@article {513, title = {Diversification of the expanded teleost-specific toll-like receptor family in Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua.}, journal = {BMC Evol Biol}, volume = {12}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Dec 29}, pages = {256}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors (Tlrs) are major molecular pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is the first vertebrate known to have lost most of the mammalian Tlr orthologues, particularly all bacterial recognising and other cell surface Tlrs. On the other hand, its genome encodes a unique repertoire of teleost-specific Tlrs. The aim of this study was to investigate if these duplicate Tlrs have been retained through adaptive evolution to compensate for the lack of other cell surface Tlrs in the cod genome.

RESULTS: In this study, one tlr21, 12 tlr22 and two tlr23 genes representing the teleost-specific Tlr family have been cloned and characterised in cod. Phylogenetic analysis grouped all tlr22 genes under a single clade, indicating that the multiple cod paralogues have arisen through lineage-specific duplications. All tlrs examined were transcribed in immune-related tissues as well as in stomach, gut and gonads of adult cod and were differentially expressed during early development. These tlrs were also differentially regulated following immune challenge by immersion with Vibrio anguillarum, indicating their role in the immune response. An increase in water temperature from 4 to 12{\textdegree}C was associated with a 5.5-fold down-regulation of tlr22d transcript levels in spleen. Maximum likelihood analysis with different evolution models revealed that tlr22 genes are under positive selection. A total of 24 codons were found to be positively selected, of which 19 are in the ligand binding region of ectodomain.

CONCLUSION: Positive selection pressure coupled with experimental evidence of differential expression strongly support the hypothesis that teleost-specific tlr paralogues in cod are undergoing neofunctionalisation and can recognise bacterial pathogen-associated molecular patterns to compensate for the lack of other cell surface Tlrs.

}, keywords = {Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Binding Sites, Evolution, Molecular, Fish Diseases, Fish Proteins, Gadus morhua, Gene Expression Profiling, Genetic Variation, Gills, Head Kidney, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Models, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Multigene Family, Phylogeny, Protein Structure, Tertiary, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Selection, Genetic, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Temperature, Toll-Like Receptors, Vibrio}, issn = {1471-2148}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2148-12-256}, author = {Sundaram, Arvind Y M and Kiron, Viswanath and Dopazo, Joaquin and Fernandes, Jorge M O} } @article {521, title = {The protease MT1-MMP drives a combinatorial proteolytic program in activated endothelial cells.}, journal = {FASEB J}, volume = {26}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Nov}, pages = {4481-94}, abstract = {

The mechanism by which proteolytic events translate into biological responses is not well understood. To explore the link of pericellular proteolysis to events relevant to capillary sprouting within the inflammatory context, we aimed at the identification of the collection of substrates of the protease MT1-MMP in endothelial tip cells induced by inflammatory stimuli. We applied quantitative proteomics to endothelial cells (ECs) derived from wild-type and MT1-MMP-null mice to identify the substrate repertoire of this protease in TNF-α-activated ECs. Bioinformatics analysis revealed a combinatorial MT1-MMP proteolytic program, in which combined rather than single substrate processing would determine biological decisions by activated ECs, including chemotaxis, cell motility and adhesion, and vasculature development. MT1-MMP-deficient ECs inefficiently processed several of these substrates (TSP1, CYR61, NID1, and SEM3C), validating the model. This novel concept of MT1-MMP-driven combinatorial proteolysis in angiogenesis might be extendable to proteolytic actions in other cellular contexts.

}, keywords = {Animals, Blotting, Western, Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques, Computational Biology, Endothelial Cells, Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic, Inflammation, Matrix Metalloproteinase 14, Mice, Protein Array Analysis, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA Interference, RNA, Small Interfering, Transcriptome, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha}, issn = {1530-6860}, doi = {10.1096/fj.12-205906}, author = {Koziol, Agnieszka and Gonzalo, Pilar and Mota, Alba and Poll{\'a}n, Angela and Lorenzo, Cristina and Colom{\'e}, Nuria and Montaner, David and Dopazo, Joaquin and Arribas, Joaqu{\'\i}n and Canals, Francesc and Arroyo, Alicia G} } @article {532, title = {Early transcriptional defense responses in Arabidopsis cell suspension culture under high-light conditions.}, journal = {Plant Physiol}, volume = {156}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Jul}, pages = {1439-56}, abstract = {

The early transcriptional defense responses and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cell suspension culture (ACSC), containing functional chloroplasts, were examined at high light (HL). The transcriptional analysis revealed that most of the ROS markers identified among the 449 transcripts with significant differential expression were transcripts specifically up-regulated by singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)). On the contrary, minimal correlation was established with transcripts specifically up-regulated by superoxide radical or hydrogen peroxide. The transcriptional analysis was supported by fluorescence microscopy experiments. The incubation of ACSC with the (1)O(2) sensor green reagent and 2{\textquoteright},7{\textquoteright}-dichlorofluorescein diacetate showed that the 30-min-HL-treated cultures emitted fluorescence that corresponded with the production of (1)O(2) but not of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, the in vivo photodamage of the D1 protein of photosystem II indicated that the photogeneration of (1)O(2) took place within the photosystem II reaction center. Functional enrichment analyses identified transcripts that are key components of the ROS signaling transduction pathway in plants as well as others encoding transcription factors that regulate both ROS scavenging and water deficit stress. A meta-analysis examining the transcriptional profiles of mutants and hormone treatments in Arabidopsis showed a high correlation between ACSC at HL and the fluorescent mutant family of Arabidopsis, a producer of (1)O(2) in plastids. Intriguingly, a high correlation was also observed with ABA deficient1 and more axillary growth4, two mutants with defects in the biosynthesis pathways of two key (apo)carotenoid-derived plant hormones (i.e. abscisic acid and strigolactones, respectively). ACSC has proven to be a valuable system for studying early transcriptional responses to HL stress.

