A long non-coding RNA that harbors a SNP associated with type 2 diabetes regulates the expression of TGM2 gene in pancreatic beta cells

The causal relationship between plasma protein-to-protein ratios and type 2 diabetes and its complications: Proteomics mendelian randomization study

AIM

In recent years, proteomics research has surged, with numerous observational studies identifying associations between plasma proteins and type 2 diabetes. However, research specifically focusing on the ratios of plasma proteins in type 2 diabetes remains relatively scarce.

METHODS

This study primarily employed a two-sample, two-step Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, leveraging genetic data from several large, publicly accessible genome-wide association studies, wherein single nucleotide polymorphisms served as proxies for exposures and diseases. Within this framework, we applied two-sample MR to assess the associations between the 2821 plasma protein-to-protein ratios and type 2 diabetes along with its complications and utilized reverse MR to confirm the unidirectionality of these causal relationships. In addition, we employed two-step MR to investigate the potential mediating role of body mass index in these associations. To augment the robustness of our findings, we systematically implemented a series of sensitivity analyses.

RESULTS

The results gleaned from the inverse-variance weighted method elucidated that a cumulative sum of 23 protein-to-protein ratios bore a causal nexus with type 2 diabetes across both sample cohorts. With each incremental elevation of 1 standard deviation in the genetically anticipated protein-to-protein ratio, the susceptibility to type 2 diabetes oscillated from 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.87, 1.00) for the CNTN3/NCSS1 protein level ratio to 1.13 (1.06, 1.22) for the DBNL/NCK2 protein level ratio. Moreover, a tally of eight protein-to-protein ratios correlated with a minimum of one complication linked to type 2 diabetes. Diverse sensitivity analyses corroborated the robustness of these observations.

CONCLUSIONS

The outcomes of our investigation unveiled correlations between 23 plasma protein-to-protein ratios and type 2 diabetes, with eight of these ratios entwined with complications of type 2 diabetes. These discoveries offer novel perspectives on the diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes and its associated complications.

Biological Implications and Functional Significance of Transglutaminase Type 2 in Nervous System Tumors

Transglutaminase type 2 (TG2) is the most ubiquitously expressed member of the transglutaminase family. TG2 catalyzes the transamidation reaction leading to several protein post-translational modifications and it is also implicated in signal transduction thanks to its GTP binding/hydrolyzing activity. In the nervous system, TG2 regulates multiple physiological processes, such as development, neuronal cell death and differentiation, and synaptic plasticity. Given its different enzymatic activities, aberrant expression or activity of TG2 can contribute to tumorigenesis, including in peripheral and central nervous system tumors. Indeed, TG2 dysregulation has been reported in meningiomas, medulloblastomas, neuroblastomas, glioblastomas, and other adult-type diffuse gliomas. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the biological and functional relevance of TG2 in the pathogenesis of nervous system tumors, highlighting its involvement in survival, tumor inflammation, differentiation, and in the resistance to standard therapies.

Functional evolutionary convergence of long noncoding RNAs involved in embryonic development

Long noncoding RNAs have been identified in most vertebrates, but the functional characterization of these molecules is challenging, mainly due to the lack of linear sequence homology between species. In this work, we aimed to find functional evolutionary convergent lncRNAs involved in development by screening of k-mer content (nonlinear similarity) and secondary structure-based approaches combining in silico, in vitro and in vivo validation analysis. From the Madagascar gecko genes, we have found a non-orthologous lncRNA with a similar k-mer content and structurally concordant with the human lncRNA EVX1AS. Analysis of function-related characteristics together with locus-specific targeting of human EVX1AS and gecko EVX1AS-like (i.e., CRISPR Display) in human neuroepithelial cells and chicken mesencephalon have confirmed that gecko EVX1AS-like lncRNA mimics human EVX1AS function and induces EVX1 expression independently of the target species. Our data shows functional convergence of non-homologous lncRNAs and presents a useful approach for the definition and manipulation of lncRNA function within different model organisms.