基质金属蛋白酶基因多态性与主动脉夹层的研究进展

主动脉夹层（Aorticdissection,AD）为最危险的主动脉疾病之一,病死率较高,且发病率呈逐年上升的趋势。越来越多的证据表明遗传因素影响该疾病的发生及发展,基因多态性为该疾病的遗传易感因素之一。主动脉夹层患者可观察到主动脉中膜的退化,当主动脉结构发生改变时,必然导致一系列的病理生理反应,进而影响其功能。细胞外基质（Extracellularmatrix,ECM）是由弹性纤维和胶原纤维组成的,可以保持主动脉管壁的稳定性。主动脉夹层的发生与ECM的代谢平衡有关,降解ECM的酶为基质金属蛋白酶（Matrixmetalloproteinases,MMPs）,这种酶在主动脉的重塑过程中也发挥作用,与夹层的发生密切相关。单核苷酸多态性（singlenucleotidepolymorphism,SNP）作为遗传学标记,可以预测该疾病的发生,指导该疾病的临床研究方向,对于易感性较高的患者可进行早期的预防及监测,在AD的预防及治疗方面发挥重大作用。本文对基质金属蛋白酶基因多态性与主动脉夹层之间的关系做一综述．     

MMP-2及MMP-9与主动脉疾病相关性的研究进展

基质金属蛋白酶是一类可降解细胞外基质的蛋白酶,基质金属蛋白酶-2和-9为明胶酶,可降解细胞外基质中的胶原蛋白及弹性蛋白,其动态平衡对维持细胞外基质的稳定具有重要意义。主动脉的细胞外基质是主动脉中层重要的组成部分,细胞外基质成分的改变可导致主动脉中层结构的损伤,在主动脉疾病的发生、发展过程中起着重要作用。主动脉基质金属蛋白酶-2和-9的表达失衡可引起主动脉中层细胞外基质的降解,导致主动脉中层结构的损伤,从而促进主动脉疾病的发生。同时,主动脉疾病也可导致血浆中MMP-2、MMP-9浓度的升高。本文对近年来基质金属蛋白酶与主动脉疾病相关性的研究及进展作一综述,为心血管疾病发生机制的研究和治疗提供文献依据。     

MMP/TIMP失衡在肺部疾病中的研究进展

基质金属蛋白酶(matrix metalloproteinases,MMPs)是一类锌依赖性内肽酶家族,可以特异性降解细胞外基质(extracellular matrix,ECM)。基质金属蛋白酶组织抑制因子(tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases,TIMPs)是MMPs的内源性抑制剂,可抑制MMPs、整合素-金属蛋白酶以及聚蛋白多糖酶。TIMPs/MMPs之间的平衡可以调节组织重塑、修复和再吸收。二者在人体中保持平衡状态,近年来发现二者失衡可导致多种疾病的发生,本文主要对MMPs/TIMPs失衡及作用机制在肺部疾病中的研究进展进行简单综述。     

血压波动性对主动脉夹层发生发展影响的研究进展

高血压病是严重威胁人类健康的一类疾病。近年来研究表明,血压波动对于靶器官的损伤较高血压本身更大。主动脉夹层是一种与高血压密切相关的疾病。近年来,主动脉夹层的发生发展与血压波动的关系,越来越受到关注。血压波动性可造成内膜损伤和中膜层退行性变,从而在局部影响主动脉夹层的发生;还可通过免疫反应,炎性变化等全身因素造成主动脉夹层的发生。血压波动性在已发生主动脉夹层的患者中也是影响预后的重要因素。本文主要介绍血压波动性的分类和测量方法,以及对主动脉夹层发生发展影响的研究进展,旨在为临床医生进行主动脉夹层与血压波动性的关系研究提供参考。     

