Zinc finger protein A20 regulates the development and progression of osteoarthritis by affecting the activity of NF-κB p65

Metalloproteins as risk factors for osteoarthritis: improving and understanding causal estimates using Mendelian randomization

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorders and a primary cause of pain and disability among the elderly population. Research on the relationship between metalloproteins (MPs) and OA is limited, and causality remains unclear. Our objective is to utilize Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore the possible causal relationship between MPs and OA. The data on MPs were derived from a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) analysis involving 3301 samples. The GWAS data for OA were obtained from an analysis involving 462,933 European individuals. In this study, a variety of two-sample Mendelian randomization methods (two-sample MR) to evaluate the causal effect of MPs on OA, including inverse variance weighted method (IVW), MR-Egger method, weighted median method (WM), simple mode, weight mode, and Wald ratio. The primary MR analysis using the IVW method reveals a significant negative correlation between Metallothionein-1F (MT-1F), zinc finger protein 134 (ZNF134), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type 1D (CAMK1D), and EF-hand calcium-binding domain-containing protein 14 (EFCAB14) with the occurrence of osteoarthritis (OA) (p value < 0.05). However, no causal relationship was observed in the opposite direction between these MPs and OA. Notably, even in combined models accounting for confounding factors, the negative association between these four MPs and OA remained significant. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity, and leave-one-out analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. In this study, we have established a conspicuous association between four distinct MPs and OA. This discovery augments our understanding of potential avenues for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Key Points • The MR method was employed to assess the relationship between MPs and OA. • A total of four types of MPs have demonstrated inhibitory effects on the occurrence of OA.

Serum Induces the Subunit-Specific Activation of NF-κB in Proliferating Human Cardiac Stem Cells

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are often linked to ageing and are the major cause of death worldwide. The declined proliferation of adult stem cells in the heart often impedes its regenerative potential. Thus, an investigation of the proliferative potential of adult human cardiac stem cells (hCSCs) might be of great interest for improving cell-based treatments of cardiovascular diseases. The application of human blood serum was already shown to enhance hCSC proliferation and reduce senescence. Here, the underlying signalling pathways of serum-mediated hCSC proliferation were studied. We are the first to demonstrate the involvement of the transcription factor NF-κB in the serum-mediated proliferative response of hCSCs by utilizing the NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC). RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) revealed ATF6B, COX5B, and TNFRSF14 as potential targets of NF-κB that are involved in serum-induced hCSC proliferation.

miR-181a-5p targets DDX3X to inhibit the progression of osteoarthritis via NF-ΚB signaling pathway

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common age-related joint disease, characterized by chronic inflammation, progressive articular cartilage destruction and subchondral osteosclerosis. More and more evidence showed that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in various diseases, but the specific mechanism of miRNAs in OA is not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression level and role of miR-181a-5p in OA and its related mechanism. Here we identified the key gene DEAD-box RNA helicase 3X (DDX3X) in the OA dataset by bioinformatics analysis. At the same time, miRNAs targeting DDX3X were screened, and miR-181a-5p was selected as the next research object. Then we used different concentrations of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)-induced in vitro model of arthritis, and found that IL-1β can stimulate cells to release nitric oxide. The expression levels of miR-181a-5p and DDX3X in mouse chondrocyte cell line ATDC5 induced by IL-1β at a concentration of 10ug/mL were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). IL-1β induced a decrease in the expression of miR-181a-5p and an increase in the expression of DDX3X in ATDC5 cells. mimic miR-181a-5p or inhibitor miR-181a-5p were transfected into ATDC5 cells, and the levels of inflammatory mediators in the cells were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the results showed that miR-181a-5p could reduce the release of tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and inducible nitric oxide nitric oxide synthase in a cellular model of arthritis. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that the miR-181a-5p binding site was in the DDX3X gene 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR), and DDX3X was negatively regulated by miR-181a-5p. Rescue assays confirmed that miR-181a-5p reduced the expression of DDX3X by targeting the 3'-UTR region of DDX3X, thereby reducing the release of inflammatory factors. Finally, in this paper, western blot was used to detect the mechanism of miR-181a-5p regulating OA. The results showed that interfering with the expression of miR-181a-5p could up-regulate the expression of DDX3X protein, increase the expression of nuclear factor- kappaB (NF-κB) related proteins, and reduce the inflammatory response of OA, thereby increasing the secretion of the matrix proteinases MMP-3 and MMP-13. Taken together, the results of the study suggested that miR-181a-5p may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of human OA.

