Rationale: Genetic association studies have identified rs2076295 in association with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We hypothesized that rs2076295 is the functional variant regulating DSP (desmoplakin) expression in human bronchial epithelial cells, and DSP regulates extracellular matrix-related gene expression and cell migration, which is relevant to IPF development.Objectives: To determine whether rs2076295 regulates DSP expression and the function of DSP in airway epithelial cells.Methods: Using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)/Cas9 editing (including regional deletion, indel, CRISPR interference, and single-base editing), we modified rs2076295 and measured DSP expression in edited 16HBE14o-and primary airway epithelial cells. Cellular integrity, migration, and genome-wide gene expression changes were examined in 16HBE14osingle colonies with DSP knockout. The expression of DSP and its relevant matrix genes was measured by quantitative PCR and also analyzed in single-cell RNA-sequencing data from control and IPF lungs.Measurements and Main Results: DSP is expressed predominantly in bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells, with reduced expression in alveolar epithelial cells in IPF lungs. The deletion of the DNA region-spanning rs2076295 led to reduced expression of DSP, and the edited rs2076295GG 16HBE14o-line has lower expression of DSP than the rs2076295TT lines. Knockout of DSP in 16HBE14ocells decreased transepithelial resistance but increased cell migration, with increased expression of extracellular matrix-related genes, including MMP7 and MMP9. Silencing of MMP7 and MMP9 abolished increased migration in DSP-knockout cells.Conclusions: rs2076295 regulates DSP expression in human airway epithelial cells. The loss of DSP enhances extracellular matrix-related gene expression and promotes cell migration, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of IPF.

Background: Identifying protein biomarkers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been challenging. Most previous studies have utilized individual proteins or pre-selected protein panels measured in blood samples. Mass spectrometry proteomic studies of lung tissue have been based on small sample sizes. Study Design and Methods: We utilized mass spectrometry proteomic approaches to discover protein biomarkers from 150 lung tissue samples representing COPD cases and controls. Top COPD-associated proteins were identified based on multiple linear regression analysis with false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05. Correlations between pairs of COPD-associated proteins were examined. Machine learning models were also evaluated to identify potential combinations of protein biomarkers related to COPD. Results: We identified 4407 proteins passing quality controls. Twenty-five proteins were significantly associated with COPD at FDR < 0.05, including Interleukin 33, Ferritin (light chain and heavy chain), and two proteins related to caveolae (CAV1 and CAVIN1). Multiple previously reported plasma protein biomarkers for COPD were not significantly associated with proteomic analysis of COPD in lung tissue, although RAGE was borderline significant. Eleven pairs of top significant proteins were highly correlated (r > 0.8), including several strongly correlated with RAGE (EHD2 and CAVIN1). Machine learning models using Random Forests with the top 5% of protein biomarkers demonstrated reasonable accuracy (0.766) and AUC (0.702) for COPD prediction. Interpretation: Mass spectrometry proteomic analysis of lung tissue is a promising approach for the identification of biomarkers for COPD.

BaCKgRoUND aND aIMS: Most of the genetic basis of chronic liver disease remains undiscovered.appRoaCH aND ReSUltS: To identify genetic loci that modulate the risk of liver injury, we performed genomewide association studies on circulating levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin across 312,671 White British participants in the UK Biobank. We focused on variants associated with elevations in all four liver biochemistries at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10 −8 ) and that replicated using Mass General Brigham Biobank in 19,323 European ancestry individuals. We identified a genetic locus in mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAM rs10787429) associated with increased levels of ALT (P = 1.4 × 10 −30 ), AST (P = 3.6 × 10 −10 ), ALP (P = 9.5 × 10 −30 ), and total bilirubin (P = 2.9 × 10 −12 ). This common genetic variant was also associated with an allele dose-dependent risk of alcohol-associated liver disease (odd ratio [OR] = 1.34, P = 2.6 × 10 −5 ) and fatty liver disease (OR = 1.18, P = 5.8 × 10 −4 ) by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes. We identified significant interactions between GPAM rs10787429 and elevated body mass index in association with ALT and AST (P = 7.1 × 10 −9

Upon entering the stomach, intestinal tract, blood and tissue fluids, poly-alpha,beta-DL-aspartyl-L-alanine assembled to small nanoparticles or nanoblocks to escape the entrapment by macrophages and exhibited desirable thrombolytic action.