Search

Abstract Background Chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with DNA microarrays (ChIP-chip) is a high-throughput assay for DNA-protein-binding or post-translational chromatin/histone modifications. However, the raw microarray intensity readings themselves are not immediately useful to researchers, but require a number of bioinformatic analysis steps. Identified enriched regions need to be bioinformatically annotated and compared to related datasets by statistical methods. Results We present a free, open-source R package Ringo that facilitates the analysis of ChIP-chip experiments by providing functionality for data import, quality assessment, normalization and visualization of the data, and the detection of ChIP-enriched genomic regions. Conclusion Ringo integrates with other packages of the Bioconductor project, uses common data structures and is accompanied by ample documentation. It facilitates the construction of programmed analysis workflows, offers benefits in scalability, reproducibility and methodical scope of the analyses and opens up a broad selection of follow-up statistical and bioinformatic methods.

Abstract Background Identification of minor cell populations, e.g. leukemic blasts within blood samples, has become increasingly important in therapeutic disease monitoring. Modern flow cytometers enable researchers to reliably measure six and more variables, describing cellular size, granularity and expression of cell-surface and intracellular proteins, for thousands of cells per second. Currently, analysis of cytometry readouts relies on visual inspection and manual gating of one- or two-dimensional projections of the data. This procedure, however, is labor-intensive and misses potential characteristic patterns in higher dimensions. Results Leukemic samples from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at initial diagnosis and during induction therapy have been investigated by 4-color flow cytometry. We have utilized multivariate classification techniques, Support Vector Machines (SVM), to automate leukemic cell detection in cytometry. Classifiers were built on conventionally diagnosed training data. We assessed the detection accuracy on independent test data and analyzed marker expression of incongruently classified cells. SVM classification can recover manually gated leukemic cells with 99.78% sensitivity and 98.87% specificity. Conclusion Multivariate classification techniques allow for automating cell population detection in cytometry readouts for diagnostic purposes. They potentially reduce time, costs and arbitrariness associated with these procedures. Due to their multivariate classification rules, they also allow for the reliable detection of small cell populations.

Background: The KDM1A histone demethylase regulates the cellular balance between proliferation and differentiation, and is often deregulated in human cancers including the childhood tumor neuroblastoma. We previously showed that KDM1A is strongly expressed in undifferentiated neuroblastomas and correlates with poor patient prognosis, suggesting a possible clinical benefit from targeting KDM1A. Methods: Here, we tested the efficacy of NCL-1, a small molecule specifically inhibiting KDM1A in preclinical models for neuroblastoma. Results: NCL-1 mimicked the effects of siRNA-mediated KDM1A knockdown and effectively inhibited KDM1A activity in four neuroblastoma cell lines and a patient-representative cell model. KDM1A inhibition shifted the aggressive tumor cell phenotypes towards less aggressive phenotypes. The proliferation and cell viability was reduced, accompanied by the induction of markers of neuronal differentiation. Interventional NCL-1 treatment of nude mice harboring established neuroblastoma xenograft tumors reduced tumor growth and inhibited cell proliferation. Reduced vessel density and defects in blood vessel construction also resulted, and NCL-1 inhibited the growth and tube formation of HUVEC-C cells in vitro. Conclusions : Inhibiting KDM1A could attack aggressive neuroblastomas two-fold, by re-directing tumor cells toward a less aggressive, slower-growing phenotype and by preventing or reducing the vascular support of large tumors.

