Your browser does not allow saving data (e.g. private mode): bookmarks will be lost when the tab closes.
Search PubMed
Keywords, author, journal, years — results from PubMed, abstracts with Russian translation, bookmarks in your browser.
Found: 4 919
Page 196 of 492-
Construction of molecular signatures based on the co-expression network of NECSO-related gene TRPM4 and its prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma.
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) demonstrates significant prognostic variability that is not entirely accounted for by traditional staging systems. Necrosis by sodium overload (NECSO) is an emerging programmed cell death pathway, but its clinical relevance in HCC remains undefined. Therefore, this study aimed to identify TRPM4-associated core genes, develop and validate a prognostic signature, and investigate its relationship with the tumor immune microenvironment, tumor mutational burden, and single-cell expression patterns in HCC. METHODS: We integrated transcriptomic, clinical, and mutational datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) (n=421) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) cohorts (n=115) to identify genes co-expressed with TRPM4-a key NECSO mediator-and those differentially expressed in HCC. A prognostic signature was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression and validated through survival analysis, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The immune landscape was characterized using CIBERSORT, somatic mutation data were used to calculate tumor mutational burden (TMB) and assess its correlation with the risk score, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) resolved cell-type-specific expression patterns. RESULTS: From 294 TRPM4-associated core genes, we identified an 11-gene signature (BRSK1, MMP1, GRIN2D, GP6, MYOM2, N4BP3, CCDC112, TSEN54, MAP3K9, SPP1, B3GNT4) that independently predicted overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio =5.419, P<0.001) with areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.779, 0.693, and 0.701 at 1, 3, and 5 years. These values were superior or comparable to conventional clinicopathologic variables after direct comparison. High-risk patients exhibited an immunosuppressive microenvironment, characterized by enrichment of M0 macrophage, a higher M2/M1 ratio (P<0.001) and distinct immune checkpoint profiles. When integrated with TMB, the prognostic stratification was further refined: high-TMB/high-risk patients had poorest outcomes (median OS, 15.3 months), while low-TMB/low-risk patients had the most favorable survival (median OS, 68.7 months). Single-cell analysis revealed that MMP1 was induced in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and SPP1 was downregulated in macrophages, single-cell risk scores confirmed TAFs and macrophages as the main contributors to the prognostic model. CONCLUSIONS: The TRPM4-centered 11-gene signature provides robust and independent prognostic stratification in HCC by integrating immune, mutational, and single-cell features. This signature serves as a potential tool for prognostic evaluation and may help inform immunotherapeutic strategies for HCC.
-
Early role for a Na+,K+-ATPase (ATP1A3) in brain development.
Osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential in animal cells depend on concentration gradients of sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) ions across the plasma membrane, a function catalyzed by the Na+,K+-ATPase α-subunit. Here, we describe ATP1A3 variants encoding dysfunctional α3-subunits in children affected by polymicrogyria, a developmental malformation of the cerebral cortex characterized by abnormal folding and laminar organization. To gain cell-biological insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of prenatal ATP1A3 expression, we built an ATP1A3 transcriptional atlas of fetal cortical development using mRNA in situ hybridization and transcriptomic profiling of ∼125,000 individual cells with single-cell RNA sequencing (Drop-seq) from 11 areas of the midgestational human neocortex. We found that fetal expression of ATP1A3 is most abundant to a subset of excitatory neurons carrying transcriptional signatures of the developing subplate, yet also maintains expression in nonneuronal cell populations. Moving forward a year in human development, we profiled ∼52,000 nuclei from four areas of an infant neocortex and show that ATP1A3 expression persists throughout early postnatal development, most predominantly in inhibitory neurons, including parvalbumin interneurons in the frontal cortex. Finally, we discovered the heteromeric Na+,K+-ATPase pump complex may form nonredundant cell-type-specific α-β isoform combinations, including α3-β1 in excitatory neurons and α3-β2 in inhibitory neurons. Together, the developmental malformation phenotype of affected individuals and single-cell ATP1A3 expression patterns point to a key role for α3 in human cortex development, as well as a cell-type basis for pre- and postnatal ATP1A3-associated diseases.
