APOH interacts with FTO to predispose to healthy thinness

The association of APOH and NCF1 polymorphisms on susceptibility to recurrent pregnancy loss in women with antiphospholipid syndrome

BACKGROUND

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is the main manifestation of pathological pregnancy in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) women. The immune state plays a significant role in the occurrence/development of APS and RPL susceptibility, but there is little research on genetic factors.

METHOD

Previous studies have described the important role of APOH and NCF1 in APS and pregnancy. To explore the association of APOH and NCF1 gene variants with RPL susceptibility in APS patients, we collected and analyzed 871 controls, 182 APS and RPL, and 231 RPL patients. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 of APOH and rs201802880 of NCF1) were selected and genotyped.

RESULTS

We found rs1801690 (p = 0.001, p = 0.003), rs52797880 (p = 8.73e-04, p = 0.001), and rs8178847 (p = 0.001, p = 0.001) of APOH and rs201802880 (p = 3.77e-26, p = 1.31e-26) of NCF1 showed significant differences between APS and RPL patients and controls in allelic and genotype frequencies respectively. Moreover, rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 showed strong linkage disequilibrium. Especially, our results revealed a complete linkage disequilibrium (D' = 1) between rs52797880 and rs8178847. Furthermore, higher serum TP (total protein) level was described in APOH rs1801690 CG/GG (p = 0.007), rs52797880 AG/GG (p = 0.033), and rs8178847 CT/TT (p = 0.033), while the higher frequency of positive serum ACA-IgM was found in NCF1 rs201802880 GA (p = 0.017) in APS and RPL patients.

CONCLUSION

Rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 of APOH and rs201802880 of NCF1 were associated with RPL susceptibility in APS patients.

In the context of the triple burden of malnutrition: A systematic review of gene-diet interactions and nutritional status

Genetic background interacts with dietary components to modulate nutritional health status. This study aimed to review the evidence for gene-diet interactions in all forms of malnutrition. A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted through April 2021 to identify observational and intervention studies reporting the effects of gene-diet interactions in over-nutrition, under-nutrition and micronutrient status. Risk of publication bias was assessed using the Quality Criteria Checklist and a tool specifically designed for gene-diet interaction research. 167 studies from 27 populations were included. The majority of studies investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in overnutrition (n = 158). Diets rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and low in total and saturated fats, such as Mediterranean and DASH diets, showed promising effects for reducing obesity risk among individuals who had higher genetic risk scores for obesity, particularly the risk alleles carriers of FTO rs9939609, rs1121980 and rs1421085. Other SNPs in MC4R, PPARG and APOA5 genes were also commonly studied for interaction with diet on overnutrition though findings were inconclusive. Only limited data were found related to undernutrition (n = 1) and micronutrient status (n = 9). The findings on gene-diet interactions in this review highlight the importance of personalized nutrition, and more research on undernutrition and micronutrient status is warranted.

Bioinformatics prediction and experimental verification of key biomarkers for diabetic kidney disease based on transcriptome sequencing in mice

Background

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The main objective of this study is to find the potential biomarkers for DKD.

Materials and Methods

Two datasets (GSE86300 and GSE184836) retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were used, combined with our RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) results of DKD mice (C57 BLKS-32w db/db) and non-diabetic (db/m) mice for further analysis. After processing the expression matrix of the three sets of data using R software "Limma", differential expression analysis was performed. The significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (-logFC- > 1, p-value < 0.05) were visualized by heatmaps and volcano plots respectively. Next, the co-expression genes expressed in the three groups of DEGs were obtained by constructing a Venn diagram. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were further analyzed the related functions and enrichment pathways of these co-expression genes. Then, qRT-PCR was used to verify the expression levels of co-expression genes in the kidney of DKD and control mice. Finally, protein-protein interaction network (PPI), GO, KEGG analysis and Pearson correlation test were performed on the experimentally validated genes, in order to clarify the possible mechanism of them in DKD.

Results

Our RNA-seq results identified a total of 125 DEGs, including 59 up-regulated and 66 down-regulated DEGs. At the same time, 183 up-regulated and 153 down-regulated DEGs were obtained in GEO database GSE86300, and 76 up-regulated and 117 down-regulated DEGs were obtained in GSE184836. Venn diagram showed that 13 co-expression DEGs among the three groups of DEGs. GO analysis showed that biological processes (BP) were mainly enriched inresponse to stilbenoid, response to fatty acid, response to nutrient, positive regulation of macrophage derived foam cell differentiation, triglyceride metabolic process. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the three major enriched pathways were cholesterol metabolism, drug metabolism-cytochrome P450, PPAR signaling pathway. After qRT-PCR validation, we obtained 11 genes that were significant differentially expressed in the kidney tissues of DKD mice compared with control mice. (The mRNA expression levels of Aacs, Cpe, Cd36, Slc22a7, Slc1a4, Lpl, Cyp7b1, Akr1c14 and Apoh were declined, whereas Abcc4 and Gsta2 were elevated).

