Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “transcriptomic”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources

Optics-free spatial genomics for mapping mammalian brain aging by IRISeq.

Spatial transcriptomics has emerged as a transformative approach for in situ mapping of cellular heterogeneity and interactions, yet existing methods often compromise throughput, cost and tissue coverage. Here we introduce Imaging Reconstruction using Indexed Sequencing (IRISeq): an optics-free, cost-effective platform that leverages spatial interaction mapping by indexed sequencing to profile tissues at adjustable sizes and resolutions (5-50 µm). We applied IRISeq to map gene expression across more than 70 coronal sections from both adult and aged mouse brains, including wild-type and two lymphocyte-deficient models (Rag1 and Prkdc mutants) and generated more than 460,000 spatial transcriptome profiles. Our integrated analysis with 783,264 single-cell transcriptomes revealed region-specific aging signatures that are lymphocyte dependent, notably a downregulation of interferon signaling and inflammation in ventricular regions upon lymphocyte depletion, alongside mutant-specific upregulation of senescence pathways. Furthermore, lymphocyte deficiency was linked to preserved abundance of ependymal cells that line the brain's ventricles and to distinct microglial state dynamics, highlighting a key role for lymphocytes in driving inflammatory processes during brain aging. Overall, IRISeq provides a high-throughput and cost-effective solution for spatially resolved transcriptomic profiling, opening new avenues for elucidating region-specific cellular mechanisms underlying aging and identifying potential therapeutic targets to preserve brain homeostasis.

Animals↗

Mapping ovarian cellular and molecular landscape across the lifespan of women: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: With growing interest in ART, fertility preservation, and postmenopausal health of women, reproductive medicine is increasingly focused on characterizing oocytes and ovarian tissue composition, as well as understanding the molecular mechanisms that guide ovarian function throughout its lifecycle. High-throughput omics technologies have enabled the characterization of different molecular layers, leading to substantial advances in our understanding of their complex dynamics. However, not all molecular aspects are studied equally, and studies examining the same modalities often show inconsistencies, underscoring the need for data standardization and highlighting the potential for using transformative artificial intelligence and machine-learning (AI/ML) methods for ovary studies. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: This study aims to evaluate how multi-omic studies have advanced our understanding of the ovarian lifecycle from fetal development to postmenopause. We systematically reviewed published studies that have investigated molecular/omic layers, including the genome, methylome, transcriptome, and proteome throughout ovarian development and aging. Our analysis identified key molecular and cellular patterns, highlighted inconsistencies across studies and addressed gaps in data analysis, interpretation, and reproducibility to guide future research. SEARCH METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search of Medline (PubMed), Embase (Ovid), and Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate) using a combination of controlled and free text terms for human ovary, oogenesis, folliculogenesis, ovary development and (epi)genome, transcriptome, proteome, and multi-omic mechanisms to find relevant articles published before August 2025. To focus the scope of the current review, studies of domesticated and farm animals, rodents and other model organisms, non-human primates, as well as those examining various human ovarian pathologies were excluded. OUTCOMES: The search identified 23 546 studies for screening, of which 637 full-text studies were assessed for eligibility. Subsequently, we extracted data from 121 studies. Most studies analyzed the transcriptome of oocytes, granulosa cells, and ovarian tissue from reproductive-age individuals (n = 91), with fewer studies examining samples from individuals of advanced reproductive age (n = 45) and fetal (n = 16) samples. Transcriptome analyses were most common (n = 103, 85%), followed by proteome (n = 19, 16%) and epigenome (n = 14, 12%) studies. We found substantial variation in how studies defined and reported participants' groups as well as in their sequencing technologies and data analysis methods, with a lack of standardized reporting of background clinical information, data analysis methods, and pipeline details. The key findings underscore the prevailing consensus on genes defining major ovarian cell types and their roles throughout the ovarian lifespan, from prenatal development to postmenopausal transformation. This review highlighted the underrepresentation of certain patient groups, particularly prepubertal and peri-/postmenopausal individuals, among researched populations, due to obvious clinical and ethical reasons. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: This scoping review offers a comprehensive overview and benchmark of the current state of high-throughput omics-based research on ovarian cellular composition and molecular dynamics. To address these shortcomings, we propose general recommendations for multi-omics ovary studies and emphasize the necessity for more thorough multi-omic data integration by effectively applying novel AI/ML approaches. They can potentially improve the quality of multi-omics analyses at both single-cell and tissue levels despite limited sample sizes and enable integration of molecular profiling data with clinical and radiology datasets, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of ovarian biology. Such advancements can enhance reproducibility of research findings and guide future research to deepen our understanding of ovarian biology and ultimately support the development of medical technologies for better preserving fertility and alleviating infertility. REGISTRATION NUMBER: A protocol was published a priori on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/z38gb/).

