Identifying transcriptomic profiles of iron-quercetin complex treated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers and diabetic patients

Peripheral blood is an alternative source of stem/progenitor cells for regenerative medicine owing to its ease of retrieval and blood bank storage. Previous in vitro studies indicated that the conditioned medium derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) treated with the iron-quercetin complex (IronQ) contains potent angiogenesis and wound-healing properties. This study aims to unveil the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing the effects of IronQ on the transcriptome profiles of human PBMCs from healthy volunteers and those with diabetes mellitus (DM) using RNA sequencing analysis. Our findings revealed 3741 and 2204 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) when treating healthy and DM PBMCs with IronQ, respectively. Functional enrichment analyses underscored the biological processes shared by the DEGs in both conditions, including inflammatory responses, cell migration, cellular stress responses, and angiogenesis. A comprehensive exploration of these molecular alterations exposed a network of 20 hub genes essential in response to stimuli, cell migration, immune processes, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. The activation of these pathways enabled PBMCs to potentiate angiogenesis and tissue repair. Corroborating this, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and cell phenotyping confirmed the upregulation of candidate genes associated with anti-inflammatory, pro-angiogenesis, and tissue repair processes in IronQ-treated PBMCs. In summary, combining IronQ and PBMCs brings about substantial shifts in gene expression profiles and activates pathways that are crucial for tissue repair and immune response, which is promising for the enhancement of the therapeutic potential of PBMCs, especially in diabetic wound healing.

Ultrarapid and high-resolution HLA class I typing using transposase-based nanopore sequencing applied in pharmacogenetic testing

Nanopore sequencing has been examined as a method for rapid and high-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing in recent years. We aimed to apply ultrarapid nanopore-based HLA typing for HLA class I alleles associated with drug hypersensitivity, including HLA-A*31:01, HLA-B*15:02, and HLA-C*08:01. Most studies have used the Oxford Nanopore Ligation Sequencing kit for HLA typing, which requires several enzymatic reactions and remains relatively expensive, even when the samples are multiplexed. Here, we used the Oxford Nanopore Rapid Barcoding kit, which is transposase-based, with library preparation taking less than 1 h of hands-on time and requiring minimal reagents. Twenty DNA samples were genotyped for HLA-A, -B, and -C; 11 samples were from individuals of different ethnicity and nine were from Thai individuals. Two primer sets, a commercial set and a published set, were used to amplify the HLA-A, -B, and -C genes. HLA-typing tools that used different algorithms were applied and compared. We found that without using several third-party reagents, the transposase-based method reduced the hands-on time from approximately 9 h to 4 h, making this a viable approach for obtaining same-day results from 2 to 24 samples. However, an imbalance in the PCR amplification of different haplotypes could affect the accuracy of typing results. This work demonstrates the ability of transposase-based sequencing to report 3-field HLA alleles and its potential for race- and population-independent testing at considerably decreased time and cost.

Introduction of new alternative pipeline using multiplexed fast COLD‑PCR together with sequencing approach highlighting pharmacoeconomics by detection of CYP variants

In precision medicine, multiple factors are involved in clinical decision-making because of ethnic and racial genetic diversity, family history and other health factors. Although advanced techniques have evolved, there is still an economic obstacle to pharmacogenetic (PGx) implementation in developing countries. The aim of the present study was to provide an alternative pipeline that roughly estimate patient carrier type and prescreen out wild-type samples before sequencing or genotyping to determine genetic status. Fast co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature (COLD)-PCR was used to differentiate genetic variant non-carriers from carriers. The majority of drugs are hepatically cleared by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and genes encoding CYP enzymes are highly variable. Of all the CYPs, CYP2 family of CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6 isoforms have clinically significant impact on drugs of PGx testing. Therefore, five variants associated with these CYPs were selected for preliminary testing with this novel pipeline. For fast COLD-PCR, the optimal annealing temperature and critical denaturation temperature were determined and evaluated via Sanger sequencing of 27 randomly collected samples. According to precise Tc, to perform in a single-reaction is difficult. However, in this study, this issue was resolved by combination of precise Tc using 10+10+20 cycles. The results showed 100% sensitivity and specificity, with perfect agreement (κ=1.0) compared with Sanger sequencing. The present study provides a prescreening platform by introducing multiplex fast COLD-PCR as a pharmacoeconomic implementation. Our study just present in five variants which are not enough to describe patient metabolic status. Therefore, other actional genetic variants are still needed to cover the actual patient's genotypes. Nevertheless, the proposed method can well-present its efficiency and reliability for serving as a PGx budget platform in the future.

Iron(III)-Quercetin Complexes' Safety for MRI Cell Tracking in Cell Therapy Applications: Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Assessment

The theranostic agent iron-quercetin complex (IronQ) provides a T1-positive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent. The magnetically IronQ-labeled cells can be used for cell tracking and have active biological applications in promoting cell and tissue regeneration. However, a detailed investigation of IronQ's cytotoxicity and genotoxicity is necessary. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the possibility of IronQ inducing cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We evaluated the vitality of cells, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the level of antioxidant enzymes, and the stability of the genetic material in PBMCs treated with IronQ. The results show that IronQ had a negligible impact on toxicological parameters such as ROS production and lipid peroxidation, indicating that it is not harmful. IronQ-labeled PMBCs experienced an insignificant depletion of antioxidant enzyme levels at the highest concentration of IronQ. There is no evident genotoxicity in the magnetically IronQ-labeled PBMCs. The results show that IronQ does not potentiate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects of the labeled PMBCs and might be safe for therapeutic and cell tracking purposes. These results could provide a reference guideline for the toxicological analysis of IronQ in in vivo studies.

