1 2818 51 FIBROSIS UNDER ARREST. APPROXIMATELY 5% OF PEOPLE THAT ARE HOSPITALIZED FOR ANY REASON DEVELOP ACUTE KIDNEY FAILURE, WHICH, IN SOME CASES, PROGRESSES TO A CHRONIC CONDITION RESULTING IN FIBROSIS OF THE KIDNEY AND PERMANENT CHANGES IN THE ORGAN'S FUNCTION. TWO NEW STUDIES SUGGEST THAT CELL CYCLE ARREST OF EPITHELIAL CELLS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS HAVE KEY ROLES IN THE SWITCH TO CHRONIC DISEASE (PAGES 535-543 AND 544-550). 2010 2 4143 16 MECHANISMS OF SCARRING IN FOCAL SEGMENTAL GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS. FOCAL SEGMENTAL GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS (FSGS) PRESENTS WITH SCAR IN PARTS OF SOME GLOMERULI AND OFTEN PROGRESSES TO GLOBAL AND DIFFUSE GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS. PODOCYTE INJURY IS THE INITIAL TARGET IN PRIMARY FSGS, INDUCED BY A CIRCULATING FACTOR. SEVERAL GENE VARIANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, APOL1, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FSGS. PRIMARY FSGS MAY BE DUE TO GENETIC MUTATION IN KEY PODOCYTE GENES. INCREASED WORK STRESS AFTER LOSS OF NEPHRONS, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, AND VARIOUS PROFIBROTIC PATHWAYS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO PROGRESSIVE SCLEROSIS, REGARDLESS OF THE INITIAL INJURY. THE PROGRESSION OF FSGS LESIONS ALSO INVOLVES CROSSTALK BETWEEN PODOCYTES AND OTHER KIDNEY CELLS, SUCH AS PARIETAL EPITHELIAL CELLS, GLOMERULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS, AND EVEN TUBULAR EPITHELIAL CELLS. NEW INSIGHTS RELATED TO THESE MECHANISMS COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO NEW THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TO PREVENT PROGRESSION OF FSGS. 2019 3 3074 14 GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME CHANGES INDUCED BY INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES IN HUMAN KIDNEY CELLS AFTER CHRONIC EXPOSURE. THE UNIQUE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES MAKE INORGANIC NANOPARTICLES (INPS) AN EXCITING TOOL IN DIAGNOSIS AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, AS INPS ARE RELATIVELY DIFFICULT TO FULLY DEGRADE AND EXCRETE, THEIR UNINTENDED ACCUMULATION IN THE TISSUE MIGHT RESULT IN ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS. HEREIN, WE PROVIDE A METHYLOME-TRANSCRIPTOME FRAMEWORK FOR CHRONIC EFFECTS OF INPS, COMMONLY USED IN BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS, IN HUMAN KIDNEY TH-1 CELLS. RENAL CLEARANCE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ROUTES OF NANOPARTICLE EXCRETION; THEREFORE, A DETAILED EVALUATION OF NANOPARTICLE-MEDIATED NEPHROTOXICITY IS AN IMPORTANT TASK. INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF METHYLOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME CHANGES INDUCED BY INPS (PEG-AUNPS, FE(3)O(4)NPS, SIO(2)NPS, AND TIO(2)NPS) REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY DEREGULATED GENES WITH FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION IN IMMUNE RESPONSE, DNA DAMAGE, AND CANCER-RELATED PATHWAYS. ALTHOUGH MOST DEREGULATED GENES WERE UNIQUE TO INDIVIDUAL INPS, A RELATIVELY HIGH PROPORTION OF THEM ENCODED THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. INTERESTINGLY, FOS HYPERMETHYLATION INVERSELY CORRELATING WITH GENE EXPRESSION WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ALL INPS EXPOSURES. OUR STUDY EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF INPS' BIOLOGICAL SAFETY, ESPECIALLY AFTER CHRONIC EXPOSURE. 2022 4 5511 14 RIBONUCLEASES IN TUMOR GROWTH. