Deep sequencing unveils altered cardiac miRNome in congenital heart disease

The Role of miRNA Expression in Congenital Heart Disease: Insights into the Mechanisms and Biomarker Potential

Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are among the most common congenital malformations. Despite significant advancements in understanding the embryonic development of the heart, the etiology of CHDs remains largely unknown. The complexity of the processes involved in heart formation limits our ability to identify all molecular mechanisms underlying CHDs. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have provided new insights into the molecular mechanisms of CHDs. This narrative review evaluates the evidence linking expression to CHDs and discusses the potential of RNA expression regulation as a promising avenue for therapeutic biomarker development. A search of the literature, focusing on the role of miRNAs in CHDs, was carried out to identify pertinent studies published over the last decade. The literature search was performed utilizing the PubMed and Scopus databases. The selection criteria included peer-reviewed original studies, clinical research, meta-analyses, and review articles written in English. Multiple investigations have highlighted the essential role of miRNAs in cardiac development and function, showing that their distinct expression patterns can broadly and specifically influence cellular signaling pathways involved in heart abnormalities. The regulation of mRNA expression emerges as a key factor in the pathogenesis of CHD, paving the way for the identification of novel molecular biomarkers. Alterations in transcriptional profiles could offer innovative and highly specific tools for risk stratification and the clinical monitoring of patients. In conclusion, although further studies are needed to validate the efficacy and clinical applicability of these biomarkers, the mRNA-based approach stands out as a promising perspective for precision medicine in the CHD context.

Cardiomyocyte proliferation and regeneration in congenital heart disease

Despite advances in prenatal screening and a notable decrease in mortality rates, congenital heart disease (CHD) remains the most prevalent congenital disorder in newborns globally. Current therapeutic surgical approaches face challenges due to the significant rise in complications and disabilities. Emerging cardiac regenerative therapies offer promising adjuncts for CHD treatment. One novel avenue involves investigating methods to stimulate cardiomyocyte proliferation. However, the mechanism of altered cardiomyocyte proliferation in CHD is not fully understood, and there are few feasible approaches to stimulate cardiomyocyte cell cycling for optimal healing in CHD patients. In this review, we explore recent progress in understanding genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying defective cardiomyocyte proliferation in CHD from development through birth. Targeting cell cycle pathways shows promise for enhancing cardiomyocyte cytokinesis, division, and regeneration to repair heart defects. Advancements in human disease modeling techniques, CRISPR-based genome and epigenome editing, and next-generation sequencing technologies will expedite the exploration of abnormal machinery governing cardiomyocyte differentiation, proliferation, and maturation across diverse genetic backgrounds of CHD. Ongoing studies on screening drugs that regulate cell cycling are poised to translate this nascent technology of enhancing cardiomyocyte proliferation into a new therapeutic paradigm for CHD surgical interventions.

Transcriptome studies of congenital heart diseases: identifying current gaps and therapeutic frontiers

Congenital heart disease (CHD) are genetically complex and comprise a wide range of structural defects that often predispose to - early heart failure, a common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Transcriptome studies of CHD in human pediatric patients indicated a broad spectrum of diverse molecular signatures across various types of CHD. In order to advance research on congenital heart diseases (CHDs), we conducted a detailed review of transcriptome studies on this topic. Our analysis identified gaps in the literature, with a particular focus on the cardiac transcriptome signatures found in various biological specimens across different types of CHDs. In addition to translational studies involving human subjects, we also examined transcriptomic analyses of CHDs in a range of model systems, including iPSCs and animal models. We concluded that RNA-seq technology has revolutionized medical research and many of the discoveries from CHD transcriptome studies draw attention to biological pathways that concurrently open the door to a better understanding of cardiac development and related therapeutic avenue. While some crucial impediments to perfectly studying CHDs in this context remain obtaining pediatric cardiac tissue samples, phenotypic variation, and the lack of anatomical/spatial context with model systems. Combining model systems, RNA-seq technology, and integrating algorithms for analyzing transcriptomic data at both single-cell and high throughput spatial resolution is expected to continue uncovering unique biological pathways that are perturbed in CHDs, thus facilitating the development of novel therapy for congenital heart disease.

