scholarly journals Bioinformatic Reconstruction and Analysis of Gene Networks Related to Glucose Variability in Diabetes and Its Complications

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8691
Author(s):  
Olga V. Saik ◽  
Vadim V. Klimontov

Glucose variability (GV) has been recognized recently as a promoter of complications and therapeutic targets in diabetes. The aim of this study was to reconstruct and analyze gene networks related to GV in diabetes and its complications. For network analysis, we used the ANDSystem that provides automatic network reconstruction and analysis based on text mining. The network of GV consisted of 37 genes/proteins associated with both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Cardiovascular system, pancreas, adipose and muscle tissues, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney were recognized as the loci with the highest expression of GV-related genes. According to Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, these genes are associated with insulin secretion, glucose metabolism, glycogen biosynthesis, gluconeogenesis, MAPK and JAK-STAT cascades, protein kinase B signaling, cell proliferation, nitric oxide biosynthesis, etc. GV-related genes were found to occupy central positions in the networks of diabetes complications (cardiovascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy) and were associated with response to hypoxia. Gene prioritization analysis identified new gene candidates (THBS1, FN1, HSP90AA1, EGFR, MAPK1, STAT3, TP53, EGF, GSK3B, and PTEN) potentially involved in GV. The results expand the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the GV phenomenon in diabetes and provide molecular markers and therapeutic targets for future research.

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 591-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aravind K. Konda ◽  
Parasappa R. Sabale ◽  
Khela R. Soren ◽  
Shanmugavadivel P. Subramaniam ◽  
Pallavi Singh ◽  
...  

Background: Chickpea is a nutritional rich premier pulse crop but its production encounters setbacks due to various stresses and understanding of molecular mechanisms can be ascribed foremost importance. Objective: The investigation was carried out to identify the differentially expressed WRKY TFs in chickpea in response to herbicide stress and decipher their interacting partners. Methods: For this purpose, transcriptome wide identification of WRKY TFs in chickpea was done. Behavior of the differentially expressed TFs was compared between other stress conditions. Orthology based cofunctional gene networks were derived from Arabidopsis. Gene ontology and functional enrichment analysis was performed using Blast2GO and STRING software. Gene Coexpression Network (GCN) was constructed in chickpea using publicly available transcriptome data. Expression pattern of the identified gene network was studied in chickpea-Fusarium interactions. Results: A unique WRKY TF (Ca_08086) was found to be significantly (q value = 0.02) upregulated not only under herbicide stress but also in other stresses. Co-functional network of 14 genes, namely Ca_08086, Ca_19657, Ca_01317, Ca_20172, Ca_12226, Ca_15326, Ca_04218, Ca_07256, Ca_14620, Ca_12474, Ca_11595, Ca_15291, Ca_11762 and Ca_03543 were identified. GCN revealed 95 hub genes based on the significant probability scores. Functional annotation indicated role in callose deposition and response to chitin. Interestingly, contrasting expression pattern of the 14 network genes was observed in wilt resistant and susceptible chickpea genotypes, infected with Fusarium. Conclusion: This is the first report of identification of a multi-stress responsive WRKY TF and its associated GCN in chickpea.


