Association of IL33 and IL1RAP Polymorphisms With Acute Anterior Uveitis

Modulation of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the liver of Beagle dogs by Toxocara canis infection

BACKGROUND

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) play crucial roles in regulating various physiological and pathological processes. However, the role of lncRNAs and mRNAs in mediating the liver response during Toxocara canis infection remains incompletely understood.

METHODS

In the present study, the expression profile of lncRNAs and mRNAs was investigated in the liver of Beagle dogs infected by T. canis using high-throughput RNA sequencing.

RESULTS

Compared with the control groups, 876 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and 288 DEmRNAs were identified at 12 h post-infection (hpi), 906 DElncRNAs and 261 DEmRNAs were identified at 24 hpi, and 876 DElncRNAs and 302 DEmRNAs were identified at 36 days post-infection (dpi). A total of 16 DEmRNAs (e.g. dpp4, crp and gnas) were commonly identified at the three infection stages. Enrichment and co-localization analyses identified several pathways involved in immune and inflammatory responses during T. canis infection. Some novel DElncRNAs, such as LNC_015756, LNC_011050 and LNC_011052, were also associated with immune and inflammatory responses. Also, LNC_005105 and LNC_005401 were associated with the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, which may play a role in the healing of liver pathology at the late stage of infection.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data provided new insight into the regulatory roles of lncRNAs and mRNAs in the pathogenesis of T. canis and improved our understanding of the contribution of lncRNAs and mRNAs to the immune and inflammatory response of the liver during T. canis infection.

The survival rate of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: impact of IL1RAP rs4624606, IL1RL1 rs1041973, IL-6 rs1800795, BLK rs13277113, and TIMP3 rs9621532 single nucleotide polymorphisms

PURPOSE

Results of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) treatment and the 5 year survival rate of these patients remain poor. To purify therapeutic targets, investigation of new specific and prognostic blood-based markers for LSCC development is essential.

METHODS

In the present study, we evaluated five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): IL1RAP rs4624606, IL1RL1 rs1041973, IL-6 rs1800795, BLK rs13277113, and TIMP3 rs9621532, and determined their associations with the patients' 5 year survival rate. Also, we performed a detailed statistical analysis of different LSCC patients' characteristics impact on their survival rate.

RESULTS

Three hundred fifty-three LSCC patients and 538 control subjects were included in this study. The multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed a significant association between patients' survival rate and distribution of IL1RAP rs4624606 variants: patients carrying AT genotype at IL1RAP rs4624606 had a lower risk of death (p = 0.044). Also, it was revealed that tumor size (T) (p = 0.000), tumor differentiation grade (G) (p = 0.015), and IL1RAP rs4624606 genotype (p = 0.044) were effective variables in multivariable Cox regression analysis prognosing survival of LSCC patients. The specific-LSCC 5 year survival rate was 77%.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, our findings indicate that the genotypic distribution of IL1RAP rs4624606 influences the 5 year survival rate of LSCC patients. The results of the present study facilitate a more complete understanding of LSCC at the biological level, thus providing the base for the identification of new specific and prognostic blood-based markers for LSCC development.

IL-1RAP, a Key Therapeutic Target in Cancer

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide and especially in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Despite recent progress in cancer therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells or antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), new targets expressed by the tumor cells need to be identified in order to selectively drive these innovative therapies to tumors. In this context, IL-1RAP recently showed great potential to become one of these new targets for cancer therapy. IL-1RAP is highly involved in the inflammation process through the interleukins 1, 33, and 36 (IL-1, IL-33, IL-36) signaling pathways. Inflammation is now recognized as a hallmark of carcinogenesis, suggesting that IL-1RAP could play a role in cancer development and progression. Furthermore, IL-1RAP was found overexpressed on tumor cells from several hematological and solid cancers, thus confirming its potential involvement in carcinogenesis. This review will first describe the structure and genetics of IL-1RAP as well as its role in tumor development. Finally, a focus will be made on the therapies based on IL-1RAP targeting, which are now under preclinical or clinical development.

