Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(3):109009

Departments of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address:

Cancer cells function as primary architects of the tumor microenvironment. However, the molecular features of cancer cells that govern stromal cell phenotypes remain unclear. Here, we show that cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) heterogeneity is driven by lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cells at either end of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) spectrum. Read More

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(3):109026

Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne-(EPFL-SV), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Organoids allow the recapitulation of intestinal homeostasis and cancerogenesis in vitro; however, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based methods for drug screens are missing. We develop targeted organoid sequencing (TORNADO-seq), a high-throughput, high-content drug discovery platform that uses targeted RNA-seq to monitor the expression of large gene signatures for the detailed evaluation of cellular phenotypes in organoids. TORNADO-seq is a fast, highly reproducible time- and cost-effective ($5 per sample) method that can probe cell mixtures and their differentiation state in the intestinal system. Read More

Cell Rep 2021 Apr;35(3):109015

Laboratory of RNA Biology, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Trojdena 4, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawinskiego 5a, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland; Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Pawinskiego 5a, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address:

Osteoblasts orchestrate bone formation through the secretion of type I collagen and other constituents of the matrix on which hydroxyapatite crystals mineralize. Here, we show that TENT5A, whose mutations were found in congenital bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta patients, is a cytoplasmic poly(A) polymerase playing a crucial role in regulating bone mineralization. Direct RNA sequencing revealed that TENT5A is induced during osteoblast differentiation and polyadenylates mRNAs encoding Col1α1, Col1α2, and other secreted proteins involved in osteogenesis, increasing their expression. Read More

Cell Stem Cell 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

IRIBHM, ULB/Faculty of Medicine, 808 route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium; WELBIO/FNRS Principal Investigator at IRIBHM, ULB/Faculty of Medicine, 808 route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

Columnar metaplasia of the esophagus is the main risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. There is a lack of evidence to demonstrate that esophageal progenitors can be the source of columnar metaplasia. In this study, using transgenic mouse models, lineage tracing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling, we found that the activation of the Hedgehog pathway in esophageal cells modifies their differentiation status in vivo. Read More

Chembiochem 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Department of Breast Cancer Pathology and Research Laboratory, Huanhuxi Road, Nankai, Tianjin, 300030, Tianjin, CHINA.

There is a need of a non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway reporter system that facilitates screening and discovery of NHEJ chemical inhibitors. In this study, we developed a CRISPR-Cas9 based luciferase turn-on system as a NHEJ pathway reporter. By substituting nucleotide 205C with ATC, we introduced a reading-frame shift and a pre-stop codon into the luciferase coding region and thereby generated a bioluminescent signal mute HEK293T reporter cell line. Read More