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Balancing LncRNA H19 and miR-675 Bioconversion as a Key Regulator of Embryonic Myogenesis Under Maternal Obesity.

BACKGROUND: Maternal obesity (MO) impairs fetal skeletal muscle development, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. The regulatory roles of lncRNA H19 and its first exon derived microRNA675 (miR675) in prenatal muscle development remain to be examined. H19/Igf2 are in the same imprinting cluster with H19 expressed from the maternal allele while Igf2 expresses paternally. H19 contains a G-rich loop, and KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP) mediates the biogenesis of pre-miRNAs containing G-rich loops, which depends on its phosphorylation by AKT, a key mediator of IGF2 signalling. This study aims to depict the elusive function of these regulators that are affected by MO during embryonic myogenesis. METHODS: Single-cell transcriptomic sequencing and GeoMx spatial RNA sequencing were performed to identify the differentially expressed genes between embryos from MO and control (CT) mice. Both E11.5 and E13.5 embryos were collected and analysed to validate the sequencing data. The roles of H19 and miR657 in myogenesis were further analysed in P19 embryonic cells via CRISPR/dCas9-mediated H19 activation and inhibition. The epigenetic changes of H19 were analysed by methylated DNA immunoprecipitation, and allele-targeted analysis of H19 was performed by crossing C57BL/6J and CAST/EiJ mice. RESULTS: Transcriptomic analysis showed that MO embryos contained less differentiated myocytes (1.34%) than CT embryos (2.86%). Myogenesis-related GO biological processes were down-regulated in the MO embryonic myotome region. MO embryos showed lower expression of myogenic transcription factors such as Myf5, Myod1, Myog, Mef2c and Myh3 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05). MO altered epigenetic modifications of the H19 genomic cluster, showing a decreased methylation level in H19 imprinting control region (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05) and a diallelic expression pattern of H19, which elevated its expression in MO embryos. Overexpression of H19 inhibited myogenesis in P19 cells, but miR675 promoted myogenesis, suggesting the critical regulatory roles of bioconversion of H19 to miR675. A KHSRP mediates the biogenesis of miR675, a process that relies on its phosphorylation by IGF2/AKT signalling. Knocking-down of KHSRP and inhibition of AKT abolished miR675 biogenesis. MO suppressed IGF2/AKT signalling and blocked KHSRP-dependent miR675 biogenesis in embryos. CONCLUSIONS: We found differential effects of H19 and miR675 on embryonic myogenesis. MO up-regulates H19 but blocks its miR675 bioconversion via suppressing IGF2/AKT/KHSRP signalling axis. Myogenesis in MO embryos was impeded due to the highly accumulated H19 and blocked miR675 biogenesis.

RNA, Long Noncoding

Disentangling the cellular composition of FLCN-mutated tumors in Birt-Hogg-Dub&#xe9; Syndrome by spatial transcriptomics.

Birt-Hogg-Dub&#xe9; (BHD) syndrome is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome caused by pathogenic variants in the folliculin (FLCN) gene and is associated with an increased risk of multifocal renal tumors. FLCN-mutated tumors (FMTs) often exhibit morphological heterogeneity with mixed morphological features resembling renal oncocytoma (RO) and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC), yet the molecular basis underlying the heterogeneous morphologic features and the morphologic-genomic correlations remain poorly defined. In our prior work, we identified mutually exclusive expressions of L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) and forkhead box I1 tboxI1 (FOXI1) labeling the two morphologically distinct cellular populations in BHD-associated FMTs, leading to the hypothesis that these two tumor compartments may have distinct molecular features and may reflect different nephron epithelial differentiation states. In this follow-up study, we tested this hypothesis using L1CAM and FOXI1 as morphology-guided markers for spatial transcriptomic profiling of the distinct tumor compartments in FMTs with the NanoString GeoMX Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP). Six FMTs from three patients with BHD and three normal kidney tissues were analyzed. L1CAM+ and FOXI1+ area of interest (AOI) were collected from tumor areas with various tumor compositions, including L1CAM+ dominant, FOXI1+ dominant, and mixed tumor areas. Spatial transcriptomic analysis identified distinct gene expression signatures in L1CAM+ and FOXI1+ FMT compartments independent of the local tumor compositions. FOXI1+ tumor cells showed robust enrichment for intercalated cells (IC)-associated gene signatures. In contrast, L1CAM+ tumor cells exhibited a heterogeneous transcriptional profile, with partial overlap across a spectrum of renal tubular epithelial cell types rather than a definitive principal cell-like identity. Despite this compartment-specific differences, both compartments share expression of a panel of tumor signature genes, including glycoprotein nmb (GPNMB) gene, and a core of cancer related biological functions and signaling pathways. Together, these findings refined the prior dichotomous model of BHD-associated renal tumors and support a model in which L1CAM+ and FOXI1+ tumor compartments represent divergent evolutionary or differentiation states with a common FLCN-mutant neoplastic transcriptional program. This spatial transcriptomic profiling provides molecular evidence for the morphological heterogeneity of FMTs and insights on the tumor biology of BHD-associated FMTs.

