Neural tube defect (NTD) is a severe congenital birth abnormalities involving incomplete neural tube closure. 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene plays key role in folate cycle and methylation cycle, which could affect the DNA synthesis, repair and methylation. In this study, we aim to investigate the correlation between MTHFR polymorphisms and NTD-affected pregnancy. There were 444 participants involved in our study. Tag-SNPs were identified in HapMap Databases. Blood samples were collected from all subjects to further extract the genomic DNAs by TaqMan Blood DNA kits. We also carried out a meta-analysis based on previous published studies to further examine the association between MTHFR polymorphisms and NTD. In case-control study analysis, two SNPs were identified to be associated with NTD risk. The 677 C > T genetic variant was correlated with increased risk of NTD-affected pregnancy. However, the 1298 A > C polymorphism was shown to lower the risk of NTD-affected pregnancy. The protective role of 1298 A > C polymorphisms was further supported by the result of meta-analysis. Our study revealed that the SNPs of 677C > T and 1298A > C in MTHFR were associated with NTD-affected pregnancy, in which 677C > T was a risk factor and in contrast 1298A > C was protective factor against NTD. Our results of meta-analysis also revealed the 1298A > C MTHFR polymorphism play protective role in NTD.
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are the most common congenital defects of the central nervous system among neonates and the folate status during pregnancy was considered as the most important etiopathogenesis of NTDs. Besides, methionine synthase (MTR) gene and methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) gene were folate metabolism involved genes and had been investigated in several previous studies with inconsistent results. Hence, we aimed to explore the association of 4 selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on MTRR/MTR gene and the susceptibility of NTDs in a Chinese population.Seven SNPs were selected from HapMap databases with Haploview 4.2 software. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was performed to genotype the polymorphisms from blood samples of 165 NTDs patients and 280 healthy controls. The correlation between these SNPs and NTDs risk was tested by Student t test and Chi-square test by STATA 11.0 software. Furthermore, we performed a meta-analysis of relevant studies to investigate the association between the SNPs MTRR 66A>G and MTR 2756A>G and the susceptibility of NTDs.An increased risk of NTDs was verified to be significantly associated with MTRR 66A>G (G allele vs. A allele: OR = 1.36 (1.03–1.80), P = 0.028; GG + AG vs. AA: OR = 1.60 (1.05–2.43), P = 0.027) and MTR 2756A>G (G allele vs. A allele: OR = 1.45 (1.06–1.98), P = 0.021; GG + AG vs. AA: OR = 1.51 (1.02–2.23), P = 0.038) in our study. However, the other SNPs in our analysis showed no significant association with NTDs risk (all P > 0.05). Furthermore, the result of the meta-analysis supported the association between MTRR 66A>G and NTDs risk (G allele vs. A allele: OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.09–1.61, GG + GA vs. AA: OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.06–2.09, GG vs. AA: OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.04–2.49).Our study confirmed that the MTRR 66A>G and MTR 2756A>G were significantly associated with the increased NTDs risk in a Chinese population. The further meta-analysis enhance that MTRR 66A>G was connected with the susceptibility of NTDs widely. Further investigations based on more detailed stratification were recommended.
Objective. Research over the past decade has suggested important roles for pseudogenes in gliomas. Our previous study found that the RPL4P4 pseudogene is highly expressed in gliomas. However, its biological function in gliomas remains unclear. Methods. In this study, we analyzed clinical data on patients with glioma obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and the GEPIA2 databases. We used the R language for the main analysis. Correlations among RPL4P4 expression, pathological characteristics, clinical outcome, and biological function were evaluated. In addition, the correlations of RPL4P4 expression with immune cell infiltration and glioma progression were analyzed. Finally, wound healing, Transwell, and CCK-8 assays were performed to analyze the function of RPL4P4 in glioma cells. Result. We found that RPL4P4 is highly expressed in glioma tissues and is associated with poor prognosis, IDH1 wild type, codeletion of 1p19q, and age. Multivariate analysis and the nomogram model showed that high RPL4P4 expression was an independent risk factor for glioma prognosis and had better prognostic prediction power. Moreover, high RPL4P4 expression correlated with immune cell infiltration, which showed a significant positive association with M2-type macrophages. Finally, RPL4P4 knockdown in glioma cell lines caused decreased glioma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration capacity. Conclusion. Our data suggest that RPL4P4 can function as an independent prognostic predictor of glioma. It also shows that RPL4P4 expression correlates with immune cell infiltration and that targeting RPL4P4 may be a new strategy for the treatment of glioma patients.
