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Integrated experimental and bioinformatics analysis reveals ECM-integrin and redox signaling associated with PMMA/NiO nanocomposites for craniofacial applications.

BACKGROUND: Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is widely used in dental and craniofacial applications; however, its clinical performance is limited by poor surface wettability, moderate mechanical strength, and restricted biological activity. Integrating nanomaterial engineering with computational biology offers an opportunity to better understand biomaterial-cell interactions and support the rational design of functional biomaterials. METHODS: Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles were synthesized via chemical precipitation and incorporated into PMMA to fabricate nanocomposites. Physicochemical characterization included contact angle measurements, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Vickers hardness testing. Biocompatibility was evaluated using zebrafish embryo developmental assays. To explore biological processes potentially associated with biomaterial-cell interactions, bioinformatics analyses including Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and STRING protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were performed. RESULTS: Incorporation of NiO nanoparticles improved the surface and mechanical properties of PMMA, reducing the contact angle from 105.35° to 90.46° and increasing Vickers hardness compared with unmodified PMMA. Structural and morphological analyses confirmed successful synthesis and homogeneous nanoparticle incorporation. Zebrafish embryo studies demonstrated minimal developmental toxicity, supporting the biocompatibility of the nanocomposite. Bioinformatics analyses identified significant enrichment of pathways related to extracellular matrix organization, cell adhesion, focal adhesion, PI3K-Akt signaling, and oxidative stress regulation. Protein-protein interaction analysis revealed highly interconnected networks associated with ECM-integrin signaling and redox homeostasis, highlighting biological processes potentially associated with biomaterial-cell communication. CONCLUSIONS: PMMA/NiO nanocomposites exhibited improved physicochemical performance and favorable biocompatibility characteristics. The integration of experimental characterization with bioinformatics and network-based analyses provides a systems-level perspective on biomaterial-associated cellular processes and identifies ECM-integrin signaling and oxidative stress-related pathways as candidate biological processes for future experimental validation. These findings support the continued development of PMMA/NiO nanocomposites for oral and craniofacial biomedical applications.

Nanocomposites

Genome-Wide Identification and Bioinformatics Analysis of the FAD Gene Family in Walnut (Juglans regia L.).

Fatty acid desaturase (FAD) is a core catalytic enzyme in plants for the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, profoundly affecting plant growth, development, and adaptability to various environmental stresses. The walnut (Juglans regia L.) is an important woody oil tree species, and its kernel is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Systematic identification of the walnut FAD gene family and analysis of its function are of great significance for revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying unsaturated fatty acid metabolism in the walnut. Based on walnut whole-genome data, this study used homology alignment and hidden Markov model search methods to identify the JrFAD gene family members. Subsequently, a variety of bioinformatics tools were used to systematically analyze their structural characteristics, evolutionary expansion mechanism, expression regulation, and function. A total of 21 JrFAD gene family members were identified and classified into five subfamilies. The family genes were unevenly distributed on nine chromosomes. WGD/segmental duplication was the main expansion method, and the duplicated gene pairs experienced strong purification selection. The family gene promoter sequence is rich in regulatory elements that respond to light, plant hormones, and various stresses. The expression pattern analysis showed that JrFAD3.1 and JrFAD2.3 showed high expression specifically during the rapid accumulation of walnut kernel oil. This study clarified the composition and evolutionary characteristics of the FAD gene family in the walnut, which provides useful information for in-depth analyses of its functional mechanism in the regulation of lipid metabolism, and also identified potential candidate gene resources for the genetic improvement of walnut varieties with high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids.

