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Automated liquid handling and high-throughput preparation of polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA for microarray fabrication.

Genome-wide studies of gene expression and transcription factor-binding sites using DNA microarrays are leading to new systems level insights. The massively parallel nature of microarrays presents technical challenges: fabricating high-quality microarrays at the front end and data analysis and interpretation downstream. A principal challenge in fabricating microarrays is preparation of the DNA samples. This is particularly the case for polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA samples. The challenge is to scale up efficiently to high-throughput preparation of tens of thousands of DNA samples while ensuring a uniform high quality. This chapter outlines strategic considerations, including automated liquid handling and workflow development to maximize efficiency, and quality control (QC) measures to ensure uniform quality. The protocols are presented with commentary to illustrate their logic and specific techniques. These principles and techniques are extensible to other high-throughput molecular biological applications.

Animals↗

Protein therapeutics: promises and challenges for the 21st century.

Recent advances in massively parallel experimental and computational technologies are leading to radically new approaches to the early phases of the drug production pipeline. The revolution in DNA microarray technologies and the imminent emergence of its analogue for proteins, along with machine learning algorithms, promise rapid acceleration in the identification of potential drug targets, and in high-throughput screens for subpopulation-specific toxicity. Similarly, advances in structural genomics in conjunction with in vitro and in silico evolutionary methods will rapidly accelerate the number of lead drug candidates and substantially augment their target specificity. Taken collectively, these advances will usher in an era of predictive medicine, which will move medical practice from reactive therapy after disease onset, to proactive prevention.

Animals↗

Re-evaluation of foot process effacement in acute puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis.

The sequence of morphological changes during foot process effacement in acute puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis was examined by means of NaOH maceration and freeze cracking for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The micrographs of SEM and those of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were quantitatively analyzed by computerized morphometry, and were correlated with renal function. On day 2 after PAN injection, the slit length was moderately decreased by both shortening and degradation of the foot processes. On day 4, membrane-bounded vesicles were scattered in the lamina rara externa. During foot process effacement, the basal surface of podocytes developed palm-like domains that represented the cytoplasmic areas between interdigitation. The decrease in the length of podocyte cell borders paralleled the decrease of 24-hour creatinine clearance. The development of the palm-like domains on the basal aspects of podocytes estimated by distance class analysis was closely correlated with the sudden onset of proteinuria. We conclude that foot process effacement in PAN nephrosis caused by the retraction and degradation of foot processes leads to the development of palm-like domains, which is correlated with podocyte detachment as well as massive proteinuria.

Animals↗

Inhibitors of TLR-9 act on multiple cell subsets in mouse and man in vitro and prevent death in vivo from systemic inflammation.

In parallel with the discovery of the immunostimulatory activities of CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides, several groups have reported specific DNA sequences that could inhibit activation by CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides in mouse models. We show that these inhibitory sequences, termed IRS, inhibit TLR-9-mediated activation in human as well as mouse cells. This inhibitory activity includes proliferation and IL-6 production by B cells, and IFN-alpha and IL-12 production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Our studies of multiple cell types in both mice and humans show the optimal IRS to contain a GGGG motif within the sequence, and the activity to require a phosphorothioate backbone. Although the GGGG motif readily itself leads to formation of a tetrameric oligodeoxynucleotide structure, inhibitory activity resides exclusively in the single-stranded form. When coinjected with a CpG oligodeoxynucleotide in vivo, IRS were shown to inhibit inflammation through a reduction in serum cytokine responses. IRS do not need to be injected at the same site to inhibit, demonstrating that rapid, systemic inhibition of TLR-9 can be readily achieved. IRS can also inhibit a complex pathological response to ISS, as shown by protection from death after massive systemic inflammation induced by a CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Mouse Eotaxin expression parallels eosinophil accumulation during lung allergic inflammation but it is not restricted to a Th2-type response.

