Association of Long Non-Coding RNA Growth Arrest-Specific 5 Genetic Variants with Diabetic Retinopathy

Special Issue "Genetics and Epigenetics in Endocrine Disorders"

In the last decade, the development of high-throughput sequencing methodologies has significantly improved the gathering of genomic information and consequent under-standing of the genetic and epigenetic background of complex and monogenetic endocrine disorders [...].

Potential impact of ADAM-10 genetic variants with the clinical features of oral squamous cell carcinoma

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM-10) involves in the tumour progression, but the impacts of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of ADAM-10 on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of SNP of ADAM-10 on the clinical features of OSCC in male Taiwanese. Five loci of ADAM-10 SNPs including rs653765 (C/T), rs2305421 (A/G), rs514049 (A/C), rs383902 (T/C) and rs2054096 (A/T) were genotyped by TaqMan allelic discrimination in 1138 OSCC patients and 1199 non-OSCC individuals. The ADAM-10 SNP rs2305421 GG (AOR: 1.399, 95% CI: 1.045-1.874, p = 0.024) and G allele (AOR: 1.170, 95% CI: 1.012-1.351, p = 0.034) illustrated a significantly higher genotypic frequencies in the OSCC group compared to the distribution of the ADAM-10 SNP rs2305421 AA wild type. In the subgroup analysis, the ADAM-10 SNP rs383902 TC+CC was significantly correlated to tumour size larger than T2 in betel quid chewer (AOR: 1.375, 95% CI: 1.010-1.872, p = 0.043), while the ADAM-10 SNP rs653765 CT+TT was significantly associated with tumour size larger than T2 in cigarette smoker (AOR: 1.346, 95% CI: 1.023-1.772, p = 0.034). The results from The Cancer Genome Atlas revealed highest ADAM-10 mRNA level in T2 stage of current smokers with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In conclusions, the ADAM-10 SNP rs2305421 G allele is associated with the presence of OSCC, and the ADAM-10 SNP rs383902 TC+CC and ADAM-10 SNP rs653765 CT+TT correlates to large tumour size in specific conditions.

Xiaotangzhike Pill Attenuates the Progression of Diabetes In Vivo through the Mediation of the Akt/GSK-3β Axis

Background

Diabetes seriously threatens the health of people. Traditional Chinese medicine has been proven to inhibit the progression of diabetes. Meanwhile, the Xiaotangzhike pill (XTZK) was known to alleviate the symptom of diabetes. Thus, this research decided to investigate the mechanism underlying the impact of XTZK in diabetes remains unexplored.

Methods

To assess the impact of XTZK in diabetes, in vivo model of diabetes was constructed. The contents of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the rats were tested by the commercial kits. In addition, Masson and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining were applied for assessing the histological changes and fibrosis in the rats, respectively. Furthermore, a western blot was applied to assess the protein levels.

Results

Streptozotocin (STZ) significantly increased the levels of area under the curve (AUC), TG, TC, LDL-C, and decreased the contents of HDL-C in rats, while these phenomena were partially reversed by XTZK. In addition, STZ notably induced inflammatory infiltration and fibrosis in the liver tissues of rats, which was greatly restored by XTZK. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum of rats were notably upregulated by STZ, while the effect of STZ was markedly abolished by XTZK. Meanwhile, STZ-caused the upregulation of p-Smad2 and α-SMA in rats was restored by XTZK. Furthermore, XTZK notably inhibited the progression of Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome in diabetes through the mediation of the Akt/GSK-3β axis.

Conclusion

The Xiaotangzhike pill attenuates the progression of diabetes through the mediation of the Akt/GSK-3β axis. Hence, our study might supply a novel insight into discovering new strategies against diabetes.

Association of Long Noncoding RNA HOTAIR Polymorphism and the Clinical Manifestations of Diabetic Retinopathy

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the possible correlation between the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) and the clinical characteristics of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Four loci of HOTAIR SNPs, including rs920778 (T/C), rs12427129 (C/T), rs4759314 (A/G), and rs1899663 (G/T), were genotyped via the TaqMan allelic discrimination for 276 DR individuals and 452 non-DR patients. The distribution frequency of HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 CT [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.571, 95% CI: 1.025-2.408, p = 0.038], HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 CT+TT (AOR: 1.611, 95% CI: 1.061-2.446, p = 0.025), and HOTAIR SNP rs1899663 TT (AOR: 2.443, 95% CI: 1.066-5.595, p = 0.035) were significantly higher in the DR group. Moreover, the proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) subgroup revealed a significantly higher distribution of HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 CT+TT (AOR: 2.016, 95% CI: 1.096-3.710, p = 0.024) and HOTAIR SNP rs1899663 TT (AOR: 4.693, 95% CI: 1.765-12.479, p = 0.002), and the distribution frequencies of HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 CT (AOR: 3.722, 95% CI: 1.555-8.909, p = 0.003), HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 CT+TT (AOR: 4.070, 95% CI: 1.725-9.600, p = 0.001), and HOTAIR SNP rs1899663 TT (AOR: 11.131, 95% CI: 1.521-81.490, p = 0.018) were significantly higher in the female PDR subgroup. Regarding the clinical characters, the DR patients with HOTAIR SNP rs1899663 GT+TT revealed a significantly shorter duration of diabetes compared to the DR patients with HOTAIR SNP rs1899663 GG (10.54 ± 8.19 versus 12.79 ± 7.73, p = 0.024). In conclusion, HOTAIR SNP rs12427129 and rs1899663 are strongly correlated to the presence of DR, especially for a female with PDR.

Impact of LncRNA GAS5 Genetic Variants and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Phenotypes on the Clinicopathological Characteristics of Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the combined effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in long non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) and the phenotypes of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the clinicopathological characteristics of lung adenocarcinoma. The present study examined the relationship between the GAS5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs145204276 Ins/Del, rs55829688 T/C) and the clinicopathological factors in 539 lung adenocarcinoma patients with or without EGFR mutations. We found that the genotype distributions of the two GAS5 SNPs between different EGFR genotypes were similar after adjusting for age, gender and smoking history. The GAS5 SNP rs145204276 Ins/Del + Del/Del illustrated a higher distribution with an advanced tumor stage (p = 0.030), larger tumor T status (p = 0.019), positive lymph node status (p = 0.014) and distal metastases (p = 0.011) in the EGFR wild type group. In the subgroup analysis of the EGFR wild type population, the presence of GAS5 SNP rs145204276 Ins/Del + Del/Del was correlated to an advanced tumor stage (p = 0.014) and distal metastases (p = 0.020) in non-smokers. In conclusion, these data indicate that the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variant may help predict tumor stage, lymph node metastasis and distal metastases in patients with EGFR wild type lung adenocarcinoma.