Juglans

Effect of light on ascorbic acid biosynthesis and bioinformatics analysis of related genes in Chinese chives.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an essential nutritional component and powerful antioxidant in vegetables, and in plants, AsA levels are regulated by light. AsA levels in the leaves of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spr), a popular vegetable, are poorly understood. Thus, this study was performed to assess the influence of light on AsA biosynthesis in chive and select related genes (AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1); in addition, bioinformatic analyses and gene expression level assays were performed. The biological information obtained for AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1 was analysed with several tools, including NCBI, DNAMAN, and MEGA11. After different light treatments were performed, the Chive AsA content and AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1 expression levels were determined. These results suggest that 1) compared with natural light, continuous darkness inhibited AsA synthesis in chives. 2) The amino acid sequences of AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1 are very similar to those of other plants. 3) The trends observed for the expression levels of AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1 were consistent with the AsA content observed in chives. Hence, we speculated that light controls AsA biosynthesis in chives by regulating AtuGGP1 and AtuGME1 expression. This study provided impactful and informative evidence regarding the functions of GGP and GME in chives.

Ascorbic Acid

Clinical, genetic and bioinformatic analysis of Saudi families with Joubert syndrome and related disorders.

BACKGROUND: Joubert syndrome and related disorders (JSRD) are clinically and genetically heterogeneous ciliopathies caused by pathogenic variants in over 40 genes, mainly encoding ciliary proteins. However, data on JSRD in the Saudi population remain limited. This study aimed to identify novel and reported JSRD-causing variants in Saudi families and analyze their potential functional impact on protein structure using advanced computational tools. METHODS: Patients with genetically or clinically confirmed/suspected JSRD were recruited according to ethical protocols. Clinical data were collected, and exome sequencing was performed, followed by Sanger validation of identified variant. Pathogenicity was assessed using bioinformatics tools, while conservation, expression and RNA structure analyses were conducted to evaluate the potential functional consequences. RESULTS: Homozygous variants were identified in three consanguineous Saudi families, including a novel stop-gain variant in KIF7 (c.2992 C > T; p.(Gln998Ter)), and novel splice-site variant in CEP104 (c.489 + 1G > A) and a previously reported splice-site variant in TMEM237 (c.869 + 1G > A). All variants were predicted to be pathogenic as per ACMG criteria and located in highly conserved regions, suggesting potential functional impact. RNA analysis suggested possible alterations in folding. CONCLUSION: This study identified three pathogenic variants in JSRD-related genes in Saudi families, including two novel variants. These findings expand the variant spectrum for JSRD, particularly in the Saudi population. Establishing a comprehensive regional variant database is essential for improving molecular diagnosis and genetic counseling in population with high consanguinity. Finally, these results highlight the need for further functional studies to validate their pathogenicity and elucidate their role in JSRD pathogenesis.

Humans

Bioinformatics analysis of ferroptosis in frozen shoulder.

OBJECTIVES: Frozen shoulder is a common shoulder disease that significantly affects the patient's life and work. Ferroptosis is a new type of programmed cell death, which is involved in many diseases. However, there have been no studies reporting the relationship between frozen shoulders and ferroptosis. This study identified potential molecular markers of ferroptosis in frozen shoulders to provide more effective strategies for the treatment of frozen shoulders. METHODS: GSE238053 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset and intersected with ferroptosis genes to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The signaling pathways and biological functions of DEGs were performed by WebGestalt and Metascape. The interactions related to these DEGs and the key genes between frozen shoulders and ferroptosis was performed by STRING and Cytoscape. A frozen shoulders rat model was used to validate our predicted genes, Western Blot and qRT-PCR was used to assess the expression levels of our genes of interest. RESULTS: A total of 34 DEGs between GSE238053 and Ferroptosis Database were obtained, most of which were involved in the HIF-1 signaling pathway and inflammatory response. A protein-protein interaction network was obtained by Cytoscape and the key genes (IL-6, HMOX1 and TLR4) were screened by MCODE. Our results of Western Blot showed that the protein expression level of TLR4 and HMOX1 were elevated, and the protein level of IL-6 decreased in frozen shoulders rat model. The mRNA level after frozen shoulders showed that IL-6 was upregulated, whereas TLR4 and HMOX1were downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that ferroptosis may affect the pathological process of frozen shoulders through these signaling pathways and genes. The identification of IL-6, HMOX1 and TLR4 genes can provide new therapeutic targets for frozen shoulders.

