👤 Yan Pu

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent mental disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. However, a clear causative etiology of MDD remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify critical protein alterations in plasma from patients with MDD and integrate our proteomics and previous metabolomics data to reveal significantly perturbed pathways in MDD. An isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ)-based quantitative proteomics approach was conducted to compare plasma protein expression between patients with depression and healthy controls (CON). For integrative analysis, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software was used to analyze proteomics and metabolomics data and identify potential relationships among the differential proteins and metabolites. A total of 74 proteins were significantly changed in patients with depression compared with those in healthy CON. Bioinformatics analysis of differential proteins revealed significant alterations in lipid transport and metabolic function, including apolipoproteins (APOE, APOC4 and APOA5), and the serine protease inhibitor. According to canonical pathway analysis, the top five statistically significant pathways were related to lipid transport, inflammation and immunity. Causal network analysis by integrating differential proteins and metabolites suggested that the disturbance of phospholipid metabolism might promote the inflammation in the central nervous system. Show less

Variants in the lipoprotein lipase (LPL), apolipoprotein C-II (APOC2), apolipoprotein A-V (APOA5), GPIHBP1 and LMF1 genes may cause severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), which is now the second-leading aetiology of acute pancreatitis in China. The patient and his family were assessed for gene variants by Sanger sequencing of exons and exon-intron junctions of the LPL, GPIHBP1, APOA5, APOC2, and LMF1 genes. Post-heparin blood was collected for LPL mass and activity detection. The patient had suffered from long-term severe hypertriglyceridemia and recurrent abdominal pain for over 30 years, since age 26, and 3 bouts of acute pancreatitis. Two heterozygous LPL single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were compound but dislinked: a single-nucleotide substitution (c.42G > A) resulting in the substitution of tryptophan with a stop codon (p.W14X) in one allele, and a single-nucleotide substitution (c.835C > G) resulting in a leucine-to-valine substitution (p.L279 V) in another allele. Only one SNP, p.L279 V, was detected in his son. Post-heparin LPL activity and mass were also lower in the patient. Two heterozygous LPL SNPs, W14X and L279 V, were newly found to be compound but dislinked, which may cause long-term severe hypertriglyceridemia and recurrent acute pancreatitis. Show less

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the association between the polymorphisms in AXIN1 with susceptibility to clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). A total of 284 ccRCC patients and 439 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Totally three tag single nucleotide polymorphisms in AXIN1 gene were genotyped using PCR & restriction fragment length polymorphism. Significantly increased ccRCC risk was observed to be associated with the CT/CC genotypes of rs1805105 and AA genotype of rs12921862. Patients carrying the rs1805105 CT genotype had a 1.92-fold increased risk to developing clinical stage III and IV cancer. Our results suggested the rs1805105 CT/CC genotypes and rs12921862 AA genotype may relate to ccRCC development. Show less

Noncompaction cardiomyopathy is characterized by the presence of extensive trabeculations, which could lead to heart failure and malignant arrhythmias. How trabeculations resolve to form compact myocardium is poorly understood. Elucidation of this process is critical to understanding the pathophysiology of noncompaction disease. Here we use genetic lineage tracing to mark the Nppa Show less

Cancer stem cells are associated with tumor recurrence. IKK is a protein kinase that is composed of IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ. Herein, we demonstrate that IKKα plus IKKβ promoted and IKKγ inhibited liver cancer stem cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, IKKα plus IKKβ enhanced and IKKγ inhibited the interplay among HP1α, HP1β and HP1γ that competes for the interaction among HP1α, SUZ12, HEZ2. Therefore, IKKα plus IKKβ inhibited and IKKγ enhanced the activity of H3K27 methyltransferase SUZ12 and EZH2, which methylates H3K27 immediately sites on HOTAIR promoter region. Therefore, IKKα plus IKKβ increased and IKKγ decreased the HOTAIR expression. Strikingly, IKKα plus IKKβ decreases and IKKγ increases the HP1α interplays with DNA methyltransferase DNMT3b, which increases or decreases TERRA promoter DNA methylation. Thus IKKα plus IKKβ reduces and IKKγ increases to recruit TRF1 and RNA polymerase II deposition and elongation on the TERRA promoter locus, which increases or decreases TERRA expression. Furthermore, IKKα plus IKKβ decreases/increases and IKKγ increases/decreases the interplay between TERT and TRRRA/between TERT and TREC. Ultimately, IKKα plus IKKβ increases and IKKγ decreases the telomerase activity. On the other hand, at the telomere locus, IKKα plus IKKβ increases/drcreases and IKKγ decreases/increases TRF2, POT1, pPOT1, Exo1, pExo1, SNM1B, pSNM1B/CST-AAF binding, which keep active telomere regulatory genes and poised for telomere length. Strikingly, HOTAIR is required for IKKα plus IKKβ and IKKγ to control telomerase activity and telomere length. These observations suggest that HOTAIR operates the action of IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ in liver cancer stem cells. This study provides a novel basis to elucidate the oncogenic action of IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ and prompts that IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ cooperate to HOTAR to be used as a novel therapeutic targets for liver cancer. Show less

