Linkage analysis combined with whole-exome sequencing identifies a novel prothrombin (F2) gene mutation in a Dutch Caucasian family with unexplained thrombosis

Whole-Exome Sequencing in a Family with an Unexplained Tendency for Venous Thromboembolism: Multicomponent Prediction of Low-Frequency Variant Deleteriousness and of Individual Protein Interaction

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) in families with an unexplained tendency for venous thromboembolism (VTE) may favor detection of low-frequency variants in genes with known contribution to hemostasis or associated with VTE-related phenotypes. WES analysis in six family members, three of whom affected by documented VTE, filtered for MAF < 0.04 in 192 candidate genes, revealed 22 heterozygous (16 missense and six synonymous) variants in patients. Functional prediction by multi-component bioinformatics tools, implemented by a database/literature search, including ClinVar annotation and QTL analysis, prioritized 12 missense variants, three of which (CRP Leu61Pro, F2 Asn514Lys and NQO1 Arg139Trp) were present in all patients, and the frequent functional variants FGB Arg478Lys and IL1A Ala114Ser. Combinations of prioritized variants in each patient were used to infer functional protein interactions. Different interaction patterns, supported by high-quality evidence, included eight proteins intertwined in the "acute phase" (CRP, F2, SERPINA1 and IL1A) and/or in the "fibrinogen complex" (CRP, F2, PLAT, THBS1, VWF and FGB) significantly enriched terms. In a wide group of candidate genes, this approach highlighted six low-frequency variants (CRP Leu61Pro, F2 Asn514Lys, SERPINA1 Arg63Cys, THBS1 Asp901Glu, VWF Arg1399His and PLAT Arg164Trp), five of which were top ranked for predicted deleteriousness, which in different combinations may contribute to disease susceptibility in members of this family.

Reveals of candidate active ingredients in Justicia and its anti-thrombotic action of mechanism based on network pharmacology approach and experimental validation

Thrombotic diseases seriously threaten human life. Justicia, as a common Chinese medicine, is usually used for anti-inflammatory treatment, and further studies have found that it has an inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation. Therefore, it can be inferred that Justicia can be used as a therapeutic drug for thrombosis. This work aims to reveal the pharmacological mechanism of the anti-thrombotic effect of Justicia through network pharmacology combined with wet experimental verification. During the analysis, 461 compound targets were predicted from various databases and 881 thrombus-related targets were collected. Then, herb-compound-target network and protein-protein interaction network of disease and prediction targets were constructed and cluster analysis was applied to further explore the connection between the targets. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway (KEGG) enrichment were used to further determine the association between target proteins and diseases. Finally, the expression of hub target proteins of the core component and the anti-thrombotic effect of Justicia's core compounds were verified by experiments. In conclusion, the core bioactive components, especially justicidin D, can reduce thrombosis by regulating F2, MMP9, CXCL12, MET, RAC1, PDE5A, and ABCB1. The combination of network pharmacology and the experimental research strategies proposed in this paper provides a comprehensive method for systematically exploring the therapeutic mechanism of multi-component medicine.

The genetics of venous thromboembolism: a systematic review of thrombophilia families

Genetic risk factors are important for the occurrence and prognosis of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The studies of thrombophilia families are important for dissecting the genetic background of the thrombotic disease. We conducted the systematic review of all published family-based studies on VTE genetics across all racial groups through PubMed and Embase prior to 13th April 2020. This systematic review of 287 families (including 225 Caucasian families, 52 East Asian families, and families of other ethnicities) revealed a total of 21 different genes; the five most reported mutated genes were F5 (88/287, 30.7%), SERPINC1 (67/287, 23.3%), PROC (65/287, 22.6%), F2 (40/287, 13.9%) and PROS1 (48/287, 16.7%). For Caucasian families, F5 mutations were most frequently reported at 37.8% (85/225), while PROS1 mutations were most frequently reported, at 40.4% (21/52), for East Asian families (Chinese, Japanese and Korean). Factor V Leiden was reported more frequently in Caucasians than in East Asians. Missense mutations were reported frequently in the SERPINC1, PROC and PROS1 genes. In conclusion, our study found the most likely mutated genes associated with VTE among different ethnic groups and provided indications for VTE genetic testing and research in the future.