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Colloca L, Mocci E, Wang Y, Massalee R, Chen S, Clark J, Johnson K, Fidalgo GMP, Wilson GM, Goldman D, Dorsey SG. Transcriptomic Profiles Associated with Experimental Placebo Effects in Chronic Pain. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2024; 116:380-389. [PMID: 38711244 PMCID: PMC11251865 DOI: 10.1002/cpt.3286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Gene expression networks associated with placebo effects are understudied; in this study, we identified transcriptomic profiles associated with placebo responsivity. Participants suffering from chronic pain underwent a verbal suggestion and conditioning paradigm with individually tailored thermal painful stimulations to elicit conditioned placebo effects. Participants reported pain intensity on a visual analog scale (VAS) anchored from zero = no pain to 100 = maximum imaginable pain. RNA was extracted from venous blood and RNA sequencing and validation tests were performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with placebo effects, controlling for sex and level of pain. Unbiased enrichment analyses were performed to identify biological processes associated with placebo effects. Of the 10,700 protein-coding genes that passed quality control filters, 667 were found to be associated with placebo effects (FDR <0.05). Most genes (97%) upregulated were associated with larger placebo effects. The 17 top transcriptome-wide significant genes were further validated via RT-qPCR in an independent cohort of chronic pain participants. Six of them (CCDC85B, FBXL15, HAGH, PI3, SELENOM, and TNFRSF4) showed positive and significant (P < 0.05) correlation with placebo effects in the cohort. The overall DEGs were highly enriched in regulation of expression of SLITs and ROBOs (R-HSA-9010553, FDR = 1.26e-33), metabolism of RNA (R-HSA-8953854, FDR = 1.34e-30), Huntington's disease (hsa05016, FDR = 9.84e-31), and ribosome biogenesis (GO:0042254, FDR = 2.67e-15); alternations in these pathways might jeopardize the proneness to elicit placebo effects. Future studies are needed to replicate this finding and better understand the unique molecular dynamics of people who are more or less affected by pain and placebo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Evelina Mocci
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Rachel Massalee
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Shuo Chen
- Maryland Psychiatry Research Center, School of Medicine, Baltimore, US
| | - Jewel Clark
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Kesha Johnson
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Gloria M. Patron Fidalgo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - Gerald M. Wilson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
| | - David Goldman
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIH, Rockville, MD 20855, US
| | - Susan G. Dorsey
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, US
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Kammala A, Benson M, Ganguly E, Richardson L, Menon R. Functional role and regulation of permeability-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the fetal membrane during drug transportation. Am J Reprod Immunol 2022; 87:e13515. [PMID: 34873775 PMCID: PMC8776608 DOI: 10.1111/aji.13515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Na+ /H+ exchange regulatory factor-1 (NHERF-1) is a class I PDZ (PSD95/Discs-large/ZO-1) binding protein involved in cell-surface expression and stabilization of transporter proteins, including permeability-glycoprotein (P-gp) in various cell types. P-gp, expressed in placental trophoblasts, is an efflux transporter protein that influences the pharmacokinetics of various drugs used during pregnancy. Previously we have reported that NHERF-1 regulates fetal membrane inflammation. However, the role of NHERF-1 in regulating P-gp in the fetal membrane during drug transportation remains unclear. This study determined the interplay between NHERF-1 and P-gp in human fetal membrane cells. METHODS Fetal membranes from normal, term cesareans were screened for P-gp by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Chorionic trophoblast (CTC), with the highest expression of P-gp among fetal membrane cells, was further used to test interactive properties between NHERF-1 and P-gp. BeWo (placental trophoblast cell line) cells were used as a control. Immunoprecipitation (IP) of CTC lysates using the P-gp antibody followed by western blot determined co-precipitation of NHERF-1. Silencing NHERF-1 using small interfering RNA further tested the relevance of NHERF-1 in P-gp expression and function in CTC and BeWo cells. NHERF-1 regulation of P-gp's efflux function (drug resistance) was further tested using the ENZOTM efflux dye kit. RESULTS Immunohistochemistry localized, and western blot confirmed P-gp in human fetal membranes, primarily in the CTC with limited expression in the amnion epithelial layer. P-gp expression in the membranes was similar to that seen in the placenta. IP data showed P-gp co-precipitating with NHERF1. Silencing of NHERF-1 resulted in significant drug resistance suggesting P-gp function mediated through NHERF1 in CTCs. CONCLUSION Proinflammatory mediator NHERF-1 regulates P-gp and control drug transportation across the fetal membranes. Our data suggest a novel functional role for fetal membranes during pregnancy. Besides the placenta, fetal membranes may also regulate efflux of materials at the feto-maternal interface and control drug transport during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ramkumar Menon