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES DATA ON AMBIGUOUS BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF RIBONUCLEASES (RNASES) AT TUMOR GROWTH. IN SOME CASES THE RAISED LEVEL OF ENZYME ACTIVITY IN BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS CAN BE REGARDED AS AN ADDITIONAL MARKER OF MALIGNANT GROWTH (PANCREAS CANCER, CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA, ETC.). AT THE SAME TIME THE ACTIVITY OF RNASES IS OFTEN LOWERED IN TUMOR TISSUE. HIGH SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY OF PARTICULAR RNASES PROVIDES METABOLIC BALANCE BETWEEN VARIOUS KINDS OF RNAS WITH VARIOUS HALF-TIME EXCHANGE TURN. RNASES ARE THE IMPORTANT FACTORS OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE ACTIVITY IN CELLS. THE ACTIVITY OF RNASES IS ADJUSTABLE BY INHIBITORS AND OTHER FACTORS, AND DEFINES TIME OF EXISTENCE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF RNAS. RNASES (THE MODIFIED VARIANTS OF RNASE A, RNASES OF SEMEN FLUID OF THE CATTLE, RNASE OF AMPHIBIA OOCYTES) CAN BE USED AS ANTI-TUMOR THERAPEUTIC AGENTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME INHIBITORS OF RNASES OF NATURAL OR SYNTHETIC ORIGIN WERE DEMONSTRATED TO BE PERSPECTIVE DRUGS THAT INHIBIT TUMOR GROWTH. 2009 5 4665 16 NEW INSIGHTS AND ADVANCES IN PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF VERY EARLY ONSET INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE. VERY EARLY ONSET INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (VEO-IBD) IS CHARACTERIZED BY MULTIFACTORIAL CHRONIC RECURRENT INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION. COMPARED WITH ELDERLY PATIENTS, THOSE WITH VEO-IBD HAVE A MORE SERIOUS CONDITION, NOT RESPONSIVE TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS, WITH A POOR PROGNOSIS. RECENT STUDIES FOUND THAT GENETIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC ABNORMALITIES ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO VEO-IBD. INTESTINAL IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS MONOGENIC DEFECTS (IIHMDS) ARE CHANGED THROUGH VARIOUS MECHANISMS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE ALSO REVEALED THAT ABNORMALITIES IN GENES AND IMMUNE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO VEO-IBD. IIHMDS CHANGE THROUGH VARIOUS MECHANISMS. EPIGENETIC FACTORS CAN MEDIATE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT AND GENOME, AND GENETIC FACTORS AND IMMUNE MOLECULES MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND GUT MICROBIOTA. THESE DISCOVERIES WILL PROVIDE NEW DIRECTIONS AND IDEAS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VEO-IBD. 2022 6 669 23 BONE MARROW STROMAL CELL ANTIGEN-1 (CD157) REGULATED BY SPHINGOSINE KINASE 2 MEDIATES KIDNEY FIBROSIS. CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IS A PROGRESSIVE DISEASE THAT MAY LEAD TO END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE. INTERSTITIAL FIBROSIS DEVELOPS AS THE DISEASE PROGRESSES. THERAPIES THAT FOCUS ON FIBROSIS TO DELAY OR REVERSE PROGRESSIVE RENAL FAILURE ARE LIMITED. WE AND OTHERS SHOWED THAT SPHINGOSINE KINASE 2-DEFICIENT MICE (SPHK2 (-/-)) DEVELOP LESS FIBROSIS IN MOUSE MODELS OF KIDNEY FIBROSIS. SPHINGOSINE KINASE2 (SPHK2), ONE OF TWO SPHINGOSINE KINASES THAT PRODUCE SPHINGOSINE 1-PHOSPHATE (S1P), IS PRIMARILY LOCATED IN THE NUCLEUS. S1P PRODUCED BY SPHK2 INHIBITS HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) AND CHANGES HISTONE ACETYLATION STATUS, WHICH CAN LEAD TO ALTERED TARGET GENE EXPRESSION. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT SPHK2 EPIGENETICALLY REGULATES DOWNSTREAM GENES TO INDUCE FIBROSIS, AND WE PERFORMED A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS USING THE COMBINATION OF RNA-SEQ AND CHIP-SEQ. BST1/CD157 WAS IDENTIFIED AS A GENE THAT IS REGULATED BY SPHK2 THROUGH A CHANGE IN HISTONE ACETYLATION LEVEL, AND BST1 (-/-) MICE WERE FOUND TO DEVELOP LESS RENAL FIBROSIS AFTER UNILATERAL ISCHEMIA-REPERFUSION INJURY, A MOUSE MODEL OF KIDNEY FIBROSIS. ALTHOUGH BST1 IS A CELL-SURFACE MOLECULE THAT HAS A WIDE VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS THROUGH ITS VARIED ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES AND DOWNSTREAM INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS, NO STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF BST1 IN KIDNEY DISEASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED PREVIOUSLY. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT BST1 IS A GENE THAT IS REGULATED BY SPHK2 THROUGH EPIGENETIC CHANGE AND IS CRITICAL IN KIDNEY FIBROSIS. 2022 7 5153 15 PPP2R2B HYPERMETHYLATION CAUSES ACQUIRED APOPTOSIS DEFICIENCY IN SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAUSES TARGET ORGAN DAMAGE IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE FACTORS THAT ALLOW THIS PROTRACTED RESPONSE ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE ANALYZED THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF PPP2R2B (B55SS), A MOLECULE NECESSARY FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE, IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. ALTERED EXPRESSION OF B55SS CONDITIONED RESISTANCE TO CYTOKINE WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED DEATH (CWID) IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE IMPAIRED UPREGULATION OF B55SS WAS CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION-DRIVEN HYPERMETHYLATION OF SPECIFIC CYTOSINES LOCATED WITHIN A REGULATORY ELEMENT OF PPP2R2B PREVENTING CTCF BINDING. THIS PHENOTYPE COULD BE INDUCED IN HEALTHY T CELLS BY EXPOSURE TO TNF-ALPHA. OUR RESULTS REVEAL A GENE WHOSE EXPRESSION IS AFFECTED BY AN ACQUIRED DEFECT, THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM, IN THE SETTING OF SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNITY. BECAUSE FAILURE TO REMOVE ACTIVATED T CELLS THROUGH CWID COULD CONTRIBUTE TO AUTOIMMUNE PATHOLOGY, THIS MECHANISM ILLUSTRATES A VICIOUS CYCLE THROUGH WHICH AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO ITS OWN PERPETUATION. 2019 8 238 12 ADENOSINE KINASE: A KEY REGULATOR OF PURINERGIC PHYSIOLOGY. ADENOSINE (ADO) IS AN ESSENTIAL BIOMOLECULE FOR LIFE THAT PROVIDES CRITICAL REGULATION OF ENERGY UTILIZATION AND HOMEOSTASIS. ADENOSINE KINASE (ADK) IS AN EVOLUTIONARY ANCIENT RIBOKINASE DERIVED FROM BACTERIAL SUGAR KINASES THAT IS WIDELY EXPRESSED IN ALL FORMS OF LIFE, TISSUES AND ORGAN SYSTEMS THAT TIGHTLY REGULATES INTRACELLULAR AND EXTRACELLULAR ADO CONCENTRATIONS. THE FACILE ABILITY OF ADK TO ALTER ADO AVAILABILITY PROVIDES A "SITE AND EVENT" SPECIFICITY TO THE ENDOGENOUS PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF ADO IN SITUATIONS OF CELLULAR STRESS. IN ADDITION TO MODULATING THE ABILITY OF ADO TO ACTIVATE ITS COGNATE RECEPTORS (P1 RECEPTORS), NUCLEAR ADK ISOFORM ACTIVITY HAS BEEN LINKED TO EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS BASED ON TRANSMETHYLATION PATHWAYS. PREVIOUS DRUG DISCOVERY RESEARCH HAS TARGETED ADK INHIBITION AS A THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO MANAGE EPILEPSY, PAIN, AND INFLAMMATION. THESE EFFORTS GENERATED MULTIPLE CLASSES OF HIGHLY POTENT AND SELECTIVE INHIBITORS. HOWEVER, CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY ADK INHIBITORS WAS STOPPED DUE TO APPARENT MECHANISTIC TOXICITY AND THE LACK OF SUITABLE TRANSLATIONAL MARKERS. NEW INSIGHTS REGARDING THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE NUCLEAR ADK ISOFORM (ADK-LONG) IN THE EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF MALADAPTIVE DNA METHYLATION OFFERS THE POSSIBILITY OF IDENTIFYING NOVEL ADK-ISOFORM SELECTIVE INHIBITORS AND NEW INTERVENTIONAL STRATEGIES THAT ARE INDEPENDENT OF ADO RECEPTOR ACTIVATION. 2021 9 6484 11 TOXICOLOGIC PROFILE OF ACRYLONITRILE. ACRYLONITRILE IS A MONOMER USED EXTENSIVELY AS A RAW MATERIAL IN THE MANUFACTURING OF ACRYLIC FIBERS, PLASTICS, SYNTHETIC RUBBERS, AND ACRYLAMIDE. IT HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS A PROBABLE HUMAN CARCINOGEN ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF NUMEROUS CHRONIC RAT BIOASSAYS. THE PRESENT REPORT SUMMARIZES THE TOXICITY DATA ON ACRYLONITRILE AND REVIEWS AVAILABLE DATA CONCERNING THE MECHANISM (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC) BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE IS CARCINOGENIC IN RATS. FROM THE EVALUATION OF THE RELEVANT