Immune Response Signaling Pathways Research Articles

Long Noncoding RNAs Control the Modulation of Immune Checkpoint Molecules in Cancer.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) that are associated with immune checkpoints have not been identified, and the mechanism by which such lncRNAs might regulate the expression of immune checkpoints is unknown in human cancer. Immune checkpoint-associated lncRNAs (ICP-lncRNA) were identified and validated via a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas data. These ICP-lncRNAs were involved in key immune response and immune cell receptor signaling pathways. The expression of ICP-lncRNAs was upregulated and correlated with a poor prognosis in patients with cancer. HLA complex P5 (HCP5) and myocardial infarction associated transcript (MIAT) promoted tumor growth and upregulated the expression of PD-L1/CD274 via a competing endogenous RNA mechanism of sponging miR-150-5p. The combination of MIAT knockdown and PD-L1 antibody administration showed a synergistic inhibitory effect on tumor growth. Finally, the expression of both HCP5 and MIAT was confirmed to be transcriptionally suppressed by CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), and lipopolysaccharide induced CTCF eviction from the HCP5 and MIAT promoters, attenuating the transcriptionally suppressive activity of CTCF. This study enlarges the functional landscape of known lncRNAs in human cancer and indicates novel insights into their roles in the field of tumor immunity and immunotherapy. These findings may aid in the comprehensive management of human cancer with immunotherapy.

P0049IDENTIFYING HUB GENES ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN IGA NEPHROPATHY BYWGCNA

Abstract Background and Aims Clinically, IgA nephropathy has a variety of symptoms including paroxysmal gross hematuria, nephritic syndrome and nephrotic syndrome. This study aimed at investigating hub geneand genes modular related to IgA nephropathy clinical characteristics by using weighted gene co-expression network analysis combining clinical, microarray and network database parameters. Method We collected 32 human samples from the European Renal cDNA Bank and used RMA method to preprocess the raw data and utilize the limma package to obtain differentially expressed gene in renal interstitium and glomeruli. And then, we used the WGCNA package to construct the gene co-expression of differential expression genes and identify the hub genes associated with clinical characteristics in renal interstitium and glomeruli, respectively. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and KEGG analysis for hub genes which associated with clinical characteristics were performed by DAVID, and PPI information was acquired from STRING with visualization by Cytoscape. Results For glomeruli, 1470 genes differentially expressed between IgA nephropathy patients and healthy control, containing 10 hub genes associated with age, 8 hub genes associated with sex, 48 hub genes associated with Bp enrichd in ERK1 and ERK2 cascade and Rap1 signaling pathway, 223 hub genes associated with BMI enrich in organic acid catabolic process and fatty acid degradation pathway, 136 hub genes associated GFR enriched in immune response and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, 82 hub genes associated with proteinuria enriched in extracellular matrix organization and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In tubulointerstitium, there were 480 genes differentially expressed between IgA nephropathy patients and healthy control. Among 480 DEGs, 6 hub genes associated with age, 15 hub genes associated with sex, 35 hub genes associated with Bp enrichd in positive regulation of apoptotic process, 87 hub genes associated with GFR enriched in negative regulation of macromolecule metabolic process and RNA transport, 33 hub genes associated with proteinuria enriched in regulation of apoptotic process and FoxO signaling pathway. PPI enrichment analysis shown that all hub genes sets are biologically connected cluster. Conclusion We made a preliminary investigation on molecular mechanisms of relationship between IgA nephropathy and clinical characteristics and identified hub genes and pathways closely related with BMI, GFR and Proteinuria in IgA nephropathy by a series of bioinformatics analysis.