Telomere maintenance in neuroblastoma is linked to poor outcome and caused by either telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) activation or through alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). In contrast to TERT activation, commonly caused by genomic rearrangements or MYCN amplification, ALT is less well understood. Alterations at the ATRX locus are key drivers of ALT but only present in ∼50% of ALT tumors. To identify potential new pathways to telomere maintenance, we investigate allele-specific gene dosage effects from whole genomes and transcriptomes in 115 primary neuroblastomas. We show that copy-number dosage deregulates telomere maintenance, genomic stability, and neuronal pathways and identify upregulation of variants of histone H3 and H2A as a potential alternative pathway to ALT. We investigate the interplay between TERT activation, overexpression and copy-number dosage and reveal loss of imprinting at the RTL1 gene associated with poor clinical outcome. These results highlight the importance of gene dosage in key oncogenic mechanisms in neuroblastoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric solid tumor characterized by strong clinical heterogeneity. Although clinical risk-defining genomic alterations exist in neuroblastomas, the mutational processes involved in their generation remain largely unclear. By examining the topography and mutational signatures derived from all variant classes, we identified co-occurring mutational footprints, which we termed mutational scenarios. We demonstrate that clinical neuroblastoma heterogeneity is associated with differences in the mutational processes driving these scenarios, linking risk-defining pathognomonic variants to distinct molecular processes. Whereas high-risk MYCN -amplified neuroblastomas were characterized by signs of replication slippage and stress, homologous recombination-associated signatures defined high-risk non- MYCN -amplified patients. Non-high-risk neuroblastomas were marked by footprints of chromosome mis-segregation and TOP1 mutational activity. Furthermore, analysis of subclonal mutations uncovered differential activity of these processes through neuroblastoma evolution. Thus, clinical heterogeneity of neuroblastoma patients can be linked to differences in the mutational processes that are active in their tumors., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a regulatory RNA class. While cancer-driving functions have been identified for single circRNAs, how they modulate gene expression in cancer is not well understood. We investigate circRNA expression in the pediatric malignancy, neuroblastoma, through deep whole-transcriptome sequencing in 104 primary neuroblastomas covering all risk groups. We demonstrate that MYCN amplification, which defines a subset of high-risk cases, causes globally suppressed circRNA biogenesis directly dependent on the DHX9 RNA helicase. We detect similar mechanisms in shaping circRNA expression in the pediatric cancer medulloblastoma implying a general MYCN effect. Comparisons to other cancers identify 25 circRNAs that are specifically upregulated in neuroblastoma, including circARID1A. Transcribed from the ARID1A tumor suppressor gene, circARID1A promotes cell growth and survival, mediated by direct interaction with the KHSRP RNA-binding protein. Our study highlights the importance of MYCN regulating circRNAs in cancer and identifies molecular mechanisms, which explain their contribution to neuroblastoma pathogenesis., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Recent evidence demonstrates that colon cancer stem cells (CSCs) can generate neurons that synapse with tumor innervating fibers required for tumorigenesis and disease progression. Greater understanding of the mechanisms that regulate CSC driven tumor neurogenesis may therefore lead to more effective treatments. RNA-sequencing analyses of ALDH Positive CSCs from colon cancer patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and xenografts (PDXs) showed CSCs to be enriched for neural development genes. Functional analyses of genes differentially expressed in CSCs from PDO and PDX models demonstrated the neural crest stem cell (NCSC) regulator EGR2 to be required for tumor growth and to control expression of