Lumbar disc disease shows linkage to chromosome 19 overlapping with a QTL for hand OA

Exploration of Potential Ewing Sarcoma Drugs from FDA-Approved Pharmaceuticals through Computational Drug Repositioning, Pharmacogenomics, Molecular Docking, and MD Simulation Studies

Novel drug development is a time-consuming process with relatively high debilitating costs. To overcome this problem, computational drug repositioning approaches are being used to predict the possible therapeutic scaffolds against different diseases. In the current study, computational drug repositioning approaches were employed to fetch the promising drugs from the pool of FDA-approved drugs against Ewing sarcoma. The binding interaction patterns and conformational behaviors of screened drugs within the active region of Ewing sarcoma protein (EWS) were confirmed through molecular docking profiles. Furthermore, pharmacogenomics analysis was employed to check the possible associations of selected drugs with Ewing sarcoma genes. Moreover, the stability behavior of selected docked complexes (drugs-EWS) was checked by molecular dynamics simulations. Taken together, astemizole, sulfinpyrazone, and pranlukast exhibited a result comparable to pazopanib and can be used as a possible therapeutic agent in the treatment of Ewing sarcoma.

Reoperation rates of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion versus posterior laminoplasty for multilevel cervical degenerative diseases: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

The reoperation (reop) rate is a crucial indicator of the efficacy of an operation; however, studies on the reop rates of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or posterior laminoplasty (LMP) for treating multilevel cervical degenerative diseases (MCDDs) are scant.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to compare the reop rates and safety of ACDF and LMP for MCDD treatment.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a retrospective population-based cohort study.

PATIENT SAMPLE

Our sample consists of patients who underwent ACDF and LMP treatment.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Reop rate, risk of pneumonia, sepsis, surgery-related complications, and death.

METHODS

A total of 6,605 patients who underwent ACDF and 1,578 patients who underwent LMP for MCDD treatment from 2001 to 2011 were selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Cox proportional hazard models were performed to compare the clinical outcomes of the patients who underwent ACDF with those of the patients who underwent LMP.

RESULTS

Long-term reop rates (per 100 person-month) were slightly Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion; in the patients who underwent ACDF (0.04 [95% confidence interval, CI: 0.03-0.05]) than in those who underwent LMP (0.06 [95% CI: 0.04-0.08]), with adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.43 (95% CI: 0.96-2.11, p=.08), although short-term reop rates were significantly higher in the LMP group (0.41 [95% CI: 0.33-0.51]) than in the ACDF group (0.09 [95% CI: 0.07-0.11]), with adjusted HR of 4.81 (95% CI: 3.46-6.69, p<.001). Patients who underwent LMP had a lower risk of pneumonia, sepsis, surgery-related complications, and death than did those who underwent ACDF within a year of follow-up. The results after adjustment for all covariates showed that osteoarthritis (adjusted HR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.40-3.06, p<.01) was associated with reop risk in the patients who underwent ACDF, and diabetes (adjusted HR=3.27, 95% CI: 1.12-9.54, p=.03) was associated with reop risk in the patients who underwent LMP.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significantly higher incidence rate of reop between the patients who underwent LMP and those who underwent ACDF after 1-year follow-up; however, ACDF was associated with a higher rate of 1-year complications and mortality compared with LMP. LMP might be considered as a treatment option for MCDD but could not be appropriate for patients with cervical kyphotic deformity.

Severe Hand Osteoarthritis Strongly Correlates With Major Joint Involvement and Surgical Intervention

BACKGROUND

The presence of hand osteoarthritis (OA) increases the risk for developing OA in other major joints. Although genetic predisposition has been implicated in its causation, its exact role has yet to be established. The association of hand OA with symptomatic and asymptomatic major joints has not been previously studied.

METHODS

Hundred consecutive patients had a hand photo taken for visual documentation of the hand joints. Radiographs of hand and all major symptomatic joints were analyzed and classified using the Kellgren-Lawrence scale by 2 independent observers including an orthopedic radiologist.

RESULTS

Severe hand OA was present in 91% of the patients. Radiographic analysis showed that the hip was involved in 88% of the patients, of whom 85.2% (75) were symptomatic and 14.7% (13) were asymptomatic. Hip arthroplasty was required by 62.5% (55) of symptomatic hip patients. Knee involvement was present in 37% of the patients; all were symptomatic and 81.1% (30) of these required knee arthroplasty. Bilateral surgery was performed in 33% (28) and "2 joint (hip and knee)" surgery was performed in 6% (5). Spine involvement was present in 72% of the patients. There was a significant correlation between hand radiographic findings of OA and hip (r = 0.68; P = .03), knee (r = 0.58; P = .042), and spine (r = .39; P = .05) involvement.

CONCLUSION

There was a significant correlation between severe hand OA and hip, knee, and spine involvement. Severity of Hand OA can have a predictive value on multiple joint involvement and risk of surgical intervention. This study emphasizes the need to investigate the genetic predisposition in causation of OA.

