bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Proteomic Analysis of Huntington’s Disease Medium Spiny Neurons Identifies Alterations in Lipid Droplets
Authors: Tshilenge Kizito-Tshitoko , Aguirre Carlos Galicia , Bons Joanna , Basisty Nathan , Song Sicheng , Rose Jacob , Lopez-Ramirez Alejandro , Gerencser Akos , Naphade Swati , Loureiro Ashley , Wehrfritz Cameron , Holtz Anja , Mooney Sean , Schilling Birgit , Ellerby Lisa M. 
Published: May 2022

ABSTRACTHuntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. The resulting polyglutamine (polyQ) tract alters the function of the HTT protein. Although HTT is expressed in different tissues, the medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs) in the striatum are particularly vulnerable in HD. Thus, we sought to define the proteome of human HD patient-derived MSNs. We differentiated HD72 induced pluripotent stem cells and isogenic controls into MSNs and carried out quantitative proteomic analysis by two approaches. First, using data-dependent acquisitions with FAIMS (FAIMS-DDA) for label-free quantification on the Orbitrap Lumos mass spectrometer, we identified 6,323 proteins with at least two unique peptides (FDR ≤ 0.01). Of these, 901 proteins were significantly altered in the HD72-MSNs, compared to isogenic controls. Second, we quantitatively validated protein candidates by comprehensive data-independent acquisitions on a TripleTOF 6600 mass spectrometer quantifying 3,106 proteins with at least two unique peptides. Functional enrichment analysis identified pathways related to the extracellular matrix, including TGF-ý regulation of extracellular matrix, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA replication, senescence, cardiovascular system, organism development, regulation of cell migration and locomotion, aminoglycan glycosaminoglycan proteoglycan, growth factor stimulus and fatty acid processes. Conversely, processes associated with the downregulated proteins included neurogenesis-axogenesis, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor-signaling pathway, Ephrin-A: EphA pathway, regulation of synaptic plasticity, triglyceride homeostasis cholesterol, plasmid lipoprotein particle immune response, interferon-γ signaling, immune system major histocompatibility complex, lipid metabolism and cellular response to stimulus. Moreover, proteins involved in the formation and maintenance of axons, dendrites, and synapses (e.g., Septin protein members) are dysregulated in HD72-MSNs. Importantly, lipid metabolism pathways were altered, and we found that lipid droplets accumulated in the HD72-MSNs, suggesting a deficit in lipophagy. Our proteomics analysis of HD72-MSNs identified relevant pathways that are altered in MSNs and confirm current and new therapeutic targets for HD.
Characterization and visualization of global metabolomic responses ofBrachypodium distachyonto environmental changes
Authors: Mahood Elizabeth H. , Bennett Alexandra A. , Komatsu Karyn , Kruse Lars H. , Lau Vincent , Ishka Maryam Rahmati , Jiang Yulin , Bravo Armando , Bowen Benjamin P. , Louie Katherine , Harrison Maria J. , Provart Nicholas J. , Vatamaniuk Olena K. , Moghe Gaurav D. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractPlant responses to environmental change are mediated via changes in cellular metabolomes. However, <5% of signals obtained from tandem liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) can be identified, limiting our understanding of how different metabolite classes change under biotic/abiotic stress. To address this challenge, we performed untargeted LC-MS/MS of leaves, roots and other organs ofBrachypodium distachyon, a model Poaceae species, under 17 different organ-condition combinations, including copper deficiency, heat stress, low phosphate and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AMS). We used a combination of information theory-based metrics and machine learning-based identification of metabolite structural classes to assess metabolomic changes. Both leaf and root metabolomes were significantly affected by the growth medium. Leaf metabolomes were more diverse than root metabolomes, but the latter were more specialized and more responsive to environmental change. We also found that one week of copper deficiency shielded the root metabolome, but not the leaf metabolome, from perturbation due to heat stress. Using a recently published deep learning based method for metabolite class predictions, we analyzed the responsiveness of each metabolite class to environmental change, which revealed significant perturbations of various lipid classes and phenylpropanoids such as cinnamic acids and flavonoids. Co-accumulation analysis further identified condition-specific metabolic biomarkers. Finally, to make these results publicly accessible, we developed a novel visualization platform on the Bioanalytical Resource website, where significantly perturbed metabolic classes can be readily visualized. Overall, our study illustrates how emerging chemoinformatic methods can be applied to reveal novel insights into the dynamic plant metabolome and plant stress adaptation.
