Metabolism-based approaches for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Tolvaptan safety in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease; a focus on idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury liabilities

Tolvaptan is a vasopressin V2 receptor antagonist which has proven to be an effective and mostly well-tolerated agent for the treatment of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease. However, its administration is associated with rare but serious idiosyncratic liver injury, which has warranted a black box warning on the drug labels and frequent monitoring of liver blood tests in the clinic. This review outlines mechanistic investigations that have been conducted to date and constructs a working narrative as an explanation for the idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (IDILI) events that have occurred thus far. Potential risk factors which may contribute to individual susceptibility to DILI reactions are addressed, and key areas for future investigative/clinical development are highlighted.

Revisiting the gene mutations and protein profile of WT 9-12: An autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease cell line

WT 9-12 is one of the cell lines commonly used for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) studies. Previous studies had described the PKD gene mutations and polycystin expression in WT 9-12. Nonetheless, the mutations occurring in other ADPKD-associated genes have not been investigated. This study aims to revisit these mutations and protein profile of WT 9-12. Whole genome sequencing verified the presence of truncation mutation at amino acid 2556 (Q2556X) in PKD1 gene of WT 9-12. Besides, those variations with high impacts included single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs8054182, rs117006360, and rs12925771) and insertions and deletions (InDels) (rs145602984 and rs55980345) in PKD1L2; InDel (rs1296698195) in PKD1L3; and copy number variations in GANAB. Protein profiles generated from the total proteins of WT 9-12 and HK-2 cells were compared using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) analysis. Polycystin-1 was absent in WT 9-12. The gene ontology enrichment and reactome pathway analyses revealed that the upregulated and downregulated proteins of WT 9-12 relative to HK-2 cell line leaded to signaling pathways related to immune response and amino acid metabolism, respectively. The ADPKD-related mutations and signaling pathways associated with differentially expressed proteins in WT 9-12 may help researchers in cell line selection for their studies.

Recent progress in metabolic reprogramming in gestational diabetes mellitus: a review

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a prevalent metabolic disease that can impact the normal course of pregnancy and delivery, leading to adverse outcomes for both mother and child. Its pathogenesis is complex and involves various factors, such as insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. Metabolic reprogramming, which involves mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, is crucial for maintaining human metabolic balance and is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of gestational diabetes mellitus. However, research on the link and metabolic pathways between metabolic reprogramming and gestational diabetes mellitus is limited. Therefore, we reviewed the relationship between metabolic reprogramming and gestational diabetes mellitus to provide new therapeutic strategies for maternal health during pregnancy and reduce the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus.

Methylation analysis by targeted bisulfite sequencing in large for gestational age (LGA) newborns: the LARGAN cohort

BACKGROUND

In 1990, David Barker proposed that prenatal nutrition is directly linked to adult cardiovascular disease. Since then, the relationship between adult cardiovascular risk, metabolic syndrome and birth weight has been widely documented. Here, we used the TruSeq Methyl Capture EPIC platform to compare the methylation patterns in cord blood from large for gestational age (LGA) vs adequate for gestational age (AGA) newborns from the LARGAN cohort.

RESULTS

We found 1672 differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) with a nominal p < 0.05 and 48 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) with a corrected p < 0.05 between the LGA and AGA groups. A systems biology approach identified several biological processes significantly enriched with genes in association with DMCs with FDR < 0.05, including regulation of transcription, regulation of epinephrine secretion, norepinephrine biosynthesis, receptor transactivation, forebrain regionalization and several terms related to kidney and cardiovascular development. Gene ontology analysis of the genes in association with the 48 DMRs identified several significantly enriched biological processes related to kidney development, including mesonephric duct development and nephron tubule development. Furthermore, our dataset identified several DNA methylation markers enriched in gene networks involved in biological pathways and rare diseases of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, and metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified several DMCs/DMRs in association with fetal overgrowth. The use of cord blood as a material for the identification of DNA methylation biomarkers gives us the possibility to perform follow-up studies on the same patients as they grow. These studies will not only help us understand how the methylome responds to continuum postnatal growth but also link early alterations of the DNA methylome with later clinical markers of growth and metabolic fitness.