Background and aims: There are considerable evidences demonstrating that angiogenesis and chronic inflammation are mutually dependent. However, although cirrhosis progression is characterized with a chronic hepatic inflammatory process, this connection is not sufficiently explored as a therapeutic strategy. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the potential benefits of targeting angiogenesis in cirrhotic livers to modulate inflammation and fibrosis. For this purpose, we evaluate the therapeutic utility of angiogenesis inhibitors. Methods: The in vivo effects of angiogenesis inhibitors were monitored in liver of cirrhotic rats by measuring angiogenesis, inflammatory infiltrate, fibrosis, a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) accumulation, differential gene expression (by microarrays), and portal pressure. Results: Cirrhosis progression was associated with a significant enhancement of vascular density and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2 and placental growth factor (PlGF) in cirrhotic livers. The newly formed hepatic vasculature expressed vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Interestingly, the expression of these adhesion molecules correlated well with local inflammatory infiltrate. Livers of cirrhotic rats treated with angiogenesis inhibitors presented a significant decrease in hepatic vascular density, inflammatory infiltrate, a-SMA abundance, collagen expression and portal pressure. Conclusion: Angiogenesis inhibitors may offer a potential novel therapy for cirrhosis due to its multiple mechanisms of action against angiogenesis, inflammation and fibrosis in cirrhotic livers.
Antiangiogenic treatment with sunitinib ameliorates inflammatory infiltrate, fibrosis, and portal pressure in cirrhotic rats.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesBendamustine is a commonly-used drug to treat CLL patients. Because drug-responses among the patients are heterogeneous, we wanted to find candidate genes to predict sensitivity to the compound
No associated publication
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesAcadesine is a nucleoside analogue with known antileukemic effects in different neoplasms. We investigated the activity of acadesine ne exerts a cytotoxic effect in MCL and synergizes with rituximab supporting clinical examination of this strategy for MCL patients
Synergistic anti-tumor activity of acadesine (AICAR) in combination with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab in in vivo and in vitro models of mantle cell lymphoma.
Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesNuclear lamin B1 constitutes one of the major structural proteins in the lamina mesh. We silenced the expression of lamin B1 by RNA interference in the colon cancer cell line DLD-1 and showed a dramatic redistribution of H3K27me3 from the periphery to a more homogeneous nuclear dispersion; in addition we observed an increased frequency of micronuclei and nuclear blebs. By 3D-FISH analyses, we demonstrate that the volume and surface of chromosome territories were significantly larger in LMNB1-depleted cells, suggesting that lamin B1 is required to maintain chromatin condensation in interphase nuclei. These changes led to a prolonged S-phase due to activation of Chk1 and telomere attrition. Finally, silencing of LMNB1 resulted in extensive changes in alternative splicing of multiple genes and in a higher number of enlarged nuclear speckles. Taken together, our results suggest a mechanistic role of the nuclear lamina in the organization of chromosome territories, maintenance of genome integrity and proper gene splicing.
Loss of lamin B1 results in prolongation of S phase and decondensation of chromosome territories.
Cell line
View SamplesPhosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway activation contributes to mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) pathogenesis and drug resistance. However, the use of mTOR inhibitors as single agents have shown limited clinical efficacy in relation with drug activation of feedback loops. Selective PI3K inhibition or dual PI3K/mTOR catalytic inhibition are different therapeutic approaches developed to achieve effective pathway blockage. Here, we evaluated the antitumor activity of a mTOR inhibitor, a pan-PI3K inhibitor and a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor in primary MCL cells. We found that dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor modulated angiogenesis, tumor invasiveness and cytokine signaling compared to a mTOR inhibitor and a pan-PI3K inhibitor in MCL.
Dual PI3K/mTOR inhibition is required to effectively impair microenvironment survival signals in mantle cell lymphoma.
Specimen part, Disease, Disease stage, Treatment
View SamplesCombination of GSI with fludarabine has a synergistic antileukemic effect in primary NOTCH1-mutated CLL cells
The γ-secretase inhibitor PF-03084014 combined with fludarabine antagonizes migration, invasion and angiogenesis in NOTCH1-mutated CLL cells.
Specimen part
View Samplesmmunosuppressive drugs can be completely withdrawn in up to 20% of liver transplant recipients, commonly referred to as operationally tolerant. Immune characterization of these patients, however, has not been performed in detail, and we lack tests capable of identifying tolerant patients among recipients receiving maintenance immunosuppression. In the current study we have analyzed a variety of biological traits in peripheral blood of operationally tolerant liver recipients in an attempt to define a multiparameter fingerprint of tolerance. Thus, we have performed peripheral blood gene expression profiling and extensive blood cell immunophenotyping on 16 operationally tolerant liver recipients, 16 recipients requiring on-going immunosuppressive therapy, and 10 healthy individuals. Microarray profiling identified a gene expression signature that could discriminate tolerant recipients from immunosuppression-dependent patients with high accuracy. This signature included genes encoding for ?d T-cell and NK receptors, and for proteins involved in cell proliferation arrest. In addition, tolerant recipients exhibited significantly greater numbers of circulating potentially regulatory T-cell subsets (CD4+CD25+ T-cells and Vd1+ T cells) than either non-tolerant patients or healthy individuals. Our data provide novel mechanistic insight on liver allograft operational tolerance, and constitute a first step in the search for a non-invasive diagnostic signature capable of predicting tolerance before undergoing drug weaning.
Multiparameter immune profiling of operational tolerance in liver transplantation.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesEuropean-American individuals of the GENOA cohort participating in the Genetics of Microangiopathic Brain Injury substudy, which investigates the genetic basis of alteration in brain structure detectable by magnetic resonance imaging.
No associated publication
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesWe used microarrays to identify the variation of basal gene expression level among 287 lymphoblastoid cell lines.
Radiation pharmacogenomics: a genome-wide association approach to identify radiation response biomarkers using human lymphoblastoid cell lines.
Specimen part
View SamplesBackground: Prostate cancer (PC), a complex disease, can be relatively harmless or extremely aggressive. To identify candidate genes involved in causal pathways of aggressive PC, we implemented a systems biology approach by combining differential expression analysis and co-expression network analysis to evaluate transcriptional profiles using lymphoblastoid cell lines from 62 PC patients with aggressive phenotype (Gleason grade > 8) and 63 PC patients with nonaggressive phenotype (Gleason grade < 5). From 13935 mRNA genes and 273 microRNAs tested, we identified significant differences in 1100 mRNAs and 7 microRNAs with false discovery rate < 0.01. We also identified a co-expression module demonstrating significant association with the aggressive phenotype of PC (p=3.67x10-11). The module of interest was characterized by over-representation of cell cycle-related genes (false discovery rate = 3.50x10-50). From this module, we further defined 20 hub genes that were highly connected to other genes. Interestingly, five of the 7 differentially expressed microRNAs have been implicated in cell cycle regulation and two (miR-145 and miR-331-3p) are predicted to target three of the 20 hub genes. Ectopic expression of these two microRNAs reduced expression of target hub genes and subsequently resulted in cell growth inhibition and apoptosis. These results suggest that cell cycle is likely to be a molecular pathway causing aggressive phenotype of PC. Further characterization of cell cycle-related genes (particularly, the hub genes) and miRNAs that regulate these hub genes could facilitate identification of candidate genes responsible for the aggressive phenotype and lead to a better understanding of PC etiology and progression [Cancer Res 2009;69(24):94907].
Gene networks and microRNAs implicated in aggressive prostate cancer.
Cell line
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