homebox superfamily embryonic master transcriptional regulator HOX genes and the neural stem cell and master cell fate regulator SOX2 . These data support CSCs as the source of tumor neurogenesis and suggest that targeting EGR2 may provide a therapeutic differentiation strategy to eliminate CSCs and block nervous system driven disease progression., Competing Interests: A.S., T.J., D.M., and. D.H. are employees of Bayer AG. R.L., J.T., and M.L. are employees of Nuvisan ICB GmbH. C.R.A.R. is the founder of CELLphenomics GmbH., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Intratumour heterogeneity is a major cause of treatment failure in cancer. We present in-depth analyses combining transcriptomic and genomic profiling with ultra-deep targeted sequencing of multiregional biopsies in 10 patients with neuroblastoma, a devastating childhood tumour. We observe high spatial and temporal heterogeneity in somatic mutations and somatic copy-number alterations which are reflected on the transcriptomic level. Mutations in some druggable target genes including ALK and FGFR1 are heterogeneous at diagnosis and/or relapse, raising the issue whether current target prioritization and molecular risk stratification procedures in single biopsies are sufficiently reliable for therapy decisions. The genetic heterogeneity in gene mutations and chromosome aberrations observed in deep analyses from patient courses suggest clonal evolution before treatment and under treatment pressure, and support early emergence of metastatic clones and ongoing chromosomal instability during disease evolution. We report continuous clonal evolution on mutational and copy number levels in neuroblastoma, and detail its implications for therapy selection, risk stratification and therapy resistance., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Very high risk neuroblastoma is characterised by increased MAPK signalling, and targeting MAPK signalling is a promising therapeutic strategy. We used a deeply characterised panel of neuroblastoma cell lines and found that the sensitivity to MEK inhibitors varied drastically between these cell lines. By generating quantitative perturbation data and mathematical modelling, we determined potential resistance mechanisms. We found that negative feedbacks within MAPK signalling and via the IGF receptor mediate re-activation of MAPK signalling upon treatment in resistant cell lines. By using cell-line specific models, we predict that combinations of MEK inhibitors with RAF or IGFR inhibitors can overcome resistance, and tested these predictions experimentally. In addition, phospho-proteomic profiling confirmed the cell-specific feedback effects and synergy of MEK and IGFR targeted treatment. Our study shows that a quantitative understanding of signalling and feedback mechanisms facilitated by models can help to develop and optimise therapeutic strategies. Our findings should be considered for the planning of future clinical trials introducing MEKi in the treatment of neuroblastoma., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Recent data suggest that therapy-resistant quiescent cancer stem cells (qCSCs) are the source of relapse in colon cancer. Here, using colon cancer patient-derived organoids and xenografts, we identify rare long-term label-retaining qCSCs that can re-enter the cell cycle to generate new tumors. RNA sequencing analyses demonstrated that these cells display the molecular hallmarks of quiescent tissue stem cells, including expression of p53 signaling genes, and are enriched for transcripts common to damage-induced quiescent revival stem cells of the regenerating intestine. In addition, we identify negative regulators of cell cycle, downstream of p53, that we show are indicators of poor prognosis and may be targeted for qCSC abolition in both p53 wild-type and mutant tumors. These data support the temporal inhibition of downstream targets of p53 signaling, in combination with standard-of-care treatments, for the elimination of qCSCs and prevention of relapse in colon cancer., Competing Interests: A.S., T.J., D.M., and. D.H. are employees of Bayer AG. R.L., J.T., and M.L. are employees of Nuvisan ICB GmbH. C.R.A.R. is a founder of CELLphenomics GmbH., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

