1
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Xu Z, Xu R. Current potential diagnostic biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Rev Neurosci 2024; 0:revneuro-2024-0037. [PMID: 38976599 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2024-0037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) currently lacks the useful diagnostic biomarkers. The current diagnosis of ALS is mainly depended on the clinical manifestations, which contributes to the diagnostic delay and be difficult to make the accurate diagnosis at the early stage of ALS, and hinders the clinical early therapeutics. The more and more pathogenesis of ALS are found at the last 30 years, including excitotoxicity, the oxidative stress, the mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, the altered energy metabolism, the RNA misprocessing and the most recent neuroimaging findings. The findings of these pathogenesis bring the new clues for searching the diagnostic biomarkers of ALS. At present, a large number of relevant studies about the diagnostic biomarkers are underway. The ALS pathogenesis related to the diagnostic biomarkers might lessen the diagnostic reliance on the clinical manifestations. Among them, the cortical altered signatures of ALS patients derived from both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and the emerging proteomic biomarkers of neuronal loss and glial activation in the cerebrospinal fluid as well as the potential biomarkers in blood, serum, urine, and saliva are leading a new phase of biomarkers. Here, we reviewed these current potential diagnostic biomarkers of ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheqi Xu
- Department of Neurology, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, China
- The Clinical College of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, China
- Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
| | - Renshi Xu
- Department of Neurology, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, China
- The Clinical College of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, China
- Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
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2
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Núñez-Carpintero I, Rigau M, Bosio M, O'Connor E, Spendiff S, Azuma Y, Topf A, Thompson R, 't Hoen PAC, Chamova T, Tournev I, Guergueltcheva V, Laurie S, Beltran S, Capella-Gutiérrez S, Cirillo D, Lochmüller H, Valencia A. Rare disease research workflow using multilayer networks elucidates the molecular determinants of severity in Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1227. [PMID: 38418480 PMCID: PMC10902324 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45099-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Exploring the molecular basis of disease severity in rare disease scenarios is a challenging task provided the limitations on data availability. Causative genes have been described for Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes (CMS), a group of diverse minority neuromuscular junction (NMJ) disorders; yet a molecular explanation for the phenotypic severity differences remains unclear. Here, we present a workflow to explore the functional relationships between CMS causal genes and altered genes from each patient, based on multilayer network community detection analysis of complementary biomedical information provided by relevant data sources, namely protein-protein interactions, pathways and metabolomics. Our results show that CMS severity can be ascribed to the personalized impairment of extracellular matrix components and postsynaptic modulators of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering. This work showcases how coupling multilayer network analysis with personalized -omics information provides molecular explanations to the varying severity of rare diseases; paving the way for sorting out similar cases in other rare diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iker Núñez-Carpintero
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Maria Rigau
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Mattia Bosio
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
- Coordination Unit Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute (INB/ELIXIR-ES), Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Emily O'Connor
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sally Spendiff
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Yoshiteru Azuma
- Department of Human Genetics, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
- Department of Pediatrics, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Japan
| | - Ana Topf
- John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel Thompson
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Peter A C 't Hoen
- Center for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Teodora Chamova
- Department of Neurology, Expert Centre for Hereditary Neurologic and Metabolic Disorders, Alexandrovska University Hospital, Medical University-Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Ivailo Tournev
- Department of Neurology, Expert Centre for Hereditary Neurologic and Metabolic Disorders, Alexandrovska University Hospital, Medical University-Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
- Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University, Sofia, 1618, Bulgaria
| | - Velina Guergueltcheva
- Clinic of Neurology, University Hospital Sofiamed, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Steven Laurie
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Sergi Beltran
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Capella-Gutiérrez
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
- Coordination Unit Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute (INB/ELIXIR-ES), Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Davide Cirillo
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Hanns Lochmüller
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Neuropediatrics and Muscle Disorders, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Alfonso Valencia
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
- Coordination Unit Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute (INB/ELIXIR-ES), Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Chen X, Zhou L, Cui C, Sun J. Evolving markers in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Adv Clin Chem 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.acc.2023.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
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4