TOXICITY DATA, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT ACRYLONITRILE IS INDEED CARCINOGENIC TO RATS AFTER EITHER ORAL OR INHALATIONAL EXPOSURE. HOWEVER, INFORMATION ON OTHER MAMMALIAN SPECIES IS LACKING, AND, MOREOVER, THE EXACT MECHANISM OF THE CARCINOGENIC PROCESS IS UNCLEAR. THEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED TO CONDUCT AN ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM INHALATION CARCINOGENICITY STUDY WITH ACRYLONITRILE IN MICE, AS WELL AS STUDIES INTO THE MECHANISM BY WHICH ACRYLONITRILE INDUCES (BRAIN) TUMORS IN RATS (GENETIC VERSUS EPIGENETIC). 1998 10 3157 15 GLYCEMIC MEMORY. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: THE MISTAKE OF PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS PERHAPS NOT TENDING TO REPRESSED OR PAST MEMORIES. HAMLET'S 17TH-CENTURY SOLILOQUY 'THE HEARTACHE AND THE THOUSAND NATURAL SHOCKS, THAT FLESH IS HEIR TO', (3.1. 7-8) IS A TALE THAT LOOKS BEYOND THE PRESENT BY LINKING THE PAST WITH THE FUTURE. THE PRESENT ARTICLE EXAMINES THE RESURGENCE IN THE FIELD TO UNDERSTAND GENE-REGULATING EPIGENETIC CHANGES CONFERRING GLYCEMIC MEMORY. RECENT FINDINGS: CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS ARE CRITICAL IN REGULATING GENOME STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION AND DESPITE THE SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES OF RECENT YEARS IN IDENTIFYING THE ENZYMES-MEDIATING CHEMICAL CHANGES TO HISTONE TAILS AND THE DNA TEMPLATE, THE PRECISE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION REMAINS INCOMPLETE IN MODELS OF HEALTH AND DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. SUMMARY: DISPELLING THE MYTH THAT ALL GENOMES ARE DRIVEN AND RESPOND EQUALLY, EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IS NOW UNCOVERING THE FUNCTION OF ENZYMES CONFERRING CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS. WHATEVER THE ROLE OF THE EPIGENOME, SHOWING ITS INVOLVEMENT IN GLYCEMIC SIGNALING IS THE FIRST STEP TO NEW STRATEGIES AND TARGETS TO DEVELOP THERAPIES THAT PREVENT, RETARD OR REVERSE THE LONG-TERM DELETERIOUS END-ORGAN EFFECTS OF CHRONIC, INTERMITTENT AND PRIOR HYPERGLYCEMIA. 2012 11 1449 14 DIRECT LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING FOR INDUCED KERATINOCYTE STEM CELLS: A POTENTIAL APPROACH FOR SKIN REPAIR. SEVERE TRAUMA OR CHRONIC WOUNDS CAN DEPLETE THE KERATINOCYTE STEM CELLS (KSCS) PRESENT IN THE EPIDERMAL BASAL LAYER OR INHIBIT THEIR MIGRATION LEADING TO COMPROMISED WOUND HEALING. SUPPLEMENTING KSCS IS THE KEY TO SOLUTION WHILE LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING PROVIDES A NEW APPROACH TO ACQUIRING KSCS. THROUGH DIRECT LINEAGE REPROGRAMMING, INDUCED KSCS (IKSCS) CAN BE PRODUCED FROM SOMATIC CELLS, WHICH EXHIBIT GREAT APPLICATION POTENTIAL. TWO STRATEGIES ARE CURRENTLY BEING USED TO DIRECTLY GENERATE IKSCS, LINEAGE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR (TF)-MEDIATED AND PLURIPOTENCY FACTORS-MEDIATED. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON LINEAGE TF-MEDIATED DIRECT REPROGRAMMING AND DESCRIBES THE CONVERSION PROCESS ALONG WITH THE UNDERLYING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. IT ALSO DISCUSSES OTHER POTENTIAL INDUCTION STRATEGIES TO GENERATE IKSCS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH IN SITU REPROGRAMMING FOR SKIN REPAIR. 2023 12 4968 19 PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND THERAPEUTIC OUTLOOKS FOR ARTHROFIBROSIS. ARTHROFIBROSIS IS A FIBROTIC JOINT DISORDER THAT BEGINS WITH AN INFLAMMATORY REACTION TO INSULTS SUCH AS INJURY, SURGERY AND INFECTION. EXCESSIVE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX AND ADHESIONS CONTRACT POUCHES, BURSAE AND TENDONS, CAUSE PAIN AND PREVENT A NORMAL RANGE OF JOINT MOTION, WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR PATIENT QUALITY OF LIFE. ARTHROFIBROSIS AFFECTS PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, WITH PUBLISHED RATES VARYING. THE RISK FACTORS AND BEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN DUE TO A POOR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOLOGY AND LACK OF DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS. HOWEVER, CURRENT RESEARCH INTO THE PATHOGENESIS OF FIBROSIS IN ORGANS NOW INFORMS THE UNDERSTANDING OF ARTHROFIBROSIS. THE PROCESS BEGINS WHEN STRESS SIGNALS STIMULATE IMMUNE CELLS. THE RESULTING CASCADE OF CYTOKINES AND MEDIATORS DRIVES FIBROBLASTS TO DIFFERENTIATE INTO MYOFIBROBLASTS, WHICH SECRETE FIBRILLAR COLLAGENS AND TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA (TGF-BETA). POSITIVE FEEDBACK NETWORKS THEN DYSREGULATE PROCESSES THAT NORMALLY TERMINATE HEALING PROCESSES. WE PROPOSE TWO SUBTYPES OF ARTHROFIBROSIS OCCUR: ACTIVE ARTHROFIBROSIS AND RESIDUAL ARTHROFIBROSIS. IN THE LATTER THE FIBROGENIC PROCESSES HAVE RESOLVED BUT THE JOINT REMAINS STIFF. THE BEST THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR EACH SUBTYPE MAY DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY. TREATMENT TYPICALLY INVOLVES SURGERY, HOWEVER, A PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACH TO CORRECT DYSREGULATED CELL SIGNALLING COULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE. RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS THAT MYOFIBROBLASTS ARE CAPABLE OF REVERSING DIFFERENTIATION, AND UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS OF PATHOGENESIS AND RESOLUTION WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELL-BASED TREATMENTS. THERAPIES WITH SIGNIFICANT PROMISE ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, WITH MORE IN DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING THOSE THAT INHIBIT TGF-BETA SIGNALLING AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON PATHOGENESIS OF STERILE ARTHROFIBROSIS AND THERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS. 2019 13 1861 10 EMERGENCE OF CANCER STEM CELLS IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA. LIVER CANCER REPRESENTS THE SECOND MOST DEADLY HUMAN MALIGNANCY. THE MAJOR HISTOLOGICAL SUBTYPE CALLED HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC) ARISES BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION-TRIGGERED REGENERATIVE RESPONSES OF NORMALLY QUIESCENT HEPATOCYTES AND PROGENITORS, RESPECTIVELY. SUCH REGENERATIVE STRESS ACCELERATES THE ACCUMULATION OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES (YAMASHITA & WANG, 2013), WHILE DETAILED MECHANISMS REMAIN UNCERTAIN. IN THIS ISSUE OF THE EMBO JOURNAL, NIKOLAOU ET AL PRESENT A NOVEL HCC MODEL THAT FACILITATES BOTH ISOLATION AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF SELF-RENEWING, HCC-PROPAGATING CANCER STEM CELLS THAT COULD INSTRUCT FUTURE INTERVENTIONS (NIKOLAOU ET AL, 2014). 2015 14 5433 14 REL/NF-KAPPA B/I KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN THE GENERATION AND TREATMENT OF HUMAN CANCER. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B FAMILY IS A GROUP OF STRUCTURALLY-RELATED, TIGHTLY-REGULATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF A MULTITUDE OF GENES INVOLVED IN KEY CELLULAR AND ORGANISMAL PROCESSES. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAY IS MISREGULATED IN A VARIETY OF HUMAN CANCERS, ESPECIALLY ONES OF LYMPHOID CELL ORIGIN, DUE EITHER TO GENETIC CHANGES (SUCH AS CHROMOSOMAL REARRANGEMENTS, AMPLIFICATIONS, AND MUTATIONS) OR TO CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE PATHWAY BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. CONSTITUTIVE ACTIVATION OF THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE ONCOGENIC STATE IN SEVERAL WAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, BY DRIVING PROLIFERATION, BY ENHANCING CELL SURVIVAL, OR BY PROMOTING ANGIOGENESIS OR METASTASIS. IN MANY CASES, INHIBITION OF REL/NF-KAPPA B ACTIVITY REVERSES ALL OR PART OF THE MALIGNANT STATE. THUS, THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY HAS RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION AS A FOCAL POINT FOR CLINICAL INTERVENTION. 