Integrated Analysis of lncRNA and mRNA Reveals Novel Insights into Wool Bending in Zhongwei Goat

Chinese Zhongwei goat is a rare and precious fur breed as its lamb fur is a well-known fur product. Wool bending of lamb fur of the Zhongwei goat is its most striking feature. However, the curvature of the wool decreases gradually with growth, which significantly affects its quality and economic value. The mechanism regulating the phenotypic changes of hair bending is still unclear. In the present study, the skin tissues of Zhongwei goats at 45 days (curving wool) and 108 days (slight-curving wool) after birth were taken as the research objects, and the expression profiling of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs were analyzed based on the Ribo Zero RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) method. In total, 46,013 mRNAs and 13,549 lncRNAs were identified, of which 352 were differentially expressed mRNAs and 60 were. lncRNAs. Functional enrichment analysis of the target genes of lncRNAs were mainly enriched in PI3K-Akt, Arachidonic acid metabolic, cAMP, Wnt, and other signaling pathways. The qRT-PCR results of eight selected lncRNAs and target genes were consistent with the sequencing result, which indicated our data were reliable. Through the analysis of the weighted gene co-expression network, 13 co-expression modules were identified. The turquoise module contained a large number of differential expressed lncRNAs, which were mainly enriched in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and cAMP signaling pathway. The predicted LOC102172600 and LOC102191729 might affect the development of hair follicles and the curvature of wool by regulating the target genes. Our study provides novel insights into the potential roles of lncRNAs in the regulation of wool bending. In addition, the study offers a theoretical basis for further study of goat wool growth, so as to be a guidance and reference for breeding and improvement in the future.

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A Novel Three-miRNA Signature Identified Using Bioinformatics Predicts Survival in Esophageal Carcinoma

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2020/5973082 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

KunZhe Wu ◽

ChunDong Zhang ◽

Cheng Zhang ◽

DongQiu Dai

Keyword(s):

Growth Factor ◽

Esophageal Carcinoma ◽

Target Genes ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Mirna Signature ◽

Cox Regression Analysis ◽

Ppi Networks

Objective. We identified differentially expressed microRNAs (DEMs) between esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) tissues and normal esophageal tissues. We then constructed a novel three-miRNA signature to predict the prognosis of ESCA patients using bioinformatics analysis. Materials and Methods. We combined two microarray profiling datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and RNA-seq datasets from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze DEMs in ESCA. The clinical data from 168 ESCA patients were selected from the TCGA database to assess the prognostic role of the DEMs. The TargetScan, miRDB, miRWalk, and DIANA websites were used to predict the miRNA target genes. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (David), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were obtained using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database (STRING). Results. With cut-off criteria of P<0.05 and |log2FC| > 1.0, 33 overlapping DEMs, including 27 upregulated and 6 downregulated miRNAs, were identified from GEO microarray datasets and TCGA RNA-seq count datasets. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that a three-miRNA signature (miR-1301-3p, miR-431-5p, and miR-769-5p) was significantly associated with the overall survival of ESCA patients. The results of univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the three-miRNA signature was a potential prognostic factor in ESCA. Furthermore, the gene functional enrichment analysis revealed that the target genes of the three miRNAs participate in various cancer-related pathways, including viral carcinogenesis, forkhead box O (FoxO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ErbB2), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways. In the PPI network, three target genes (MAPK1, RB1, and CLTC) with a high degree of connectivity were selected as hub genes. Conclusions. Our results revealed that a three-miRNA signature (miR-1301-3p, miR-431-5p, and miR-769-5p) is a potential novel prognostic biomarker for ESCA.

