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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources

Effects of mustard sprouts and allylisothiocyanate on benzo(a)pyrene-induced DNA damage in human-derived cells: a model study with the single cell gel electrophoresis/Hep G2 assay.

The aim of this study was to investigate the chemoprotective effects of mustard sprouts on benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced DNA damage in the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE)/Hep G2 assay. This model combines the advantages of the SCGE assay with that of human-derived cells that possess inducible phase I and phase II enzymes. Treatment of the cells with small amounts of mustard juice (0.1-1.25 microl/ml) and B(a)P reduced the genotoxic effect of the carcinogen in a dose-dependent manner. Contrary to the results with the juice, unexpected synergistic effects were observed with allyl isothiocyanate (AITC, 0.3 microM), a breakdown product of sinigrin, which is contained in black mustard and many other cruciferous vegetables. Although these concentrations of AITC did not cause DNA damage per se, pronounced dose-dependent DNA damage was seen with higher concentrations of AITC (>or= 25 microM). In parallel with the comet assays, also enzyme measurements were carried out which showed that exposure of the cells to mustard juice (2.0 microl/ml) causes a moderate induction of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, and more pronounced (approximately 2-fold) increase of the activity of glutathione-S-transferase. In conclusion, our findings indicate that i) mustard juice is highly protective against B(a)P-induced DNA damage in human derived cells and ii) that induction of detoxifying enzymes may account for its chemoprotective properties. iii) Furthermore, our findings show that the effects of crude juice can not be explained by its allyl isothiocyanate contents.

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

A simple combined microdissection and aspiration device for the rapid procurement of single cells from clinical peripheral blood smears.

Molecular analysis of cells from cytology specimens can help to establish a diagnosis in ambiguous cases. However, mutations in heterogeneous samples might not be detected because of the diluting effect of DNA from normal background cells. Even if a mutation were detected, it could not be traced back to a specific cell type. Molecular analysis of single cells circumvents this problem. Both mechanical and laser assisted methods have been described for the selective procurement of cells from histology slides; however, they have the drawback of either being technically demanding or expensive. Furthermore, it is nuclear whether they can be applied to cytology specimens. Finally, few of these techniques are able to procure single cells. Therefore, we developed a simplified combined microdissection and aspiration device for the rapid procurement of single cells from clinical cytology specimens. The principle of this device, called the cytopicker, is the combination of the microdissection tool, a steel cannula, with the aspiration tool, a glass capillary connected to a vacuum, into one device. Steel cannulae are optimal for microdissection of cells from the hard matrix of cytology specimens but aspirate poorly. On the other hand, glass capillaries are suboptimal for dissecting but aspirate very well. Combining both tools into one by inserting the capillary into the cannula allows optimal dissection using the cannula (with the glass capillary with-drawn and thus protected), followed by optimal aspiration using the capillary (after being advanced through the cannula). All movements of the device are controlled by just one micromanipulator, making the cytopicker inexpensive to manufacture. The cytopicker can rapidly and simply procure single cells, such as lymphoblasts, from cytology specimens, such as peripheral blood smears. DNA from these cells can be amplified by PCR. However, precautions have to be taken to avoid contamination. Once improved further, the cytopicker might facilitate molecular analysis in the routine cytology laboratory.

Blood Specimen Collection↗

Cell surface antigens: serial sectioning of single cells as an approach to topographical analysis.

The topographical distribution of H-2 antigens on the surfaces of C57BL/6 mouse thymocytes and lymph-node lymphocytes was investigated by a new technique. Single cells were reacted with visually labeled antibody directed against H-2 antigen. Each cell was processed for electron microscopy individually and was serially sectioned. Models constructed from serial electron micrographs provided detailed views of the entire cell surface and showed that H-2 antigen occurs on thymocytes in small isolated regions and on lymphocytes in large interconnected regions.

Animals↗

Localization of dopamine D1-receptor to A-type horizontal cells in the rabbit retina by single cell RT-PCR.