Alternative inflammatory cytokines pathways in prostate cancer: In search of new therapeutic options.

e17504 Background: The inflammatory reaction pathways have impact on tumor cells development or anti-tumor responses. Both by the activity of the innate and acquired immune response signalling pathways. A proper acquired immune response is considered as anti-tumor. While inadequate innate or acquired stimulation of the immune system can cause chronic inflammation that can lead to oncogenesis. Numerous reports have revealed a relationship between chronic prostatitis and prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of the study is to retrospectively assess the histological material of PCa with the Gleason grading score. The histological material evaluated the level of inflammatory factors of pathways initiated by IL-17A and IL-17F. The evaluation of the expression of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17RA, IL-17RC, AKT1, EBPbeta, TRAF 6 and NF-kB made it possible to assess the influence of the inflammatory process on the progression of PCa. Methods: Studies were carried out on archival tissue material in the form of paraffin blocks of 40 men with PCa after radical prostatectomy. The control group of 10 men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The material was obtained by the transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The immunohistochemistry was performed on the material prepared in this way using specific primary antibodies against IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-17RA, IL-17RC, ACT1, TRAF-6, C/EBPbeta and NF-kB. The expression of the antibody to be examined using the light microscopy and the Remmele Stegner score (IRS) in cancer staining were then evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: In statistical analysis, it was shown that the inflammatory pathway IL17A/IL-17RC/TRAF6/NF-kB occurs in both BPH and PCa. IL-17 RA did not show expression in any group of patients and in the control group. In addition, along with the increase in the grading of Gleason score, a decrease in the expression of the tested inflammatory parameters was demonstrated. Conclusions: The inflammatory process has an impact on the cancer of prostate cancer. There is a correlation between the grades according to Gleason score and the level of expression of inflammation parameters. Activation of the inflammatory pathway through IL17A/IL-17RC/TRAF6/NF-kB cascade could correlate PCa development on the base of BPH. Evaluation of the inflammatory pathway in PCa, the initiated IL-17, may become a starting point for further research on an attempt to use, for example, immunotherapy in PCa.

Luteolin inhibits melanoma growth in vitro and in vivo via regulating ECM and oncogenic pathways but not ROS

Luteolin inhibited growth of several cancer cells in vitro in previous studies, with limited in vivo studies, and no comprehensive understanding of molecular mechanisms at genomics level. This study identified luteolin as an effective agent to inhibit melanoma cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Molecular studies and genomic profiling were used to identify the mechanism of action of luteolin in melanoma cells. As a ROS (reactive oxygen species) scavenger, luteolin unexpectedly induced ROS; but co-treatment with antioxidants NAC or mito-TEMPO did not rescue cell growth inhibition, although the levels of ROS levels were reduced. Next, we profiled luteolin-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in 4 melanoma cell lines using RNA-Seq, and performed pathway analysis using a combination of bioinformatics software including PharmetRx which was especially effective in discovering pharmacological pathways for potential drugs. Our results show that luteolin induces changes in three main aspects: the cell–cell interacting pathway (extracellular matrix, ECM), the oncogenic pathway and the immune response signaling pathway. Based on these results, we further validated that luteolin was especially effective in inhibiting cell proliferation when cells were seeded at low density, concomitantly with down-regulation of fibronectin accumulation. In conclusion, through extensive DEG profiling in a total of 4 melanoma cell lines, we found that luteolin-mediated growth inhibition in melanoma cells was perhaps not through ROS induction, but likely through simultaneously acting on multiple pathways including the ECM (extracellular matrix) pathway, the oncogenic signaling and the immune response pathways. Further investigations on the mechanisms of this promising compound are warranted and likely result in application to cancer patients as its safety pharmacology has been validated in autism patients.