Quercetin, a common member of the flavonoid family, is widely present in plant kingdom. Despite that quercetin is implicated in regulating cholesterol metabolism, the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. We hypothesized that quercetin regulates cholesterol homeostasis through regulating the key enzymes involved in hepatic cholesterol metabolism. To test this hypothesis, we compared the profile of key enzymes and transcription factors involved in the hepatic cholesterol metabolism in rats with or without quercetin supplementation. Twenty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control and quercetin-supplemented groups. Serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total bile acids in feces and bile were measured. Hepatic enzymatic activities were determined by activity assay kit and high-performance liquid chromatography-based analyses. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses, respectively. The results showed that the activity of hepatic cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, a critical enzyme in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids, was significantly elevated by quercetin. The expression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, as well as liver X receptor α, an important transcription factor, was also increased at both mRNA and protein levels by quercetin. However, quercetin exposure had no impact on the activity of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. We also found that quercetin treatment significantly increased ATP binding cassette transporter G1 mRNA and protein expression in the liver, suggesting that quercetin may increase hepatic cholesterol efflux. Collectively, the results presented here indicate that quercetin regulates hepatic cholesterol metabolism mainly through the pathways that promote cholesterol-to-bile acid conversion and cholesterol efflux. Show less

Cryptorchidism is one of the most common congenital anomalies in newborn boys. Although the mechanism responsible for the pathophysiology of cryptorchidism has not yet been well addressed, the Wnt signaling pathway has been involved in the development of cryptorchidism. Axin1 is a central component of the Wnt signaling pathway and may play a critical role in the development of cryptorchidism. We assumed that cryptorchidism risk and the AXIN1 gene may have an association. Thus we picked out three tag SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the AXIN1 gene and aimed to investigate whether cryptorchidism risk is associated with polymorphisms in the AXIN1 gene. The variants were discriminated using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. A total of 113 cases and 179 controls were recruited to participate in this study, including 92 unilateral cryptorchidism and 21 bilateral cases. In bilateral cases, the position of the testis was decided by the higher one. A significantly increased cryptorchidism risk was found to be associated with both the T allele (p = 2e(-4), OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.37-2.78) and T/T genotype (p = 6e(-4), OR 4.00, 95% CI 1.79-9.09) of rs370681 polymorphism, and, compared with the C/C genotype, a significantly increased cryptorchidism risk was associated with the C/T-T/T genotype (p = 4e(-4), OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.47-4.00) of rs370681 polymorphisms. Among the three tag SNPs we have chosen in AXIN1, two SNPs are located in the intron region, the other SNP is located in the synonymous codon region. Evidential research has indicated that introns and other non-protein-coding RNAs may have evolved to function as network control molecules in higher organisms. Therefore, we suspected that the tag SNPs may work as controls influencing the conduct of other genes rather than affecting the structure of the protein by influencing the coding of amino acid. There were limitations in our study. One is that we did not test the expression level of Axin1. Secondly, the number of the study subjects is limited. Finally, the molecular mechanisms by which AXIN1 is involved in susceptibility to cryptorchidism should be characterized. We assessed the impact of the genetic variability of the AXIN1 gene on cryptorchidism. We have offered primary evidence that the T allele and T/T genotype of rs370681 polymorphisms and C/T genotype of rs1805105 polymorphisms in AXIN1 gene are more frequent in patients with cryptorchidism. Show less

AXIN1 is a central component of Wnt signalling pathway which is essential for embryonic development. To investigate whether polymorphisms of AXIN1 contribute to ASD susceptibility. Three tag SNPs (rs12921862, rs370681 and rs1805105) in AXIN1 were genotyped in 208 ASD patients and 302 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in a Chinese population. Significantly increased ASD risk was observed to be associated with the A allele of rs12921862 (p < 0.0001, OR = 3.096, 95% CI = 2.037-4.717). Increased ASD risk was observed to be associated with rs370681 in a codominant (p = 0.043, OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.04-2.22) and overdominant model (p = 0.016, OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.08-2.27). rs12921862 and rs370681 may contribute to ASD susceptibility. Show less

Abnormal expression of solute carrier family 34 (sodium phosphate), member 2 (SLC34A2) in the lung may induce abnormal alveolar type II (AT II) cells to transform into lung adenocarcinoma cells, and may also be important in biological process of lung adenocarcinoma. However, at present, the effects and molecular mechanisms of SLC34A2 in the initiation and progression of lung cancer remain to be elucidated. To the best of our knowledge, the present study revealed for the first time that the expression levels of SLC34A2 were downregulated in the A549 and H1299 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Further investigation demonstrated that the elevated expression of SLC34A2 in A549 cells was able to significantly inhibit cell viability and invasion in vitro. In addition, 10 upregulated genes between the A549‑P‑S cell line stably expressing SLC34A2 and the control cell line A549‑P were identified by microarray analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, including seven tumor suppressor genes and three complement genes. Furthermore, the upregulation of complement gene C3 and complement 4B preproprotein (C4b) in A549‑P‑S cells was confirmed by ELISA analysis and was identified to be correlated with recovering Pi absorption in A549 cells by the phosphomolybdic acid method by enhancing the expression of SLC34A2. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the mechanisms underlying the effect of SLC34A2 on A549 cells might be associated with the activation of the complement alternative pathway (C3 and C4b) and upregulation of the expression of selenium binding protein 1, thioredoxin‑interacting protein, PDZK1‑interacting protein 1 and dual specificity protein phosphatase 6. Downregulation of SLC34A2 may primarily cause abnormal AT II cells to escape from complement‑associated immunosurveillance and abnormally express certain tumor‑suppressor genes inducing AT II cells to develop into lung adenocarcinoma. The present study further elucidated the effects and mechanisms of SLC34A2 in the generation and development of lung cancer. Show less

