Priyanka Sharma

Mining literature for a comprehensive pathway analysis: A case study for retrieval of homocysteine related genes for genetic and epigenetic studies

Homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is also known to be associated with a variety of complex disorders. While there are a large number of independent studies implicating homocysteine in isolated pathways, the mechanism of homocysteine induced adverse effects are not clear. Homocysteine-induced modulation of gene expression through alteration of methylation status or by hitherto unknown mechanisms is predicted to lead to several pathological conditions either directly or indirectly. In the present manuscript, using literature mining approach, we have identified the genes that are modulated directly or indirectly by an elevated level of homocysteine. These genes were then placed in appropriate pathways in an attempt to understand the molecular basis of homocysteine induced complex disorders and to provide a resource for selection of genes for polymorphism screening and analysis of mutations as well as epigenetic modifications in relation to hyperhomocysteinemia. We have identified 135 genes in 1137 abstracts that either modulate the levels of homocysteine or are modulated by elevated levels of homocysteine. Mapping the genes to their respective pathways revealed that an elevated level of homocysteine leads to the atherosclerosis either by directly affecting lipid metabolism and transport or via oxidative stress and/or Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) stress. Elevated levels of homocysteine also decreases the bioavailability of nitric oxide and modulates the levels of other metabolites including S-adenosyl methionine and S-adenosyl homocysteine which may result in cardiovascular or neurological disorders. The ER stress emerges as the common pathway that relates to apoptosis, atherosclerosis and neurological disorders and is modulated by levels of homocysteine. The comprehensive network collated has lead to the identification of genes that are modulated by homocysteine indicating that homocysteine exerts its effect not only through modulating the substrate levels for various catalytic processes but also through regulation of expression of genes involved in complex diseases.

Detection of altered global DNA methylation in coronary artery disease patients.

Epigenetic modifications, especially alteration in DNA methylation, are increasingly being recognized as a key factor in the pathogenesis of complex disorders, including atherosclerosis. However, there are limited data on the epigenetic changes in the coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. In the present study we evaluated the methylation status of genomic DNA from peripheral lymphocytes in a cohort of 287 individuals: 137 angiographically confirmed CAD patients and 150 controls. The differential susceptibility of genomic DNA to methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes was utilized to assess the methylation status of the genome. We observed that the genomic DNA methylation in CAD patients is significantly higher than in controls (p < 0.05). Since elevated homocysteine levels are known to be an independent risk factor for CAD and a key modulator of macromolecular methylation, we investigated the probable correlation between plasma homocysteine levels and global DNA methylation. We observed a significant positive correlation of global DNA methylation with plasma homocysteine levels in CAD patients (p = 0.001). Further, within a higher range of serum homocysteine levels (>/=12-50 muM), global DNA methylation was significantly higher in CAD patients than in controls. The alteration in genomic DNA methylation associated with cardiovascular disease per se appears to be further accentuated by higher homocysteine levels.

Homocysteine levels are associated with MTHFR A1298C polymorphism in Indian population.

AbstractAn elevated level of homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and is associated with other complex disorders. Homocysteine levels can be elevated due to dietary and/or genetic factors. A majority of Indian population have a low level of vitamin B12 (presumably due to vegetarian diet)—a critical nutritional factor, deficiency of which results in hyperhomocysteinemia. Hence, polymorphisms in the genes responsible for homocysteine metabolism can be perceived to have a greater impact in relation to hyperhomocysteinemia in Indian population. For this reason, the effects of diet and/or methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism were assessed in 200 individuals having varying homocysteine levels. Homocysteine levels were significantly elevated in individuals adhering to a vegetarian diet (P=0.019) or having MTHFR A1298C polymorphism (P=0.006). The minor allele frequency (MAF) of MTHFR C677T and A1298C was 0.15 and 0.44 respectively in this cohort. Since the MAF of these polymorphisms differed considerably from Caucasian and other Asian populations, frequencies of these polymorphisms were also determined in more than 400 individuals from different ethnic populations, selected from the entire country based on their geographical location and linguistic lineage, and was found to be similar to that of our cohort. The fact that MTHFR A1298C polymorphism is significantly associated with homocysteine levels, and that the CC genotype is present at a higher frequency in the Indian population, makes it extremely relevant in terms of its potential impact on hyperhomocysteinemia.

Genome wide DNA methylation profiling for epigenetic alteration in coronary artery disease patients

BACKGROUNDnThe alteration in the epigenome forms an interface between the genotype and the environment. Epigenetic alteration is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of cardiovascular disease where environmental interactions play a key role in disease progression. We had previously shown that global DNA hypermethylation per se is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and is further accentuated by high levels of homocysteine, a thiol amino acid which is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is also a key modulator of macromolecular methylation.nnnRESULTSnWe have identified 72 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that were hypermethylated in CAD patients in the background of varying homocysteine levels. Following deep bisulfite sequencing of a few of the selected DMRs, we found significantly higher methylation in CAD cases. We get six CpG sites in three DMRs that included the intronic region of C1QL4 gene and upstream region of CCDC47 and TGFBR3 genes.nnnCONCLUSIONnTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify hypermethylated regions across the genome in patients with coronary artery disease. Further validation in different populations is necessary for this information to be used for disease risk assessment and management.