A model of lung eosinophilia based on the repeated exposure of mice to aerosolized OVA has been used to identify C-C chemokine genes expressed at stages of massive eosinophil infiltration. We describe the identification and cloning of a cDNA that encodes a mouse C-C chemokine with 68% amino acid identity to guinea pig Eotaxin. The recombinant protein encoded by this gene displays potent and specific chemotactic activity for eosinophils, both in vivo and in vitro. Its mRNA levels parallel the kinetics of eosinophil accumulation in the lung during the experimentally induced eosinophilia and it is mainly produced by type I alveolar epithelial cells. The mRNA expression of mouse Eotaxin is not restricted to Th2 T cells in vitro and is independent of the development of a Th2-type response during N. brasiliensis infection, in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a distinct class of cytoskeleton-associated mRNAs using microarray technology.

BACKGROUND: Interactions between mRNA and the cytoskeleton are critical for the localization of a number of transcripts in eukaryotic somatic cells. To characterize additional transcripts that may be subject to this form of regulation, we developed a two-step approach that utilizes biochemical fractionation of cells to isolate transcripts from different subcellular compartments followed by microarray analysis to examine and compare these subpopulations of transcripts in a massively-parallel manner. RESULTS: Using this approach, mRNA was extracted from the cytoskeleton-rich and the cytosolic fractions of the promyelocytic HL-60 cell line. We identify a subset of 22 transcripts that are significantly enriched in the cytoskeleton-associated population. The majority of these encode structural proteins and/or proteins known to interact with elements of the cytoskeleton. Localization required an intact actin cytoskeleton and was largely conserved upon differentiation of precursor HL-60 cells to a macrophage-like phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the association of transcripts with the actin cytoskeleton in somatic cells may be a critical post-transcriptional regulatory event that controls a larger class of genes than has previously been recognized.

Cell Fractionation↗

Human Vam6p promotes lysosome clustering and fusion in vivo.

Regulated fusion of mammalian lysosomes is critical to their ability to acquire both internalized and biosynthetic materials. Here, we report the identification of a novel human protein, hVam6p, that promotes lysosome clustering and fusion in vivo. Although hVam6p exhibits homology to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar protein sorting gene product Vam6p/Vps39p, the presence of a citron homology (CNH) domain at the NH(2) terminus is unique to the human protein. Overexpression of hVam6p results in massive clustering and fusion of lysosomes and late endosomes into large (2-3 microm) juxtanuclear structures. This effect is reminiscent of that caused by expression of a constitutively activated Rab7. However, hVam6p exerts its effect even in the presence of a dominant-negative Rab7, suggesting that it functions either downstream of, or in parallel to, Rab7. Data from gradient fractionation, two-hybrid, and coimmunoprecipitation analyses suggest that hVam6p is a homooligomer, and that its self-assembly is mediated by a clathrin heavy chain repeat domain in the middle of the protein. Both the CNH and clathrin heavy chain repeat domains are required for induction of lysosome clustering and fusion. This study implicates hVam6p as a mammalian tethering/docking factor characterized with intrinsic ability to promote lysosome fusion in vivo.

Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport↗

The Escherichia coli MotAB proton channel unplugged.

The MotA and MotB proteins of Escherichia coli serve two functions. The MotA4MotB2 complex attaches to the cell wall via MotB to form the stator of the flagellar motor. The complex also couples the flow of hydrogen ions across the cell membrane to movement of the rotor. The TM3 and TM4 transmembrane helices of MotA and the single TM of MotB comprise the proton channel, which is inactive until the complex assembles into a motor. Here, we identify a segment of the MotB protein that acts as a plug to prevent premature proton flow. The plug is in the periplasm just C-terminal to the MotB TM. It consists of an amphipathic alpha helix flanked by Pro52 and Pro65. When MotA is over-expressed with MotB deleted for residues 51-70, a massive influx of protons acidifies the cytoplasm without significantly depleting the proton motive force. Either that acidification or some sequela thereof, such as potassium or water efflux from the cells, inhibits growth. The Pro residues and Ile58, Tyr61, and Phe62 are essential for plug function. Cys-substituted MotB proteins form a disulfide bond between the two plugs that hold the channels open, and the plugs function intrans within the MotA4MotB2 complex. We present a model in which the MotA4MotB2 complex forms in the bulk membrane. Before association with a motor, we propose the plugs insert into the cell membrane parallel with its periplasmic face and interfere with channel formation. When a complex incorporates into a motor, the plugs leave the membrane and associate with each other via their hydrophobic faces to hold the proton channel open.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Silencing of the hydra serine protease inhibitor Kazal1 gene mimics the human SPINK1 pancreatic phenotype.