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Genome-wide phylogenetic analysis, expression pattern, and transcriptional regulatory network of the pig C/EBP gene family

10.21203/rs.3.rs-96827/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chaoxin Zhang ◽

Tao Wang ◽

Shengwei Liu ◽

Bing Zhang ◽

Xue Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Regulatory Network ◽

Target Genes ◽

Transcriptional Regulatory Network ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Group I

Abstract Background: The vertebrate C/EBP transcription factors regulate many important biological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, signal transduction, inflammation, and energy metabolism. The first C/EBP protein was identified in rat liver nuclei. Development of sequencing technology resulted in identification of the C/EBP genes in various species. In this study, a bioinformatics approach was used to determine the distribution of the members of the C/EBP family in vertebrates. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to analyze the C/EBP genes in vertebrates. Based on RNA-seq data, the expression patterns of pig C/EBP members in various tissues were analyzed. In addition, a gene transcription regulatory network was constructed with pig C/EBP members as the core.Results: We identified a total of 92 C/EBP genes in 17 vertebrate genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all C/EBP TFs were classified into two groups; group I contained C/EBPβ TFs, and group II contained the remaining C/EBP TFs. The C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, C/EBPγ, and C/EBPζ genes were expressed ubiquitously with inconsistent expression patterns in various tissues. Moreover, a pig C/EBP regulatory network was constructed, including C/EBP genes, TFs, and miRNAs. A total of 39 FFL motifs were detected in the pig C/EBP regulatory network. Based on the RNA-seq data, gene expression patterns related to this FFL sub-network were analyzed in 27 adult Duroc tissues. Certain FFL motifs may be tissue specific. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that C/EBP and its target genes are involved in many important biological pathways. Conclusions: These results provide valuable information that clarifies the evolutionary relationships of the C/EBP family and contributes to the understanding of the biological function of C/EBP genes.

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Comprehensive analysis of Helicobacter pylori infection-associated diseases based on miRNA-mRNA interaction network

Briefings in Bioinformatics ◽

10.1093/bib/bby018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 1492-1501 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jue Yang ◽

Hui Song ◽

Kun Cao ◽

Jialei Song ◽

Jianjiang Zhou

Keyword(s):

Helicobacter Pylori ◽

Target Genes ◽

Effective Means ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Integrated Analysis ◽

Lymphatic Diseases ◽

H Pylori

AbstractHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection remains a cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Comprehensive understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of H. pylori and its interaction with host will contribute to developing novel prophylactical and therapeutical strategies. Here, we first determined microRNA (miRNA) levels in H. pylori-infected patients with gastritis, duodenal ulcer, gastric cancer or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma using miRNA data sets. Thirty-four differentially expressed miRNAs were identified and functional enrichment analysis of those miRNA target genes revealed that H. pylori infection were strongly associated with pathway in cancer and regulation of mRNA synthesis. Using disease connectivity analysis of 28 hub genes, we found that H. pylori may increase the risk of many extragastric diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, hemic and lymphatic diseases and nervous system disease). Altogether, our integrated analysis provided a new method to predict pathogen–human disease connectivity based on miRNA-mRNA interaction network and indicated anti-H. pylori therapy as an effective means of human diseases prevention.

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LncRNA AC007255.1, an immune-related prognostic enhancer RNA in esophageal cancer

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.11698 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e11698

Author(s):

Qingqing Wang ◽

Xiaoyan Yu ◽

Ningning Yang ◽

Lu Xu ◽

Yunfeng Zhou

Keyword(s):