- Corresponding author: Ramkumar Menon, Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Director of the Division of Basic Science and Translational Research, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, Texas 77555-1062, USA
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Henrich B, Hammerlage S, Scharf S, Haberhausen D, Fürnkranz U, Köhrer K, Peitzmann L, Fiori PL, Spergser J, Pfeffer K, Dilthey AT. Characterisation of mobile genetic elements in Mycoplasma hominis with the description of ICEHo-II, a variant mycoplasma integrative and conjugative element. Mob DNA 2020; 11:30. [PMID: 33292499 PMCID: PMC7648426 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-020-00225-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mobile genetic elements are found in genomes throughout the microbial world, mediating genome plasticity and important prokaryotic phenotypes. Even the cell wall-less mycoplasmas, which are known to harbour a minimal set of genes, seem to accumulate mobile genetic elements. In Mycoplasma hominis, a facultative pathogen of the human urogenital tract and an inherently very heterogeneous species, four different MGE-classes had been detected until now: insertion sequence ISMhom-1, prophage MHoV-1, a tetracycline resistance mediating transposon, and ICEHo, a species-specific variant of a mycoplasma integrative and conjugative element encoding a T4SS secretion system (termed MICE). RESULTS To characterize the prevalence of these MGEs, genomes of 23 M. hominis isolates were assembled using whole genome sequencing and bioinformatically analysed for the presence of mobile genetic elements. In addition to the previously described MGEs, a new ICEHo variant was found, which we designate ICEHo-II. Of 15 ICEHo-II genes, five are common MICE genes; eight are unique to ICEHo-II; and two represent a duplication of a gene also present in ICEHo-I. In 150 M. hominis isolates and based on a screening PCR, prevalence of ICEHo-I was 40.7%; of ICEHo-II, 28.7%; and of both elements, 15.3%. Activity of ICEHo-I and -II was demonstrated by detection of circularized extrachromosomal forms of the elements through PCR and subsequent Sanger sequencing. CONCLUSIONS Nanopore sequencing enabled the identification of mobile genetic elements and of ICEHo-II, a novel MICE element of M. hominis, whose phenotypic impact and potential impact on pathogenicity can now be elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Henrich
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.
| | - Stephanie Hammerlage
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Sebastian Scharf
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.,Department of Haematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, Medical Faculty, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Diana Haberhausen
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Ursula Fürnkranz
- Institute for Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Pathophysiology, Immunology and Infectiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl Köhrer
- Biological and Medical Research Centre (BMFZ) of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Lena Peitzmann
- Biological and Medical Research Centre (BMFZ) of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Pier Luigi Fiori
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Joachim Spergser
- Institute of Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Klaus Pfeffer
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Alexander T Dilthey
- Institute of Med. Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene of the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.,Institute of Medical Statistics and Computational Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Cervicovaginal natural antimicrobial expression in pregnancy and association with spontaneous preterm birth. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12018. [PMID: 32694552 PMCID: PMC7374562 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68329-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
There is much interest in the role of innate immune system proteins (antimicrobial peptides) in the inflammatory process associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). After promising pilot work, we aimed to validate the association between the antimicrobial peptides/proteins elafin and cathelicidin and sPTB. An observational cohort study of 405 women at high-risk, and 214 women at low-risk of sPTB. Protein concentrations of elafin and cathelicidin, and the enzyme human neutrophil elastase (HNE) were measured in over 1,000 cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) samples (10 to 24 weeks’ gestation). Adjusted CVF cathelicidin and HNE concentrations (but not elafin) were raised in high-risk women who developed cervical shortening and who delivered prematurely and were predictive of sPTB < 37 weeks, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.75 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.81) for cathelicidin concentration at 14 to 15+6 weeks. Elafin concentrations were affected by gestation, body mass index and smoking. CVF elafin in early pregnancy was modestly predictive of sPTB < 34 weeks (AUC 0.63, 0.56–0.70). Alterations in innate immune response proteins in early pregnancy are predictive of sPTB. Further investigation is warranted to understand the drivers for this, and their potential to contribute towards clinically useful prediction techniques.