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter regulating light-dark adaptation in the retina. The effect of dopamine is widespread and dependent on the localization of its receptors. We performed single cell RT-PCR on A-type horizontal cells visually selected from dissociated rabbit retinal neurons. Dopamine D1-receptor mRNA was positively identified. Subsequent sequencing of the fragment showed 82% homology with rat D1 receptor and 87% homology with human D1 receptor. This study supported previous observations that dopamine regulated A-type horizontal cell coupling via D1 receptors at the level of transcription.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

Cell mechanics using atomic force microscopy-based single-cell compression.

We report herein the establishment of a single-cell compression method based on force measurements in atomic force microscopy (AFM). The high-resolution bright-field or confocal laser scanning microscopy guides the location of the AFM probe and then monitors the deformation of cell shape, while microsphere-modified AFM probes compress the cell and measure the force. Force and deformation profiles of living cells reveal a cubic relationship at small deformation (<30%), multiple peaks at 30-70% compression, and a rapid increase at over 80% deformation. The initial compression may be described qualitatively and quantitatively using a simple model of a nonpermeable balloon filled with incompressible fluid. Stress peaks reflect cell membrane rupture, followed by the deformation and rupture of intracellular components, beyond which the cell responses become irreversible. The Young's modulus and bending constant of living cell membranes are extracted from the balloon models, with 10-30 MPa and 17-52 kT, respectively. The initial compression of dead and fixed cells is modeled using Hertzian contact theory, assuming that the cell is a homogeneous sphere. Dead cells exhibit a cytoskeleton elasticity of 4-7.5 kPa, while fixation treatment leads to a dramatic increase in the cytoskeletal Young's modulus (150-230 kPa) due to protein cross-linking by imine bonds. These results demonstrate the high sensitivity of the single-cell compression method to the molecular-level structural changes of cells, which suggests a new generic platform for investigating cell mechanics in tissue engineering and cancer research.

Cell Shape↗

PATTY corrects open chromatin bias for improved bulk and single-cell CUT&Tag profiling.

Precise profiling of epigenomes is essential for better understanding chromatin biology and gene regulation. Cleavage Under Targets & Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) is an efficient epigenomic profiling technique that can be performed on a low number of cells and at the single-cell level. With its growing adoption, CUT&Tag datasets spanning diverse biological systems are rapidly accumulating in the field. CUT&Tag assays use the hyperactive transposase Tn5 for DNA tagmentation. Tn5's preference toward accessible chromatin alters CUT&Tag sequence read distributions in the genome and introduces open chromatin bias that can confound downstream analysis, an issue more substantial in sparse single-cell data. We show that open chromatin bias extensively exists in published CUT&Tag datasets, including those generated with recently optimized high-salt protocols. To address this challenge, we present PATTY (Propensity Analyzer for Tn5 Transposase Yielded bias), a comprehensive computational method that corrects open chromatin bias in CUT&Tag data by leveraging accompanying ATAC-seq. By integrating transcriptomic and epigenomic data using machine learning and integrative modeling, we demonstrate that PATTY enables accurate and robust detection of occupancy sites for both active and repressive histone modifications, including H3K27ac, H3K27me3, and H3K9me3, with experimental validation. We further develop a single-cell CUT&Tag analysis framework built on PATTY and show improved cell clustering when using bias-corrected single-cell CUT&Tag data compared to using uncorrected data. Beyond CUT&Tag, PATTY sets a foundation for further development of bias correction methods for improving data analysis for all Tn5-based high-throughput assays.

Journal Article↗

PATTY corrects open-chromatin bias for improved bulk and single-cell CUT&Tag profiling.