基质金属蛋白酶及其基因多态性与肝癌的发生发展

肝癌是威胁人类健康的主要疾病。基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是一类Zn^2＋依赖的蛋白水解酶,能参与细胞外基质的代谢。已有的研究表明,MMPs在肝癌的生长、血管形成、侵袭和转移等多个阶段中发挥重要作用,由此,MMPs成为极佳的肝癌候选易感基因,其基因多态性可能调节肝癌的易感性。然而,目前针对肝癌的遗传易感研究还不多见。随着人类基因组计划和单倍型图谱计划的完成,进行肝癌易感基因的鉴定对于指导肝癌的早期预防和治疗具有重要意义。     

胸主动脉夹层遗传致病因素的研究进展

胸主动脉夹层(thoracic aortic dissection, TAD)是一类大血管疾病,其突出特点是起病急、进程快、死亡率高,目前尚无有效的早期预警和早期诊断技术,且部分患者首发即为猝死。近年的遗传学研究表明,导致TAD发生的致病基因涉及TGF-β信号通路(TGFBR2、TGFB3、SMAD3等)、细胞外基质(extracellular matrix, ECM)组分(FBN1等)、血管平滑肌细胞(vascular smooth muscle cells, VSMCs)及其收缩元件(ACTA2、MYH11等)等。此外,研究还发现了其他类型的TAD致病基因,如SLC2A10等,暗示了TAD致病机制的复杂性。该综述将对TAD及其相关疾病的临床信息、致病基因和致病机制进行简要的阐述,这有助于人们更好地了解TAD的发生发展,为TAD的预防、治疗和遗传学研究提供帮助。     

传染性疾病的遗传易感性

传染性疾病是威胁人类健康的主要疾病类型之一。传染病的发生、发展是致病微生物、宿主的遗传因素与环境相互作用的结果。大量以单核苷酸多态性（SNP）为遗传标记,基于家系或无关群体的连锁和关联分析,已绘制出传染性疾病易感性的基因图谱。目前易感性的研究主要集中在疟疾、获得性免疫缺陷综合征、乙肝和严重急性呼吸系统综合征等传染性疾病。     

组织蛋白酶D基因C224T多态与散发阿尔茨海默氏病的关联研究

组织蛋白酶D（Cathepsin D）是一种细胞核内体/溶酶体内的门冬酰胺蛋白酶。它有可能通过剪切淀粉样前体蛋白参与阿尔茨海默氏病（Alzheimer’s disease, AD）相关的神经退化。在以德国人为对象中的研究显示组织蛋白酶D基因（CTSD）C224T多态与AD发病风险紧密相关。然而,此结果未能在另一些群体中得到重复。为此,我们通过聚合酶链反应-限制性片段长度多态性方法分析了CTSD基因C224T多态性和载脂蛋白E（apolipoprotein E, ApoE）基因多态性在成都地区汉族老年人中的分布,探讨了CTSD C224T多态与散发AD的相关性。结果发现CTSD基因C224T多态分布在病例组与对照组之间没有显著性差异,提示成都地区汉族人群中CTSD基因C224T多态与散发AD不具有关联;但比值比的比较提示CTSD等位基因T和ApoEε4有弱的协同作用。Abstract: Cathepsin D is the major lysosomal/endosomal aspartic protease and exhibits β- and γ-secretase-like activity in vitro. Data from German suggest that the C224T polymorphism in the Cathepsin D gene (CTSD) exon 2 is strongly associated with the risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Meanwhile other studies have not been able to replicate the result. It’s necessary to determine the genotype of the polymorphism in CTSD in Chinese sporadic AD patients and age-matched controls with normal cognition and examine possible association of the polymorphism with the disease. We find no strong evidence of association between the CTSD C224T polymorphism and Chinese sporadic AD. Whereas there may be a weak synergistic interaction between ApoE ε4 and CTSD T allele.     

