TargetScore used to reveal potential targets of miRNA203 and miRNA-146a in psoriasis by integrating microRNA overexpression and microarray data

Metabolomics Reveals Molecular Signatures for Psoriasis Biomarkers and Drug Targets Discovery

Purpose

Psoriasis is a chronic, multi-system skin disease that can be influenced by immunological, environmental, and genetic factors. Plasma metabolomic analysis can provide a great deal of information on potential diagnostic biomarkers, pathogenesis and personalized treatment. However, the role of metabolites in psoriasis is unknown.

Patients and Methods

We performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of plasma based on high-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry from 10 plaque psoriasis patients and 10 healthy controls.

Results

A total of 301 differential metabolites were detected, of which 10 metabolites were possible potential biomarkers, including vitamins, amino acids, and lipids. At the same time, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis was performed for all detected differential metabolites, and it was found that protein digestion and absorption, amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism may be jointly involved in regulating the pathogenesis of psoriasis. In addition, the proteins ESR1, OPRM1 and HSD11B1 were identified as possible potential topical therapeutic targets for psoriasis through analysis of the metabolite-protein interaction network.

Conclusion

In this study, we identified 10 differential metabolites as possible potential combinatorial biomarkers for the diagnosis of psoriasis. 12 metabolic pathways were significantly enriched that may be closely related to the occurrence and development of psoriasis. Three proteins, ESR1, OPRM1, and HSD11B1, were identified as possible potential therapeutic targets for psoriasis.

MiRNA-146a-A Key Player in Immunity and Diseases

miRNA-146a, a single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecule, has emerged as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for numerous pathological conditions. Its primary function lies in regulating inflammatory processes, haemopoiesis, allergic responses, and other key aspects of the innate immune system. Several studies have indicated that polymorphisms in miRNA-146a can influence the pathogenesis of various human diseases, including autoimmune disorders and cancer. One of the key mechanisms by which miRNA-146a exerts its effects is by controlling the expression of certain proteins involved in critical pathways. It can modulate the activity of interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase, IRAK1, IRAK2 adaptor proteins, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) targeting protein receptor 6, which is a regulator of the TNF signalling pathway. In addition, miRNA-146a affects gene expression through multiple signalling pathways, such as TNF, NF-κB and MEK-1/2, and JNK-1/2. Studies have been carried out to determine the effect of miRNA-146a on cancer pathogenesis, revealing its involvement in the synthesis of stem cells, which contributes to tumourigenesis. In this review, we focus on recent discoveries that highlight the significant role played by miRNA-146a in regulating various defence mechanisms and oncogenesis. The aim of this review article is to systematically examine miRNA-146a's impact on the control of signalling pathways involved in oncopathology, immune system development, and the corresponding response to therapy.

Transcriptomic Analysis of the Mechanisms for Alleviating Psoriatic Dermatitis Using Taodan Granules in an Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-like Mouse Model

Taodan granules (TDGs) are clinically efficacious for treating psoriasis, buttheir specific mechanisms of action are unclear. In this study, we determined the concentrations of tanshinone IIA and curcumol using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to establish quality control parameters for assessing the mechanism of TDGs in treating psoriasis. Thereafter, a mouse model of psoriasis was treated with TDGs. TDGs attenuated imiquimod-induced typical erythema, scales, and thickening of the back and ear lesions in the psoriatic mouse model. Furthermore, PCNA and Ki67-positive cells were reduced in the epidermis of psoriatic lesions following TDG treatment. Finally, the sequencing results were verified using a multitude of methods, and the mechanism of action of TDGs against psoriasis was found to be via the upregulation of metabolic signaling pathways such as the Gly-Ser-Thr axis, the downregulation of immune and inflammatory pathways, and the decrease in Rac2 and Arhgdib concentrations. Overall, this study clarified the mechanism of TDG treatment for psoriasis and provided evidence for its clinical application.