Precise profiling of epigenomes is essential for better understanding chromatin biology and gene regulation. Cleavage Under Targets & Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) is an efficient epigenomic profiling technique that can be performed on a low number of cells and at the single-cell level. With its growing adoption, CUT&Tag datasets spanning diverse biological systems are rapidly accumulating in the field. CUT&Tag assays use the hyperactive transposase Tn5 for DNA tagmentation. Tn5's preference toward accessible chromatin alters CUT&Tag sequence read distributions in the genome and introduces open-chromatin bias that can confound downstream analysis, an issue more substantial in sparse single-cell data. We show that open-chromatin bias extensively exists in published CUT&Tag datasets, including those generated with recently optimized high-salt protocols. To address this challenge, we present PATTY (Propensity Analyzer for Tn5 Transposase Yielded bias), a comprehensive computational method that corrects open-chromatin bias in CUT&Tag data by leveraging accompanying ATAC-seq. By integrating transcriptomic and epigenomic data using machine learning and integrative modeling, we demonstrate that PATTY enables accurate and robust detection of occupancy sites for both active and repressive histone modifications, including H3K27ac, H3K27me3, and H3K9me3, with experimental validation. We further develop a single-cell CUT&Tag analysis framework built on PATTY and show improved cell clustering when using bias-corrected single-cell CUT&Tag data compared to using uncorrected data. Beyond CUT&Tag, PATTY sets a foundation for further development of bias correction methods for improving data analysis for all Tn5-based high-throughput assays.

Journal Article↗

Microfluidic single-cell mRNA isolation and analysis.

Single-cell gene expression analysis holds great promise for studying diverse biological systems, but methodology to process these precious samples in a reproducible, quantitative, and parallel fashion remains challenging. Here, we utilize microfluidics to isolate picogram and subpicogram mRNA templates, as well as to synthesize cDNA from these templates. We demonstrate single-cell mRNA isolation and cDNA synthesis, provide quantitative calibrations for each step in the process, and measure gene expression in individual cells. The techniques presented here form the foundation for highly parallel single-cell gene expression studies.

Animals↗

Single-Cell Proteomics Reveals Proteome Remodeling and Cellular Heterogeneity During NGF-Induced PC12 Neuronal Differentiation.

Single-cell proteomics enables direct measurement of cellular heterogeneity during dynamic biological processes, but its application to fragile and highly adherent neuronal models remains challenging. Here, we developed and applied an optimized single-cell proteomics workflow to characterize proteome remodeling during nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced differentiation of PC12 cells. To enable reliable single-cell analysis, we implemented gentle dissociation, antiaggregation strategies, and thermal inkjet-based cell dispensing, achieving high accuracy in single-cell isolation. Inclusion of n-dodecyl-&#x3b2;-d-maltoside (DDM) improved recovery of membrane-associated and low-solubility proteins. Coupled with LC-ion mobility-mass spectrometry, this workflow enabled quantification of 2,000-3,000 proteins per cell across the differentiation time course. Single-cell proteomic analysis revealed progressive and heterogeneous proteome remodeling during differentiation. While undifferentiated cells formed a relatively homogeneous population, later stages (Days 4-6) exhibited increased variability, including multimodal protein abundance distributions and separation into distinct subpopulations. Dimensionality reduction, clustering, and non-negative matrix factorization identified multiple coexisting proteomic states within the same time points, reflecting asynchronous differentiation trajectories. These subpopulations were characterized by coordinated differences in pathways related to intracellular trafficking, protein translation, cytoskeletal organization, and neuronal maturation. Comparison with bulk proteomics demonstrated that proteins associated with differentiated neuronal states, including those involved in neurite formation and structural remodeling, are underrepresented in population-averaged measurements but are enriched within specific single-cell subpopulations. Temporal and cluster-resolved analyses further revealed distinct protein expression trajectories, including early decreases in cell cycle and metabolic pathways and later increases in neuronal structural and regulatory proteins. Together, this study establishes an optimized workflow for single-cell proteomics of neuronal systems and demonstrates that NGF-induced PC12 differentiation proceeds through heterogeneous and divergent proteomic states that are not resolved by bulk analysis.

Animals↗

T-cell cytokine profile evaluated at the single cell level in BAL and blood in allergic asthma.

