Serum exosomal coronin 1A and dynamin 2 as neural tube defect biomarkers

A novel tsRNA signature -tRF-58:76-Tyr-GTA-2-M3 as potential biomarker and therapeutic target for duodenal atresia

Duodenal atresia (DA) is a common neonatal digestive tract obstruction, with unclear prenatal diagnostic specificity and optimal intervention timing. tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs), stable and enriched in blood, are promising biomarkers for disease diagnosis. Therefore, identifying tsRNA biomarkers, elucidating DA pathogenesis, and exploring potential intrauterine interventions is urgently needed. This study conducts tsRNA profiling via sequencing on plasma samples from pregnant women carrying fetuses with DA and matched healthy controls. Validation was performed in 147 pregnant women, including cohorts with fetal gastrointestinal atresia, normal pregnancies, and post-delivery cases. Functional analyses in cellular models and Adriamycin rat models with DA explored the role of key tsRNAs in DA pathogenesis and intrauterine therapy. It is found that tsRNAs, including tRF-61:78-chrM. Leu-TAA, tRF-60:77-Ile-AAT-1-M4, tRF-57:76-Arg-ACG-1-M2, and tRF-58:76-Tyr-GTA-2-M3, were significantly downregulated in DA cases. tRF-58:76-Tyr-GTA-2-M3 is further implicated in DA development, with knockdown inducing excessive apoptosis via upregulation of SUFU and suppression of GLI1, a hedgehog pathway transcription factor. Intraperitoneal microinjection of tRF-58:76-Tyr-GTA-2-M3 agomir in DA rat models reduce apoptosis and mitigates DA formation by modulating SUFU and GLI1 expression. Taken together, this study identifies novel tsRNA biomarkers for DA, with tRF-58:76-Tyr-GTA-2-M3 playing a pivotal role in its pathogenesis. These findings offer insights into DA mechanisms and suggest potential therapeutic targets, advancing strategies for early diagnosis and intervention.

Research progress on ultrasound and molecular markers for prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are severe congenital anomalies that result from the failure of early neural tube closure during fetal neurogenesis. They are the most common and severe congenital malformations of the central nervous system. Identifying reliable prenatal diagnostic ultrasound and molecular markers that can predict NTDs is of paramount importance. Early diagnosis of NTDs allows embryonic treatment and prevention strategies, which are crucial for reducing the disability rate associated with these malformations, reducing the burden on individuals and on society. The purpose of this comprehensive review was to summarize the ultrasound biomarkers between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation and the molecular biomarkers used in the diagnosis of NTDs, providing additional insights into early screening for NTDs.

High fat diet-induced obesity and gestational DMBA exposure alter folliculogenesis and the proteome of the maternal ovary†

Obesity and ovotoxicant exposures impair female reproductive health with greater ovotoxicity reported in obese relative to lean females. The mother and developing fetus are vulnerable to both during gestation. 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) is released during carbon combustion including from cigarettes, coal, fossil fuels, and forest fires. This study investigated the hypothesis that diet-induced obesity would increase sensitivity of the ovaries to DMBA-induced ovotoxicity and determined impacts of both obesity and DMBA exposure during gestation on the maternal ovary. Female C57BL/6 J mice were fed a control or a High Sugar High Fat (45% kcal from fat; 20% kcal from sucrose) diet until ~30% weight gain was attained before mating with unexposed males. From gestation Day 7, mice were exposed intraperitoneally to either vehicle control (corn oil) or DMBA (1 mg/kg diluted in corn oil) for 7 d. Thus, there were four groups: lean control (LC); lean DMBA exposed; obese control; obese DMBA exposed. Gestational obesity and DMBA exposure decreased (P < 0.05) ovarian and increased liver weights relative to LC dams, but there was no treatment impact (P > 0.05) on spleen weight or progesterone. Also, obesity exacerbated the DMBA reduction (P < 0.05) in the number of primordial, secondary follicles, and corpora lutea. In lean mice, DMBA exposure altered abundance of 21 proteins; in obese dams, DMBA exposure affected 134 proteins while obesity alone altered 81 proteins in the maternal ovary. Thus, the maternal ovary is impacted by DMBA exposure and metabolic status influences the outcome.

Exploring research hotspots and future directions in neural tube defects field by bibliometric and bioinformatics analysis

Background

Neural tube defects (NTDs) is the most common birth defect of the central nervous system (CNS) which causes the death of almost 88,000 people every year around the world. Much efforts have been made to investigate the reasons that contribute to NTD and explore new ways to for prevention. We trawl the past decade (2013-2022) published records in order to get a worldwide view about NTDs research field.

Methods

7,437 records about NTDs were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Tools such as shell scripts, VOSviewer, SCImago Graphica, CiteSpace and PubTator were used for data analysis and visualization.

Results

Over the past decade, the number of publications has maintained an upward trend, except for 2022. The United States is the country with the highest number of publications and also with the closest collaboration with other countries. Baylor College of Medicine has the closest collaboration with other institutions worldwide and also was the most prolific institution. In the field of NTDs, research focuses on molecular mechanisms such as genes and signaling pathways related to folate metabolism, neurogenic diseases caused by neural tube closure disorders such as myelomeningocele and spina bifida, and prevention and treatment such as folate supplementation and surgical procedures. Most NTDs related genes are related to development, cell projection parts, and molecular binding. These genes are mainly concentrated in cancer, Wnt, MAPK, PI3K-Akt and other signaling pathways. The distribution of NTDs related SNPs on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 11, 14, and 17 are relatively concentrated, which may be associated with high-risk of NTDs.

Conclusion

Bibliometric analysis of the literature on NTDs field provided the current status, hotspots and future directions to some extant. Further bioinformatics analysis expanded our understanding of NTDs-related genes function and revealed some important SNP clusters and loci. This study provided some guidance for further studies. More extensive cooperation and further research are needed to overcome the ongoing challenge in pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of NTDs.