2002 15 1109 13 COMMERCIAL PROCESSED SOY-BASED FOOD PRODUCT CONTAINS GLYCATED AND GLYCOXIDATED LUNASIN PROTEOFORMS. NUTRACEUTICALS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO EXERT POSITIVE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH AND CONFER PROTECTION AGAINST MANY CHRONIC DISEASES. A MAJOR BIOACTIVE COMPONENT OF SOY-BASED FOODS IS LUNASIN PEPTIDE, WHICH HAS POTENTIAL TO EXERT A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE HEALTH OF HUMAN CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE, BUT THE BIOCHEMICAL FEATURES OF DIETARY LUNASIN STILL REMAIN POORLY CHARACTERIZED. IN THIS STUDY, LUNASIN WAS PURIFIED FROM A SOY-BASED FOOD PRODUCT VIA STRONG ANION EXCHANGE SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION AND THEN SUBJECTED TO TOP-DOWN MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS THAT REVEALED IN DETAIL THE MOLECULAR DIVERSITY OF LUNASIN IN PROCESSED SOYBEAN FOODS. WE DETECTED MULTIPLE GLYCATED PROTEOFORMS TOGETHER WITH POTENTIALLY TOXIC ADVANCED GLYCATION END PRODUCTS (AGES) DERIVED FROM LUNASIN. IN BOTH CASES, MODIFICATION SITES WERE LYS24 AND LYS29 LOCATED AT THE HELICAL REGION THAT SHOWS STRUCTURAL HOMOLOGY WITH A CONSERVED REGION OF CHROMATIN-BINDING PROTEINS. THE IDENTIFIED POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS MAY HAVE AN IMPORTANT REPERCUSSION ON LUNASIN EPIGENETIC REGULATORY CAPACITY. TAKING TOGETHER, OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMERCIAL PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS TO ASSESS THEIR IMPACT ON CONSUMER'S HEALTH AND RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES. 2016 16 3899 14 LATE NEUROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ZIKA VIRUS INFECTION: RISK FACTORS AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACHES. ZIKA VIRUS (ZIKV) INFECTION WAS HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED A DISEASE WITH MILD SYMPTOMS AND NO MAJOR CONSEQUENCES TO HUMAN HEALTH. HOWEVER, SEVERAL LONG-TERM, LATE ONSET, AND CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS, BOTH IN CONGENITALLY-EXPOSED BABIES AND IN ADULT PATIENTS, HAVE BEEN REPORTED AFTER ZIKV INFECTION, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 2015 EPIDEMICS IN THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. THE DEVELOPMENT OR SEVERITY OF THESE CONDITIONS CANNOT BE FULLY PREDICTED, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DETERMINE ZIKV INFECTION OUTCOMES. THIS REINFORCES THE IMPORTANCE THAT INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO ZIKV ARE SUBMITTED TO LONG-TERM CLINICAL SURVEILLANCE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENT NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE NEUROLOGICAL BURDEN OF INFECTION. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ZIKV-ASSOCIATED NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS AND THE ROLE OF FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE DISEASE OUTCOME. MOREOVER, WE DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF DRUGS THAT HAVE SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS IN VITRO OR IN VITRO AGAINST VIRAL REPLICATION AND AND/OR ZIKV-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY. 2019 17 3327 19 HISTONE DEACETYLASE 4 PROMOTES CHOLESTATIC LIVER INJURY IN THE ABSENCE OF PROHIBITIN-1. PROHIBITIN-1 (PHB1) IS AN EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED PLEIOTROPIC PROTEIN THAT PARTICIPATES IN DIVERSE PROCESSES DEPENDING ON ITS SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION AND INTERACTOME. RECENT DATA HAVE INDICATED A DIVERSE ROLE FOR PHB1 IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF OBESITY, CANCER, AND INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, AMONG OTHERS. DATA PRESENTED HERE SUGGEST THAT PHB1 IS ALSO LINKED TO CHOLESTATIC LIVER DISEASE. EXPRESSION OF PHB1 IS MARKEDLY REDUCED IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY BILIARY CIRRHOSIS AND