Atopic asthma is characterized by bronchial mucosal inflammation, involving eosinophils, mast cells, and lymphocytes. It has been suggested that the development and maintenance of this allergic inflammation is due to T-lymphocyte activation with predominant production of the cytokines interleukin 4 (IL-4) and IL-5. To address the ability of peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage T-cells to generate IL-2, IL-4, or interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), we have employed a flow cytometric method which permits analysis of cytokine production at the single cell level within 5 h of obtaining cell samples. When stimulated with PMA and ionomycin, there was a greatly increased percentage of IFN-gamma-producing cells among bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) T-cells from the subjects with asthma (median 74%), compared with atopic and nonatopic controls (35 and 43%, respectively; P>0.01). The proportion of BAL T-cells producing IL-4 was small (median 1.7%, range 0 to 7.8% in the asthmatic group). In all three groups, the proportion of BAL T-cells producing IL-2 or IFN-gamma was increased compared with T-cells from peripheral blood. There was no significant difference between the three groups in the percentage of BAL T-cells producing IL-2, or in the percentage of peripheral blood T-cells producing IFN-gamma, IL-2 or IL-4. These findings indicate that IL-4 production is confined to a relatively small proportion of airway and blood T-cells and that there is selective enhancement of IFN-gamma production by airway T-cells in asthma.

Adult↗

Activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with sarcoidosis: visualisation of single cell activation products.

BACKGROUND: Interstitial lung diseases are characterised by the recruitment of mononuclear cells to disease sites where maturation occurs and activation products, including lysozyme (LZM), are released. Analysis of in vitro cell culture supernatants for activation products masks the functional heterogeneity of cell populations. It is therefore necessary to examine the secretion of activation products by single cells to assess whether the activation of newly recruited mononuclear phagocytes at the sites of disease in the lung is uniform and controlled by the local microenvironment. METHODS: The reverse haemolytic plaque assay was used to evaluate, at a single cell level, the ability of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from seven patients with sarcoidosis to activate Ficoll-Hypaque-separated peripheral blood mononuclear cells by comparison with BAL fluid from six normal volunteers and nine patients with systemic sclerosis. Monolayers of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and sheep red blood cells were cultured either alone or in the presence of 20% (v/v) BAL fluid with a polyclonal anti-LZM antibody. LZM/anti-LZM complexes bound to red blood cells surrounding the secreting cells were disclosed following complement lysis of red blood cells and quantification of plaque dimensions using microscopy and image analysis. RESULTS: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from all the patients with sarcoidosis increased LZM secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with unstimulated mononuclear cells. By contrast, BAL fluid from the other individuals had no effect on LZM secretion. CONCLUSIONS: Single cells activated by BAL fluid can be evaluated by the reverse haemolytic plaque assay. BAL fluid from patients with sarcoidosis, but not from patients with systemic sclerosis or normal individuals, contains components capable of activating mononuclear phagocytes to secrete lysozyme.

Adult↗

Transport of reactive metabolites of procarcinogens between different liver cell types, as demonstrated by the single cell microgel electrophoresis assay.

Procarcinogens have to be activated by specific cytochromes before showing adverse effects. Freshly isolated hepatocytes (parenchymal liver cells, PC) are characterized by a high content of such xenobiotic enzymes and are widely used to investigate chemically induced DNA damage. But in many cases liver tumors caused by indirect acting carcinogens can also originate from non-parenchymal liver cells (NPC). We used freshly isolated rat PC and NPC to demonstrate that only PC have activation capacity when treated in vitro with different genotoxic procarcinogens (N-nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA; vinyl chloride, VC). The alkaline single cell microgel electrophoresis assay was applied to measure the genotoxic activity of the activated compounds. In order to test the hypothesis that reactive metabolites can be transported from PC to NPC, we performed additional in vivo studies as well as studies in which PC were incubated together with NPC, only separated by a dialysis tube (in vitro coincubation). The results indicate that reactive metabolites of both NDMA and VC are stable enough to be transported intercellularly from PC to NPC.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Evaluation of the genotoxicity induced by the fungicide fenarimol in mammalian and plant cells by use of the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay.