Down-regulation of miR-383-5p suppresses apoptosis in oxidative stress rat hepatocytes by targeting Bcl2

miRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that are involved in various biological processes. In the preliminary work of the laboratory, found that miR-383-5p was down-regulated in the liver tissue of acute cold stress rats and has been shown to be an important regulatory factor in tumour proliferation, but there are very few studies involving the mediation of cold stress in rat liver tissues. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of miR-383-5p on the livers of cold stress rats by simulating the cold stress state of rat liver tissues in vitro using H₂ O₂ to induce rat hepatocyte oxidative stress. The results showed that MDA content, Caspase 3 and Cyto C protein levels increased significantly; GPx activity and SOD1 protein levels decreased significantly and miR-383-5p expression was significantly down-regulated in rat liver tissues after cold stress. Different concentrations of H₂ O₂ was added to rat hepatocytes, and the results showed that the expression of miR-383-5p, the ROS level, and the apoptosis rate in rat hepatocytes was increased significantly in a concentration-dependent fashion. Transfection of miR-383-5p inhibitor revealed that the apoptosis rate of rat hepatocytes, and the protein level of apoptosis-related protein Caspase 3 were reduced; the results of the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay showed that miR-383-5p targeted regulation of Bcl2. The results suggested that the expression of miR-383-5p was up-regulated in oxidative stress rat hepatocytes and may aggravate the apoptosis of rat hepatocytes induced by targeting inhibition of Bcl2 translation.

Identification of distinctive long noncoding RNA competitive interactions and a six-methylated-gene prognostic signature in acute myeloid leukemia with -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q)

BACKGROUND

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q) has special clinical and biological characteristics, but its molecular mechanisms and risk stratification remain unknown.

METHODS

The RNA sequencing and DNA methylation of 23 patients with -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q) and 128 patients with other subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The regulatory mechanisms of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and DNA methylation on gene expression were explored. To find robust and specific risk stratification for this AML subtype, a prognostic model was established and evaluated through four independent data sets.

RESULTS

We identified 966 differentially expressed long noncoding RNA, 2274 differentially expressed genes, and 47 differentially expressed microRNAs, and constructed a ceRNA network. After the integrated analysis of differentially methylated and expressed genes, 19 genes showed the opposite trend between the methylation variation and gene expression. An six-methylated-gene prognostic signature which highly correlated with overall survival was established, and the performance was validated by leave-one-out cross validation method and permutation test. Furthermore, the excellent prognostic value of this model was supported by an independent cohort, while specificity of this model was validated by three independent data sets, suggesting it as a predictive classifier with high efficiency for distinguishing those with -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q) from other AML subtypes.

CONCLUSIONS

The ceRNA network may provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment for patients with -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q).The six-methylated-gene prognostic signature was a robust, specific, and clinically practical risk stratification for the outcome of patients with AML having -5/del(5q) or -7/del(7q).

An update on pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis and potential therapeutic targets

Introduction: Innate immune response and bone remodeling are key factors contributing to the pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Moreover, the evidence of autoantibodies in patients' sera suggests an autoimmune side in PsA. Besides the immune pathways, studies strongly support the role of genetic risk alleles in affecting the clinical heterogeneity of PsA as well as the response to therapy. A good clinical response to treatment, indeed, represents a challenge in PsA patients and the identification of patient-targeted therapies is still a critical issue. Areas covered: We performed a systematic review aiming at describing new evidence on PsA pathogenesis and treatments. Reported items for systematic reviews (PRISMA checklist) were analyzed. Studies included from the PubMed database addressed the following items: innate immunity, autoimmunity, bone remodeling, and therapeutic targets in PsA; time frame of research 1970-2019. Specifically, we reviewed data on IL-17 inhibitors, abatacept, JAK inhibitors, ABT 122, and A (3) adenosine receptors agonist, CF101. Expert opinion: In PsA an intriguing pathogenetic network has been documented. Several biological and synthetic drugs are promising in terms of efficacy and safety profile.

MicroRNA target gene prediction of ischemic stroke by using variational Bayesian inference for Gauss mixture model

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) as biomarkers of numerous diseases, are a novel group of single-stranded, non-coding small RNA molecules, which can regulate the gene expression and transcription or translation of target genes. Therefore, accurately identifying miRNAs and predicting their potential target genes correlated with ischemic stroke contribute to quick understanding and diagnosis of the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. In order to identify the targets of miRNAs, the differential expression and expression profiling of mRNAs in genome are integrated by using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and limma package. Furthermore, the probabilistic scoring approach called TargetScore, is proposed as a promising new technique combined with the expression and sequence information of the known genes. In this study, the priori and posterior probabilities of target genes were obtained by Variational Bayesian-Gaussian Mixture Model (VB-GMM). Consequently, the target genes of miR-124, miR-221 and miR-223, correlated with ischemic stroke, were predicted using the new target prediction algorithm. Ultimately, the comparable downregulation target genes were obtained by integrating the transcendental and posterior values.