Association of polymorphisms in genes involved in enamel formation,taste preference and immune response with early childhood caries in Saudi pre-school children

Dental caries is primarily elicited by modifiable factors such as inadequate oral hygiene, poor dietary practices and deficient fluoride exposure. However, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting the profound influence of genetic factors in dental caries susceptibility. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ENAM (rs12640848), MMP20 (rs1784418), TAS2R38 (rs713598), and LTF (rs4547741) genes and early childhood caries (ECC) in Saudi preschool children. This case-control study enrolled 360 Saudi preschool children (262 with ECC and 98 caries-free). Data on environmental factors were collected through a questionnaire. However, caries experience and oral hygiene data were obtained during clinical examination. Buccal swab samples were collected for DNA extraction and SNPs were genotyped using PCR and DNA sequencing. Children with ECC were compared to caries free children (control), then they were categorized into two categories based on ECC severity as follows; non-severe ECC (NS-ECC), and severe-ECC (S-ECC). Association between the SNPs, ECC, NS-ECC, and S-ECC was reported as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The majority of the children (72.8%) exhibited ECC (31.7% NS-ECC and 41.1% S-ECC) with mean dmft of 4.20 ± 4.05. Multivariate analyses of environmental factors showed that nocturnal feeding was a risk factor for ECC (P = 0.008). Poor oral hygiene was also a risk factor for both NS-ECC and S-ECC (ECC: P < 0.0001, NS-ECC: P = 0.032 and S-ECC: P < 0.0001). Univariate analysis showed that the AG genotype of rs1784418 of MMP20 gene was protective against ECC (OR = 0.532; 95% CI = 0.316–0.897, P = 0.018) and against NS-ECC (OR = 0.436; 95% CI = 0.238–0.798, P = 0.007). When environmental risk factors for ECC were included as covariates during multivariate analysis, AG variant in rs1784418 of MMP20 gene remained less frequent in NS-ECC cases compared to controls with borderline significance (OR = 0.542; 95% CI = 0.285–1.033, P = 0.063). Our findings concluded that MMP20 rs1784418 SNP might be associated with protection against ECC in Saudi preschool children.     

Sustained CaMKII activity mediates transient oxidative stress-induced long-term facilitation of L-type Ca(2+) current in cardiomyocytes

Oxidative stress remodels Ca²⁺ signaling in cardiomyocytes, which promotes altered heart function in various heart diseases. Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) was shown to be activated by oxidation, but whether and how CaMKII links oxidative stress to pathophysiological long-term changes in Ca²⁺ signaling remain unknown. Here, we present evidence demonstrating the role of CaMKII in transient oxidative stress-induced long-term facilitation (LTF) of L-type Ca²⁺ current (I_Ca,L) in rat cardiomyocytes. A 5-min exposure of 1 mM H₂O₂ induced an increase in I_Ca,L, and this increase was sustained for ~ 1 h. The CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 fully reversed H₂O₂-induced LTF of I_Ca,L, indicating that sustained CaMKII activity underlies this oxidative stress-induced memory. Simultaneous inhibition of oxidation and autophosphorylation of CaMKII prevented the maintenance of LTF, suggesting that both mechanisms contribute to sustained CaMKII activity. We further found that sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ release and mitochondrial ROS generation have critical roles in sustaining CaMKII activity via autophosphorylation- and oxidation-dependent mechanisms. Finally, we show that long-term remodeling of the cardiac action potential is induced by H₂O₂ via CaMKII. In conclusion, CaMKII and mitochondria confer oxidative stress-induced pathological cellular memory that leads to cardiac arrhythmia.     

GG: a domain involved in phage LTF apparatus and implicated in human MEB and non-syndromic hearing loss diseases

Here, we report the identification of a novel domain--GG (domain in KIAA1199, FAM3, POMGnT1 and Tmem2 proteins, with two well-conserved glycine residues), present in eukaryotic FAM3 superfamily (FAM3A, FAM3B, FAM3C and FAM3D), POMGnT1 (protein O-linked mannose beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase), TEM2 proteins as well as phage gp35 proteins. GG domain has been revealed to be implicated in muscle-eye-brain disease and non-syndromic hearing loss. The presence of GG domain in Bacteriophage gp35 hinge connector of long tail fiber might reflect the horizontal gene transfer from organisms. And we proposed that GG domain might function as important structural element in phage LTF.     