Background: Gliomas are complex and heterogeneous central nervous system tumors, with Low-grade Glioma (LGG)as the most common pathological type. But studies on the predictive effect of a single gene on LGG are limited. VASH1 is an epigenetic regulator with various tumors. However, the role of VASH1 in LGG remains confused. This is the first research focusing on the prognostic value and underlying mechanism of VASH1 in LGG.Methods: In this research, three independent datasets were used for mRNA-related analysis: two datasets from the TCGA and CGGA (CGGA-mRNA seq 693 and CGGA-mRNA seq 325). We analyzed and screened the clinical significance of VASH1 in overall survival and DSS of various cancers. TIMER and CIBERSORT algorithms were employed to investigate the effect of VASH1 on the tumor microenvironment. GSEA along with GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted to uncover the biological functions of VASH1. In addition, a LGG patient cohort (The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University) was utilized for analysis of cell infiltration by immunohistochemical, Western-blot, and qPCR; then to verify its function in regulating LGG progression in vitro.Result: In this study, the results of generalized cancer survival analysis showed that abnormal VASH1 expression was associated with poor prognosis (overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients with adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC), low-grade glioma (LGG), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) and hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) (P<0.05). Meanwhile, VASH1 was correlated with the immune invasion, immune score, immune checkpoint, and TBM of the above four tumors, and the correlation between VASH1 expression and LGG was the strongest. In addition, we found that VASH1-mediated changes in gene expression are closely related to cell cycle, P53, Notch, and TGF-β signaling pathways. In addition, immunostaining and RT-PCR were performed on our cohort, and the results showed that VASH1 expression was significantly higher than that of para-cancer tissues (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis results showed that VASH1 was associated with shorter survival (OS) and shorter DFS in high-risk LGG patients (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that high VASH1 expression was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of LGG patients (HR=1.65, P=0.02). Finally, a high level of VASH1 was found in U-251 cell lines by in vitro cell experiments, and the migration and invasion ability of U-251 cells were significantly improved after knockdown of VASH1 (P<0.01), which further confirmed the function of VASH1.Conclusion: In conclusion, this study preliminarily indicates that VASH1 can be used as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for LGG, and has important clinical application value.
Objective. The safety and efficacy of three-dimensional- (3D-) printed hydroxyapatite/polylactic acid (HA-PLA) composites in repairing cranial defects were evaluated in a rabbit experimental model. Methods. Twelve New Zealand rabbits were selected as experimental subjects. Two holes (A and B), each with a diameter of approximately 1 cm, were made in the cranium of each rabbit. Hole A served as the experimental manipulation, and hole B served as the control manipulation. A 3D-printed HA-PLA composite was used for placement onto hole A, whereas autologous bone powder was used for placement onto hole B. Samples from the experimental holes and the control holes were collected at 30 and 90 days after surgery. The obtained materials were examined in terms of their morphologies and histopathologies and were also subjected to simultaneous hardness tests. Results. Both the 3D-printed HA-PLA composite and autologous bone powder were able to repair and fill the cranial defects at 30 days and 90 days after surgery. At 30 days after surgery, the microhardness of the area repaired by the HA-PLA composite was lower than that of the area repaired by autogenous bone powder ( p < 0.01 ), but neither of these treatments reached the hardness of normal bone at this time ( p < 0.01 ). At 90 days after surgery, there was no statistically significant difference in the microhardness of the repaired area from the 3D-printed HA-PLA composite compared with that of the repaired area from autologous bone powder ( p > 0.05 ), and there was no statistically significant difference in the hardness of the two repaired areas compared with that of the normal bone ( p > 0.05 ). Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that bone cells in the HA-PLA material in the experimental group grew and were arranged in an orderly manner. Bone trabeculae and marrow cavities were formed on the pore surface and inside of the HA-PLA scaffold, and the arrangement of bone trabeculae was regular. Conclusion. 3D-printed HA-PLA composites can induce bone regeneration, are biocompatible, have the same strength as autologous bone powder, are able to degrade, and are ultimately safe and effective for repairing cranial defects in rabbits. However, further research is needed to determine the feasibility of 3D-printed HA-PLA composites in human cranioplasty.
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