The effects of transcription factor 7-like 2 rs7903146 and paired box 4 rs2233580 variants associated with type 2 diabetes on the therapeutic efficacy of hypoglycemic agents

Aim

This study aims to investigate the effects of the TCF7L2 rs7903146 and PAX4 rs2233580 (R192H) variants associated with T2D on the therapeutic efficacies of various HAs in patients with T2D after follow-up for 3 years.

Methods

A total of 526 patients who were followed up at the Diabetic Clinic of Siriraj Hospital during 2016-2019 were enrolled. The variants TCF7L2 rs7903146 and PAX4 rs2233580 (R192H) were genotyped using the RNase H2 enzyme-based amplification (rhAmp) technique and the associations between genotypes and glycemic control after treatments with different combinations HA were evaluated using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) analysis.

Results

Patients who carried TCF7L2 rs7903146C/T + T/T genotypes when they were treated with biguanide alone had significantly lower fasting plasma glucose (FPG) than those of the patients who carried the C/C genotype (p = 0.01). Patients who carried the PAX4 rs2233580 G/G genotype when they were treated with sulfonylurea alone had significantly lower FPG than those of the patients who carried G/A + A/A genotypes (p = 0.04).

Conclusion

Genotypes of TCF7L2 rs7903146 and PAX4 rs2233580 (R192H) variants associated with T2D influence the therapeutic responses to biguanide and sulfonylurea. Different genotypes of these two variants might distinctively affect the therapeutic effects of HAs. This finding provides evidence of pharmacogenetics in the treatment of diabetes.

Association between Transcription Factor 7-Like 2 C/T Polymorphism and Diabetic Retinopathy Risk: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have suggested a close association between transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) polymorphisms and diabetic retinopathy (DR) susceptibility. However, the published results were inconsistent. This meta-analysis was conducted to review and examine the relationship between TCF7L2 rs7903146 C/T polymorphism and DR risk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Online databases were searched, and the related studies were identified in this meta-analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine the statistical power. Moreover, heterogeneity test, sensitivity accumulative analysis, and publication bias were conducted to measure the statistical effect.

RESULT

6 studies involving 12,982 subjects were included in this meta-analysis to assess the association between rs7903146 C/T polymorphism and DR susceptibility. The synthetic results indicated that the mutation of rs7903146 C/T polymorphism maybe accompanied with an increased risk for DR (T vs. C: OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.00-1.60, p = 0.05, I2 = 83.5%; TT vs. CC: OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.12-2.86, p = 0.02, I2 = 80.2%; TT vs. CC + CT: OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.38-1.92, p < 0.01, I2 = 32.3%). Moreover, the subgroup analysis also demonstrated an increasing risk for DR with T mutations in Caucasian descendants.

CONCLUSION

The current evidences of meta-analysis suggested that the TCF7L2 rs7903146 C/T polymorphism might play an important role in DR susceptibility.

MicroRNA-22-3p targeted regulating transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) constrains the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and malignant behavior in osteosarcoma

Various studies have manifested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the modulation of the occurrence and development of osteosarcoma (OS). However, whether miR-22-3p is associated with OS growth remains unclear. In the study, the potential molecular mechanisms of miR-22-3p in OS was explored. It was affirmed that miR-22-3p was associated with distant metastasis and tumor size in OS patients, and reduced in OS tissues and cells while transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) was elevated. Elevated miR-22-3p repressed OS cell progression, and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, while elevated TCF7L2 was opposite. MiR-22-3p targeted TCF7L2 in OS. In functional rescue experiments, knockdown of miR-22-3p on OS progression and promotion of Wnt/β-catenin were reversed by simultaneous knockdown of TCF7L2. Transplantation experiments in nude mice showed that elevated miR-22-3p repressed OS tumor growth and decreased TCF7L2, Wnt and β-catenin. Shortly, this study suggest that miR-22-3p refrains the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by targeting TCF7L2 and thereby preventing OS deterioration. MiR-22-3p/TCF7L2 axis is supposed to be a candidate molecular target for future OS treatment.

