SMOC1 silencing suppresses the angiotensin II-induced myocardial fibrosis of mouse myocardial fibroblasts via affecting the BMP2/Smad pathway

Dynamic alterations in metabolomics and transcriptomics associated with intestinal fibrosis in a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced murine model

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Intestinal fibrosis is a common and severe complication of inflammatory bowel disease without clear pathogenesis. Abnormal expression of host genes and metabolic perturbations might associate with the onset of intestinal fibrosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the development of intestinal fibrosis and the dynamic alterations in both fecal metabolites and host gene expression.

METHODS

We induced intestinal fibrosis in a murine model using 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). TNBS-treated or control mice were sacrificed after 4 and 6 weeks of intervention; alterations in colonic genes and fecal metabolites were determined by transcriptomics and metabolomics, respectively. Differential, tendency, enrichment, and correlation analyses were performed to assess the relationship between host genes and fecal metabolites.

RESULTS

RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that 679 differential genes with enduring changes were mainly enriched in immune response-related signaling pathways and metabolism-related biological processes. Among them, 15 lipid metabolism-related genes were closely related to the development of intestinal fibrosis. Moreover, the fecal metabolic profile was significantly altered during intestinal fibrosis development, especially the lipid metabolites. Particularly, dynamic perturbations in lipids were strongly associated with alterations in lipid metabolism-related genes expression. Additionally, six dynamically altered metabolites might serve as biomarkers to identify colitis-related intestinal fibrosis in the murine model.

CONCLUSIONS

Intestinal fibrosis in colitis mice might be related to dynamic changes in gene expression and metabolites. These findings could provide new insights into the pathogenesis of intestinal fibrosis.

Plasma metabolomics and gene regulatory networks analysis reveal the role of nonstructural SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins in metabolic dysregulation in COVID-19 patients

Metabolomic analysis of blood plasma samples from COVID-19 patients is a promising approach allowing for the evaluation of disease progression. We performed the metabolomic analysis of plasma samples of 30 COVID-19 patients and the 19 controls using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS/MS). In our analysis, we identified 103 metabolites enriched in KEGG metabolic pathways such as amino acid metabolism and the biosynthesis of aminoacyl-tRNAs, which differed significantly between the COVID-19 patients and the controls. Using ANDSystem software, we performed the reconstruction of gene networks describing the potential genetic regulation of metabolic pathways perturbed in COVID-19 patients by SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The nonstructural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 (orf8 and nsp5) and structural protein E were involved in the greater number of regulatory pathways. The reconstructed gene networks suggest the hypotheses on the molecular mechanisms of virus-host interactions in COVID-19 pathology and provide a basis for the further experimental and computer studies of the regulation of metabolic pathways by SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Our metabolomic analysis suggests the need for nonstructural protein-based vaccines and the control strategy to reduce the disease progression of COVID-19.

Yi-Shen-Hua-Shi Granule Alleviates Adriamycin-Induced Glomerular Fibrosis by Suppressing the BMP2/Smad Signaling Pathway

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a common clinical condition with manifestations of nephrotic syndrome and fibrosis of the glomeruli and interstitium. Yi-Shen-Hua-Shi (YSHS) granule has been shown to have a good effect in alleviating nephrotic syndrome (NS) in clinical and in animal models of FSGS, but whether it can alleviate renal fibrosis in FSGS and its mechanism and targets are not clear. In this study, we explored the anti-fibrotic effect and the targets of the YSHS granule in an adriamycin (ADR)-induced FSGS model and found that the YSHS granule significantly improved the renal function of ADR-induced FSGS model mice and also significantly reduced the deposition of collagen fibers and the expression of mesenchymal cell markers FN, vimentin, and α-SMA in the glomeruli of ADR-induced FSGS mice, suggesting that the YSHS granule inhibited the fibrosis of sclerotic glomeruli. Subsequently, a network pharmacology-based approach was used to identify the potential targets of the YSHS granule for the alleviation of glomerulosclerosis in FSGS, and the results showed that the YSHS granule down-regulated the expressions of BMP2, GSTA1, GATS3, BST1, and S100A9 and up-regulated the expressions of TTR and GATM in ADR-induced FSGS model mice. We also proved that the YSHS granule inhibited the fibrosis in the glomeruli of ADR-induced FSGS model mice through the suppression of the BMP2/Smad signaling pathway.

DNA Methylation Analysis Identifies Patterns in Progressive Glioma Grades to Predict Patient Survival

DNA methylation is an epigenetic change to the genome that impacts gene activities without modification to the DNA sequence. Alteration in the methylation pattern is a naturally occurring event throughout the human life cycle which may result in the development of diseases such as cancer. In this study, we analyzed methylation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, under the Lower-Grade Glioma (LGG) and Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) projects, to identify methylation markers that exhibit unique changes in DNA methylation pattern along with tumor grade progression, to predict patient survival. We found ten glioma grade-associated Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites that targeted four genes (SMOC1, KCNA4, SLC25A21, and UPP1) and the methylation pattern is strongly associated with glioma specific molecular alterations, primarily isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation and chromosome 1p/19q codeletion. The ten CpG sites collectively distinguished a cohort of diffuse glioma patients with remarkably poor survival probability. Our study highlights genes (KCNA4 and SLC25A21) that were not previously associated with gliomas to have contributed to the poorer patient outcome. These CpG sites can aid glioma tumor progression monitoring and serve as prognostic markers to identify patients diagnosed with less aggressive and malignant gliomas that exhibit similar survival probability to GBM patients.

Clinical Prescription-Protein-Small Molecule-Disease Strategy (CPSD), A New Strategy for Chinese Medicine Development: A Case Study in Cardiovascular Diseases

Chinese medicine is a national treasure that has been passed down for thousands of years in China. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, there are currently four billion people in the world who use Chinese medicine to treat diseases, accounting for 80% of the world's total population. However, the obscurity of its theory, its unmanageable quality, its complex compositions, and the unknown effective substances and mechanisms are great obstacles to the internationalization of Chinese medicine. Here, we propose a new strategy for the development of Chinese medicine: the clinical prescription (C)-protein (P)-small-molecule (S)-disease (D) strategy, namely the CPSD strategy. The strategy uses clinical prescriptions as the source of medicine and uses computer simulation technology to find small-molecule drugs targeting therapeutic proteins for treating specific diseases so as to deepen awareness of the value of Chinese medicine. At the same time, this article takes cardiovascular drug development as an example to introduce the application of CPSD, which will be instrumental in the further development, modernization, and internationalization of Chinese medicine.