Transcriptional regulation of human osteopontin promoter by histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A in cervical cancer cells

BackgroundTrichostatin A (TSA), a potent inhibitor of histone deacetylases exhibits strong anti-tumor and growth inhibitory activities, but its mechanism(s) of action is not completely understood. Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted glycoprotein which has long been associated with tumor metastasis. Elevated OPN expression in various metastatic cancer cells and the surrounding stromal cells often correlates with enhanced tumor formation and metastasis. To investigate the effects of TSA on OPN transcription, we analyzed a proximal segment of OPN promoter in cervical carcinoma cells.ResultsIn this paper, we for the first time report that TSA suppresses PMA-induced OPN gene expression in human cervical carcinoma cells and previously unidentified AP-1 transcription factor is involved in this event. Deletion and mutagenesis analyses of OPN promoter led to the characterization of a proximal sequence (-127 to -70) that contain AP-1 binding site. This was further confirmed by gel shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. Western blot and reverse transcription-PCR analyses revealed that TSA suppresses c-jun recruitment to the OPN promoter by inhibiting c-jun levels while c-fos expression was unaffected. Silencing HDAC1 followed by stimulation with PMA resulted in significant decrease in OPN promoter activity suggesting that HDAC1 but not HDAC3 or HDAC4 was required for AP-1-mediated OPN transcription. TSA reduces the PMA-induced hyperacetylation of histones H3 and H4 and recruitment of RNA pol II and TFIIB, components of preinitiation complex to the OPN promoter. The PMA-induced expression of other AP-1 regulated genes like cyclin D1 and uPA was also altered by TSA. Interestingly, PMA promoted cervical tumor growth in mice xenograft model was significantly suppressed by TSA.ConclusionsIn conclusion, these findings provide new insights into mechanisms underlying anticancer activity of TSA and blocking OPN expression at transcriptional level by TSA may act as novel therapeutic strategy for the management of cervical cancer.

Synergistic activity between Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac toxins against maize stem borer (Chilo partellus Swinhoe).

Aim:u2002 To select a toxin combination for the management of maize stem borer (Chilo partellus) and to understand possible mechanism of synergism among Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1A toxins tested.

Express Protocol for Functionalization of Polymer Supports for Oligonucleotide Synthesis

Abstract A rapid and general one-pot method is described for the attachment of the leader nucleoside onto the polymer supports, suitable for polymer supported oligonucleotide synthesis following oxidation-reduction condensation. The method can also be used for support functionalisation in fully automated DNA synthesizer prior to oligonucleotide synthesis.

Decreased levels of circulating and tissue miR-107 in human esophageal cancer

Abstract Context: Aberrant expression of miRNAs has emerged as an important hallmark of cancer. Objectives: We evaluated the clinical significance of circulating and tissue miR-107 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Materials and methods: Quantitative real-time PCR was used to analyze the expression of miR-107 and its bioinformatically identified targets, PIM-1 and CDC42. Results: Significant downregulation of miR-107 was observed in neoplastic and preneoplastic esophageal tissues (pu2009=u20090.004). Relative levels of circulating miR-107 significantly distinguished ESCC patients from normal subjects (pu2009=u20090.007). Significant inverse correlation was observed between miR-107 and PIM1 expression (ru2009=u2009−0.398; pu2009=u20090.015) suggesting PIM1 to be the downstream target of miR-107. Discussion and conclusion: Our results, for the first time, document that the miR-107 levels may discriminate ESCC patients from healthy individuals emphasizing its diagnostic potential.

Transcriptome analysis of Arabidopsis GCR1 mutant reveals its roles in stress, hormones, secondary metabolism and phosphate starvation.

The controversy over the existence or the need for G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in plant G-protein signalling has overshadowed a more fundamental quest for the role of AtGCR1, the most studied and often considered the best candidate for GPCR in plants. Our whole transcriptome microarray analysis of the GCR1-knock-out mutant (gcr1-5) in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed 350 differentially expressed genes spanning all chromosomes. Many of them were hitherto unknown in the context of GCR1 or G-protein signalling, such as in phosphate starvation, storage compound and fatty acid biosynthesis, cell fate, etc. We also found some GCR1-responsive genes/processes that are reported to be regulated by heterotrimeric G-proteins, such as biotic and abiotic stress, hormone response and secondary metabolism. Thus, GCR1 could have G-protein-mediated as well as independent roles and regardless of whether it works as a GPCR, further analysis of the organism-wide role of GCR1 has a significance of its own.

G-protein α-subunit (GPA1) regulates stress, nitrate and phosphate response, flavonoid biosynthesis, fruit/seed development and substantially shares GCR1 regulation in A. thaliana

Heterotrimeric G-proteins are implicated in several plant processes, but the mechanisms of signal-response coupling and the roles of G-protein coupled receptors in general and GCR1 in particular, remain poorly understood. We isolated a knock-out mutant of the Arabidopsis G-protein α subunit (gpa1-5) and analysed its transcriptome to understand the genomewide role of GPA1 and compared it with that of our similar analysis of a GCR1 mutant (Chakraborty et al.xa02015, PLoS ONE 10(2):e0117819). We found 394 GPA1-regulated genes spanning 79 biological processes, including biotic and abiotic stresses, development, flavonoid biosynthesis, transcription factors, transporters and nitrate/phosphate responses. Many of them are either unknown or unclaimed explicitly in other published gpa1 mutant transcriptome analyses. A comparison of all known GPA1-regulated genes (including the above 394) with 350 GCR1-regulated genes revealed 114 common genes. This can be best explained by GCR1–GPA1 coupling, or by convergence of their independent signaling pathways. Though the common genes in our GPA1 and GCR1 mutant datasets constitute only 26xa0% of the GPA1-regulated and 30xa0% of the GCR1-responsive genes, they belong to nearly half of all the processes affected in both the mutants. Thus, GCR1 and GPA1 regulate not only some common genes, but also different genes belonging to the same processes to achieve similar outcomes. Overall, we validate some known and report many hitherto unknown roles of GPA1 in plants, including agronomically important ones such as biotic stress and nutrient response, and also provide compelling genetic evidence to revisit the role of GCR1 in G-protein signalling.