老年痴呆的遗传机制研究进展

老年痴呆症,又称阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer’s disease,AD),是威胁老年人健康的主要疾病之一。根据发病年龄,AD可分为早发性(early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,EOAD)和迟发性(late-onset Alzheimer’s disease,LOAD)两种,两者均受到遗传因素的影响。目前已知3个致病基因导致家族性EOAD的发病:淀粉样前体蛋白基因(β-amyloid precursor protein,APP)、早老素1基因(presenilin 1,PSEN1)和早老素2基因(presenilin 2,PSEN2)。而近年来在全基因组关联分析(genome-wide association study,GWAS)等新技术的支持下,研究者相继发现并报道了一系列影响LOAD易感性的风险基因多态性位点。试对上述AD相关致病基因和主要风险基因加以简要介绍,深入探索这些基因的功能有助于对AD病理生理机制的认知。     

山西省8种蝗虫8个种群的遗传学研究

采用水平淀粉凝胶电泳技术,对采自山西省蝗虫区系的优势种类;斑腿蝗科（Catantopidae）,斑翅蝗科（Oe-dipodidae）和网翅蝗科（Arcypteridae）3科7属8种蝗虫的11种酶进行了检测,共辨析出17个酶基因座位,并计算出等位基因频率和遗传距离,等位基因频率分析表明：Ao-I、Est-3,G3pd-1、Idh-2和Mdh-2基因座位的等位基因少,等位基因数目在种间变化较小,故推断其进化速率较慢,利用这些基因座位的保守特征,可作为分子标记研究较高级阶元的系统发育关系,而Gpi-1,Ldh-1和Me-1基因座位的等位基因多,等位基因数目在种内和种间差异较大,可以用作种,属间及种群间遗传结构的比较研究。对每个基因座位的各基因型进行χ^2检验,除Acp-1,Adk-1,Ao-1和Ao-2在部分蝗虫中符合Hardy-Weinberg平衡外,其余绝大多数基因座位的基因型频率显著偏离H-W平衡。在所研究的8种蝗虫中,多态位点百分率普遍较高（P=64.7%～94.1%）,但由于杂合子数目较少而使每个基因座位的平均杂合度降低（Ho=0.024～0.087）,对多态位点百分率分析发现：迁飞能力是影响蝗虫种间遗传变异的因素之一,具有迁飞能力的蝗虫（P=88.2%～94.1%）较非迁飞性蝗虫（P=64.7%～94.1%）表现出较高的遗传多态性,但也有例外,如中华稻蝗（Oxya chinensis）的P值高达94.1%,上述结果表明：由于迁飞行为可使个体暴露于各种不同环境,故而种群保持较高的遗传多态性能增强该物种在不同栖息地的生存和繁殖能力,因此,迁飞有利于维持迁飞性蝗虫遗传多态性的动态平衡。根据Nei的遗传一致度（I）和Roger的遗传距离（D）进行分析,结果与基于形态特征确定的分类阶元系统关系基本相符;即同属的小翅雏蝗（Chorthippus fallax）和白纹雏蝗（Chorthippus albonemus）具有最高的遗传一致度（I=0.813）和最小的遗传距离（D=0.336）,同位不同属间遗传一致度（I=0.798～0.559）和遗传距离（D=0.398～0.474）居中,科之间I值最小（I=0.523～0.479）,D值最大（D=0.505～0.523）,利用UPGMA对I值和D值进行聚类,所得两种聚类图在同属种间和同科属间的关系一致,但在科间关系有所差别,Roger的遗传距离（D）聚类树图表明：斑腿蝗科物种和斑翅蝗科物种间表现出较小的遗传距离（D=0.505）,而网翅蝗科与以上两科的遗传距离也极为接近（D=0.523）,综上所述,等位酶分析能较好地反映蝗虫同属种间和同科属间的亲缘关系,若能断更高阶元的系统发生,则需结合其他性状进行综合分析。     

H3.3B controls aortic dissection progression by regulating vascular smooth muscle cells phenotypic transition and vascular inflammation

