技术资料

Although the majority of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) initially respond to chemotherapy,many of them subsequently relapse,and the mechanistic basis for AML persistence following chemotherapy has not been determined. Recurrent somatic mutations in DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A),most frequently at arginine 882 (DNMT3A(R882)),have been observed in AML and in individuals with clonal hematopoiesis in the absence of leukemic transformation. Patients with DNMT3A(R882) AML have an inferior outcome when treated with standard-dose daunorubicin-based induction chemotherapy,suggesting that DNMT3A(R882) cells persist and drive relapse. We found that Dnmt3a mutations induced hematopoietic stem cell expansion,cooperated with mutations in the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene (Flt3(ITD)) and the nucleophosmin gene (Npm1(c)) to induce AML in vivo,and promoted resistance to anthracycline chemotherapy. In patients with AML,the presence of DNMT3A(R882) mutations predicts minimal residual disease,underscoring their role in AML chemoresistance. DNMT3A(R882) cells showed impaired nucleosome eviction and chromatin remodeling in response to anthracycline treatment,which resulted from attenuated recruitment of histone chaperone SPT-16 following anthracycline exposure. This defect led to an inability to sense and repair DNA torsional stress,which resulted in increased mutagenesis. Our findings identify a crucial role for DNMT3A(R882) mutations in driving AML chemoresistance and highlight the importance of chromatin remodeling in response to cytotoxic chemotherapy. View Publication

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains brain homeostasis but also presents a major obstacle to brain drug delivery. Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) form the principal barrier and therefore represent the major cellular component of in vitro BBB models. Such models are often used for mechanistic studies of the BBB in health and disease and for drug screening. Recently,human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a new source for generating BMEC-like cells for use in in vitro human BBB studies. However,the inability to cryopreserve iPSC-BMECs has impeded implementation of this model by requiring a fresh differentiation to generate cells for each experiment. Cryopreservation of differentiated iPSC-BMECs would have a number of distinct advantages,including enabling production of larger scale lots,decreasing lead time to generate purified iPSC-BMEC cultures,and facilitating use of iPSC-BMECs in large-scale screening. In this study,we demonstrate that iPSC-BMECs can be successfully cryopreserved at multiple differentiation stages. Cryopreserved iPSC-BMECs retain high viability,express standard endothelial and BBB markers,and reach a high transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) of ∼3000 Ωtextperiodcenteredcm(2),equivalent to nonfrozen controls. Rho-associated coiled coil-containing kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632 substantially increased survival and attachment of cryopreserved iPSC-BMECs,as well as stabilized TEER above 800 Ωtextperiodcenteredcm(2) out to 7 days post-thaw. Overall,cryopreservation will ease handling and storage of high-quality iPSC-BMECs,reducing a key barrier to greater implementation of these cells in modeling the human BBB. View Publication

BACKGROUND Individuals with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2 DS) are a specific high-risk group for developing schizophrenia (SZ),schizoaffective disorder (SAD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Several genes in the deleted region have been implicated in the development of SZ,e.g.,PRODH and DGCR8. However,the mechanistic connection between these genes and the neuropsychiatric phenotype remains unclear. To elucidate the molecular consequences of 22q11.2 deletion in early neural development,we carried out RNA-seq analysis to investigate gene expression in early differentiating human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of 22q11.2 DS SZ and SAD patients. METHODS Eight cases (ten iPSC-neuron samples in total including duplicate clones) and seven controls (nine in total including duplicate clones) were subjected to RNA sequencing. Using a systems level analysis,differentially expressed genes/gene-modules and pathway of interests were identified. Lastly,we related our findings from in vitro neuronal cultures to brain development by mapping differentially expressed genes to BrainSpan transcriptomes. RESULTS We observed ˜2-fold reduction in expression of almost all genes in the 22q11.2 region in SZ (37 genes reached p-value textless 0.05,36 of which reached a false discovery rate textless 0.05). Outside of the deleted region,745 genes showed significant differences in expression between SZ and control neurons (p textless 0.05). Function enrichment and network analysis of the differentially expressed genes uncovered converging evidence on abnormal expression in key functional pathways,such as apoptosis,cell cycle and survival,and MAPK signaling in the SZ and SAD samples. By leveraging transcriptome profiles of normal human brain tissues across human development into adulthood,we showed that the differentially expressed genes converge on a sub-network mediated by CDC45 and the cell cycle,which would be disrupted by the 22q11.2 deletion during embryonic brain development,and another sub-network modulated by PRODH,which could contribute to disruption of brain function during adolescence. CONCLUSIONS This study has provided evidence for disruption of potential molecular events in SZ patient with 22q11.2 deletion and related our findings from in vitro neuronal cultures to functional perturbations that can occur during brain development in SZ. View Publication

