scholarly journals Application of microRNA Database Mining in Biomarker Discovery and Identification of Therapeutic Targets for Complex Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Major ◽  
Rushita A. Bagchi ◽  
Julie Pires da Silva

Over the past two decades, it has become increasingly evident that microRNAs (miRNA) play a major role in human diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, their easy detection in circulation has made them a tantalizing target for biomarkers of disease. This surge in interest has led to the accumulation of a vast amount of miRNA expression data, prediction tools, and repositories. We used the Human microRNA Disease Database (HMDD) to discover miRNAs which shared expression patterns in the related diseases of ischemia/reperfusion injury, coronary artery disease, stroke, and obesity as a model to identify miRNA candidates for biomarker and/or therapeutic intervention in complex human diseases. Our analysis identified a single miRNA, hsa-miR-21, which was casually linked to all four pathologies, and numerous others which have been detected in the circulation in more than one of the diseases. Target analysis revealed that hsa-miR-21 can regulate a number of genes related to inflammation and cell growth/death which are major underlying mechanisms of these related diseases. Our study demonstrates a model for researchers to use HMDD in combination with gene analysis tools to identify miRNAs which could serve as biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets of complex human diseases.

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 685
Author(s):  
Arun Surendran ◽  
Negar Atefi ◽  
Hannah Zhang ◽  
Michel Aliani ◽  
Amir Ravandi

As an emerging platform technology, metabolomics offers new insights into the pathomechanisms associated with complex disease conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. It also facilitates assessing the risk of developing the disease before its clinical manifestation. For this reason, metabolomics is of growing interest for understanding the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), finding new biomarkers of ACS, and its associated risk management. Metabolomics-based studies in ACS have already demonstrated immense potential for biomarker discovery and mechanistic insights by identifying metabolomic signatures (e.g., branched-chain amino acids, acylcarnitines, lysophosphatidylcholines) associated with disease progression. Herein, we discuss the various metabolomics approaches and the challenges involved in metabolic profiling, focusing on ACS. Special attention has been paid to the clinical studies of metabolomics and lipidomics in ACS, with an emphasis on ischemia/reperfusion injury.


2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (6) ◽  
pp. F762-F773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Jee Ko ◽  
Douglas Linfert ◽  
Hye Ryoun Jang ◽  
Elizabeth Higbee ◽  
Tonya Watkins ◽  
...  

Although T cells have been shown to play a direct role in kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), little is known about the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized that studying the transcriptional responses in kidney-infiltrating T cells would help elucidate novel therapeutic targets for kidney IRI. Unilateral renal pedicle clamping for 45 min was performed in male C57BL/6 mice, and CD3+ T cells were isolated from the kidney and purified. Transcriptional activities of T cell were measured by array-based PCR compared between ischemic kidneys and contralateral nonischemic kidneys. Among total of 89 genes analyzed, 24, 22, 24, and 37 genes were significantly changed at 6 h, day 3, day 10, and day 28 after IRI. Genes associated with cytokines, chemokines, and costimulatory molecules were upregulated. Pathway analysis identified CC motif chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) as a candidate pathophysiological pathway. CCR5 upregulation was validated at the protein level, and CCR5 blockade improved renal function after kidney IRI. Using discovery techniques to identify transcriptional responses in purified kidney-infiltrating cells enabled the elucidation of novel mechanisms and therapeutic targets for IRI.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Dossi ◽  
Romina Vargas ◽  
Rodrigo Valenzuela ◽  
Luis Videla

Liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a phenomenon inherent to hepatic surgery that severely compromises the organ functionality, whose underlying mechanisms involve cellular and molecular interrelated processes leading to the development...