Direct specification of lymphatic endothelium from non-venous angioblasts
Authors: Lupu Irina-Elena , Kirschnick Nils , Weischer Sarah , Martinez-Corral Ines , Forrow Aden , Lahmann Ines , Riley Paul R. , Zobel Thomas , Makinen Taija , Kiefer Friedemann , Stone Oliver A. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe lymphatic vasculature is essential for tissue fluid homeostasis, immune cell surveillance and dietary lipid absorption, and has emerged as a key regulator of organ growth and repair1. Despite significant advances in our understanding of lymphatic function, the precise developmental origin of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) has remained a point of debate for over a century2-5. It is currently widely accepted that most LECs are derived from venous endothelium4,6, although other sources have been described, including mesenchymal cells3, hemogenic endothelium7 and musculoendothelial progenitors8,9. Here we show that the initial expansion of mammalian LECs is driven primarily by the in situ differentiation of specialized angioblasts and not migration from venous endothelium. Single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic lineage tracing experiments in mouse revealed a population of Etv2+Prox1+ lymphangioblasts that arise directly from paraxial mesoderm-derived progenitors. Conditional lineage labelling and morphological analyses showed that these specialized angioblasts emerge within a tight spatiotemporal window, and give rise to LECs in numerous tissues. Analysis of early LEC proliferation and migration supported these findings, suggesting that emergence of LECs from venous endothelium is limited. Collectively, our data reconcile discrepancies between previous studies and indicate that LECs form through both de novo specification from lymphangioblasts and transdifferentiation from venous endothelium.
Single cell transcriptomics identifies conserved regulators of neurosecretory lineages
Authors: Steger Julia , Cole Alison G. , Denner Andreas , Lebedeva Tatiana , Genikhovich Grigory , Ries Alexander , Reischl Robert , Taudes Elisabeth , Lassnig Mark , Technau Ulrich 
Published: May 2022

SUMMARYCommunication in bilaterian nervous systems is mediated by electrical and secreted signals, however, the evolutionary origin and relation of neurons to other secretory cell types has not been elucidated. Here we use developmental single cell RNA-sequencing in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, representing an early evolutionary lineage with a simple nervous system. Validated by transgenics, we demonstrate that neurons, stinging cells, and gland cells arise from a common multipotent progenitor population. We identify the conserved transcription factor gene SoxC as a key upstream regulator of all neurosecretory lineages and demonstrate that SoxC knockdown eliminates both neuronal and secretory cell types. While in vertebrates and many other bilaterians neurogenesis is largely restricted to early developmental stages, we show that in the sea anemone differentiation of neurosecretory cells is maintained throughout all life stages, and follows the same molecular trajectories from embryo to adulthood, ensuring lifelong homeostasis of neurosecretory cell lineages.
Loss of transcriptional heterogeneity in aged human muscle stem cells
Authors: Barruet Emilie , Striedinger Katharine , Marangoni Pauline , Pomerantz Jason H. 
Published: May 2022

ABSTRACTAge-related loss of muscle mass and function negatively impacts healthspan and lifespan. Satellite cells function as muscle stem cells in muscle maintenance and regeneration by self-renewal, activation, proliferation and differentiation. These processes are perturbed in aging at the stem cell population level, contributing to muscle loss. However, how representation of subpopulations within the human satellite cell pool change during aging remains poorly understood. We previously reported a comprehensive baseline of human satellite cell (Hu-MuSCs) transcriptional activity in muscle homeostasis describing functional heterogenous human satellite cell subpopulations such as CAV1+ Hu-MUSCs (Barruet et al., 2020). Here, we sequenced additional satellite cells from new healthy donors and performed extended transcriptomic analyses with regard to aging. We found an age-related loss of global transcriptomic heterogeneity and identified new markers (CAV1, CXCL14, GPX3) along with previously described ones (FN1, ITGB1, SPRY1) that are altered during aging in human satellite cells. These findings describe new transcriptomic changes that occur during aging in human satellite cells and provide a foundation for understanding functional impact.
