Patient-derived iPSCs link elevated mitochondrial respiratory complex I function to osteosarcoma in Rothmund-Thomson syndrome.

Rothmund-Thomson syndrome (RTS) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by poikiloderma, small stature, skeletal anomalies, sparse brows/lashes, cataracts, and predisposition to cancer. Type 2 RTS patients with biallelic RECQL4 pathogenic variants have multiple skeletal anomalies and a significantly increased incidence of osteosarcoma. Here, we generated RTS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to dissect the pathological signaling leading to RTS patient-associated osteosarcoma. RTS iPSC-derived osteoblasts showed defective osteogenic differentiation and gain of in vitro tumorigenic ability. Transcriptome analysis of RTS osteoblasts validated decreased bone morphogenesis while revealing aberrantly upregulated mitochondrial respiratory complex I gene expression. RTS osteoblast metabolic assays demonstrated elevated mitochondrial respiratory complex I function, increased oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and increased ATP production. Inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory complex I activity by IACS-010759 selectively suppressed cellular respiration and cell proliferation of RTS osteoblasts. Furthermore, systems analysis of IACS-010759-induced changes in RTS osteoblasts revealed that chemical inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory complex I impaired cell proliferation, induced senescence, and decreased MAPK signaling and cell cycle associated genes, but increased H19 and ribosomal protein genes. In summary, our study suggests that mitochondrial respiratory complex I is a potential therapeutic target for RTS-associated osteosarcoma and provides future insights for clinical treatment strategies.

Genotype-degree of hemolysis correlation in hereditary spherocytosis.

BACKGROUND: Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a common inherited hemolytic anemia, caused by mutations in five genes that encode erythrocyte membrane skeleton proteins. The red blood cell (RBC) lifespan could directly reflect the degree of hemolysis. In the present cohort of 23 patients with HS, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Levitt's carbon monoxide (CO) breath test to investigate the potential genotype-degree of hemolysis correlation. RESULTS: In the present cohort, we identified 8 ANK1,9 SPTB,5 SLC4A1 and 1 SPTA1 mutations in 23 patients with HS, and the median RBC lifespan was 14(8-48) days. The median RBC lifespan of patients with ANK1, SPTB and SLC4A1 mutations was 13 (8-23), 13 (8-48) and 14 (12-39) days, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.618). The median RBC lifespan of patients with missense, splice and nonsense/insertion/deletion mutations was 16.5 (8-48), 14 (11-40) and 13 (8-20) days, respectively, with no significant difference (P = 0.514). Similarly, we found no significant difference in the RBC lifespan of patients with mutations located in the spectrin-binding domain and the nonspectrin-binding domain [14 (8-18) vs. 12.5 (8-48) days, P = 0.959]. In terms of the composition of mutated genes, 25% of patients with mild hemolysis carried ANK1 or SPTA1 mutations, while 75% of patients with mild hemolysis carried SPTB or SLC4A1 mutations. In contrast, 46.7% of patients with severe hemolysis had ANK1 or SPTA1 mutations and 53.3% of patients with severe hemolysis had SPTB or SLC4A1 mutations. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of mutated genes between the two groups (P = 0.400). CONCLUSION: The present study is the first to investigate the potential association between genotype and degree of hemolysis in HS. The present findings indicated that there is no significant correlation between genotype and degree of hemolysis in HS.

Long-term outcomes of aplastic anemia with cytogenetic abnormalities at diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the clinical characteristics of AA patients with cytogenetic abnormalities. METHODS: We retrospectively screened 30 patients (30/1206, 2.5%) with cytogenetic abnormalities from 1206 patients with severe and very severe AA who received immunosuppressive therapy (IST) during the years 2012-2019. RESULTS: The most common abnormalities were trisomy 8 (+8, 10/30, 33.3%) and loss of Y (-Y, 8/30, 26.7%). The abnormal clones disappeared 6 months after IST in 14 patients and sustained in 12 patients. Patients with sustained abnormal clones had a lower hematologic response at 6 months after IST than the disappeared (33.3% vs. 64.3%, p = .116). The hematologic response after IST, 5-year overall survival, 5-year event-free survival, myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia transformation in AA patients with cytogenetic abnormalities were not statistically different from those in normal cytogenetic patients. CONCLUSION: For AA patients with chromosome abnormalities but ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplant, IST is effective and appropriate as first-line treatment.

First-line immunosuppressive therapy with rATG and CsA for severe aplastic anemia: 15 years' experience.

Rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) instead of horse ATG has been used for severe aplastic anemia (SAA) patients in China. This study aimed to investigate the hematologic responses and long-term overall survival (OS) outcomes in SAA patients who received rATG and cyclosporine as first-line immunosuppressive therapy. We analyzed data of 542 SAA patients treated with this therapy between 2005 and 2019. The median age was 20 (range, 2-80) years, and the median follow-up time was 45.5 (range, 0.1-191.4) months. The early mortality rate was 3.9%. The overall response rates (ORRs) were 40.2%, 56.1%, and 62.4% at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. The 6- and 12-month ORR of patients treated with 3 mg/kg/d of rATG in 2015-2019 seemed higher than that of patients treated with 3.5-3.75 mg/kg/day in 2005-2014 (60.2% vs. 54.9%, P = 0.30 and 69.9% vs. 60.1%, P = 0.049, respectively). The 10-year cumulative incidences of relapse and clonal evolution were 10.6 ± 2.9% and 7.5 ± 1.5%, respectively. The 10-year OS rate and event-free survival rate were 80.1 ± 2.1% and 75.6 ± 3.7%, respectively. Age, disease severity, treatment periods, and the interval from diagnosis to IST were independent predictors of OS. In conclusion, 3 mg/kg/day rATG is effective as first-line treatment for SAA.

An antisense Alu transposon insertion/deletion polymorphism of ALDH1A1 may functionally associate with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (encoded by ALDH1A1) has been shown to protect against Parkinson's disease (PD) by reducing toxic metabolites of dopamine. We herein revealed an antisense Alu element insertion/deletion polymorphism in intron 4 of ALDH1A1, and hypothesized that it might play a role in PD.  METHODS: A Han Chinese cohort comprising 488 PD patients and 515 controls was recruited to validate the Alu insertion/deletion polymorphism following a previous study of tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms, where rs7043217 was shown to be significantly associated with PD. Functional analyses of the Alu element insertion were performed. RESULTS: The Alu element of ALDH1A1 was identified to be a variant of Yb8 subfamily and termed as Yb8c4. The antisense Yb8c4 insertion/deletion polymorphism (named asYb8c4ins and asYb8c4del, respectively) appeared to be in a complete linkage disequilibrium with rs7043217 and was validated to be significantly associated with PD susceptibility with asYb8c4ins serving as a risk allele (P = 0.030, OR = 1.224, 95% CI = 1.020-1.470). Multiple functional analyses including ALDH1A1 mRNA expression in blood cells of carriers, and reporters of EGFP and luciferase showed that the asYb8c4ins had a suppressive activity on gene transcription. Mechanistic explorations suggested that the asYb8c4ins induced no changes in CpG methylation and mRNA splicing of ALDH1A1 and appeared no binding of transcription factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our results consolidate an involvement of ALDH1 in PD pathogenesis. The asYb8c4 polymorphism may be a functional output of its linkage disequilibrium-linked single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Differential and paradoxical roles of new-generation antidepressants in primary astrocytic inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are commonly used new-generation drugs for depression. Depressive symptoms are thought to be closely related to neuroinflammation. In this study, we used up-to-date protocols of culture and stimulation and aimed to understand how astrocytes respond to the antidepressants. METHODS: Primary astrocytes were isolated and cultured using neurobasal-based serum-free medium. The cells were treated with a cytokine mixture comprising complement component 1q, tumor necrosis factor α, and interleukin 1α with or without pretreatments of antidepressants. Cell viability, phenotypes, inflammatory responses, and the underlying mechanisms were analyzed. RESULTS: All the SSRIs, including paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, and fluvoxamine, show a visible cytotoxicity within the range of applied doses, and a paradoxical effect on astrocytic inflammatory responses as manifested by the promotion of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and/or nitric oxide (NO) and the inhibition of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and/or interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß). The SNRI venlafaxine was the least toxic to astrocytes and inhibited the production of IL-6 and IL-1ß but with no impact on iNOS and NO. All the drugs had no regulation on the polarization of astrocytic A1 and A2 types. Mechanisms associated with the antidepressants in astrocytic inflammation route via inhibition of JNK1 activation and STAT3 basal activity. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that the antidepressants possess differential cytotoxicity to astrocytes and function differently, also paradoxically for the SSRIs, to astrocytic inflammation. Our results provide novel pieces into understanding the differential efficacy and tolerability of the antidepressants in treating patients in the context of astrocytes.