In hydra, the endodermal epithelial cells carry out the digestive function together with the gland cells that produce zymogens and express the evolutionarily conserved gene Kazal1. To assess the hydra Kazal1 function, we silenced gene expression through double-stranded RNA feeding. A progressive Kazal1 silencing affected homeostatic conditions as evidenced by the low budding rate and the induced animal death. Concomitantly, a dramatic disorganization followed by a massive death of gland cells was observed, whereas the cytoplasm of digestive cells became highly vacuolated. The presence of mitochondria and late endosomes within those vacuoles assigned them as autophagosomes. The enhanced Kazal1 expression in regenerating tips was strongly diminished in Kazal1(-) hydra, and the amputation stress led to an immediate disorganization of the gland cells, vacuolization of the digestive cells and death after prolonged silencing. This first cellular phenotype resulting from a gene knock-down in cnidarians suggests that the Kazal1 serine-protease-inhibitor activity is required to prevent excessive autophagy in intact hydra and to exert a cytoprotective function to survive the amputation stress. Interestingly, these functions parallel the pancreatic autophagy phenotype observed upon mutation within the Kazal domain of the SPINK1 and SPINK3 genes in human and mice, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Signal amplification by rolling circle amplification on DNA microarrays.

While microarrays hold considerable promise in large-scale biology on account of their massively parallel analytical nature, there is a need for compatible signal amplification procedures to increase sensitivity without loss of multiplexing. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a molecular amplification method with the unique property of product localization. This report describes the application of RCA signal amplification for multiplexed, direct detection and quantitation of nucleic acid targets on planar glass and gel-coated microarrays. As few as 150 molecules bound to the surface of microarrays can be detected using RCA. Because of the linear kinetics of RCA, nucleic acid target molecules may be measured with a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude. Consequently, RCA is a promising technology for the direct measurement of nucleic acids on microarrays without the need for a potentially biasing preamplification step.

Alleles↗

Biochip technologies in cancer research.

Development of high-throughput 'biochip' technologies has dramatically enhanced our ability to study biology and explore the molecular basis of disease. Biochips enable massively parallel molecular analyses to be carried out in a miniaturized format with a very high throughput. This review will highlight applications of the various biochip technologies in cancer research, including analysis of 1) disease predisposition by using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays, 2) global gene expression patterns by cDNA microarrays, 3) concentrations, functional activities or interactions of proteins with proteomic biochips, and 4) cell types or tissues as well as clinical endpoints associated with molecular targets by using tissue microarrays. One can predict that individual cancer risks can, in the future, be estimated accurately by a microarray profile of multiple SNPs in critical genes. Diagnostics of cancer will be facilitated by biochip readout of activity levels of thousands of genes and proteins. Biochip diagnostics coupled with informatics solutions will form the basis of individualized treatment decisions for cancer patients.

Computational Biology↗

End-linked homodimers in fibrinogen Osaka VI with a B beta-chain extension lead to fragile clot structure.

The authors have identified a 12-residue carboxyl-terminal extension of Lys-Ser-Pro-Met-Arg-Arg-Phe-Leu-Leu-Phe-Cys-Met in a dysfibrinogen derived from a woman heterozygotic for this abnormality and associated with severe bleeding. This extension is due to a T-to-A mutation that creates AAG encoding Lys at the stop (TAG) codon, thus translating 36 base pairs in the noncoding region of the Bbeta gene. The extra Cys residues appear to be involved in 1 or 2 disulfide bonds between 2 adjacent abnormal fibrinogen molecules, forming a fibrinogen homodimer as indicated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Indeed, about half of the fibrinogen molecules exist as end-linked dimers oriented in parallel or with an angle, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. These end-linked dimers may well alter the conformations of D and DD regions on fibrin assembly, leading to increased fiber branching at their sites in the growing protofibrils. By scanning electron microscopy, the Osaka VI fibrin network appears to have a lacelike structure composed of highly branched, thinner fibers than the normal fibrin architecture. Such fibrin networks may be easily damaged to form large pores when fluids are allowed to pass through the gels. The fragility of Osaka VI fibrin clots, further confirmed by permeation and compaction studies, may account for the massive bleeding observed in this patient. (Blood. 2000;96:3779-3785)