Strategic exploration in the macaque’s prefrontal cortex
Authors: Jahn Caroline I. , Grohn Jan , Cuell Steven , Emberton Andrew , Bouret Sebastien , Walton Mark E. , Kolling Nils , Sallet Jérôme 
Published: May 2022

AbstractHumans have been shown to strategically explore. They can identify situations in which gathering information about distant and uncertain options is beneficial for the future. Because primates rely on scare resources when they forage, they are also thought to strategically explore, but whether they use the same strategies as humans and the neural bases of strategic exploration in monkeys are largely unknown. We designed a sequential choice task to investigate whether monkeys mobilize strategic exploration based on whether that information can improve subsequent choice, but also to ask the novel question about whether monkeys adjust their exploratory choices based on the contingency between choice and information, by sometimes providing the counterfactual feedback, about the option not chosen. We show that monkeys decreased their reliance on expected value when exploration could be beneficial, but this was not mediated by changes in the effect of uncertainty on choices. We found strategic exploratory signals in anterior and mid-cingulate cortex (ACC/MCC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). This network was most active when a low value option was chosen which suggests a role in counteracting expected value signals, when exploration away from value should to be considered. Such strategic exploration was abolished when the counterfactual feedback was available. Learning from counterfactual outcome was associated with the recruitment of a different circuit centered on the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), where we showed that monkeys represent chosen and unchosen reward prediction errors. Overall, our study shows how ACC/MCC-dlPFC and OFC circuits together could support exploitation of available information to the fullest and drive behavior towards finding more information through exploration when it is beneficial.
siRNAs targeting a chromatin-associated RNA induce its transcriptional silencing in human cells
Authors: Ouvrard Julien , Muniz Lisa , Nicolas Estelle , Trouche Didier 
Published: May 2022

AbstractTranscriptional gene silencing by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has been widely described in various species, such as plants or fission yeasts. In mammals, its extent remained somewhat debated. Previous studies showed that siRNAs targeting gene promoters can induce the silencing of the targeted promoter, although the involvement of off-target mechanisms was also suggested. Here, by nascent RNA capture and RNA Pol II ChIP, we show that siRNAs targeting a chromatin-associated non-coding RNA induce its transcriptional silencing. Deletion of the sequence targeted by one of these siRNAs on the two alleles by genome editing further show that this silencing is due to base pairing of the siRNA to the target. Moreover, by using cells with heterozygous deletion of the target sequence, we show that only the wild type allele, but not the deleted allele, is silenced by the siRNA, indicating that transcriptional silencing occurs only in cis. Finally, we demonstrate that both Ago1 and Ago2 are involved in this transcriptional silencing. Altogether, our data demonstrate that siRNAs targeting a chromatin-associated RNA at distance from its promoter induce its transcriptional silencing. Our results thus extend the possible repertoire of endogenous or exogenous interfering RNAs.
Integrating and formatting biomedical data as pre-calculated knowledge graph embeddings in the Bioteque
Authors: Fernández-Torras Adrià , Duran-Frigola Miquel , Bertoni Martino , Locatelli Martina , Aloy Patrick 
Published: May 2022

AbstractBiomedical data is accumulating at a fast pace and integrating it into a unified framework is a major challenge, so that multiple views of a given biological event can be considered simultaneously. Here we present the Bioteque, a resource of unprecedented size and scope that contains pre-calculated biomedical descriptors derived from a gigantic knowledge graph, displaying more than 450 thousand biological entities and 30 million relationships between them. The Bioteque integrates, harmonizes, and formats data collected from over 150 data sources, including 12 biological entities (e.g., genes, diseases, drugs) linked by 67 types of associations (e.g., ‘drug treats disease’, ‘gene interacts with gene’). We show how Bioteque descriptors facilitate the assessment of high-throughput protein-protein interactome data, the prediction of drug response and new repurposing opportunities, and demonstrate that they can be used off-the-shelf in downstream machine learning tasks without loss of performance with respect to using original data. The Bioteque thus offers a thoroughly processed, tractable, and highly optimized assembly of the biomedical knowledge available in the public domain.