Pharmacophore and docking-based virtual screening approach for the design of new dual inhibitors of Janus kinase 1 and Janus kinase 2

Janus kinase 1 and 2, non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases, are implicated in various cancerous diseases. Involvement of these two enzymes in the pathways that stimulate cell proliferation in cancerous conditions makes them potential therapeutic targets for designing new dual-targeted agents for the treatment of cancer. In the present study, two separate pharmacophore models were developed and the best models for JAK1 (AAADH.25) and JAK2 (ADRR.92) were selected on the basis of their external predictive ability. Both models were subjected to a systematic virtual screening (VS) protocol using a PHASE database of 1.5 million molecules. The hits retrieved in VS were investigated for ADME properties to avoid selection of molecules with a poor pharmacokinetic profile. The molecules considered to be within the range of acceptable limits of ADME properties were further employed for docking simulations with JAK1 and JAK2 proteins to explore the final hits that possess structural features of both pharmacophore models as well as display essential interactions with both of them. Thus, the new molecules obtained in this way should show inhibitory activity against JAK1 and JAK2 and may serve as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancerous disease conditions.

Disc degeneration-related clinical phenotypes

The phenotype, or observable trait of interest, is at the core of studies identifying associated genetic variants and their functional pathways, as well as diagnostics. Yet, despite remarkable technological developments in genotyping and progress in genetic research, relatively little attention has been paid to the equally important issue of phenotype. This is especially true for disc degeneration-related disorders, and the concept of degenerative disc disease, in particular, where there is little consensus or uniformity of definition. Greater attention and rigour are clearly needed in the development of disc degeneration-related clinical phenotypes if we are to see more rapid advancements in knowledge of this area. When selecting phenotypes, a basic decision is whether to focus directly on the complex clinical phenotype (e.g. the clinical syndrome of spinal stenosis), which is ultimately of interest, or an intermediate phenotype (e.g. dural sac cross-sectional area). While both have advantages, it cannot be assumed that associated gene variants will be similarly relevant to both. Among other considerations are factors influencing phenotype identification, comorbidities that are often present, and measurement issues. Genodisc, the European research consortium project on disc-related clinical pathologies has adopted a strategy that will allow for the careful characterisation and examination of both the complex clinical phenotypes of interest and their components.

Novel genetic variants associated with lumbar disc degeneration in northern Europeans: a meta-analysis of 4600 subjects

OBJECTIVE

Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) is an important cause of low back pain, which is a common and costly problem. LDD is characterised by disc space narrowing and osteophyte growth at the circumference of the disc. To date, the agnostic search of the genome by genome-wide association (GWA) to identify common variants associated with LDD has not been fruitful. This study is the first GWA meta-analysis of LDD.

METHODS

We have developed a continuous trait based on disc space narrowing and osteophytes growth which is measurable on all forms of imaging (plain radiograph, CT scan and MRI) and performed a meta-analysis of five cohorts of Northern European extraction each having GWA data imputed to HapMap V.2.

RESULTS

This study of 4600 individuals identified four single nucleotide polymorphisms with p<5×10(-8), the threshold set for genome-wide significance. We identified a variant in the PARK2 gene (p=2.8×10(-8)) associated with LDD. Differential methylation at one CpG island of the PARK2 promoter was observed in a small subset of subjects (β=8.74×10(-4), p=0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

LDD accounts for a considerable proportion of low back pain and the pathogenesis of LDD is poorly understood. This work provides evidence of association of the PARK2 gene and suggests that methylation of the PARK2 promoter may influence degeneration of the intervertebral disc. This gene has not previously been considered a candidate in LDD and further functional work is needed on this hitherto unsuspected pathway.

An Association Study of Interleukin 18 Receptor Genes (IL18R1 and IL18RAP) in Lumbar Disc Degeneration

Objectives:

To examine association of candidate genetic variants in structural, inflammatory, matrix modifying, vitamin D receptor genes and variants associated with osteoarthritis, with surgical candidates and surgical patients with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD), in light of their previously reported susceptibility for LDD.

Methods:

Genotyping of 146 Norwegian LDD patients and 188 Norwegian controls was performed for 20 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from collagen, aggrecan, interleukin, VDR, MMP3 and COX2 genes and 7 SNPs from osteoarthritic genes.

Results:

The neighboring genes IL18R1 and IL18RAP polymorphisms (rs2287037 and rs1420100), showed a statistically non-significant risk for developing LDD (OR 1.36 [95 % CI 0.99 – 1.87]; p=0.06 and OR 1.33 [95 % CI 0.98-1.81]; p=0.07). Homozygosity of these risk alleles was associated with LDD (p=0.023 and p=0.027). The non-risk alleles at these SNPs were situated on a haplotype negatively associated with LDD (p=0.008). Carriage of at least one non-risk allele at both loci also reduces the risk of developing LDD (OR 0.51 [95 % CI 0.33-0.80]; p=0.003).

Conclusion:

Our findings support the polygenic nature of LDD and suggest that variation in interleukin 18 receptor genes could affect the risk of severe LDD and associated low back pain.

Molecular genetic studies of gene identification for osteoporosis: the 2009 update

Osteoporosis is a complex human disease that results in increased susceptibility to fragility fractures. It can be phenotypically characterized using several traits, including bone mineral density, bone size, bone strength, and bone turnover markers. The identification of gene variants that contribute to osteoporosis phenotypes, or responses to therapy, can eventually help individualize the prognosis, treatment, and prevention of fractures and their adverse outcomes. Our previously published reviews have comprehensively summarized the progress of molecular genetic studies of gene identification for osteoporosis and have covered the data available to the end of September 2007. This review represents our continuing efforts to summarize the important and representative findings published between October 2007 and November 2009. The topics covered include genetic association and linkage studies in humans, transgenic and knockout mouse models, as well as gene-expression microarray and proteomics studies. Major results are tabulated for comparison and ease of reference. Comments are made on the notable findings and representative studies for their potential influence and implications on our present understanding of the genetics of osteoporosis.