Conclusion

Our study, based on RNA-seq results, GEO databases and qRT-PCR, identified 11 significant dysregulated DEGs, which play an important role in lipid metabolism and the PPAR signaling pathway, which provide novel targets for diagnosis and treatment of DKD.

β2GPI exerts an anti-obesity effect in female mice by inhibiting lipogenesis and promoting lipolysis

In humans, males compared to females have increased visceral adipose tissue which contributes to their increased risk of early death. Mice display analogous sexual diamorphism whereby females are protected from weight gain when fed a high fat diet compared to males. A role has recently been reported for β₂-glycoprotein I, an abundant plasma protein, in healthy leanness in humans. In this study we investigated the role of β₂-glycoprotein I in fat metabolism in male and female mice fed a normal chow or high fat diet. We have made a number of novel insights into factors contributing to sexual diamorphism in obesity. Female wild type mice are protected from obesity when fed a high fat diet due to down regulation of lipogenesis in the visceral adipose tissues. This down regulation is due to β₂-glycoprotein I as female mice deficient in this protein have increased levels of lipogenesis enzymes in their visceral adipose tissues with an accompanying increase in weight compared to female wild type controls. Understanding female specific regulators of obesity may lead to sex specific anti-obesity therapies to address this major health problem.

The lipid metabolism gene FTO influences breast cancer cell energy metabolism via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

The present study assessed the effect of the lipid metabolism, fat mass and the obesity-associated gene (FTO), on energy metabolism of breast cancer cells. The human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, and HCC1937 human breast cells were studied. Real-time PCR was used to measure the levels of FTO mRNA from breast cancer cells and normal breast cells. MDA-MB-231 cells were transfected with miFTO inhibitor or inhibitor control, and cells were assessed for levels of lactic acid, ATP, pyruvate kinase activity, and hexokinase activity assay using specific kits. Western blot analysis was used to measure the levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), p-PI3K, protein kinase B (Akt) and p-Akt in transfected breast cancer cells. The expression of FTO was significantly increased in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells compared with HCC1937 cells (P<0.01). The lactic acid content of breast cancer cells transfected with the miFTO inhibitor was significantly lower compared with cells transfected with the miFTO inhibitor control and nontransfected cells (P<0.05). The ATP content of breast cancer cells transfected with the miFTO inhibitor was significantly lower compared with the control group and inhibitor control group (P<0.05). The pyruvate kinase activity and hexokinase activity of breast cancer cells transfected with the miFTO inhibitor were significantly lower compared with the control group and inhibitor control group (P<0.01). Western blot analysis showed that after breast cancer cells were transfected with the miFTO inhibitor, the levels of PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt and p-Akt were significantly lower than in the control group and inhibitor control group. In conclusion, the FTO gene is overexpressed in breast cancer cells. Overexpression of the FTO gene can promote breast cancer cell glycolysis and the mechanism is related to the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Gram Negative Bacterial Inflammation Ameliorated by the Plasma Protein Beta 2-Glycoprotein I

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major component of the outer wall of gram negative bacteria. In high doses LPS contributes to the inflammation in gram negative sepsis, and in low doses contributes to the low grade inflammation characteristic of the metabolic syndrome. We wanted to assess the role of beta2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI) a highly conserved plasma protein and its different biochemical forms in a mouse model of LPS systemic inflammation. Normal and β2GPI deficient mice were administered LPS through their veins and assessed for a range of inflammation markers in their blood and liver. Different biochemical forms of β2GPI were measured in normal mice given either saline or LPS. We show that β2GPI has a significant role in inhibiting LPS induced inflammation. In this study we provide some evidence that β2GPI serves a protective role in a mouse model of LPS inflammation. This resolves the controversy of previous studies which used LPS and β2GPI in test tube based models of LPS induced activation of white cells. We also highlight the potential relevance of a newly discovered biochemical form of β2GPI in LPS mediated inflammation and we speculate that this form has a protective role against LPS induced pathology.