👤 Akash Kishore

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is associated with neurodevelopmental and cognitive impairments, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated cardiac neuronal genomics in CHD using single-nucleus RNA-sequencing data (GSE203274) from 157,273 cardiac nuclei of healthy donors and patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), dilated (DCM), and hypertrophic (HCM) cardiomyopathies. The Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) clustering identified major cardiac cell types, revealing neuron-specific transcriptional programmes. Neuronal populations showed enriched expression of neurodevelopmental disorder-linked genes ( Show less

Recent preclinical and clinical data suggests enhanced metastatic fitness of hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) phenotypes, but mechanistic details regarding their survival strategies during metastasis remain unclear. Here, we investigate immune-evasive strategies of hybrid E/M states. We construct and simulate the dynamics of a minimalistic regulatory network encompassing the known associations among regulators of EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) and PD-L1, an established immune-suppressor. Our simulations for the network consisting of SLUG, ZEB1, miR-200, CDH1 and PD-L1, integrated with single-cell and bulk RNA-seq data analysis, elucidate that hybrid E/M cells can have high levels of PD-L1, similar to those seen in cells with a full EMT phenotype, thus obviating the need for cancer cells to undergo a full EMT to be immune-evasive. Specifically, in breast cancer, we show the co-existence of hybrid E/M phenotypes, enhanced resistance to anti-estrogen therapy and increased PD-L1 levels. Our results underscore how the emergent dynamics of interconnected regulatory networks can coordinate different axes of cellular fitness during metastasis. Show less

The lacuna in the knowledge of immunobiology, especially in visceral infections that are fatal if left untreated, are a major hurdle in getting a vaccine candidate for leishmaniasis. Till date, only a few drugs are available to combat human leishmaniasis and a vaccine candidate either prophylactic or preventive is still awaited. Therefore, identification of host and parasitic factors involved in the regulation of specific immune mechanisms are essentially needed. In this study, we observed that CD200-CD200R immune inhibitory axis regulates host macrophages effectors properties and helps antigen experienced T cells (CD4 Show less

In the present study, expression level of various ATP-binding cassette (ABC) viz., ABCA1, ABCA7, ABCG1, ABCG2, and ABCG5; associated transcription factors viz., SREBF1, LXRα (NR1H3), PPARA, and Solute Carriers (SLC); or Glucose transporters (GLUT) viz., SLC2A1(GLUT1), SLC2A4 (GLUT4), SLC2A8 (GLUT8), and SLC2A12 (GLUT12) superfamily of transporters were compared across physiological stages of buffalo mammary gland. The relative expression of ABCA1, and ABCG1 was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in mammary gland of heifer followed by involution and lactation stages. Similarly, ABCA7 gene expression was highest in heifer mammary gland followed by lactation and involution stages. ABCG2 gene expression was significantly (p < 0.05) high in lactating mammary gland in comparison to involution and heifer stages. On the other hand, ABCG5 gene expression was highest in involuting mammary gland followed by lactation and involution stages. Additionally, the expression of LXRα SREBF1, and PPARA which are known to regulate some of the ABC tranporters were also analyzed. The expression of LXRα gene was high in involuting as compared to lactating mammary gland. In contrast, SREBF1 and PPARA expression was significantly (p < 0.05) high in lactating mammary gland. Among the several SLC transporters studied, SLC2A1, SLC2A4, and SLC2A8 showed significant (p < 0.05) higher expression during lactation stage, whereas SLC2A12 expression was greater during heifer stage suggesting SLC2A1, SLC2A4, and SLC2A8 to be the major transporters associated with glucose uptake in buffalo mammary gland. The expression profile of (lactoferrin) LTF, known to be expressed at high level in mammary gland during involution was also studied. As expected, its expression was significantly (p < 0.05) higher during involution in comparison to lactating mammary gland.in buffaloes as well. The inclusion of LTF as a control gene further provided the confidence in the buffalo mammary gland expression data generated in the present study. This study thus helped to provide information about the distinct expression pattern of various transporters and their regulators in buffalo mammary gland during different physiological states. Show less