Sequence-based analysis of 5′UTR and coding regions of CASP3 in terms of miRSNPs and SNPs in targetting miRNAs

Genetics and sports performance: the present and future in the identification of talent for sports based on DNA testing

The impact of genetics on physiology and sports performance is one of the most debated research aspects in sports sciences. Nearly 200 genetic polymorphisms have been found to influence sports performance traits, and over 20 polymorphisms may condition the status of the elite athlete. However, with the current evidence, it is certainly too early a stage to determine how to use genotyping as a tool for predicting exercise/sports performance or improving current methods of training. Research on this topic presents methodological limitations such as the lack of measurement of valid exercise performance phenotypes that make the study results difficult to interpret. Additionally, many studies present an insufficient cohort of athletes, or their classification as elite is dubious, which may introduce expectancy effects. Finally, the assessment of a progressively higher number of polymorphisms in the studies and the introduction of new analysis tools, such as the total genotype score (TGS) and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have produced a considerable advance in the power of the analyses and a change from the study of single variants to determine pathways and systems associated with performance. The purpose of the present study was to comprehensively review evidence on the impact of genetics on endurance- and power-based exercise performance to clearly determine the potential utility of genotyping for detecting sports talent, enhancing training, or preventing exercise-related injuries, and to present an overview of recent research that has attempted to correct the methodological issues found in previous investigations.

Correlation and integration of circulating miRNA and peripheral whole blood gene expression profiles in patients with venous thromboembolism

The main aim of this work was to evaluate differential expression and biological functions of circulating miRNA and whole peripheral blood (PB) genes in patients affected by venous thromboembolism (VTE) and in healthy subjects. Circulating miRNA sequences and PB expression profiles were obtained from GEO datasets. Ten miRNAs with the most significant differential expression rate (dif-miRNA) were subjected to miRbase to confirm their identity. Dif-miRNA targets were predicted by TargetScan and aligned with differentially expressed genes to obtain overlapping co-genes. Biological functions of co-genes were analyzed by Gene Ontology and KEGG analysis. Interaction network of dif-miRNAs, co-genes, and their downstream pathways were studied by analyzing protein-protein interaction (PPI) clusters (STRING) and determining the crucial hubs (Cytoscape).MiR-522-3p and miR-134 dif-miRNAs are involved in protein translation and apoptosis by regulating their respective co-genes in PB. Co-genes are present in nucleolus and extracellular exosomes and are involved in oxidative phosphorylation and ribosome/poly(A)-RNA organization. The predicted PPI network covered 107 clustered genes and 220 marginal joints, where ten hub genes participating in PPIs were found. All these hub genes were down-regulated in VTE patients. Our study identifies new miRNAs as potential biological markers and therapeutic targets for VTE.

Research Advances in the Molecular Functions and Relevant Diseases of TAOKs, Novel STE20 Kinase Family Members

As serine/threonine-protein kinases, Thousand and One Kinases(TAOKs) are members of the GCKlike superfamily, one of two well-known branches of the Ste20 kinase family. Within the last two decades, three functionally similar kinases, namely TAOK1-3, were identified. TAOKs are involved in many molecular and cellular events. Scholars widely believe that TAOKs act as kinases upstream of the MAPK cascade and as factors that interact with MST family kinases, the cytoskeleton, and apoptosis-associated proteins. Therefore, TAOKs are thought to function in tumorigenesis. Additionally, TAOKs participate in signal transduction induced by Notch, TCR, and IL-17. Recent studies found that TAOKs play roles in a series of diseases and conditions, such as the central nervous system dysfunction, herpes viral infection, immune system imbalance, urogenital system malformation during development, cardiovascular events, and childhood obesity. Therefore, inhibitory chemicals targeting TAOKs may be of great significance as potential drugs for these diseases.