Aortic dissection is a devastating cardiovascular disease with a high lethality. Histone variants maintain the genomic integrity and play important roles in development and diseases. However, the role of histone variants in aortic dissection has not been well identified. In the present study, H3f3b knockdown reduced the synthetic genes expression of VSMCs, while overexpressing H3f3b exacerbated the cellular immune response of VSMCs induced by inflammatory cytokines. Combined RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses revealed that histone variant H3.3B directly bound to the genes related to extracellular matrix, VSMC synthetic phenotype, cytokine responses and TGFβ signaling pathway, and regulated their expressions. In addition, VSMC-specific H3f3b knockin aggravated aortic dissection development in mice, while H3f3b knockout significantly reduced the incidence of aortic dissection. In term of mechanisms, H3.3B regulated Spp1 and Ccl2 genes, inducing the apoptosis of VSMCs and recruiting macrophages. This study demonstrated the vital roles of H3.3B in phenotypic transition of VSMCs, loss of media VSMCs, and vascular inflammation in aortic dissection.     

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif 1 (ADAMTS1) expression increases in acute aortic dissection

Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening cardiovascular disease caused by progressive medial degeneration of the aortic wall. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1 (ADAMTS1) is a recently identified extracellular metalloproteinase participating in the development of vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis. In the present study, we found that ADAMTS1 was significantly elevated in blood samples from AAD patients compared with patients with acute myocardial infarction and healthy volunteers. Based on these findings, we established an AAD model by infusing angiotensin II in older mice. AAD was successfully developed in aorta tissues, with an incidence of 42% after 14 days in the angiotensin II group. Macrophage and neutrophil infiltration was observed in the media of the aorta, and ADAMTS1 overexpression was found in the aorta by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Double immunofluorescence staining showed the expression of ADAMTS1 in macrophages and neutrophils. Consistent with the upregulation of ADAMTS1 in aortic dissection tissues, versican (a proteoglycan substrate of ADAMTS1) was degraded significantly more in these tissues than in control aortic tissues. These data suggest that the increased expression of ADAMTS1 protein in macrophages and neutrophils that infiltrated aortic tissues may promote the progression of AAD by degrading versican.     

Low penetrance genetic polymorphisms as potential biomarkers for colorectal cancer predisposition

Colorectal cancer is a leading form of cancer in both males and females. Early detection of individuals at risk of colorectal cancer allows proper treatment and management of the disease to be implemented, which can potentially reduce the burden of colorectal cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality. In recent years, the role of genetic susceptibility factors in mediating predisposition to colorectal cancer has become more and more apparent. Identification of high‐frequency, low‐penetrance genetic polymorphisms associated with the cancer has therefore emerged as an important approach which can potentially aid prediction of colorectal cancer risk. However, the overwhelming amount of genetic epidemiology data generated over the past decades has made it difficult for one to assimilate the information and determine the exact genetic polymorphisms that can potentially be used as biomarkers for colorectal cancer. This review comprehensively consolidates, based primarily on results from meta‐analyses, the recent progresses in the search of colorectal cancer‐associated genetic polymorphisms, and discusses the possible mechanisms involved.     