}, keywords = {Arabidopsis, Blotting, Western, Cell Culture Techniques, Cells, Cultured, Chloroplasts, Cluster Analysis, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Hydrogen Peroxide, Light, mutation, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Photosystem II Protein Complex, Plant Growth Regulators, Reproducibility of Results, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA, Messenger, Signal Transduction, Stress, Physiological, Transcription, Genetic}, issn = {1532-2548}, doi = {10.1104/pp.111.177766}, author = {Gonz{\'a}lez-P{\'e}rez, Sergio and Guti{\'e}rrez, Jorge and Garcia-Garcia, Francisco and Osuna, Daniel and Dopazo, Joaquin and Lorenzo, Oscar and Revuelta, Jos{\'e} L and Arellano, Juan B} } @article {535, title = {Large-scale transcriptional profiling and functional assays reveal important roles for Rho-GTPase signalling and SCL during haematopoietic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {20}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Dec 15}, pages = {4932-46}, abstract = {

Understanding the transcriptional cues that direct differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human-induced pluripotent stem cells to defined and functional cell types is essential for future clinical applications. In this study, we have compared transcriptional profiles of haematopoietic progenitors derived from hESCs at various developmental stages of a feeder- and serum-free differentiation method and show that the largest transcriptional changes occur during the first 4 days of differentiation. Data mining on the basis of molecular function revealed Rho-GTPase signalling as a key regulator of differentiation. Inhibition of this pathway resulted in a significant reduction in the numbers of emerging haematopoietic progenitors throughout the differentiation window, thereby uncovering a previously unappreciated role for Rho-GTPase signalling during human haematopoietic development. Our analysis indicated that SCL was the 11th most upregulated transcript during the first 4 days of the hESC differentiation process. Overexpression of SCL in hESCs promoted differentiation to meso-endodermal lineages, the emergence of haematopoietic and erythro-megakaryocytic progenitors and accelerated erythroid differentiation. Importantly, intrasplenic transplantation of SCL-overexpressing hESC-derived haematopoietic cells enhanced recovery from induced acute anaemia without significant cell engraftment, suggesting a paracrine-mediated effect.

}, keywords = {Acute Disease, Anemia, Hemolytic, Animals, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, Cell Differentiation, Cell Line, Cell Lineage, Cluster Analysis, Embryonic Stem Cells, Erythroid Cells, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression Profiling, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Humans, Mice, Myeloid Cells, Paracrine Communication, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, rho GTP-Binding Proteins, Signal Transduction, Stem Cell Transplantation, T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1, Transcriptome}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddr431}, author = {Yung, Sun and Ledran, Maria and Moreno-Gimeno, Inmaculada and Conesa, Ana and Montaner, David and Dopazo, Joaquin and Dimmick, Ian and Slater, Nicholas J and Marenah, Lamin and Real, Pedro J and Paraskevopoulou, Iliana and Bisbal, Viviana and Burks, Deborah and Santibanez-Koref, Mauro and Moreno, Ruben and Mountford, Joanne and Menendez, Pablo and Armstrong, Lyle and Lako, Majlinda} } @article {597, title = {Molecular profiling related to poor prognosis in thyroid carcinoma. Combining gene expression data and biological information.}, journal = {Oncogene}, volume = {27}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 Mar 06}, pages = {1554-61}, abstract = {

Undifferentiated and poorly differentiated thyroid tumors are responsible for more than half of thyroid cancer patient deaths in spite of their low incidence. Conventional treatments do not obtain substantial benefits, and the lack of alternative approaches limits patient survival. Additionally, the absence of prognostic markers for well-differentiated tumors complicates patient-specific treatments and favors the progression of recurrent forms. In order to recognize the molecular basis involved in tumor dedifferentiation and identify potential markers for thyroid cancer prognosis prediction, we analysed the expression profile of 44 thyroid primary tumors with different degrees of dedifferentiation and aggressiveness using cDNA microarrays. Transcriptome comparison of dedifferentiated and well-differentiated thyroid tumors identified 1031 genes with >2-fold difference in absolute values and false discovery rate of <0.15. According to known molecular interaction and reaction networks, the products of these genes were mainly clustered in the MAPkinase signaling pathway, the TGF-beta signaling pathway, focal adhesion and cell motility, activation of actin polymerization and cell cycle. An exhaustive search in several databases allowed us to identify various members of the matrix metalloproteinase, melanoma antigen A and collagen gene families within the upregulated gene set. We also identified a prognosis classifier comprising just 30 transcripts with an overall accuracy of 95\%. These findings may clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in thyroid tumor dedifferentiation and provide a potential prognosis predictor as well as targets for new therapies.

}, keywords = {Adenoma, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Biomarkers, Tumor, Carcinoma, Carcinoma, Papillary, Cell Differentiation, Female, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Prognosis, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, RNA, Neoplasm, Signal Transduction, Thyroid Neoplasms}, issn = {1476-5594}, doi = {10.1038/sj.onc.1210792}, author = {Montero-Conde, C and Mart{\'\i}n-Campos, J M and Lerma, E and Gimenez, G and Mart{\'\i}nez-Guitarte, J L and Combal{\'\i}a, N and Montaner, D and Mat{\'\i}as-Guiu, X and Dopazo, J and de Leiva, A and Robledo, M and Mauricio, D} }