Bom-miR-2805 upregulates the expression of Bombyx mori fibroin light chain gene in vivo

MicroRNAs (miRs) are inner regulatory RNAs mainly by regulating expression of genes at the posttranscriptional level. To investigate the regulatory function of Bombyx mori (B. mori) fibroin protein genes, the mRNA 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of fibroin light chain gene (BmFib-L) was used as the target and one miRNA, miR-2805 was predicted by using the Software. miR-2805 expression plasmid pcDNA3.0[ie1-egfp-pre-miR-2805-SV40] and BmFib-L 3'-UTR plasmid pGL3.0[A3-luc-Fib-L-3'-UTR-SV40] were constructed, respectively. The mentioned plasmids were cotransfected in BmN cells, and the regulatory function of miR-2805 on BmFib-L was detected by assay of dual luciferase activities, as well as synthesized mimic and inhibitor of miR-2805. The results revealed that miR-2805 significantly downregulated the expression of BmFib-L in BmN cells. To validate the function of miR-2805 in vivo, cultured silk glands or larvae were injected with solution containing pcDNA3.0[ie1-egfp-SV40], pcDNA3.0[ie1-egfp-pre-miR-2805-SV40], mimic, inhibitor respectively. BmFib-L expression was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction using total RNAs extracted from silk glands. The results showed that miR-2805 significantly upregulated the expression of BmFib-L in both cultured tissues and individuals. To find out how miR-2805 differentially regulates BmFib-L expression in cells and tissues or individuals, we analyzed the expression level of transcription factors (TFs) involved in expression of silk protein genes. The results showed that miR-2805 upregulated the expression of TFs BmAwh and Bmdimm. These results suggest that miR-2805 may up-regulate the expression of BmFib-L interaction with BmAwh and/or Bmdimm in vivo. These findings are beneficial to clarify the molecular mechanism of miRNAs in regulating B. mori silk protein biosynthesis.

LINC01016 promotes the malignant phenotype of endometrial cancer cells by regulating the miR-302a-3p/miR-3130-3p/NFYA/SATB1 axis

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer progression and are tightly associated with the phenotypes of numerous cancers. However, the functional roles underlying these effects are unknown. The expression levels of LINC01016, miR-302a-3p, miR-3130-3p, NFYA, and SATB1 were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 33 endometrial cancer tissues and 20 normal tissues. Bioinformatics analyses, luciferase reporter analyses, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, and qRT-PCR assays were performed to verify potential binding sites. The qRT-PCR and western blot were used to identify the regulatory mechanisms of LINC01016 in cell biological behavior, which were also examined by cell counting kit -8 (CCK-8), 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays, flow cytometry, wound healing assays, and transwell assays. LINC01016 was substantially upregulated in endometrial cancer tissues, and LINC01016 silencing abolished the malignant behavior of endometrial cancer cells. LINC01016 positively rescued the downstream gene nuclear factor YA (NFYA) by competitively “sponging” miR-302a-3p and miR-3130-3p. In turn, these two miRNAs could inhibit LINC01016 transcription, thus forming two reciprocal repression cycles, which influenced the biological behavior of endometrial cancer cells. MiR-302a-3p and miR-3130-3p could specifically bind with the 3′-UTR regions of NFYA, and NFYA could upregulate the expression of special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1) as a transcriptional factor. This study was the first to show that the LINC01016–miR-302a-3p/miR-3130-3p/NFYA/SATB1 axis played a crucial role in the occurrence of endometrial cancer. These findings may provide relevant insights into the diagnosis and therapy of endometrial cancer.

Genome-wide characterization and expression analyses of superoxide dismutase (SOD) genes in Gossypium hirsutum

BACKGROUND

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are a key antioxidant enzyme family, which have been implicated in protecting plants against the toxic effects of reactive oxygen species. Despite current studies have shown that the gene family are involved in plant growth and developmental processes and biotic and abiotic stress responses, little is known about its functional role in upland cotton.

RESULTS

In the present study, we comprehensively analyzed the characteristics of the SOD gene family in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). Based on their conserved motifs, 18 GhSOD genes were identified and phylogenetically classified into five subgroups which corroborated their classifications based on gene-structure patterns and subcellular localizations. The GhSOD sequences were distributed at different densities across 12 of the 26 chromosomes. The conserved domains, gene family evolution cis-acting elements of promoter regions and miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional regulation were predicted and analyzed. In addition, the expression pattern of 18 GhSOD genes were tested in different tissues/organs and developmental stages, and different abiotic stresses and abscisic acid, which indicated that the SOD gene family possessed temporal and spatial specificity expression specificity and may play important roles in reactive oxygen species scavenging caused by various stresses in upland cotton.

CONCLUSIONS

This study describes the first genome-wide analysis of the upland cotton SOD gene family, and the results will help establish a foundation for the further cloning and functional verification of the GhSOD gene family during stress responses, leading to crop improvement.