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Sun Z, Chen G, Wang L, Sang Q, Xu G, Zhang N. APEX1 promotes the oncogenicity of hepatocellular carcinoma via regulation of MAP2K6. Aging (Albany NY) 2022; 14:7959-7971. [PMID: 36205565 PMCID: PMC9596212 DOI: 10.18632/aging.204325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APEX1), a key enzyme responsible for DNA base excision repair, has been linked to development and progression of cancers. In this work, we aimed to explore the role of APEX1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and elucidate its molecular mechanism. Methods: The expression of APEX1 in HCC tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues (n = 80 cases) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Web-based tools UALCAN and the Kaplan-Meier plotter were used to analyze the Cancer Genome Atlas database to compare expression of APEX1 mRNA to 5-year overall survival. APEX1 was stably silenced in two HCC cell lines, Hep 3B and Bel-7402, with shRNA technology. An in vivo tumorigenesis model was established by subcutaneously injecting sh-APEX1-transfected Bel-7402 cells into mice, and tumor growth was determined. We performed high-throughput transcriptome sequencing in sh-APEX1-treated HCC cells to identify the key KEGG signaling pathways induced by silencing of APEX1. Results: APEX1 was significantly upregulated and predicted poor clinical overall survival in HCC patients. Silencing APEX1 inhibited the proliferation of HCC cells in vivo and in vitro, and it repressed invasion and migration and increased apoptosis and the percentage of cells in G1. Differentially expressed genes upon APEX1 silencing included genes involved in TNF signaling. A positive correlation between the expression of APEX1 and MAP2K6 was noted, and overexpressing MAP2K6 overcame cancer-related phenotypes associated with APEX1 silencing. Conclusion: APEX1 enhances the malignant properties of HCC via MAP2K6. APEX1 may represent a valuable prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhipeng Sun
- Hepatopancreatobiliary Center, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Institute for Precision Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Guangyang Chen
- Oncology Surgery Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Wang
- Oncology Surgery Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Sang
- Oncology Surgery Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Guangzhong Xu
- Oncology Surgery Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Nengwei Zhang
- Oncology Surgery Department, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
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5
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Amorós MA, Choi ES, Cofré AR, Dokholyan NV, Duzzioni M. Motor neuron-derived induced pluripotent stem cells as a drug screening platform for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:962881. [PMID: 36105357 PMCID: PMC9467621 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.962881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of cell culture models that recapitulate the etiology and features of nervous system diseases is central to the discovery of new drugs and their translation onto therapies. Neuronal tissues are inaccessible due to skeletal constraints and the invasiveness of the procedure to obtain them. Thus, the emergence of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offers the opportunity to model different neuronal pathologies. Our focus centers on iPSCs derived from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, whose pathology remains in urgent need of new drugs and treatment. In this sense, we aim to revise the process to obtain motor neurons derived iPSCs (iPSC-MNs) from patients with ALS as a drug screening model, review current 3D-models and offer a perspective on bioinformatics as a powerful tool that can aid in the progress of finding new pharmacological treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana A. Amorós
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Innovation, Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Esther S. Choi
- Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Axel R. Cofré
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Innovation, Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Nikolay V. Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | - Marcelo Duzzioni
- Laboratory of Pharmacological Innovation, Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
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6
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Pampalakis G, Angelis G, Zingkou E, Vekrellis K, Sotiropoulou G. A chemogenomic approach is required for effective treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Clin Transl Med 2022; 12:e657. [PMID: 35064780 PMCID: PMC8783349 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
ALS is a fatal untreatable disease involving degeneration of motor neurons. Μultiple causative genes encoding proteins with versatile functions have been identified indicating that diverse biological pathways lead to ALS. Chemical entities still represent a promising choice to delay ALS progression, attenuate symptoms and/or increase life expectancy, but also gene-based and stem cell-based therapies are in the process of development, and some are tested in clinical trials. Various compounds proved effective in transgenic models overexpressing distinct ALS causative genes unfortunately though, they showed no efficacy in clinical trials. Notably, while animal models provide a uniform genetic background for preclinical testing, ALS patients are not stratified, and the distinct genetic forms of ALS are treated as one group, which could explain the observed discrepancies between treating genetically homogeneous mice and quite heterogeneous patient cohorts. We suggest that chemical entity-genotype correlation should be exploited to guide patient stratification for pharmacotherapy, that is administered drugs should be selected based on the ALS genetic background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Pampalakis
- Department of Pharmacology - Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Georgios Angelis
- Department of Pharmacology - Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Patras, Rion-Patras, Greece
| | - Eleni Zingkou
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Patras, Rion-Patras, Greece
| | - Kostas Vekrellis
- Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Georgia Sotiropoulou
- Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Patras, Rion-Patras, Greece
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7
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Ami D, Duse A, Mereghetti P, Cozza F, Ambrosio F, Ponzini E, Grandori R, Lunetta C, Tavazzi S, Pezzoli F, Natalello A. Tear-Based Vibrational Spectroscopy Applied to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Anal Chem 2021; 93:16995-17002. [PMID: 34905686 PMCID: PMC8717331 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Biofluid analysis
by optical spectroscopy techniques is attracting
considerable interest due to its potential to revolutionize diagnostics
and precision medicine, particularly for neurodegenerative diseases.