Ferroptosis

Bioinformatics Analysis and Experimental Validation of Key Genes Associated With Hypoxia and Ischemia in Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to screen and identify core hypoxia-ischemia-related genes associated with myocardial infarction (MI). METHOD: Two transcriptomic datasets, GSE97320 and GSE48060, were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After data integration and batch effect elimination, differential expression analysis was performed to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the corresponding visualization analysis was conducted. Hypoxia-ischemia-related genes were acquired from the GeneCards database; hypoxia-ischemia related genes (HIRGs) were subsequently identified by intersecting the retrieved genes with screened DEGs. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were implemented to explore the biological functions and underlying signaling pathways of HIRGs. A combination of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and random forest (RF) algorithm was applied to screen hub genes from HIRGs. The external GEO dataset GSE66360 was utilized to validate the expression patterns of candidate hub genes. Furthermore, an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mouse model was established, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels of hub genes in myocardial tissues for in&#xa0;vivo validation. RESULTS: A total of 633 DEGs and 308 hypoxia-ischemia-related genes were screened in the present study, among which 21 overlapping HIRGs were obtained. PLAUR and IL1B were finally identified as two hub genes from HIRGs based on PPI network and random forest algorithm. The qPCR results revealed that the expression levels of PLAUR and IL1B were significantly upregulated in the AMI group compared with the sham operation group (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05). CONCLUSION: The present findings demonstrated that PLAUR and IL1B serve as pivotal genes involved in the pathological hypoxia-ischemia process of AMI. These two genes may act as novel biomarkers and promising therapeutic targets for the recognition and clinical intervention of hypoxia-ischemia injury following AMI.

Myocardial Infarction

Expression and prognosis of CXCL13 in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma based on bioinformatics analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The biological significance of the chemokine ligand C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC). This study aims to identify and verify CXCL13 with predictive value for prognosis in UCEC. METHODS: CXCL13 mRNA expression differences were analyzed using R software in three independent datasets: one each from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and two from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), namely GSE17025 and GSE106191. The correlation between CXCL13 expression and prognosis was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were utilized to construct a prognostic nomogram. Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) and the Tumor and Immune System Interaction Database (TISIDB) were employed to assess the relationship between CXCL13 and tumor immune infiltration. Coexpressed genes with CXCL13 were identified by the Spearman correlation analysis. A CXCL13 protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed with the STRING website tool and hub genes were screened out. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses were performed with the "clusterProfiler" R package. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to identify underlying biological mechanisms. A drug-gene interaction network was constructed in the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). RESULTS: High CXCL13 mRNA expression were validated in UCEC in the above three independent datasets. High CXCL13 expression was associated with favorable prognosis in UCEC. A nomogram for predicting the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival probability in UCEC was construct based on CXCL13 expression and other clinical parameters. The use of Spearman correlation indicated certain correlation between CXCL13 and immune cells and immune checkpoint (ICP) genes. Seven hub genes were upregulated in UCEC, namely CXCL9, IFNG, CXCL10, CXCL11, GBP5, CCL18, and GZMB. The expression and prognostic relevance of CXCL9, IFNG, GBP5, and GZMB were in accordance with CXCL13. The main biological processes enriched were cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and chemokine signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The above comprehensive analyses suggest that CXCL13 may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for UCEC, specifically for early-stage UCEC.

CXCL13

Identification of putative causal associations between MicroRNAs and breast cancer via Mendelian randomization and bioinformatic analysis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in breast cancer progression and prognosis. This study employed a Mendelian randomization (MR) framework to investigate causal relationships between plasma circulating miRNAs and breast cancer. miRNA expression quantitative trait loci were extracted from 2 independent cohorts. High-confidence miRNAs and their associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms were selected for 2-sample MR analyses using inverse-variance weighted and MR-Egger methods. Differential expression analysis and univariate Cox regression identified survival-associated genes in breast cancer, while enrichment analyses revealed pathways and biological processes linked to candidate targets. Pan-cancer analyses of miRNAs and targets were conducted via the ENCORI platform. Initial MR analyses in the discovery phase identified hsa-miR-100-5p, hsa-miR-125b-5p, and hsa-miR-339-5p as significantly associated with reduced breast cancer risk (P&#x2005;<&#x2005;.05), suggesting potential protective roles. A total of 1291 survival-associated differentially expressed genes were identified, with 39 overlapping targets implicated in miRNA-mediated breast cancer intervention. Enrichment analyses highlighted their involvement in cell cycle regulation and p53 signaling pathway. In the validation cohort, only hsa-miR-339-5p confirmed a protective effect on breast cancer risk, while hsa-miR-100-5p and hsa-miR-125b-5p did not reach significance. Pan-cancer profiling demonstrated aberrant miRNA expression across malignancies, prognostic relevance in multiple cancers, and significant negative correlations between miRNAs and target genes in breast tumors. Our findings provide novel insights into the causal roles of miRNAs in breast cancer pathogenesis and underscore their potential as noninvasive biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Future studies should prioritize functional validation and clinical translation of these miRNAs.

