Human liver tissue transcriptomics revealed immunometabolic disturbances and related biomarkers in hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure

Combined transcriptomics and TMT-proteomics reveal abnormal complement and coagulation cascades in cow's milk protein allergy

Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is primarily due to the inability of the intestinal mucosa to establish typical immunological tolerance to proteins found in cow's milk, and the specific molecular mechanism is still unclear. In order to investigate molecular alterations in intestinal tissues during CMPA occurrence, this study analyzed the jejunal tissue of β-lactoglobulin (BLG)-sensitized mice through transcriptomics and quantitative tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeled proteomics. A total of 475 differentially expressed genes (256 up-regulated, 219 down-regulated) and 94 differentially expressed proteins (65 up-regulated, 29 down-regulated) were identified. Comparing the KEGG pathways of the two groups, it was found that both were markedly enriched in the signaling pathways of complement and coagulation cascade. Among these, kallikrein B1 (KLKB1) in this pathway is speculated to be pivotal in CMPA. It may potentially enhance the release of bradykinin by activating the kallikrein-kinin system, leading to pro-inflammatory effects and exacerbating intestinal mucosal damage. This study suggests that the pathways of complement and coagulation cascades could be significant in the context of intestinal immunity in CMPA, and KLKB1 may be its potential therapeutic target.

Single-cell Technologies Provide Novel Insights into Liver Physiology and Pathology

The liver is the largest glandular organ in the body and has a unique distribution of cells and biomolecules. However, the treatment outcome of end-stage liver disease is extremely poor. Single-cell sequencing is a new advanced and powerful technique for identifying rare cell populations and biomolecules by analyzing the characteristics of gene expression between individual cells. These cells and biomolecules might be used as potential targets for immunotherapy of liver diseases and contribute to the development of precise individualized treatment. Compared to whole-tissue RNA sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) or other single-cell histological techniques have solved the problem of cell population heterogeneity and characterize molecular changes associated with liver diseases with higher accuracy and resolution. In this review, we comprehensively summarized single-cell approaches including transcriptomic, spatial transcriptomic, immunomic, proteomic, epigenomic, and multiomic technologies, and described their application in liver physiology and pathology. We also discussed advanced techniques and recent studies in the field of single-cell; our review might provide new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of the liver to achieve precise and individualized treatment of liver diseases.