BILIARY ATRESIA OR WITH ALAGILLE SYNDROME, TWO MAJOR PEDIATRIC CHOLESTATIC CONDITIONS. IN THE EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF BILE DUCT LIGATION, SILENCING OF PHB1 INDUCED LIVER FIBROSIS, REDUCED ANIMAL SURVIVAL, AND INDUCED BILE DUCT PROLIFERATION. IMPORTANTLY, THE MODULATORY EFFECT OF PHB1 IS NOT DEPENDENT ON ITS KNOWN MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION. ALSO, PHB1 INTERACTS WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE 4 (HDAC4) IN THE PRESENCE OF BILE ACIDS. HENCE, PHB1 DEPLETION LEADS TO INCREASED NUCLEAR HDAC4 CONTENT AND ITS ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES. REMARKABLY, HDAC4 SILENCING AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE HDAC INHIBITOR PARTHENOLIDE DURING OBSTRUCTIVE CHOLESTASIS IN VIVO PROMOTE GENOMIC REPROGRAMMING, LEADING TO REGRESSION OF THE FIBROTIC PHENOTYPE IN LIVER-SPECIFIC PHB1 KNOCKOUT MICE. CONCLUSION: PHB1 IS AN IMPORTANT MEDIATOR OF CHOLESTATIC LIVER INJURY THAT REGULATES THE ACTIVITY OF HDAC4, WHICH CONTROLS SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC MARKERS; THESE RESULTS IDENTIFY POTENTIAL NOVEL STRATEGIES TO TREAT LIVER INJURY AND FIBROSIS, PARTICULARLY AS A CONSEQUENCE OF CHRONIC CHOLESTASIS. 2015 18 6351 14 THE ROLE OF EPIGENOMICS IN MAPPING POTENTIAL PRECURSORS FOR FOOT AND ANKLE TENDINOPATHY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. TENDINOPATHY OF THE FOOT AND ANKLE IS A COMMON CLINICAL PROBLEM FOR WHICH THE EXACT ETIOLOGY IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE FIELD OF EPIGENETICS HAS BEEN A RECENT FOCUS OF THIS INVESTIGATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO REVIEW THE GENOMIC ADVANCES IN FOOT AND ANKLE TENDINOPATHY THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO STRATIFY DISEASE RISK AND CREATE PREVENTATIVE OR THERAPEUTIC AGENTS. A MULTI-DATABASE SEARCH OF PUBMED, COCHRANE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV FROM JANUARY 1, 2000 TO JULY 1, 2022 WAS PERFORMED. A TOTAL OF 18 ARTICLES MET INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR THIS REVIEW. THE MAJORITY OF SUCH RESEARCH UTILIZED CASE-CONTROL CANDIDATE GENE ASSOCIATION TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT GENETIC RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC TENDINOPATHY. POLYMORPHISMS IN COLLAGEN GENES COL5A1, COL27A1, AND COL1A1 WERE NOTED AT A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FREQUENCY IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY VERSUS CONTROL GROUPS. OTHER ALLELIC VARIATIONS THAT WERE OBSERVED AT AN INCREASED INCIDENCE IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY WERE TNC AND CASP8. THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) DEMONSTRATED MACROSCOPIC CHANGES IN ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY, INCLUDING AN INCREASE IN AGGRECAN AND BIGLYCAN MRNA EXPRESSION, AND INCREASED EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES. CYTOKINE EXPRESSION WAS ALSO INFLUENCED IN PATHOLOGY AND ABERRANTLY DEMONSTRATED DYNAMIC RESPONSE TO MECHANICAL LOAD. THE PATHOLOGIC ACCUMULATION OF ECM PROTEINS AND CYTOKINE EXPRESSION ALTERS THE ADAPTIVE RESPONSE NORMAL TENDON HAS TO PHYSIOLOGIC STRESS, FURTHER PROPAGATING THE RISK FOR TENDINOPATHY. BY IDENTIFYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE EPIGENETIC MEDIATORS THAT LEAD TO TENDINOPATHY, THERAPEUTIC AGENTS CAN BE DEVELOPED TO TARGET THE EXACT UNDERLYING ETIOLOGY AND MINIMIZE SIDE EFFECTS.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: LEVEL IV: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LEVEL II-IV STUDIES. 