SIRT1 rs3758391 and Major Depressive Disorder: New Data and Meta-Analysis

Acupuncture alleviates CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors of rats by regulating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and ferroptosis

BACKGROUND

The treatment of depression with acupuncture has been documented. The mechanism behind acupuncture's curative and preventative effects is still unknown.

METHODS

The current study examined the effects of acupuncture on depression-like behaviors in a rat model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), while also exploring its potential mechanisms. A total of six groups of rats were randomly assigned: control, CUMS, acupuncture, fluoxetine, acupoint catgut embedding and sham acupoint catgut embedding. Fluoxetine (2.1 mg/kg) and acupoint catgut embedding were used for comparative research to acupuncture. The modelling evaluation is measured by body weight and behavior tests. Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the proteins and mRNA expression of Silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1)/ nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)/ Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway in the hippocampus. The expression of oxidative stress (OS)-related proteins and inflammatory cytokines in the serum was detected with ELISA. Immunofluorescence showed microglia and astrocytes activity in the hippocampus.

RESULTS

Acupuncture and fluoxetine could alleviate CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors. Acupuncture was also found to effectively reverse the levels of MDA, SOD, GSH, GSH-PX and T-AOC, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of CUMS-induced rats. Rats with CUMS showed decreased levels of Sirt1, Nrf2, HO-1 and GPX4 in the hippocampus, while acupuncture treatment could partly reverse the diminished effects. In addition, acupuncture treatment significantly reduced the activation of hippocampal microglia and astrocytes in CUMS-induced rats.

CONCLUSION

The study's findings indicate that acupuncture has the potential to mitigate depression-like behaviors in rats induced with CUMS by mitigating OS and reducing neuroinflammation.

Association of SIRT1 single gene nucleotide polymorphisms and serum SIRT1 levels with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patient survival rate

BACKGROUND

SIRT1 is a multifunctional protein, possibly essential in tumorigenesis pathways, which can act both as a tumor promoter and tumor suppressor depending on the oncogenes, specific to particular tumors. Pathogenesis of laryngeal cancer is multifactorial and the association of SIRT1 expression with the clinical characteristics and prognosis of LSCC has not been fully identified.

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to evaluate associations between single gene nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SIRT1 (rs3818292, rs3758391, and rs7895833), serum SIRT1 levels, and 5-year survival rate in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

METHODS

The study involved 302 patients with LSCC and 409 healthy control subjects. The genotyping of SNPs was performed using RT-PCR, and serum SIRT1 levels were determined by the ELISA method.

RESULTS

Our study found significant differences in genotype distributions of SIRT1 rs3758391 polymorphisms between the study groups. SIRT1 rs3758391 T/T genotype was associated with the increased LSCC development odds (OR = 1.960 95% CI = 1.028-3.737; p= 0.041). Carriers of SIRT1 rs3758391 T/T genotype had statistically significantly increased odds of LSCC development into advanced stages under the codominant and recessive genetic models (OR = 2.387 95% CI = 1.091-5.222; p= 0.029 and OR = 2.287 95% CI = 1.070-4.888; p= 0.033, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in serum SIRT1 levels between the LSCC and control groups. However, LSCC patients with SIRT1 rs3818292 AG genotype demonstrated a tendency to significantly lower SIRT1 serum levels than controls (p= 0.034). No statistically significant associations between SIRT1 (rs3818292, rs3758391, and rs7895833) SNPs and the 5-year survival rate of LSCC patients were found.

CONCLUSION

The present study indicated a statistically significant association between the SIRT1 rs3758391 T/T genotype and increased LSCC development odds. LSCC patients with SIRT1 rs3818292 AG genotype showed a tendency to manifest with lower SIRT1 serum levels. No associations between SIRT1 SNPs and the 5-year survival rate of LSCC patients were detected.

Effect of SIRT1 on white matter neural network in adolescent patients with depression

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to explore the correlation between the rs12415800 polymorphism of the silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) gene and the white matter neural circuit in adolescent patients with depression.

METHODS

We enrolled 119 participants, comprising 59 adolescent patients with depression and 60 matched healthy controls for analysis. Patients were further subdivided based on genotype; GG, AG, and AA, with G representing the wild type gene, and A representing the A allele at rs12415800.

