scholarly journals Identification and Characterization of Serum microRNAs as Biomarkers for Human Disc Degeneration: An RNA Sequencing Analysis

Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1063
Author(s):  
Shangbin Cui ◽  
Zhiyu Zhou ◽  
Xizhe Liu ◽  
Robert Geoff Richards ◽  
Mauro Alini ◽  
...  

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been associated with various degenerative diseases, including intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) often occurs in young patients, although the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of this work was to generate RNA deep sequencing data of peripheral blood samples from patients suffering from LDH, identify circulating miRNAs, and analyze them using bioinformatics applications. Serum was collected from 10 patients with LDH (Disc Degeneration Group); 10 patients without LDH served as the Control Group. RNA sequencing analysis identified 73 differential circulating miRNAs (p < 0.05) between the Disc Degeneration Group and Control Group. Gene ontology enrichment analysis (p < 0.05) showed that these differentially expressed miRNAs were associated with extracellular matrix, damage reactions, inflammatory reactions, and regulation of apoptosis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were involved in diverse signaling pathways. The profile of miR-766-3p, miR-6749-3p, and miR-4632-5p serum miRNAs was significantly enriched (p < 0.05) in multiple pathways associated with IVD degeneration. miR-766-3p, miR-6749-3p, and miR-4632-5p signature from serum may serve as a noninvasive diagnostic biomarker for LHD manifestation of IVD degeneration. Furthermore, several dysregulated miRNAs may be involved in the pathogenesis of IVD degeneration. Further study is needed to confirm the functional role of the identified miRNAs.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 654-654
Author(s):  
Raphael M Byrne ◽  
Rebecca Ruhl ◽  
Christian Lanciault ◽  
Sudarshan Anand ◽  
Abhinav Nellore ◽  
...  

654 Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) in young patients is increasing in incidence and is associated with worse outcomes than CRC in older patients. While distinct molecular subtypes of CRC have been recently characterized, it is unclear whether there are molecular differences between the tumors of young and old patients. We sought to identify differences in gene expression of CRC between these two groups. Our discovery analysis identified a gene signature of several differentially expressed RNAs, from which we validated PEG10. The PEG10 gene on chromosome 7q21.3 has been implicated in liver, gallbladder, thyroid, and blood cancers, and is thought to play a role in cancer cell survival and regulation of apoptosis. In hepatocellular carcinoma, increased PEG10 expression has been associated with younger patient age. Methods: RNA sequencing data was obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and analyzed for differences in gene expression between patients ≤ 45 years old and those ≥ 65 years old. The identified differentially expressed genes were then validated with qPCR using human CRC tissue from patients ≤ 45 years old and those ≥ 65 years old. Results: RNA sequencing data from patients ≤ 45 years old (n = 29) and patients ≥ 65 years old (n = 299) identified seven genes with increased expression in younger patients: ZNF334 (log2 [fold change] = 2.30), DSC3 (1.78), PEG10 (1.67), CACNA1I (1.54), PKIA (1.33), MAP9 (1.27), and EPHX3 (1.17) (p < 0.07). Validation with qPCR for PEG10 was most promising, and was performed on both young (n = 10, mean age = 39) and old patient samples ( n= 8, mean age = 72). Two cancers (20%) in the young group received radiation treatment and five (50%) received chemotherapy. One cancer (12.5%) in the old group received radiation and two (25%) received chemotherapy. PEG10 had increased expression in the young group with log2 [fold change] = 3.16 (p < 0.02). Conclusions: We have identified a potentially unique gene expression signature for CRC in young patients, which includes PEG10. Functional analysis of PEG10 and other genes is underway using in vitro cell culture, archived human tumor tissue, and mouse tumor models.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laifu Wei ◽  
Bizhi Tu ◽  
Fei Gao ◽  
Jun Qian

Abstract Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common symptom in daily life and one of the primary causes is intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Growing studies have indicated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are intimately associated with IDD; however, the underlying mechanism has not yet been elucidated. We aimed to explore how circRNAs regulate IDD in an effort to provide novel insight for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: The sequencing data of circRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNA were acquired from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. By analyzing the dataset consisting of a control group and degenerated group, differentially expressed circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs were collected, and then the intersection of circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs was screened. According to these intersectional RNAs, we constructed an integrally circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. Finally, using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses, we further clarified functions of the intersectional mRNA in IDD. Results: we obtained 620 differentially expressed circRNAs(DEcircRNAs), 13 miRNA (DEmiRNA), 273 mRNAs(DEmRNAs), 12 intersectional miRNAs, and 47 intersectional mRNAs. Finally, based on interactional 8 circRNA, 5 miRNAs and 15 mRNAs, an integrally circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed. Eight circRNAs, contained hsa_circ_0032254, hsa_circ_0003183, hsa_circ_0032253, hsa_circ_0001293, hsa_circ_0004565, hsa_circ_0091570, hsa_circ_0077526, and hsa_circ_0057552, may regulate IDD onset and progression by acting as competing endogenous RNAs. The results of GO and KEGG analyses implied that the targeted genes might significantly correlate to IDD.Conclusion: our findings improved a better understanding of the circRNA-related ceRNA regulatory mechanism in IDD and offered possible targets for IDD treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghui Fu ◽  
Wenfeng He ◽  
Chaoxiong Zhou ◽  
Xia Fu ◽  
Qigen Wan ◽  
...  

