Expression profile of lncRNAs and miRNAs in esophageal cancer: Implications in diagnosis,prognosis, and therapeutic response

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer worldwide. Although a number of environmental and lifestyle-related risk factors have been identified for this kind of cancer, the exact molecular mechanisms of tumor evolution have not been clarified yet. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) as important regulators of gene expression and chromatin configuration have essential roles in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer. They have been shown to alter the function of cancer-related signaling pathways such as phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B and Wnt pathway, thus they might modulate the response of patients to pathway-targeted therapies. Moreover, a number of lncRNAs, such as AFAP1-AS1, UCA1, HOTAIR, LOC285194, and TUSC7, are involved in conferring chemoresistant/radioresistant in esophageal cancer cells. A complex network of interaction exists between lncRNAs and miRNAs in the context of esophageal cancer. Finally, various panels of lncRNAs and miRNAs have been introduced that can predict the survival of esophageal cancer patients. In this review article, we summarize the recent findings regarding the role of miRNAs and lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of esophageal cancer with the special focus on their regulatory roles on signaling pathways, their potential as diagnostic/prognostic markers, and their relevance with therapeutic response.     

Congenital analbuminaemia: Molecular defects and biochemical and clinical aspects

Background

DNA and mRNA sequencing of the coding regions of the human albumin gene (ALB) and of its intron/exon junctions has revealed twenty-one different molecular defects causing congenital analbuminaemia (CAA).

Scope of review

To describe the mutations in molecular terms and to present the current knowledge about the most important biochemical and clinical effects of CAA.

Major conclusions

CAA is rare, but its frequency seems to be significantly higher in restricted and minimally admixed populations. The condition affects especially the lipid metabolism but apart from a possible increased risk for atherosclerotic complications, it is generally associated with mild clinical symptoms in adults. By contrast, several reports indicate that analbuminaemic individuals may be at risk during the perinatal and childhood periods, in which they seem to show increased morbidity and mortality. The twenty-one causative defects include seven nonsense mutations, seven changes affecting splicing, five frame-shift/deletions, one frame-shift/insertion and one mutation in the start codon. These results indicate that the trait is an allelic heterogeneous disorder caused by homozygous (nineteen cases) or compound heterozygous (single case) inheritance of defects. Most mutations are unique, but one, named Kayseri, is responsible for about half of the known cases.

General significance

Study of the defects in the ALB resulting in CAA allows the identification of “hot spot” regions and contributes to understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the trait. Such studies could also give molecular information about different aspects of ALB regulation and shed light on the regulatory mechanisms involved in the synthesis of the protein. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.     

Molecular diagnosis of apple virus and viroid pathogens from India

Apple is known to be susceptible to various virus and viroid pathogens. Symptomatic apple cultivars and rootstocks were collected and analyzed by ELISA and then through RT-PCR. The study reports the presence of Apple mosaic virus (ApMV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), the major apple viruses and Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), a minor apple virus, at the molecular level in India. Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) infection was also confirmed at the molecular level. Sporadic incidences of Tomato ringspot virus and Arabis mosaic virus infections were also detected by ELISA in nursery plants.     

Novel PTEN germline mutation in a family with mild phenotype: Difficulties in genetic counseling

PTEN gene (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten, MIM 601628) is a tumor suppressor gene implicated in PTEN hamartoma tumor syndromes (PHTS) including Cowden syndrome, Bannayan–Riley–Ruvalcaba syndrome and Proteus-like syndrome. PTEN mutations have been more recently reported in children with macrocephaly and autism spectrum disorders or mental retardation, without other symptoms of PHTS. Although tumor risk has not been evaluated in these patients and their relatives, the same surveillance as for Cowden syndrome is usually proposed. We report a family including patients carrying a novel PTEN mutation and presenting with a mild phenotype consisting of macrocephaly, hypotonia during the first year of life and mild learning disabilities, without autistic features. None of these patients exhibited PTHS-related symptoms such as tumors, lipomas, vascular malformations or pigmented macules of the glans penis. This report raises the question of extending the indications of PTEN mutation screening to familial macrocephaly with learning disabilities. Detection of a mutation in this family led to difficult questions about surveillance, genetic counseling and familial information since the mother declined tumor screening and disclosure of genetic risk information to at-risk relatives.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism of CD40 in the 5′-untranslated region is associated with ischemic stroke

