The Relevance of Noncoding DNA Variations of Paraoxonase Gene Cluster in Atherosclerosis-Related Diseases

Paraoxonase 1: evolution of the enzyme and of its role in protecting against atherosclerosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review the discoveries which led to the concept that serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is inversely related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) incidence, how this association came to be regarded as causal and how such a role might have evolved.

RECENT FINDINGS

Animal models suggest a causal link between PON1 present on HDL and atherosclerosis. Serum PON1 activity predicts ASCVD with a similar reliability to HDL cholesterol, but at the extremes of high and low HDL cholesterol, there is discordance with PON1 being potentially more accurate. The paraoxonase gene family has its origins in the earliest life forms. Its greatest hydrolytic activity is towards lactones and organophosphates, both of which can be generated in the natural environment. It is active towards a wide range of substrates and thus its conservation may have resulted from improved survival of species facing a variety of evolutionary challenges.

SUMMARY

Protection against ASCVD is likely to be the consequence of some promiscuous activity of PON1, but nonetheless has the potential for exploitation to improve risk prediction and prevention of ASCVD.

The Regulatory Variant -108C/T in the Promoter of Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) Gene has a More Important Role in Regulating PON1 Activity Compared to rs3735590 in 3'-UTR in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Background

This study aimed to assess the serum activity of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) based on two genetic variants including the -108C/T variant in the promoter region and the rs3735590 variant in the binding site of miR-616 at the 3'-UTR of the PON1 gene.

Materials and Methods

A total of 140 subjects who exhibited clinical symptoms of CAD underwent diagnostic coronary angiography. The patients with CAD were further categorized into two groups: single-vessel disease (SVD) and multi-vessel disease (MVD). The study variants were genotyped using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique after polymerase chain reaction amplification.

Results

After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, metformin, and statin usage, a significant association was observed between the -108C/T variant and PON1 activity (P < 0.001). In the sub-groups of both SVD and MVD, individuals with the TC+CC genotypes exhibited significantly higher PON1 activity compared to TT homozygotes (P = 0.001 for SVD and P = 0.01 for MVD). As for the rs3735590 variant, individuals with the A allele (GA+AA genotypes) had higher PON1 activity compared to those with the GG genotype in both the SVD and MVD groups, although the results did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions

Our study findings indicate a significant decrease in PON1 activity among patients with obstructive CAD. Notably, our results suggest that the -108C/T variant exerts a greater influence on PON1 activity compared to the rs3735590 variant. These findings highlight the crucial role of the -108C/T variant in modulating PON1 activity within the context of atherosclerosis.

Oxidative Stress and Phototherapy in Atopic Dermatitis: Mechanisms, Role, and Future Perspectives

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which the overproduction of reactive oxygen species plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and persistence of inflammatory lesions. Phototherapy represents one of the most used therapeutic options, with benefits in the clinical picture. Studies have demonstrated the immunomodulatory effect of phototherapy and its role in reducing molecule hallmarks of oxidative stress. In this review, we report the data present in literature dealing with the main signaling molecular pathways involved in oxidative stress after phototherapy to target atopic dermatitis-affected cells. Since oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and its flare-up, new research lines could be opened to study new drugs that act on this mechanism, perhaps in concert with phototherapy.

The Relationship between Cancer and Paraoxonase 1

Extensive research has been carried out to understand and elucidate the mechanisms of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) in the development of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, and inflammatory diseases. This review focuses on the relationship between PON1 and cancer. The data suggest that PON1, oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and cancer are closely linked. Certainly, the gene expression of PON1 will remain challenging to study. Therefore, targeting PON1, redox-sensitive pathways, and transcription factors promise prevention and therapy in the development of several diseases, including cancer.

Application of artificial intelligence for detection of chemico-biological interactions associated with oxidative stress and DNA damage

In recent years, various AI-based methods have been developed in order to uncover chemico-biological interactions associated with DNA damage and oxidative stress. Various decision trees, bayesian networks, random forests, logistic regression models, support vector machines as well as deep learning tools, have great potential in the area of molecular biology and toxicology, and it is estimated that in the future, they will greatly contribute to our understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with DNA damage and repair. In this concise review, we discuss recent attempts to build machine learning tools for assessment of radiation - induced DNA damage as well as algorithms that can analyze the data from the most frequently used DNA damage assays in molecular biology. We also review recent works on the detection of antioxidant proteins with machine learning, and the use of AI-related methods for prediction and evaluation of noncoding DNA sequences. Finally, we discuss previously published research on the potential application of machine learning tools in aging research.