Deleterious Rare Mutations of GLI1 Dysregulate Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Human Congenital Heart Disease

Systematical Evaluation of the Structure-Cardiotoxicity Relationship of 7-Azaindazole-based PI3K Inhibitors Designed by Bioisosteric Approach

A growing concern of cardiotoxicity induced by PI3K inhibitors has raised the requirements to evaluate the structure-cardiotoxicity relationship (SCR) in the development process of novel inhibitors. Based on three bioisosteric 7-azaindazole-based candidate inhibitors namely FD269, FD268 and FD274 that give same order of inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) magnitude against PI3Ks, in this work, we proposed to systematically evaluate the SCR of 7-azaindazole-based PI3K inhibitors designed by bioisosteric approach. The 24-h lethal concentrations 50% (LC50) of FD269, FD268 and FD274 against zebrafish embryos were 0.35, 4.82 and above 50 μM (not detected), respectively. Determination of the heart rate, pericardial and yolk-sac areas and vascular malformation confirmed the remarkable reduction in the cardiotoxicity of from FD269 to FD268 and to FD274. The IC50s of all three compounds against the hERG channel were tested on the CHO cell line that constitutively expressing hERG channel, which were all higher than 20 μM. The transcriptomic analysis revealed that FD269 and FD268 induced the up-regulation of noxo1b, which encodes a subunit of an NADPH oxidase evoking the oxidative stress. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry tests confirmed the structure-dependent attenuation of the overproduction of ROS and cardiac apoptosis. Our results verified the feasibility of bioisosteric replacement to attenuate the cardiotoxicity of 7-azaindazole-based PI3K inhibitors, suggesting that the screening for PI3K inhibitors with both high potency and low cardiotoxicity from bioisosteres would be a beneficial trial.

Study on Potential Differentially Expressed Genes in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis by Bioinformatics and Next-Generation Sequencing Data Analysis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive lung disease with reduced quality of life and earlier mortality, but its pathogenesis and key genes are still unclear. In this investigation, bioinformatics was used to deeply analyze the pathogenesis of IPF and related key genes, so as to investigate the potential molecular pathogenesis of IPF and provide guidance for clinical treatment. Next-generation sequencing dataset GSE213001 was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between IPF and normal control group. The DEGs between IPF and normal control group were screened with the DESeq2 package of R language. The Gene Ontology (GO) and REACTOME pathway enrichment analyses of the DEGs were performed. Using the g:Profiler, the function and pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed. Then, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed via the Integrated Interactions Database (IID) database. Cytoscape with Network Analyzer was used to identify the hub genes. miRNet and NetworkAnalyst databaseswereused to construct the targeted microRNAs (miRNAs), transcription factors (TFs), and small drug molecules. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to validate the hub genes. A total of 958 DEGs were screened out in this study, including 479 up regulated genes and 479 down regulated genes. Most of the DEGs were significantly enriched in response to stimulus, GPCR ligand binding, microtubule-based process, and defective GALNT3 causes HFTC. In combination with the results of the PPI network, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network, hub genes including LRRK2, BMI1, EBP, MNDA, KBTBD7, KRT15, OTX1, TEKT4, SPAG8, and EFHC2 were selected. Cyclothiazide and rotigotinethe are predicted small drug molecules for IPF treatment. Our findings will contribute to identification of potential biomarkers and novel strategies for the treatment of IPF, and provide a novel strategy for clinical therapy.

Identification of SOX18 as a New Gene Predisposing to Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most frequent kind of birth deformity in human beings and the leading cause of neonatal mortality worldwide. Although genetic etiologies encompassing aneuploidy, copy number variations, and mutations in over 100 genes have been uncovered to be involved in the pathogenesis of CHD, the genetic components predisposing to CHD in most cases remain unclear. We recruited a family with CHD from the Chinese Han population in the present investigation. Through whole-exome sequencing analysis of selected family members, a new SOX18 variation, namely NM_018419.3:c.349A>T; p.(Lys117*), was identified and confirmed to co-segregate with the CHD phenotype in the entire family by Sanger sequencing analysis. The heterozygous variant was absent from the 384 healthy volunteers enlisted as control individuals. Functional exploration via luciferase reporter analysis in cultivated HeLa cells revealed that Lys117*-mutant SOX18 lost transactivation on its target genes NR2F2 and GATA4, two genes responsible for CHD. Moreover, the genetic variation terminated the synergistic activation between SOX18 and NKX2.5, another gene accountable for CHD. The findings strongly indicate SOX18 as a novel gene contributing to CHD, which helps address challenges in the clinical genetic diagnosis and prenatal prophylaxis of CHD.