Female↗

Multimodal Analysis Reveals Aberrant Expression of SUMO2 and Its Significant Association With Key Mechanisms of Metabolic Pathways in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, the role of small ubiquitin-like modifier 2 (SUMO2), a core member of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) family, regarding its expression patterns and metabolism-related functions in HCC remains inadequately understood. METHODS: A multidimensional analytical framework was applied, integrating immunohistochemistry (153 HCC vs. 21 non-HCC samples), proteomics (159 paired samples), bulk transcriptomics (3240 HCC vs. 2267 non-HCC samples), single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) (10 HCC vs. 8 non-HCC samples), spatial transcriptomics, and external CRISPR/Cas9 functional genomics data. Systematic analyses included standardized mean difference (SMD), pathway enrichment, pseudotime trajectory inference, in silico knockout, cell-cell communication, metabolic flux scoring, immune infiltration, clinical correlation, drug sensitivity prediction, and molecular docking. RESULTS: At the protein level, immunohistochemistry (nuclear positivity) and external proteomic data collectively demonstrated consistent SUMO2 overexpression in HCC. Consistent upregulation was also observed at the mRNA level across large-scale cohorts. Single-cell RNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics localized SUMO2 enrichment to malignant hepatocytes and tumor-dominant regions. CRISPR-mediated SUMO2 knockout suppressed proliferation in multiple HCC cell lines. Mechanistically, high SUMO2 expression was significantly associated with metabolic reprogramming involving glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pyruvate metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. SUMO2-high malignant hepatocyte subpopulations exhibited enhanced activity of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor signaling axis and enhanced iron-sensor interactions. Further, the immune infiltration analysis revealed a negative correlation between SUMO2 expression and M1 macrophages and a positive correlation between follicular helper T cells and regulatory T cells. Clinically, elevated SUMO2 levels were found to be associated with adverse prognostic features. Furthermore, high SUMO2 expression was associated with increased sensitivity to dasatinib, and molecular docking simulations predicted potential binding between SUMO2 and dasatinib, with a Vina score of -8.5 kcal/mol. CONCLUSIONS: SUMO2 is aberrantly expressed at the protein, mRNA, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomic levels in HCC and is significantly associated with metabolic reprogramming and altered migration inhibitory factor (MIF)-mediated intercellular communication, suggesting its potential as a novel biomarker for diagnosis and treatment.

Humans↗

The burgeoning spatial multi-omics in human gastrointestinal cancers.

The development and progression of diseases in multicellular organisms unfold within the intricate three-dimensional body environment. Thus, to comprehensively understand the molecular mechanisms governing individual development and disease progression, precise acquisition of biological data, including genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and epigenome, with single-cell resolution and spatial information within the body's three-dimensional context, is essential. This foundational information serves as the basis for deciphering cellular and molecular mechanisms. Although single-cell multi-omics technology can provide biological information such as genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and epigenome with single-cell resolution, the sample preparation process leads to the loss of spatial information. Spatial multi-omics technology, however, facilitates the characterization of biological data, such as genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and epigenome in tissue samples, while retaining their spatial context. Consequently, these techniques significantly enhance our understanding of individual development and disease pathology. Currently, spatial multi-omics technology has played a vital role in elucidating various processes in tumor biology, including tumor occurrence, development, and metastasis, particularly in the realms of tumor immunity and the heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive overview of spatial transcriptomics, spatial proteomics, and spatial metabolomics-related technologies and their application in research concerning esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer. The objective is to foster the research and implementation of spatial multi-omics technology in digestive tumor diseases. This review will provide new technical insights for molecular biology researchers.