Progress in the genetics of uveitis

Uveitis is the most common form of intraocular inflammatory disease and is a significant cause of visual impairment worldwide. Aetiologically, uveitis can also be classified into infectious uveitis and non-infectious uveitis. The common non-infectious forms of uveitis include acute anterior uveitis (AAU), Behçet’s disease (BD), Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease, birdshot chorioretinopathy (BSCR), sarcoid uveitis. In addition, a few monogenic autoinflammatory disorders can also cause uveitis, such as Blau Syndrome and haploinsufficiency of A20 (HA20). Although the exact pathogenesis of non-infectious uveitis is still unclear, it is well-recognised that it involves both genetic and environmental risk factors. A hallmark of uveitis is its strong associations with human leucocyte antigens (HLA). For examples, AAU, BD and BSCR are strongly associated with HLA-B27, HLA-B51, and HLA-A29, respectively. In uveitis studies, multiple GWAS have successfully been conducted and led to identification of novel susceptibility loci, for example, IL23R has been identified in BD, VKH and AAU. In this review, we summarize the latest progress on the genetic associations of both HLA and non-HLA genes with major forms of uveitis, including AAU, BD, VKH, BSCR, sarcoid uveitis, Blau Syndrome and HA20, and potential future research directions.

The roles of interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein in certain inflammatory conditions

Interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily proteins consisting of soluble and membranous isoforms. IL-1RAcP plays an essential role in the signaling of the IL-1 family cytokines such as IL-1, IL-33, and IL-36, as well as tyrosine kinases FLT3 and C-Kit. IL-1RAcP generally initiate inflammatory signaling pathway through the recruitment of signaling mediators, including MYD88 and IRAK. Chronic inflammation following prolonged signaling of cytokine receptors is a critical process in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory disorders, including autoimmunity, obesity, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, endometriosis, preeclampsia and Alzheimer's disease. Recently IL-1RAcP aberrant signaling has been considered to play a central role in the pathogenesis of these chronic inflammatory diseases. Targeting IL-1RAcP signaling pathway that was recently considered in clinical trials related to malignancies, also indicates its potential as therapeutic target for the inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This review summarizes the molecular structure, components associated with IL-1RAcP signaling pathways, and their involvement in the pathogenesis of different inflammatory diseases. We will also discuss the effect of IL-1RAcP inhibition for treatment proposes.

Genomewide Association Study of Acute Anterior Uveitis Identifies New Susceptibility Loci

Purpose

Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) is a common intraocular inflammatory disease. AAU occurs in 30% to 50% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and both conditions are strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27, implying a shared etiology. This study aims to apply genomewide association study (GWAS) to characterize the genetic associations of AAU and their relationship to the genetics of AS.

Methods

We undertook the GWAS analyses in 2752 patients with AS with AAU (cases) and 3836 patients with AS without AAU (controls). There were 7,436,415 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) available after SNP microarray genotyping, imputation, and quality-control filtering.

Results

We identified one locus associated with AAU at genomewide significance: rs9378248 (P = 2.69 × 10⁻⁸, odds ratio [OR] = 0.78), lying close to HLA-B. Suggestive association was observed at 11 additional loci, including previously reported AS loci ERAP1 (rs27529, P = 2.19 × 10⁻⁷, OR = 1.22) and NOS2 (rs2274894, P = 8.22 × 10⁻⁷, OR = 0.83). Multiple novel suggestive associations were also identified, including MERTK (rs10171979, P = 2.56 × 10⁻⁶, OR = 1.20), KIFAP3 (rs508063, P = 5.64 × 10⁻⁷, OR = 1.20), CLCN7 (rs67412457, P = 1.33 × 10⁻⁶, OR = 1.25), ACAA2 (rs9947182, P = 9.70 × 10⁻⁷, OR = 1.37), and 5 intergenic loci. The SNP-based heritability is approximately 0.5 for AS alone, and is much higher (approximately 0.7) for AS with AAU. Consistent with the high heritability, a genomewide polygenic risk score shows strong power in identifying individuals at high risk of either AS with AAU or AS alone.

Conclusions

We report here the first GWAS for AAU and identify new susceptibility loci. Our findings confirm the strong overlap in etiopathogenesis of AAU with AS, and also provide new insights into the genetic basis of AAU.

The Functional Roles of IL-33/ST2 Axis in Ocular Diseases

Interleukin-33 (IL-33), an important member of the IL-1 family, plays a pivotal role in regulating immune responses via combining with its receptor suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2). We have already known IL-33/ST2 axis participates in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including liver diseases, renal diseases, and neurological diseases. Recently, emerging studies are indicating that IL-33/ST2 is also involved in a wide range of ocular diseases, such as allergic eye disease, keratitis and corneal regeneration, dry eye disease, uveitis, vitreoretinal diseases, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. In this review, we will summarize and discuss the current understanding about the functional roles of IL-33/ST2 in eyes, with an attempt to explore the possible study perspectives and therapeutic alternatives in the future.