2023 19 460 18 ARACHIDONIC ACID 15-LIPOXYGENASE: EFFECTS OF ITS EXPRESSION, METABOLITES, AND GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS ON AIRWAY INFLAMMATION. ARACHIDONIC ACID 15-LIPOXYGENASE (ALOX15) IS AN ENZYME THAT CAN OXIDIZE POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS. ALOX15 IS STRONGLY EXPRESSED IN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS, WHERE IT CATALYZES THE CONVERSION OF ARACHIDONIC ACID TO 15-HYDROXYEICOSATETRAENOIC ACID (15-HETE) INVOLVED IN VARIOUS AIRWAY INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. INTERLEUKIN (IL)-4 AND IL-13 INDUCE ALOX15 EXPRESSION BY ACTIVATING JAK2 AND TYK2 KINASES AS WELL AS SIGNAL TRANSDUCERS AND ACTIVATORS OF TRANSCRIPTION (STATS) 1/3/5/6. ALOX15 UP-REGULATION AND SUBSEQUENT ASSOCIATION WITH PHOSPHATIDYLETHANOLAMINE-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (PEBP1) ACTIVATE THE MITOGEN-ACTIVATED EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (MEK)-EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-REGULATED KINASE (ERK) PATHWAY, THUS INDUCING EOSINOPHIL-MEDIATED AIRWAY INFLAMMATION. IN ADDITION, ALOX15 PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN PROMOTING THE MIGRATION OF IMMUNE CELLS, SUCH AS IMMATURE DENDRITIC CELLS, ACTIVATED T CELLS, AND MAST CELLS, AND AIRWAY REMODELING, INCLUDING GOBLET CELL DIFFERENTIATION. GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES HAVE REVEALED MULTIPLE ALOX15 VARIANTS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION WITH THE RISK OF DEVELOPING AIRWAY DISEASES. THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF THE ALOX15 GENE, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO CLOSELY RELATE WITH AIRWAY INFLAMMATION. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE ROLE OF ALOX15 IN DIFFERENT PHENOTYPES OF ASTHMA, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS, ASPIRIN-EXACERBATED RESPIRATORY DISEASE, AND NASAL POLYPS, SUGGESTING NEW TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR THESE AIRWAY INFLAMMATORY DISEASES WITH COMPLEX ETIOLOGY AND POOR TREATMENT RESPONSE. 2021 20 1728 19 DYSREGULATION OF MICRORNAS IN HYPERTROPHY AND OSSIFICATION OF LIGAMENTUM FLAVUM: NEW ADVANCES, CHALLENGES, AND POTENTIAL DIRECTIONS. PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE LIGAMENTUM FLAVUM (LF) CAN BE DEFINED AS A PROCESS OF CHRONIC PROGRESSIVE ABERRATIONS IN THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF LIGAMENTOUS TISSUES CHARACTERIZED BY INCREASED THICKNESS, REDUCED ELASTICITY, LOCAL CALCIFICATION, OR AGGRAVATED OSSIFICATION, WHICH MAY CAUSE SEVERE MYELOPATHY, RADICULOPATHY, OR BOTH. HYPERTROPHY OF LIGAMENTUM FLAVUM (HLF) AND OSSIFICATION OF LIGAMENTUM FLAVUM (OLF) ARE CLINICALLY COMMON ENTITIES. THOUGH ACCUMULATED EVIDENCE HAS INDICATED BOTH GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE INITIATION AND PROGRESSION OF HLF/OLF, THE DEFINITE PATHOGENESIS REMAINS FULLY UNCLEAR. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS), ONE OF THE IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, ARE SHORT SINGLE-STRANDED RNA MOLECULES THAT REGULATE PROTEIN-CODING GENE EXPRESSION AT POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVEL, WHICH CAN DISCLOSE THE MECHANISM UNDERLYING DISEASES, IDENTIFY VALUABLE BIOMARKERS, AND EXPLORE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS. CONSIDERING THAT MIRNAS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN REGULATING GENE EXPRESSION, WE SUMMARIZED CURRENT STUDIES FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF MIRNA-RELATED MOLECULAR REGULATION NETWORKS IN HLF/OLF. EXPLORATORY STUDIES REVEALED A VARIETY OF MIRNA EXPRESSION PROFILES AND IDENTIFIED A BATTERY OF UPREGULATED AND DOWNREGULATED MIRNAS IN OLF/HLF PATIENTS THROUGH MICROARRAY DATASETS OR TRANSCRIPTOME SEQUENCING. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES VALIDATED THE ROLES OF SPECIFIC MIRNAS (E.G., MIR-132-3P, MIR-199B-5P IN OLF, MIR-155, AND MIR-21 IN HLF) IN REGULATING FIBROSIS OR OSTEOGENESIS DIFFERENTIATION OF LF CELLS AND RELATED TARGET GENES OR MOLECULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS. FINALLY, WE DISCUSSED THE PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES OF MIRNA-BASED MOLECULAR MECHANISM, DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS, AND THERAPEUTIC TARGETS OF HLF/OLF. 2021