Humans↗

Identification of Novel Wraparound Transcripts in JC Polyomavirus.

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a ubiquitous pathogen that causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Although a recent study using next-generation sequencing (NGS) provided detailed transcriptome atlases for polyomaviruses (PyVs) such as BK polyomavirus and simian virus 40, the transcriptome of JCPyV remains poorly characterized. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis using both short-read and long-read NGS technologies to construct a transcriptome atlas of JCPyV. RNA extracted from IMR-32 and HEK293 cells transfected with the circular JCPyV genome was analyzed, leading to the identification of 39 previously uncharacterized viral transcripts in addition to 12 known ones. Among the novel transcripts, we identified wraparound transcripts, conserved across PyVs, which are generated through continuous, multicyclic transcription of the circular viral genome. These included both late transcripts containing leader-to-leader repeated sequences and SuperT transcripts with multiple LxCxE motifs. Notably, wraparound transcripts, including SuperT transcripts, were also detected in brain tissues from PML patients. Collectively, this study significantly expands our understanding of the JCPyV transcriptome, revealing the expression of wraparound transcripts in PML lesions. These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular basis of JCPyV gene expression and PML pathogenesis, potentially facilitating the development of effective countermeasures against PML.

JC Virus↗

Unveiling the molecular basis of gonadal development: Multi-omics uncovers sex-related genes and steroid pathways in Sinonovacula constricta.

The razor clam Sinonovacula constricta is an economically important cultured mollusk in China, but the molecular mechanism of its gonadal development and sexual differentiation remains unclear. This study integrated gonadal transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analysis to identify key sex-related molecules. Transcriptome analysis identified 2795 DELs and 6497 DEGs between sexes, including the sex-related genes Fem-1b, Fem-1c, GUCY1B2 and FAT4, as well as a regulatory network of 39 lncRNA-mRNA pairs involving Tektin-4, Ropporin-1, Histone H1, and FoxN4. Proteomic analysis revealed 3217 DEPs: Tektin family members, Ropporin-1 and Tssk proteins were upregulated in the testis, while histone H1 and FAT4 were upregulated in the ovary. Metabolomic analysis detected 409 DEMs, with uridine identified as a potential sex differential marker (upregulated in the ovary), and 23 gonadal development-related DEMs showed sex-specific upregulation. Integrative transcriptome-proteome analysis identified 1543 co-expressed DEGs/DEPs enriched in nucleosome assembly, oxidative phosphorylation, and carbon metabolism, including key sex-related genes AKAP14, Tektin/Tssk families, Histone H1, and FAT4. Transcriptome-metabolome integration identified 32 shared KEGG pathways (e.g., biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, pyrimidine metabolism), while proteome-metabolome integration revealed 5 (positive ion) and 6 (negative ion) co-enriched pathways, with alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation being functionally relevant to gonadal development. Collectively, these results reveal the molecular basis of gonadal development, highlight critical sex-related genes and steroid metabolic pathways, and provide valuable resources for future reproduction and breeding in S. constricta.

Animals↗

Expression patterns of potential targets for antibody-directed therapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: Survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients remains limited and treatment is complicated by tumor heterogeneity. As antibody-based therapeutics emerge, identifying actionable antigen targets and patient subgroups most likely to benefit is essential. MATERIALS & METHODS: Gene expression of 62 antibody-targetable proteins was analyzed in 296 mCRPC biopsies. These genes encode proteins targeted by approved or investigational antibody-based cancer therapeutics. Associations between target expression with genomic classifications and transcriptomic subtypes were evaluated. Target expression was also assessed in tumors with low expression of established mCRPC targets. Subgroup-specific targets were validated in an independent cohort and single-cell transcriptomics. RESULTS: Established targets KLK2, FOLH1 (PSMA) and STEAP1 showed the highest median expression across the cohort. Target expression did not correlate with genomic classifications, including homologous recombination deficiency, microsatellite instability, CDK12, TP53, PTEN or AR alterations Target expression did associate with transcriptomic subtypes: CRPC-AR (driven by androgen receptor-signaling) and CRPC-SCL (stem cell-like features, AP-1/YAP/TAZ-driven), displayed the highest expression of multiple targets, including KLK2, FOLH1, and SLC44A4. CRPC-NE (neuroendocrine phenotype) showed heterogeneous expression, with high CD46 expression, whereas CRPC-WNT (Wnt-signaling driven) generally showed low target expression. Notably, CD46 was highly expressed in tumors with low KLK2, FOLH1, and STEAP1 expression, a subgroup associated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Although several antibody targets showed broad expression in mCRPC-tumors, expression varied by transcriptomic subtype. Subgroups such as CRPC-WNT expressed fewer targets, suggesting the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. CD46 emerged as a promising target, with wide expression across multiple subtypes, including clinically challenging CRPC-NE and mCRPC tumors lacking expression of established targets.

