Association of SHMT1, MAZ, ERG, and L3MBTL3 Gene Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis

L3MBTL3 Is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlates with Immune Infiltrations in Gastric Cancer

Recent research has linked lethal (3) malignant brain tumor-like 3 (L3MBTL3) to cancer aggressiveness and a dismal prognosis, but its function in gastric cancer (GC) is unclear. This research investigated the association between L3MBTL3 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of GC cases, as well as its prognostic value and biological function based on large-scale databases and clinical samples. The results showed that L3MBTL3 expression was upregulated in malignant GC tissues, which was associated with a shortened survival time and poor clinicopathological characteristics, including TNM staging. A functional enrichment analysis including GO/KEGG and GSEA illustrated the enrichment of different L3MBTL3-associated pathways involved in carcinogenesis and immune response. In addition, the correlations between L3MBTL3 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells were determined based on the TIMER database; the results showed that L3MBTL3 was associated with the immune infiltration of macrophages and their polarization from M1 to M2. Furthermore, our findings suggested a possible function for L3MBTL3 in the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment of GC. In summary, L3MBTL3 has diagnostic potential, and it also offers new insights into the development of aggressiveness and prognosis in GC.

Association of the L3MBTL3 rs1125970 and rs4897367 Gene Polymorphisms With Coronary Heart Disease Susceptibility in the Chinese Population: A Case-Control Study

ABSTRACT

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a prevalent heart disease with high incidence and mortality rates worldwide, and its pathogenesis is related to genetic factors. L3MBTL3 has been reported to be potentially linked to CHD susceptibility. This study aims to explore the correlation between L3MBTL3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and CHD risk in the Chinese population. Three SNPs (rs1125970 A/T, rs4897367 T/C, and rs2068957 A/G) in L3MBTL3 from 649 patients with CHD and 649 healthy controls were genotyped using the Agena MassARRAY platform. The relationship between SNPs and CHD risk was evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Our study indicated that rs1125970 (TT: odds ratio [OR] = 0.76, P = 0.014) and rs4897367 (TT: OR = 0.74, P = 0.021) were related to a decreased susceptibility to CHD. Stratified analyses showed that rs1125970 could reduce the risk of CHD in males, subjects aged <60 years, with a body mass index <24 kg/m 2 , and nonhypertensive patients. rs4897367 exerted a risk-decreasing influence on CHD in nondiabetic patients. In the haplotype analysis, individuals with the T rs4897367 A rs2068957 haplotype were less likely to develop CHD (OR = 0.74, P = 0.024). In summary, L3MBTL3 rs1125970 and rs4897367 were significantly correlated with a decreased susceptibility to CHD in the Chinese population.

Joint detection of miR-149-3p and hepcidin predicts the onset of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in obese patients

Background

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a potentially fatal sleep respiratory disorder, and hepcidin has been found to be related with OSAS onset and severity. This study aimed to examine the serum expression of microRNA-149-3p (miR-149-3p) and hepcidin in OSAS patients, and evaluate the predictive value of miR-149-3p and hepcidin for OSAS occurrence in obese population.

Methods

This study analyzed the data from 212 OSAS patients and 120 control individuals. OSAS severity was evaluated by apnea hypopnea index (AHI) from polysomnography. Serum miR-149-3p was examined using reverse transcription quantitative PCR, and hepcidin and inflammatory cytokines were measured using ELISA kits. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of miR-142-3p and hepcidin for OSAS in obese population, and ROC curve was plotted to assess the predictive accuracy.

Results

Serum miR-149-3p and hepcidin were increased in OSAS patients, especially in the severe cases, and had diagnostic potential to distinguish OSAS. High miR-149-3p and hepcidin were positively correlated with OSAS patients' inflammatory cytokines. Obese OSAS patients had the highest miR-149-3p and hepcidin levels, and the two molecules had predictive value of OSAS present in obese population, and the combination of miR-149-3p and hepcidin showed the highest predictive accuracy.

