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Flore L, Francalacci P, Massidda M, Robledo R, Calò CM. Influence of Different Evolutive Forces on GDF5 Gene Variability. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1895. [PMID: 37895244 PMCID: PMC10606091 DOI: 10.3390/genes14101895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The GDF5 gene is involved in the development of skeletal elements, synovial joint formation, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Several polymorphisms are present within the gene, and two of them, rs143384 and 143383, were reported to be correlated with osteoarticular disease or muscle flexibility. The aim of this research is to verify if the worldwide distribution of the rs143384 polymorphism among human populations was shaped by selective pressure, or if it was the result of random genetic drift events. Ninety-four individuals of both the male and female sexes, 18-28 years old, from Sardinia were analyzed. We observed the following genotype frequencies: 28.72% of AA homozygotes, 13.83% of GG homozygotes, and 57.45% of AG heterozygotes. The allele frequencies were 0.574 for allele A and 0.426 for allele G. The relationships between the populations were verified via Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). Our data show (i) a clear heterogeneity within the African populations; (ii) a strong differentiation between the African populations and the other populations; and that (iii) the Sardinian population is placed within the European cluster. To reveal possible traces of selective pressure, the Population Branch Statistic (PBS) was calculated; both the rs143384 and 143383 SNPs have low PBS values, suggesting that there are no signals of selective pressure in those areas of the gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Flore
- Department of Life and Environment Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy; (L.F.); (P.F.); (C.M.C.)
| | - Paolo Francalacci
- Department of Life and Environment Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy; (L.F.); (P.F.); (C.M.C.)
| | - Myosotis Massidda
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy;
| | - Renato Robledo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Carla Maria Calò
- Department of Life and Environment Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy; (L.F.); (P.F.); (C.M.C.)
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Palmas V, Pisanu S, Madau V, Casula E, Deledda A, Cusano R, Uva P, Loviselli A, Velluzzi F, Manzin A. Gut Microbiota Markers and Dietary Habits Associated with Extreme Longevity in Healthy Sardinian Centenarians. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14122436. [PMID: 35745166 PMCID: PMC9227524 DOI: 10.3390/nu14122436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study was aimed at characterizing the gut microbiota (GM) and its functional profile in two groups of Sardinian subjects with a long healthy life expectancy, overall named Long-Lived Subjects (LLS) [17 centenarians (CENT) and 29 nonagenarians (NON)] by comparing them to 46 healthy younger controls (CTLs). In addition, the contribution of genetics and environmental factors to the GM phenotype was assessed by comparing a subgroup of seven centenarian parents (CPAR) with a paired cohort of centenarians’ offspring (COFF). The analysis was performed through Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of the V3 and V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene on the MiSeq Illumina platform. The Verrucomicrobia phylum was identified as the main biomarker in CENT, together with its members Verrucomicrobiaceae, Akkermansia and Akkermansia muciniphila. In NON, the strongest associations concern Actinobacteria phylum, Bifidobacteriaceae and Bifidobacterium, while in CTLs were related to the Bacteroidetes phylum, Bacteroidaceae, Bacteroides and Bacteroides spp. Intestinal microbiota of CPAR and COFF did not differ significantly from each other. Significant correlations between bacterial taxa and clinical and lifestyle data, especially with Mediterranean diet adherence, were observed. We observed a harmonically balanced intestinal community structure in which the increase in taxa associated with intestinal health would limit and counteract the action of potentially pathogenic bacterial species in centenarians. The GM of long-lived individuals showed an intrinsic ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, as confirmed by functional analysis. The GM analysis of centenarians’ offspring suggest that genetics and environmental factors act synergistically as a multifactorial cause in the modulation of GM towards a phenotype similar to that of centenarians, although these findings need to be confirmed by larger study cohorts and by prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Palmas
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy; (V.P.); (S.P.); (V.M.); (E.C.)
| | - Silvia Pisanu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy; (V.P.); (S.P.); (V.M.); (E.C.)
| | - Veronica Madau
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy; (V.P.); (S.P.); (V.M.); (E.C.)
| | - Emanuela Casula
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy; (V.P.); (S.P.); (V.M.); (E.C.)
| | - Andrea Deledda
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (A.D.); (A.L.); (F.V.)
| | - Roberto Cusano
- Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia (CRS4), Science and Technology Park Polaris, Piscina Manna, 09134 Pula, Italy;
| | - Paolo Uva
- Clinical Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Andrea Loviselli
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (A.D.); (A.L.); (F.V.)
| | - Fernanda Velluzzi
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy; (A.D.); (A.L.); (F.V.)
| | - Aldo Manzin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology and Virology Unit, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy; (V.P.); (S.P.); (V.M.); (E.C.)