Humans↗

Progesterone receptor isoform modulation via enhancer activation regulates progesterone signaling in endometrial stromal cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate enhancer-mediated regulation of progesterone receptor (PGR) isoforms, PGR-A and PGR-B, in human endometrial stromal cells, and to determine how isoform modulation shapes the progesterone-responsive transcriptome and cistrome relevant to endometrial function. DESIGN: A clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-based functional genomic screen was used to identify distal enhancers in telomerase-immortalized human endometrial stromal cells. Subsequent clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats targeting of identified enhancers and the PGR promoter was used to modulate PGR isoform balance and assess functional consequences. SUBJECTS: None. EXPOSURE: Engineered endometrial stromal cells were treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate or vehicle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PGR isoform expression was assessed by western blot, the progesterone-responsive transcriptome was characterized by bulk ribonucleic acid sequencing, and the PGR cistrome was characterized by Cut&Run. RESULTS: Two distal PGR enhancers were identified in endometrial stromal cells located approximately 60 and 220 kb upstream of the PGR transcription start site. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-based activation of these enhancers upregulated both PGR-A and PGR-B, whereas promoter activation primarily upregulated PGR-B. Bulk ribonucleic acid sequencing revealed that shifting the PGR isoform balance altered the progesterone-regulated transcriptome: PGR-A/B-equivalent cells exhibited proinflammatory gene signatures, whereas PGR-B-dominant cells demonstrated suppression of inflammatory signaling and altered cell cycle programs. The PGR Cut&Run profiling revealed distinct genomic binding patterns associated with each isoform profile. Integration of the PGR cistrome with chromatin interaction maps suggested that these isoforms directly regulate distinct gene subsets involved in inflammation and fibrosis. Mechanistically, estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) indirectly activated PGR-A expression, potentially through recruitment of Forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) at the distal enhancer, suggesting a noncanonical, enhancer-mediated mechanism of PGR regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Distal enhancers regulate the PGR isoform balance and shape the progesterone-responsive transcriptome in human endometrial stromal cells. This enhancer-mediated mechanism expands current models of PGR regulation beyond promoter-level control and may offer potential therapeutic targets to restore normal progesterone responsiveness in conditions marked by PGR isoform imbalance.

Humans↗

A nucleolar stress gene signature enables quantitative scoring across multi-omics contexts.

The nucleolus is essential for ribosome biogenesis and cellular homeostasis, and its dysfunction can induce nucleolar stress, a process implicated in cancer and other diseases. However, nucleolar stress is commonly inferred from morphological changes or a limited set of functional assays, and quantitative approaches based on gene expression profiles remain lacking. Here, we integrate literature curation with multi-dataset screening to define a nucleolar stress gene signature and develop a nucleolar stress score (NuS) applicable to bulk transcriptomics, single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, and spatial transcriptomics. Using this framework, we show in colorectal cancer models that oxaliplatin induces nucleolar stress, suppresses nascent rRNA synthesis, and activates p53 signaling, whereas these responses are attenuated in oxaliplatin-resistant cells. Combined with a ribosome biogenesis activity score (RiboSis), NuS captures related but distinct dimensions of nucleolar function and stratifies tumors into functional states associated with clinical outcomes. NuS-based analysis of perturbational transcriptomes further prioritizes compounds with putative nucleolar stress-inducing activity. Collectively, this study provides a quantitative framework for evaluating nucleolar stress and illustrates its applications in disease stratification and drug mechanism discovery.