Humans

Integrated bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation reveal the relationship between ALOX5AP and the prognosis and immune microenvironment in glioma.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of gliomas, the most prevalent primary malignant neoplasm of the central nervous system, is challenging. Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (ALOX5AP) is crucial for converting arachidonic acid into leukotrienes and is associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancers. Nevertheless, its relationship with the prognosis and the immune microenvironment of gliomas remains incompletely understood. METHODS: The differential expression of ALOX5AP was evaluated based on public Databases. Kaplan-Meier, multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic, and nomogram were used to estimate the prognostic value of ALOX5AP. The relationship between ALOX5AP and immune infiltration was calculated using ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms. Relationships between ALOX5AP and human leukocyte antigen molecules, immune checkpoints, tumor mutation burden, TIDE score, and immunophenoscore were calculated to evaluate glioma immunotherapy response. Single gene GSEA and co-expression network-based GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed to explore the potential function of ALOX5AP. ALOX5AP expression was verified using multiplex immunofluorescence staining and its prognostic effects were confirmed using a glioma tissue microarray. RESULT: ALOX5AP was highly expressed in gliomas, and the expression level was related to World Health Organization&#xa0;(WHO) grade, age, sex, IDH mutation status, 1p19q co-deletion status, MGMTp methylation status, and poor prognosis. Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that ALOX5AP was expressed in macrophages, monocytes, and T cells but not in tumor cells. ALOX5AP expression positively correlated with M2 macrophage infiltration and poor immunotherapy response. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that ALOX5AP was upregulated in WHO higher-grade gliomas, localizing to M2 macrophages. Glioma tissue microarray confirmed the adverse effect of ALOX5AP in the prognosis of glioma. CONCLUSION: ALOX5AP is highly expressed in M2 macrophages and may act as a potential biomarker for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response in patients with glioma.

Humans

Identification of autophagy-related genes as potential biomarkers correlated with immune infiltration in bipolar disorder: a bioinformatics analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a kind of manic and depressive phase alternate episodes of serious mental illness, and it is correlated with well-documented cortical brain abnormalities. Emerging evidence supports that autophagy dysfunction in neuronal system contributes to pathophysiological changes in neurological disease. However, the role of autophagy in bipolar disorder has rarely been elucidated. This study aimed to identify the autophagy-related gene as a potential biomarker Correlated to immune infiltration in BPD. METHODS: The microarray dataset GSE23848 and autophagy-related genes (ARGs) were downloaded. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between normal and BPD samples were screened using the R software. Machine learning algorithms were performed to screen the significant candidate biomarker from autophagy-related differentially expressed genes (ARDEGs). The correlation between the screened ARDEGs and infiltrating immune cells was explored through correlation analysis. RESULTS: In this study, the autophagy pathway was abundantly enriched and activated in BPD, as indicated by Pathway enrichment analysis. We identified 16 ARDEGs in BPD compared to the normal group. A signature of 4 ARDEGs (ERN1, ATG3, CTSB, and EIF2AK3) was screened. ROC analysis showed that the above genes have good diagnostic performance. In addition, immune correlation analysis considered that the above four genes significantly correlated with immune cells in BPD. CONCLUSIONS: Autophagy - immune cell axis mediates pathophysiological changes in BPD. Four important ARDEGs are prospective to be potential biomarkers associated with immune infiltration in BPD and helpful for the prediction or diagnosis of BPD.