MYCN amplification drives one in six cases of neuroblastoma. The supernumerary gene copies are commonly found on highly rearranged, extrachromosomal circular DNA (ecDNA). The exact amplicon structure has not been described thus far and the functional relevance of its rearrangements is unknown. Here, we analyze the MYCN amplicon structure using short-read and Nanopore sequencing and its chromatin landscape using ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq and Hi-C. This reveals two distinct classes of amplicons which explain the regulatory requirements for MYCN overexpression. The first class always co-amplifies a proximal enhancer driven by the noradrenergic core regulatory circuit (CRC). The second class of MYCN amplicons is characterized by high structural complexity, lacks key local enhancers, and instead contains distal chromosomal fragments harboring CRC-driven enhancers. Thus, ectopic enhancer hijacking can compensate for the loss of local gene regulatory elements and explains a large component of the structural diversity observed in MYCN amplification.

The detection and characterization of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in peripheral blood from neuroblastoma patients may serve as a minimally invasive approach to liquid biopsy. Major challenges in the analysis of cfDNA purified from blood samples are small sample volumes and low cfDNA concentrations. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is a technology suitable for analyzing low levels of cfDNA. Reported here are two quadruplexed ddPCR assay protocols that reliably quantify MYCN and ALK copy numbers in a single reaction together with the two reference genes, NAGK and AFF3, and accurately estimate ALK F1174L (exon 23 position 3522, C>A) and ALK R1275Q (exon 25 position 3824, G>A) mutant allele fractions using cfDNA as input. The separation of positive and negative droplets was optimized for detecting two targets in each ddPCR fluorescence channel by the adjustment of the probe and primer concentrations of each target molecule. The quadruplexed assays were validated using a panel of 10 neuroblastoma cell lines and paired blood plasma and primary neuroblastoma samples from nine patients. Accuracy and sensitivity thresholds in quadruplexed assays corresponded well with those from the respective duplexed assays. Presented are two robust quadruplexed ddPCR protocols applicable in the routine clinical setting and that require only minimal plasma volumes for the assessment of MYCN and ALK oncogene status., (Copyright © 2020 Association for Molecular Pathology and American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Accurate modeling of intratumor heterogeneity presents a bottleneck against drug testing. Flexibility in a preclinical platform is also desirable to support assessment of different endpoints. We established the model system, OHC-NB1, from a bone marrow metastasis from a patient diagnosed with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma and performed whole-exome sequencing on the source metastasis and the different models and passages during model development (monolayer cell line, 3D spheroid culture and subcutaneous xenograft tumors propagated in mice). OHC-NB1 harbors a MYCN amplification in double minutes, 1p deletion, 17q gain and diploid karyotype, which persisted in all models. A total of 80-540 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) was detected in each sample, and comparisons between the source metastasis and models identified 34 of 80 somatic SNVs to be propagated in the models. Clonal reconstruction using the combined copy number and SNV data revealed marked clonal heterogeneity in the originating metastasis, with four clones being reflected in the model systems. The set of OHC-NB1 models represents 43% of somatic SNVs and 23% of the cellularity in the originating metastasis with varying clonal compositions, indicating that heterogeneity is partially preserved in our model system., (© 2019 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Extrachromosomal circularization of DNA is an important genomic feature in cancer. However, the structure, composition and genome-wide frequency of extrachromosomal circular DNA have not yet been profiled extensively. Here, we combine genomic and transcriptomic approaches to describe the landscape of extrachromosomal circular DNA in neuroblastoma, a tumor arising in childhood from primitive cells of the sympathetic nervous system. Our analysis identifies and characterizes a wide catalog of somatically acquired and undescribed extrachromosomal circular DNAs. Moreover, we find that extrachromosomal circular DNAs are an unanticipated major source of somatic rearrangements, contributing to oncogenic remodeling through chimeric circularization and reintegration of circular DNA into the linear genome. Cancer-causing lesions can emerge out of circle-derived rearrangements and are associated with adverse clinical outcome. It is highly probable that circle-derived rearrangements represent an ongoing mutagenic process. Thus, extrachromosomal circular DNAs represent a multihit mutagenic process, with important functional and clinical implications for the origins of genomic remodeling in cancer.

Gain of the long arm of chromosome 17 (17q) is a cytogenetic hallmark of high-risk neuroblastoma, yet its contribution to neuroblastoma pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Combining whole-genome and RNA sequencing of neuroblastomas, we identified the prohibitin (PHB) gene as highly expressed in tumors with 17q gain. High PHB expression correlated with poor prognosis and was associated with loss of gene expression programs promoting neuronal development and differentiation. PHB depletion induced differentiation and apoptosis and slowed cell cycle progression of neuroblastoma cells, at least in part through impaired ERK1/2 activation. Conversely, ectopic expression of PHB was sufficient to increase proliferation of neuroblastoma cells and was associated with suppression of markers associated with neuronal differentiation and favorable neuroblastoma outcome. Thus, PHB is a 17q oncogene in neuroblastoma that promotes tumor cell proliferation, and de-differentiation.