Cell Nucleolus↗

Network methods for diagonal integration of unpaired single-cell multiomics data: a review.

MOTIVATION: Advances in single-cell sequencing have enabled multiomics profiling at unprecedented resolution; however, mass spectrometry-based single-cell proteomics (scMS) remains inherently destructive, precluding simultaneous transcriptomic capture. Unlike antibody-based methods such as CITE-seq, which permit paired profiling but are restricted to targeted protein panels, scMS provides unbiased, genome-scale coverage of the intracellular proteome yet necessitates post hoc integration of unpaired datasets. This diagonal integration challenge, where transcriptomes and proteomes are measured in separate cells lacking shared anchors, remains underserved by existing reviews, which focus predominantly on vertical integration strategies enabled by non-destructive assays. RESULTS: We survey the complete computational pipeline for constructing mechanistic proteogenomic networks from unpaired single-cell data, covering: (i) unimodal network inference such as knowledge-based approaches, probabilistic graphical models, temporal directionality inference, and generative and foundation model strategies that establish the transcriptomic scaffold; (ii) cross-modal integration architectures such as network propagation, graph neural networks (scMRDR, scmFormer, scCotag), and consensus frameworks designed explicitly for the unpaired proteomics setting; and (iii) benchmarking paradigms spanning network reconstruction (BEELINE, GRETA, CausalBench) and multi-task integration evaluation (scMultiBench, SCMMIB), with guidance on metric selection under network sparsity and class imbalance. We identify three principal axes of future development: generative proteomic translation from transcriptomic precursors, inductive prior embedding in next-generation architectures, and perturbation-based causal benchmarking. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: This is a review article; no novel software is distributed. A curated benchmark resource table, methods starter guide, and per-method bottleneck annotations are provided in the Supplementary Material.

Multiomics↗

A better understanding of why murine models of trauma do not recapitulate the human syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Genomic analyses from blood leukocytes have concluded that mouse injury poorly reflects human trauma at the leukocyte transcriptome. Concerns have focused on the modest severity of murine injury models, differences in murine compared with human age, dissimilar circulating leukocyte populations between species, and whether similar signaling pathways are involved. We sought to examine whether the transcriptomic response to severe trauma in mice could be explained by these extrinsic factors, by utilizing an increasing severity of murine trauma and shock in young and aged mice over time, and by examining the response in isolated neutrophil populations. DESIGN: Preclinical controlled in vivo laboratory study and retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Laboratory of Inflammation Biology and Surgical Science and multi-institution level 1 trauma centers. SUBJECTS: Six- to 10-week-old and 20- to 24-month-old C57BL/6 (B6) mice and two cohorts of 167 and 244 severely traumatized (Injury Severity Score > 15) adult (> 18 yr) patients. INTERVENTIONS: Mice underwent one of two severity polytrauma models of injury. Total blood leukocyte and neutrophil samples were collected. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Fold expression changes in leukocyte and neutrophil genome-wide expression analyses between healthy and injured mice (p < 0.001) were compared with human total and enriched blood leukocyte expression analyses of severe trauma patients at 0.5, 1, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days after injury (Glue Grant trauma-related database). We found that increasing the severity of the murine trauma model only modestly improved the correlation in the transcriptomic response with humans, whereas the age of the mice did not. In addition, the genome-wide response to blood neutrophils (rather than total WBC) was also not well correlated between humans and mice. However, the expression of many individual gene families was much more strongly correlated after injury in mice and humans. CONCLUSIONS: Although overall transcriptomic association remained weak even after adjusting for the severity of injury, age of the animals, timing, and individual leukocyte populations, there were individual signaling pathways and ontogenies that were strongly correlated between mice and humans. These genes are involved in early inflammation and innate/adaptive immunity.

