Project description:Due to an increasingly aging population, the incidence of dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease are steadily rising, with recent estimates predicting >115million dementia sufferers by 2050. The ability to identify early markers in blood, which appear before the onset of clinical symptoms is of considerable interest to allow early intervention, particularly in “high risk” groups such as those with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Here we present longitudinal genome-wide DNA methylation data comparing 18 elderly individuals with T2D who developed pre-symptomatic dementia within an 18 month period following baseline assessment to 18 age, sex and education matched controls who maintained normal cognitive function. We identified a highly significant overlap in the effect size of the top-ranked methylation sites at baseline and follow-up, and identified 8 robust loci, some of which have been previously related to neurodegenerative processes, which were consistently differentially methylated prior to symptoms at baseline, and at 18 month follow up, when a diagnosis of pre-symptomatic dementia had been provided. Finally we show a significant overlap in the effect size of the top-ranked methylation sites in converters, only after they develop symptoms of pre-symptomatic dementia, with changes at the same loci in blood samples from patients with clinically-diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease.
Project description:BackgroundVentricular septal defects (VSDs) are one of the leading causes of death due to cardiac anomalies during the first months of life. The prevalence of VSD in neonates is reported up to 4%. Despite the remarkable progress in medication, treatment and surgical procedure for VSDs, the genetic etiology of VSDs is still in infancy because of the complex genetic and environmental interactions.MethodsThree hundred fifty subjects (200 VSD children and 150 healthy controls) were recruited from different pediatric cardiac units. Pediatric clinical and demographic data were collected. A total of six variants, rs1017 (ISL1), rs7240256 (NFATc1), rs36208048 (VEGF), variant of HEY2, rs11067075 (TBX5) and rs1801133 (MTHFR) genes were genotyped by tetra-ARMS PCR and PCR-RFLP methods.ResultsThe results showed that in cases, the rs1017 (g.16138A > T) variant in the ISL1 gene has an allele frequency of 0.42 and 0.58 respectively for the T and A alleles, and 0.75 and 0.25 respectively in the controls. The frequencies of the AA, TA and TT genotypes were, 52%, 11% and 37% in cases versus 21%, 8% and 71% respectively in the controls. For the NFATc1 variant rs7240256, minor allele frequency (MAF) was 0.43 in cases while 0.23 in controls. For the variant in the VEGF gene, genotype frequencies were 0% (A), 32% (CA) and 68% (CC) in cases and 0.0%, 33% and 67% respectively in controls. The allele frequency of C and A were 0.84 and 0.16 in cases and 0.83 and 0.17 respectively in controls. The TBX5 polymorphism rs11067075 (g.51682G > T) had an allelic frequency of 0.44 and 0.56 respectively for T and G alleles in cases, versus 0.26 and 0.74 in the controls. We did not detect the presence of the HEY2 gene variant (g.126117350A > C) in our pediatric cohort. For the rs1801133 (g.14783C > T) variant in the MTHFR gene, the genotype frequencies were 25% (CC), 62% (CT) and 13% (TT) in cases, versus 88%, 10% and 2% in controls. The ISL1, NFATc1, TBX5 and MTHFR variants were found to be in association with VSD in the Pakistani pediatric cohort whilst the VEGF and HEY2 variants were completely absent in our cohort.ConclusionWe propose that a wider programme of genetic screening of the Pakistani population for genetic markers in heart development genes would be helpful in reducing the risk of VSDs.
Project description:In this study, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in blood samples from Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and T2D male patients. Healthy adult males with no past history of T2D (n=158) and with desirable cholesterol and blood pressure profiles were enrolled in this study. They were then classified according to fasting glucose levels to have T2D, IFG or as healthy controls (CTL), for comparison of miRNA expression profiles. Employing miRNA microarray, we identified ‘signature miRNAs’ in peripheral blood samples that distinguished IFG and T2D. Eight selected miRNAs were further validated using stem-loop real-time RT-PCR. miR-144 expression was found to be dysregulated in Type 2 Diabetes, wherein its expression was significantly higher than in healthy controls. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) has been predicted to be a potential target of miR-144. Consistent with this observation, IRS1 mRNA and protein levels, verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting respectively, were found to be down-regulated. Dysregulation in expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in various tissues has been linked to a wide spectrum of diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). In this study, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in blood samples from Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and T2D male patients. Healthy adult males with no past history of T2D (n=158) and with desirable cholesterol and blood pressure profiles were enrolled in this study. They were then classified according to fasting glucose levels to have T2D, IFG or as healthy controls (CTL), for comparison of miRNA expression profiles. Employing miRNA microarray, we identified ‘signature miRNAs’ in peripheral blood samples that distinguished IFG and T2D. Eight selected miRNAs were further validated using stem-loop real-time RT-PCR. miR-144 expression was found to be dysregulated in Type 2 Diabetes, wherein its expression was significantly higher than in healthy controls. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) has been predicted to be a potential target of miR-144. Consistent with this observation, IRS1 mRNA and protein levels, verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting respectively, were found to be down-regulated. Using luciferase assay, we further demonstrated that miR-144 directly targets IRS1 and showed its effects on protein expression via immunocytochemistry. From this cross-sectional study in humans, we have identified signature miRNAs which could explain the pathogenesis of T2D. Whether miRNAs like miR-144 could be potential therapeutic targets for management of T2D will need to be explored by further mechanistic and functional studies. Total RNA (plus miRNAs) was isolated using a modification of the RiboPure™-Blood kit from Ambion (Austin,TX) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The concentration of total RNA and integrity were determined by using Nano-Drop ND-1000 Spectrophotometry (NanoDrop Tech, Rockland, Del) and gel electrophoresis respectively.