Esophageal Cancer ◽

Target Genes ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Enhancer Rna ◽

Active Enhancer

Background Growing evidence has suggested that enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), a set of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that were derived from active enhancer regions, play critical roles in regulating gene expression in human cancers. Nevertheless potential functions of eRNAs in esophageal cancer ESCA have not yet been expounded. Here, this study aimed to explore key prognostic eRNAs in ESCA. Methods LncRNAs that were transcribed from active enhancer regions were analyzed utilizing the PreSTIGE algorithm, followed by prediction of their target genes. Based on the ESCA RNA-seq data from the TANRIC database, overall survival (OS)-related eRNAs were determined. The correlation between AC007255.1 expression and various clinical traits of ESCA was calculated. Functional enrichment analysis was presented based on its co-expressed genes. Based on the TIMER database, we analyzed correlations between AC007255.1 expression and immune infiltration levels. qRT-PCR was utilized to validate the expression of AC007255.1 and PRR15 in ESCA and normal tissues. Results Totally, 2,695 lncRNAs were transcribed from active enhancer regions. Among them, 33 were significantly related to OS. AC007255.1 was a key eRNA. PRR15 was a target gene of AC007255.1 (correlation coefficient r = 0.936). Patients with high AC007255.1 expression indicated poor OS time. There were significant correlations between AC007255.1 expression and clinical characteristics like pathological TNM, grade and stage. AC007255.1 was closely related to tight junction and neutrophil activation involved in immune response. Moreover, AC007255.1 expression was related to the infiltration levels of B cell, dendritic cell and neutrophil. qRT-PCR results confirmed that AC007255.1 and PRR15 were both up-regulated in ESCA tissues, and there was a positive correlation between the two. Conclusion Our findings identified a novel immune-related eRNA AC007255.1 in ESCA, which could be a promising prognostic factor for ESCA.

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Identification of Potential Target Genes in HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer by Bioinformatics Analysis.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-34161/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Song Wang ◽

Yi Quan ◽

Hongying Lyu ◽

Jian Deng

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Gene Expression ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Target Genes ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Ppi Network ◽

Her 2 ◽

Positive Breast Cancer

Abstract Background: HER-2 positive breast cancer has a high risk of for relapse, metastasis and drug resistance, and is correlated with a poor prognosis. Thus, the study objective was to reveal target genes and key pathways in HER-2 subtype breast cancer. Methods: The gene expression dataset (GSE29431) was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database(GEO), and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined using LIMMA package in R software. Subsequently, Functional enrichment analysis were performed in ClusterProfiler package of R platform. The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database was used to construct a Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network of DEGs. Module analysis and target genes were identified by Cytoscape software. Further more, The influence of target genes on overall survival (OS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier plotter database.Results: The differential expression analysis revealed 96 genes were up-regulated while 407 genes were down-regulated in HER-2 positive breast cancer tissue compared to normal breast tissue. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the DEGs were mainly involved in regulation of lipid metabolic process, PPAR signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. PPI network construction revealed a total of 199 nodes and 560 edges, and 12 target genes were identified by the highest value of degree. In addition, target genes were associated with worse overall prognosis, including NUSAP1, PTTG1, CEP55, TOP2A, CCNB1, CENPF, MELK, AURKA, UBE2C, BUB1B, KIF20A and RRM2.Conclusion: The present study identified 12 target genes associated with the development of HER-2 subtype breast cancer, which may help to provide new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

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RNA Profiles of the Korat Chicken Breast Muscle with Increased Carnosine Content Produced through Dietary Supplementation with β-Alanine or L-Histidine

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11092596 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2596

Author(s):

Satoshi Kubota ◽

Kasarat Promkhun ◽

Panpradub Sinpru ◽

Chanadda Suwanvichanee ◽

Wittawat Molee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathway ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Dietary Supplementation ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Chicken Breast ◽

Meat Tenderness ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Breast Meat ◽

Slow Growing

Korat chicken (KRC) is a slow-growing chicken bred in Thailand, whose meat exhibits a unique toughness. A previous study produced KRC breast meat containing high carnosine content through dietary supplementation with β-alanine or L-histidine; however, the KRC that were fed an L-histidine-supplemented diet produced meat that was significantly more tender. Herein, we performed RNA-Seq to identify candidate genes involved in the regulation of carnosine content and meat toughness. Total RNA was isolated from five female KRC breast muscles in each treatment group that KRC fed diets without supplementation, supplemented with β-alanine or L-histidine. Compared to the non-supplemented group, we identified 118 and 198 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the β-alanine or L-histidine supplementation groups, respectively. Genes potentially related to meat tenderness—i.e., those regulating myosin, collagen, intramuscular fat, and calpain—were upregulated (LOC107051274, ACSBG1, and CAPNS2) and downregulated (MYO7B, MYBPH, SERPINH1, and PGAM1). However, carnosine synthase gene was not identified. Functional enrichment analysis identified pathways affected by dietary supplementation, including the insulin signaling pathway (β-alanine supplementation) and the insulin resistance and adipocytokine signaling pathways (L-histidine supplementation). The FoxO signaling pathway was identified as a regulatory network for both supplementation groups. The identified genes can be used as molecular markers of meat tenderness in slow-growing chickens.