-
A spatiotemporal single-cell atlas of porcine development reveals regulatory dynamics and cellular targets of domestication.
Systematic characterization of cellular gene expression in livestock tissues during development is essential for understanding the regulation of complex traits. Despite the comprehensive profiling of cell atlases in livestock, a dynamic view of tissue development remains lacking. Here, using both single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we present a comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic landscape of 252,033 cells/nuclei, mapping 83 distinct cell types across five pig tissues from prenatal to postnatal developmental stages. Our findings highlight the coordinated remodeling of tissue architecture through stem/progenitor cell proliferation, lineage specification, and functional maturation during organogenesis. We identified key transcription factors and regulatory networks that drive lineage-specific and spatiotemporally dynamic transcriptional programs. Developmental trajectory analysis identified a conserved bifurcated transcriptional organization of immune cells, accompanied by dynamic changes in transcription factors associated with immune cell maturation. Integrative analysis utilizing multi-omic, single-cell, and pig population genomics data identified a muscle-specific enhancer of the MYOT gene as a target of artificial selection, underlying meat-quality divergence between Asian and European pig breeds. Moreover, cross-species comparison between pigs and humans revealed conserved cell types, underscoring the evolutionary link. In summary, the comprehensive pig developmental cell atlas serves as a key resource for understanding livestock development, provides insights for precision breeding, and highlights the value of the reference pig cell atlas as a powerful resource for biomedical research.
-
Decoding cytarabine-induced damage in the prepubertal testis: A multi-omics atlas of ecosystem and inheritance.
Pediatric leukemia therapies can compromise future fertility, particularly in prepubertal boys who cannot bank sperm. We used dose-response histology, endocrine and sperm analyses, bulk and single-cell RNA-seq, and metabolomics to map cytarabine (Ara-C) injury in prepubertal mouse testes. Ara-C caused seminiferous-tubule disruption, hormone suppression, sperm loss, spermatogonial depletion linked to ferroptosis and replication arrest, stress remodeling of Sertoli and Leydig cells, and altered intercellular signaling centered on Sertoli hubs. Unexposed F1 offspring retained inflammatory, nucleotide, and energy-metabolism changes, suggesting intergenerational imprinting after paternal exposure. These findings define cell-type-specific vulnerabilities in the developing testis and nominate redox balance, ferroptosis, Sertoli stress pathways, Leydig inflammatory signaling, and niche communication as targets for fertility-preserving strategies during pediatric chemotherapy.
-
A single-nucleus and spatial transcriptomic atlas of the COVID-19 liver reveals topological, functional, and regenerative organ disruption in patients.
BACKGROUND: The molecular underpinnings of organ dysfunction in severe COVID-19 and its potential long-term sequelae are under intense investigation. To shed light on these in the context of liver function, we perform single-nucleus RNA-seq and spatial transcriptomic profiling of livers from 17 COVID-19 decedents. RESULTS: We identify hepatocytes positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA with an expression phenotype resembling infected lung epithelial cells, and a central role in a pro-fibrotic TGFβ signaling cell-cell communications network. Integrated analysis and comparisons with healthy controls reveal extensive changes in the cellular composition and expression states in COVID-19 liver, providing the underpinning of hepatocellular injury, ductular reaction, pathologic vascular expansion, and fibrogenesis characteristic of COVID-19 cholangiopathy. We also observe Kupffer cell proliferation and erythrocyte progenitors for the first time in a human liver single-cell atlas. Despite the absence of a clinical acute liver injury phenotype, endothelial cell composition is dramatically impacted in COVID-19, concomitantly with extensive alterations and profibrogenic activation of reactive cholangiocytes and mesenchymal cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our atlas provides novel insights into liver physiology and pathology in COVID-19 and forms a foundational resource for its investigation and understanding.
