), performed individually or in combination, on global patterns of gene expression in the resulting blastocysts.
The effect of blastomere biopsy on preimplantation mouse embryo development and global gene expression.
Sex
View SamplesOocyte maturation is accompanied by a transition from mRNA stability to instability. We investigated the role of DCP1A and DCP2, proteins responsible for mRNA decapping, in mRNA destabilization during mouse oocyte maturation.
Maternally recruited DCP1A and DCP2 contribute to messenger RNA degradation during oocyte maturation and genome activation in mouse.
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View SamplesDiabetogenic CD8+ G9C8 clone cells and the T cells from a transgenic mouse bearing the same TCR as the clone, displayed differences in their ability to induce disease in vivo.Microarray analysis was done to identify the molecular basis for such differences between the two sets of CD8 T cells.
Cytotoxic mechanisms employed by mouse T cells to destroy pancreatic β-cells.
Specimen part, Disease
View Samplesprenatal stress response, genetic modification
Differential effects of prenatal stress in 5-Htt deficient mice: towards molecular mechanisms of gene × environment interactions.
Sex, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesStudies investigating the causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) point to genetic as well as epigenetic mechanisms of the disease. Identification of epigenetic processes that contribute to ASD development and progression is of major importance and may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Here we identify the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain containing transcriptional regulators (BETs) as epigenetic drivers of an ASD-like disorder in mice. We found that the pharmacological suppression of the BET proteins by a novel, highly selective and brain-permeable inhibitor, I-BET858, leads to selective suppression of neuronal gene expression followed by the development of an autism-like syndrome in mice. Many of the I-BET858 affected genes have been linked to ASD in humans thus suggesting the key role of the BET-controlled gene network in ASD. Our studies also suggest that environmental factors controlling BET proteins or their target genes may contribute to the epigenetic mechanism of ASD.
Autism-like syndrome is induced by pharmacological suppression of BET proteins in young mice.
Specimen part
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