Analysis of immune-related signatures of colorectal cancer identifying two different immune phenotypes: Evidence for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of numerous types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with CRC and deficient mismatch repair or high microsatellite instability could benefit from ICI treatment, although the response rate of most patients is low. Therefore, the immune subtyping of patients with CRC is required in order to determine the subtypes suitable for ICI treatment. The present study used a cohort of patients with CRC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to perform molecular subtyping, with results validated in three CRC cohorts from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to achieve consensus molecular subtyping. The tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion algorithm was used to predict potential ICI therapy responses and gene set enrichment analysis was performed to define different pathways associated with the immune response. Two distinct subtypes of CRC were finally identified in TCGA cohorts, which were characterized as significantly different prognostic subtypes (low-risk and high-risk subtypes). Higher expression of programmed death-ligand 1, higher proportion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and tumor mutation burden were significantly enriched in the low-risk subtype. Further pathway analysis revealed that the low-risk subtype was associated with immune response activation and signaling pathways involved in ‘antigen processing and presentation’. Three independent CRC cohorts were used to validate the above findings. In summary, two clinical CRC subtypes were identified, which are characterized by significantly different survival outcomes and immune infiltration patterns. The findings of the present study suggest that ICI treatment may be more effective in the low-risk CRC subtype.

Bone Marrow Monocytes and Derived Dendritic Cells from Myelodysplastic Patients Have Functional Abnormalities Associated with Defective Response to Bacterial Infection.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of hematopoietic stem cell diseases characterized by dysplasia of one or more hematologic lineages and a high risk of developing into acute myeloid leukemia. MDS patients have recurrent bacterial infections and abnormal expression of CD56 by monocytes. We investigated MDS patients' bone marrow CD56+/CD56- monocytes and their in vitro-derived dendritic cell populations in comparison with cells obtained from disease-free subjects. We found that monocytes from MDS patients, irrespective of CD56 expression, have reduced phagocytosis activity and low expression of genes involved in triggering immune responses, regulation of immune and inflammatory response signaling pathways, and in the response to LPS. Dendritic cells derived in vitro from MDS monocytes failed to develop dendritic projections and had reduced expression of HLA-DR and CD86, suggesting that Ag processing and T cell activation capabilities are impaired. In conclusion, we identified, in both CD56+ and CD56- monocytes from MDS patients, several abnormalities that may be related to the increased susceptibility to infections observed in these patients.

Oral Administration of Si-Based Agent Attenuates Oxidative Stress and Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in a Rat Model: A Novel Hydrogen Administration Method.

Organ ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), which is unavoidable in kidney transplantation, induces the formation of reactive oxygen species and causes organ damage. Although the efficacy of molecular hydrogen (H2) in IRI has been reported, oral intake of H2-rich water and inhalation of H2 gas are still not widely used in clinical settings because of the lack of efficiency and difficulty in handling. We successfully generated large quantities of H2 molecules by crushing silicon (Si) to nano-sized Si particles (nano-Si) which were allowed to react with water. The nano-Si or relatively large-sized Si particles (large-Si) were orally administered to rats with renal IRI. Animals were divided into four groups: sham, IRI, IRI + nano-Si, and IRI + large-Si. The levels of serum creatinine and urine protein were significantly decreased 72 h following IRI in rats that were administered nano-Si. The levels of oxidative stress marker, urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine were also significantly decreased with the nano-Si treatment. Transcriptome and gene ontology enrichment analyses showed that the oral nano-Si intake downregulated the biological processes related to oxidative stress, such as immune response, cytokine production, and extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway. Alterations in the regulation of a subset of genes in the altered pathways were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the nano-Si treatment alleviated interstitial macrophage infiltration and tubular apoptosis, implicating the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of nano-Si. In conclusion, renal IRI was attenuated by the oral administration of nano-Si, which should be considered as a novel H2 administration method.

Modulation of the host cell mitochondrial proteome by PemKSa toxin protein exposure

Mitochondria are essential organelles involved in abundant cellular functions ranging from energy metabolism to cell survival. The inhibition of these mitochondrial functions by bacterial toxin proteins promotes disease and inhibits cell growth. Prominent evidence proposes that mitochondria provide a platform for innate immune response signalling pathways. To investigate how a bacterial toxin manipulates the mitochondrial environment of the host Caenorhabditis elegans at the molecular level, a quantitative proteomic study of mitochondria following exposure to the PemKSa toxin was performed. In this study, we purified C. elegans mitochondria and performed a comprehensive proteomic analysis using a shotgun proteomic approach (LC-MS/MS). LC-MS/MS data were analysed using various bioinformatics tools, which revealed the role and involvement of several regulatory proteins and pathways associated with mitochondrial functions. We detected variation in protein expression in key metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, carbon metabolism, glycolysis and apoptosis, which suggests global reprogramming of host mitochondria metabolism by the toxin. Our results provide new horizons for mitochondria-associated protein functions and the classification of mitochondrial diseases during host-toxin interactions.