Haplotype analysis on correlation between transcription factor 7-like 2 gene polymorphism and breast cancer risk

BACKGROUND

Up to now, limited researches focused on the association between transcription factor 7-like 2 gene (TF7L2) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and breast cancer (BC) risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between TF7L2 and BC risk in Chinese Han population.

METHODS

Logistic regression model was used to test the correlation between polymorphisms and BC risk. Strength of association was evaluated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was applied to analyze the SNP-SNP and gene-environment interaction.

RESULTS

Logistic regression analysis indicated that the BC risk was obviously higher in carriers of rs1225404 polymorphism C allele than that in TT genotype carriers (TC or CC versus TT), adjusted OR (95%CI) =1.40 (1.09-1.72). Additionally, we also discovered that people with rs7903146- T allele had an obviously higher risk of BC than people with CC allele (CT or TT versus CC), adjusted OR (95%CI) =1.44 (1.09-1.82). GMDR model was used to research the effect of interaction among 4 SNPs and environmental factors on BC risk. We discovered an important two-locus model (p = 0.0100) including rs1225404 and abdominal obesity, suggesting a potential gene-environment correlation between rs1225404 and abdominal obesity. In general, the cross-validation consistency of two-locus model was 10 of 10, and the testing accuracy was 0.632. Compared with subjects with normal waist circumference (WC) value and rs1225404 TT genotype, abdominal obese subjects with rs1225404 TC or CC genotype had the highest BC risk. After covariate adjustment, OR (95%CI) was 2.23 (1.62-2.89). Haplotype analysis indicated that haplotype containing rs1225404-T and rs7903146-C alleles were associated with higher BC risk.

CONCLUSIONS

C allele of rs1225404 and T allele of rs7903146, interaction between rs1225404 and abdominal obesity, rs1225404-T and rs7903146-C haplotype were all related to increased BC risk.

Transcription factor 7-like 2 gene- smoking interaction on the risk of diabetic nephropathy in Chinese Han population

Objectives

To evaluate the relationship between transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene polymorphism and diabetic nephropathy (DN) risk, as well as the effect of gene-environment interactions on DN risk in Chinese Han population.

Methods

The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and the relationship between TCF7L2 gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and DN susceptibility were evaluated by SNPStats. The interaction among four SNPs and environmental factors were tested by generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR). The consistency of cross validation, accuracy of test balance and sign test were calculated to evaluate the interaction of each selection. The logistic regression was used to test the interaction between rs7903146 and current smoking by stratified analysis.

Results

Logistic regression analysis indicated that the DN risk of rs7903146-T allele carriers were obviously higher than that in CC genotype carriers (CT + TT versus CC), adjusted OR (95 %CI) = 1.64 (1.24–2.06). However, we also discovered that people with rs12255372, rs11196205 and rs290487 minor allele had non-significant difference risk of DN compared with people with major allele. The GMDR model found a significant two-locus model (p = 0.0100) including rs7903146 and current smoking, suggesting a potential gene–environment interaction between rs7903146 and current smoking. Compared with never smokers with rs7903146- CC genotype, current smokers with rs7903146- CT or TT genotype had the highest DN risk. After covariate adjustment, OR (95 %CI) was 2.15 (1.58–2.78).

Conclusions

We found a significant relationship of rs7903146-T alleles, and the interaction between rs7903146-T and current smoking with increased DN risk.