Time and residual hematopoiesis are crucial for PNH clones escape in hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia.

The presence of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) clones in aplastic anemia (AA) suggests immunopathogenesis, but when and how PNH clones emerge and proliferate are unclear. Hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAAA) is a special variant of AA, contrarily to idiopathic AA, in HAAA the trigger for immune activation is clearer and represented by the hepatitis and thus serves as a good model for studying PNH clones. Ninety HAAA patients were enrolled, including 61 males and 29 females (median age 21 years). Four hundred three of idiopathic AA have been included as controls. The median time from hepatitis to cytopenia was 50 days (range 0-180 days) and from cytopenia to AA diagnosis was 26 days (range 2-370 days). PNH clones were detected in 8 HAAA patients (8.9%) at diagnosis and in 73 patients with idiopathic AA (IAA) (18.1%). PNH cells accounted for 4.2% (1.09-12.33%) of red cells and/or granulocytes and were more likely to be detected in patients with longer disease history and less severe disease. During follow-up, the cumulative incidence of PNH clones in HAAA increased to 18.9% (17/90). Nine HAAA patients newly developed PNH clones, including six immunosuppressive therapy (IST) nonresponders. The clone size was mostly stable during follow-up, and only 2 of 14 patients showed increased clone size without proof of hemolysis. In conclusion, PNH clones were infrequent in newly diagnosed HAAA, but their frequency increased to one that was similar to the IAA frequency during follow-up. These results suggest that the PNH clone selection/expansion process is dynamic and takes time to establish, confirming that retesting for PNH clones during follow-up is crucial.

Comparison of Levitt's CO breath test and the 15 N-glycine labeling technique for measuring the lifespan of human red blood cells.

The red blood cell (RBC) lifespan is an important physiological indicator of clear significance in clinical research, used for the differential diagnosis of various diseases such as anemia, compensatory phase hemolysis, and polycythemia. The 15 N-glycine labeling technique is the gold standard method for determining RBC lifespans. However, the usefulness of this technique in clinical settings is seriously hindered by the several weeks required to complete the analyses. Levitt's CO breath test is another reliable technique for determining RBC lifespans, with a simpler protocol giving much faster results, making it more useful in clinical applications. We compared the CO breath test and 15 N-glycine labeling technique for measuring the human RBC lifespan. We investigated human RBC lifespans where each subject undertook both the 15 N-glycine labeling technique and the CO breath test. The correlation between the results from these two methods was analyzed. Eight of the ten subjects successfully completed the study. The RBC lifespan values obtained by Levitt's CO breath test were lower than those obtained by the 15 N-glycine labeling technique. The RBC lifespan values determined from the 15 N-glycine labeling technique and the CO breath test were significantly correlated, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of R = 0.98 (p < 0.05), while the R2 of the linear regression equation was 0.96. The CO breath test exhibits as good performance as the 15 N-glycine labelling technique in distinguishing healthy subjects from subjects with hemolysis. The result suggests that the CO breath test is a reliable method for quickly determining human RBC lifespans in clinical applications.

Efficacy and safety of porcine ALG compared to rabbit ATG as first-line treatment for children with acquired aplastic anemia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes of children with acquired aplastic anemia (AA) treated in China with first-line porcine anti-lymphocyte immunoglobulin (p-ALG)/rabbit anti-thymocyte immunoglobulin (r-ATG) combined with cyclosporine A (CSA). METHODS: We performed a single-center, non-randomized, retrospective cohort study to assess the outcomes of 189 children with AA treated in China with first-line p-ALG/r-ATG combined with CSA between 2014 and 2018. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the overall response rates at 3, 6, 12, or 24 months (3 months: 61.9% vs 67.4%, P = .5; 6 months: 70.9% vs 73.9%, P = .69; 12 months: 77.3% vs 73.3%, P = .58; 24 months: 81.6% vs 78.6%, P = .59) after either p-ALG- or r-ATG-based immunosuppressive therapy. No significant differences were observed in overall survival or failure-free survival between the p-ALG group and the r-ATG group. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that the therapeutic efficacy and safety of p-ALG combined with CSA did not differ significantly from those of r-ATG combined with CSA as first-line therapy for pediatric patients with AA. Moreover, p-ALG has the advantage of significantly lower cost compared with r-ATG.

Naringin-loaded polymeric micelles as buccal tablets: formulation, characterization, in vitro release, cytotoxicity and histopathology studies.

