Purpose: Identification of biomarkers in major depressive disorder (MDD) has proceeded in an extemporised manner. No single biomarker has been identified with utility in screening, diagnosis, prognosis, or monitoring, and screening tests have different characteristics than the other functions. Using chaos, bifurcation, and perturbation (CBP) theories, the aim is to identify biomarkers to aid clinicians in screening for MDD.
Materials and methods: MDD is a complex disorder; consequently, a reductionist approach to characterize the complex system changes found in MDD will be inchoate and unreliable. A holistic approach is used to identify biomarkers reflecting the tipping points seen before the catastrophic bifurcation that results in MDD.
Results: Applying CBP theories revealed skew, resistance to change, flickering, increased variance and autocorrelation as patterns of biomarkers. Integrals and differentials of extracellular and intracellular biomarkers were identified, specifically focussed on hypothalamo-pituitary axis (HPA) dysfunction, metabolic dysfunction, inflammation and mitochondrial oxidative stress, and tryptophan metabolism.
Conclusions: Applying CBP theories to the dysfunctional complex biological systems in MDD led to development of integrals and differentials of biomarkers that can be used in screening for MDD and planning future biomarker research, targeting intracellular and extracellular inflammation, HPA axis dysfunction, and tryptophan metabolism. 相似文献
Declining fertility rates in both human and animals is a cause for concern. While many of the infertility cases are due to known causes, idiopathic infertility is reported in 30% of the infertile couples. In such cases, 18% of the infertile males carry antisperm antibodies (ASAs). Such data are lacking in livestock, wherein 20–30% of the animals are being culled due to low fertility. In males, the blood–testis barrier (BTB) and biomolecules in the semen provide an immuno‐tolerant microenvironment for spermatozoa as they traverse the immunologic milieu of both the male and female reproductive tracts. For example, insults from environmental contaminants, infections and inflammatory conditions are likely to impact the immune privilege state of the testis and fertility. The female mucosal immune system can recognize allogenic spermatozoa‐specific proteins affecting sperm kinematics and sperm‐zona binding leading to immune infertility. Elucidating the functions and pathways of the immune regulatory molecules associated with fertilization are prerequisites for understanding their impact on fertility. An insight into biomolecules associated with spermatozoal immune tolerance may generate inputs to develop diagnostic tools and modulate fertility. High‐throughput sequencing technologies coupled with bioinformatics analyses provides a path forward to define the array of molecules influencing pregnancy outcome. This review discusses the seminal immune regulatory molecules from their origin in the testis until they traverse the uterine environment enabling fertilization and embryonic development. Well‐designed experiments and the identification of biomarkers may provide a pathway to understand the finer details of reproductive immunology that will afford personalized therapies. 相似文献
In mammalian cells, cargo‐laden secretory vesicles leave the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) en route to ER‐Golgi intermediate compartments (ERGIC) in a manner dependent on the COPII coat complex. We report here that COPII‐coated transport carriers traverse a submicron, TFG (Trk‐fused gene)‐enriched zone at the ER/ERGIC interface. The architecture of TFG complexes as determined by three‐dimensional electron microscopy reveals the formation of flexible, octameric cup‐like structures, which are able to self‐associate to generate larger polymers in vitro. In cells, loss of TFG function dramatically slows protein export from the ER and results in the accumulation of COPII‐coated carriers throughout the cytoplasm. Additionally, the tight association between ER and ERGIC membranes is lost in the absence of TFG. We propose that TFG functions at the ER/ERGIC interface to locally concentrate COPII‐coated transport carriers and link exit sites on the ER to ERGIC membranes. Our findings provide a new mechanism by which COPII‐coated carriers are retained near their site of formation to facilitate rapid fusion with neighboring ERGIC membranes upon uncoating, thereby promoting interorganellar cargo transport. 相似文献
Oxygen radical formation in mitochondria is an incompletely understood attribute of eukaryotic cells. Recently, a kinetic model was proposed, in which the ratio between electrons entering the respiratory chain via FADH2 or NADH determines radical formation. During glucose breakdown, the ratio is low; during fatty acid breakdown, the ratio is high (the ratio increasing—asymptotically—with fatty acid length to 0.5, when compared with 0.2 for glucose). Thus, fatty acid oxidation would generate higher levels of radical formation. As a result, breakdown of fatty acids, performed without generation of extra FADH2 in mitochondria, could be beneficial for the cell, especially in the case of long and very long chained ones. This possibly has been a major factor in the evolution of peroxisomes. Increased radical formation, as proposed by the model, can also shed light on the lack of neuronal fatty acid oxidation and tells us about hurdles during early eukaryotic evolution. We specifically focus on extending and discussing the model in light of recent publications and findings. 相似文献
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are innate immune cells receptors. They are expressed on leukocytes, epithelial cells, and more particularly on placental immune cells and chorion trophoblast. Upregulation of innate immune response occurs during normal pregnancy, but its excessive activity is involved in the pathology of pregnancy complications including pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia (PE). The recent studies about the overmuch inflammatory responses and aberrant placentation are associated with increased expression of TLRs in PE patients. This review has tried to focus on the relationship between some activities of TLRs and the risk of preeclampsia development. 相似文献
Mutations in the gene encoding comparative gene identification 58 (CGI-58)/α/β hydrolase domain 5 (ABHD5) cause Chanarin-Dorfman syndrome, characterized by excessive triacylglycerol storage in cells and tissues. CGI-58 has been identified as a coactivator of adipose TG lipase (ATGL) and a lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase (LPAAT). We developed a molecular model of CGI-58 structure and then mutated predicted active site residues and performed LPAAT activity assays of recombinant WT and mutated CGI-58. When mutations of predicted catalytic residues failed to reduce LPAAT activity, we determined that LPAAT activity was due to a bacterial contaminant of affinity purification procedures, plsC, the sole LPAAT in Escherichia coli. Purification protocols were optimized to reduce plsC contamination, in turn reducing LPAAT activity. When CGI-58 was expressed in SM2-1(DE3) cells that lack plsC, lysates lacked LPAAT activity. Additionally, mouse CGI-58 expressed in bacteria as a glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein and human CGI-58 expressed in yeast lacked LPAAT activity. Previously reported lipid binding activity of CGI-58 was revisited using protein-lipid overlays. Recombinant CGI-58 failed to bind lysophosphatidic acid, but interestingly, bound phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PI(3)P] and phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate [PI(5)P]. Prebinding CGI-58 with PI(3)P or PI(5)P did not alter its coactivation of ATGL in vitro. In summary, purified recombinant CGI-58 that is functional as an ATGL coactivator lacks LPAAT activity. 相似文献