The lactate transporter SLC16A1 /monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) plays a central role in tumor cell energy homeostasis. In a cell-based screen, we identified a novel class of MCT1 inhibitors, including BAY-8002, which potently suppress bidirectional lactate transport. We investigated the antiproliferative activity of BAY-8002 in a panel of 246 cancer cell lines and show that hematopoietic tumor cells, in particular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cell lines, and subsets of solid tumor models are particularly sensitive to MCT1 inhibition. Associated markers of sensitivity were, among others, lack of MCT4 expression, low pleckstrin homology like domain family A member 2, and high pellino E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 expression. The antitumor effect of MCT1 inhibition was less pronounced on tumor xenografts, with tumor stasis being the maximal response. BAY-8002 significantly increased intratumor lactate levels and transiently modulated pyruvate levels. In order to address potential acquired resistance mechanisms to MCT1 inhibition, we generated MCT1 inhibitor-resistant cell lines and show that resistance can occur by upregulation of MCT4 even in the presence of sufficient oxygen, as well as by shifting energy generation toward oxidative phosphorylation. These findings provide insight into novel aspects of tumor response to MCT1 modulation and offer further rationale for patient selection in the clinical development of MCT1 inhibitors. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(11); 2285-96. ©2018 AACR ., (©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Fewer than 50% of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma survive five years after diagnosis with current treatment protocols. Molecular targeted therapies are expected to improve survival. Although MDM2 has been validated as a promising target in preclinical models, no MDM2 inhibitors have yet entered clinical trials for neuroblastoma patients. Toxic side effects, poor bioavailability and low efficacy of the available MDM2 inhibitors that have entered phase I/II trials drive the development of novel MDM2 inhibitors with an improved risk-benefit profile. We investigated the effect of the novel MDM2 small molecular inhibitor, DS-3032b, on viability, proliferation, senescence, migration, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a panel of six neuroblastoma cell lines with different TP53 and MYCN genetic backgrounds, and assessed efficacy in a murine subcutaneous model for high-risk neuroblastoma. Re-analysis of existing expression data from 476 primary neuroblastomas showed that high-level MDM2 expression correlated with poor patient survival. DS-3032b treatment enhanced TP53 target gene expression and induced G1 cell cycle arrest, senescence and apoptosis. CRISPR-mediated MDM2 knockout in neuroblastoma cells mimicked DS-3032b treatment. TP53 signaling was selectively activated by DS-3032b in neuroblastoma cells with wildtype TP53 , regardless of the presence of MYCN amplification, but was significantly reduced by TP53 mutations or expression of a dominant-negative TP53 mutant. Oral DS-3032b administration inhibited xenograft tumor growth and prolonged mouse survival. Our in vitro and in vivo data demonstrate that DS-3032b reactivates TP53 signaling even in the presence of MYCN amplification in neuroblastoma cells, to reduce proliferative capacity and cause cytotoxicity., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

ATAD2 (ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 2) is a chromatin regulator harboring an AAA+ ATPase domain and a bromodomain, previously proposed to function as an oncogenic transcription co-factor. Here we suggest that ATAD2 is also required for DNA replication. ATAD2 is co-expressed with genes involved in DNA replication in various cancer types and predominantly expressed in S phase cells where it localized on nascent chromatin (replication sites). Our extensive biochemical and cellular analyses revealed that ATAD2 is recruited to replication sites through a direct interaction with di-acetylated histone H4 at K5 and K12, indicative of newly synthesized histones during replication-coupled chromatin reassembly. Similar to ATAD2-depletion, ectopic expression of ATAD2 mutants that are deficient in binding to these di-acetylation marks resulted in reduced DNA replication and impaired loading of PCNA onto chromatin, suggesting relevance of ATAD2 in DNA replication. Taken together, our data show a novel function of ATAD2 in cancer and for the first time identify a reader of newly synthesized histone di-acetylation-marks during replication.

The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process in which cells lose cell-cell contacts and become motile. EMT is used during development, for example, in triggering neural crest migration, and in cancer metastasis. Despite progress, the dynamics of JNK signaling, its role in genomewide transcriptional reprogramming, and involved downstream effectors during EMT remain largely unknown. Here, we show that JNK is not required for initiation, but progression of phenotypic changes associated with EMT. Such dependency resulted from JNK-driven transcriptional reprogramming of critical EMT genes and involved changes in their chromatin state. Furthermore, we identified eight novel JNK-induced transcription factors that were required for proper EMT. Three of these factors were also highly expressed in invasive cancer cells where they function in gene regulation to maintain mesenchymal identity. These factors were also induced during neuronal development and function in neuronal migration in vivo. These comprehensive findings uncovered a kinetically distinct role for the JNK pathway in defining the transcriptome that underlies mesenchymal identity and revealed novel transcription factors that mediate these responses during development and disease., (© 2015 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.)