- Correspondence:
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3
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Mocci S, Littera R, Tranquilli S, Provenzano A, Mascia A, Cannas F, Lai S, Giuressi E, Chessa L, Angioni G, Campagna M, Firinu D, Del Zompo M, La Nasa G, Perra A, Giglio S. A Protective HLA Extended Haplotype Outweighs the Major COVID-19 Risk Factor Inherited From Neanderthals in the Sardinian Population. Front Immunol 2022; 13:891147. [PMID: 35514995 PMCID: PMC9063452 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.891147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sardinia has one of the lowest incidences of hospitalization and related mortality in Europe and yet a very high frequency of the Neanderthal risk locus variant on chromosome 3 (rs35044562), considered to be a major risk factor for a severe SARS-CoV-2 disease course. We evaluated 358 SARS-CoV-2 patients and 314 healthy Sardinian controls. One hundred and twenty patients were asymptomatic, 90 were pauci-symptomatic, 108 presented a moderate disease course and 40 were severely ill. All patients were analyzed for the Neanderthal-derived genetic variants reported as being protective (rs1156361) or causative (rs35044562) for severe illness. The β°39 C>T Thalassemia variant (rs11549407), HLA haplotypes, KIR genes, KIRs and their HLA class I ligand combinations were also investigated. Our findings revealed an increased risk for severe disease in Sardinian patients carrying the rs35044562 high risk variant [OR 5.32 (95% CI 2.53 - 12.01), p = 0.000]. Conversely, the protective effect of the HLA-A*02:01, B*18:01, DRB*03:01 three-loci extended haplotype in the Sardinian population was shown to efficiently contrast the high risk of a severe and devastating outcome of the infection predicted for carriers of the Neanderthal locus [OR 15.47 (95% CI 5.8 - 41.0), p < 0.0001]. This result suggests that the balance between risk and protective immunogenetic factors plays an important role in the evolution of COVID-19. A better understanding of these mechanisms may well turn out to be the biggest advantage in the race for the development of more efficient drugs and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Mocci
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Roberto Littera
- Medical Genetics Unit, R. Binaghi Hospital, Local Public Health and Social Care Unit (ASSL) of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.,Association for the Advancement of Research on Transplantation O.d.V., Non Profit Organisation, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Stefania Tranquilli
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Aldesia Provenzano
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Alessia Mascia
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Federica Cannas
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Sara Lai
- Medical Genetics Unit, R. Binaghi Hospital, Local Public Health and Social Care Unit (ASSL) of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Erika Giuressi
- Medical Genetics Unit, R. Binaghi Hospital, Local Public Health and Social Care Unit (ASSL) of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Luchino Chessa
- Association for the Advancement of Research on Transplantation O.d.V., Non Profit Organisation, Cagliari, Italy.,Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.,Liver Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Goffredo Angioni
- Structure of Infectious Diseases Unit, SS Trinità Hospital, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Marcello Campagna
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Davide Firinu
- Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Maria Del Zompo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Giorgio La Nasa
- Hematology Unit, Businco Hospital, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Andrea Perra
- Association for the Advancement of Research on Transplantation O.d.V., Non Profit Organisation, Cagliari, Italy.,Unit of Oncology and Molecular Pathology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Sabrina Giglio
- Medical Genetics Unit, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.,Medical Genetics Unit, R. Binaghi Hospital, Local Public Health and Social Care Unit (ASSL) of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.,Centre for Research University Services (CeSAR, Centro Servizi di Ateneo per la Ricerca), University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy
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Gender Differences among Sardinians with Alcohol Use Disorder. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10204688. [PMID: 34682808 PMCID: PMC8537954 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10204688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Sardinia is an Italian island in the Mediterranean characterized by secular isolation and the singular genetic characteristics of its inhabitants. Findings obtained in populations with diverse genetic make-up and cultural background indicate gender differences and/or similarities in drinking characteristics of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Knowledge of these characteristics in AUD patients is useful to improve access to treatments. This paper investigated the drinking characteristics of 66 female and 282 male outpatients with AUD, born from 1937 to 1991, living in Sardinia, and compared their characteristics with those of AUD patients living in other countries. Most Sardinian patients were men, approximately 3 years younger than women; women consumed lower amounts of alcohol than men but did not differ from men in the severity of AUD. Men were more often single than women, while a higher proportion of women reported that their mother or spouse was affected by AUD. Anxiety and depression were more prevalent among women while a higher proportion of men were affected by substance use disorders. Women were older than men at the age of first drink, regular drinking, and onset of AUD, and progressed faster than men from regular use to AUD onset. Women did not differ from men in age at first request for care, and in the lapse from AUD onset to first request for care. Women and men waited for more than 8 and 9 years, respectively, before receiving medical treatment. Gender differences progressively decreased among younger patients. Although the scarce number of women in some cohorts limits the strength of these findings, drinking characteristics of Sardinian patients did not vary significantly from those of AUD patients living in other countries. These results suggest that the number of Sardinian women with AUD is increasing and services for treatment of AUD should (a) consider women’s specific needs, and (b) realize effective policies to reduce latency prior to accessing medical treatment for both men and women with AUD.
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Caramelli D, Posth C, Rickards O. Reconstruction of the human peopling of Europe: a genetic insight. Ann Hum Biol 2021; 48:175-178. [PMID: 34459346 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2021.1955472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Caramelli
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Cosimo Posth
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Olga Rickards
- Department of Biology, Centre of Molecular Anthropology for Ancient DNA Studies, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
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