Associations of IL6 rs1800795, BLK rs13277113, TIMP3 rs9621532, IL1RL1 rs1041973 and IL1RAP rs4624606 single gene polymorphisms with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Survival rate of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) patients is not improving. To understand more complete biology of LSCC, studies focused on identification of new specific and prognostic markers are performed. The aim of current study was to evaluate the impact of five different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) (IL6 rs1800795, BLK rs13277113, TIMP3 rs9621532, IL1RL1 rs1041973 and IL1RAP rs4624606) on LSCC development.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 891 subjects (353 histologically verified LSCC patients and 538 healthy controls) were involved in this study. The genotyping was carried out using the real-time-PCR.

RESULTS

Statistical analysis revealed statistically significant associations between TIMP3 rs96215332 variants and LSCC in the codominant (OR = 0.600; 95% CI: 0.390-0.922; p = 0.020), overdominant (OR = 0.599; 95% CI: 0.390-0.922; p = 0.020) and additive (OR = 0.675; 95% CI: 0.459-0.991; p = 0.045) models. Also, significant variants of IL1RAP rs4624606 were determined in the codominant (OR = 1.372; 95% CI: 1.031-1.827; p = 0.030), overdominant (OR = 1.353; 95% CI: 1.018-1.798; p = 0.037) and additive (OR = 1.337; 95% CI: 1.038-1.724; p = 0.025) models.

CONCLUSION

Results of the current study indicate significant associations between TIMP3 rs9621532 and IL1RAP rs4624606 gene polymorphisms and LSCC development.

Association of ATG7 Polymorphisms and Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Risk

BACKGROUND

Kidney cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Recent studies have suggested that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in autophagy-related gene are associated with the risk of kidney cancer.

OBJECTIVE

This study was undertaken to investigate the association of autophagyrelated gene 7 (ATG7) polymorphisms with the risk of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in the Chinese Han population.

METHODS

Blood samples were collected from 293 ccRCC patients and 297 healthy controls. Three ATG7 polymorphisms (rs1375206, rs2606736 and rs6442260) were genotyped by Agena MassARRAY. The association was estimated by genetic models and stratification analyses.

RESULTS

A significant association was observed between allele A of rs6442260 and ccRCC risk (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58-0.99, p = 0.039). Genetic model analysis revealed that rs2606736 (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34-0.95, p = 0.031) and rs6442260 (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22-0.90, p = 0.021) were associated with decreased risk of ccRCC under recessive model. Age stratification analysis showed that rs2606736 (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46-0.98, p = 0.036) and rs6442260 (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.07-0.89, p = 0.014) were significantly decreased risk of ccRCC under the log-additive model in age > 55 years old and ≤ 55 years old, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicated that ATG7 polymorphisms (rs2606736 and rs6442260) have a protective role for ccRCC risk. Further large sample size and functional assays are needed to confirm our findings and reveal the role of ATG7 polymorphisms in ccRCC carcinogenesis.

PD-1 Polymorphisms Are Associated with Susceptibility of Acute Anterior Uveitis in Chinese Population

Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) is an ordinary type of uveitis, which is an autoimmune disease produced by T cells. Programmed apoptosis protein 1 (PD-1) is a vital negative regulatory protein of immune tolerance. We detect the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs41386349, rs10204525, and rs2227982 of PD-1 to investigate the correlation between PD-1 polymorphisms and AAU. A total of 166 AAU patients and 263 controls were recruited in this case-control study. Compared with controls, the frequencies of the GG genotypes were higher in rs10204525 in AAU patients (p = 0.012). There were obvious increases in frequencies of the TT genotypes in rs2227982 and the GG genotypes in rs10204525 in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27-negative AAU patients compared with controls (p = 0.03; p = 0.015, respectively). There were also increases in frequencies of TT genotypes in rs2227982 and the GG genotypes in rs10204525 in the patients without ankylosing spondylitis (AS) when compared with controls (p = 0.021; p = 0.003, respectively). Furthermore, the frequencies of TT genotypes in rs2227982 were higher in female patients diagnosed with AAU than with control group (p = 0.033). Our results showed that SNPs rs2227982 and rs10204525 were interrelated to AAU; the influence on AAU could be related with gender, HLA-B27, and AS status.