Biomedical subjects

Juncheng Dai

Publications and source records attributed to Juncheng Dai.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Joint Effects of Long-Term Obesity and Genetic Susceptibility on Sex-Specific Brain Aging.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the associations of longitudinal obesity trajectories and polygenic risk with sex-specific brain aging. METHODS: We analyzed 35,092 UK Biobank participants (16,484 males and 18,608 females). Sex-specific XGBoost models estimated multimodal brain age. We derived 16-year longitudinal obesity trajectories from repeatedly collected anthropometric measurements. Polygenic risk scores were constructed based on 55 independent genetic loci. Multivariable logistic regression examined associations of obesity trajectories and genetic risk with brain age acceleration. RESULTS: A total of 8198 (49.73%) males and 9089 (48.84%) females had accelerated brain aging. High genetic risk significantly increased brain age acceleration odds (males: OR = 1.39; females: OR = 1.34). Crucially, the high-stable obesity trajectory exerted a stronger effect in males (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.64-2.21) than in females (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.12-1.40), with the joint presence of high genetic risk and high-stable obesity amplifying risk to an OR of 2.78 in males and 1.57 in females. Conversely, shifting from obesity to non-obesity reduced risk by 30% in males and 18% in females. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore long-term obesity as a critical, sex-dimorphic driver of accelerated brain aging, and midlife weight management offers robust neuroprotection even in genetically susceptible individuals.

brain aging↗

PubMed2026

Large-scale whole-genome sequencing reveals the landscape and health implications of de novo mutations.

De novo mutations (DNMs) are an important source of congenital diseases. With delayed parenthood and assisted reproductive technology (ART) use increasing, it is essential to elucidate how these reproductive factors influence DNMs and whether resulting mutations influence offspring health. Here we performed whole-genome sequencing of 24,030 individuals from 7,851 parent-offspring families, identifying 390,924 de novo single-nucleotide variants (dnSNVs). Paternal and maternal aging exhibited distinct mutational patterns, with maternal DNM accumulation accelerating at advanced ages. Increased paternal dnSNVs partially accounted for the association between advanced parental age and shorter gestational duration. Moreover, ART showed age-independent, procedure-specific effects: intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and ovarian stimulation were associated with increased paternal and maternal dnSNVs, respectively, and ICSI-associated paternal dnSNVs also partially accounted for the association between ICSI and shorter gestational duration. In vitro embryo manipulation was associated with increased early post-zygotic mosaic mutations, particularly C > A substitutions linked to delayed neurocognitive development at 1 year. Collectively, these findings advance understanding of the determinants and consequences of de novo mutagenesis.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2025

Stratifying Lung Adenocarcinoma Risk with Multi-ancestry Polygenic Risk Scores in East Asian Never-Smokers.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in never-smokers is a major public health burden, especially among East Asian women. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are promising for risk stratification but are primarily developed in European-ancestry populations. We aimed to develop and validate single- and multi-ancestry PRSs for East Asian never-smokers to improve LUAD risk prediction. METHODS: PRSs were developed using genome-wide association study summary statistics from East Asian (8,002 cases; 20,782 controls) and European (2,058 cases; 5,575 controls) populations. Single-ancestry models included PRS-25, PRS-CT, and LDpred2; multi-ancestry models included LDpred2+PRS-EUR128, PRS-CSx, and CT-SLEB. Performance was evaluated in independent East Asian data from the Female Lung Cancer Consortium (FLCCA) and externally validated in the Nanjing Lung Cancer Cohort (NJLCC). We assessed predictive accuracy via AUC, with 10-year and (age 30-80) absolute risks estimates. RESULTS: The best multi-ancestry PRS, using East Asian and European data via CT-SLEB (clumping and thresholding, super learning, empirical Bayes), outperformed the best East Asian-only PRS (LDpred2; AUC=0.629, 95% CI:0.618,0.641), achieving an AUC of 0.640 (95% CI:0.629,0.653) and odds ratio of 1.71 (95% CI:1.61,1.82) per SD increase. NJLCC Validation confirmed robust performance (AUC =0.649, 95% CI: 0.623, 0.676). The top 20% PRS group had a 3.92-fold higher LUAD risk than the bottom 20%. Further, the top 5% PRS group reached a 6.69% lifetime absolute risk. Notably, this group reached the average population 10-year LUAD risk at age 50 (0.42%) by age 41, nine years earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-ancestry PRS approaches enhance LUAD risk stratification in East Asian never-smokers, with consistent external validation, suggesting future clinical utility.

East Asian never smokers↗