Hereditas ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Tang ◽  
Xiaobo Yang ◽  
Huaqing Shu ◽  
Yuan Yu ◽  
Shangwen Pan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sepsis and septic shock are life-threatening diseases with high mortality rate in intensive care unit (ICU). Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of sepsis, and its occurrence is a poor prognostic sign to septic patients. We analyzed co-differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs) to explore relationships between septic shock and AKI and reveal potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets of septic-shock-associated AKI (SSAKI). Methods Two gene expression datasets (GSE30718 and GSE57065) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The GSE57065 dataset included 28 septic shock patients and 25 healthy volunteers and blood samples were collected within 0.5, 24 and 48 h after shock. Specimens of GSE30718 were collected from 26 patients with AKI and 11 control patents. AKI-DEGs and septic-shock-DEGs were identified using the two datasets. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) functional analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis were performed to elucidate molecular mechanisms of DEGs. We also evaluated co-DEGs and corresponding predicted miRNAs involved in septic shock and AKI. Results We identified 62 DEGs in AKI specimens and 888, 870, and 717 DEGs in septic shock blood samples within 0.5, 24 and 48 h, respectively. The hub genes of EGF and OLFM4 may be involved in AKI and QPCT, CKAP4, PRKCQ, PLAC8, PRC1, BCL9L, ATP11B, KLHL2, LDLRAP1, NDUFAF1, IFIT2, CSF1R, HGF, NRN1, GZMB, and STAT4 may be associated with septic shock. Besides, co-DEGs of VMP1, SLPI, PTX3, TIMP1, OLFM4, LCN2, and S100A9 coupled with corresponding predicted miRNAs, especially miR-29b-3p, miR-152-3p, and miR-223-3p may be regarded as promising targets for the diagnosis and treatment of SSAKI in the future. Conclusions Septic shock and AKI are related and VMP1, SLPI, PTX3, TIMP1, OLFM4, LCN2, and S100A9 genes are significantly associated with novel biomarkers involved in the occurrence and development of SSAKI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialin Li ◽  
Hua Luo ◽  
Xinkui Liu ◽  
Jingyuan Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Yuzhi Zhixue Granule (YZG)is a traditional Chinese patent medicine for treating excessive menstrual flow caused by ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (ODUB) accompanied by heat syndrome. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms, potential targets, and active ingredients of this prescription are still unknown. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the molecular mechanism of YZG.Methods: The active compounds in YZG were screened by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The putative targets of YZG were collected via TCMSP and Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals (STITCH) databases. The Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) and Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) databases were used to identify the therapeutic targets of ODUB. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network containing both the putative targets of YZG and known therapeutic targets of ODUB was built. Furthermore, bioinformatics resources from the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) were utilized for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Finally, molecular docking was performed to verify the binding effect between the YZG screened compounds and potential therapeutic target molecules.Results: The study employed a network pharmacology method, mainly containing target prediction, network construction, functional enrichment analysis, and molecular docking to systematically research the mechanisms of YZG in treating ODUB. The putative targets of YZG that treat ODUB mainly involved PTGS1, PTGS2, ALOX5, CASP3, LTA4H, F7 and F10. The functional enrichment analysis suggested that the produced therapeutic effect of YZG against ODUB is mediated by synergistical regulation of several biological pathways, including apoptosis arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, serotonergic synapse, complement and coagulation cascades and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways. Molecular docking simulation revealed good binding affinity of the seven putative targets with the corresponding compounds.Conclusion: This novel and scientific network pharmacology-based study holistically elucidated the basic pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of YZG in the treatment of ODUB.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Ho-Sung Lee ◽  
In-Hee Lee ◽  
Kyungrae Kang ◽  
Sang-In Park ◽  
Seung-Joon Moon ◽  
...  

Herbal medicines have drawn considerable attention with regard to their potential applications in breast cancer (BC) treatment, a frequently diagnosed malignant disease, considering their anticancer efficacy with relatively less adverse effects. However, their mechanisms of systemic action have not been understood comprehensively. Based on network pharmacology approaches, we attempted to unveil the mechanisms of FDY003, an herbal drug comprised of Lonicera japonica Thunberg, Artemisia capillaris Thunberg, and Cordyceps militaris, against BC at a systemic level. We found that FDY003 exhibited pharmacological effects on human BC cells. Subsequently, detailed data regarding the biochemical components contained in FDY003 were obtained from comprehensive herbal medicine-related databases, including TCMSP and CancerHSP. By evaluating their pharmacokinetic properties, 18 chemical compounds in FDY003 were shown to be potentially active constituents interacting with 140 BC-associated therapeutic targets to produce the pharmacological activity. Gene ontology enrichment analysis using g:Profiler indicated that the FDY003 targets were involved in the modulation of cellular processes, involving the cell proliferation, cell cycle process, and cell apoptosis. Based on a KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, we further revealed that a variety of oncogenic pathways that play key roles in the pathology of BC were significantly enriched with the therapeutic targets of FDY003; these included PI3K-Akt, MAPK, focal adhesion, FoxO, TNF, and estrogen signaling pathways. Here, we present a network-perspective of the molecular mechanisms via which herbal drugs treat BC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialin Li ◽  
Hua Luo ◽  
Xinkui Liu ◽  
Jingyuan Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Yuzhi Zhixue Granule (YZG) is a traditional Chinese patent medicine for treating excessive menstrual flow caused by ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (ODUB) accompanied by heat syndrome. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms, potential targets, and active ingredients of this prescription are still unknown. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the molecular mechanism of YZG. Methods The active compounds in YZG were screened by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The putative targets of YZG were collected via TCMSP and Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals (STITCH) databases. The Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) and Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) databases were used to identify the therapeutic targets of ODUB. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network containing both the putative targets of YZG and known therapeutic targets of ODUB was built. Furthermore, bioinformatics resources from the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) were utilized for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Finally, molecular docking was performed to verify the binding effect between the YZG screened compounds and potential therapeutic target molecules. Results The study employed a network pharmacology method, mainly containing target prediction, network construction, functional enrichment analysis, and molecular docking to systematically research the mechanisms of YZG in treating ODUB. The putative targets of YZG that treat ODUB mainly involved PTGS1, PTGS2, ALOX5, CASP3, LTA4H, F7 and F10. The functional enrichment analysis suggested that the produced therapeutic effect of YZG against ODUB is mediated by synergistical regulation of several biological pathways, including apoptosis arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, serotonergic synapse, complement and coagulation cascades and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways. Molecular docking simulation revealed good binding affinity of the seven putative targets with the corresponding compounds. Conclusion This novel and scientific network pharmacology-based study holistically elucidated the basic pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of YZG in the treatment of ODUB.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Van der Hauwaert ◽  
François Glowacki ◽  
Nicolas Pottier ◽  
Christelle Cauffiez

