Exploring hub pyroptosis-related genes, molecular subtypes, and potential drugs in ankylosing spondylitis by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and molecular docking

An Actual Insight into the Pathogenic Pathways of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Spondyloarthritis refers to a broad group of conditions that include ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, and enteropathic arthritis associated with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. They have been classified by the ASAS group (ASsessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis) into axial spondyloarthritis and peripheral spondyloarthritis. Common features include the absence of autoantibodies, genetic predisposition, and clinical aspects such as axial joint involvement, peripheral manifestations, and extra-articular involvement. However, the pathogenic mechanisms remain complex and incompletely elucidated, despite the fact that the specialized literature has described several pathways that act in synergy: genetic predisposition, environmental factors (infections and mechanical stress), or innate and acquired immune mechanisms. Finally, an inflammatory response is triggered by the recruitment of a large number of inflammatory cells and the release of innate cytokines in the affected areas: joints or periarticular or extraarticular tissues. The current article aims to update and systematize the knowledge accumulated so far on this topic, focusing on the mechanisms that have been involved in the onset, progression, and severity of ankylosing spondylitis.

Pyroptosis in lung cancer: The emerging role of non-coding RNAs

Lung cancer remains an intractable malignancy worldwide, prompting novel therapeutic modalities. Pyroptosis, a lethal form of programmed cell death featured by inflammation, has been involved in cancer progression and treatment response. Simultaneously, non-coding RNA has been shown to have important roles in coordinating pattern formation and oncogenic pathways, including long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs), microRNA (miRNAs), circular RNA (circRNAs), and small interfering RNA (siRNAs). Recent studies have revealed that ncRNAs can promote or inhibit pyroptosis by interacting with key molecular players such as NLRP3, GSDMD, and various transcription factors. This dual role of ncRNAs offers a unique therapeutic potential to manipulate pyroptosis pathways, providing opportunities for innovative cancer treatments. In this review, we integrate current research findings to propose novel strategies for leveraging ncRNA-mediated pyroptosis as a therapeutic intervention in lung cancer. We explore the potential of ncRNAs as biomarkers for predicting patient response to treatment and as targets for overcoming resistance to conventional therapies.

Identification of necroptosis-related genes in ankylosing spondylitis by bioinformatics and experimental validation

The pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains unclear, and while recent studies have implicated necroptosis in various autoimmune diseases, an investigation of its relationship with AS has not been reported. In this study, we utilized the Gene Expression Omnibus database to compare gene expressions between AS patients and healthy controls, identifying 18 differentially expressed necroptosis-related genes (DENRGs), with 8 upregulated and 10 downregulated. Through the application of three machine learning algorithms-least absolute shrinkage and selection operation, support vector machine-recursive feature elimination and random forest-two hub genes, FASLG and TARDBP, were pinpointed. These genes demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity for AS diagnosis, as evidenced by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. These findings were further supported by external datasets and cellular experiments, which confirmed the downregulation of FASLG and upregulation of TARDBP in AS patients. Immune cell infiltration analysis suggested that CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, NK cells and neutrophils may be associated with the development of AS. Notably, in the group with high FASLG expression, there was a significant infiltration of CD8+ T cells, memory-activated CD4+ T cells and resting NK cells, with relatively less infiltration of memory-resting CD4+ T cells and neutrophils. Conversely, in the group with high TARDBP expression, there was enhanced infiltration of naïve CD4+ T cells and M0 macrophages, with a reduced presence of memory-resting CD4+ T cells. In summary, FASLG and TARDBP may contribute to AS pathogenesis by regulating the immune microenvironment and immune-related signalling pathways. These findings offer new insights into the molecular mechanisms of AS and suggest potential new targets for therapeutic strategies.

Machine learning and deep learning for the diagnosis and treatment of ankylosing spondylitis- a scoping review

Background and objectives

Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) are novel technologies that can facilitate early diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and predict better patient-specific treatments. We aim to provide the current update on their use at different stages of AS diagnosis and treatment, describe different types of techniques used, dataset descriptions, contributions and limitations of existing work and ed to identify gaps in current knowledge for future works.

Methods

We curated the data of this review from the PubMed database. We searched the full-text articles related to the use of ML/DL in the diagnosis and treatment of AS, for the period 2013-2023. Each article was manually scrutinized to be included or excluded for this review as per its relevance.

Results

This review revealed that ML/DL technology is useful to assist and promote early diagnosis through AS patient characteristic profile creation, and identification of new AS-related biomarkers. They can help in forecasting the progression of AS and predict treatment responses to aid patient-specific treatment planning. However, there was a lack of sufficient-sized datasets sourced from multi-centres containing different types of diagnostic parameters. Also, there is less research on ML/DL-based AS treatment as compared to ML/DL-based AS diagnosis.

Conclusion

ML/DL can facilitate an early diagnosis and patient-tailored treatment for effective handling of AS. Benefits are especially higher in places with a lack of diagnostic resources and human experts. The use of ML/DL-trained models for AS diagnosis and treatment can provide the necessary support to the otherwise overwhelming healthcare systems in a cost-effective and timely way.

Clinical Efficacy and Mechanism of Vitamin D2 in Treating Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Objective

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, with the highest incidence rate among autoimmune thyroid disorders. Vitamin D2 may have therapeutic effects on HT. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying vitamin D2 therapy for HT.

Methods

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with vitamin D2-treated HT were identified, and the DEG-associated gene enrichment pathway was explored using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. The correlation between the hub genes and infiltrating immune cells was investigated, and the interactions among the hub genes and target drug and competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA; long non-coding RNA [lncRNA]-microRNA [miRNA]-messenger RNA [mRNA]) regulatory networks were determined.

Results

GO and KEGG enrichment analyses identified a total of 102 DEGs (6 upregulated and 96 downregulated) in the vitamin D2-treated group samples. The area under the curve values of the identified 10 hub genes was as follows: CCR1(0.920), CXCL1 (0.960), CXCL8 (0.960), EGR1 (0.960), FCGR3B (0.920), FOS (1.000), FPR1 (0.840), MMP9 (0.720), PTGS2 (0.960), and TREM1 (1.000). The immune enrichment scores of the mast cell (P = 0.008), neutrophil (P = 0.016), and plasmacytoid dendritic cell (P = 0.016) were significantly decreased in the vitamin D2-treated group (P < 0.05). The hub gene/drug regulatory network included 8 hub genes, 108 molecular drugs, and 114 interaction relationship pairs. The ceRNA regulatory network included 129 lncRNAs, 145 miRNAs, mRNAs (hub genes), and 324 interaction relationship pairs.

Conclusion

Vitamin D2 may play an immunomodulatory role by regulating the aforementioned immune-related molecules and immune cells, thereby improving its therapeutic effects on HT.