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mood disorder disease in China, and its underlying pathogenesis remains unknown. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to play a key role in mental disorders and can be used as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). However, little is known about the correlation of circRNAs with BD. In this study, Deep RNA sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed circRNAs (DE-circRNAs) and differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) between BD patients and a control group. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the differentially expressed RNAs (DE-RNAs). In all 9,593 circRNAs and 20,030 mRNAs were found in the two groups of specimens, among which 50 DE-circRNAs and 244 DE-mRNAs were significantly upregulated, and 44 DE-circRNAs and 294 DE-mRNAs were significantly downregulated. Based on the regulatory mechanism of ceRNAs, circRNAs can directly bind microRNAs (miRNAs) to affect mRNA expression, and the expression trends of circRNAs and mRNAs are consistent. According to this mechanism, we constructed two ceRNA networks by using the RNA sequencing data. The function of these DE-circRNAs was further elucidated by enrichment analysis. In summary, the present study showed that the circRNA expression profile of BD patients is altered, and a ceRNA regulatory network was constructed, which provided a hypothesis about the pathogenesis of BD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Furong Qi ◽  
Wenbo Zhang ◽  
Jialu Huang ◽  
Lili Fu ◽  
Jinfang Zhao

Although immune dysfunction is a key feature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the metabolism-related mechanisms remain elusive. Here, by reanalyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data, we delineated metabolic remodeling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to elucidate the metabolic mechanisms that may lead to the progression of severe COVID-19. After scoring the metabolism-related biological processes and signaling pathways, we found that mono-CD14+ cells expressed higher levels of glycolysis-related genes (PKM, LDHA and PKM) and PPP-related genes (PGD and TKT) in severe patients than in mild patients. These genes may contribute to the hyperinflammation in mono-CD14+ cells of patients with severe COVID-19. The mono-CD16+ cell population in COVID-19 patients showed reduced transcription levels of genes related to lysine degradation (NSD1, KMT2E, and SETD2) and elevated transcription levels of genes involved in OXPHOS (ATP6V1B2, ATP5A1, ATP5E, and ATP5B), which may inhibit M2-like polarization. Plasma cells also expressed higher levels of the OXPHOS gene ATP13A3 in COVID-19 patients, which was positively associated with antibody secretion and survival of PCs. Moreover, enhanced glycolysis or OXPHOS was positively associated with the differentiation of memory B cells into plasmablasts or plasma cells. This study comprehensively investigated the metabolic features of peripheral immune cells and revealed that metabolic changes exacerbated inflammation in monocytes and promoted antibody secretion and cell survival in PCs in COVID-19 patients, especially those with severe disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11509-11509
Author(s):  
Christopher James Walker ◽  
Hua Chang ◽  
Jianjun Liu ◽  
Bruno Vincenzi ◽  
Andrea Napolitano ◽  
...  

11509 Background: Patients (pts) with recurrent inoperative DDLS have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Selinexor is an oral, selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound approved for previously treated pts with myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. SEAL was a Phase 2-3 randomized, double-blind, study of selinexor versus placebo in pts with progressive DDLS and 2-5 prior systemic therapies. SEAL showed significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS, HR = 0.70, p = 0.0228) with well managed toxicity. A biomarker predictive of clinical activity could be used to optimize selection of pts with DDLS for selinexor. Methods: Pts were randomized 2:1 for Phase 3: 188 received twice weekly selinexor (60mg) and 97 received placebo. Three exploratory biomarker analyses (RNA sequencing of biopsies) from selinexor-treated pts were performed: discovery set of sensitive (n = 8) or resistant (n = 9) tumors; a validation set of pts with favorable (n = 19) or poor (n = 14) tumor control based on PFS, and paired lesions from a pt who harbored both a responsive and resistant lesion. Tumor biopsies from 24 pts on placebo with short ( < 5 months, n = 18) and long ( > 6 months, n = 6) PFS were RNA sequenced. Gene expressions were compared using a negative binomial distribution with DeSeq2. Pathway analyses were performed using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) with MSigDB Cancer Gene Neighborhoods. Results: RNA sequencing analysis comparing 17 sensitive and resistant tumors identified 114 differentially expressed genes (adjusted p-values < 0.05). Expression of CALB1, which encodes the calcium-binding protein calbindin, was significantly lower in sensitive tumors (adjusted P [Padj] = 7.5x10-20), and expression of GRM1, which encodes a metabotropic glutamate receptor that activates phospholipase C, was higher in selinexor sensitive tumors (Padj= 0.003). These findings were confirmed in an independent validation set (Padj = 0.01 – 0.02). In the pt with paired sensitive and resistant lesions, CALB1 expression was 52-fold lower in the sensitive tumor. In a comparison of placebo-treated pts, neither CALB1 or GRM1 was differentially expressed between pts with short or long PFS, indicating they are markers of response to selinexor treatment, rather than general markers of disease aggressiveness. Gene set enrichment analyses revealed that selinexor sensitive tumors in the discovery and validation sets showed upregulation of cancer genes related to SNRK and the netrin 1 receptor tumor suppressor DCC. The resistant tumors showed upregulated EIF3S2 translation initiator-related genes. Conclusions: Selinexor sensitive DDLS tumors showed low expression of CALB1 and high GRM1. If validated, pts with DDLS whose tumors match this expression profile are especially likely to benefit from selinexor. Clinical trial information: NCT02606461.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 4582-4582
Author(s):  
Wei Liao ◽  
Gwen Jordaan ◽  
Artur Jaroszewicz ◽  
Matteo Pellegrini ◽  
Sanjai Sharma

