Identification of tissue-specific expression of CXCL14 in black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii)

CXCL14 is a chemokine which is orthologous in mammals and fish. CXCL14 has a functional role in different organs, with immunomodulatory functions in mammals, but its expression and function in fish is not well known. Moreover, it shows no effects related to immunity in the central nervous system or the reproductive tract in diverse species. Black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii) is an economically important fish in Asian countries, whose CXCL14 expression pattern is yet to be understood. In this study, the homology of the CXCL14 amino acid sequence in S. schlegelii was compared with that in other species, including fish. Moreover, in situ hybridization analysis revealed that it was highly expressed in the brain and ovary of S. schlegelii. Taken together, we identified for the first time, the cell-specific expression of CXCL14 in S. schlegelii.

Multiplex analysis of 40 cytokines do not allow separation between endometriosis patients and controls

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological condition characterized by severe pelvic pain and/or infertility. The combination of nonspecific symptoms and invasive laparoscopic diagnostics have prompted researchers to evaluate potential biomarkers that would enable a non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis. Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease thus different cytokines represent potential diagnostic biomarkers. As panels of biomarkers are expected to enable better separation between patients and controls we evaluated 40 different cytokines in plasma samples of 210 patients (116 patients with endometriosis; 94 controls) from two medical centres (Slovenian, Austrian). Results of the univariate statistical analysis showed no differences in concentrations of the measured cytokines between patients and controls, confirmed by principal component analysis showing no clear separation amongst these two groups. In order to validate the hypothesis of a more profound (non-linear) differentiating dependency between features, machine learning methods were used. We trained four common machine learning algorithms (decision tree, linear model, k-nearest neighbour, random forest) on data from plasma levels of proteins and patients’ clinical data. The constructed models, however, did not separate patients with endometriosis from the controls with sufficient sensitivity and specificity. This study thus indicates that plasma levels of the selected cytokines have limited potential for diagnosis of endometriosis.

Circulating non-coding RNAs as non-invasive diagnostic markers of endometriosis: a comprehensive meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Circulating non-coding RNAs have great potential for diagnosing endometriosis as non-invasive markers. We have assessed the potential accuracy and utility for diagnosis of endometriosis.

METHODS

We searched many bases to identify the included literature, which included English bases, such as, Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane library and Chinese bases, for instance, CNKI, Wang Fang, VIP, DuXiu, ChaoXing. We also calculated the general sensitivity and specificity, negative likelihood ratio, positive likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, ROC curve plotting and so on with Stata 15. I² could test the heterogeneity of the meta-analysis, the funnel plot valuated whether meta-analysis had a publication bias. Regression analysis could explore heterogeneity in studies.

RESULT

Comprehensive reading and integrating extracted data, we included 11 published papers. The total number of people included in the case group was 453, and the control group was 362. We, respectively, calculated the general sensitivity and general specificity which were 0.81 (95% CI 0.76-0.85) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.71-0.82) by bivariate analysis. The area under the ROC curve was 0.86 (95% CI 0.83-0.89). There was significant heterogeneity in studies which is I² = 89.62% (95% CI 87.41%-91.83%). In addition, the results of meta-regression and subgroup analysis showed that the heterogeneity might come from gold standard, evaluation standard, experimental group size, experimental sample and race CONCLUSION: The circulating non-coding RNAs have great ability of diagnosing endometriosis as non-invasive markers which were performed robustly and accurately.

An evolutionary conserved interaction between the Gcm transcription factor and the SF1 nuclear receptor in the female reproductive system

NR5A1 is essential for the development and for the function of steroid producing glands of the reproductive system. Moreover, its misregulation is associated with endometriosis, which is the first cause of infertility in women. Hr39, the Drosophila ortholog of NR5A1, is expressed and required in the secretory cells of the spermatheca, the female exocrine gland that ensures fertility by secreting substances that attract and capacitate the spermatozoids. We here identify a direct regulator of Hr39 in the spermatheca: the Gcm transcription factor. Furthermore, lack of Gcm prevents the production of the secretory cells and leads to female sterility in Drosophila. Hr39 regulation by Gcm seems conserved in mammals and involves the modification of the DNA methylation profile of mNr5a1. This study identifies a new molecular pathway in female reproductive system development and suggests a role for hGCM in the progression of reproductive tract diseases in humans.