Serum proteomic profiling in patients with advanced Schistosoma japonicum-induced hepatic fibrosis

Dysregulated Glucuronidation of Bilirubin Exacerbates Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis in Schistosomiasis Japonica through the NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Hepatic fibrosis is an important pathological manifestation of chronic schistosome infection. Patients with advanced schistosomiasis show varying degrees of abnormalities in liver fibrosis indicators and bilirubin metabolism. However, the relationship between hepatic fibrosis in schistosomiasis and dysregulated bilirubin metabolism remains unclear. In this study, we observed a positive correlation between total bilirubin levels and the levels of ALT, AST, LN, and CIV in patients with advanced schistosomiasis. Additionally, we established mouse models at different time points following S. japonicum infection. As the infection time increased, liver fibrosis escalated, while liver UGT1A1 consistently exhibited a low expression, indicating impaired glucuronidation of bilirubin metabolism in mice. In vitro experiments suggested that SEA may be a key inhibitor of hepatic UGT1A1 expression after schistosome infection. Furthermore, a high concentration of bilirubin activated the NF-κB signaling pathway in L-O2 cells in vitro. These findings suggested that the dysregulated glucuronidation of bilirubin caused by S. japonicum infection may play a significant role in schistosomiasis liver fibrosis through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Serum Reveals MST1 as a Potential Candidate Biomarker in Spontaneously Diabetic Cynomolgus Monkeys

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is increasing globally, creating essential demands for T2DM animal models for the study of disease pathogenesis, prevention, and therapy. A non-human primate model such as cynomolgus monkeys can develop T2DM spontaneously in an age-dependent way similar to humans. In this study, a data-independent acquisition-based quantitative proteomics strategy was employed to investigate the serum proteomic profiles of spontaneously diabetic cynomolgus monkeys compared with healthy controls. The results revealed significant differences in protein abundances. A total of 95 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were quantitatively identified in the current study, among which 31 and 64 proteins were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that carbohydrate digestion and absorption was the top enriched pathway by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Protein-protein interaction network analysis demonstrated that MST1 was identified as the most connected protein in the network and could be considered as the hub protein. MST1 was significantly and inversely associated with FSG and HbA1c. Furthermore, recent lines of evidence also indicate that MST1 acts as a crucial regulator in regulating hepatic gluconeogenesis to maintain metabolic homeostasis while simultaneously suppressing the inflammatory processes. In conclusion, our study provides novel insights into serum proteome changes in spontaneously diabetic cynomolgus monkeys and points out that the dysregulation of several DEPs may play an important role in the pathogenesis of T2DM.

Profiling the serum proteome during Schistosoma mansoni infection in the BALB/c mice: A focus on the altered lipid metabolism as a key modulator of host-parasite interactions

Schistosomiasis represents a condition in which every aspect of the disease, starting from skin invasion of the cercariae to egg laying by adult worms, incites a tissue response from the vertebrate host. This response, whether acute or chronic, leads to the appearance of reporter molecules of tissue injury in bodily fluids that could be surveyed as markers for disease diagnosis, status and prognosis. In this scenario, the serum proteome associated with a schistosome infection remains poorly explored; particularly by the use of high-throughput mass spectrometric instrumentation. In this study, we aimed to comparatively examine the serum proteome of control versus infected BALB/c mice, spanning the interval between the onset of egg laying and the peak of the acute phase of infection. Compositional analysis of the sera, using one dimensional reversed-phase fractionation of tryptic peptides coupled to mass spectrometry, allowed identification of 453 constituents. Among these, over 30% (143 molecules) were differentially present comparing sera from infected and non-infected mice, as revealed by quantitative label-free shotgun approach. The majority of proteins exhibiting altered levels was categorised as belonging to immune response (acute phase-related proteins) followed by those linked to lipid transport and metabolism. Inspection of the lipid profile from control and infected individuals demonstrated more pronounced and significant alterations in triglycerides, VLDL and HDL fractions (p<0,001), attesting for a disturbance in circulating lipid molecules, and suggesting a key role in host-parasite interactions. Our findings provide a global view of the serum proteome in the context of experimental schistosomiasis during the acute phase of infection. It contributes by listing key molecules that could be monitored to inform on the associated inflammatory disease status. We hope it will shed light into uncovered aspects of the Schistosoma mansoni parasitism in the vertebrate host, particularly those related to modulation of the lipid metabolism mediating immune responses.

