Molecular and expression characteristics of resistin (RETN) and its effects on the differentiation of intramuscular preadipocyte in goat

Immune-related gene characterization and biological mechanisms in major depressive disorder revealed based on transcriptomics and network pharmacology

Background

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by complex etiology, with genetic determinants that are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis of MDD and to explore its association with the immune system by identifying hub biomarkers using bioinformatics analyses and examining immune infiltrates in human autopsy samples.

Methods

Gene microarray data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets GSE32280, GSE76826, GSE98793, and GSE39653. Our approach included differential expression analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis to identify hub genes associated with MDD. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Cytoscape plugin CluGO, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were utilized to identify immune-related genes. The final selection of immune-related hub genes was determined through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression analysis and PPI analysis. Immune cell infiltration in MDD patients was analyzed using CIBERSORT, and correlation analysis was performed between key immune cells and genes. The diagnostic accuracy of the identified hub genes was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Furthermore, we conducted a study involving 10 MDD patients and 10 healthy controls (HCs) meeting specific criteria to assess the expression levels of these hub genes in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The Herbal Ingredient Target Database (HIT) was employed to screen for herbal components that target these genes, potentially identifying novel therapeutic agents.

Results

A total of 159 down-regulated and 51 up-regulated genes were identified for further analysis. WGCNA revealed 12 co-expression modules, with modules "darked", "darkurquoise" and "light yellow" showing significant positive associations with MDD. Functional enrichment pathway analysis indicated that these differential genes were associated with immune functions. Integration of differential and immune-related gene analysis identified 21 common genes. The Lasso algorithm confirmed 4 hub genes as potential biomarkers for MDD. GSEA analysis suggested that these genes may be involved in biological processes such as protein export, RNA degradation, and fc gamma r mediated cytotoxis. Pathway enrichment analysis identified three highly enriched immune-related pathways associated with the 4 hub genes. ROC curve analysis indicated that these hub genes possess good diagnostic value. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) demonstrated significant expression differences of these hub genes in PBMCs between MDD patients and HCs. Immune infiltration analysis revealed significant correlations between immune cells, including Mast cells resting, T cells CD8, NK cells resting, and Neutrophils, which were significantly correlated with the hub genes expression. HIT identified one herb target related to IL7R and 14 targets related to TLR2.

Conclusions

The study identified four immune-related hub genes (TLR2, RETN, HP, and IL7R) in MDD that may impact the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. By leveraging the GEO database, our findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between MDD and immunity, presenting potential therapeutic targets.

Resistin in endocrine pancreas of sheep: Presence and expression related to different diets

Resistin (RETN), a recently discovered adipokine, is a cysteine-rich and secretory protein produced by adipocytes. RETN has been detected in several tissues, including human and laboratory animals' pancreas, wherein impairs glucose tolerance and insulin (INS) action and causes INS resistance. This study aims to evaluate the presence and expression of RETN in the pancreas of 15 adult female sheep reared on Apennine pastures, which show a decrease in their nutritional value due to the drought stress linked to the increasing summer aridity. The sheep were divided into 3 groups according to the diet they were subjected to: maximum pasture flowering (MxF) group, maximum pasture dryness (MxD) group, and experimental (Exp) group which received a feed supplementation in addition to the MxD group feeding. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections of the pancreas to detect the RETN presence and to evaluate the co-localization of RETN with both glucagon (GCG)- and INS-producing cells. In addition, the expression of the three molecules was evaluated also in relation to different diets. RETN was observed only in the endocrine pancreas, showing a wide distribution throughout the pancreatic islets with few negative cells and the RETN producing cells colocalized with both α cells and ß cells. No differences in distribution and immunostaining intensity of RETN, GCG and INS were observed among the three groups. Quantitative PCR showed the expression of RETN, GCG and INS in all tested samples. No significant differences were observed for RETN and GCG among all three groups of sheep. Instead, a high statistically significant expression of INS was detected in the MxF group with respect to the Exp and MxD groups. These results highlight the localization of RETN in GCG- and INS-secreting cells involved in glucose homeostasis suggesting a modulatory role for RETN. Furthermore, the RETN expression is not influenced by food supplementation and thus is not affected by diet.

Research progress of non-coding RNAs regulation on intramuscular adipocytes in domestic animals

Intramuscular fat (IMF) is the main determinant of the economic value of domestic animal meat, and has a vital impact on the sensory quality characteristics, while the content of IMF is mainly determined by the size and number of intramuscular adipocytes. In recent years, due to the development of sequencing technology and omics technology, a large number of non-coding RNAs have been identified in intramuscular adipocytes. Non-coding RNAs are a kind of RNA regulatory factors with biological functions but without translation function, which mainly include microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs). These non-coding RNAs regulate the key genes of intramuscular adipocyte growth and development at post-transcriptional level through a variety of regulatory mechanisms, and affect the number and size of intramuscular adipocytes, thus affecting the content of IMF. Here, the review summarizes the candidate non-coding RNAs (miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs) and genes involved in the regulation of intramuscular adipocytes, the related regulation mechanism and signaling pathways, in order to provide reference for further clarifying the molecular regulation mechanism of non-coding RNAs on intramuscular adipocytes in domestic animals.