RESULTS

We found that: (1) lower anisotropy fraction (FA) values in the left cingulate fasciculus and left anterior thalamus radiation in the AG/AA genotype were more likely to be affected by depression. (2) The FA values of the right inferior occipital-frontal fasciculus, right corticospinal tract, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and right superior longitudinal fasciculus regions in the depression (AG/AA) group were lower than in the depression (GG) group. (3) FA values of the right inferior occipital-frontal fasciculus left corticospinal tract, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus, left anterior thalamus radiation, right superior longitudinal fasciculus, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, left uncinate fasciculus, and right anterior thalamus radiation in the depression (GG) group were lower than the control (GG) group.

CONCLUSIONS

The polymorphism locus of the SIRT1 gene rs12415800 may be related to changes in the microstructure of white matter fiber tracts, and patients carrying the A allele (AG/AA) have more changes in the white matter than those with the non-A allele (GG).

Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Central Precocious Puberty and Hormone Levels in Chinese Girls

Central precocious puberty (CPP) is associated with adverse health outcomes in females; however, CPP pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eight genes with CPP risk and hormone levels. A case-control study on 247 and 243 girls with and without CPP, respectively, was conducted at Kunming Children's Hospital, China, from September 2019 to August 2020. The genotype of the SNPs and their haplotypes were identified. Additionally, the effects of the polymorphisms on hormone levels were investigated. Three variants (rs10159082, rs7538038, and rs5780218) in KISS1 and two variants (rs7895833 and rs3758391) in SIRT1 were related to an increased CPP risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.524, 1.507, 1.409, 1.348, and 1.737; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.176-1.974, 1.152-1.970, 1.089-1.824, 1.023-1.777, and 1.242-2.430, respectively). Rs3740051in SIRT1 and rs1544410 in VDR reduced CPP risk (OR = 0.689, 0.464; 95% CI, 0.511-0.928, 0.232-0.925, respectively). Rs1544410, rs7975232, and rs731236 in VDR were negatively correlated with peak follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; β = -2.181; P=0.045), basal FSH (β = -0.391; P=0.010), and insulin-like growth factor (β = -50.360; P=0.041) levels, respectively. KISS1, SIRT1, and VDR variants were associated with CPP susceptibility, and VDR SNPs influenced hormonal levels in Chinese females with CPP. In particular, VDR polymorphism rs1544410 was associated with both CPP risk and GnRH-stimulated peak FSH levels. Further functional research and large-scale genetic studies of these loci and genes are required to confirm our findings.

Dissecting major depression: The role of blood biomarkers and adverse childhood experiences in distinguishing clinical subgroups

BACKGROUND

The syndromic diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with individual differences in prognosis, course, treatment response, and outcome. There is evidence that patients with a history to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may belong to a distinct clinical subgroup. The combination of data on ACEs and blood biomarkers could allow the identification of diagnostic MDD subgroups.

METHODS

We selected several blood markers (global DNA methylation, and VEGF-a, TOLLIP, SIRT1, miR-34a genes) among factors that contribute to the pathogenetic mechanisms of MDD. We examined their level in 37 MDD patients and 30 healthy subjects. ACEs were measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

RESULTS

We found significant differences between patients and healthy subjects in three biomarkers (TOLLIP, VEGF-a, and global DNA methylation), independently from the confounding effect of parental care received. By contrast, SIRT1 differences were modulated by quality of parental care. The lowest levels of SIRT1 were recorded in patients with active symptoms and low maternal/paternal care. miR-34a and SIRT1 levels were associated with MDD symptoms especially in early-life stressed patients.

LIMITATIONS

Small sample size, no information on personality comorbidity and suicidal history, cross-sectional definition of remission, and lack of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the levels of global DNA methylation, TOLLIP, and VEGF-a reflect pathophysiological changes associated with MDD that are independent from the long-term effects of low parental care. This study also suggests that SIRT1 may be an additional variable distinguishing the ecophenotype that includes MDD patients with exposure to ACEs.

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Effect of SIRT1 Variation on the Risk of Schizophrenia and Depressive Symptoms