Nucleosome position,density,and post-translational modification are widely accepted components of mechanisms regulating DNA transcription but still incompletely understood. We present a modified native ChIP-seq method combined with an analytical framework that allows MNase accessibility to be integrated with histone modification profiles. Application of this methodology to the primitive (CD34+) subset of normal human cord blood cells enabled genomic regions enriched in one versus two nucleosomes marked by histone 3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and/or histone 3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) to be associated with their transcriptional and DNA methylation states. From this analysis,we defined four classes of promoter-specific profiles and demonstrated that a majority of bivalent marked promoters are heterogeneously marked at a single-cell level in this primitive cell type. Interestingly,extension of this approach to human embryonic stem cells revealed an altered relationship between chromatin modification state and nucleosome content at promoters,suggesting developmental stage-specific organization of histone methylation states. View Publication

Treatment of HIV-infected patients with IFN-α results in significant,but clinically insufficient,reductions of viremia. IFN induces the expression of several antiviral proteins including BST-2,which inhibits HIV by multiple mechanisms. The viral protein Vpu counteracts different effects of BST-2. We thus asked if Vpu proteins from IFN-treated patients displayed improved anti-BST-2 activities as compared to Vpu from baseline. Deep-sequencing analyses revealed that in five of seven patients treated by IFN-α for a concomitant HCV infection in the absence of antiretroviral drugs,the dominant Vpu sequences differed before and during treatment. In three patients,vpu alleles that emerged during treatment improved virus replication in the presence of IFN-α,and two of them conferred improved virus budding from cells expressing BST-2. Differences were observed for the ability to down-regulate CD4,while all Vpu variants potently down-modulated BST-2 from the cell surface. This report discloses relevant consequences of IFN-treatment on HIV properties. View Publication

Staphylococcus aureus is both an important pathogen and a human commensal. To explore this ambivalent relationship between host and microbe,we analysed the memory humoral response against IsdB,a protein involved in iron acquisition,in four healthy donors. Here we show that in all donors a heavily biased use of two immunoglobulin heavy chain germlines generated high affinity (pM) antibodies that neutralize the two IsdB NEAT domains,IGHV4-39 for NEAT1 and IGHV1-69 for NEAT2. In contrast to the typical antibody/antigen interactions,the binding is primarily driven by the germline-encoded hydrophobic CDRH-2 motifs of IGHV1-69 and IGHV4-39,with a binding mechanism nearly identical for each antibody derived from different donors. Our results suggest that IGHV1-69 and IGHV4-39,while part of the adaptive immune system,may have evolved under selection pressure to encode a binding motif innately capable of recognizing and neutralizing a structurally conserved protein domain involved in pathogen iron acquisition. View Publication

Targeted delivery of siRNA controlled by near-infrared light using hollow gold nanoshells has been demonstrated in cancer and stem cells models. Here,a universal surface module and several functionalization rules for the maximized delivery of short nucleic acids (here,siRNA) applicable for diverse gold nanocarriers are described. Streptavidin is devised as a handle to assemble biotinylated cell penetrating peptides (e.g.,transactivating transcriptional activator (TAT)),as well as an insulator between the positive charge of TAT and the dense negative charge of RNA. However,direct linking of streptavidin to functional siRNA inhibits its silencing activity. The approach then involves the orthogonal assembly of two types of RNA strands: one with biotin modification for cell targeting and penetration (scaffold RNA); the other without biotin as functional RNA (i.e.,siRNA). Initially,flexible single-stranded RNA is used for dense surface-packing,followed by hybridization with the complementary RNA strand to maximize the assembly of the targeting peptide for cellular uptake and siRNA delivery. This orthogonal approach for the delivery of short oligonucleotides,together with novel surface functionalization rules discovered here,should enable the use of these materials for nanomedicinal research and applications. View Publication