Expression of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPase (SERCA) 3 proteins in two major conformational states in native human cell membranes

The SERCA family includes 3 genes (SERCA1-3), each of which giving rise to various isoforms. To date, detailed structural data is only available for the SERCA1a isoform. Here, limited trypsinolysis of either human platelet membranes or recombinant SERCA3a in HEK-293 cells followed by Western blotting using antibodies covering different regions of the SERCA3(a) protein revealed two, kinetically distinct, Early (ETF) and Late (LTF) Tryptic Fragmentations. The ETF uses many tryptic sites while the LTF uses a unique tryptic site. Using site-directed mutagenesis: i) Arg³³⁴, Arg³⁹⁶ and Arg⁶³⁸ were directly assigned to the ETF and ii) Arg¹⁹⁸ was assigned as the only tryptic site to the LTF. Arg⁶⁷¹, Lys⁷¹²/Lys⁷¹³ and Lys⁷²⁸ were also found to modulate the ETF. SERCA inhibitors Tg and tBHQ induced modest inhibition of the ETF. In contrast, the addition of CaCl₂, EGTA or AlF₄⁻ strikingly modified the ETF without any effect on the LTF. Trypsinolysis of the other recombinant SERCA3b-3f isoforms revealed: i) same ETF and LTF as SERCA3a, with variations of the length of the C-terminal fragments; ii) Arg¹⁰⁰² as an additional tryptic site in SERCA3b-3e isoforms. Taken together, the two distinct SERCA3 fragmentation profiles sign the co-expression of SERCA3 proteins in two conformational states in cell membranes.     

Antagonistic functional duality of cancer genes

Cancer evolution is a stochastic process both at the genome and gene levels. Most of tumors contain multiple genetic subclones, evolving in either succession or in parallel, either in a linear or branching manner, with heterogeneous genome and gene alterations, extensively rewired signaling networks, and addicted to multiple oncogenes easily switching with each other during cancer progression and medical intervention. Hundreds of discovered cancer genes are classified according to whether they function in a dominant (oncogenes) or recessive (tumor suppressor genes) manner in a cancer cell. However, there are many cancer “gene-chameleons”, which behave distinctly in opposite way in the different experimental settings showing antagonistic duality. In contrast to the widely accepted view that mutant NADP⁺-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases 1/2 (IDH1/2) and associated metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (R)-enantiomer are intrinsically “the drivers” of tumourigenesis, mutant IDH1/2 inhibited, promoted or had no effect on cell proliferation, growth and tumorigenicity in diverse experiments. Similar behavior was evidenced for dozens of cancer genes. Gene function is dependent on genetic network, which is defined by the genome context. The overall changes in karyotype can result in alterations of the role and function of the same genes and pathways. The diverse cell lines and tumor samples have been used in experiments for proving gene tumor promoting/suppressive activity. They all display heterogeneous individual karyotypes and disturbed signaling networks. Consequently, the effect and function of gene under investigation can be opposite and versatile in cells with different genomes that may explain antagonistic duality of cancer genes and the cell type- or the cellular genetic/context-dependent response to the same protein. Antagonistic duality of cancer genes might contribute to failure of chemotherapy. Instructive examples of unexpected activity of cancer genes and “paradoxical” effects of different anticancer drugs depending on the cellular genetic context/signaling network are discussed.     

LTF基因在鼻咽癌细胞系中生物学功能的初步研究

目的:初步探讨野生型LTF基因在鼻咽癌细胞系中的生物学功能。方法:野生型LTF导入鼻咽癌细胞系,G418筛选,RT-PCR和Western-blotting分别在mRNA和蛋白质水平进行验证,得到稳定表达LTF基因的鼻咽癌细胞系。流式细胞术、平板克隆形成实验和MTT法分别检测细胞周期、细胞的克隆形成能力和细胞生长曲线。结果:成功导入LTF并稳定表达的鼻咽癌细胞系,G0-G1期细胞百分比例明显增加(72.01%vs 62.31%),G2-M期细胞百分比例减少(6.26%vs 10.81%);克隆形成能力降低(39.5%vs 59.7%),体外瘤细胞增殖能力降低(P0.05)。结论:LTF基因可阻滞细胞周期、抑制鼻咽癌细胞系的增殖能力和克隆形成率,同时为进一步的体内试验研究奠定基础。