However, the lack of effective biomarkers combined with the unaccomplished
identification of convenient biofluids has drastically hampered optical
advancements in clinical diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative
disorders. Here, we show that vibrational spectroscopy applied to
human tears opens a new route, offering a non-invasive, label-free
identification of a devastating disease such as amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS). Our proposed approach has been validated using two
widespread techniques, namely, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and
Raman microspectroscopies. In conjunction with multivariate analysis,
this vibrational approach made it possible to discriminate between
tears from ALS patients and healthy controls (HCs) with high specificity
(∼97% and ∼100% for FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, respectively)
and sensitivity (∼88% and ∼100% for FTIR and Raman spectroscopy,
respectively). Additionally, the investigation of tears allowed us
to disclose ALS spectroscopic markers related to protein and lipid
alterations, as well as to a reduction of the phenylalanine level,
in comparison with HCs. Our findings show that vibrational spectroscopy
is a new potential ALS diagnostic approach and indicate that tears
are a reliable and non-invasive source of ALS biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diletta Ami
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Alessandro Duse
- Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy.,COMiB Research Centre in Optics and Optometry, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
| | | | - Federica Cozza
- COMiB Research Centre in Optics and Optometry, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy.,NEuroMuscular Omnicentre (NEMO), Serena Onlus Foundation, Piazza Ospedale Maggiore 3, 20162 Milano, Italy
| | - Francesca Ambrosio
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Erika Ponzini
- Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy.,COMiB Research Centre in Optics and Optometry, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
| | - Rita Grandori
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Christian Lunetta
- NEuroMuscular Omnicentre (NEMO), Serena Onlus Foundation, Piazza Ospedale Maggiore 3, 20162 Milano, Italy.,NEMO Lab, Piazza Ospedale Maggiore 3, 20162 Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Tavazzi
- Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy.,COMiB Research Centre in Optics and Optometry, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
| | - Fabio Pezzoli
- Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
| | - Antonino Natalello
- Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milano, Italy
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Lin F, Lin W, Zhu C, Lin J, Zhu J, Li XY, Wang Z, Wang C, Huang H. Sequencing of neurofilament genes identified NEFH Ser787Arg as a novel risk variant of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Chinese subjects. BMC Med Genomics 2021; 14:222. [PMID: 34511133 PMCID: PMC8436554 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-021-01073-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with neuronal cell inclusions composed of neurofilaments and other abnormal aggregative proteins as pathological hallmarks. Approximately 90% of patients have sporadic cases (sALS), and at least 4 genes, i.e. C9orf72, SOD1, FUS and TARDBP, have been identified as the main causative genes, while many others have been proposed as potential risk genes. However, these mutations could explain only ~ 10% of sALS cases. The neurofilament polypeptides encoded by NEFH, NEFM, and NEFL are promising protein biomarkers for ALS and other degenerative diseases. However, whether the genetic variants of these genes were associated with ALS remain ambiguous. METHODS Here, we used PCR-Sanger to sequence the exons of these three genes in a cohort of 371 sALS patients and 711 healthy controls (Phase I) and validated the risk variant in another 300 sALS patients and 1076 controls (Phase II). RESULTS A total of 92 variants were identified, including 36 rare