RFcaller: a machine learning approach combined with read-level features to detect somatic mutations
Authors: Díaz-Navarro Ander , Bousquets-Muñoz Pablo , Nadeu Ferran , López-Tamargo Sara , Beà Silvia , Campo Elias , Puente Xose S. 
Published: May 2022

ABSTRACTMotivationThe cost reduction in sequencing and the extensive genomic characterization of a wide variety of cancers is expanding the use of tumor sequencing approaches to a wide number of research groups and to the clinical practice. Although specific pipelines have been generated for the identification of somatic mutations, their results usually differ considerably, and a common approach in many projects is to use several callers to achieve a more reliable set of mutations. This procedure is computationally very expensive and time-consuming, and it suffers from the same limitations in sensitivity and specificity as other approaches. Expert revision of mutant calls is therefore required to verify calls that might be used for clinical diagnosis. Machine learning techniques provide a useful approach to incorporate expert-reviewed information for the identification of somatic mutations.ResultsWe have developed RFcaller, a pipeline based on machine learning algorithms, for the detection of somatic mutations in tumor-normal paired samples. RFcaller shows high accuracy for the detection of substitutions and indels from whole genome or exome data. It allows the detection of mutations in driver genes missed by other approaches, and has been validated by comparison to deep sequencing and Sanger sequencing. The pipeline is able to analyze a whole genome in a small period of time, and with a small computational footprint.Availability and implementationRFcaller is available at GitHub repository (https://github.com/xa-lab/RFcaller) and DockerHub (https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/labxa/rfcaller).Contactxspuente@uniovi.esSupplementary informationSupplementary data is available online.
Integrated Single-Cell Genotyping and Chromatin Accessibility ChartsJAK2V617FHuman Hematopoietic Differentiation
Authors: Myers Robert M. , Izzo Franco , Kottapalli Sanjay , Prieto Tamara , Dunbar Andrew , Bowman Robert L. , Mimitou Eleni P. , Stahl Maximilian , El Ghaity-Beckley Sebastian , Arandela JoAnn , Raviram Ramya , Ganesan Saravanan , Mekerishvili Levan , Hoffman Ronald , Chaligné Ronan , Abdel-Wahab Omar , Smibert Peter , Marcellino Bridget , Levine Ross L. , Landau Dan A. 
Published: May 2022

ABSTRACTIn normal somatic tissue differentiation, changes in chromatin accessibility govern priming and commitment of precursors towards cellular fates. In turn, somatic mutations can disrupt differentiation topologies leading to abnormal clonal outgrowth. However, defining the impact of somatic mutations on the epigenome in human samples is challenging due to admixed mutated and wildtype cells. To chart how somatic mutations disrupt epigenetic landscapes in human clonal outgrowths, we developed Genotyping of Targeted loci with single-cell Chromatin Accessibility (GoT-ChA). This high-throughput, broadly accessible platform links genotypes to chromatin accessibility at single-cell resolution, across thousands of cells within a single assay. We applied GoT-ChA to CD34+cells from myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patients withJAK2V617F-mutated hematopoiesis, where theJAK2mutation is known to perturb hematopoietic differentiation. Differential accessibility analysis between wildtype andJAK2V617Fmutant progenitors revealed both cell-intrinsic and cell state-specific shifts within mutant hematopoietic precursors. An early subset of mutant hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) exhibited a cell-intrinsic pro-inflammatory signature characterized by increased NF-κB and JUN/FOS transcription factor motif accessibility. In addition, mutant HSPCs showed increased myeloid/erythroid epigenetic priming, preceding increased erythroid and megakaryocytic cellular output. Erythroid progenitors displayed aberrant regulation of the γ-globin locus, providing an intrinsic epigenetic basis for the dysregulated fetal hemoglobin expression observed in MPNs. In contrast, megakaryocytic progenitors exhibited a more specialized inflammatory chromatin landscape relative to early HSPCs, with increased accessibility of pro-fibrotic JUN/FOS transcription factors. Notably, analysis of myelofibrosis patients treated with JAK inhibitors revealed an overall loss of mutant-specific phenotypes without modifying clonal burden, consistent with clinical responses. Finally, expansion of the multi-modality capability of GoT-ChA to integrate mitochondrial genome profiling and cell surface protein expression measurement enabled genotyping imputation and discovery of aberrant cellular phenotypes. Collectively, we show that theJAK2V617Fmutation leads to epigenetic rewiring in a cell-intrinsic and cell type-specific manner. We envision that GoT-ChA will thus serve as a foundation for broad future explorations to uncover the critical link between mutated somatic genotypes and epigenetic alterations across clonal populations in malignant and non-malignant contexts.