Adult↗

Multi-omics-based study on the biological characteristics of kidney renal deficiency and blood stasis in ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECIVE: To explore the objective biological evidence for the classification and diagnosis of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) using multiomics analysis. METHODS: Patients with AS were categorized into kidney deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (SX group) and damp-heat stasis syndrome (SR group). Transcriptomic sequencing and quantitative plasma proteomics were performed on patients with AS and healthy volunteers. Multiomics integration was used to characterize the biological basis of AS with renal deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. Specific proteins were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Transcriptomic sequencing identified 31 significantly upregulated genes in patients with AS compared to healthy controls. These genes were primarily involved in tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-17, and nuclear factor kappa-B signaling pathways, as well as osteoblast differentiation and various viral infection pathways. Differentially expressed genes, including intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1), 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, integrin alpha IIb, and myosin light chain 9 were more upregulated in the SX group than in the SR group. Quantitative proteomics identified 723 differential proteins associated with the disease and 788 differential proteins between the SX and SR groups. Notable proteins such as myeloperoxidase, cluster of differentiation 14, macrophage simulating 1 (MST1), and Ras homolog enriched in brain may serve as characteristic proteins of the SX group. By integrating transcriptomic and proteomic data, 45 associated differential molecules involved in platelet activation, pathogenic intestinal flora infection, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and T-cell receptor signaling pathways were identified in patients with AS compared to healthy controls. Additionally, ICAM1, MST1, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) were detected in TCM syndromes by RT-qPCR and ELISA, showing upregulation in AS renal deficiency and blood stasis syndromes, which is consistent with the proteomic and transcriptomic results. CONCLUSIONS: ICAM1, MST1, CXCL8, SOCS3, and IGFBP1 were identified as biomarkers of renal deficiency and blood stasis syndrome in AS. This study provides a biological basis for the differential diagnosis of TCM syndromes in AS, offering new insights into Chinese medicine evidence and more precise Chinese medicine treatments for AS.

Humans↗

Pitavastatin, Procollagen Pathways, and Plaque Stabilization in Patients With HIV: A Secondary Analysis of the REPRIEVE Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: In a mechanistic substudy of the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) randomized clinical trial, pitavastatin reduced noncalcified plaque (NCP) volume, but specific protein and gene pathways contributing to changes in coronary plaque remain unknown. OBJECTIVE: To use targeted discovery proteomics and transcriptomics approaches to interrogate biological pathways beyond low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), relating statin outcomes to reduce NCP volume and promote plaque stabilization among people with HIV (PWH). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a post hoc analysis of the double-blind, placebo-controlled, REPRIEVE randomized clinical trial. Participants underwent coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), plasma protein analysis, and transcriptomic analysis at baseline and 2-year follow-up. The trial enrolled PWH from April 2015 to February 2018 at 31 US research sites. PWH without known cardiovascular diseases taking antiretroviral therapy and with low to moderate 10-year cardiovascular risk were eligible. Data analyses were conducted from October 2023 to February 2024. INTERVENTION: Oral pitavastatin calcium, 4 mg per day. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Relative change in plasma proteomics, transcriptomics, and noncalcified plaque volume among those receiving treatment vs placebo. RESULTS: Among 558 individuals (mean [SD] age, 51 [6] years; 455 male [82%]) included in the proteomics assessment, 272 (48.7%) received pitavastatin and 286 (51.3%) received placebo. After adjusting for false discovery rates, pitavastatin increased abundance of procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer 1 (PCOLCE), neuropilin 1 (NRP-1), major histocompatibility complex class I polypeptide-related sequence A (MIC-A) and B (MIC-B), and decreased abundance of tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 10 (TRAIL), angiopoietin-related protein 3 (ANGPTL3), and mannose-binding protein C (MBL2). Among these proteins, the association of pitavastatin with PCOLCE (a rate-limiting enzyme of collagen deposition) was greatest, with an effect size of 24.3% (95% CI, 18.0%-30.8%; P&#x2009;<&#x2009;.001). In a transcriptomic analysis, individual collagen genes and collagen gene sets showed increased expression. Among the 195 individuals with plaque at baseline (88 [45.1%] taking pitavastatin, 107 [54.9%] taking placebo), changes in NCP volume were most strongly associated with changes in PCOLCE (%change NCP volume/log2-fold change&#x2009;=&#x2009;-31.9%; 95% CI, -42.9% to -18.7%; P&#x2009;<&#x2009;.001), independent of changes in LDL-C level. Increases in PCOLCE related most strongly to change in the fibro-fatty (<130 Hounsfield units) component of NCP (%change fibro-fatty volume/log2-fold change&#x2009;=&#x2009;-38.5%; 95% CI, -58.1% to -9.7%; P&#x2009;=&#x2009;.01) with a directionally opposite, although nonsignificant, increase in calcified plaque (%change calcified volume/log2-fold change&#x2009;=&#x2009;34.4%; 95% CI, -7.9% to 96.2%; P&#x2009;=&#x2009;.12). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this secondary analysis of the REPRIEVE randomized clinical trial suggest that PCOLCE may be associated with the atherosclerotic plaque stabilization effects of statins by promoting collagen deposition in the extracellular matrix transforming vulnerable plaque phenotypes to more stable coronary lesions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02344290.

