👤 Jane Maguire

Ischemic stroke is among the leading causes of adult disability. Part of the variability in functional outcome after stroke has been attributed to genetic factors but no locus has been consistently associated with stroke outcome. Our aim was to identify genetic loci influencing the recovery process using accurate phenotyping to produce the largest GWAS (genome-wide association study) in ischemic stroke recovery to date. A 12-cohort, 2-phase (discovery-replication and joint) meta-analysis of GWAS included anterior-territory and previously independent ischemic stroke cases. Functional outcome was recorded using 3-month modified Rankin Scale. Analyses were adjusted for confounders such as discharge National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. A gene-based burden test was performed. The discovery phase (n=1225) was followed by open (n=2482) and stringent joint-analyses (n=1791). Those cohorts with modified Rankin Scale recorded at time points other than 3-month or incomplete data on previous functional status were excluded in the stringent analyses. Novel variants in PATJ (Pals1-associated tight junction) gene were associated with worse functional outcome at 3-month after stroke. The top variant was rs76221407 (G allele, β=0.40, P=1.70×10 Our results identify a set of common variants in PATJ gene associated with 3-month functional outcome at genome-wide significance level. Future studies should examine the role of PATJ in stroke recovery and consider stringent phenotyping to enrich the information captured to unveil additional stroke outcome loci. Show less

Carbohydrate-response element binding protein (ChREBP) plays a key role in regulating glucose metabolism and de novo lipogenesis in metabolic tissues and cancer cells. Here we report that ChREBP is also a critical regulator of the metabolic alterations induced during human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. The expression of both ChREBP-α and ChREBP-β is robustly induced in HCMV-infected human fibroblasts; this induction is required for efficient HCMV infection. Depletion of ChREBP in HCMV-infected cells results in reduction of HCMV-induced glucose transporter 4 and glucose transporter 2 expression, leading to inhibition of glucose uptake, lactate production, nucleotide biosynthesis, and NADPH generation. We previously reported that HCMV infection induces lipogenesis through the activation of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1, which is mediated by the induction of PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase. Data from the present study show that HCMV-induced lipogenesis is also controlled by the induction of ChREBP, in a second mechanism involved in the regulation of HCMV-induced de novo lipogenesis. These results suggest that ChREBP plays a key role in reprogramming glucose and lipid metabolism in HCMV infection. Show less