Exosomes are small membranous vesicles of endocytic origin that are released by almost every cell type. They exert versatile functions in intercellular communication important for many physiological and pathological processes. Recently, exosomes attracted interest with regard to their role in cell-cell communication in the nervous system. We have shown that exosomes released from oligodendrocytes upon stimulation with the neurotransmitter glutamate are internalized by neurons and enhance the neuronal stress tolerance. Here, we demonstrate that oligodendroglial exosomes also promote neuronal survival during oxygen-glucose deprivation, a model of cerebral ischaemia. We show the transfer from oligodendrocytes to neurons of superoxide dismutase and catalase, enzymes which are known to help cells to resist oxidative stress. Additionally, we identify various effects of oligodendroglial exosomes on neuronal physiology. Electrophysiological analysis using in vitro multi-electrode arrays revealed an increased firing rate of neurons exposed to oligodendroglial exosomes. Moreover, gene expression analysis and phosphorylation arrays uncovered differentially expressed genes and altered signal transduction pathways in neurons after exosome treatment. Our study thus provides new insight into the broad spectrum of action of oligodendroglial exosomes and their effects on neuronal physiology. The exchange of extracellular vesicles between neural cells may exhibit remarkable potential to impact brain performance., (© 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: The intestinal tract is the largest reservoir of microbes in the human body. The intestinal microbiota is thought to be able to modulate alterations of the gut induced by enteropathogens, thereby maintaining homeostasis. Listeria monocytogenes is the agent of listeriosis, an infection transmitted to humans upon ingestion of contaminated food. Crossing of the intestinal barrier is a critical step of the infection before dissemination into deeper organs. Here, we investigated the role of the intestinal microbiota in the regulation of host protein-coding genes and microRNA (miRNA or miR) expression during Listeria infection. We first established the intestinal miRNA signatures corresponding to the 10 most highly expressed miRNAs in the murine ileum of conventional and germfree mice, noninfected and infected with Listeria. Next, we identified 6 miRNAs whose expression decreased upon Listeria infection in conventional mice. Strikingly, five of these miRNA expression variations (in miR-143, miR-148a, miR-200b, miR-200c, and miR-378) were dependent on the presence of the microbiota. In addition, as is already known, protein-coding genes were highly affected by infection in both conventional and germfree mice. By crossing bioinformatically the predicted targets of the miRNAs to our whole-genome transcriptomic data, we revealed an miRNA-mRNA network that suggested miRNA-mediated global regulation during intestinal infection. Other recent studies have revealed an miRNA response to either bacterial pathogens or commensal bacteria. In contrast, our work provides an unprecedented insight into the impact of the intestinal microbiota on host transcriptional reprogramming during infection by a human pathogen., Importance: While the crucial role of miRNAs in regulating the host response to bacterial infection is increasingly recognized, the involvement of the intestinal microbiota in the regulation of miRNA expression has not been explored in detail. Here, we investigated the impact of the intestinal microbiota on the regulation of protein-coding genes and miRNA expression in a host infected by L. monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen. We show that the microbiota interferes with the microRNA response upon oral Listeria infection and identify several protein-coding target genes whose expression correlates inversely with that of the miRNA. Further investigations of the regulatory networks involving miR-143, miR-148a, miR-200b, miR-200c, and miR-378 will provide new insights into the impact of the intestinal microbiota on the host upon bacterial infection.