LincRNA ZNF529-AS1 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma via FBXO31 and predicts the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients

BACKGROUND

Invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still an important reason for poor prognosis. LincRNA ZNF529-AS1 is a recently identified tumour-associated molecule that is differentially expressed in a variety of tumours, but its role in HCC is still unclear. This study investigated the expression and function of ZNF529-AS1 in HCC and explored the prognostic significance of ZNF529-AS1 in HCC.

METHODS

Based on HCC information in TCGA and other databases, the relationship between the expression of ZNF529-AS1 and clinicopathological characteristics of HCC was analysed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and logistic regression. The relationship between ZNF529-AS1 and HCC prognosis was evaluated by Kaplan‒Meier and Cox regression analyses. The cellular function and signalling pathways involved in ZNF529-AS1 were analysed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. The relationship between ZNF529-AS1 and immunological signatures in the HCC tumour microenvironment was analysed by the ssGSEA algorithm and CIBERSORT algorithm. HCC cell invasion and migration were investigated by the Transwell assay. Gene and protein expression were detected by PCR and western blot analysis, respectively.

RESULTS

ZNF529-AS1 was differentially expressed in various types of tumours and was highly expressed in HCC. The expression of ZNF529-AS1 was closely correlated with the age, sex, T stage, M stage and pathological grade of HCC patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that ZNF529-AS1 was significantly associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients and could be an independent prognostic indicator of HCC. Immunological analysis showed that the expression of ZNF529-AS1 was correlated with the abundance and immune function of various immune cells. Knockdown of ZNF529-AS1 in HCC cells inhibited cell invasion and migration and inhibited the expression of FBXO31.

CONCLUSION

ZNF529-AS1 could be a new prognostic marker for HCC. FBXO31 may be the downstream target of ZNF529-AS1 in HCC.

The role of blood lnc-ZFAS1 in acute ischemic stroke: correlation with neurological impairment, inflammation, and survival profiles

Background

Long non‐coding RNA zinc finger antisense 1 (lnc‐ZFAS1) has been reported to inhibit neuronal damage in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, the role of lnc‐ZFAS1 in AIS patients remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed the relationship of lnc‐ZFAS1 with neurological impairment, inflammation, and prognosis in AIS patients.

Methods

Totally, 241 AIS patients and 120 controls were enrolled. lnc‐ZFAS1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was evaluated using reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Besides, a 3‐year follow‐up was conducted to assess recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in AIS patients.

Results

lnc‐ZFAS1 was reduced in AIS patients compared to that in controls (Z = −10.693, p < 0.001). In AIS patients, lnc‐ZFAS1 was negatively correlated with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (r_s = −0.335, p < 0.001), C‐reactive protein (r_s = −0.284, p < 0.001), tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (r_s = −0.293, p < 0.001), interleukin‐1β (r_s = −0.149, p = 0.021), and interleukin‐6 (r_s = −0.161, p = 0.012), but not underlying diseases (all p > 0.05). Besides, lnc‐ZFAS1 was divided into high and low levels based on the median expression in AIS patients. Indeed, high lnc‐ZFAS1 predicted better RFS (χ² = 6.222, p = 0.013); the 1‐year, 2‐year, and 3‐year RFS rates were 94.2%, 88.3%, and 85.5%, respectively, in patients with high lnc‐ZFAS1, then 87.5%, 79.2%, and 71.6%, respectively, in those with low lnc‐ZFAS1. However, lnc‐ZFAS1 was not correlated with OS (χ² = 1.404, p = 0.236); the 1‐year, 2‐year, and 3‐year OS rates were 98.3%, 95.8%, and 94.0%, respectively, in patients with high lnc‐ZFAS1, then 96.7%, 93.9%, and 89.6%, respectively, in those with low lnc‐ZFAS1.

Conclusion

Lower lnc‐ZFAS1 expression is connected with increased neurological impairment and inflammation as well as worse RFS in AIS patients.