Search results for "genetics [Transcriptome]"

11q Deletion or ALK Activity Curbs DLG2 Expression to Maintain an Undifferentiated State in Neuroblastoma

2020

High-risk 11q deleted neuroblastomas typically display undifferentiated/poorly differentiated morphology. Neuroblastoma is thought to develop from Schwann cell precursors and undifferentiated neural crest (NC) derived cells. It is therefore vital to understand mechanisms involved in the block of differentiation. We identify an important role for oncogenic ALK-ERK1/2-SP1 signaling in maintenance of undifferentiated NC-derived progenitors via repression of DLG2, a tumor suppressor in neuroblastoma. DLG2 is expressed in the ‘bridge signature’ that represents the transcriptional transition state when neural crest cells or Schwann Cell Precursors become chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland. We …

Secukinumab efficacy in patients with PsA is not dependent on patients' body mass index

2020

We read with interest the recently published paper from McGonagle et al 1 analysing the role of interleukin (IL)-17A in axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The meta-analysis and functional study provided by the authors highlighted the efficacy of IL-17A block by secukinumab in the treatment of PsA. However, there is no mention of the role of body mass index (BMI), if any, in influencing the clinical response to secukinumab, given the lack of published data. PsA is a chronic inflammatory arthritis burdened by a series of metabolic comorbidities. Among them, obesity is very common in PsA, with a prevalence of 27%, as confirmed by a recent Spanish work.2 Obesity in PsA has b…

Les lymphocytes Th9

2016

Th9 cells are CD4 T helper cells characterized by their ability to produce IL-9 and IL-21. These cells are obtained from naive CD4(+) T cells cultured in the presence of TGF-β and IL-4. Thus their differentiation results from the balance between the signaling pathways induced by IL-4 in one hand and the one induced by TGF-β in the other hand. These cells are inflammatory cells and were first described in the context of atopic and autoimmune diseases in which they have a pathogenic role. They are also involved in the defense against parasite infections. Recently, some reports defined Th9 anticancer properties through their cytokine secretion. Indeed, their high secretion of IL-9 and IL-21 in…

2020

Interactome maps are valuable resources to elucidate protein function and disease mechanisms. Here, we report on an interactome map that focuses on neurodegenerative disease (ND), connects ∼5,000 human proteins via ∼30,000 candidate interactions and is generated by systematic yeast two-hybrid interaction screening of ∼500 ND-related proteins and integration of literature interactions. This network reveals interconnectivity across diseases and links many known ND-causing proteins, such as α-synuclein, TDP-43, and ATXN1, to a host of proteins previously unrelated to NDs. It facilitates the identification of interacting proteins that significantly influence mutant TDP-43 and HTT toxicity in tr…

Evolutionary redesign of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) Toll-like receptor repertoire by gene losses and expansions

2016

AbstractGenome sequencing of the teleost Atlantic cod demonstrated loss of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II, an extreme gene expansion of MHC class I and gene expansions and losses in the innate pattern recognition receptor (PRR) family of Toll-like receptors (TLR). In a comparative genomic setting, using an improved version of the genome, we characterize PRRs in Atlantic cod with emphasis on TLRs demonstrating the loss of TLR1/6, TLR2 and TLR5 and expansion of TLR7, TLR8, TLR9, TLR22 and TLR25. We find that Atlantic cod TLR expansions are strongly influenced by diversifying selection likely to increase the detectable ligand repertoire through neo- and subfunctionalizatio…

Luminance Information Is Required for the Accurate Estimation of Contrast in Rapidly Changing Visual Contexts.

2020

Summary Visual perception scales with changes in the visual stimulus, or contrast, irrespective of background illumination. However, visual perception is challenged when adaptation is not fast enough to deal with sudden declines in overall illumination, for example, when gaze follows a moving object from bright sunlight into a shaded area. Here, we show that the visual system of the fly employs a solution by propagating a corrective luminance-sensitive signal. We use in vivo 2-photon imaging and behavioral analyses to demonstrate that distinct OFF-pathway inputs encode contrast and luminance. Predictions of contrast-sensitive neuronal responses show that contrast information alone cannot ex…

Computational Fluid Dynamics Suggests Ecological Diversification among Stem-Gnathostomes.

2020

Summary The evolutionary assembly of the vertebrate bodyplan has been characterized as a long-term ecological trend toward increasingly active and predatory lifestyles, culminating in jawed vertebrates that dominate modern vertebrate biodiversity [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. This contrast is no more stark than between the earliest jawed vertebrates and their immediate relatives, the extinct jawless, dermal armor-encased osteostracans, which have conventionally been interpreted as benthic mud-grubbers with poor swimming capabilities and low maneuverability [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Using computational fluid dynamics, we show that osteostracan headshield morphology is compatible with a dive…

Prospects and challenges for computer simulations of monolayer-protected metal clusters

2021

Precise knowledge of chemical composition and atomic structure of functional nanosized systems, such as metal clusters stabilized by an organic molecular layer, allows for detailed computational work to investigate structure-property relations. Here, we discuss selected recent examples of computational work that has advanced understanding of how these clusters work in catalysis, how they interact with biological systems, and how they can make self-assembled, macroscopic materials. A growing challenge is to develop effective new simulation methods that take into account the cluster-environment interactions. These new hybrid methods are likely to contain components from electronic structure t…

Transfer Free Energies of Test Proteins Into Crowded Protein Solutions Have Simple Dependence on Crowder Concentration

2019

The effects of macromolecular crowding on the thermodynamic properties of test proteins are determined by the latter's transfer free energies from a dilute solution to a crowded solution. The transfer free energies in turn are determined by effective protein-crowder interactions. When these interactions are modeled at the all-atom level, the transfer free energies may defy simple predictions. Here we investigated the dependence of the transfer free energy (Δμ) on crowder concentration. We represented both the test protein and the crowder proteins atomistically, and used a general interaction potential consisting of hard-core repulsion, non-polar attraction, and solvent-screened electrostati…

Mitigating anticipated effects of systematic errors supports sister-group relationship between Xenacoelomorpha and Ambulacraria.

2019

International audience; Xenoturbella and the acoelomorph worms (Xenacoelomorpha) are simple marine animals with controversial affinities. They have been placed as the sister group of all other bilaterian animals (Nephrozoa hypothesis), implying their simplicity is an ancient characteristic ]; alternatively, they have been linked to the complex Ambulacraria (echinoderms and hemichordates) in a clade called the Xenambulacraria , suggesting their simplicity evolved by reduction from a complex ancestor. The difficulty resolving this problem implies the phylogenetic signal supporting the correct solution is weak and affected by inadequate modeling, creating a misleading non-phylogenetic signal. …