Summary: Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) PROfiling in small RNA (sRNA)-seq (ncPRO-seq) is a stand-alone, comprehensive and flexible ncRNA analysis pipeline. It can interrogate and perform detailed profiling analysis on sRNAs derived from annotated non-coding regions in miRBase, Rfam and RepeatMasker, as well as specific regions defined by users. The ncPRO-seq pipeline performs both gene-based and family-based analyses of sRNAs. It also has a module to identify regions significantly enriched with short reads, which cannot be classified under known ncRNA families, thus enabling the discovery of previously unknown ncRNA- or small interfering RNA (siRNA)-producing regions. The ncPRO-seq pipeline supports input read sequences in fastq, fasta and color space format, as well as alignment results in BAM format, meaning that sRNA raw data from the three current major platforms (Roche-454, Illumina-Solexa and Life technologies-SOLiD) can be analyzed with this pipeline. The ncPRO-seq pipeline can be used to analyze read and alignment data, based on any sequenced genome, including mammals and plants., Availability: Source code, annotation files, manual and online version are available at http://ncpro.curie.fr/., Contact: bioinfo.ncproseq@curie.fr or cciaudo@ethz.ch, Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Second-generation sequencing is a powerful method for identifying and quantifying small-RNA components of cells. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of the choice of sequencing platform and library preparation protocol on the results obtained. We present a thorough comparison of small-RNA sequencing libraries generated from the same embryonic stem cell lines, using different sequencing platforms, which represent the three major second-generation sequencing technologies, and protocols. We have analysed and compared the expression of microRNAs, as well as populations of small RNAs derived from repetitive elements. Despite the fact that different libraries display a good correlation between sequencing platforms, qualitative and quantitative variations in the results were found, depending on the protocol used. Thus, when comparing libraries from different biological samples, it is strongly recommended to use the same sequencing platform and protocol in order to ensure the biological relevance of the comparisons.

Mammalian cells possess two isoforms of the histone H3-H4 chaperone anti-silencing function 1 (Asf1), Asf1a and Asf1b. However to date, whether they have individual physiological roles has remained elusive. Here, we aim to elucidate the functional importance of Asf1 isoforms concerning both basic and applied aspects. First, we reveal a specific proliferation-dependent expression of human Asf1b unparalleled by Asf1a. Strikingly, in cultured cells, both mRNA and protein corresponding to Asf1b decrease upon cell cycle exit. Depletion of Asf1b severely compromises proliferation, leads to aberrant nuclear structures and a distinct transcriptional signature. Second, a major physiological implication is found in the applied context of tissue samples derived from early stage breast tumours in which we examined Asf1a/b levels. We reveal that overexpression of Asf1b mRNA correlate with clinical data and disease outcome. Together, our results highlight a distribution of tasks between the distinct Asf1 isoforms, which emphasizes a specialized function of Asf1b required for proliferation capacity. We discuss the implications of these results for breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Unlabelled: The R/Bioconductor package girafe facilitates the functional exploration of alignments of sequence reads from next-generation sequencing data to a genome. It allows users to investigate the genomic intervals together with the aligned reads and to work with, visualise and export these intervals. Moreover, the package operates within and extends the ever-growing Bioconductor framework and thus enables users to leverage a multitude of methods for their data in order to answer specific research questions., Availability and Implementation: The R package girafe is available from the Bioconductor web site: http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/girafe.html. An extensive vignette and the Bioconductor mailing lists provide additional documentation and help for using the package.

Background: Extensive transcription of non-coding RNAs has been detected in eukaryotic genomes and is thought to constitute an additional layer in the regulation of gene expression. Despite this role, their transcription through the cell cycle has not been studied; genome-wide approaches have only focused on protein-coding genes. To explore the complex transcriptome architecture underlying the budding yeast cell cycle, we used 8 bp tiling arrays to generate a 5 minute-resolution, strand-specific expression atlas of the whole genome., Results: We discovered 523 antisense transcripts, of which 80 cycle or are located opposite periodically expressed mRNAs, 135 unannotated intergenic non-coding RNAs, of which 11 cycle, and 109 cell-cycle-regulated protein-coding genes that had not previously been shown to cycle. We detected periodic expression coupling of sense and antisense transcript pairs, including antisense transcripts opposite of key cell-cycle regulators, like FAR1 and TAF2., Conclusions: Our dataset presents the most comprehensive resource to date on gene expression during the budding yeast cell cycle. It reveals periodic expression of both protein-coding and non-coding RNA and profiles the expression of non-annotated RNAs throughout the cell cycle for the first time. This data enables hypothesis-driven mechanistic studies concerning the functions of non-coding RNAs.

