Association of apoptosis-related variants to malaria infection and parasite density in individuals from the Brazilian Amazon.

BACKGROUND: In malaria infection, apoptosis acts as an important immunomodulatory mechanism that leads to the elimination of parasitized cells, thus reducing the parasite density and controlling immune cell populations. Here, it was investigated the association of INDEL variants in apoptotic genes-rs10562972 (FAS), rs4197 (FADD), rs3834129 and rs59308963 (CASP8), rs61079693 (CASP9), rs4647655 (CASP3), rs11269260 (BCL-2), and rs17880560 (TP53)-and the influence of genetic ancestry with susceptibility to malaria and parasite density in an admixed population from the Brazilian Amazon. METHODS: Total DNA was extracted from 126 malaria patients and 101 uninfected individuals for investigation of genetic ancestries and genotypic distribution of apoptosis-related variants by Multiplex PCR. Association analyses consisted of multivariate logistic regressions, considering the following comparisons: (i) DEL/DEL genotype vs. INS/DEL + INS/INS; and (ii) INS/INS vs. INS/DEL + DEL/DEL. RESULTS: Individuals infected by Plasmodium falciparum had significantly higher African ancestry proportions in comparison to uninfected controls, Plasmodium vivax, and mixed infections. The INS/INS genotype of rs3834129 (CASP8) seemed to increase the risk for P. falciparum infection (P = 0.038; OR = 1.867; 95% CI 0.736-3.725), while the DEL/DEL genotype presented a significant protective effect against infection by P. falciparum (P = 0.049; OR = 0.446; 95% CI 0.185-0.944) and mixed infection (P = 0.026; OR = 0.545; 95% CI 0.281-0.996), and was associated with lower parasite density in P. falciparum malaria (P = 0.009; OR = 0.383; 95% CI 0.113-1.295). Additionally, the INS/INS genotype of rs10562972 (FAS) was more frequent among individuals infected with P. vivax compared to P. falciparum (P = 0.036; OR = 2.493; 95% CI 1.104-4.551), and the DEL/DEL genotype of rs17880560 (TP53) was significantly more present in patients with mono-infection by P. vivax than in individuals with mixed infection (P = 0.029; OR = 0.667; 95% CI 0.211-1.669). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, variants in apoptosis genes are associated with malaria susceptibility and parasite density, indicating the role of apoptosis-related genetic profiles in immune responses against malaria infection.

Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genome, Epigenome and Gut Microbiome: Emerging Molecular Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is currently the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, burdening about 10 million elderly individuals worldwide. The multifactorial nature of PD poses a difficult obstacle for understanding the mechanisms involved in its onset and progression. Currently, diagnosis depends on the appearance of clinical signs, some of which are shared among various neurologic disorders, hindering early diagnosis. There are no effective tools to prevent PD onset, detect the disease in early stages or accurately report the risk of disease progression. Hence, there is an increasing demand for biomarkers that may identify disease onset and progression, as treatment-based medicine may not be the best approach for PD. Over the last few decades, the search for molecular markers to predict susceptibility, aid in accurate diagnosis and evaluate the progress of PD have intensified, but strategies aimed to improve individualized patient care have not yet been established. CONCLUSIONS: Genomic variation, regulation by epigenomic mechanisms, as well as the influence of the host gut microbiome seem to have a crucial role in the onset and progress of PD, thus are considered potential biomarkers. As such, the human nuclear and mitochondrial genome, epigenome, and the host gut microbiome might be the key elements to the rise of personalized medicine for PD patients.

Mitochondrial DNA variants, haplogroups and risk of Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence has shown that mitochondrial dysfunction is part of the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants on PD onset is unclear. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to evaluate the effect of mtDNA variants and haplogroups on risk of developing PD. METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating associations between PD and mtDNA variants and haplogroups. RESULTS: A total of 33 studies were eligible from 957 screened studies. Among 13,640 people with PD and 22,588 control individuals, the association with PD was consistently explored in 13 mtDNA variants in 10 genes and 19 macrohaplogroups. Four mtDNA variants were associated with PD: m.4336C (odds ratio [OR] = 2.99; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.79-5.02), m.7028T (OR = 0.80; 95 % CI = 0.70-0.91), m.10398G (OR = 0.92; 95 % CI = 0.85-0.98), and m.13368A (OR = 0.74; 95 % CI = 0.56-0.98). Four mtDNA macrohaplogroups were associated with PD: R (OR = 2.25; 95 % CI = 1.92-2.65), F (OR = 1.18; 95 % CI = 1.01-1.38), H (OR = 1.12; 95 % CI = 1.06-1.18), and B (OR = 0.77; 95 % CI = 0.65-0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Despite most studies may be underpowered by the underrepresentation of people without dominant European- and Asian-ancestry, low use of next-generation sequencing for genotyping and small sample sizes, the identification of mtDNA variants and macrohaplogroups associated with PD strengthens the link between the disease and mitochondrial dysfunction and mtDNA genomic instability.