Adult↗

Microarray expression profiling: analysis and applications.

Recent advances in the technology of massive parallel gene expression profiling using microarrays are revolutionizing biomedical research and pharmacological discovery. These new and powerful tools allow researchers to examine the dynamics of a whole biological system by simultaneously interrogating the expression of tens of thousands of genes. This article will review the various bioinformatics and statistical methods commonly used to analyze the enormous amounts of data generated by this technology. The objective of these analyses is to reliably extract important biological information from carefully designed and controlled microarray experiments, and to organize the information in ways that reveal structured and coordinated physiological processes and key components controlling the biological responses studied. The major applications of the microarray technology, recently used to address a variety of biological questions of interest to scientists and clinicians in academia, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, will also be presented.

Databases, Genetic↗

Disrupted synaptic development in the hypoxic newborn brain.

Infants born prematurely risk significant life-long cognitive disability, representing a major pediatric health crisis. The neuropathology of this cohort is accurately modeled in mice subjected to sublethal postnatal hypoxia. Massively parallel transcriptome analysis using cDNA microchips (9,262 genes), combined with immunohistochemical and protein assays, reveals that sublethal hypoxia accentuates genes subserving presynaptic function, and it suppresses genes involved with synaptic maturation, postsynaptic function, and neurotransmission. Other significantly affected pathways include those involved with glial maturation, vasculogenesis, and components of the cortical and microtubular cytoskeleton. These patterns reveal a global dysynchrony in the maturation programs of the hypoxic developing brain, and offer insights into the vulnerabilities of processes that guide early postnatal cerebral maturation.

Animals↗

Genetic test bed for feature selection.

MOTIVATION: Given a large set of potential features, such as the set of all gene-expression values from a microarray, it is necessary to find a small subset with which to classify. The task of finding an optimal feature set of a given size is inherently combinatoric because to assure optimality all feature sets of a given size must be checked. Thus, numerous suboptimal feature-selection algorithms have been proposed. There are strong impediments to evaluate feature-selection algorithms using real data when data are limited, a common situation in genetic classification. The difficulty is compound. First, there are no class-conditional distributions from which to draw data points, only a single small labeled sample. Second, there are no test data with which to estimate the feature-set errors, and one must depend on a training-data-based error estimator. Finally, there is no optimal feature set with which to compare the feature sets found by the algorithms. RESULTS: This paper describes a genetic test bed for the evaluation of feature-selection algorithms. It begins with a large biological feature-label dataset that is used as an empirical distribution and, using massively parallel computation, finds the top feature sets of various sizes based on a given sample size and classification rule. The user can draw random samples from the data, apply a proposed algorithm, and evaluate the proficiency of the proposed algorithm via three different measures (code provided). A key feature of the test bed is that, once a dataset is input, a single command creates the entire test bed relative to the dataset. The particular dataset used for the first version of the test bed comes from a microarray-based classification study that analyzes a large number of microarrays, prepared with RNA from breast tumor samples from each of 295 patients. AVAILABILITY: The software and supplementary material are available at http://public.tgen.org/tgen-cb/support/testbed/ CONTACT: edward@ece.tamu.edu.

Algorithms↗

A high speed optical multichannel analyzer.