Birt-Hogg-Dub&#xe9;

Perineuronal net degradation in aggressive glioblastomas with KANK1::NTRK2 fusions.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 10% of glioblastomas harbor targetable genomic fusions. NTRK2 participates in a variety of fusion events that drive tumorigenesis. Two previous reports have described KANK1::NTRK2 fusions in adult glioblastoma patients with poor survival. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of glioblastoma patients treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) from 2020 to 2025 to identify cases harboring KANK1::NTRK2 fusions. Clinical presentation, treatment, histopathologic features, and outcomes were reviewed. In addition, we conducted GeoMx whole-transcriptome and high-plex proteomic digital spatial profiling of a KANK1::NTRK2-positive glioblastoma and a comparator tumor from a long-term survivor. Candidate biomarkers were orthogonally validated using immunohistochemistry and/or immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Two patients with KANK1::NTRK2 fusion glioblastoma were identified, both demonstrating rapid progression, therapeutic resistance, and survival of less than 7 months. Proteomic profiling showed increased expression and activation of canonical NTRK2 downstream signaling pathways, particularly MEK1/2 and ERK1/2. This was accompanied by upregulation of extracellular matrix remodeling enzymes, including MMP3, MMP14, and ADAM15, along with reduced expression of extracellular matrix-associated transcripts and perineuronal net components in particular compared to a non-fusion glioblastoma. CONCLUSIONS: These limited, hypothesis-generating findings suggest constitutive NTRK2 signaling may promote coordinated extracellular matrix degradation and remodeling, potentially facilitating rapid and aggressive tumor growth and invasion in a subset of glioblastomas.

NTRK gene fusion

Spatial Proteomic Profiling, a Novel Method for Detecting Diagnostic and Prognostic Proteins in Pediatric Sarcoma.

Pediatric sarcomas comprise approximately 10% of all childhood solid malignancies and are characterized by distinct genetic and proteomic alterations that have potential diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic significance. We have utilized digital spatial profiling (DSP) to identify protein expression in pediatric Ewing sarcoma (ES), Osteosarcoma (OS), Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS), and Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS), in association with clinical outcomes. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from a tissue microarray block containing eight ES, eight OS, five ARMS, and three ERMS cases were subjected to proteomic DSP on a GeoMx NanoString platform yielding information on expression of 580 proteins. Proteins related to epigenetic regulation, signaling pathways, and mesenchymal differentiation were broadly expressed across all tumor types. Tumor-specific protein profiles were defined based on highly expressed proteins. Differentially expressed proteins include Cyclin D1 in ES, S100A4 in OS and IKKi/IKKe in ARMS and ERMS. Immunohistochemical validation confirmed variable expression of H3K27me3 across the tumors, and elevated expression of Cyclin D1 in ES and S100 in OS. These findings underscore the utility of DSP as a high-resolution proteomic tool for the identification of clinically relevant biomarkers in pediatric sarcomas. The results provide a foundation for further investigation of candidate proteins with potential diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications.

Humans

Distinct spatial transcriptomic patterns of substantia Nigra in Parkinson disease and Parkinsonian subtype of multiple system atrophy.

To investigate transcriptomic signatures of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the Parkinsonian subtype of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA-P) in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), we conducted transcriptome analysis using in-situ hybridization on paraffin-embedded SNpc tissues from post-mortem brains. The study included 2 MSA-P patients, 2 PD patients, and 2 healthy controls (HC), with 12 regions of interest (ROIs) selected from the dorsal to ventral and medial to lateral aspects of the SNpc. A total of 72 ROIs from 6 participants were analyzed, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparing MSA-P, PD and HC groups. The MSA-P group showed 88 upregulated DEGs and 326 downregulated DEGs (adjusted &#x1d45d;<0.05) compared to HC. The downregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways related to ribosomal translation, immune processes, mitochondrial function, and autophagy. Notably, the dorsomedial quadrant was uniquely linked to antigen presentation, while other quadrants showed downregulation of protein synthesis. The PD group exhibited 165 upregulated DEGs and 350 downregulated DEGs (adjusted &#x1d45d;<0.05) compared to HC, with downregulated DEGs associated with ribosomal translation, mitochondrial function, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In both MSA-P and PD, the upregulated DEGs were not associated with any pathways or biological process in gene enrichment analysis. In network propagation analysis, amyloid precursor protein was the most significant network hub among DEGs in both MSA-P and PD. Comparing the transcriptomic signatures of SNpc between MSA-P and PD, we found immune/inflammation, mitochondrial function and neural signaling related genes were significantly downregulated in MSA-P compared to PD. Overall, the transcriptomic signature of the SNpc in MSA-P and PD revealed overlapping but distinct features, including alterations in protein synthesis, immune processes, mitochondrial function, and protein degradation systems. Future studies with larger cohorts and functional validation are needed to further elucidate these findings.

Humans