Abstract Abstract 4582 High throughput sequencing of cellular mRNA provides a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome. Besides identifying differentially expressed genes in different cell types, it also provides information of mRNA isoforms and splicing alterations. We have analyzed two CLL specimens and a normal peripheral blood B cells mRNA by this approach and performed data analysis to identify differentially expressed and spliced genes. The result showed CLLs specimens express approximately 40% more transcripts compared to normal B cells. The FPKM data (fragment per kilobase of exon per million) revealed a higher transcript expression on chromosome 12 in CLL#1 indicating the presence of trisomy 12, which was confirmed by fluorescent in-situ hybridization assay. With a two-fold change in FPKM as a cutoff and a p value cutoff of 0.05 as compared to the normal B cell control, 415 genes and 174 genes in CLL#1 and 676 and 235 genes in CLL#2 were up and downregulated or differentially expressed. In these two CLL specimens, 45% to 75% of differentially expressed genes are common to both the CLL specimens indicating that genetically disparate CLL specimens have a high percentage of a core set of genes that are potentially important for CLL biology. Selected differentially expressed genes with increased expression (selectin P ligand, SELPLG, and adhesion molecule interacts with CXADR antigen 1, AMICA) and decreased (Fos, Jun, CD69 and Rhob) expression based on the FPKM from RNA-sequencing data were also analyzed in additional CLL specimens by real time PCR analysis. The expression data from RNA-seq closely matches the fold-change in expression as measured by RT-PCR analysis and confirms the validity of the RNA-seq analysis. Interestingly, Fos was identified as one of the most downregulated gene in CLL. Using the Cufflinks and Cuffdiff software, the splicing patterns of genes in CLL specimens and normal B cells were analyzed. Approximately, 1100 to 1250 genes in the two CLL specimens were significantly differentially spliced as compared to normal B cells. In this analysis as well, there is a core set of 800 common genes which are differentially spliced in the two CLL specimens. The RNA-sequencing analysis accurately identifies differentially expressed novel genes and splicing variations that will help us understand the biology of CLL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Reproduction ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru Zheng ◽  
Yue Li ◽  
Huiying Sun ◽  
Xiaoyin Lu ◽  
Bao-Fa Sun ◽  
...  

The syncytiotrophoblast (STB) plays a key role in maintaining the function of the placenta during human pregnancy. However, the molecular network that orchestrates STB development remains elusive. The aim of this study was to obtain broad and deep insight into human STB formation via transcriptomics. We adopted RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to investigate genes and isoforms involved in forskolin (FSK)-induced fusion of BeWo cells. BeWo cells were treated with 50 μM FSK or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a vehicle control for 24 and 48 h, and the mRNAs at 0, 24 and 48 h were sequenced. We detected 28,633 expressed genes and identified 1902 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after FSK treatment for 24 and 48 h. Among the 1902 DEGs, 461 were increased and 395 were decreased at 24 h, whereas 879 were upregulated and 763 were downregulated at 48 h. When the 856 DEGs identified at 24 h were traced individually at 48 h, they separated into 6 dynamic patterns via a K-means algorithm, and most were enriched in down–even and up–even patterns. Moreover, the gene ontology (GO) terms syncytium formation, cell junction assembly, cell fate commitment, calcium ion transport, regulation of epithelial cell differentiation and cell morphogenesis involved in differentiation were clustered, and the MAPK pathway was most significantly regulated. Analyses of alternative splicing isoforms detected 123,200 isoforms, of which 1376 were differentially expressed. The present deep analysis of the RNA-Seq data of BeWo cell fusion provides important clues for understanding the mechanisms underlying human STB formation.


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