Transcription factor 7-like 2 promotes osteogenic differentiation and boron-induced bone repair via lipocalin 2

Boron-containing mesoporous bioactive glass (B-MBG) scaffolds could be capable of promoting osteogenesis by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway during the process of bone defect repair. Despite this, more involving molecular controls are still largely unclear. In the present study, we identified that the downstream of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway named transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) served as a key effector to promote boron-induced bone regeneration and osteogenesis through lipocalin 2 (LCN2). TCF7L2 was highly expressed in osteoblasts when treated with B-MBG scaffold extraction than MBG. LCN2, as a secreted bone factor, positively affected osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 and osteogenesis in vivo, which could be induced by TCF7L2. In addition, interference of TCF7L2 decreased the osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts. Finally, we identified that rLCN2 could rescue the poor ability of osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 whose Tcf7l2 gene was knocked down by lentiviral transfection of shRNA. Our findings provide some new insights into the molecular controls of boron-associated bone regeneration and potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of bone defects.

The pleiotropic effect of rs7903146 on type 2 diabetes and ischemic stroke: a family-based study in a Chinese population

The rs7903146, an established genetic variant susceptible to type 2 diabetes (T2D), is also reported to be related to ischemic stroke (IS), though conflicting. Furthermore, it remained unknown whether the genetic association with stroke is independent of T2D. In the current study, 1603 individuals across 986 families were included. The genetic pleiotropic effect on each outcome diseases (T2D, overall IS, or each subtype) was assessed using multilevel logistic regression after adjustment for multiple covariates. Principal component of heritability (PCH) was also used to assess the pleiotropy by combining T2D and IS into one outcome for analysis. To identify the T2D-independent path out of the pleiotropic effect on IS, T2D status was additionally adjusted for the risk of IS or each subtype. The analyses of putative molecular pathways (dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity and inflammation) and gene-lifestyle interactions were also performed. We found that rs7903146_T allele was associated with a 77% higher risk of T2D, 55% of IS, and 70% of large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) subtype respectively. Particularly, a T2D-independent genetic effect was identified to increase the risk of overall IS and LAA. No evidence on the molecular mechanisms and gene-lifestyle interaction behind the pleiotropic genetic effect was observed. In conclusion, our study provided evidence that a T2D-independent path was identified out of the pleiotropic effect of rs7903146 on IS. However, further studies were needed to validate the biological mechanisms behind the pleiotropic effect and the modification by lifestyle intervention.

Transcription factor 7-like 2 controls matrix degradation through nuclear factor κB signaling and is repressed by microRNA-155 in nucleus pulposus cells

AIM

TCF7L2, a key transcription factor in the canonical Wnt pathway, plays a vital role in the matrix degradation of chondrocytes. However, it is unknown whether TCF7L2 is important in the matrix metabolism of inner gel-like nucleus pulposus (NP) cells; thus, the aim of this study was to explore the effect and mechanism of TCF7L2 in this process.

METHODS

Western blotting and immunofluorescence analyses were used to observe TCF7L2 expression in rat and human NP tissues. Real-time PCR and western blotting were performed to detect the expression of TCF7L2 stimulated by inflammatory cytokines. Dual luciferase reporter assay, real-time PCR, western blotting and knockdown experiments were performed to demonstrate the role of NF-κB signaling in matrix regulation by TCF7L2 and the regulation of TCF7L2 by miR-155 in intervertebral disc degeneration.

KEY FINDINGS

TCF7L2 is present in rat and human NP tissues and is expressed in the nucleus of NP cells. TCF7L2 is refractory to stimulation of rat and human NP cells with the inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β, in contrast to the results in other cell types. Loss-of-function experiments using TCF7L2 siRNA or lentiviral shTCF7L2 showed that TCF7L2 knockdown suppresses matrix degradation through p65/NF-κB signaling in the absence and presence of TNF-α. In addition, TCF7L2 expression is repressed by miR-155 overexpression and promoted by miR-155 inhibition.

SIGNIFICANCE

Overall, these results demonstrate that the suppression of TCF7L2, which is modulated by miR-155, inhibits matrix degradation through p65/NF-κB signaling. TCF7L2 suppression may have therapeutic potential in intervertebral disc degeneration.