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Biomedical subjects

Fang Fang

Publications and source records attributed to Fang Fang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

A chromosome-level genome assembly of Lycoris radiata reveals the evolutionary origin of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and elucidates the complete galanthamine biosynthetic pathway.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AmAs) comprise a structurally diverse group of specialized metabolites produced almost exclusively by species of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily and are of substantial pharmacological importance. However, the limited availability of high-quality genomes from Amaryllidoideae plants has constrained systematic investigations of the genes and evolutionary processes underlying AmA biosynthesis. Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of Lycoris radiata, which enabled the discovery of key downstream enzymes in the galanthamine biosynthetic pathway and uncovered reversible reactions between two critical metabolite pairs. These findings provide new mechanistic insight into pathway architecture and enable reconstruction of the galanthamine biosynthetic pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica. Comparative genomic analyses indicate that several core genes for AmA biosynthesis originated in ancestral angiosperms, whereas the complete pathway was likely assembled in the Amaryllidoideae subfamily through gene duplication and neofunctionalization. Furthermore, integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses suggest that roots contribute actively to AmA metabolism in Lycoris. Together, these findings provide a genomic and biochemical framework for understanding the evolution and engineering of AmA biosynthesis.

Lycoris

Acute COVID-19 severity and impaired cognitive function up to 32 months after diagnosis: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog") is a commonly reported post-COVID-19 symptom. Leveraging data from five general population cohorts across four European countries (Estonia, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), we assessed long-term prevalence of impaired subjective cognitive function among individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 by acute illness severity. METHODS: The included cohorts consisted of adult participants recruited from March 2020 and followed with self-report measures of cognitive function and past COVID-19 infection (except one cohort consisting of clinically confirmed COVID-19 cases) through February 2023. In a cross-sectional analysis we contrasted the prevalence of impaired cognitive function among individuals with and without a COVID-19 diagnosis, overall and by illness severity up to 32&#xa0;months post-diagnosis. We adjusted for age, gender, education, relationship status, binge drinking, body mass index, previous psychiatric diagnosis, number of chronic medical conditions, and response period. In a longitudinal analysis, we assessed potential changes in cognitive function scores before and after COVID-19 diagnosis. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 153,841 participants (71% women), with 31,359 (20.4%) reporting a positive COVID-19 test. Overall, a COVID-19 diagnosis was not statistically significantly associated with increased prevalence ratio (PR) of impaired cognitive function (PR 1.30 [95% CI: 0.98-1.71]). Individuals bedridden due to COVID-19 for 1-6&#xa0;days (PR 1.38 [95% CI 0.96-1.99]) or&#x2009;&#x2265;&#x2009;7&#xa0;days (2.59 [1.55-4.33]) had higher prevalence of impaired cognitive function compared to those never diagnosed, while individuals never bedridden had a lower prevalence to those never diagnosed with COVID-19 (0.89 [0.80-1.00]). These findings were corroborated in the longitudinal analysis where a pre- to post diagnosis decline in cognitive function was observed among individuals bedridden due to COVID-19 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicates that a severe COVID-19 acute illness course is associated with impaired cognitive function up to 18-32&#xa0;months after COVID-19 diagnosis.

Adult

Protein Biomarkers in Risk and Prognosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein biomarkers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may provide insight into disease mechanisms and yield clinically useful biomarkers. METHODS: Overall, 363 proteins in plasma and CSF from 198 patients with ALS and 125 matched controls were profiled using Olink assays. Associations with disease status, survival, and functional decline, as well as longitudinal biomarker stability across the disease course were assessed, together with network and enrichment analyses. ALS risk-associated biomarkers were externally validated in the UK Biobank (UKB). RESULTS: Overall, 125 proteins were significantly associated with at least one outcome (i.e., case status, risk, survival, or functional decline), and 21 were associated with three or more outcomes. NEFL was the most robust biomarker in plasma and CSF, alongside TNFRSF12A in plasma and CSF, EDA2R in plasma, and FABP4 in plasma and CSF. Most biomarkers remained stable longitudinally across the disease course. ALS risk-associated biomarkers were replicated in UKB, in which >&#x2009;3000 plasma proteins were measured in 52,990 participants, including 298 with ALS. Network and enrichment analyses highlighted their roles in immune response and extracellular-matrix remodeling, and their enrichments in the brain and T-cell subsets. Construction of an ALS risk-prediction model achieved an ROC-AUC of 0.72 in the UKB validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest candidate protein biomarkers for ALS risk stratification, early detection, and clinical therapeutic monitoring.

Humans

Associations of Genetic Liability to Six Psychiatric Disorders With Cardiometabolic Diseases.

IMPORTANCE: Individuals with psychiatric disorders have increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs). Evaluating how psychiatric genetic liability relates to CMD may clarify mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: Identify genetic overlap between psychiatric disorders and CMDs independent of cross-disorder pleiotropy, BMI, and smoking. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Three Northern European cohorts (the Swedish Twin Registry, the Estonian Biobank, and the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study [MoBa]) totaling 355,159 individuals. Associations with CMDs were estimated as adjusted odds ratios (AORs) from logistic models mutually adjusted for all psychiatric PRSs and in models additionally adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and smoking. Cohort-specific AORs were pooled by inverse-variance weighting. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Exposures were PRSs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Outcomes were diagnoses of CMDs (hyperlipidemia, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertensive diseases, arteriosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, thromboembolic disease, cerebrovascular disease, and arrhythmias), ascertained from electronic health records. RESULTS: The MDD PRS was associated with increased risk of all CMDs across analyses (AORs ranged from 1.13 [95% CI, 1.10-1.15] for heart failure to 1.02 [95% CI, 1.00-1.05] for arrhythmias). The ADHD PRS was associated with increased risk of all CMDs (AOR ranged from 1.11 [95% CI, 1.09-1.12] for obesity to 1.02 [95% CI, 1.01-1.03] for hyperlipidemia), however associations where attenuated when adjusting for BMI and smoking (lifestyle adjusted AOR for obesity: 1.03 [95% CI, 1.02-1.05]). When not mutually adjusting for all psychiatric PRSs, anxiety disorder and PTSD PRSs were associated with all CMDs; these associations diminished after adjustment. The bipolar and schizophrenia PRSs were inversely associated with most CMDs (AOR for schizophrenia PRS and obesity, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.92-0.94]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Associations between psychiatric PRSs and CMDs diverged: ADHD, MDD, anxiety disorder, and PTSD PRSs were positively associated with CMDs, whereas bipolar and schizophrenia PRSs were inversely associated. Genetic liability to MDD showed robust associations with CMDs independent of cross-disorder pleiotropy, BMI, and smoking status, whereas associations between the ADHD PRS and CMDs were largely attenuated after adjustment for BMI and smoking.

Journal Article