Prenatal stress increases the striatal and hippocampal expression of correlating c-FOS and serotonin transporters in murine offspring
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE
Authors: Bielas, H.; Arck, P.; Bruenahl, C. A.; Walitza, S.; Gruenblatt, E.
Abstract
Prenatal stress (PS) is a known risk factor for several psychiatric diagnoses, including schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety, and depression which have been associated with serotonin transporter (SERT) dysregulation. Moreover, long-term effects in animal models associate with higher levels of immediate early genes, e.g. c-FOS (up-regulated in response to neuronal activity), in the brain of PS offspring. We therefore quantified the expression of both protein related mRNAs in adolescent BALB/c mice subjected to mild auditory stress on two separate days in mid gestation. SERT and c-FOS consistently correlated in most brain regions of PS mice and controls. Moreover, two-way ANOVAs revealed concomitantly increased levels of proteins, as well as of FOSL1 and FOSL2 mRNA, especially in the striatum and hippocampus of the PS offspring. Sex affected only and less consistently mRNA expression, yet interacted with PS, demonstrating that glucocorticoid receptor mRNA expression decreased in PS males but increased in PS females compared to the respective controls. This first finding of a correlation between SERT and c-FOS protein expression affected by PS, together with related mRNAs, may be considered a new target for behavioral and treatment studies in offspring. (C) 2014 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Identification of transcription factors responsible for dysregulated networks in human osteoarthritis cartilage by global gene expression analysis
OSTEOARTHRITIS AND CARTILAGE
Authors: Fisch, K. M.; Gamini, R.; Alvarez-Garcia, O.; Akagi, R.; Saito, M.; Muramatsu, Y.; Sasho, T.; Koziol, J. A.; Su, A., I; Lotz, M. K.
Abstract
Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease. As disease-modifying therapies are not available, novel therapeutic targets need to be discovered and prioritized for their importance in mediating the abnormal phenotype of cells in OA-affected joints. Here, we generated a genome-wide molecular profile of OA to elucidate regulatory mechanisms of OA pathogenesis and to identify possible therapeutic targets using integrative analysis of mRNA-sequencing data obtained from human knee cartilage. Design: RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on 18 normal and 20 OA human knee cartilage tissues. RNA-seq datasets were analysed to identify genes, pathways and regulatory networks that were dysregulated in OA. Results: RNA-seq data analysis revealed 1332 differentially expressed (DE) genes between OA and non-OA samples, including known and novel transcription factors (TFs). Pathway analysis identified 15 significantly perturbed pathways in OA with ECM-related, PI3K-Akt, HIF-1, FoxO and circadian rhythm pathways being the most significantly dysregulated. We selected DE TFs that are enriched for regulating DE genes in OA and prioritized these TFs by creating a cartilage-specific interaction subnetwork. This analysis revealed eight TFs, including JUN, Early growth response (EGR)1, JUND, FOSL2, MYC, KLF4, RELA, and FOS that both target large numbers of dysregulated genes in OA and are themselves suppressed in OA. Conclusions: We identified a novel subnetwork of dysregulated TFs that represent new mediators of abnormal gene expression and promising therapeutic targets in OA. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Osteoarthritis Research Society International.