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Xu M, Deng J, Xu K, Zhu T, Han L, Yan Y, Yao D, Deng H, Wang D, Sun Y, Chang C, Zhang X, Dai J, Yue L, Zhang Q, Cai X, Zhu Y, Duan H, Liu Y, Li D, Zhu Y, Radstake TRDJ, Balak DM, Xu D, Guo T, Lu C, Yu X. In-depth serum proteomics reveals biomarkers of psoriasis severity and response to traditional Chinese medicine. Theranostics 2019; 9:2475-2488. [PMID: 31131048 PMCID: PMC6526001 DOI: 10.7150/thno.31144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Serum and plasma contain abundant biological information that reflect the body's physiological and pathological conditions and are therefore a valuable sample type for disease biomarkers. However, comprehensive profiling of the serological proteome is challenging due to the wide range of protein concentrations in serum. Methods: To address this challenge, we developed a novel in-depth serum proteomics platform capable of analyzing the serum proteome across ~10 orders or magnitude by combining data obtained from Data Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry (DIA-MS) and customizable antibody microarrays. Results: Using psoriasis as a proof-of-concept disease model, we screened 50 serum proteomes from healthy controls and psoriasis patients before and after treatment with traditional Chinese medicine (YinXieLing) on our in-depth serum proteomics platform. We identified 106 differentially-expressed proteins in psoriasis patients involved in psoriasis-relevant biological processes, such as blood coagulation, inflammation, apoptosis and angiogenesis signaling pathways. In addition, unbiased clustering and principle component analysis revealed 58 proteins discriminating healthy volunteers from psoriasis patients and 12 proteins distinguishing responders from non-responders to YinXieLing. To further demonstrate the clinical utility of our platform, we performed correlation analyses between serum proteomes and psoriasis activity and found a positive association between the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score with three serum proteins (PI3, CCL22, IL-12B). Conclusion: Taken together, these results demonstrate the clinical utility of our in-depth serum proteomics platform to identify specific diagnostic and predictive biomarkers of psoriasis and other immune-mediated diseases.
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Stalberg C, Noda N, Polettini J, Jacobson B, Menon R. Pigment epithelial-derived factor in human fetal membranes. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2017; 31:2058-2065. [PMID: 28562170 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2017.1335707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Our main objective was to document, pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF), a secreted serine protease inhibitor with anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties, expression in human fetal membranes from preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes (pPROM) and in in vitro cultures stimulated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) or lipopolysaccharides (LPS), two major risk factors for pPROM (behavioral and bacterial, respectively). METHOD We documented PEDF mRNA expression in clinical samples of fetal membranes from patients with pPROM using quantitative RT-PCR. Also, mRNA and protein levels were documented in fetal membranes (from normal term cesarean sections [not in labor]) in an organ explant system stimulated with CSE or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to localize PEDF in fetal membranes. RESULTS We report no changes in PEDF mRNA expression in pPROM compared to term births (p = .59) or after treatment with CSE or LPS. However, by adding sulforaphane the PEDF mRNA expression increased significantly p < .000032. PEDF was localized to both amnion and chorion layers, but no difference was seen in staining intensities after CSE or LPS treatment compared to control. CONCLUSIONS PEDF, a product of fetal membrane cells, is unaltered in pPROM or after exposure to risk factors of pPROM. The antioxidant stimulating substance sulforaphane contribute to an increase in PEDF mRNA in fetal membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Stalberg
- a Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Perinatal Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston , Galveston , TX , USA.,b University of Gothenburg, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Ostra , Gothenburg , Sweden
| | - Nathalia Noda
- a Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Perinatal Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston , Galveston , TX , USA.,c Department of Pathology , Botucatu Medical School, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista , Botucatu , Brazil
| | - Jossimara Polettini
- a Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Perinatal Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston , Galveston , TX , USA.,c Department of Pathology , Botucatu Medical School, UNESP - Univ. Estadual Paulista , Botucatu , Brazil
| | - Bo Jacobson
- d Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Sahlgrenska Academy , Gothenburg , Sweden.,e Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics, Area of Health Data and Digitalisation , Norwegian Institute of Public Health , Oslo , Norway
| | - Ramkumar Menon
- a Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Perinatal Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston , Galveston , TX , USA
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