Naringin (NG) has been proved to have numerous notable biological effects, including anti-inflammatory effect, anti-cancer effect, and anti-ulcer effect, yet there are no clinical preparations of naringin due to its poor solubility and low dissolution rate after oral administration. In this study, in order to overcome these problems, NG was encapsulated into MPEG-PCL micelles (NGMs) by using a thin-film hydration method. NMGs were in a typical core-shell structure, with a mall particle size (23.95 ± 0.51 nm), high drug loading, and encapsulation efficiency. In vitro release of NGMs indicated that the dissolution of NG was increased after being encapsulated in the micelles. NGMs were nontoxic in the cytotoxicity and histopathology studies. Furthermore, when the freeze-dried NGMs were compressed into buccal tablets (NGBTs) by direct compression, the release speed of NG under simulated oral cavity condition from NGBTs was higher than the control tablets, with the accumulated dissolution at 93.13% in 8 hours. In conclusion, NGMs and NGBTs represent a promising drug delivery system for NG, which has the potential to improve the current treatment of oral diseases.

Selenoprotein T Promotes Proliferation and G1-to-S Transition in SK-N-SH Cells: Implications in Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Selenium is prioritized to the brain mainly for selenoprotein expression. Selenoprotein T (SELENOT) protects dopaminergic, postmitotic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized a proliferative role of SELENOT in neural cells. METHODS: To assess SELENOT status in PD, sedated male C57BL/6 mice at 10-12 wk of age were injected with 6-hydroxydopamine in neurons, and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 9 healthy subjects (56% men, 68-y-old) and 11 subjects with PD (64% men, 63-y-old). Dopaminergic neural progenitor-like SK-N-SH cells with transient SELENOT overexpression or knockdown were maintained in the presence or absence of the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine and the calcium channel blocker nimodipine. Cell cycle, proliferation, and signaling parameters were determined by immunoblotting, qPCR, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: SELENOT mRNA abundance was increased (P < 0.05) in SK-N-SH cells treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium iodide (3.5-fold) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from PD patients (1.6-fold). Likewise, SELENOT was expressed in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive dopaminergic neurons of 6-hydroxydopamine-injected mice. Knockdown of SELENOT in SK-N-SH cells suppressed (54%; P < 0.05) 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation but induced (17-47%; P < 0.05) annexin V-positive cells, CASPASE-3 cleavage, and G1/S cell cycle arrest. SELENOT knockdown and overexpression increased (88-120%; P < 0.05) and reduced (37-42%; P < 0.05) both forkhead box O3 and p27, but reduced (51%; P < 0.05) and increased (1.2-fold; P < 0.05) cyclin-dependent kinase 4 protein abundance, respectively. These protein changes were diminished by nimodipine or N-acetyl-l-cysteine treatment (24 h) at steady-state levels. While the N-acetyl-l-cysteine treatment did not influence the reduction in the amount of calcium (13%; P < 0.05) by SELENOT knockdown, the nimodipine treatment reversed the decreased amount of reactive oxygen species (33%; P < 0.05) by SELENOT overexpression. CONCLUSIONS: These cellular and mouse data link SELENOT to neural proliferation, expanding our understanding of selenium protection in PD.

Performance Evaluation of Mindray SAL 8000: a New Integrated Clinical Chemistry and Immunoassay Analyzer System.

BACKGROUND: The Mindray SAL 8000 is an integrated serum analyzer for photometric, electrochemical, and im-munological assays. The technical, analytical, and workflow performance of the system were evaluated in this study. METHODS: The technical evaluation was performed using protocols adopted from the guidelines of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). The precision, linearity, interference, and method comparison were carried out according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocols. The verification of carryover and turnaround time were conducted using specimens containing different analytes. RESULTS: The technical performance was acceptable for all evaluated aspects. The repeatability and within-labora-tory coefficients of variation (CVs) ranged between 0.22% and 4.23% for routine chemistry and between 1.05% and 6.89% for immunochemistry, respectively. All evaluated analytes exhibited linearity over the ranges claimed by the manufacturer. Significant interferences were observed during low concentration TBIL and P measure-ments due to the presence of lipemia. Method comparisons showed good agreement with the comparison systems and with the correlation coefficients ≥ 0.988 except for anti-HBs (r = 0.812). No significant intra-module and inter-module carryovers were detected. For all the 1,220 samples, 25%, 54%, 63%, 79%, 91%, and 100% samples com-pleted analysis in 16.3 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes, 180 minutes, and 320 minutes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Mindray SAL 8000 integrated system achieved optimal technical performance and met most of the criteria regarding analytical performance. The workflow study of the system met the turnaround time (TAT) requirements of laboratories. Therefore, it is a good candidate to be used in medium and large-sized laboratories.