Investigation of PRKN Mutations in Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease Treatment.

Mitophagy is an important process that participates in mitochondrial quality control. Dysfunctions in this process can be caused by mutations in genes like PRKN and are associated with the development and progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The most used drug in the treatment of PD is levodopa (LD), but it can cause adverse effects, such as dyskinesia. Currently, few studies are searching for biomarkers for an effective use of lLD for this disease, especially regarding mitophagy genetics. Thus, this work investigates the association of 14 variants of the PRKN gene with LD in the treatment of PD. We recruited 70 patients with PD undergoing treatment with LD (39 without dyskinesia and 31 with dyskinesia). Genotyping was based on Sanger sequencing. Our results reinforce that age at onset of symptoms, duration of PD, and treatment and dosage of LD can influence the occurrence of dyskinesia but not the investigated PRKN variants. The perspective presented here of variants of mitophagy-related genes in the context of treatment with LD is still underexplored, although an association has been indicated in previous studies. We suggest that other variants in PRKN or in other mitophagy genes may participate in the development of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in PD treatment.

ncRNAs: an unexplored cellular defense mechanism in leprosy.

Leprosy is an infectious disease primarily caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Mycobacterium leprae. Although it has been considered eradicated in many countries, leprosy continues to be a health issue in developing nations. Besides the social stigma associated with it, individuals affected by leprosy may experience nerve damage leading to physical disabilities if the disease is not properly treated or early diagnosed. Leprosy is recognized as a complex disease wherein socioenvironmental factors, immune response, and host genetics interact to contribute to its development. Recently, a new field of study called epigenetics has emerged, revealing that the immune response and other mechanisms related to infectious diseases can be influenced by noncoding RNAs. This review aims to summarize the significant advancements concerning non-coding RNAs in leprosy, discussing the key perspectives on this novel approach to comprehending the pathophysiology of the disease and identifying molecular markers. In our view, investigations on non-coding RNAs in leprosy hold promise and warrant increased attention from researches in this field.

Global miRNA expression reveals novel nuclear and mitochondrial interactions in Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Considering the potential role of miRNAs as biomarkers and their interaction with both nuclear and mitochondrial genes, we investigated the miRNA expression profile in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) patients, including the pathways in which they are involved considering both nuclear and mitochondrial functions. Methods: We analyzed samples of T1DM patients and control individuals (normal glucose tolerance) by high throughput miRNA sequencing (miRNome). Next, five miRNAs - hsa-miR-26b-5p, hsa-let-7i-5p, hsa-miR-143-3p, hsa-miR-501-3p and hsa-miR-100-5p - were validated by RT-qPCR. The identification of target genes was extracted from miRTarBase and mitoXplorer database. We also performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and miRNAs that had an AUC > 0.85 were considered potential biomarkers. Results: Overall, 41 miRNAs were differentially expressed in T1DM patients compared to control. Hsa-miR-21-5p had the highest number of predicted target genes and was associated with several pathways, including insulin signaling and apoptosis. 34.1% (14/41) of the differentially expressed miRNAs also targeted mitochondrial genes, and 80.5% (33/41) of them targeted nuclear genes involved in the mitochondrial metabolism. All five validated miRNAs were upregulated in T1DM. Among them, hsa-miR-26b-5p showed AUC>0.85, being suggested as potential biomarker to T1DM. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated 41 DE miRNAs that had a great accuracy in discriminating T1DM and control group. Furthermore, we demonstrate the influence of these miRNAs on numerous metabolic pathways, including mitochondrial metabolism. Hsa-miR-26b-5p and hsa-miR-21-5p were highlighted in our results, possibly acting on nuclear and mitochondrial dysfunction and, subsequently, T1DM dysregulation.

Unraveling Cell Death Pathways during Malaria Infection: What Do We Know So Far?

Malaria is a parasitic disease (caused by different Plasmodium species) that affects millions of people worldwide. The lack of effective malaria drugs and a vaccine contributes to this disease, continuing to cause major public health and socioeconomic problems, especially in low-income countries. Cell death is implicated in malaria immune responses by eliminating infected cells, but it can also provoke an intense inflammatory response and lead to severe malaria outcomes. The study of the pathophysiological role of cell death in malaria in mammalians is key to understanding the parasite-host interactions and design prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for malaria. In this work, we review malaria-triggered cell death pathways (apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, pyroptosis, NETosis, and ferroptosis) and we discuss their potential role in the development of new approaches for human malaria therapies.