heterozygous variants in NEFH, 27 in NEFM, and 16 in NEFL, and only rs568759161 (p.Ser787Arg) in NEFH reached nominal statistical power (P = 0.02 at Phase I, P = 0.009 at Phase II) in the case-control comparison. Together, the Phase I and II studies showed the significantly higher frequency of the variant in cases (9/1342, 0.67%) than in controls (2/3574, 0.07%) (OR 12.06; 95% CI 2.60-55.88; P = 0.0003). No variants passed multiple testing in the discovery cohort, but rs568759161 was associated with ALS in a replication cohort. CONCLUSIONS Our results confirmed that NEFH Ser787Arg is a novel sALS risk variant in Chinese subjects, but NEFM and NEFL were not associated with sALS. These data may have implications for genetic counselling and for understanding the pathogenesis of sALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Lin
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fujian, 350001, China
| | - Wanhui Lin
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fujian, 350001, China
| | - Chaofeng Zhu
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fujian, 350001, China
| | - Jilan Lin
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fujian, 350001, China
| | - Junge Zhu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Xu-Ying Li
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Zhanjun Wang
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Chaodong Wang
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, China
| | - Huapin Huang
- Department of Neurology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fujian, 350001, China.
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9
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Robichaud PP, Arseneault M, O'Connell C, Ouellette RJ, Morin PJ. Circulating cell-free DNA as potential diagnostic tools for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurosci Lett 2021; 750:135813. [PMID: 33705931 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation has garnered much attention in recent years for its diagnostic potential in multiple conditions including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Conversely, advances regarding the potential diagnostic relevance of DNA methylation status have been sparse in the field of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) even though patients diagnosed with this condition would significantly benefit from improved molecular assays aimed at furthering the current diagnostic and therapeutic options available. This review will provide an overview of the current diagnostic approaches available for ALS diagnosis and discuss the potential clinical usefulness of DNA methylation. We will also present examples of DNA methylation as a diagnostic tool in various types of cancer and neurodegenerative conditions and expand on how circulating cfDNA methylation may be leveraged for the early detection of ALS. In general, this article will reinforce the importance of cfDNA methylation as diagnostic tools and will further highlight its clinical relevance for persons diagnosed with ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe-Pierre Robichaud
- Vitalité Health Network, Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, Department of Genetic Services, 330 Université Ave, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1C 2Z3, Canada; Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, Pavillon Hôtel-Dieu, 35 Providence Street, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1C 8X3, Canada; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1A 3E9, Canada
| | - Michael Arseneault
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1A 3E9, Canada
| | - Colleen O'Connell
- Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation, 800 Priestman Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 0C7, Canada
| | - Rodney J Ouellette
- Atlantic Cancer Research Institute, Pavillon Hôtel-Dieu, 35 Providence Street, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1C 8X3, Canada
| | - Pier Jr Morin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, 18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, Moncton, New Brunswick, E1A 3E9, Canada.