Fenarimol, a systemic pyrimidine carbinol fungicide, is considered to be not genotoxic or weakly genotoxic, although the available toxicological data are controversial and incomplete. Our results obtained in vitro with leukocytes of two different rodent species (rat and mouse) show that fenarimol affects DNA, as detected by the single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE, Comet) assay. This fungicide is able to induce DNA damage in a dose-related manner, with significant effectiveness at 36 nM, but without significant interspecies differences. Simultaneous exposure of rat leukocytes to fenarimol (36-290 nM) and a model genotoxic compound (50 microg/ml bleomycin) produced a supra-additive cytotoxic and genotoxic effect. This supports previous findings suggesting possible co-toxic, co-mutagenic, cancer-promoting and co-carcinogenic potential of fenarimol, and modification of the effects of other xenobiotics found to be influenced by this agrotoxic chemical, with consequent different toxicological events. The potential for DNA strand breaks to act as a biomarker of genetic toxicity in plants in vivo was also considered, in view of the fact that higher plants represent reliable sensors in an ecosystem. Significant DNA breakage was observed in the nuclei of Impatiens balsamina leaves after in vivo treatment with fenarimol (145 nM, 1h). More than 50% of the cells showed such DNA damage.

Animals↗

Is the AMPA receptor subunit GluR2 mRNA an early indicator of cell fate after ischemia? A quantitative single cell RT-PCR study.

After a moderate global cerebral ischemia, two hypothetical populations of pyramidal neurons are present among the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons: one that will die and another one that will survive. Prior analysis of dissected hippocampal CA1 regions has shown a reduction of the GluR1-3 mRNA following ischemia. In order to identify these changes in single neurons, quantitative single cell RT-PCR was used to analyze the expression of GluR1-4 mRNA in rats 24 h after ischemia and also in rats after tolerance inducing ischemia. Control CA1 cells had a median copy-number of 290, 247, 207 and 16 GluR1-4, respectively. The tolerant cells showed small significant up-regulations of GluR1, 3 and 4 mRNA, while the GluR2 mRNA showed a more than 4-fold up-regulation compared to control cells. All the cells from ischemic animals displayed down-regulations of GluR1-3 mRNA. The GluR4 mRNA was not detectable in the ischemic animals. Our results thus show that the CA1 neurons react uniformly 24 h after a moderate ischemia independent of the fate of the neuron: thus two neuron populations with different GluR2 profiles cannot be identified in post-ischemic animals at 24 h. It seems however that an increased level of GluR2 can be used as an indicator of tolerance to ischemia.

Animals↗

Differentiation and stability of T helper 1 and 2 cells derived from naive human neonatal CD4+ T cells, analyzed at the single-cell level.

The development of CD4+ T helper (Th) type 1 and 2 cells is essential for the eradication of pathogens, but can also be responsible for various pathological disorders. Therefore, modulation of Th cell differentiation may have clinical utility in the treatment of human disease. Here, we show that interleukin (IL) 12 and IL-4 directly induce human neonatal CD4- T cells, activated via CD3 and CD28, to differentiate into Th1 and Th2 subsets. In contrast, IL-13, which shares many biological activities with IL-4, failed to induce T cell differentiation, consistent with the observation that human T cells do not express IL-13 receptors. Both the IL-12-induced Th1 subset and the IL-4-induced Th2 subset produce large quantities of IL-10, confirming that human IL-10 is not a typical human Th2 cytokine. Interestingly, IL-4-driven Th2 cell differentiation was completely prevented by an IL-4 mutant protein (IL-4.Y124D), indicating that this molecule acts as a strong IL-4 receptor antagonist. Analysis of single T cells producing interferon gamma or IL-4 revealed that induction of Th1 cell differentiation occurred rapidly and required only 4 d of priming of the neonatal CD4+ T cells in the presence of IL-12. The IL-12-induced Th1 cell phenotype was stable and was not significantly affected when repeatedly stimulated in the presence of recombinant IL-4. In contrast, the differentiation of Th2 cells occurred slowly and required not only 6 d of priming, but also additional restimulation of the primed CD4+ T cells in the presence of IL-4. Moreover, IL-4-induced Th2 cell phenotypes were not stable and could rapidly be reverted into a population predominantly containing Th0 and Th1 cells, after a single restimulation in the presence of IL-12. The observed differences in stability of IL-12- and IL-4-induced human Th1 and Th2 subsets, respectively, may have implications for cytokine-based therapies of chronic disease.

CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes↗

Differential responses of single cells and aggregates of mycoplasms to ultraviolet irradiation.

Except for Mycoplasma fermentans strain PG 18, single-cell suspensions of M. arthritidis, M. fermentans (ATCC 19989), M. hominis type 1, M. orale types 1 and 2, M. pneumoniae, and M. salivarium were inactivated exponentially by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, in contrast to broth cultures containing clusters of elementary bodies. The susceptibility of the mycoplasmas was unaffected by storage at 2-4 C and at -70 C, by sonication, and by filtration. The rate of inactivation was dependent on the intensity of the radiations but independent of the concentration of the cells. Therefore, single-cell suspensions of these mycoplasmas could be differentiated from aggregates of cells by exponential inactivation of the colony-forming units (CFU). By this criterion, the CFU of M. arthritidis in the exponential phase of growth consisted of single cells, in contrast to the other species in which the CFU contained two or more elementary bodies. Even though the cultures of M. fermentans (PG 18) were grown from single cells, they were not homogeneous in their susceptibility to UV light. Neither were cultures of M. arthritidis and M. orale type 1 grown from single cells which had survived irradiation.

Cell Aggregation↗

Development of a method to analyze single cell activity by using dielectrophoretic levitation.

In cell fusion and genetic recombination, although the activity of single cells is extremely important, there is no method to analyze single cell activity. Development of a quick analyzing method for single cell activity is desired in various fields. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) refers to the force exerted on the induced dipole moment of an uncharged dielectric and/or conductive particle by a nonuniform electric field. By applying DEP, we obtained experimentally a relationship between the cell activity and the dielectric property, Re[K(omega)], and examined how to evaluate the single cell activity by measuring Re[K(omega)] of a single cell. A cone and plate electrode geometry was adapted in order to achieve the feedback-controlled DEP levitation. The single cell is exposed to a nonuniform field induced by the cone and plate electrode, and a more polarizable cell is moved to the direction of the cone electrode by the DEP force. The cell settles in the position where the DEP force and gravity are balanced by controlling applied voltage. This settled position, measured on the center axis of the cone electrode, depended on the dielectric constant of the cell. From these results, the relationship between the specific growth rates in cell growth phase and the dielectric properties Re[K(omega)] was obtained. Furthermore, the effect on the cell activity of various stresses, such as concentration of carbon dioxide, temperature, etc., was examined.

Animals↗

Ability of early acting cytokines to directly promote survival and suppress apoptosis of human primitive CD34+CD38- bone marrow cells with multilineage potential at the single-cell level: key role of thrombopoietin.

Purified primitive progenitor/stem cells from bone marrow represent likely target populations for ex vivo expansion of stem cells to be used in high-dose chemotherapy or gene therapy. Whereas such primitive progenitor cells require combined stimulation by multiple cytokines for growth, some cytokines selectively promote viability rather than growth when acting individually. We investigated here for the first time the direct effects of cytokines on survival of primitive CD34+CD38- human bone marrow progenitor cells at the single-cell level. Interleukin-3 (IL-3) and the ligands for c-kit (KL) and flt3 (FL) had direct and selective viability-promoting effects on a small fraction of CD34+CD38- but not CD34+CD38+ progenitor cells. Interestingly, the recently cloned thrombopoietin (Tpo), although stimulating little growth, kept most CD34+CD38- progenitors viable after prolonged culture, maintaining twofold and fourfold more progenitors viable than KL and IL-3, respectively. A high fraction of these progenitors had a combined myeloid and erythroid differentiation potential, as well as capacity for prolonged production of progenitor cells under stroma-independent conditions. In addition, Tpo promoted viability of CD34+CD38- long-term culture-initiating cells, further supporting the idea that Tpo promotes viability of primitive human progenitor cells. Finally, Tpo suppressed apoptosis of CD34+CD38- cells in culture. Thus, the present studies show a novel effect of Tpo, implicating a potential role of this cytokine in maintaining quiescent primitive human progenitor cells viable.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