Liver proteomic analysis reveals acute liver failure induced by lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine in rats involved in neutrophil extracellular trap formation

Objectives

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare life-threatening condition that leads to rapid deterioration of liver function. Although global awareness of ALF consequences is increasing, the precise molecular mechanisms associated with its rapid progression remain unclear. In the present study, we established a rat model of ALF using Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-Gal) and explored the potential molecular mechanism of ALF.

Methods

Multiplexed isobaric tandem mass tag labelling combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to thoroughly screen for differentially expressed proteins in liver samples from LPS/D-Gal-induced ALF rat models.

Results

We identified 175 proteins, whose expression was altered by at least 1.5-fold, between the liver samples of ALF and control groups. Of these, 14 dysregulated proteins mainly participated in the regulation of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. Furthermore, rats with severe ALF showed elevated levels of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, myeloperoxidase, and fibrinogen gamma chain, consistent with NET formation. These findings suggest that the NET formation pathway may have contributed to the regulation of the clinical features and progression of liver injury in ALF rats.

Conclusion

To our knowledge, this study is the first to report a global differential protein expression profile of liver samples from rats with LPS/D-Gal-induced ALF. Our TMT-based quantitative proteomic analysis revealed molecular differences involved in NET formation between the ALF and control rat groups, potential therapeutic targets for ALF treatment as well as fundamental information for further detailed experimental research.

The Aflibercept-Induced MicroRNA Profile in the Vitreous of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Patients Detected by Next-Generation Sequencing

Purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is an important pathogenic factor in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and aflibercept (Eylea) is one of the widely used anti-VEGF agents. This study investigated the microRNA (miRNA) profiles in the vitreous of 5 idiopathic macular hole patients (non-diabetic controls), 5 untreated PDR patients (no-treatment group), and 5 PDR patients treated with intravitreal aflibercept injection (treatment group). Methods: Next-generation sequencing was performed to determine the miRNA profiles. Deregulated miRNAs were validated with quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in another cohort. The mRNA profile data (GSE160310) of PDR patients were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The function of differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs was annotated by bioinformatic analysis and literature study. Results: Twenty-nine miRNAs were significantly dysregulated in the three groups, of which 19,984 target mRNAs were predicted. Hsa-miR-3184-3p, hsa-miR-24-3p, and hsa-miR-197-3p were validated to be remarkably upregulated in no-treatment group versus controls, and significantly downregulated in treatment group versus no-treatment group. In the GSE160310 profile, 204 deregulated protein-coding mRNAs were identified, and finally 179 overlapped mRNAs between the 19,984 target mRNAs and 204 deregulated mRNAs were included for further analysis. Function analysis provided several roles of aflibercept-induced miRNAs, promoting the alternation of drug sensitivity or resistance-related mRNAs, and regulating critical mRNAs involved in angiogenesis and retinal fibrosis. Conclusion: Hsa-miR-3184-3p, hsa-miR-24-3p, and hsa-miR-197-3p were highly expressed in PDR patients, and intravitreal aflibercept injection could reverse this alteration. Intravitreal aflibercept injection may involve in regulating cell sensitivity or resistance to drug, angiogenesis, and retinal fibrosis.

Comparative Analysis of Serum Proteins Between Hepatitis B Virus Genotypes B and C Infection by DIA-Based Quantitative Proteomics

Purpose

In clinical practice, the clinicopathological profiles and outcomes of patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) are different between genotypes B and C. However, little is known about the potential mechanism and differences in specific biological pathways associated with the different genotype. This study aimed to compare the serum protein profile between patients infected with HBV genotype B and those infected with HBV genotype C.

Patients and Methods

A total of 54 serum samples from patients with chronic HBV genotype B infection and those with chronic HBV genotype C infection, and healthy controls were used for the proteomic analysis (n = 18 samples in per group). Serum proteomic profiles were analyzed using data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify differentially expressed proteins (up- or downregulation of at least 1.5-fold) between serum samples from HBV patients infected with HBV genotype B and those infected with genotype C.

Results

We identified 1010 proteins, 53 of which were differentially expressed between the serum samples of the healthy controls and those of HBV genotype B infected patients, and 59 that were differentially expressed between the samples of the healthy controls and those of HBV genotype C infected patients. Furthermore, our results indicated that two proteins identified as being differentially expressed (VWF and C8B) have potential as biomarkers for distinguishing genotype B infected HBV patients from those infected with genotype C.

Conclusion

The results of our DIA-based quantitative proteomic analysis revealed that HBV genotypes B and C are associated with different molecular profiles and may provide fundamental information for further detailed investigations of the molecular mechanism underlying these differences.