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An integrated analysis of mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis involved in bovine endometritis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-97319-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Negin Sheybani ◽

Mohammad Reza Bakhtiarizadeh ◽

Abdolreza Salehi

Keyword(s):

Network Analysis ◽

Protein Interactions ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Biological Pathways ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Integrated Analysis ◽

Rna Seq

AbstractIn dairy cattle, endometritis is a severe infectious disease that occurs following parturition. It is clear that genetic factors are involved in the etiology of endometritis, however, the molecular pathogenesis of endometritis is not entirely understood. In this study, a system biology approach was used to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of endometritis. Forty transcriptomic datasets comprising of 20 RNA-Seq (GSE66825) and 20 miRNA-Seq (GSE66826) were obtained from the GEO database. Next, the co-expressed modules were constructed based on RNA-Seq (Rb-modules) and miRNA-Seq (mb-modules) data, separately, using a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) approach. Preservation analysis was used to find the non-preserved Rb-modules in endometritis samples. Afterward, the non-preserved Rb-modules were assigned to the mb-modules to construct the integrated regulatory networks. Just highly connected genes (hubs) in the networks were considered and functional enrichment analysis was used to identify the biological pathways associated with the development of the disease. Furthermore, additional bioinformatic analysis including protein–protein interactions network and miRNA target prediction were applied to enhance the reliability of the results. Thirty-five Rb-modules and 10 mb-modules were identified and 19 and 10 modules were non-preserved, respectively, which were enriched in biological pathways related to endometritis like inflammation and ciliogenesis. Two non-preserved Rb-modules were significantly assigned to three mb-modules and three and two important sub-networks in the Rb-modules were identified, respectively, including important mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs genes like IRAK1, CASP3, CCDC40, CCDC39, ZMYND10, FOXJ1, TLR4, IL10, STAT3, FN1, AKT1, CD68, ENSBTAG00000049936, ENSBTAG00000050527, ENSBTAG00000051242, ENSBTAG00000049287, bta-miR-449, bta-miR-484, bta-miR-149, bta-miR-30b and bta-miR-423. The potential roles of these genes have been previously demonstrated in endometritis or related pathways, which reinforced putative functions of the suggested integrated regulatory networks in the endometritis pathogenesis. These findings may help further elucidate the underlying mechanisms of bovine endometritis.

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Identification of key molecules in recurrent miscarriage based on bioinformatics analysis

Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening ◽

10.2174/1386207324666210825142340 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

Author(s):

Haiwang Wu ◽

Yan Ning ◽

Qingying Yu ◽

Songping Luo ◽

Jie Gao

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathway ◽

Target Genes ◽

Recurrent Miscarriage ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Fold Change ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

