A comparative analysis of genetic diversity of candidate genes associated with type 2 diabetes in worldwide populations

Effects of Adenovirus-Mediated Overexpression of JAZF1 on Chronic Inflammation: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

BACKGROUND Insulin sensitivity and inflammation can be affected by juxtaposition with another zinc finger gene 1 (JAZF1), but its precise role in chronic inflammation is unclear. In this study, JAZF1-overexpression adenovirus plasmids were transfected into macrophages, CD4⁺ T cells, and C57BL/6J mice to assess the role of JAZF1 in chronic inflammation. MATERIAL AND METHODS JAZF1 was cloned into an adenovirus skeleton plasmid and transfected in HEK293 cells to package and enrich the virus particles. In vitro, the JAZF1 overexpression adenovirus vector (PAD-JAZF1) was cultured with peritoneal macrophages and peripheral blood CD4⁺ T cells of C57BL/6J mice, and samples were evaluated using flow cytometry. In vivo, PAD-JAZF1 was introduced into C57BL/6J mice, and livers were collected to evaluate factors related to inflammation by hematoxylin & eosin and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS In vitro, PAD-JAZF1 decreased total macrophages, CD11c⁺ macrophages, and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, but increased CD206⁺ macrophages. It also decreased total CD4⁺T cells, active T cells, memory T cells, and the secretion of IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-γ, but increased Treg cells and restrictive T cells. In vivo, compared to those in the control group transfected with the adenovirus skeleton vector, mice transfected with the PAD-JAZF1 recombinant adenovirus had fewer CD11c⁺ ATMs and CD4⁺ T cells, lower levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6, and higher IL-10 concentrations in the liver. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that JAZF1 limits chronic inflammation by reducing macrophage and CD4⁺T cell populations, altering subtype differentiation, and regulating the secretion of immune-related factors.

The genomic landscape of African populations in health and disease

A deeper appreciation of the complex architecture of African genomes is critical to the global effort to understand human history, biology and differential distribution of disease by geography and ancestry. Here, we report on how the growing engagement of African populations in genome science is providing new insights into the forces that shaped human genomes before and after the Out-of-Africa migrations. As a result of this human evolutionary history, African ancestry populations have the greatest genomic diversity in the world, and this diversity has important ramifications for genomic research. In the case of pharmacogenomics, for instance, variants of consequence are not limited to those identified in other populations, and diversity within African ancestry populations precludes summarizing risk across different African ethnic groups. Exposure of Africans to fatal pathogens, such as Plasmodium falciparum, Lassa Virus and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, has resulted in elevated frequencies of alleles conferring survival advantages for infectious diseases, but that are maladaptive in modern-day environments. Illustrating with cardiometabolic traits, we show that while genomic research in African ancestry populations is still in early stages, there are already many examples of novel and African ancestry-specific disease loci that have been discovered. Furthermore, the shorter haplotypes in African genomes have facilitated fine-mapping of loci discovered in other human ancestry populations. Given the insights already gained from the interrogation of African genomes, it is imperative to continue and increase our efforts to describe genomic risk in and across African ancestry populations.