PTEN deletion drives aberrations of DNA methylome and transcriptome in different stages of prostate cancer.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog located on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor gene and one of the most frequently mutated/deleted genes in human prostate cancer (PCa). However, how PTEN deletion would impact the epigenome and transcriptome alterations remain unknown. This hypothesis was tested in a prostate-specific PTEN-/- (KO) mouse prostatic adenocarcinoma model through DNA methyl-Seq and RNA-Seq analyses. Examination of cancer genomic datasets revealed that PTEN is expressed at lower levels in PTEN-deleted tumor samples than in normal solid tissue samples. Methylome and transcriptome profiling identified several inflammatory responses and immune response signaling pathways, including NF-kB signaling, IL-6 signaling, LPS/IL-1-mediated inhibition of RXR Function, PI3K in B lymphocytes, iCOS-iCOSL in T helper cells, and the role of NFAT in regulating the immune response, were affected by PTEN deletion. Importantly, a small subset of genes that showed DNA hypermethylation or hypomethylation was correlated with decreased or increased gene expression including CXCL1. quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses of representative genes validated the RNA-Seq results. Histopathological examinations showed that the severity of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and inflammation development gradually increased as PTEN null mice aged. Collectively, these findings suggest that loss of PTEN drives global changes in DNA CpG methylation and transcriptomic gene expression and highly associated with several inflammatory and immune molecular pathways during PCa development. These biomarkers could be valuable molecular targets for cancer drug discovery and development against PCa.

Analysis of lncRNA expression profiles by sequencing reveals that lnc-AL928768.3 and lnc-AC091493.1 are novel biomarkers for disease risk and activity of rheumatoid arthritis.

This study aimed to analyze long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression profiles in synovium tissue of patients with RA using RNA sequencing, and to further assess the clinical values of dysregulated lncRNAs in RA diagnosis and monitoring. Thirty patients with RA who underwent knee arthroscopy and 30 controls with knee trauma who underwent surgery were consecutively enrolled and synovium tissue samples of both groups were obtained during surgery. In the exploration stage, lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in three RA samples and three control samples were detected by RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses were then performed. In the validation stage, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was subsequently used to detect expression of five candidate lncRNAs in 30 patients with RA and 30 control patients. A total of 349 lncRNAs and 1582 mRNAs were upregulated and 806 lncRNAs and 1295 mRNAs were downregulated in patients with RA compared with controls. Enrichment analyses revealed that these dysregulated lncRNAs and mRNAs were mainly involved in regulating immune response, leukocyte migration, complement activation, and Bcell receptor signaling pathway. Subsequent qPCR validation discovered that lnc-AL928768.3 (P < 0.001) and lnc-AC091493.1 (P < 0.001) were elevated in patients with RA compared with controls and afford good predictive values for RA risk by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additionally, the two lncRNAs were positively associated with C-reactive protein level and disease activity score in 28 joints (ESR) (all P < 0.05). Analysis of lncRNA expression profiles by sequencing reveals that lnc-AL928768.3 and lnc-AC091493.1 are novel biomarkers for RA risk and activity.