P Value ◽

Regulation Network

Background: Recurrent miscarriage (RM) affects 1% to 5% of couples, and the mechanisms still stay unclear. In this study, we explored the underlying molecular mechanism and potential molecular biomarkers of RM as well as constructed a miRNA-mRNA regulation network. Methods: The microarray datasets GSE73025 and GSE22490, which represent mRNA and miRNA profiles, respectively, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with p-value < 0.05 and fold-change > 2 were identified while the miRNAs with p-value < 0.05 and fold-change > 1.3 were considered as significant differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs). Results: A total of 373 DEGs, including 218 up-regulated genes and 155 down-regulated genes, were identified, while 138 up-regulated and 68 down-regulated DEMs were screened out. After functional enrichment analysis, we found GO biological process (BP) terms significantly enriched in the Fc-gamma receptor signaling pathway involved in phagocytosis. Moreover, signaling pathway analyses indicated that the neurotrophin signaling pathway (hsa04722) was the top KEGG enrichment. 6 hub genes (FPR1, C5AR1, CCR1, ADCY7, CXCR2, NPY) were screened out to construct a complex regulation network in RM because they had the highest degree of affecting the network. Besides, we constructed miRNA-mRNA network between DEMs target genes and DEGs in RM, including hsa-miR-1297- KLHL24 and hsa-miR-548a-5p-KLHL24 pairs. Conclusions: In conclusion, the novel differentially expressed molecules in the present study could provide a new sight to explore the pathogenesis of RM as well as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RM diagnosis and treatment.

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Identification of Tumorigenic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer Based on microRNA Expression Profiles

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2020/7136049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Yuntao Shi ◽

Yingying Zhuang ◽

Jialing Zhang ◽

Mengxue Chen ◽

Shangnong Wu

Keyword(s):

Target Genes ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Normal Mucosa ◽

Microrna Expression ◽

Functional Enrichment

Objective. Although noncoding RNAs, especially the microRNAs, have been found to play key roles in CRC development in intestinal tissue, the specific mechanism of these microRNAs has not been fully understood. Methods. GEO and TCGA database were used to explore the microRNA expression profiles of normal mucosa, adenoma, and carcinoma. And the differential expression genes were selected. Computationally, we built the SVM model and multivariable Cox regression model to evaluate the performance of tumorigenic microRNAs in discriminating the adenomas from normal tissues and risk prediction. Results. In this study, we identified 20 miRNA biomarkers dysregulated in the colon adenomas. The functional enrichment analysis showed that MAPK activity and MAPK cascade were highly enriched by these tumorigenic microRNAs. We also investigated the target genes of the tumorigenic microRNAs. Eleven genes, including PIGF, TPI1, KLF4, RARS, PCBP2, EIF5A, HK2, RAVER2, HMGN1, MAPK6, and NDUFA2, were identified to be frequently targeted by the tumorigenic microRNAs. The high AUC value and distinct overall survival rates between the two risk groups suggested that these tumorigenic microRNAs had the potential of diagnostic and prognostic value in CRC. Conclusions. The present study revealed possible mechanisms and pathways that may contribute to tumorigenesis of CRC, which could not only be used as CRC early detection biomarkers, but also be useful for tumorigenesis mechanism studies.

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miRNA Mediated Noise Making of 3′UTR Mutations in Cancer

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes9110545 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 545 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Wei Wu ◽

Lingxiang Wu ◽

Mengyan Zhu ◽

Ziyu Wang ◽

Min Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Somatic Mutations ◽

Target Genes ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Tumor Development ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Messenger Rnas ◽

Cellular Functions ◽

Mrna Binding

Somatic mutations in 3′-untranslated regions (3′UTR) do not alter amino acids and are considered to be silent in cancers. We found that such mutations can promote tumor progression by altering microRNA (miRNA) targeting efficiency and consequently affecting miRNA–mRNA interactions. We identified 67,159 somatic mutations located in the 3′UTRs of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) which can alter miRNA–mRNA interactions (functional somatic mutations, funcMutations), and 69.3% of these funcMutations (the degree of energy change > 12 kcal/mol) were identified to significantly promote loss of miRNA-mRNA binding. By integrating mRNA expression profiles of 21 cancer types, we found that the expression of target genes was positively correlated with the loss of absolute affinity level and negatively correlated with the gain of absolute affinity level. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that genes carrying funcMutations were significantly enriched in the MAPK and WNT signaling pathways, and analysis of regulatory modules identified eighteen miRNA modules involved with similar cellular functions. Our findings elucidate a complex relationship between miRNA, mRNA, and mutations, and suggest that 3′UTR mutations may play an important role in tumor development.

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