Depressive symptoms could be considered a mutual manifestation of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Rs3758391 is a functional locus of Sirtuin (SIRT1) involving depression etiology. In this study, we hypothesized that the SIRT1 SNP rs3758391 might be a hazard for schizophrenia pathogenesis, especially related to the appearance of depressive symptoms. We recruited 723 healthy controls and 715 schizophrenia patients, the occurrence of psychotic and depressive symptoms was evaluated by Calgary Depression Scale (CDSS) and PANSS. Meanwhile, qt-PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of SIRT1 in peripheral blood of 197 olanzapine monotherapy schizophrenia patients. 45.6% of schizophrenia patients had depressive symptoms. In the patient group, mRNA levels of patients with depressive symptoms were significantly lower than those without depressive symptoms (P < 0.01). CDSS scores of schizophrenia patients with different rs3758391 genotypes were significantly different (P < 0.01). Post hoc comparisons indicated that the CDSS scores of rs3758391 C/C and C/T carriers were higher than those of T/T carriers (Ps < 0.01). In the occipital cortex, our eQTL analysis showed that there was a clear correlation between rs3758391 and the SIRT1 mRNA levels. Our preliminary findings provide suggestive evidence that SIRT1 makes schizophrenia patients more prone to depressive symptoms. This SNP might be a biomarker of depression in schizophrenia.

The enriched environment ameliorates chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depressive-like behaviors and cognitive impairment by activating the SIRT1/miR-134 signaling pathway in hippocampus

BACKGROUND

Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) is an important risk factor for depression and cognitive deficits in humans. Enriched environment (EE) showed a beneficial effect on depression and cognition by enhancing brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and synaptic plasticity. However, it is still not clearly understood whether an epigenetic mechanism is involved in the BDNF modulation and synaptic plasticity that occurs after EE treatment for the depressive-like behaviors and cognitive deficits elicited by CUMS. In this study, we investigated the possible mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of EE.

METHODS

All rats were exposed to the 5-week CUMS procedure except the control group. After CUMS procedure, some rats were stereotaxically injected with SIRT1 pharmacologic inhibitor EX527 or SIRT1 knocking down lentivirus (sh-SIRT1) in the hippocampus followed by EE treatment for 3 weeks. Other rats were directly subjected to EE treatment without stereotaxic injection. Behavioral tests were used to appraise depression and cognition after EE treatment. Then epigenetic molecules, synaptic proteins, dendritic spine density and branches, and synaptic morphology of the dorsal hippocampus were determined.

RESULTS

We found that CUMS induced depressive-like behaviors including decreased sucrose preference ratio, prolonged immobility and reduced locomotor and exploratory activity; cognitive deficits including spatial learning and memory impairment; reduced dendritic spine density and number of branches; thinned postsynaptic density; downregulated SIRT1/microRNA-134 pathway, decreased BDNF and synaptic proteins including synaptophysin (SYN) and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) expression in the hippocampus. However, the CUMS-induced depressive-like behaviors, cognitive deficits, dendritic spine density and branch number reduction, postsynaptic density thinning, SIRT1/microRNA-134 pathway downregulation, BDNF and synaptic proteins reduction, including synaptophysin (SYN) and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), were reversed by EE treatment. However, depressive-like behaviors and cognitive deficits were observed again in rats subjected to stereotaxic injection with EX527 or sh-SIRT1. Furthermore, this study also found that SIRT1/microRNA-134 regulates the downstream molecules BDNF, and the synaptic proteins SYN and PSD95 in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence for the neuroprotective role of EE on depression and cognitive deficits by activating the SIRT1/microRNA-134 pathway, which accounts for the regulation of synaptic proteins, including BDNF, PSD95 and SYN, dendritic remodeling and ultrastructure changes of synapses in the hippocampus.

SIRT1 Allele Frequencies in Depressed Patients of European Descent in Russia

Depressive disorder (DD) is a widespread mental disorder. Although DD is to some extent inherited, the genes contributing to the risk of this disorder and its genetic mechanisms remain poorly understood. A recent large-scale genome-wide association Chinese study revealed a strong association between the SIRT1 gene variants and DD. The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of heterozygote carriers and search for rare SNP variants of the SIRT1 gene in a cohort of DD patients as compared with a cohort of randomly selected members of the Russian population. The complete coding sequences of the SIRT1 gene from 1024 DNA samples from the general Russian population and from 244 samples from patients with DD were analyzed using targeted sequencing. Four new genetic variants of the SIRT1 were discovered. While no significant differences in the allele frequencies were found between the DD patients and the general population, differences between the frequencies of homozygote carriers of specific alleles and occurrences of heterozygous were found to be significant for rs2236318 (P < 0.0001), and putatively, rs7896005 (P < 0.05), and rs36107781 (P < 0.05). The study found for the first time that two new SNPs (i.e., 10:69665829 and 10:69665971) along with recently reported ones (rs773025707 and rs34701705), are putatively associated with DD. The revealed DD-associated SIRT1 SNPs might confer susceptibility to this disorder in Russian population of European descent.