Clustering of Transcriptomic Signatures in Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Identifies Two High-Risk Subgroups Which Increase in Prevalence at Relapse

Clustering of Transcriptomic Signatures in Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Identifies Two High-Risk Subgroups Which Increase in Prevalence at Relapse

Comparison of gene expression responses of zebrafish larvae to Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection by static immersion and caudal vein microinjection

The innate immune response can be activated by infection via different routes. Zebrafish provide a useful infection model for studying inflammation and the innate immune response. We investigated the genes and signaling pathways activated by static immersion and caudal vein microinjection infection using transcriptome profiling and reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) to compare the innate immune response in 3 days post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae infected by Vibrio parahaemolyticus Vp13 strain. The median lethal dose (LD50) values at 96 h following immersion and microinjection were 3.63 × 107 CFU/mL and 5.76 × 102 CFU/nL, respectively. An innate immune response was initiated after 2 h of incubation with the respective LD50 for each infection method. Six hundred and two genes in the immersion group and 359 genes in the microinjection group were activated and differentially expressed post-infection. Sixty-three Gene Ontology (GO) terms and four Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were significantly enriched in the immersion group, compared with only three GO terms and no KEGG pathways in the microinjection group. Two genes, tnfb and ccl20a.3, were significantly up-regulated in both groups. We speculated that immersion infection may affect initial dorsal determination, cytochromes, and fatty acid-binding proteins, as well as inflammation, while microinjection infection may mainly directly affect the immune response. Infection with doses > LD50 (1.09 × 109 CFU/mL and 1.09 × 103 CFU/nL by immersion and microinjection, respectively) caused more significant up-regulation of il11a, tnfa, tnfb, il1b, ccl34a.4, ccl20a.3, irak3, cxcl18b, and ccl35.1, suggesting that in addition to the classical innate immunity genes tnfa, tnfb, il1b, and il6, the genes il11a, ccl34a.4, ccl20a.3, cxcl18b, and ccl35.1 were also important for defending against Vp13 infection. These findings highlight the genes involved in the responses of zebrafish to Vp13 infection via different routes and doses, and thus provide the basis for further analyses of immune response signaling pathways.

Advances in researches on mechanism of macrophage migration inhibitory factor regulating parasite-host immune interaction

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a type of pleiotropic immunoregulatory cytokine with a specific structure, participates in the regulation of host cell growth and migration and immune responses. Following parasitic infections, hosts may produce MIF and then participate in the parasite-host interactions. In addition, parasites may secrete parasite-derived MIF, and they jointly participate in parasite-host interactions. This paper reviews the regulation of MIF gene expression following parasitic infections, the role of MIF in parasite-host immune system interactions, and important signaling pathways of MIF-mediated immune responses.

Nutrient sensing signaling functions as the sensor and regulator of immunometabolic changes in grass carp during Flavobacteriumcolumnare infection

In order to illustrate the immunometabolic changes of fish during bacterial infection, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) was injected with Flavobacteriumcolumnare(F.columnare) and then the immune response, nutrient metabolism and related signaling pathways were assayed from 6 h post injection (hpi) to 7 days post injection (dpi). After F.columnare injection, gill lamellae showed obvious fusion and higher mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-8 in the head kidney were also significantly upregulated at 6 hpi and 3 dpi. Moreover, the expression of IgZ in the gill was significantly upregulated at 3 dpi and 7 dpi, while the expression of IgM in the head kidney was significantly upregulated at 1 dpi and 3 dpi after F.columnare injection. During bacterial infection, the systematic nutrient metabolism was also significantly affected. Hepatic glycolysis, indicated by GK mRNA expression and PK activity, was significantly upregulated at 1 dpi, while glucogenesis, indicated by PEPCK mRNA expression and enzyme activity, was significantly increased at later time, which resulted in the decreased hepatic glycogen content at 1dpi but increased glycogen content at 7 dpi in the experimental group. LPL, which catalyzed the lipid catabolism, showed decreased mRNA expression and enzyme activity at 6 hpi, while ACC, which was rate-limiting of FA synthesis, was significantly increased at 6 hpi, 3 dpi and 7 dpi. During this process, the nutrient sensing signaling was also significantly affected. TOR signaling in grass carp was significantly activated while ERK signaling was significantly inhibited after F.columnare infection, both of which might function as the sensor and regulator of fish immunometabolic changes.