Conclusion

Serum miR-149-3p and hepcidin levels were elevated in OSAS patients and correlated with disease severity and systemic inflammation. miR-149-3p and hepcidin levels have diagnostic value to distinguish OSAS, exhibited predictive value for OSAS in obese population, and the joint detection of the two molecules showed the highest predictive accuracy.

The potential roles of amino acids and their major derivatives in the management of multiple sclerosis

Recently, we reviewed the important role of carbohydrates and lipids metabolism in different clinical aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease. In the current paper, we aimed to review the contribution of amino acids and their major derivatives to different clinical outcomes of the disease, including etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. In this line, Thr (threonine), Phe (phenylalanine), Glu (glutamate), Trp (tryptophan), and Sero (serotonin) are the main examples of biomolecules that have been suggested for MS therapy. It has been concluded that different amino acids and their derivatives might be considered prominent tools for the clinical management of MS disease.

Association of Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and clinical/severe outcomes of COVID-19 patients

Introduction

Growing evidence documented the critical impacts of vitamin D (VD) in the prognosis of COVID-19 patients. The functions of VD are dependent on the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the VD/VDR signaling pathway. Therefore, we aimed to assess the association of VDR gene polymorphisms with COVID-19 outcomes.

Methods

In the present study, eight VDR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 500 COVID-19 patients in Iran, including 160 asymptomatic, 250 mild/moderate, and 90 severe/critical cases. The association of these polymorphisms with severity, clinical outcomes, and comorbidities were evaluated through the calculation of the Odds ratio (OR).

Results

Interestingly, significant associations were disclosed for some of the SNP-related alleles and/or genotypes in one or more genetic models with different clinical data in COVID-19 patients. Significant association of VDR-SNPs with signs, symptoms, and comorbidities was as follows: ApaI with shortness of breath (P ˂ 0.001) and asthma (P = 0.034) in severe/critical patients (group III); BsmI with chronic renal disease (P = 0.010) in mild/moderate patients (group II); Tru9I with vomiting (P = 0.031), shortness of breath (P = 0.04), and hypertension (P = 0.030); FokI with fever and hypertension (P = 0.027) in severe/critical patients (group III); CDX2 with shortness of breath (P = 0.022), hypertension (P = 0.036), and diabetes (P = 0.042) in severe/critical patients (group III); EcoRV with diabetes (P ˂ 0.001 and P = 0.045 in mild/moderate patients (group II) and severe/critical patients (group III), respectively). However, the association of VDR TaqI and BglI polymorphisms with clinical symptoms and comorbidities in COVID-19 patients was not significant.

Conclusion

VDR gene polymorphisms might play critical roles in the vulnerability to infection and severity of COVID-19, probably by altering the risk of comorbidities. However, these results require further validation in larger studies with different ethnicities and geographical regions.

Effect of L3MBTL3/PTPN9 polymorphisms on risk to alcohol-induced ONFH in Chinese Han population

PURPOSE

Alcohol-induced osteonecrosis femoral head necrosis (ONFH) is a disease that seriously affects human health. Abnormal expression of L3MBTL3/PTPN9 gene can cause a variety of human diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of L3MBTL3/PTPN9 gene polymorphism on the susceptibility of alcohol-induced ONFH in Chinese Han population.

METHODS

A total of 308 alcohol-induced ONFH patients and 425 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Alleles, genotypes, genetic models, haplotypes, and multifactor dimensionality reduction analyses (MDR) based on age-corrected by using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were performed.

RESULTS

Our result revealed rs2068957 in the L3MBTL3 gene increased the risk of alcohol ONFH under the recessive model after correction. Besides, we also found that rs75393192 in the PTPN9 gene was a protective site in stratification over 40 years of age and stage. In stratified analysis of necrotic sites, we only found that rs2068957 was associated with increased susceptibility of alcohol-induced ONFH under the co-dominant model and recessive model. Haplotype "GC" in the block (rs76107647|rs10851882 in PTPN9 gene) significantly decreased the susceptibility of alcoholic ONFH.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide evidence that L3MBTL3/PTPN9 polymorphisms are associated with alcohol-induced ONFH risk in Chinese Han population.