High altitude environments are of particular interest in the studies of local adaptation as well as their implications in physiology and clinical medicine in human. Some Chinese pig breeds, such as Tibetan pig (TBP) that is well adapted to the high altitude and Dahe pig (DHP) that dwells at the moderate altitude, provide ideal materials to study local adaptation to altitudes. Yet, it is still short of in-depth analysis and understanding of the genetic adaptation to high altitude in the two pig populations. In this study we conducted a genomic scan for selective sweeps using FST to identify genes showing evidence of local adaptations in TBP and DHP, with Wuzhishan pig (WZSP) as the low-altitude reference. Totally, we identified 12 specific selective genes (CCBE1, F2RL1, AGGF1, ZFPM2, IL2, FGF5, PLA2G4A, ADAMTS9, NRBF2, JMJD1C, VEGFC and ADAM19) for TBP and six (OGG1, FOXM, FLT3, RTEL1, CRELD1 and RHOG) for DHP. In addition, six selective genes (VPS13A, GNA14, GDAP1, PARP8, FGF10 and ADAMTS16) were shared by the two pig breeds. Among these selective genes, three (VEGFC, FGF10 and ADAMTS9) were previously reported to be linked to the local adaptation to high altitudes in pigs, while many others were newly identified by this study. Further bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that majority of these selective signatures have some biological functions relevant to the altitude adaptation, for examples, response to hypoxia, development of blood vessels, DNA repair and several hematological involvements. These results suggest that the local adaptation to high altitude environments is sophisticated, involving numerous genes and multiple biological processes, and the shared selective signatures by the two pig breeds may provide an effective avenue to identify the common adaptive mechanisms to different altitudes. Show less

Liver-X-receptors, LXRα (NR1H3) and LXRβ (NR1H2), encode 2 different but highly homologous isoforms of transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. Whether LXRα and LXRβ subtypes have discrete roles in the regulation of cardiac physiology/pathology is unknown. We determine the role of each LXR subtype in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury. Mice (wild type; those genetically depleted of LXRα, LXRβ, or both; and those overexpressing LXRα or LXRβ by in vivo intramyocardial adenoviral vector) were subjected to MI/R injury. Both LXRα and LXRβ were detected in wild-type mouse heart. LXRα, but not LXRβ, was significantly upregulated after MI/R. Dual activation of LXRα and LXRβ by natural and synthetic agonists reduced myocardial infarction and improved contractile function after MI/R. Mechanistically, LXR activation inhibited MI/R-induced oxidative stress and nitrative stress, attenuated endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, and reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in ischemic/reperfused myocardium. The aforementioned cardioprotective effects of LXR agonists were impaired in the setting of cardiac-specific gene silencing of LXRα, but not LXRβ subtype. Moreover, LXRα/β double-knockout and LXRα-knockout mice, but not LXRβ-knockout mice, increased MI/R injury, exacerbated MI/R-induced oxidative/nitrative stress, and aggravated endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, cardiac LXRα, not LXRβ, overexpression via adenoviral transfection suppressed MI/R injury. Our study provides the first direct evidence that the LXRα, but not LXRβ, subtype is a novel endogenous cardiac protective receptor against MI/R injury. Drug development strategies specifically targeting LXRα may be beneficial in treating ischemic heart disease. Show less

To investigate the frequency of variants at Xmn I, Msp I sites of apolipoprotein (Apo), A I-CIII-AIV gene cluster, and its relation to cholesterol gallstones in Chinese patients. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) at Xmn I, Msp I sites of ApoAI-CIII-AIV gene cluster were studied using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 161 patients with cholesterol gallstones and 94 healthy subjects from a Chinese population in Sichuan Province. In both the cholesterol gallstone group and the healthy control group, X1 and M1 alleles were the major alleles and homozygous X1X1 and M1M1 genotypes were the most frequent. However, the frequency of X2 allele mutation in female patients of the cholesterol gallstones group was significantly higher than that in women in the healthy control group (P<0.05), but no difference was found in the frequency of M2 alleles mutation (P>0.05). The data showed that Xmn I RFLP of ApoAI-CIII-AIV gene cluster is associated to some extent with cholesterol gallstones in female Chinese patients. Show less