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10
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Greco A, Chiesa MR, Da Prato I, Romanelli AM, Dolciotti C, Cavallini G, Masciandaro SM, Scilingo EP, Del Carratore R, Bongioanni P. Using blood data for the differential diagnosis and prognosis of motor neuron diseases: a new dataset for machine learning applications. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3371. [PMID: 33564045 PMCID: PMC7873306 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82940-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Early differential diagnosis of several motor neuron diseases (MNDs) is extremely challenging due to the high number of overlapped symptoms. The routine clinical practice is based on clinical history and examination, usually accompanied by electrophysiological tests. However, although previous studies have demonstrated the involvement of altered metabolic pathways, biomarker-based monitoring tools are still far from being applied. In this study, we aim at characterizing and discriminating patients with involvement of both upper and lower motor neurons (i.e., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients) from those with selective involvement of the lower motor neuron (LMND), by using blood data exclusively. To this end, in the last ten years, we built a database including 692 blood data and related clinical observations from 55 ALS and LMND patients. Each blood sample was described by 108 analytes. Starting from this outstanding number of features, we performed a characterization of the two groups of patients through statistical and classification analyses of blood data. Specifically, we implemented a support vector machine with recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) to automatically diagnose each patient into the ALS or LMND groups and to recognize whether they had a fast or slow disease progression. The classification strategy through the RFE algorithm also allowed us to reveal the most informative subset of blood analytes including novel potential biomarkers of MNDs. Our results show that we successfully devised subject-independent classifiers for the differential diagnosis and prognosis of ALS and LMND with remarkable average accuracy (up to 94%), using blood data exclusively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Greco
- Department of Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| | | | - Ilaria Da Prato
- Institute of Clinical Physiology Research, CNR-Pisa, Pisa, Italy.,NeuroCare onlus, Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | - Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
- Department of Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Bongioanni
- Severe Acquired Brain Injuries Dpt Section, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Pisa, Italy.,NeuroCare onlus, Pisa, Italy
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11
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Mentis AFA, Bougea AM, Chrousos GP. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and the endocrine system: Are there any further ties to be explored? AGING BRAIN 2021; 1:100024. [PMID: 36911507 PMCID: PMC9997134 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2021.100024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) belongs to the family of neurodegenerative disorders and is classified as fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), progressive muscular atrophy, primary lateral sclerosis, and pseudobulbar palsy. Even though endocrine dysfunction independently impacts the ALS-related survival rate, the complex connection between ALS and the endocrine system has not been studied in depth. Here we review earlier and recent findings on how ALS interacts with hormones a) of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, b) the thyroid gland, c) the pancreas, d) the adipose tissue, e) the parathyroid glands, f) the bones, g) the adrenal glands, and h) the gonads (ovaries and testes). Of note, endocrine issues should always be explored in patients with ALS, especially those with low skeletal muscle and bone mass, vitamin D deficiency, and decreased insulin sensitivity (diabetes mellitus). Because ALS is a progressively deteriorating disease, addressing any potential endocrine co-morbidities in patients with this malady is quite important for decreasing the overall ALS-associated disease burden. Importantly, as this burden is estimated to increase globally in the decades to follow, in part because of an increasingly aging population, it is high time for future multi-center, multi-ethnic studies to assess the link between ALS and the endocrine system in significantly larger patient populations. Last, the psychosocial stress experienced by patients with ALS and its psycho-neuro-endocrinological sequelae, including hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal dysregulation, should become an area of intensive study in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexios-Fotios A Mentis
- University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health & Precision Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.,UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Anastasia M Bougea
- Memory & Movement Disorders Clinic, 1st Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George P Chrousos
- University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health & Precision Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.,UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
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Aydemir D, Ulusu NN. Importance of the serum biochemical parameters as potential biomarkers for rapid diagnosis and evaluating preclinical stage of ALS. Med Hypotheses 2020; 141:109736. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Integrative multi-omic analysis identifies new drivers and pathways in molecularly distinct subtypes of ALS. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9968. [PMID: 31292500 PMCID: PMC6620285 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46355-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Increasing the chances of success for future clinical strategies requires more in-depth knowledge of the molecular basis underlying disease heterogeneity. We recently laid the foundation for a molecular taxonomy of ALS by whole-genome expression profiling of motor cortex from sporadic ALS (SALS) patients. Here, we analyzed copy number variants (CNVs) occurring in the same patients, by using a customized exon-centered comparative genomic hybridization array (aCGH) covering a large panel of ALS-related genes. A large number of novel and known disease-associated CNVs were detected in SALS samples, including several subgroup-specific loci, suggestive of a great divergence of two subgroups at the molecular level. Integrative analysis of copy number profiles with their associated transcriptomic data revealed subtype-specific genomic perturbations and candidate driver genes positively correlated with transcriptional signatures, suggesting a strong interaction between genomic and transcriptomic events in ALS pathogenesis. The functional analysis confirmed our previous pathway-based characterization of SALS subtypes and identified 24 potential candidates for genomic-based patient stratification. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive "omics" analysis of molecular events characterizing SALS pathology, providing a road map to facilitate genome-guided personalized diagnosis and treatments for this devastating disease.
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