Bipolar Disorder

Identification of cuproptosis-realated key genes and pathways in Parkinson's disease via bioinformatics analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common worldwide age-related neurodegenerative disorder without effective treatments. Cuproptosis is a newly proposed conception of cell death extensively studied in oncological diseases. Currently, whether cuproptosis contributes to PD remains largely unclear. METHODS: The dataset GSE22491 was studied as the training dataset, and GSE100054 was the validation dataset. According to the expression levels of cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PD patients and normal samples, we obtained the differentially expressed CRGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was achieved through the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. Meanwhile, the disease-associated module genes were screened from the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Afterward, the intersection genes of WGCNA and PPI were obtained and enriched using the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Subsequently, the key genes were identified from the datasets. The receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted and a PPI network was constructed, and the PD-related miRNAs and key genes-related miRNAs were intersected and enriched. Finally, the 2 hub genes were verified via qRT-PCR in the cell model of the PD and the control group. RESULTS: 525 DEGs in the dataset GSE22491 were identified, including 128 upregulated genes and 397 downregulated genes. Based on the PPI network, 41 genes were obtained. Additionally, the dataset was integrated into 34 modules by WGCNA. 36 intersection genes found from WGCNA and PPI were significantly abundant in 7 pathways. The expression levels of the genes were validated, and 2 key genes were obtained, namely peptidase inhibitor 3 (PI3) and neuroserpin family I member 1 (SERPINI1). PD-related miRNAs and key genes-related miRNAs were intersected into 29 miRNAs including hsa-miR-30c-2-3p. At last, the qRT-PCR results of 2 hub genes showed that the expressions of mRNA were up-regulated in PD. CONCLUSION: Taken together, this study demonstrates the coordination of cuproptosis in PD. The key genes and miRNAs offer novel perspectives in the pathogenesis and molecular targeting treatment for PD.

Humans

Bioinformatics analysis to identify the relationship between human papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer, toll-like receptors and exomes: A genetic epidemiology study.

INTRODUCTION: Genetic variants may influence Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in the immune response to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and lead to cervical cancer. In this study, we investigated the pattern of TLR expression in the transcriptome of HPV-positive and HPV-negative cervical cancer samples and looked for variants potentially related to TLR gene alterations in exomes from different populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cervical tissue sample from 28 women, which was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, was used to examine TLR gene expression. Subsequently, the transcripts related to the TLRs that showed significant gene expression were queried in the Genome Aggregation Database to search for variants in more than 5,728 exomes from different ethnicities. RESULTS: Cancer and HPV were found to be associated (p<0.0001). TLR1(p = 0.001), TLR3(p = 0.004), TLR4(221060_s_at)(p = 0.001), TLR7(p = 0.001;p = 0.047), TLR8(p = 0.002) and TLR10(p = 0.008) were negatively regulated, while TLR4(1552798_at)(p<0.0001) and TLR6(p = 0.019) were positively regulated in HPV-positive patients (p<0.05). The clinical significance of the variants was statistically significant for TLR1, TLR3, TLR6 and TLR8 in association with ethnicity. Genetic variants in different TLRs have been found in various ethnic populations. Variants of the TLR gene were of the following types: TLR1(5_prime_UTR), TLR4(start_lost), TLR8(synonymous;missense) and TLR10(3_prime_UTR). The "missense" variant was found to have a risk of its clinical significance being pathogenic in South Asian populations (OR = 56,820[95%CI:40,206,80,299]). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the variants found in the transcriptomes of different populations may lead to impairment of the functional aspect of TLRs that show significant gene expression in cervical cancer samples caused by HPV.