Project description:Dysregulation in expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in various tissues has been linked to a wide spectrum of diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). In this study, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in blood samples from Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and T2D male patients with tissues from T2D rat models. Healthy adult males with no past history of T2D (n=158) and with desirable cholesterol and blood pressure profiles were enrolled in this study. They were then classified according to fasting glucose levels to have T2D, IFG or as healthy controls (CTL), for comparison of miRNA expression profiles. Employing miRNA microarray, we identified ‘signature miRNAs’ in peripheral blood samples that distinguished IFG and T2D. Eight selected miRNAs were further validated using stem-loop real-time RT-PCR. miR-144 expression was found to be dysregulated in Type 2 Diabetes, wherein its expression was significantly higher than in healthy controls. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) has been predicted to be a potential target of miR-144. Consistent with this observation, IRS1 mRNA and protein levels, verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting respectively, were found to be down-regulated. Using luciferase assay, we further demonstrated that miR-144 directly targets IRS1 and showed its effects on protein expression via immunocytochemistry. From this cross-sectional study in humans, we have identified signature miRNAs which could explain the pathogenesis of T2D. Whether miRNAs like miR-144 could be potential therapeutic targets for management of T2D will need to be explored by further mechanistic and functional studies. miRNA profiling of tissues from T2D rat models. Total RNA (plus miRNAs) was isolated using a modification of the RiboPure™-Blood kit from Ambion (Austin,TX) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The concentration of total RNA and integrity were determined by using Nano-Drop ND-1000 Spectrophotometry (NanoDrop Tech, Rockland, Del) and gel electrophoresis respectively.
Project description:In this study, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in blood samples from Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and T2D male patients. Healthy adult males with no past history of T2D (n=158) and with desirable cholesterol and blood pressure profiles were enrolled in this study. They were then classified according to fasting glucose levels to have T2D, IFG or as healthy controls (CTL), for comparison of miRNA expression profiles. Employing miRNA microarray, we identified ‘signature miRNAs’ in peripheral blood samples that distinguished IFG and T2D. Eight selected miRNAs were further validated using stem-loop real-time RT-PCR. miR-144 expression was found to be dysregulated in Type 2 Diabetes, wherein its expression was significantly higher than in healthy controls. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) has been predicted to be a potential target of miR-144. Consistent with this observation, IRS1 mRNA and protein levels, verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting respectively, were found to be down-regulated. Dysregulation in expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in various tissues has been linked to a wide spectrum of diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D). In this study, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in blood samples from Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) and T2D male patients. Healthy adult males with no past history of T2D (n=158) and with desirable cholesterol and blood pressure profiles were enrolled in this study. They were then classified according to fasting glucose levels to have T2D, IFG or as healthy controls (CTL), for comparison of miRNA expression profiles. Employing miRNA microarray, we identified ‘signature miRNAs’ in peripheral blood samples that distinguished IFG and T2D. Eight selected miRNAs were further validated using stem-loop real-time RT-PCR. miR-144 expression was found to be dysregulated in Type 2 Diabetes, wherein its expression was significantly higher than in healthy controls. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) has been predicted to be a potential target of miR-144. Consistent with this observation, IRS1 mRNA and protein levels, verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting respectively, were found to be down-regulated. Using luciferase assay, we further demonstrated that miR-144 directly targets IRS1 and showed its effects on protein expression via immunocytochemistry. From this cross-sectional study in humans, we have identified signature miRNAs which could explain the pathogenesis of T2D. Whether miRNAs like miR-144 could be potential therapeutic targets for management of T2D will need to be explored by further mechanistic and functional studies.
Project description:Our main purpose is to screen specific biomarkers for supporting diagnoses of type-2 diabetic nephropathy (T2DN), type-2 diabetic retinopathy (T2DR), and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) without these complications. The miRNA expression database was built to study T2D in humans with the performance of the GeneChip™ miRNA 4.0 array analysis. The notable highlight of the analysis results in RNA expression shows there are three main groups which include one control group and two diabetic groups. It is used to apply grouping to the miRNA-expression analysis.
Project description:Background:Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex metabolic disorder with strong genetic components. The reported association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms varies among ethnic groups. Objectives:The present study was conducted to determine association of vitamin D receptor gene BsmI (rs1544410 A>G) polymorphism with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Pakistani population. Methods:Blood samples were collected from 150 T2DM patients and 100 non-diabetic engaged by convenient sampling method. After collection of demographic data, assessment of fasting glucose (FG), vitamin D, HbA1c, renal function tests, liver function tests and lipid profile was done. Candidate gene polymorphism was analyzed by DNA amplification with polymerase chain reaction and endonuclease digestion. Results:Biochemical parameters were significantly different among case and control groups. Associations of BsmI genotype with T2DM, related complications and biochemical variables were not significant. Conclusion:The current study did not provide evidence for the association of VDR gene BsmI polymorphism with T2DM in Pakistani population.