Humans↗

Transcriptional Adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within Macrophages: Insights into the Phagosomal Environment.

Little is known about the biochemical environment in phagosomes harboring an infectious agent. To assess the state of this organelle we captured the transcriptional responses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in macrophages from wild-type and nitric oxide (NO) synthase 2-deficient mice before and after immunologic activation. The intraphagosomal transcriptome was compared with the transcriptome of MTB in standard broth culture and during growth in diverse conditions designed to simulate features of the phagosomal environment. Genes expressed differentially as a consequence of intraphagosomal residence included an interferon gamma- and NO-induced response that intensifies an iron-scavenging program, converts the microbe from aerobic to anaerobic respiration, and induces a dormancy regulon. Induction of genes involved in the activation and beta-oxidation of fatty acids indicated that fatty acids furnish carbon and energy. Induction of sigmaE-dependent, sodium dodecyl sulfate-regulated genes and genes involved in mycolic acid modification pointed to damage and repair of the cell envelope. Sentinel genes within the intraphagosomal transcriptome were induced similarly by MTB in the lungs of mice. The microbial transcriptome thus served as a bioprobe of the MTB phagosomal environment, showing it to be nitrosative, oxidative, functionally hypoxic, carbohydrate poor, and capable of perturbing the pathogen's cell envelope.

Animals↗

Continued discovery of transcriptional units expressed in cells of the mouse mononuclear phagocyte lineage.

The current RIKEN transcript set represents a significant proportion of the mouse transcriptome but transcripts expressed in the innate and acquired immune systems are poorly represented. In the present study we have assessed the complexity of the transcriptome expressed in mouse macrophages before and after treatment with lipopolysaccharide, a global regulator of macrophage gene expression, using existing RIKEN 19K arrays. By comparison to array profiles of other cells and tissues, we identify a large set of macrophage-enriched genes, many of which have obvious functions in endocytosis and phagocytosis. In addition, a significant number of LPS-inducible genes were identified. The data suggest that macrophages are a complex source of mRNA for transcriptome studies. To assess complexity and identify additional macrophage expressed genes, cDNA libraries were created from purified populations of macrophage and dendritic cells, a functionally related cell type. Sequence analysis revealed a high incidence of novel mRNAs within these cDNA libraries. These studies provide insights into the depths of transcriptional complexity still untapped amongst products of inducible genes, and identify macrophage and dendritic cell populations as a starting point for sampling the inducible mammalian transcriptome.

Animals↗

Mouse proteome analysis.

A general overview of the protein sequence set for the mouse transcriptome produced during the FANTOM2 sequencing project is presented here. We applied different algorithms to characterize protein sequences derived from a nonredundant representative protein set (RPS) and a variant protein set (VPS) of the mouse transcriptome. The functional characterization and assignment of Gene Ontology terms was done by analysis of the proteome using InterPro. The Superfamily database analyses gave a detailed structural classification according to SCOP and provide additional evidence for the functional characterization of the proteome data. The MDS database analysis revealed new domains which are not presented in existing protein domain databases. Thus the transcriptome gives us a unique source of data for the detection of new functional groups. The data obtained for the RPS and VPS sets facilitated the comparison of different patterns of protein expression. A comparison of other existing mouse and human protein sequence sets (e.g., the International Protein Index) demonstrates the common patterns in mammalian proteomes. The analysis of the membrane organization within the transcriptome of multiple eukaryotes provides valuable statistics about the distribution of secretory and transmembrane proteins