Genome-wide analysis identifies rare copy number variations associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

BackgroundInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic, chronic disorder of unclear etiology with an underlying genetic predisposition. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified more than 200 IBD susceptibility loci, but the causes of IBD remain poorly defined. We hypothesized that rare (<0.1% population frequency) gene copy number variations (CNVs) could play an important mechanism for risk of IBD. We aimed to examine changes in DNA copy number in a population-based cohort of patients with IBD and search for novel genetic risk factors for IBD.MethodsDNA samples from 243 individuals with IBD from the Manitoba IBD Cohort Study and 2988 healthy controls were analyzed using genome-wide SNP microarray technology. Three CNV calling algorithms were applied to maximize sensitivity and specificity of CNV detection. We identified IBD-associated genes affected by rare CNV from comparing the number of overlapping CNVs in IBD samples with the number of overlapping CNVs in controls for each gene.Results4,402 CNVs detected by two or three algorithms intersected 7,061 genes, in at least one analyzed sample. Four genes (e.g. DUSP22 and IP6K3) intersected by rare deletions and fourteen genes (e.g. SLC25A10, PSPN, GTF2F1) intersected by rare duplications demonstrated significant association with IBD (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.01). Of these, ten genes were functionally related to immune response and intracellular signalling pathways. Some of these genes were also identified in other IBD related genome-wide association studies. These suggested that the identified genes may play a role in the risk of IBD.ConclusionOur results revealed new genomic loci associated with IBD, which suggested the role of rare CNVs in IBD risk.

Ferulic acid altered IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction and protected against imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin injury in mice

Ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic phytochemical, is commonly found in grains, vegetables, and fruits. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) interaction is one of important therapeutic targets for psoriasis. Here we analyzed the FA effects on IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction and psoriasis-like skin injury induced by imiquimod (IMQ). IL-17A-blocking assay and docking analysis showed that FA interacted with Trp-67, Gln-94, and Glu-95 residues of IL-17A via hydrogen bonds and consequently abolished the binding of IL-17RA to IL-17A. Mice were topically given with IMQ and orally given with various amounts of FA for 14 consecutive days. FA attenuated IMQ-induced psoriasis-like skin lesions in a dose-dependent manner, and the epidermal thickness of mice treated with 100 mg/kg FA was reduced by 53.48 ± 4.44% in comparison with sham. Global analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that IMQ and FA significantly affected immune response, metabolism, and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Immunohistochemical staining showed that FA inhibited the infiltration and the cytokine secretion of Th17 cell, dendritic cell, and granulocyte subsets in psoriatic skin tissues. In conclusion, we newly identified that oral administration of FA protected against IMQ-induced psoriatic skin injury in mice. Moreover, its protection was associated with the interference of IL-17A/IL-17RA interaction.

Aristolochic acid I aggravates renal injury by activating the C3a/C3aR complement system

Previous studies have reported that the complement system is unconventionally activated in many kinds of glomerulonephritis. Multiple complement components participate in the pathogenic process by triggering immune response or other intracellular signaling pathways. Here, we have investigated the role of C3a and its receptor C3aR in aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN), which, is featured with progressive interstitial fibrosis. Over release of C3a and increased expression of C3aR parallels to the up-regulation of α-SMA and TGF-β1 in AAN, which appeared to promote epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT). To identify the role of complement activation in AAN, we used an inhibitor of C3aR (C3aRA) to block the coupling of C3a to its receptor. Our results confirmed from decreased EMT, the protective effect of C3aRA in cell apoptosis and inflammatory response induced by aristolochic acid I. These results showed that C3a and its receptor C3aR played pathogenic roles in AAN, and renal tubular epithelial cells were potentially pivotal targets of complement activation that could cause pro-fibrotic effects.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Insulin Physiology: An Observational Quantitative Serum Proteomics Study in Adolescent, Normal-Weight Females.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder associated with insulin resistance, even in the absence of overweight/obesity. The aim of the present study is to examine the global serum proteomic profile of adolescent, normal-weight females with PCOS in order to gain novel insight in the association of this endocrine disorder with insulin physiology and to identify novel circulating markers that can guide intervention protocols. Non-depleted serum from normal-weight (BMI: 18-23 kg m-2 ), adolescent females (13-21 years old) with PCOS (n = 20) is compared to BMI- and age-matched healthy controls (n = 20) using our 3D quantitative proteomics methodology. Serum samples from study participants are randomly pooled to form four biological replicates of females with PCOS and four of healthy controls (n = 5 per sample pool). One-hundred and twenty-six proteins are differentially expressed in females with PCOS compared to controls. Gene ontology analysis shows significant enrichment for terms related to inflammatory immune response, metabolism and insulin-like growth factor receptor signaling pathway. Circulating levels of IGF-1 and -2 and IGFBP-2, -3, and -4 are found to be lower in females with PCOS compared to healthy controls. The present serum proteomics study provides insight into the pro-inflammatory status and insulin dysregulation in young females with PCOS and identifies potential serological markers that can guide early intervention protocols.

