Functional polymorphism of cyclooxygenase-2 gene (G-765C) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Managing Comorbid Mood Disorders in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Review

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third-leading cause of mortality globally, significantly affecting people over 40 years old. COPD is often comorbid with mood disorders; however, they are frequently neglected or undiagnosed in COPD management, thus resulting in unintended treatment outcomes and higher mortality associated with the disease. Although the exact link between COPD and mood disorders remains to be ascertained, there is a broader opinion that inflammatory reactions in the lungs, blood, and inflammation-induced changes in the brain could orchestrate the onset of mood disorders in COPD. Although the current management of mood disorders such as depression in COPD involves using antidepressants, their use has been limited due to tolerability issues. On the other hand, as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) play a vital role in regulating inflammatory responses, they could be promising alternatives in managing mood disorders in COPD. This review discusses comorbid mood disorders in COPD as well as their influence on the progression and management of COPD. The underlying mechanisms of comorbid mood disorders in COPD will also be discussed, along with the potential role of n-3 PUFAs in managing these conditions.

Identification of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease via bioinformatic analysis

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial and heterogeneous disease that creates public health challenges worldwide. The underlying molecular mechanisms of COPD are not entirely clear. In this study, we aimed to identify the critical genes and potential molecular mechanisms of COPD by bioinformatic analysis. The gene expression profiles of lung tissues of COPD cases and healthy control subjects were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Differentially expressed genes were analyzed by integration with annotations from Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, followed by construction of a protein‐protein interaction network and weighted gene coexpression analysis. We identified 139 differentially expressed genes associated with the progression of COPD, among which 14 Hub genes were identified and found to be enriched in certain categories, including immune and inflammatory response, response to lipopolysaccharide and receptor for advanced glycation end products binding; in addition, these Hub genes are involved in multiple signaling pathways, particularly hematopoietic cell lineage and cytokine‐cytokine receptor interaction. The 14 Hub genes were positively or negatively associated with COPD by wgcna analysis. The genes CX3CR1,PTGS2,FPR1,FPR2, S100A12,EGR1,CD163, S100A8 and S100A9 were identified to mediate inflammation and injury of the lung, and play critical roles in the pathogenesis of COPD. These findings improve our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of COPD.

The effect of NSAIDs exposure on breast cancer risk in female patients with autoimmune diseases

Both breast cancer and autoimmune diseases (ADs) are predominant in women. NSAIDs are common medications for AD. Evidence on the association between NSAIDs use and breast cancer risk is controversial. We investigated the association between NSAIDs exposure and breast cancer risk in female patients with AD. AD patients older than 18 years of age were enrolled from Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. The NSAID users were defined as AD patients who had ever taken NSAIDs for at least 3 months between 2000 and 2009. All individuals were followed from the date of first diagnosis of AD to the end of 2013 to evaluate the risk of breast cancer. We estimated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) using Cox proportional hazard regression after adjusting for age, comorbidities and medications. A total of 12 331 NSAID users and 12 331 non-NSAID users were included in this study after 1: 1 individual matching. The NSAID users were less likely to develop breast cancer than the non-NSAID users (adjusted HR: 0.37; 95% confidence interval: 0.27-0.50; P < 0.001), even if they used NSAIDs with low cumulative defined daily doses (adjusted HR: 0.42; 95% confidence interval: 0.34-0.53; P < 0.001). The incidence of new-onset breast cancer in NSAID users was significantly decreased in users taking selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors, diclofenac, ibuprofen and piroxicam. Lower cumulative hazard rates were found in the AD patients who used NSAIDs (P < 0.001). NSAID exposure is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer in female AD patients.

A case-control study and meta-analysis reveal the association between COX-2 G-765C polymorphism and primary end-stage hip and knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a popular arthrosis featured as pain, limited joint activity, and deformity. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been reported to be up-regulated in arthritic tissues and is integral to the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Previous studies showed the COX-2 promoter G-765C polymorphism could influence COX-2 expression. However, the relationship between the variant and OA risk is contrasting.

METHODS

We conducted a case-control study with 196 primary end-stage hip and knee OA cases and 196 controls in a Chinese Han population. Subsequently, we integrated this case-control study in a meta-analysis to acquire greater statistical power. The results from our case-control study using MassARRAY genotyping technology and binary logistic regression statistical methods.

RESULTS

The variant carriers in the Chinese Han population had a lower primary end-stage hip and knee OA susceptibility (C vs G: OR = 0.350, 95%CI: 0.154-0.797, P = .012; GC vs GG: adjusted OR = 0.282, 95%CI: 0.118-0.676, P = .005). Stratification studies indicated that a higher GC frequency in women decreased not only knee OA susceptibility but also unilateral knee OA risk. The meta-analysis showed that the variant exhibited a significantly decreased OA risk through comparisons involving allelic, homozygous, heterozygous, and dominant models.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that the COX-2 G-765C polymorphism exerts a protective effect against primary end-stage knee osteoarthritis in a female Chinese Han population.