Animals↗

A Computational Workflow for Prioritizing Microbial Metabolite-Associated Host Genes in Constipation-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

No standardized computational pipeline exists for systematically prioritizing microbial metabolite-associated host genes and protein-ligand complexes from publicly available chemical, genomic, and structural databases. This article describes an eight-stage workflow that accepts a user-defined set of gut microbiota-derived metabolites and produces a ranked shortlist of candidate metabolite-associated host genes, enriched biological pathways, and structurally prioritized protein-ligand complexes for experimental follow-up. The pipeline integrates (i) chemoinformatic metabolite profiling; (ii) multi-database candidate target prediction using protein-chemical interaction and ligand-based target-prediction tool and a molecular docking program; (iii) differential gene expression analysis of publicly available transcriptomic data; (iv) target-differentially expressed gene overlap; (v) protein-protein interaction network construction and pathway enrichment; (vi) molecular docking with a molecular docking program; (vii) 200 ns molecular dynamics simulation using a molecular dynamics engine with a protein force field used for molecular dynamics simulations; and (viii) MM-PBSA binding free-energy estimation. As a worked example, nine gut microbiota-derived or microbiota-modified metabolites representing short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, tryptophan-derived metabolites, and urolithin A were processed using the public IBS-C rectal mucosal transcriptomic dataset GSE36701. The workflow ranked 17 unique predicted metabolite-associated genes that were differentially expressed in this dataset. Docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and MM-PBSA analyses structurally prioritized five metabolite-protein complexes: lithocholic acid-VDR, lithocholic acid-NR1H4/FXR, ursodeoxycholic acid-NR1H4/FXR, tryptamine-HTR2A (simulated in an explicit 1-Palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) lipid bilayer), and urolithin A-CASP3. The protocol is designed to be adaptable to other metabolite sets, disease transcriptomic datasets, and target classes; all outputs are hypothesis-generating computational predictions that require independent transcriptomic replication, protein-level validation, and functional ligand-response assays before causal or therapeutic conclusions can be drawn.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome↗

[Pharmacogenomics and pharmainformatics].

Pharmacogenomics is defined to identify the genes which are involved in determining the responsiveness and to distinguish responders and non-responders to a given drug. Genome sequencing, transcriptome and proteome analysis are of particular significance in pharmacogenomics. Sequencing is used to locate polymorphisms, and monitoring of gene expression can provide clue about the genomic response to disease and treatment. The transcriptome analysis can be done by methods of random cDNA sequencing (expressed sequence tag project, body map project, serial analysis of gene expression, et al), mRNA display (differential display, fluorescent differential display, RNA arbitraly primed PCR, molecular indexing, gene expression fingerprinting, et al) and differential hybridization(cDNA high density filter, cDNA microarray, oligomicrochip, et al). We used transcriptome analysis to identify therapeutic target genes by studying change of gene expression in animal models of cerebral vasospasm (1) and of hypoxia/ischemia and found novel drug target candidates through this pharmacogenomic strategy (2). We found remarkable up-regulation of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) mRNA in the basilar artery and it might be closely related to the occurrence of delayed vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this report, we clearly demonstrate that intrathecal administration of antisense HO-1 oligodeoxynucleotide aggravates vasospasm, suggesting HO-1 gene induction has spasmolytic effects. Furthermore, we found the protective effects of HO-1 gene induction by endogenous or clinical compounds in cerebral vasospasm. Therapeutic gene induction of HO-1 could be a novel strategy for the prevention and treatment of Hb-induced pathologic conditions including delayed cerebral vasospasm. Our results suggest that the pharmacogenomic transcriptome analysis and pharmainformatics has the potential for strategy to define novel drug targets in various diseases (3). (1) J Clin Invest 104: 59-66, 1999. (2) J Biol Chem 276: 19921-19928, 2001. (3) J Cardiovasc Pharm 36: S1-S4, 2000.

Animals↗