Maternal body fluid lncRNAs serve as biomarkers to diagnose ventricular septal defect: from amniotic fluid to plasma

Background: Maternal body fluids contain abundant cell-free fetal RNAs which have the potential to serve as indicators of fetal development and pathophysiological conditions. In this context, this study aimed to explore the potential diagnostic value of maternal circulating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in ventricular septal defect (VSD). Methods: The potential of lncRNAs as non-invasive prenatal biomarkers for VSD was evaluated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The biological processes and regulatory network of these lncRNAs were elucidated through bioinformatics analysis. Results: Three lncRNAs (LINC00598, LINC01551, and GATA3-AS1) were found to be consistent in both maternal plasma and amniotic fluid. These lncRNAs exhibited strong diagnostic performance for VSD, with AUC values of 0.852, 0.957, and 0.864, respectively. The bioinformatics analysis revealed the involvement of these lncRNAs in heart morphogenesis, actin cytoskeleton organization, cell cycle regulation, and protein binding through a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network at the post-transcriptional level. Conclusion: The cell-free lncRNAs present in the amniotic fluid have the potential to be released into the maternal circulation, making them promising candidates for investigating epigenetic regulation in VSD.

Epigenetic Modification Factors and microRNAs Network Associated with Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells toward Cardiomyocytes: A Review

More research is being conducted on myocardial cell treatments utilizing stem cell lines that can develop into cardiomyocytes. All of the forms of cardiac illnesses have shown to be quite amenable to treatments using embryonic (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In the present study, we reviewed the differentiation of these cell types into cardiomyocytes from an epigenetic standpoint. We also provided a miRNA network that is devoted to the epigenetic commitment of stem cells toward cardiomyocyte cells and related diseases, such as congenital heart defects, comprehensively. Histone acetylation, methylation, DNA alterations, N6-methyladenosine (m⁶a) RNA methylation, and cardiac mitochondrial mutations are explored as potential tools for precise stem cell differentiation.

Microfluidics for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), a type of circulatory system disease related to the lesions of the cardiovascular system, has become one of the main diseases that endanger human health. Currently, the clinical diagnosis of most CVDs relies on a combination of imaging technology and blood biochemical test. However, the existing technologies for diagnosis of CVDs still have limitations in terms of specificity, detection range, and cost. In order to break through the current bottleneck, microfluidic with the advantages of low cost, simple instruments and easy integration, has been developed to play an important role in the early prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. Here, we have reviewed the recent various applications of microfluidic in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of CVDs, including microfluidic devices for detecting CVD markers, the cardiovascular models based on microfluidic, and the microfluidic used for CVDs drug screening and delivery. In addition, we have briefly looked forward to the prospects and challenges of microfluidics in diagnosis and treatment of CVDs.

Characterization of immune landscape and development of a novel N7-methylguanine-related gene signature to aid therapy in recurrent aphthous stomatitis

OBJECTIVES

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa resulting in an impaired life quality and even leading to tumors in susceptible populations. N7-Methylguanine (m7G) plays a vital role in various cellular activities but has not yet been investigated in RAS. We aimed at picturing the immune landscape and constructing an m7G-related gene signature, and investigating candidate drugs and gene-disease association to aid therapy for RAS.

METHODS

For our study, m7G-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened. We outlined the immune microenvironment and studied the correlations between the m7G-related DEGs and immune cells/pathways. We performed functional enrichment analyses and constructed the protein-protein interaction (PPI) and multifactor regulatory network in RAS. The m7G-related hub genes were extracted to formulate the corresponding m7G predictive signature.

RESULTS

We obtained 11 m7G-related DEGs and studied a comprehensive immune infiltration landscape, which indicated several immune markers as possible immunotherapeutic targets. The PPI and multifactor regulatory network was constructed and 4 hub genes (DDX58, IFI27, IFIT5, and PML) were identified, followed by validation of the corresponding m7G predictive signature for RAS. GO and KEGG analyses revealed the participation of JAK-STAT and several immune-related pathways. Finally, we suggested candidate drugs and gene-disease associations for potential RAS medical interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study pictured a comprehensive immune infiltration landscape and suggested that m7G played a vital role in RAS through immune-related pathways. This study provided new insight for the future investigation of the mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for RAS.