An optical multichannel analyzer capable of recording spectra at sampling rates up to 100 kHz is described. The instrument, designed to gather data on the kinetic reaction mechanisms of biological preparations such as cytochrome oxidase and bacteriorhodopsin, features a massively parallel approach in which each photosensing element of the detector array has a dedicated amplifier, integrator, analog to digital converter, and sample buffer. The design has 92 such elements divided in two separate arrays, each of which sits at the focal plane of a 1/4 m Ebert spectrometer. The spectrometers may be tuned to cover independent, 130 nm wide, regions of the spectrum from 350 nm to 900 nm with a dispersion of 2.8 nm per element. Each detection channel has 12-bit resolution with an electronic dark count of 1 count and may be sampled 1024 times during a single experiment with dynamically variable sampling intervals from 10 microseconds to several seconds. Time averaging of up to thousands of consecutive laser-initiated kinetic cycles allows analyses of spectral changes < 0.001 optical density units. A personal computer with custom software provides a number of features: entry of experiment parameters; transfer of data from temporary buffers to permanent files; real time display; multiple spectrum averaging; and control and synchronization of associated system hardware. Optical fibers or lenses provide coupling from a parabolic reflector Xenon arc monitoring light source, through the sample chamber, to the entry slit of the monochromator. The instrument has been used for extensive studies on the rapid kinetics and definition of reaction sequences of the energy-transducing enzymes cytochrome oxidase and bacteriorhodopsin. Some results from these studies are discussed.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

Overexpression of the relA gene in Escherichia coli.

Intracellular levels of guanosine 3',5'-bispyrophosphate (ppGpp) governed by the relA gene are normally regulated by aminoacyl-tRNA availability for protein synthesis. An experimental system is described in which cellular levels of ppGpp are controlled instead by induction of plasmid pKK223-3 derivatives with the relA structural gene, or portions thereof, under control of the Ptac promoter. In amino acid-rich media, isopropyl-1-thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside induction of transcription of the wild type relA gene in pSM10 yields about a 100-fold overexpression of a metabolically stable, full length (743 amino acid) RelA protein to levels approximating the number of cellular ribosomes. This overexpression is accompanied by a roughly parallel and relC-dependent elevation of ppGpp levels. Induction of a relA gene deletion mutant in pSM11 containing 455 amino-terminal amino acids results in much lower levels of expression of a metabolically unstable 55-kDa protein and elevated ppGpp levels that are almost equivalent to induced pSM10 and are relC-independent. Induction of a larger deletion in pSM12 containing 331 amino-terminal amino acids does not provoke ppGpp accumulation. We are able to elicit high levels of ppGpp without changing nutritional abundance and without massive overexpression of the RelA protein by inducing the metabolically unstable, truncated RelA protein. We find the effects of elevated ppGpp levels to include a slowing of growth, an inhibition of stable RNA accumulation, an inhibition of cellular rrn P1 promoter activities as measured by primer extension, and changes in the pattern of gene expression viewed by two-dimensional electrophoresis of cellular proteins.

Base Sequence↗

Gene and protein profiling of the response of MA-10 Leydig tumor cells to human chorionic gonadotropin.

Activation of the steroidogenic machinery by peptide hormones involves a number of steps for transmitting signals from the plasma membrane to mitochondria in a spatially and temporally coordinated manner. Although key proteins mediating the hormonal signal have been identified, recent data suggest that the pathway might involve more complex protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. Genomic and proteomic methods of analysis, namely the Affymetrix Murine Genome U74A v2 GeneChip and the BD PowerBlot Western Array, were used to identify human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-induced changes in mRNA and protein of MA-10 Leydig tumor cells that parallel the increase seen in progesterone synthesis. To analyze the massive amount of data that was generated, a comprehensive protein information matrix summarizing the features of each gene or protein, including its known properties, as well as annotations derived by homology-based functional inference, was developed. Of the genes examined by Affymetrix array, approximately 79 were differentially expressed and of gene products examined by PowerBlot, 9 were differentially expressed (above twofold). Changes in the expression of selected transcripts of interest were confirmed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunoblot analyses. Collectively, these results indicate that hormonal regulation of steroidogenesis is a complex phenomenon, involving proteins that participate in various known and novel pathways, which are implicated in transmitting signals from the plasma membrane to mitochondria and nucleus.

Blotting, Western↗