Genetic/Protein Association of Atopic Dermatitis and Tooth Agenesis.

Atopic dermatitis and abnormalities in tooth development (including hypomineralization, hypodontia and microdontia) have been observed to co-occur in some patients. A common pathogenesis pathway that involves genes and protein interactions has been hypothesized. This review aims to first provide a description of the key gene mutations and signaling pathways associated with atopic dermatitis and tooth agenesis (i.e., the absence of teeth due to developmental failure) and identify the possible association between the two diseases. Second, utilizing a list of genes most commonly associated with the two diseases, we conducted a protein-protein network interaction analysis using the STRING database and identified a novel association between the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway (major pathway responsible for TA) and desmosomal proteins (component of skin barrier that affect the pathogenesis of AD). Further investigation into the mechanisms that may drive their co-occurrence and underlie the development of the two diseases is warranted.

Apolipoprotein E genotype and the association between C-reactive protein and postoperative delirium: Importance of gene-protein interactions.

INTRODUCTION: Apolipoprotein E (APOE) status may modify the risk of postoperative delirium conferred by inflammation. METHODS: We tested whether APOE modifies the established association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and delirium incidence, severity, and duration in 553 noncardiac surgical patients aged 70 and older. High postoperative plasma CRP (≥234.12 mg/L) was defined by the highest sample-based quartile. Delirium was determined using the Confusion Assessment Method and chart review, and severity was determined by the Confusion Assessment Method-Severity score. RESULTS: APOE ε4 carrier prevalence was 19%, and postoperative delirium occurred in 24%. The relationship between CRP and delirium incidence, severity, and duration differed by ε4 status. Among ε4 carriers, there was a strong relationship between high CRP (vs. low CRP) and delirium incidence (relative risk [95% confidence interval], 3.0 [1.4-6.7]); however, no significant association was observed among non-ε4 carriers (relative risk [95% CI], 1.2 [0.8-1.7]). DISCUSSION: Our findings raise the possibility that APOE ε4 carrier status may modify the relationship between postoperative day 2 CRP levels and postoperative delirium.

Stochastic spatio-temporal dynamic model for gene/protein interaction network in early Drosophila development.

In order to investigate the possible mechanisms for eve stripe formation of Drosophila embryo, a spatio-temporal gene/protein interaction network model is proposed to mimic dynamic behaviors of protein synthesis, protein decay, mRNA decay, protein diffusion, transcription regulations and autoregulation to analyze the interplay of genes and proteins at different compartments in early embryogenesis. In this study, we use the maximum likelihood (ML) method to identify the stochastic 3-D Embryo Space-Time (3-DEST) dynamic model for gene/protein interaction network via 3-D mRNA and protein expression data and then use the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to prune the gene/protein interaction network. The identified gene/protein interaction network allows us not only to analyze the dynamic interplay of genes and proteins on the border of eve stripes but also to infer that eve stripes are established and maintained by network motifs built by the cooperation between transcription regulations and diffusion mechanisms in early embryogenesis. Literature reference with the wet experiments of gene mutations provides a clue for validating the identified network. The proposed spatio-temporal dynamic model can be extended to gene/protein network construction of different biological phenotypes, which depend on compartments, e.g. postnatal stem/progenitor cell differentiation.