Results for “OPMD” | PubMed Health

PubMed2025

Insights into the heterogeneity of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.

Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is a rare, adult-onset, autosomal dominant myopathy characterized by variability in the age of onset and disease progression. However, its pathogenesis and phenotypic variability remain poorly understood. The disorder is caused by an expansion of a short polyalanine tract in the poly(A) binding protein nuclear 1 (PABPN1) gene. This study presents data from 23 patients across 19 Greek families with pathogenic PABPN1 expansions, including demographic and laboratory data, as well as molecular and electron microscopy findings. Eight distinct trinucleotide expansion genotypes were identified. Electron microscopy consistently demonstrated mitochondrial abnormalities, including swelling, disrupted cristae and atypical lipid inclusions. Clinical heterogeneity was observed at both inter- and intrafamilial levels, and milder phenotypes were generally linked to smaller alleles. Notably, maternally inherited expansions were associated with an earlier disease onset and more severe progression in affected offspring. Given the genetic variability observed in the cohort, the presence of a founder effect could not be supported. A significant degree of underdiagnosis or diagnostic delay was noted, largely attributable to the rarity and clinical heterogeneity of the disease. The observed intrafamilial heterogeneity - particularly in maternally inherited expansions - supports previous reports suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to transgenerational disease progression in the context of a dominant, causative nuclear variant.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Decoding protein signatures and protein interactions in oral potentially malignant disorders: a systematic review and network analysis.

BACKGROUND: Proteomic profiling offers thorough insights into protein structure and function, as well as it acts as an essential approach for analyzing molecular changes at the tissue level. However, because of the proteome's diversity and dynamic nature, biomarker discovery remains challenging. By combining proteomics with bioinformatics, the level of understanding in relation to molecular interactions and disease processes can be improved. Through an integrative approach, few limitations can be addressed, thereby promoting proteomic profiling for the discovery of new therapeutic targets and novel biomarkers for a variety of disorders. AIM: To identify differentially expressed protein markers and their key molecular pathways associated with Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders. METHODS: Systematic Review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines and the protocol registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with the registration ID number CRD42024557545. A comprehensive literature review was performed using electronic databases, yielding 12,797, studies from which 15 eligible articles were selected. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the risk of bias. Vote counting was performed to identify proteins reported in more than one study. A bipartite network was constructed using Cytoscape to identify shared and disease-specific protein markers. Lesion-wise protein-protein interaction networks were generated using STRING and analysed in Cytoscape to identify highly interconnected hub proteins, and pathway enrichment analysis for these hubs was performed using Reactome. RESULTS: A total of fifteen studies (Leukoplakia (LK) - n = 1, Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia (PVL) - n = 2, Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) - n = 7, and Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) - n = 5) were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate methodological quality and the quality of studies included in this systematic review was high for 4 articles and moderate in the remaining 11. The most commonly employed technique was mass spectrometry. A total of 318 candidate proteins (LK - 14, PVL - 82, OSMF - 172, and OLP - 50) were identified across the oral potentially malignant disorders. Key markers identified through vote counting included ERO1A, NUCB1, RHOA, and IL36A for PVL; LUM, KRT1, KRT9, ALB, and VIM for OSMF; and ALB, LYZ, HP, HBB, and AMY1A for OLP. The bipartite network showed that OSMF and OLP shared the highest number of proteins, indicating the strongest overlap among lesions. Network analysis further highlighted distinct hub proteins for each lesion: for LK- AMY1A, AMY1B and APOA1; for PVL- CFL1, RHOA and CDC42; for OSMF- HSP90AA1, ENO1 and SERPINA1; and for OLP- HP, B2M, and ORM1. Lesion-specific pathway enrichment revealed that LK was associated with epithelial differentiation, PVL with oncogenic signaling, OSMF with stress-driven fibrosis, and OLP with immune-mediated inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Proteomic expression offers insights into disease pathogenesis by identifying important molecular changes across OPMDs. However, the majority of biomarkers are still in the exploratory stage due to the considerable variation in lesion types, sample sources, proteomic techniques, and reporting systems. In order to create reliable and clinically applicable biomarkers, future studies should concentrate on combining multi-omics techniques with large-scale, standardized cohorts.

Humans↗