Fibrosis, or tissue scarring, is defined as the excessive, persistent and destructive accumulation of extracellular matrix components in response to chronic tissue injury. Renal fibrosis represents the final stage of most chronic kidney diseases and contributes to the progressive and irreversible decline in kidney function. Limited therapeutic options are available and the molecular mechanisms governing the renal fibrosis process are complex and remain poorly understood. Recently, the role of non-coding RNAs, and in particular microRNAs (miRNAs), has been described in kidney fibrosis. Seminal studies have highlighted their potential importance as new therapeutic targets and innovative diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers. This review will summarize recent scientific advances and will discuss potential clinical applications as well as future research directions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialin Li ◽  
Hua Luo ◽  
Xinkui Liu ◽  
Jingyuan Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Yuzhi Zhixue Granule (YZG)is a traditional Chinese patent medicine for treating excessive menstrual flow caused by ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (ODUB) accompanied by heat syndrome. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms, potential targets, and active ingredients of this prescription are still unknown. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the molecular mechanism of YZG.Methods: The active compounds in YZG were screened by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The putative targets of YZG were collected via TCMSP and Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals (STITCH) databases. The Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) and Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) databases were used to identify the therapeutic targets of ODUB. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network containing both the putative targets of YZG and known therapeutic targets of ODUB was built. Furthermore, bioinformatics resources from the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) were utilized for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Finally, molecular docking was performed to verify the binding effect between the YZG screened compounds and potential therapeutic target molecules.Results: The study employed a network pharmacology method, mainly containing target prediction, network construction, functional enrichment analysis, and molecular docking to systematically research the mechanisms of YZG in treating ODUB. The putative targets of YZG that treat ODUB mainly involved PTGS1, PTGS2, ALOX5, CASP3, LTA4H, F7 and F10. The functional enrichment analysis suggested that the produced therapeutic effect of YZG against ODUB is mediated by synergistical regulation of several biological pathways, including apoptosis arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, serotonergic synapse, complement and coagulation cascades and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways. Molecular docking simulation revealed good binding affinity of the seven putative targets with the corresponding compounds.Conclusion: This novel and scientific network pharmacology-based study holistically elucidated the basic pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of YZG in the treatment of ODUB.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliakbar Hasankhani ◽  
Abolfazl Bahrami ◽  
Negin Sheybani ◽  
Behzad Aria ◽  
Behzad Hemati ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe recent emergence of COVID-19, rapid worldwide spread, and incomplete knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection have limited development of therapeutic strategies. Our objective was to systematically investigate molecular regulatory mechanisms of COVID-19, using a combination of high throughput RNA-sequencing-based transcriptomics and systems biology approaches.MethodsRNA-Seq data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy persons, mild and severe 17 COVID-19 patients were analyzed to generate a gene expression matrix. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify co-expression modules in healthy samples as a reference set. For differential co-expression network analysis, module preservation and module-trait relationships approaches were used to identify key modules. Then, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, based on co-expressed hub genes, were constructed to identify hub genes/TFs with the highest information transfer (hub-high traffic genes) within candidate modules.ResultsBased on differential co-expression network analysis, connectivity patterns and network density, 72% (15 of 21) of modules identified in healthy samples were altered by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 caused systemic perturbations in host biological gene networks. In functional enrichment analysis, among 15 non-preserved modules and two significant highly-correlated modules (identified by MTRs), 9 modules were directly related to the host immune response and COVID-19 immunopathogenesis. Intriguingly, systemic investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection identified signaling pathways and key genes/proteins associated with COVID-19’s main hallmarks, e.g., cytokine storm, respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute lung injury (ALI), lymphopenia, coagulation disorders, thrombosis, and pregnancy complications, as well as comorbidities associated with COVID-19, e.g., asthma, diabetic complications, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), liver disorders and acute kidney injury (AKI). Topological analysis with betweenness centrality (BC) identified 290 hub-high traffic genes, central in both co-expression and PPI networks. We also identified several transcriptional regulatory factors, including NFKB1, HIF1A, AHR, and TP53, with important immunoregulatory roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, several hub-high traffic genes, including IL6, IL1B, IL10, TNF, SOCS1, SOCS3, ICAM1, PTEN, RHOA, GDI2, SUMO1, CASP1, IRAK3, HSPA5, ADRB2, PRF1, GZMB, OASL, CCL5, HSP90AA1, HSPD1, IFNG, MAPK1, RAB5A, and TNFRSF1A had the highest rates of information transfer in 9 candidate modules and central roles in COVID-19 immunopathogenesis.ConclusionThis study provides comprehensive information on molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-host interactions and identifies several hub-high traffic genes as promising therapeutic targets for the COVID-19 pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biao Xuan ◽  
Jongbin Park ◽  
Sukjung Choi ◽  
Inhwan You ◽  
Bo-Hye Nam ◽  
...  