Plasma long non-coding RNA BACE1 as a novel biomarker for diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.

BACKGROUNDS: Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, but whether it can serve as a biomarker for Alzheimer disease (AD) is not yet known. METHODS: The present study selected four specific LncRNA (17A, 51A, BACE1 and BC200) as possible AD biomarker. RT-qPCR was performed to validate the LncRNA. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were applied to study the potential of LncRNA as a biomarker in a population of 88 AD patients and 72 control individuals. RESULTS: We found that the plasma LncRNA BACE1 level of AD patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls (p = 0.006). Plasma level of LncRNA 17A, 51A and BC200 did not show a significant difference between two groups (p = 0.098, p = 0.204 and p = 0.232, respectively). ROC curve analysis showed that LncRNA BACE1 was the best candidate of these LncRNA (95% CI: 0.553-0.781, p = 0.003). In addition, no correlation was found for expression of these LncRNA in both control and AD groups with age or MMSE scale (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our present study compared the plasma level of four LncRNA between AD and non-AD patients, and found that the level of the BACE1 is increased in the plasma of AD patients and have a high specificity (88%) for AD, indicating BACE1 may be a potential candidate biomarker to predict AD.

Iron Deficiency in Patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria: A Cross-Sectional Survey from a Single Institution in China.

BACKGROUND Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired clonal hematopoietic disorder that often manifests with chronic intravascular hemolysis. Iron deficiency in patients with PNH is most often due to urinary losses of iron secondary to chronic intravascular hemolysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cross-sectional survey assessed the prevalence of iron deficiency in a Chinese population of PNH patients who were enrolled between May 2012 and October 2014. RESULTS A total of 742 PNH cases were selected by FLARE and classified as classical PNH (15.36%), PNH in the setting of another specified bone marrow disorder (12.26%), and subclinical PNH (72.38%). The median age of all the patients was 32 years (range 5-77 years). The overall prevalence of iron deficiency was 17.9% among all the PNH patients enrolled in the survey, 76.3% (87/144) among those with classical PNH, 33.0% (30/91) among those with PNH in the setting of another specified bone marrow disorder, and 3.0% (16/537) among the subclinical PNH patients. The incidence of iron deficiency among classical PNH patients was higher than that in the other 2 subcategories (P-value=0.000). Multivariate analyses showed that age and disease duration were independent risk factors for iron deficiency in classical patients. CONCLUSIONS This survey shows that PNH patients were prone to iron deficiency, especially patients with classical PNH.

PKCζ in prostate cancer cells represses the recruitment and M2 polarization of macrophages in the prostate cancer microenvironment.

Tumor-associated macrophages are key regulators of the complex interplay between tumor and tumor microenvironment. M2 Macrophages, one type of tumor-associated macrophages, are involved in prostate cancer growth and progression. Protein kinase C zeta has been shown to suppress prostate cancer cell growth, invasion, and metastasis as a tumor suppressor; however, its role in chemotaxis and activation of tumor-associated macrophages remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of protein kinase C zeta of prostate cancer cells in regulation of macrophage chemotaxis and M2 phenotype activation. Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze the expression of protein kinase C zeta and the number of CD206+ M2 macrophages in human prostate tissue. Macrophage chemotaxis and polarization were examined using Transwell migration assays and a co-culture system. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to detect M2 markers, protein kinase C zeta, interleukin-4, and interleukin-10 expression. We found the expression of protein kinase C zeta increased in prostate cancer tissues, especially in the early stage, and was negatively associated with tumor grade and the number of CD206+ macrophages. Inhibition of protein kinase C zeta expression in prostate cancer cells promoted chemotaxis of peripheral macrophages and acquisition of M2 phenotypic features. These results were further supported by the finding that silencing of endogenous protein kinase C zeta promoted the expression of prostate cancer cell-derived interleukin-4 and interleukin-10. These results suggest that protein kinase C zeta plays an important role in reducing infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages and activation of a pro-tumor M2 phenotype, which may constitute an important mechanism by which protein kinase C zeta represses cancer progression.

Identifying core gene modules in glioblastoma based on multilayer factor-mediated dysfunctional regulatory networks through integrating multi-dimensional genomic data.