Two novel alleles on Fucosyltransferase 2 from northern Thai para-Bombay family and computational prediction on mutation effect

BACKGROUND

Major characteristics of the para-Bombay phenotype are the absence of ABH antigens on red blood cells due to fucosyltransferase 1 (FUT1) gene mutation and the presence of these antigens in body secretions due to the active fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) gene. An ABO blood group discrepancy can be identified via serological testing, and additional tests can be performed for confirmation. This study aimed to resolve the ABO discrepancy and report two novel alleles on the FUT2 gene in northern Thai para-Bombay families.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Twelve blood samples were collected from five suspected para-Bombay donors and their families. Nucleotide sequences of ABO, FUT1, and FUT2 were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the effect of suspected novel FUT2 alleles.

RESULTS

All samples exhibited normal ABO alleles, concordant with serological test results. FUT1 exhibited three known variants (c.328G>A, c.424C>T, and c.658C>T). Although FUT2 exhibited two known variants (c.357C>T and c.385A>T), two novel alleles were observed. One allele consisted of c.98A>G, c.101T>G, and c.357C>T with predicted normal transferase activity, whereas the other consisted of c.357C>T and c.617T>C with predicted abnormal enzyme activity.

DISCUSSION

Two novel alleles in FUT2 were reported among the affected para-Bombay individuals of northern Thai families. The c.617T>C variant caused an amino acid change from valine to alanine at position 206, predicted to be an inactive FUT2 enzyme. Inheritance of this variant with the recessive FUT1 allele may lead to inheritance of the rare Bombay blood group in the progeny.

Iron-Quercetin Complex Preconditioning of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Accelerates Angiogenic and Fibroblast Migration: Implications for Wound Healing

Cell-based therapy is a highly promising treatment paradigm in ischemic disease due to its ability to repair tissue when implanted into a damaged site. These therapeutic effects involve a strong paracrine component resulting from the high levels of bioactive molecules secreted in response to the local microenvironment. Therefore, the secreted therapeutic can be modulated by preconditioning the cells during in vitro culturing. Herein, we investigated the potential use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes, the "iron-quercetin complex" or IronQ, for preconditioning peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to expand proangiogenic cells and enhance their secreted therapeutic factors. PBMCs obtained from healthy donor blood were cultured in the presence of the iron-quercetin complex. Differentiated preconditioning PBMCs were characterized by immunostaining. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was carried out to describe the secreted cytokines. In vitro migration and tubular formation using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were completed to investigate the proangiogenic efficacy. IronQ significantly increased mononuclear progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation into spindle-shape-like cells, expressing both hematopoietic and stromal cell markers. The expansion increased the number of colony-forming units (CFU-Hill). The conditioned medium obtained from IronQ-treated PBMCs contained high levels of interleukin 8 (IL-8), IL-10, urokinase-type-plasminogen-activator (uPA), matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), as well as augmented migration and capillary network formation of HUVECs and fibroblast cells, in vitro. Our study demonstrated that the IronQ-preconditioning PBMC protocol could enhance the angiogenic and reparative potential of non-mobilized PBMCs. This protocol might be used as an adjunctive strategy to improve the efficacy of cell therapy when using PBMCs for ischemic diseases and chronic wounds. However, in vivo assessment is required for further validation.

HLA-DRB1*04:05 and HLA-DQB1*04:01: Alleles Potentially Associated with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada in Northern Thai Patients

PURPOSE

To determine the frequency and association of alleles at human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 loci in VKH disease patients from Northern Thailand.

METHODS

A case-control study was conducted with three subject groups: 23 VKH patients, 20 patients with other uveitis entities, and 40 healthy blood donors. HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 loci were analyzed and the frequency of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles was calculated by direct counting. The measure of association was calculated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

In VKH patients, the most prevalent allele was HLA-DRB1*04:05, found in 35% of patients and with the highest OR (42.13). HLA-DQB1*04:01 was the next most prevalent, found in 23.91% of VKH patients. HLA-DQB1*05:02 was also detected in 23.91% of patients; however, a higher prevalence was observed in non-VKH and healthy controls (30% and 35%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

HLA-DRB1*04:05 and HLA-DQB1*04:01 could be potential genetic markers for VKH.

Mixed-field agglutination observed in column agglutination testing is not always associated with the A3 subgroup

Mixed-field agglutination (MFA) can be observed in forward typing of samples from A3 individuals with serologic ABO typing methods. The results of column agglutination testing (CAT) and tube agglutination testing using different antibody clones can be discordant. In this report, we reveal our experience using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing (PCR-SBT) of ABO exon 7 to clarify serologic method discordance of A subgroup blood typing in Northern Thai donors. A total of 21 group A blood donors with either MFA or weak agglutination on routine ABO CAT were recalled. CAT was repeated with human and monoclonal anti-A, and tube agglutination testing with monoclonal anti-A and PCR-SBT of ABO exon 7 was performed. A total of 13 of the 21 donors returned, and ABO CAT with human anti-A was repeated. Eleven samples showed MFA suspected to be the A3 subgroup, and two samples showed 2+ strength suspected to be the Aweak subgroup. When tube agglutination testing using monoclonal antibody was performed, MFA was not observed in 9 of 11 samples with previously observed MFA from routine CAT, which were then interpreted as A2. From PCR-SBT performed in only exon 7 of the ABO gene, 7 of 13 sample results were consistent with ABO*A2 or ABO*AW alleles. Two samples suspected to be A2 or A3 had an ABO*AW allele. In two samples suspected to be Aweak, no mutation was detected in ABO exon 7, suggesting genetic variation elsewhere in the gene. Although other coding exons were not examined, in the alleles that could be assigned, ABO*A3 alleles were found less frequently than would be predicted from the serologic findings. These findings suggest that when MFA in routine CAT is observed, an A3 subgroup cannot be presumed. Caution should be exercised when MFA is noted in routine CAT.