Humans

Identification of Critical Genes Related to Breast Cancer with Brain Metastasis Through Bioinformatics Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Distant metastasis accounts for the majority of Breast Cancer (BC)-related mortality. The brain is one of the most common regions of metastasis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain uncertain. METHODS: In this study, gene expression profiles were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Datasets GSE100534 and GSE52604, containing 16 primary brain tumor samples and 38 breast cancer brain metastasis samples, were used to identify the Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs). The Metascape database was used to analyze enriched Gene Ontology (GO) entries and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway entries in DEGs. The STRING database was then used to construct a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network, and the Cytoscape platform was employed to visualize the network. Furthermore, the Kaplan-Meier curve was used to analyze the Relapse-Free Survival (RFS) among the hub genes. Finally, the iRegulon plugin was used to construct a regulatory network to find the transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the expression of the hub genes. RESULTS: A total of 344 DEGs, including 182 up-regulated and 162 down-regulated genes, were identified by using the limma package in R. A module with 18 nodes and 9 hub genes was selected from the PPI network by using the plugins MCODE and Cyto- Hubba, respectively. KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that brain metastasis in BC was closely related to the oocyte cell cycle. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that high expression of these 9 hub genes was associated with poor RFS in BC patients. TFs' analysis showed that E2F4, SIN3A, FOXM1, and TFDP1 interacted with these hub genes. DISCUSSION: This study revealed that Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis (BCBM) may have a promoting effect on the cell cycle of oocytes and affect the maturation and division of oocytes through the KEGG and GO analyses of 344 DEGs. The selected 9 hub genes (ASPM, BUB1, BUB1B, CCNA2, CCNB1, CDK1, NDC80, NCAPG, and TOP2A) and 4 transcription factors (E2F4, SIN3A, FOXM1, TFDP1) may play a critical role in brain metastasis of BC. CONCLUSION: The results of this study may aid in the early diagnosis and suggest potential targets for the treatment of BCBM.

Brain Neoplasms

Human Wings Apart-Like Protein as a Serum Diagnostic Biomarker in Cervical Cancer: An Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis with Serum Validation.

Cervical cancer remains a major threat to women's health worldwide, and reliable serum biomarkers for early detection and therapeutic stratification remain limited. Human wings-apart-like (hWAPL) protein has been implicated in cervical carcinogenesis, but its diagnostic and clinical value has not been fully elucidated. To address this gap, this study integrated public multi-omics datasets, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, GEPIA2, the Human Protein Atlas, and single-cell transcriptomic data, to characterize hWAPL expression, clinicopathological associations, immune infiltration, co-expression networks, post-translational modifications, and drug sensitivity predictions. These findings were evaluated in an independent single-center serum cohort comprising 89 patients with histologically confirmed cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 89 healthy female controls. Serum hWAPL and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) levels were measured, and diagnostic performance was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. In silico, hWAPL was broadly upregulated across multiple malignancies, particularly cervical cancer, enriched in malignant epithelial cells and monocytes/macrophages, and associated with shorter progression-free interval, predicted reduced sensitivity to cisplatin, paclitaxel, and 5-fluorouracil, and predicted sensitivity to MCL-1 and Wee1 inhibitors. In the serum cohort, hWAPL levels were significantly higher in patients than controls and discriminated cervical cancer with an area under the curve of 0.961, exceeding SCC alone. Combining hWAPL with SCC further improved diagnostic performance (area under the curve, 0.974; sensitivity, 93.3%; specificity, 95.5%). These findings suggest that serum hWAPL is a potential novel diagnostic biomarker for cervical squamous cell carcinoma whose performance is enhanced by SCC, whereas the observed associations with chemoresistance and immune microenvironment remodeling are hypothesis-generating and require experimental confirmation.

Humans

Analysis of differentially expressed genes in schizophrenia based on bioinformatics and corresponding mRNA expression levels.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to use bioinformatics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and validate their mRNA expression levels through real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). MATERIAL/METHODS: Datasets from the publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed using R software to identify DEGs. Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, were conducted. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using Cytoscape software to identify key genes with notable expression changes. The expression levels of these key genes were subsequently validated in schizophrenia patients using qPCR to assess potential susceptibility genes. RESULTS: In total, 813 DEGs were identified, with six key genes highlighted through GO analysis and PPI network screening. Among these, HDAC1, UBA52, and FYN demonstrated statistically significant differences in mRNA expression between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls (P&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified several DEGs potentially linked to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, suggesting that HDAC1, UBA52, and FYN could serve as candidate susceptibility genes and diagnostic biomarkers. These findings provide new insights and directions for future schizophrenia research.