-
Investigating the basis of lineage decisions and developmental trajectories in the dorsal spinal cord through pseudotime analyses.
UNLABELLED: Dorsal interneurons (dIs) in the spinal cord encode the perception of touch, pain, heat, itch, and proprioception. While previous studies using genetic strategies in animal models have revealed important insights into dI development, the molecular details by which dIs arise as distinct populations of neurons remain incomplete. We have developed a resource to investigate dI fate specification by combining a single-cell RNA-Seq atlas of mouse ESC-derived dIs with pseudotime analyses. To validate this in silico resource as a useful tool, we used it to first identify novel genes that are candidates for directing the transition states that lead to distinct dI lineage trajectories, and then validated them using in situ hybridization analyses in the developing mouse spinal cord in vivo . We have also identified a novel endpoint of the dI5 lineage trajectory and found that dIs become more transcriptionally homogenous during terminal differentiation. Together, this study introduces a valuable tool for further discovery about the timing of gene expression during dI differentiation and demonstrates its utility clarifying dI lineage relationships. SUMMARY STATEMENT: Pseudotime analyses of embryonic stem cell-derived dorsal spinal interneurons reveals both novel regulators and lineage relationships between different interneuron populations.
-
Multi-Omics Characterization of Tumor Microenvironment Heterogeneity and Immunotherapy Resistance Through Cell States-Based Subtyping in Bladder Cancer.
Due to the strong heterogeneity of bladder cancer (BC), there is often substantial variation in the prognosis and efficiency of immunotherapy among BC patients. For the precision treatment and assessment of prognosis, the subtyping of BC plays a critical role. Despite various subtyping methods proposed previously, most of them are based on a limited number of molecules, and none of them is developed on the basis of cell states. In this study, we construct a single-cell atlas by integrating single cell RNA-seq, RNA microarray, and bulk RNA-seq data to identify the absolute proportion of 22 different cell states in BC, including immune and nonimmune cell states derived from tumor tissues. To explore the heterogeneity of BC, BC was identified into four different subtypes in multiple cohorts using an improved consensus clustering algorithm based on cell states. Among the four subtypes, C1 had median prognosis and best overall response rate (ORR), which characterized an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. C2 was enriched in epithelial-mesenchymal transition/invasion, angiogenesis, immunosuppression, and immune exhaustion. Surely, C2 performed the worst in prognosis and ORR. C3 with worse ORR than C2 was enriched in angiogenesis and almost nonimmune exhaustion. Displaying an immune effective environment, C4 performed the best in prognosis and ORR. We found that patients with just an immunosuppressive environment are suitable for immunotherapy, but patients with an immunosuppressive environment accompanied by immune exhaustion or angiogenesis may resist immunotherapy. Furthermore, we conducted exploration into the heterogeneity of the transcriptome, mutational profiles, and somatic copy-number alterations in four subtypes, which could explain the significant differences related to cell states in prognosis and ORR. We also found that PD-1 in immune and tumor cells could both influence ORR in BC. The level of TGFβ in a cell state can be opposite to the overall level in the tissues, and the level in a specific cell state could predict ORR more accurately. Thus, our work furthers the understanding of heterogeneity and immunotherapy resistance in BC, which is expected to assist clinical practice and serve as a supplement to the current subtyping method from a novel perspective of cell states.
