MicroRNA (miRNA) transfer via exosomes may mediate cell-to-cell communication. Interestingly, specific miRNAs are enriched in exosomes in a cell-type-dependent fashion. However, the mechanisms whereby miRNAs are sorted to exosomes and the significance of miRNA transfer to acceptor cells are unclear. We used macrophages and endothelial cells (ECs) as a model of heterotypic cell communication in order to investigate both processes. RNA profiling of macrophages and their exosomes shows that miRNA sorting to exosomes is modulated by cell-activation-dependent changes of miRNA target levels in the producer cells. Genetically perturbing the expression of individual miRNAs or their targeted transcripts promotes bidirectional miRNA relocation from the cell cytoplasm/P bodies (sites of miRNA activity) to multivesicular bodies (sites of exosome biogenesis) and controls miRNA sorting to exosomes. Furthermore, the use of Dicer-deficient cells and reporter lentiviral vectors (LVs) for miRNA activity shows that exosomal miRNAs are transferred from macrophages to ECs to detectably repress targeted sequences.

The sequence of chromosome 21 was a turning point for the understanding of Down syndrome. Comparative genomics is beginning to identify the functional components of the chromosome and that in turn will set the stage for the functional characterization of the sequences. Animal models combined with genome-wide analytical methods have proved indispensable for unravelling the mysteries of gene dosage imbalance.

The exploration of quantitative variation in human populations has become one of the major priorities for medical genetics. The successful identification of variants that contribute to complex traits is highly dependent on reliable assays and genetic maps. We have performed a genome-wide quantitative trait analysis of 630 genes in 60 unrelated Utah residents with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe using the publicly available phase I data of the International HapMap project. The genes are located in regions of the human genome with elevated functional annotation and disease interest including the ENCODE regions spanning 1% of the genome, Chromosome 21 and Chromosome 20q12–13.2. We apply three different methods of multiple test correction, including Bonferroni, false discovery rate, and permutations. For the 374 expressed genes, we find many regions with statistically significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with expression variation in lymphoblastoid cell lines after correcting for multiple tests. Based on our analyses, the signal proximal (cis-) to the genes of interest is more abundant and more stable than distal and trans across statistical methodologies. Our results suggest that regulatory polymorphism is widespread in the human genome and show that the 5-kb (phase I) HapMap has sufficient density to enable linkage disequilibrium mapping in humans. Such studies will significantly enhance our ability to annotate the non-coding part of the genome and interpret functional variation. In addition, we demonstrate that the HapMap cell lines themselves may serve as a useful resource for quantitative measurements at the cellular level.

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most frequent congenital birth defects, and the most common genetic cause of mental retardation. In most cases, DS results from the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. DS has a complex phenotype, and a major goal of DS research is to identify genotype -phenotype correlations. Cases of partial trisomy 21 and other HSA21 rearrangements associated with DS features could identify genomic regions associated with specific phenotypes. We have developed a BAC array spanning HSA21q and used array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) to enable high-resolution mapping of pathogenic partial aneuploidies and unbalanced translocations involving HSA21. We report the identification and mapping of 30 pathogenic chromosomal aberrations of HSA21 consisting of 19 partial trisomies and 11 partial monosomies for different segments of HSA21. The breakpoints have been mapped to within B85 kb. The majority of the breakpoints (26 of 30) for the partial aneuploidies map within a 10-Mb region. Our data argue against a single DS critical region. We identify susceptibility regions for 25 phenotypes for DS and 27 regions for monosomy 21. However, most of these regions are still broad, and more cases are needed to narrow down the phenotypic maps to a reasonable number of candidate genomic elements per phenotype.