Nucleosomes are involved in DNA compaction and transcriptional regulation. Yet it is unclear whether histone modification marks are primary or secondary to transcription and whether they interact to form a histone code. We investigated the relationship between transcription and four histone modifications (H4ac, H3ac, H3K4me2/3) using ChIP-chip and expression microarray readouts from two murine cell lines, one in two differentiation stages. We found that their association with transcript levels strongly depends on the combination of histone modifications. H3K4me2 coincides with elevated expression levels only in combination with acetylation, while H3ac positive association is diminished by co-occurring modifications. During differentiation, upregulated transcripts frequently gain H4ac, while most modification conversions are uncorrelated with expression changes. Our results suggest histone modifications form a code, as their combinatorial composition is associated with distinct readouts. Histones may primarily function as signaling marks for specific effectors rather than being a sufficient driving force for or a consequence of transcription.

In studies of their transcriptional activity, genomes have shown a high order of organization. We assessed the question of how genomically neighboring genes are transcriptionally coupled across tissues and what could be the driving force behind their coupling. We focused our analysis on the transcriptome information for 13 tissues of Mus musculus and 79 tissues of Homo sapiens. The analysis of coexpression patterns of genomically adjacent genes across tissues revealed 2619 and 1275 clusters of highly coexpressed genes, respectively. Most of these clusters consist of pairs and triplets of genes. They span a limited genomic length and are phylogenetically conserved between human and mouse. These clusters consist mainly of nonparalogous genes and show a decreased functional and similar regulatory relationship to one another compared to general genomic neighbors. We hypothesize that these clusters trace back to large-scale, qualitative, persistent reorganizations of the transcriptome, while transcription factor regulation is likely to handle fine-tuning of transcription on shorter time scales. Our data point to so far uncharacterized cis-acting units and reject cofunctionality as a driving force.

Motivation: High-density DNA tiling microarrays are a powerful tool for the characterization of complete transcriptomes. The two major analytical challenges are the segmentation of the hybridization signal along genomic coordinates to accurately determine transcript boundaries and the adjustment of the sequence-dependent response of the oligonucleotide probes to achieve quantitative comparability of the signal between different probes., Results: We describe a dynamic programming algorithm for finding a globally optimal fit of a piecewise constant expression profile along genomic coordinates. We developed a probe-specific background correction and scaling method that employs empirical probe response parameters determined from reference hybridizations with no need for paired mismatch probes. This combined analysis approach allows the accurate determination of dynamical changes in transcription architectures from hybridization data and will help to study the biological significance of complex transcriptional phenomena in eukaryotic genomes., Availability: R package tilingArray at http://www.bioconductor.org.

There is abundant transcription from eukaryotic genomes unaccounted for by protein coding genes. A high-resolution genome-wide survey of transcription in a well annotated genome will help relate transcriptional complexity to function. By quantifying RNA expression on both strands of the complete genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a high-density oligonucleotide tiling array, this study identifies the boundary, structure, and level of coding and noncoding transcripts. A total of 85% of the genome is expressed in rich media. Apart from expected transcripts, we found operon-like transcripts, transcripts from neighboring genes not separated by intergenic regions, and genes with complex transcriptional architecture where different parts of the same gene are expressed at different levels. We mapped the positions of 3' and 5' UTRs of coding genes and identified hundreds of RNA transcripts distinct from annotated genes. These nonannotated transcripts, on average, have lower sequence conservation and lower rates of deletion phenotype than protein coding genes. Many other transcripts overlap known genes in antisense orientation, and for these pairs global correlations were discovered: UTR lengths correlated with gene function, localization, and requirements for regulation; antisense transcripts overlapped 3' UTRs more than 5' UTRs; UTRs with overlapping antisense tended to be longer; and the presence of antisense associated with gene function. These findings may suggest a regulatory role of antisense transcription in S. cerevisiae. Moreover, the data show that even this well studied genome has transcriptional complexity far beyond current annotation.