-
Multi-omics identification and functional validation of signal regulatory protein gamma as a prognostic biomarker and immune regulator in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) comprises biologically diverse tumors, and durable responses to immune-checkpoint blockade are achieved by only a subset of patients. There remains a need for markers that connect clinical outcome with malignant-cell phenotypes and tissue-level immune organization. METHODS: We integrated The Cancer Genome Atlas HNSCC cohort (TCGA-HNSC), five Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) validation cohorts, single-cell RNA sequencing, Visium spatial transcriptomics, cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITE-seq)-informed protein-potential inference, pharmacogenomic screening, genetic-risk analysis and experimental validation. A reconstructed 296-pipeline survival modelling framework was used to prioritize prognostic hub genes across validation-cohort-specific analyses. RESULTS: SIRPG was repeatedly ranked among the top ten selected genes in all five validation cohorts. At single-cell resolution, SIRPG-high tumor cells showed stronger malignant-cell features, immune-inhibitory and metabolic programs, Scissor-positive risk association, CLCA2/P53-related perturbation signals and inferred SIRPG-CD47/signal regulatory protein (SIRP) communication. Spatial analyses placed this axis within an immune-checkpoint-coupled niche, supported by Maxspin/multiview intercellular spatial modelling (MISTy) spatial coupling, communication analysis by optimal transport (COMMOT)-inferred CD47-SIRPG communication and scProTrans-inferred CD47/SIRPG protein-potential overlap. Functionally, SIRPG knockdown reduced HNSCC cell viability and increased apoptosis, whereas re-expression of short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-resistant SIRPG restored the CLCA2-BAX/BCL2 protein response. CONCLUSION: Together, these findings identify SIRPG as an immune-related prognostic hub and context-dependent tumor-cell regulator associated with apoptosis, immune communication and spatial microenvironmental organization in HNSCC.
-
Single cell dual-omic atlas of the human developing retina.
The development of the retina is under tight temporal and spatial control. To gain insights into the molecular basis of this process, we generate a single-nuclei dual-omic atlas of the human developing retina with approximately 220,000 nuclei from 14 human embryos and fetuses aged between 8 and 23-weeks post-conception with matched macular and peripheral tissues. This atlas captures all major cell classes in the retina, along with a large proportion of progenitors and cell-type-specific precursors. Cell trajectory analysis reveals a transition from continuous progression in early progenitors to a hierarchical development during the later stages of cell type specification. Both known and unrecorded candidate transcription factors, along with gene regulatory networks that drive the transitions of various cell fates, are identified. Comparisons between the macular and peripheral retinae indicate a largely consistent yet distinct developmental pattern. This atlas offers unparalleled resolution into the transcriptional and chromatin accessibility landscapes during development, providing an invaluable resource for deeper insights into retinal development and associated diseases.
-
MSR1 + macrophages passivate antitumor immunity by inducing ITM2A + CD4T exhaustion differentiation.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors target the membrane protein; however, the role of membrane proteins in antitumor immunity remains poorly elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of membrane proteins and unearth potential membrane proteins that can be targeted. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We initially screened prognosis-related membrane proteins based on The Cancer Genome Atlas Program and International Cancer Genome Consortium databases. Whole-gene, T-cell-specific or CD8T-cell-specific integral membrane protein 2A (ITM2A) knockout mice were constructed and used for orthotopic transplantation or as plasmid-derived spontaneous hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models to explore the role of ITM2A in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), TimiGP analysis, molecular dynamics simulations, and biochemical experiments, the molecular mechanisms underlying the MSR1-ITM2A-TCR signaling regulatory axis were explored. Finally, bioengineering technologies were used to design and construct a new CD4T-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).High ITM2A expression in HCC indicated a superior prognosis, which was associated with richer immune cell infiltration in the TME. The results of the scRNA-seq of the HCC model in genetically knocked-out mice suggest that ITM2A influences the TCR signaling of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in the TME. This inference was confirmed in conditional ITM2A knockout mice. MSR1 + macrophages induced CD4T exhaustion by disrupting the ITM2A-ZAP70 axis during TCR activation. ADC (ZEA-αCD4) treatment effectively inhibited tumor growth, independent of the classical αPDL1 immunotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: MSR1 + macrophages promote tumor-infiltrating ITM2A + CD4T exhaustion differentiation by regulating the ITM2A-ZAP70 axis. ZEA-αCD4 specifically targeted the MSR1-ITM2A interaction to activate antitumor immunity and improve the efficacy of αPDL1 immunotherapy.