Polymorphisms of integrin, alpha 6 contribute to the development and neurologic symptoms of intracerebral hemorrhage in korean population

Comprehensive analysis of autophagy-related gene expression profiles identified five gene biomarkers associated with immune infiltration and advanced plaques in carotid atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND

Autophagy plays an important role in the progression of carotid atherosclerosis (CAS). This study aimed to identify hub autophagy-related genes (ATGs) associated with CAS.

METHODS

GSE43292 and GSE28829 datasets of early and advanced CAS plaques were enrolled from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed ATGs (DE-ATGs) was conducted. Functional enrichment assay was used to explore biological functions of DE-ATGs. The hub ATGs were identified by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to validate hub ATGs at the protein level and mRNA level. Correlation analysis of hub ATGs with immune cells was also conducted. In addition, a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed, and diagnostic value of hub ATGs was evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 19 DE-ATGs were identified in early and advanced CAS plaques. Functional enrichment analysis of DE-ATGs suggested that they were closely correlated to autophagy, apoptosis, and lipid regulation. Moreover, 5 hub ATGs, including TNFSF10, ITGA6, CTSD, CCL2, and CASP1, were identified and further verified by IHC. The area under the curve (AUC) values of the 5 hub ATGs were 0.818, 0.732, 0.792, 0.814, and 0.812, respectively. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks targeting the hub ATGs were also constructed. In addition, the 5 hub ATGs were found to be closely associated with immune cell infiltration in CAS.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we identified 5 hub ATGs including CASP1, CCL2, CTSD, ITGA6 and TNFSF10, which could serve as candidate diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

The progression of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is related to the expression of integrin Β1 (ITGB1)

BACKGROUND

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is fatal and detrimental to quality of life. Clinically, options for monitoring are often limited, potentially missing subtle neurological changes. Integrin β 1 (ITGB1) and β 3 (ITGB3) are the main components of integrin family receptors, which regulate the formation and stability of blood vessels. This study explored the relationship between the expression of ITGB1 and ITGB3 in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) to analyze their functional and clinical relevance.

METHODS

The expression of ITGB1 and ITGB3 in ICH was accomplished by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and western blotting (WB) analysis, respectively.

RESULTS

Furthermore, the results demonstrated that ITGB1 was expressed in ICH tissues, but ITGB3 was not expressed in ICH tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, the clinical progression of ICH was related to the expression of ITGB1. ITGB1 may be a potential biomarker and contribute to the treatment of ICH.

Influences of genetic variants on stroke recovery: a meta-analysis of the 31,895 cases

Background

The influences of genetic variants on functional clinical outcomes following stroke are unclear. In order to reliably quantify these influences, we undertook a comprehensive meta-analysis of outcomes after acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) or ischaemic stroke (AIS) in relation to different genetic variants.

Methods

PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase and Medline electronic databases were searched up to January 2019. Outcomes, defined as favourable or poor, were assessed by validated scales (Barthel index, modified Rankin scale, Glasgow outcome scale and National Institutes of Health stroke scale).

Results

Ninety-two publications comprising 31,895 cases met our inclusion criteria. Poor outcome was observed in patients with ICH who possessed the APOE4 allele: OR =2.60 (95% CI = 1.25–5.41, p = 0.01) and in AIS patients with the GA or AA variant at the BDNF-196 locus: OR = 2.60 (95% CI = 1.25–5.41, p = 0.01) or a loss of function allele of CYP2C19: OR = 2.36 (95% CI = 1.56–3.55, p < 0.0001). Poor outcome was not associated with APOE4: OR = 1.02 (95% CI = 0.81–1.27, p = 0.90) or IL6-174 G/C: OR = 2.21 (95% CI = 0.55–8.86, p = 0.26) in patients with AIS.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that recovery of AIS was unfavourably associated with variants of BDNF and CYP2C19 genes whilst recovery of ICH was unfavourably associated with APOE4 gene.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s10072-019-04024-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

α6β4 Integrin Genetic Variations (A380T and R1281W) and Breast Cancer Risk in an Argentinian Population

The α6β4 integrin is composed of the α6 and β4 subunits that are encoded by the ITGα6 and the ITGβ4 genes, respectively. The α6β4 main function is to intervene in lamination and epithelia integrity maintenance by cell-matrix interactions. This integrin appears to have importance in breast cancer malignancy, as well as other epithelial carcinomas. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential role of ITGα6 (A380T) and ITGβ4 (R1281W) genetic variations in breast cancer susceptibility, in a female population from the northeast region of Argentina (Misiones). We performed a case-control study of 85 breast cancer patients and 113 cancer-free controls. Genotyping was performed by RFLP-PCR. For ITGα6 (A380T) single nucleotide polymorphism, a high frequency of heterozygous genotype GA in cases compared to controls was observed, achieving values of 48% and 49%, respectively. No association between the A380T SNP and breast cancer development was found (Odds Ratio = 0.92; 95% Confidence Interval = 0.52–1.63; p = 0.884). In conclusion, we did not find evidence of an association between A380T (ITGα6) and the risk of developing breast cancer. The results represent the first report of these genetic variations in breast cancer; therefore, they are an important contribution to the literature.

Interleukin-6 Receptor Polymorphisms Contribute to the Neurological Status of Korean Patients with Ischemic Stroke

To investigate the contribution of the interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to the neurological status of Korean patients with ischemic stroke (IS), two SNPs of the IL-6R gene (rs4845617, 5 UTR; rs2228144, Ala31Ala) were selected. IS patients were classified into clinical phenotypes according to two well-defined scores: the National Institutes of Health Stroke Survey (NIHSS) and the Modified Barthel Index scores. There were 121 IS patients and 291 control subjects. The SNP rs4845617 significantly contributed to the neurological status of patients with IS (P = 0.011 in codominant model 2, P = 0.006 in recessive model, and P = 0.008 in log-additive model). Allele frequencies of rs4845617 and rs2228144 demonstrated no significant difference in IS patients and controls. The AG and GG haplotypes differed between the NIHSS 1 (NIHSS scores < 6) group and the NIHSS 2 (NIHSS scores ≥ 6) group in patients with IS (P = 0.014, P = 0.0024). These results suggest that rs4845617 of the IL-6R gene is associated with the neurologic status of Korean patients with IS.