Humans

Multiomics Analysis Reveals Therapeutic Targets for Chronic Kidney Disease With Sarcopenia.

BACKGROUND: The presence of sarcopenia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with poor prognosis. The mechanism underlying CKD-induced muscle wasting has not yet been fully explored. This study investigates the influence of renal secretions on muscles using multiomics sequencing. METHODS: The kidney transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq and protein profiling by tandem mass tag (TMT), serum TMT and muscle TMT were performed in CKD established using 0.2% adenine and control mice. Spp1 recombinant protein was used to study its effect on myotube atrophy in&#xa0;vitro. In animal experiments on CKD, pharmacological inhibition of Spp1 was used to explore the role of Spp1 in skeletal muscle wasting. Transcriptome analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the gastrocnemius muscle following Spp1 pharmacological inhibition. RESULTS: In the renal transcriptome and TMT, 503 and 377 proteins/genes respectively were co-upregulated and co-downregulated. In the serum TMT of CKD and normal control (NC) mice, 22 upregulated and 7 downregulated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) showed the same expression patterns as those in the kidney transcriptome and TMT analysis. Based on bioinformatics analysis and reported studies, we selected Spp1 for further validation. Spp1 recombinant protein was added to C2C12 myotubes in&#xa0;vitro, and the results indicated that Spp1 significantly increased the protein levels of the muscle atrophy marker (Murf-1) and promoted the smaller myotubes (all p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05). Compared with NC mice, Spp1 mRNA and protein levels were significantly upregulated in the kidneys of CKD mice, and the serum concentration of Spp1 was also markedly increased (all p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05). In animal experiments, pharmacological inhibition of Spp1 increased the weights of gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05) and improved muscle atrophy phenotype. Transcriptome analysis showed that DEGs in the gastrocnemius muscle following Spp1 pharmacological inhibition were enriched in protein digestion and absorption, glucagon signalling pathway, apelin signalling pathway and ECM-receptor interaction pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to establish a regulatory network of kidney-muscle crosstalk to explore the potential mechanism of CKD-related sarcopenia. Employing multiomics analysis, cellular assessment and animal experiments, we have identified that Spp1 could potentialy serve as a promising therapeutic target for CKD patients with sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia

Unveiling novel antimicrobial peptides from the ruminant gastrointestinal microbiomes: A deep learning-driven approach yields an anti-MRSA candidate.

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) present a promising avenue to combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. The ruminant gastrointestinal microbiome serves as a unique ecosystem that offers untapped potential for AMP discovery. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to develop an effective methodology for the identification of novel AMPs from ruminant gastrointestinal microbiomes, followed by evaluating their antimicrobial efficacy and elucidating the mechanisms underlying their activity. METHODS: We developed a deep learning-based model to identify AMP candidates from a dataset comprising 120 metagenomes and 10,373 metagenome-assembled genomes derived from the ruminant gastrointestinal tract. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed to examine and validate the antimicrobial activities of the AMP candidates that were selected through bioinformatic analysis and subsequently synthesized chemically. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to explore the action mechanism of the most potent AMP candidate. RESULTS: The deep learning model identified 27,192 potential secretory AMP candidates. Following bioinformatic analysis, 39 candidates were synthesized and tested. Remarkably, all synthesized peptides demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with 79.5% showing effectiveness against multiple pathogens. Notably, Peptide 4, which exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), confirmed this effect in a mouse model with wound infection, exhibiting a low propensity for resistance development and minimal cytotoxicity and hemolysis towards mammalian cells. Molecular dynamics simulations provided insights into the mechanism of Peptide 4, primarily its ability to disrupt bacterial cell membranes, leading to cell death. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the power of combining deep learning with microbiome research to uncover novel therapeutic candidates, paving the way for the development of next-generation antimicrobials like Peptide 4 to combat the growing threat of MRSA would infections. It also underscores the value of utilizing ruminant microbial resources.

Animals