Life history and deleterious mutation rate coevolution
Authors: Avila Piret , Lehmann Laurent 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe cost of germline maintenance gives rise to a trade-off between lowering the deleterious mutation rate and investing in life history functions. Therefore, life history and the mutation rate coevolve, but this coevolution is not well understood. We develop a mathematical model to analyse the evolution of resource allocation traits, which simultaneously affect life history and the deleterious mutation rate. First, we show that the invasion fitness of such resource allocation traits can be approximated by the basic reproductive number of the least-loaded class; the expected lifetime production of offspring without deleterious mutations born to individuals without deleterious mutations. Second, we apply the model to investigate (i) the coevolution of reproductive effort and germline maintenance and (ii) the coevolution of age-at-maturity and germline maintenance. This analysis provides two resource allocation predictions when exposure to environmental mutagens is higher. First, selection favours higher allocation to germline maintenance, even if it comes at the expense of life history functions, and leads to a shift in allocation towards reproduction rather than survival. Second, life histories tend to be faster, characterized by individuals with shorter lifespans and smaller body sizes at maturity. Our results suggest that mutation accumulation via the cost of germline maintenance can be a major force shaping life-history traits.
Deaza-modification of MR1 ligands modulates recognition by MR1-restricted T cells
Authors: Jin Haihong , Ladd Nicole A. , Peev Andrew M. , Swarbrick Gwendolyn M. , Cansler Meghan , Null Megan , Boughter Christopher T. , McMurtrey Curtis , Nilsen Aaron , Dobos Karen M. , Hildebrand William H. , Lewinsohn Deborah A. , Adams Erin J. , Lewinsohn David M. , Harriff Melanie J. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractMR1-restricted T (MR1T) cells recognize microbial small molecule metabolites presented on the MHC Class I-like molecule MR1 and have been implicated in early effector responses to microbial infection. As a result, there is considerable interest in identifying chemical properties of metabolite ligands that permit recognition by MR1T cells, for consideration in therapeutic or vaccine applications. Here, we made chemical modifications to known MR1 ligands to evaluate the effect on MR1T cell activation. Specifically, we modified 6,7-dimethyl-8-D-ribityllumazine (DMRL) to generate 6,7-dimethyl-8-D-ribityldeazalumazine (DZ), and then further derivatized DZ to determine the requirements for retaining MR1 surface stabilization and agonistic properties. Interestingly, the IFN-γ response toward DZ varied widely across a panel of T cell receptor (TCR)-diverse MR1T cell clones; while one clone was agnostic toward the modification, most displayed either an enhancement or depletion of IFN-γ production when compared with its response to DMRL. To gain insight into a putative mechanism behind this phenomenon, we used in silico molecular docking techniques for DMRL and its derivatives and performed molecular dynamics simulations of the complexes. In assessing the dynamics of each ligand in the MR1 pocket, we found that DMRL and DZ exhibit differential dynamics of both the ribityl moiety and the aromatic backbone, which may contribute to ligand recognition. Together, our results support an emerging hypothesis for flexibility in MR1:ligand-MR1T TCR interactions and enable further exploration of the relationship between MR1:ligand structures and MR1T cell recognition for downstream applications targeting MR1T cells.