Resolvins attenuate inflammation and promote resolution in cigarette smoke-exposed human macrophages

Inflammation is a protective response to injury, but it can become chronic, leading to tissue damage and disease. Cigarette smoke causes multiple inflammatory diseases, which account for thousands of deaths and cost billions of dollars annually. Cigarette smoke disrupts the function of immune cells, such as macrophages, by prolonging inflammatory signaling, promoting oxidative stress, and impairing phagocytosis, contributing to increased incidence of infections. Recently, new families of lipid-derived mediators, "specialized proresolving mediators" (SPMs), were identified. SPMs play a critical role in the active resolution of inflammation by counterregulating proinflammatory signaling and promoting resolution pathways. We have identified dysregulated concentrations of lipid mediators in exhaled breath condensate, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and serum from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In human alveolar macrophages from COPD and non-COPD patients, D-series resolvins decreased inflammatory cytokines and enhanced phagocytosis. To further investigate the actions of resolvins on human cells, macrophages were differentiated from human blood monocytes and treated with D-series resolvins and then exposed to cigarette smoke extract. Resolvins significantly suppressed macrophage production of proinflammatory cytokines, enzymes, and lipid mediators. Resolvins also increased anti-inflammatory cytokines, promoted an M2 macrophage phenotype, and restored cigarette smoke-induced defects in phagocytosis, highlighting the proresolving functions of these molecules. These actions were receptor-dependent and involved modulation of canonical and noncanonical NF-κB expression, with the first evidence for SPM action on alternative NF-κB signaling. These data show that resolvins act on human macrophages to attenuate cigarette smoke-induced inflammatory effects through proresolving mechanisms and provide new evidence of the therapeutic potential of SPMs.

Breast cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis: an update meta-analysis

Background. The incidence of breast cancer in RA patients remains controversial. Thus we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the impact of RA on breast cancer. Methods. Published literature was available from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Pooled standardized incidence rate (SIR) was computed by random-effect model analysis. Results. We identified 16 separate studies in the present study, in which the number of patients ranged from 458 to 84,475. We did not find the increased cancer risk in RA patients (SIR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.72–1.02). However, subgroup analysis showed that breast cancer risk in RA patients was positively different in Caucasians (SIR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.73–0.93) and non-Caucasians (SIR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.19–1.23), respectively. In subgroup analysis by style, a reduced incidence was found in hospital-based case subjects (SIR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.69–0.97). Similarly, subgroup analysis for adjusted factors indicated that in A3 (age and sex) and A4 (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) the risk was decreased (SIR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.76–0.99; SIR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.59–0.67). Conclusions. The meta-analysis revealed no increased breast cancer risk in RA patients. However, in the subgroup analysis, the risk of breast cancer is increased in non-Caucasians patients with RA while it decreased in Caucasian population, hospital-based case subjects, and A3 group. Such relationship may provide preference for risk of breast cancer in different population.

Relationships of COX2 and MMP12 genetic polymorphisms with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk: a meta-analysis

We performed the present meta-analysis in an attempt to confirm the correlation of genetic polymorphisms in the COX2 and MMP12 genes with the susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We searched English database such as PubMed, CISCOM, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar and several Chinese database for meta-analysis. There were no specific language restrictions. Two investigators systematically extracted relevant data within those included studies. Crude ORs with its corresponding 95 % CI were calculated. STATA 12.0 software was adopted for statistical analysis. The impact of COX2 and MMP12 genetic polymorphisms on the pathogenesis of COPD was investigated in the current study with a total of 10 case-control studies, which includes 1,751 COPD patients and 2,472 healthy subjects. Four common polymorphisms, including rs689466 G > A and rs20417 G > C in the COX2 gene, rs652438 A > G and rs2276109 A > G were evaluated in the MMP12 gene. Pooled OR of the present studies and results showed that the frequency of COX2 rs20417 polymorphism was prevalent in COPD patients than those of healthy subjects (C allele vs. G allele OR = 1.33, 95 % CI 1.06-1.67, P = 0.014; GC + CC vs. GG OR = 1.86, 95 % CI 1.07-3.24, P = 0.029; respectively). However, we found no significant correlation between COX2 rs689466 polymorphism and the risk of COPD (all P > 0.05). Furthermore, our meta-analysis illustrated that individuals with MMP12 rs652438 polymorphism had significantly increased risk of developing COPD (G allele vs. A allele OR = 1.62, 95 % CI 1.08-2.42, P = 0.020; AG + GG vs. AA OR = 2.14, 95 % CI 1.12-4.09, P = 0.021; respectively). Nevertheless, no positive relation was detected between MMP12 rs2276109 variant and the risk of COPD. Our meta-analysis indicates that COX2 and MMP12 genetic polymorphisms may be strongly implicated in the development of COPD, especially for the COX2 rs20417 and MMP12 rs652438 polymorphisms. Thus, COX2 and MMP12 genetic polymorphisms could potentially be utilized as helpful biomarkers for early diagnosis of COPD.