Author(s):  
Fengyun Zhou ◽  
Ting Feng ◽  
Xiangqi Lu ◽  
Huicheng Wang ◽  
Yangping Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS)-induced apoptosis has been suggested to contribute to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Interleukin 35 (IL-35), a novel anti-inflammatory cytokine, has been shown to protect the myocardium and inhibit mtROS production. However, its effect on cardiomyocytes upon exposure to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) damage has not yet been elucidated. The present study aimed to investigate the potential protective role and underlying mechanisms of IL-35 in H/R-induced mouse neonatal cardiomyocyte injury. Mouse neonatal cardiomyocytes were challenged to H/R in the presence of IL-35, and we found that IL-35 dose dependently promotes cell viability, diminishes mtROS, maintains mitochondrial membrane potential, and decreases the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes. Meanwhile, IL-35 remarkably activates mitochondrial STAT3 (mitoSTAT3) signaling, inhibits cytochrome c release, and reduces apoptosis signaling. Furthermore, co-treatment of the cardiomyocytes with the STAT3 inhibitor AG490 abrogates the IL-35-induced cardioprotective effects. Our study identified the protective role of IL-35 in cardiomyocytes following H/R damage and revealed that IL-35 protects cardiomyocytes against mtROS-induced apoptosis through the mitoSTAT3 signaling pathway during H/R.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 373-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fang ◽  
Xiao-Qian Li ◽  
Bo Bi ◽  
Wen-Fei Tan ◽  
Gang Liu ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Dexmedetomidine has beneficial effects on ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury to the spinal cord, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of dexmedetomidine on blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption induced by spinal cord I/R injury. Methods: Rats were intrathecally pretreated with dexmedetomidine or PBS control 30 minutes before undergoing 14-minute occlusion of aortic arch. Hind-limb motor function was assessed using Tarlov criteria, and motor neurons in the ventral gray matter were counted by histological examination. The permeability of the BSCB was examined using Evans blue (EB) as a vascular tracer. The spinal cord edema was evaluated using the wet-dry method. The expression and localization of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and Tie2 were assessed by western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence. Results: Intrathecal preconditioning with dexmedetomidine minimized the neuromotor dysfunction and histopathological deficits, and attenuated EB extravasation after spinal cord I/R injury. In addition, dexmedetomidine preconditioning suppressed I/R-induced increase in MMP-9. Finally, Dexmedetomidine preconditioning enhanced the Ang1-Tie2 system activity after spinal cord I/R injury. Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine preconditioning stabilized the BSCB integrity against spinal cord I/R injury by inhibition of MMP-9, and enhancing the Ang1-Tie2 system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 129 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Cui ◽  
Atmanli Ayhan ◽  
Ning Liu ◽  
Rhonda S Bassel-duby ◽  
Eric N Olson

Cardiomyocyte loss is the underlying basis for a majority of heart diseases. Preventing cardiomyocytes from death (cardioprotection) and replenishing the lost myocardium (regeneration) are the central goals for heart repair. Although cardioprotection and heart regeneration have been traditionally thought to involve separate mechanisms, protection of cardiomyocytes from injury or disease stimuli is a prerequisite to any meaningful regenerative response. In our study, we sought to understand how neonatal cardiomyocytes cope with injury-induced stress to regenerate damaged myocardium and whether the underlying mechanisms could be leveraged to promote heart regeneration and repair in adults. Using spatial transcriptomic profiling, we visualized regenerative cardiomyocytes reconstituting damaged myocardium after ischemia, and found that they are marked by expression of Nrf1, an ER-bound stress responsive transcription factor. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing revealed that genetic deletion of Nrf1 prevented neonatal cardiomyocytes from activating a transcriptional program required for heart regeneration. Conversely, overexpression of Nrf1 protected the adult mouse heart from ischemia/reperfusion injury. Nrf1 also protected human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes from cardiotoxicity induced by the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. The cardioprotective function of Nrf1 is mediated by a dual stress response mechanism involving activation of the proteasome and maintenance of redox balance. Taken together, our study uncovers a unique adaptive mechanism activated in response to injury that maintains the tissue homeostatic balance required for heart regeneration. Reactivating these mechanisms in the adult heart represents a potential therapeutic approach for cardiac repair.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Liu Liu ◽  
Yi Ren He ◽  
Shao Jun Liu ◽  
Lei Hu ◽  
Li Chuang Liang ◽  
...  

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) have been used for treating tissue injury, and preactivation enhances their therapeutic effect. This study is aimed at investigating the therapeutic effect of activated ADMSCs by IL-1β on the intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury and exploring potential mechanisms. ADMSCs were pretreated with IL-1β in vitro, and activation of ADMSCs was assessed by α-SMA and COX-2 expressions and secretary function. Activated ADMSCs was transplanted into IR-injured intestine in a mouse model, and therapeutic effect was evaluated. In addition, to explore underlying mechanisms, COX-2 expression was silenced to investigate its role in activated ADMSCs for treatment of intestinal IR injury. When ADMSCs were pretreated with 50 ng/ml IL-1β for 24 hr, expressions of α-SMA and COX-2 were significantly upregulated, and secretions of PGE2, SDF-1, and VEGF were increased. When COX-2 was silenced, the effect of IL-1β treatment was abolished. Activated ADMSCs with IL-1β significantly suppressed inflammation and apoptosis and enhanced healing of intestinal IR injury in mice, and these effects were impaired by COX-2 silencing. The results of RNA sequencing suggested that compared with the IR injury group activated ADMSCs induced alterations in mRNA expression and suppressed the activation of the NF-κB-P65, MAPK-ERK1/2, and PI3K-AKT pathways induced by intestinal IR injury, whereas silencing COX-2 impaired the suppressive effect of activated ADMSCs on these pathway activations induced by IR injury. These data suggested that IL-1β pretreatment enhanced the therapeutic effect of ADMSCs on intestinal IR injury repairing via activating ADMSC COX-2-PGE2 signaling axis and via suppressing the NF-κB-P65, MAPK-ERK1/2, and PI3K-AKT pathways in the intestinal IR-injured tissue.


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