FcrRIIA基因多态性与牙周炎关系的研究进展

牙周炎是一种由菌斑引起的以牙周软组织和牙槽骨破坏为特征的慢性感染性疾病,其病因尚不明确,目前普遍认为是细菌 感染和宿主防御相互作用的结果,受遗传有关的宿主易感性、环境、行为因素的影响。致病菌的存在是牙周炎发生的必要条件,基 因因素影响宿主在应对细菌免疫应答过程中的强度,从而导致不同程度的牙周组织破坏。许多有关牙周炎基因方面的研究把目 光对准了在免疫调节和新陈代谢中发挥重要作用的物质的基因多态性,比如细胞因子、细胞表面受体、趋化因子、酶以及其他与 抗原识别有关的物质。FcrR 就是其中之一。FcrR 属于免疫球蛋白超家族,主要有FcrRI、FcrRII、FcrRIII 三类,大量研究表明 FcrRIIA 基因多态性与牙周炎的易感性有关。在针对不同种族的调查中,Fc酌RIIA 基因多态性与牙周炎的易感性的研究结果不尽 相同。也提示我们基因多态性的等位基因频率在各个种族之间存在差异,这种基因标识在界定牙周炎病因和预后方面的相关应 用会变得有所不同。基因诊断将会成为未来牙周病预防和治疗的新方向。本文主要对近年来FcrRIIA 基因多态性与牙周炎关系 的研究进展进行了综述。     

Multiplicative genetic effects in scrapie disease susceptibility

Despite experimental evidence that scrapie is an infectious disease of sheep, variations of the occurrence of the natural disease suggest an influence of host genetic factors. It has been established that the genetic polymorphism of the prion protein (PrP) gene is correlated to the incidence of scrapie and to the survival time: five polymorphisms have been described by variations at amino-acid codons 136, 154 and 171. In this paper we study the effect on scrapie susceptibility of the pairing of the five allelic variants known to exist: we show that scrapie susceptibility is given by the produce of the elementary allelic factors. This first well-documented evidence of a multiplicative property of genetic risk factors could give hints on the underlying mechanisms of prion-induced neurodegenerative diseases.     

Do metalloproteinases destabilize vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Atherosclerotic plaque rupture and thrombosis underlie most myocardial infarctions. Matrix metalloproteinases are a family of enzymes that remodel the extracellular matrix. Metalloproteinases could stabilize rupture-prone plaques by promoting smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation. Alternatively, metalloproteinases could destabilize vulnerable plaques by promoting matrix destruction, angiogenesis, leucocyte infiltration, and apoptosis. Evidence is reviewed from genetically modified mice and human biomarker and genetic studies that sheds light on this dual role of metalloproteinases. RECENT FINDINGS: Inhibition of metalloproteinases in mice using tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases increases plaque stability; however, double knockouts of apolipoprotein E with matrix metalloproteinase 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, and 13 have more or less stable plaques, consistent with harmful or protective effects of individual metalloproteinases. Overexpression studies in mice or rabbits show that high activities of matrix metalloproteinase 9 and 12 decrease stability. Biomarker and human genetic studies demonstrate that increased metalloproteinase activity is associated with vascular repair or myocardial infarction. SUMMARY: Recent studies reinforce evidence for a dual role of matrix metalloproteinases in plaque stabilization and rupture, which probably depends on the stage, site, and severity of disease. Dysregulated metalloproteinase activity in end-stage coronary artery disease appears a valid target for therapy.     

Genetics of osteoporosis: role of steroid hormone receptor gene polymorphisms

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. In the past years, twin and family study have shown that this disease recognizes a strong genetic component and that genetic factors play an important role in regulating bone mineral density (BMD). While in few isolate conditions osteoporosis can be inherited in a simple Mendelian pattern, due to single gene mutations, in the majority of cases has to be considered a multifactorial polygenic disease in which genetic determinants are modulated by hormonal, environmental and nutritional factors. Given the important role that steroid hormones play in bone cell development and in the maintenance of normal bone architecture, polymorphisms at receptor of the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily, such as estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and Vitamin D receptor (VDR) have been thoroughly investigated in the last years and appeared to represent important candidate genes. The individual contribution of these genetic polymorphisms to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis remains to be universally confirmed and an important aim in future work will be to define their functional molecular consequences and how these polymorphisms interact with each other and with the environment to cause the osteoporotic phenotype. A further promising application of genetic studies in osteoporosis comes from their pharmacogenomic implications, with the possibility to give a better guidance for therapeutic agents commonly used to treat this invalidating disorder or to identify target molecules for new therapeutic agents.