Plos One
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Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder characterized by transient repeated attacks of paresis and cognitive impairment. Recent studies from the U.S. and Europe have described ATP1A3 mutations in AHC. However, the genotype-phenotype relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic abnormality in a Japanese cohort of AHC using exome analysis. ⋯ Heterozygous de novo mutations of ATP1A3 were identified in all Japanese patients with AHC examined in this study, confirming that ATP1A3 mutation is the cause of AHC.
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Respiratory bacterial pathogens are one of the leading causes of infectious death in the world and a major health concern complicated by the rise of multi-antibiotic resistant strains. Therapeutics that modulate host genes essential for pathogen infectivity could potentially avoid multi-drug resistance and provide a wider scope of treatment options. Here, we perform an integrative analysis of published human gene expression data generated under challenges from the gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae, respectively. ⋯ Although the majority of these pathways are known to be involved with immune response, we found several interesting new interactions such as the SUMO1 pathway that might have a role in bacterial infections. Furthermore, 36 host-bacterial pathways were also shared with our previous results for respiratory virus host gene expression. Based on our pathway analysis we propose several drug-repurposing opportunities supported by the literature.
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Thromboxane synthase (TXAS) and thromboxane A(2) receptor (TP), two critical components for thromboxane A(2) (TXA(2)) signaling, have been suggested to be involved in cancer invasion and metastasis. However, the mechanisms by which TXA(2) promotes these processes are still unclear. Here we show that TXA(2) mimetic, I-BOP, induced monocyte chemoattractant protein -1(MCP-1)/chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) expression at both mRNA and protein levels in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells stably over-expressing TP receptor α isoform (A549-TPα). ⋯ Furthermore, supernatants from I-BOP-treated A549-TPα cells enhanced MCP-1-dependent migration of RAW 264.7 macrophages. Moreover, co-culture of A549 cells with RAW 264.7 macrophages induced expression of MMPs, VEGF and MCP-1 genes, and increased the invasive potential in A549 cells. These findings suggest that TXA(2) may stimulate invasion of cancer cells through MCP-1-mediated macrophage recruitment.
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High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. A previous study reported that intravenous injection of anti-HMGB1 monoclonal antibody significantly attenuated brain edema in a rat model of stroke, possibly by attenuating glial activation. Peripheral nerve injury leads to increased activity of glia in the spinal cord dorsal horn. ⋯ Anti-HMGB1 monoclonal antibody treatment significantly decreased the injury-induced expression of cFos and Iba1, but not GFAP. The results demonstrate that nerve injury evokes the synthesis and release of HMGB1 from spinal neurons, facilitating the activity of both microglia and neurons, which in turn leads to symptoms of neuropathic pain. Thus, the targeting of HMGB1 could be a useful therapeutic strategy in the treatment of chronic pain.
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Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been implicated in the pathology of cerebral ischemia. Apoptotic cell death occurs during prolonged period of stress or when the adaptive response fails. Hypothermia blocked the TNF or Fas-mediated extrinsic apoptosis pathway and the mitochondria pathway of apoptosis, however, whether hypothermia can block endoplasmic reticulum mediated apoptosis is never known. ⋯ The expressions of C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in ischemic hippocampus CA1 were measured at 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after reperfusion. The results showed that hypothermia significantly attenuated brain I/R injury, as shown by reduction in cell apoptosis, CHOP expression, and increase in GRP78 expression. These results suggest that hypothermia could protect brain from I/R injury by suppressing ER stress-induced apoptosis.