Bioinformatics Analysis and Identification of Genes and Molecular Pathways Involved in Synovial Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

BackgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a high prevalence in the elderly population. The genes and pathways in the inflamed synovium in patients with RA are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) linked to the progression of synovial inflammation in RA using bioinformatics analysis.Material/MethodsGene expression profiles of datasets GSE55235 and GSE55457 were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. DEGs were identified using Morpheus software, and co-expressed DEGs were identified with Venn diagrams. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were assembled with Cytoscape software and separated into subnetworks using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) algorithm. The functions of the top module were assessed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed.ResultsDEGs that were upregulated were significantly enhanced in protein binding, the cell cytosol, organization of the extracellular matrix (ECM), regulation of RNA transcription, and cell adhesion. DEGs that were downregulated were associated with control of the immune response, B-cell and T-cell receptor signaling pathway regulation. KEGG pathway analysis showed that upregulated DEGs enhanced pathways associated with the cell adherens junction, osteoclast differentiation, and hereditary cardiomyopathies. Downregulated DEGs were enriched in primary immunodeficiency, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and hematopoietic cell lineages.ConclusionsThe findings from this bioinformatics network analysis study identified molecular mechanisms and the key hub genes that may contribute to synovial inflammation in patients with RA.

Distinct degenerative phenotype of articular cartilage from knees with meniscus tear compared to knees with osteoarthritis

To compare the transcriptome of articular cartilage from knees with meniscus tears to knees with end-stage osteoarthritis (OA). Articular cartilage was collected from the non-weight bearing medial intercondylar notch of knees undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM; N=10, 49.7±10.8 years, 50% females) for isolated medial meniscus tears and knees undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA; N=10, 66.0±7.6 years, 70% females) due to end-stage OA. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) preparation was subjected to SurePrint G3 human 8×60K RNA microarrays to probe differentially expressed transcripts followed by computational exploration of underlying biological processes. Real-time polymerase chain reaction amplification was performed on selected transcripts to validate microarray data. We observed that 81 transcripts were significantly differentially expressed (45 elevated, 36 repressed) between APM and TKA samples (≥ 2 fold) at a false discovery rate of ≤ 0.05. Among these, CFD, CSN1S1, TSPAN11, CSF1R and CD14 were elevated in the TKA group, while CHI3L2, HILPDA, COL3A1, COL27A1 and FGF2 were highly expressed in APM group. A few long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs), small nuclear RNAs (snoRNAs) and antisense RNAs were also differentially expressed between the two groups. Transcripts up-regulated in TKA cartilage were enriched for protein localization and activation, chemical stimulus, immune response, and toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Transcripts up-regulated in APM cartilage were enriched for mesenchymal cell apoptosis, epithelial morphogenesis, canonical glycolysis, extracellular matrix organization, cartilage development, and glucose catabolic process. This study suggests that APM and TKA cartilage express distinct sets of OA transcripts. The gene profile in cartilage from TKA knees represents an end-stage OA whereas in APM knees it is clearly earlier in the degenerative process.