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Lin, Y. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Lin, Y. C..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

An inter-chromosomal transcription hub activates the unfolded protein response in plasma cells

Previous studies have indicated that the transcription signature of antibody-secreting cells is closely associated with the induction of the unfolded protein response pathway (UPR). Here we have used genome-wide and single cell analyses to examine the folding patterns of plasma cell genomes. We found that plasma cells adopt a cartwheel configuration and undergo large-scale changes in chromatin folding at genomic regions associated with a plasma cell specific transcription signature. During plasma cell differentiation, Blimp1 assembles into an inter-chromosomal transcription hub with genes associated with the UPR, biosynthesis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as well as a cluster of genes linked with Alzheimers disease. We suggest that the assembly of the Blimp1-UPR-ER transcription hub permits the coordinate activation of a wide spectrum of genes that collectively establish plasma cell identity.

immunology

Tractography-based connectomes are dominated by false-positive connections

Fiber tractography based on non-invasive diffusion imaging is at the heart of connectivity studies of the human brain. To date, the approach has not been systematically validated in ground truth studies. Based on a simulated human brain dataset with ground truth white matter tracts, we organized an open international tractography challenge, which resulted in 96 distinct submissions from 20 research groups. While most state-of-the-art algorithms reconstructed 90% of ground truth bundles to at least some extent, on average they produced four times more invalid than valid bundles. About half of the invalid bundles occurred systematically in the majority of submissions. Our results demonstrate fundamental ambiguities inherent to tract reconstruction methods based on diffusion orientation information, with critical consequences for the approach of diffusion tractography in particular and human connectivity studies in general.

neuroscience