Genetic causes of many familial arrhythmia syndromes remain elusive. In this study,whole-exome sequencing (WES) was carried out on patients from three different families that presented with life-threatening arrhythmias and high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Two French Canadian probands carried identical homozygous rare variant in TECRL gene (p.Arg196Gln),which encodes the trans-2,3-enoyl-CoA reductase-like protein. Both patients had cardiac arrest,stress-induced atrial and ventricular tachycardia,and QT prolongation on adrenergic stimulation. A third patient from a consanguineous Sudanese family diagnosed with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) had a homozygous splice site mutation (c.331+1GtextgreaterA) in TECRL Analysis of intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)]i) dynamics in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) generated from this individual (TECRLHom-hiPSCs),his heterozygous but clinically asymptomatic father (TECRLHet-hiPSCs),and a healthy individual (CTRL-hiPSCs) from the same Sudanese family,revealed smaller [Ca(2+)]i transient amplitudes as well as elevated diastolic [Ca(2+)]i in TECRLHom-hiPSC-CMs compared with CTRL-hiPSC-CMs. The [Ca(2+)]i transient also rose markedly slower and contained lower sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium stores,evidenced by the decreased magnitude of caffeine-induced [Ca(2+)]i transients. In addition,the decay phase of the [Ca(2+)]i transient was slower in TECRLHom-hiPSC-CMs due to decreased SERCA and NCX activities. Furthermore,TECRLHom-hiPSC-CMs showed prolonged action potentials (APs) compared with CTRL-hiPSC-CMs. TECRL knockdown in control human embryonic stem cell-derived CMs (hESC-CMs) also resulted in significantly longer APs. Moreover,stimulation by noradrenaline (NA) significantly increased the propensity for triggered activity based on delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs) in TECRLHom-hiPSC-CMs and treatment with flecainide,a class Ic antiarrhythmic drug,significantly reduced the triggered activity in these cells. In summary,we report that mutations in TECRL are associated with inherited arrhythmias characterized by clinical features of both LQTS and CPVT Patient-specific hiPSC-CMs recapitulated salient features of the clinical phenotype and provide a platform for drug screening evidenced by initial identification of flecainide as a potential therapeutic. These findings have implications for diagnosis and treatment of inherited cardiac arrhythmias. View Publication

Autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) is clinically used to induce repair of different tissues through the release of bioactive molecules. In some patients,the production of an efficient autologous PRP is unfeasible due to their compromised health. We developed an allogeneic PRP mismatched for AB0 and Rh antigens. To broadcast its clinical applications avoiding side effects the outcome of allogeneic PRP on immune response should be defined. Thus,we investigated whether PRP affected the differentiation of peripheral blood monocytes to dendritic cells upon stimulation with granulocyte monocyte colony stimulating factor and interleukin-4. Indeed,these cells are the main players of immune response and tissue repair. PRP inhibited the differentiation of monocytes to CD1a(+) dendritic cells and favored the expansion of phagocytic CD163(+) CD206(+) fibrocyte-like cells. These cells produced inteleukin-10 and prostaglandin-E2,but not interferon-γ,upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharides. Moreover,they promoted the expansion of regulatory CD4(+) CD25(+) FoxP3(+) T cells upon allostimulation or antigen specific priming. Finally,the conditioned medium harvested from monocytes differentiated with PRP triggered a strong chemotactic effect on mesenchymal cells in both scratch and transwell migration assays. These results strongly suggest that allogeneic PRP can foster the differentiation of monocytes to a regulatory anti-inflammatory population possibly favoring wound healing. View Publication

Efficient allocation of deceased donor organs depends upon effective prediction of immunologic compatibility based on donor HLA genotype and recipient alloantibody profile,referred to as virtual crossmatching (VCXM). VCXM has demonstrated utility in predicting compatibility,though there is reduced efficacy for patients highly sensitized against allogeneic HLA antigens. The recently revised deceased donor kidney allocation system (KAS) has increased transplantation for this group,but with an increased burden for histocompatibility testing and organ sharing. Given the limitations of VCXM,we hypothesized that increased organ offers for highly-sensitized patients could result in a concomitant increase in offers rejected due to unexpectedly positive crossmatch. Review of 645 crossmatches performed for deceased donor kidney transplantation at our center did not reveal a significant increase in positive crossmatches following KAS implementation. Positive crossmatches not predicted by VCXM were concentrated among highly-sensitized patients. Root cause analysis of VCXM failures identified technical limitations of anti-HLA antibody testing as the most significant contributor to VCXM error. Contributions of technical limitations including additive/synergistic antibody effects,prozone phenomenon,and antigens not represented in standard testing panels,were evaluated by retrospective testing. These data provide insight into the limitations of VCXM,particularly those affecting allocation of kidneys to highly-sensitized patients. View Publication