Resistin gene expression: Novel study in dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Resistin, an adipocyte-specific hormone involved in insulin resistance and adipocyte differentiation, was initially identified in adipose tissue and macrophages. The physiological role of this molecule in camels remains largely unexplored. This study analysed for the first time blood and tissue levels of resistin as well as expression of resistin gene by real time PCR in adipose tissue (hump, visceral & epididymal) and different muscles (gastrocnemius, heart and caecum) in dromedary camels. The results revealed that resistin concentration was significantly (P<0.01) higher in epididymal adipose tissue as compared to other tissues and the lowest concentration was detected in serum. Additionally, the differential mRNA expression levels of resistin gene showed the highest expression level in epididymal adipose tissue as compared to other tissues. In conclusion, the results demonstrated for the first time that resistin was expressed in different tissues of dromedary camels. These data underscore an important facet of the physiological role of resistin as a factor involved in insulin resistance and glucose metabolism in camels.

Proteomics Combined with RNA Sequencing to Screen Biomarkers of Sepsis

Purpose

To screen biomarkers in the serum of patients with sepsis by proteomics combined with RNA sequencing technology, and to find new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for sepsis.

Patients and Methods

Blood samples of 22 sepsis patients (sepsis group) and 10 healthy volunteers (normal group) were collected from January 2019 to December 2020. Data-independent acquisition (DIA) method was employed for protein profiling, RNA sequencing was employed for gene sequencing. Subsequently, quality control and differential analysis (FC≥2; FDR<0.05) of DIA data and RNA sequencing data were performed. Then we identified expression trend-consistent divergence factors by nine-quadrant analysis; subsequent protein-protein interaction (PPI) and gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis of intersection factors was performed, and meta-analysis of targets at transcriptome level was implemented using public datasets. Finally, five Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples (NC=2; SIRS=1; SEPSIS =2) were collected, and cell localization analysis of core genes was performed by 10× single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).

Results

Compared with the normal group, there were 4681 differentially expressed genes and 202 differentially expressed proteins in the sepsis group. Among them, 25 factors were expressed in both proteome and transcriptome, and the analysis of PPI and GO found that they were mainly involved in biological processes such as white blood cell and neutrophil response, inflammatory and immune response. Four core genes GSTO1, C1QA, RETN, and GRN were screened by meta-analysis, all of which were highly expressed in the sepsis group compared with the normal group (P<0.05); scRNA-seq showed the core genes were mainly localized in macrophage cell lines.

Conclusion

The core genes GSTO1, C1QA, RETN and GRN are mainly expressed in macrophages, widely involved in inflammation and immune responses, and are highly expressed in plasma in the sepsis, suggesting that they may become potential research targets for sepsis.

Neuropeptides as the Shared Genetic Crosstalks Linking Periodontitis and Major Depression Disorder

Background

The aim of this study was at investigating the association between major depressive disorder (MDD) and periodontitis based on crosstalk genes and neuropeptides.

Methods

Datasets for periodontitis (GSE10334, GSE16134, and GSE23586) and MDD (GSE38206 and GSE39653) were downloaded from GEO. Following batch correction, a differential expression analysis was applied (MDD: ∣log2FC | >0 and periodontitis ∣log2FC | ≥0.5, p < 0.05). The neuropeptide data were downloaded from NeuroPep and NeuroPedia. Intersected genes were potential crosstalk genes. The correlation between neuropeptides and crosstalk genes in MDD and periodontitis was analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient. Subsequently, regression analysis was performed to calculate the differentially regulated link. Cytoscape was used to map the pathways of crosstalk genes and neuropeptides and to construct the protein-protein interaction network. Lasso regression was applied to screen neuropeptides, whereby boxplots were created, and receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was conducted.

Results

The MDD dataset contained 30 case and 33 control samples, and the periodontitis dataset contained 430 case and 139 control samples. 35 crosstalk genes were obtained. A total of 102 neuropeptides were extracted from the database, which were not differentially expressed in MDD and periodontitis and had no intersection with crosstalk genes. Through lasso regression, 9 neuropeptides in MDD and 43 neuropeptides in periodontitis were obtained. Four intersected neuropeptide genes were obtained, i.e., ADM, IGF2, PDYN, and RETN. The results of ROC analysis showed that IGF2 was highly predictive in MDD and periodontitis. ADM was better than the other three genes in predicting MDD disease. A total of 13 crosstalk genes were differentially coexpressed with four neuropeptides, whereby FOSB was highly expressed in MDD and periodontitis.

Conclusion

The neuropeptide genes ADM, IGF2, PDYN, and RETN were intersected between periodontitis and MDD, and FOSB was a crosstalk gene related to these neuropeptides on the transcriptomic level. These results are a basis for future research in the field, needing further validation.

Characterization, tissue distribution of resistin gene and the effect of fasting and refeeding on resistin mRNA expression in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii)

Resistin as an adipokine identified from rodents in 2001 is involved in many biological processes. However, little is known about this gene in fish. We cloned Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) resistin cDNA of 795 base pairs, encoding 107 amino acids, which showed 38-40% identity to human and rodents. Real-time quantitative PCR showed that the resistin gene was widely distributed in tissues of Siberian sturgeon, with the highest expression in liver. After fasting for 1, 3, 6 and 10 days, the expression of the resistin gene in the liver of Siberian sturgeon decreased significantly, and after refeeding on the 10 days of fasting the resistin mRNA expression increased rapidly, suggesting that resistin may play an important role in liver in response to starvation. Taken together, these results suggest that resistin may be involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis in liver.