Backgrounds: Hypomesus nipponensis is a cold-freshwater fish species as a winter economic resource of aquaculture in South Korea. Due to its high susceptibility to abnormal water temperature from global warming. Aim of the study: Here, we present the first draft genome of H. nipponensis and transcriptomic changes in molecular mechanisms or intracellular responses under heat stress. Methods: We combined Illumina and PacBio sequencing technologies to generate the draft genome of H. nipponensis. Based on the reference genome, we conducted transcriptome analysis of liver and muscle tissues under normal (NT, 5°C) versus warm (HT, 23°C) conditions, to identify heat stress-induced genes and gene categories. Results: We observed a total of 1,987 contigs, with N50 of 0.46 Gbp with a largest contig (3.03 Mbp) in the assembled genome. A total number of 20,644 protein coding genes were predicted, and 19,224 genes were functionally annotated: 15,955 genes for Gene Ontology (GO) terms; and 11,560 genes for KO (KEGG Orthology). In the missing and gained genes analysis, we detected 4,461 (22.16%), 2,825 (10.62%), and 1,499 (3.09%) genes with coverage less than 10% and for gained genes found from alignment to other species that human, zebrafish and salmon, respectively, we observed 1,133 (5.49%), 1,670 (8.09%), and 229 (1.11%) genes with coverage less than 10% compared with above species, respectively. From transcriptome analysis, a total of 297 and 331 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, adjusted p-value < 0.05) were identified in the liver and muscle tissues, respectively. Gene enrichment analysis of DEGs indicates that up-regulated genes were significantly enriched for lipid biosynthetic process (GO:0008610, P < 0.001) and regulation of apoptotic process (GO:0042981, P < 0.01), and down-regulated genes by immune responses such as myeloid cell differentiation (GO:0030099, P < 0.001) in the liver under heat stress. In muscle tissue, up-regulated genes were enriched for hypoxia (GO:0001666, P < 0.05), transcription regulator activity (GO:0140110, P < 0.001) and calcium-release channel activity (GO:0015278, P < 0.01), and down-regulated genes for nicotinamide nucleotide biosynthetic process (GO:0019359, P < 0.01). The results of KEGG pathway analysis were similar to that of gene enrichment analysis. Conclusion: The draft genome and transcriptomic of H. nipponensis will be used as a useful genetic resource for functional and evolutionary studies. Our findings will improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms and heat responses and be useful for better survival of the smelt and its closely related species under global warming.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialin Li ◽  
Hua Luo ◽  
Xinkui Liu ◽  
Jingyuan Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Yuzhi Zhixue Granule (YZG)is a traditional Chinese patent medicine for treating excessive menstrual flow caused by ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding (ODUB) accompanied by heat syndrome. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms, potential targets, and active ingredients of this prescription are still unknown. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the molecular mechanism of YZG.Methods: The putative targets of YZG based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals (STITCH) databases were collected. The Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) and Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase (PharmGKB) databases were used to identify the therapeutic targets of ODUB. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network containing both the putative targets of YZG and known therapeutic targets of ODUB was built. Furthermore, bioinformatics resources from the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) were utilized for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Finally, molecular docking was performed to verify the binding effect between the YZG screened compounds and potential therapeutic target molecules.Results: The study employed a network pharmacology method, mainly containing target prediction, network construction, functional enrichment analysis, and molecular docking to systematically research the mechanisms of YZG in treating ODUB. The putative targets of YZG that treat ODUB mainly involved PTGS1, PTGS2, ALOX5, CASP3, LTA4H, F7 and F10. The functional enrichment analysis suggested that the produced therapeutic effect of YZG against ODUB is mediated by synergistical regulation of several biological pathways, including apoptosis arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, serotonergic synapse, complement and coagulation cascades and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways. Molecular docking simulation revealed good binding affinity of the seven putative targets with the corresponding compounds.Conclusion: This novel and scientific network pharmacology-based study holistically elucidated the basic pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms of YZG in the treatment of ODUB.


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