Objectives

Ischemic stroke is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. The CD40/CD40L system is related to proinflammatory and prothrombogenic responses, which are involved in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate association between the CD40 -1C/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and ischemic stroke in a Chinese population.

Methods

We conducted a case–control study including 286 ischemic stroke patients and 336 controls. CD40 -1C/T SNP was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing methods, and evaluated its relevance to ischemic stroke susceptibility.

Results

Significantly increased ischemic stroke risk was found to be associated with the T allele of CD40 -1C/T (OR = 1.273, 95% CI = 1.016–1.594). The frequencies of CT and TT/CT genotypes of CD40 -1C/T in ischemic stroke patients were significantly higher than those of controls, respectively (for CT: OR = 2.350, 95% CI = 1.601–3.449; for TT/CT: OR = 2.148, 95% CI = 1.479–3.119). And, similar results were obtained after adjusting non-matched variables. We found that the frequency of carried T genotypes (TT and TT/CT) was significantly increased in patients with history of stroke compared with patients without (for TT: OR = 6.538, 95%CI = 1.655–25.833; for TT/CT: OR = 3.469, 95%CI = 1.031–11.670), respectively.

Conclusions

The findings suggested that the CD40 -1C/T polymorphism might contribute to the susceptibility to ischemic stroke in the Chinese population, and might be associated with history of previous stroke.     

A novel homozygous 10 nucleotide deletion in BBS10 causes Bardet–Biedl syndrome in a Pakistani family

Bardet–Biedl Syndrome is a multisystem autosomal recessive disorder characterized by central obesity, polydactyly, hypogonadism, learning difficulties, rod-cone dystrophy and renal dysplasia. Bardet–Biedl Syndrome has a prevalence rate ranging from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 160,000 births although there are communities where Bardet–Biedl Syndrome is found at a higher frequency due to consanguinity. We report here a Pakistani consanguineous family with two affected sons with typical clinical features of Bardet–Biedl Syndrome, in addition to abnormal liver functioning and bilateral basal ganglia calcification, the latter feature being typical of Fahr's disease. Homozygous regions obtained from SNP array depicted three known genes BBS10, BBS14 and BBS2. Bidirectional sequencing of all coding exons by traditional sequencing of all these three genes showed a homozygous deletion of 10 nucleotides (c.1958_1967del), in BBS10 in both affected brothers. The segregation analysis revealed that the parents, paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother and an unaffected sister were heterozygous for the deletion. Such a large deletion in BBS10 has not been reported previously in any population and is likely to be contributing to the phenotype of Bardet–Biedl Syndrome in this family.     

DISC1-related signaling pathways in adult neurogenesis of the hippocampus

Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is a multifunctional scaffold protein which plays an important role in neurogenesis and neural development in the adult brain, especially in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Accumulated research has unveiled the role of DISC1 in several aspects of neural development and neurogenesis, such as neuronal maturation, proliferation, migration, positioning, differentiation, dendritic growth, axonal outgrowth, and synaptic plasticity. Studies on the function of this protein have explored multiple facets, including variants and missense mutants in genetics, proteins interactivity and signaling pathways in molecular biology, and pathogenesis and treatment targets of major mental illness, and more. In this review, we present several signaling pathways discussed in recent research, such as the AKT signaling pathway, GABA signaling pathway, GSK3β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, and NMDA-R signaling pathway. DISC1 interacts, directly or indirectly, with these signaling pathways and they co-regulate the process of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus.     