The driver genetic aberrations collectively regulate core cellular processes underlying cancer development. However, identifying the modules of driver genetic alterations and characterizing their functional mechanisms are still major challenges for cancer studies. Here, we developed an integrative multi-omics method CMDD to identify the driver modules and their affecting dysregulated genes through characterizing genetic alteration-induced dysregulated networks. Applied to glioblastoma (GBM), the CMDD identified a core gene module of 17 genes, including seven known GBM drivers, and their dysregulated genes. The module showed significant association with shorter survival of GBM. When classifying driver genes in the module into two gene sets according to their genetic alteration patterns, we found that one gene set directly participated in the glioma pathway, while the other indirectly regulated the glioma pathway, mostly, via their dysregulated genes. Both of the two gene sets were significant contributors to survival and helpful for classifying GBM subtypes, suggesting their critical roles in GBM pathogenesis. Also, by applying the CMDD to other six cancers, we identified some novel core modules associated with overall survival of patients. Together, these results demonstrate integrative multi-omics data can identify driver modules and uncover their dysregulated genes, which is useful for interpreting cancer genome.

The role of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria clones in response to immunosuppressive therapy of patients with severe aplastic anemia.

Whether paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) clone in aplastic anemia (AA) is a prognostic factor to immunosuppressive therapy is a subject of debate. We evaluated hematological responses to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in severe AA (SAA) patients with or without the presence of a PNH clone. In 97 SAA patients who received first-line IST between January and December 2011, 24 (24.7 %) had a PNH clone prior to treatment, with a median clone size of 7.82 % (range 1.19-45.46 %). The response rates to IST for patients with or without a PNH clone were 66.7 and 50.7 % (P < 0.172), 79.2 and 57.5 % (P < 0.057), and 79.2 and 67.1 % (P < 0.264) at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Combined rate of complete and good partial responses differed between patients with or without a PNH clone: insignificantly at 3 months (41.7 vs. 21.9 %, P < 0.058), but significantly at 6 (66.7 vs. 31.5 %, P < 0.002) and 12 (75.0 vs. 46.6 %, P < 0.015) months. Multivariate analysis revealed that a pretreatment neutrophil count of >0.2 × 10(9)/L is indicative of a better response, while the presence of a PNH clone is predictive to a higher combined rate of complete and good partial responses. This study demonstrated that the presence of a PNH clone could predict a better hematological response instead of a higher response rate in patients with SAA.

The role of glutathione detoxification pathway in MCLR-induced hepatotoxicity in SD rats.

In the present study, we investigated the role of glutathione (GSH) and its related enzymes in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats subjected to microcystin-leucine-arginine (MCLR)-induced hepatotoxicity. SD rats were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with MCLR after pretreating with or without buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis. The depletion of GSH with BSO enhanced MCLR-induced oxidative stress, resulting in more severe liver damage and higher MCLR accumulation. Similarly, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), total GSH (T-GSH), oxidized GSH (GSSG) and GSH were significantly enhanced in BSO pretreated rats following MCLR treatment. The study showed that the transcription of GSH-related enzymes such as glutathione-S-transferase (GST), γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS), glutathione reductase (GR) varied in different ways (expect for glutathione peroxidase (GPx), whose gene expression was induced in all treated groups) with or without BSO pretreatment before MCLR exposure, suggesting an adaptative response of GSH-related enzymes at transcription level to combat enhancement of oxidative stress induced by MCLR when pretreated with BSO. These data suggested the tissues with low GSH concentration are highly vulnerable to MCLR toxicity and GSH was critical for the detoxification in MCLR-induced hepatotoxicity in vivo.

Integrating epigenetic marks for identification of transcriptionally active miRNAs.

MicroRNAs have been identified as important regulators involved in biological processes and human diseases. We proposed a computational approach to systematic identification of active promoters of miRNAs by active models using epigenetic characteristics at active promoters of protein-coding genes together with a genomic context-based filtering step in nine human cell types, which were validated to exhibit greater conservation, more overlap with CAGE-identified TSSs, more conserved TFBSs and higher transcription factor binding signal intensities. Furthermore, expression analysis showed discordance between transcriptional activation of miRNAs and expression of their precursor and mature forms, indicating that precursor and mature miRNA expression is insufficient to account for transcriptional activation of miRNAs. Compared to other methods, our approach identified higher percentages of active miRNAs with CAGE-detected TSS activity and primary transcript expression, further supporting the validity of our approach, which will be valuable to understand the biological roles of miRNAs in specific cell contexts.