IL-8 -251A/T polymorphism contributes to coronary artery disease susceptibility in a Chinese population.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a mediator of inflammation and plays an important role in regulating immune responses. To date, several studies have tested the association between IL-8 gene polymorphisms and development of coronary artery disease (CAD), but their results have proved to be inconsistent. We conducted an investigation to assess the relationship between the IL-8 -251A/T (rs4073) sequence variant and CAD in a Chinese population. Between April 2013 and January 2015, 217 patients with coronary angiography-confirmed CAD were enrolled in our study, along with 245 control subjects. IL-8 -251A/T genotyping was performed using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. A chi-square test revealed that IL-8 -251A/T genotype distributions significantly differed between CAD patients and control subjects (chi-square = 8.29, P < 0.02). Moreover, multiple-logistic regression analysis showed that individuals carrying TA [odds ratio (OR) = 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-2.57] and AA (OR = 2.06, 95%CI = 1.21-3.52) genotypes were at increased risk of CAD compared to those with the TT genotype. Under dominant (OR = 1.75, 95%CI = 1.13-2.73) and recessive (OR = 1.54, 95%CI = 1.02-2.37) genetic models, the IL-8 -251A/T polymorphism also significantly correlated with CAD. In conclusion, our results suggest that this variant is an independent risk factor for CAD development under codominant, dominant, and recessive models.

Identification of altered pathways in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy based on combined data of protein-protein interactions and molecular pathways.

The purpose of our study was to identify molecular pathways altered during the pathogenesis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) based on data from the STRING protein-protein interaction (PPI) database and the REACTOME pathway database. Identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was carried out, followed by construction of a targeted network and selection of hub genes in this network. PPI pairs in each pathway were extracted, and altered pathways were identified when the said pathway differed from common interactions within the targeted network with a P value of less than 0.05. These altered pathways were further validated based on enrichment of hub genes in pathways within the targeted network. Through this method, we identified 1085 DEGs. The DEGs were inputted into the STRING database, and the resulting targeted network was composed of 3631 interactions. Based on the selection criteria, 30 significantly changed pathways were screened in total. Among these, the top five pathways were found to be involved in immune modulation, signal transduction, hemostasis, and G protein-coupled receptor signaling. Similarly, enrichment in hub gene interactions was also found in members within the altered pathways, including those involved in the innate immune system, the immune system, and signal transduction pathways. These altered pathways are important for understanding the underlying mechanisms of HCM, and can be used for clinical application of treatments in the future.

A novel single-nucleotide polymorphism in the 5' upstream region of the prolactin receptor gene is associated with fiber traits in Liaoning cashmere goats.

The most important traits of Chinese Liaoning cashmere goat fiber are fiber diameter, weight, and length. We looked for polymorphisms and their possible association with cashmere fiber traits in the 5' upstream region (5' UTR) of the prolactin receptor gene (PRLR), which encodes an anterior pituitary peptide hormone involved in different physiological activities; it is the principal endocrine regulator in pelage replacement in mammals. A novel single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was found in the 5' UTR of PRLR by PCR-RFLP in an analysis of 590 goats. Two genotypes (CC and CT) were observed. The frequencies of allele C and T were 0.93 and 0.07, respectively. Association analysis revealed that the PRLR 5' UTR polymorphism (SNP5) was significantly associated with cashmere fiber weight and diameter. This novel SNP in hircine PRLR has potential as a molecular marker for cashmere fiber weight and diameter in Liaoning cashmere goats.