Novel SLC20A2 mutations identified in southern Chinese patients with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification

Idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by bilateral and symmetric cerebral calcifications. Recently, SLC20A2 was identified as a causative gene for familial IBGC, and three mutations were reported in a northern Chinese population. Here, we aimed to explore the mutation spectrum of SLC20A2 in a southern Chinese population. Sanger sequencing was employed to screen mutations within SLC20A2 in two IBGC families and 14 sporadic IBGC cases from a southern Han Chinese population. Four novel mutations (c.82G > A p.D28N, c.185T > C p.L62P, c.1470_1478delGCAGGTCCT p.Q491_L493del and c.935-1G > A) were identified in two families and two sporadic cases, respectively; none were detected in 200 unrelated controls. No mutation was found in the remaining 12 patients. Different mutations may result in varied phenotypes, including brain calcification and clinical manifestations. Our study supports the hypothesis that SLC20A2 is a causative gene of IBGC and expands the mutation spectrum of SLC20A2, which facilitates the understanding of the genotype–phenotype correlation of IBGC.     

Dementia from the ABCD1 mutation c.1415-1416delAG in a female carrier

Objectives

Progressive dementia is a rare phenotypic feature of female X-ALD carriers. Even rarer is the additional presence of further risk factors for dementia, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, and hepatopathy. We report a unique female X-ALD carrier presenting with severe, progressive dementia, paraspasticity, sphincteric dysfunction, and multisystem disease.

Case report

A 79 years-old female with a history of strumectomy, diabetes, hepatopathy, hypothyroidism, arterial hypertension, hiatal hernia, left retinal ablation, ovariectomy, hysterectomy, osteoporosis, bilateral hip endoprosthesis, and neurogenic bladder dysfunction developed slowly progressive cognitive decline since age of 77 years. She had been identified as a female carrier of X-ALD in 12/2010 upon a family screening. At age of 79 years she presented with severe dementia, anxiety, unsteadiness, helplessness, hypertelorism, exaggerated patella tendon reflexes, reduced Achilles tendon reflexes, club feet, contractures of the ankles, the knees, and the hips, and the inability to stay or walk. Cerebral CT showed diffuse atrophy, demyelination periventricularly, small lacunas in the basal ganglia, and small calcifications of the basal ganglia and the temporal lobe on the right side. Differential diagnoses of dementia were considered but were all excluded upon the clinical presentation, blood chemical investigations, imaging studies, and the pattern of neuropsychological deficits.

Conclusions

With progression of the disease manifesting X-ALD carriers may develop progressive severe dementia, severe paraspasticity, and sphincteric dysfunction. Female carriership of X-ALD can be a differential diagnosis of dementia.     

A Japanese child with geleophysic dysplasia caused by a novel mutation of FBN1

Geleophysic dysplasia (GD) is a rare disorder characterized by severe short stature, short hands and feet, limited joint mobility, skin thickening, characteristic facial features (e.g., a “happy” face), and cardiac valvular disorders that often result in an early death. The genes ADAMTSL2 (a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif-like 2) and FBN1 (fibrillin 1) were recently identified as causative genes for GD. Here, we describe a 10-year-old Japanese female with GD who was born to non-consanguineous parents. At the age of 11 months, she was referred to our hospital because of very short stature for her age (− 4.4 standard deviations of the age-matched value) and a “happy” face with full cheeks, a shortened nose, hypertelorism, and a long and flat philtrum, characteristic of GD. Her hands and feet were small, her skin was thickened, and her joint mobility was generally limited. She had cardiac valvular disorders and history of recurrent respiratory failure. Mutation analysis revealed no abnormalities in ADAMTSL2. However, analysis of FBN1 revealed a novel heterozygous mutation (c.5161T > T/G) in exon 41, which encodes transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-like domain 5 (TB5). GD is an extremely rare disorder and, to our knowledge, only one case of GD with an FBN1 mutation has been reported in Japan. Similar to the previously reported cases of GD, the mutation in the current patient was located in the TB5 domain, which suggests that abnormalities in this domain of FBN1 are responsible for GD.