1  3634 179 INCREASED CD4(+) T CELL LINEAGE COMMITMENT DETERMINED BY CPG METHYLATION CORRELATES WITH BETTER PROGNOSIS IN URINARY BLADDER CANCER PATIENTS. BACKGROUND: URINARY BLADDER CANCER IS A COMMON MALIGNANCY WORLDWIDE. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ARE CORRELATED WITH THE DISEASE RISK. DIAGNOSIS IS PERFORMED BY TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE BLADDER, AND PATIENTS WITH MUSCLE INVASIVE DISEASE PREFERABLY PROCEED TO RADICAL CYSTECTOMY, WITH OR WITHOUT NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY. THE ANTI-TUMOUR IMMUNE RESPONSES, KNOWN TO BE INITIATED IN THE TUMOUR AND DRAINING LYMPH NODES, MAY PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN FUTURE TREATMENT STRATEGIES. THUS, INCREASING THE KNOWLEDGE OF TUMOUR-ASSOCIATED IMMUNOLOGICAL PROCESSES IS IMPORTANT. ACTIVATED CD4(+) T CELLS DIFFERENTIATE INTO FOUR MAIN SEPARATE LINEAGES: TH1, TH2, TH17 AND TREG, AND THEY ARE RECOGNIZED BY THEIR EFFECTOR MOLECULES IFN-GAMMA, IL-13, IL-17A, AND THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FOXP3, RESPECTIVELY. WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED SIGNATURE CPG SITES PREDICTIVE FOR LINEAGE COMMITMENT OF THESE FOUR MAJOR CD4(+) T CELL LINEAGES. HERE, WE INVESTIGATE THE LINEAGE COMMITMENT SPECIFICALLY IN TUMOUR, LYMPH NODES AND BLOOD AND RELATE THEM TO THE DISEASE STAGE AND RESPONSE TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY. RESULTS: BLOOD, TUMOUR AND REGIONAL LYMPH NODES WERE OBTAINED FROM PATIENTS AT TIME OF TRANSURETHRAL RESECTION OF THE BLADDER AND AT RADICAL CYSTECTOMY. TUMOUR-INFILTRATING CD4(+) LYMPHOCYTES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HYPOMETHYLATED IN ALL FOUR INVESTIGATED LINEAGE LOCI COMPARED TO CD4(+) LYMPHOCYTES IN LYMPH NODES AND BLOOD (LYMPH NODES VS TUMOUR-INFILTRATING LYMPHOCYTES: IFNG -4229 BP P < 0.0001, IL13 -11 BP P < 0.05, IL17A -122 BP P < 0.01 AND FOXP3 -77 BP P > 0.05). EXAMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL LYMPH NODES DISPLAYED DIFFERENT METHYLATION SIGNATURES, SUGGESTING POSSIBLE CORRELATION WITH FUTURE SURVIVAL. MORE ADVANCED POST-CYSTECTOMY TUMOUR STAGES CORRELATED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH INCREASED METHYLATION AT THE IFNG -4229 BP LOCUS. PATIENTS WITH COMPLETE RESPONSE TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY DISPLAYED SIGNIFICANT HYPOMETHYLATION IN CD4(+) T CELLS FOR ALL FOUR INVESTIGATED LOCI, MOST PROMINENTLY IN IFNG P < 0.0001. NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY SEEMED TO RESULT IN A RELOCATION OF TH1-COMMITTED CD4(+) T CELLS FROM BLOOD, PRESUMABLY TO THE TUMOUR, INDICATED BY SHIFTS IN THE METHYLATION PATTERNS, WHEREAS NO SUCH SHIFTS WERE SEEN FOR LINEAGES CORRESPONDING TO IL13, IL17A AND FOXP3. CONCLUSION: INCREASED LINEAGE COMMITMENT IN CD4(+) T CELLS, AS DETERMINED BY DEMETHYLATION IN PREDICTIVE CPG SITES, IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER POST-CYSTECTOMY TUMOUR STAGE, COMPLETE RESPONSE TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY AND OVERALL BETTER OUTCOME, SUGGESTING EPIGENETIC PROFILING OF CD4(+) T CELL LINEAGES AS A USEFUL READOUT FOR CLINICAL STAGING.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
2  3656  36 INDUCIBLE PRMT1 ABLATION IN ADULT VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE LEADS TO CONTRACTILE DYSFUNCTION AND AORTIC DISSECTION. VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (VSMCS) HAVE REMARKABLE PLASTICITY IN RESPONSE TO DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CUES. ALTHOUGH THESE CELLS ARE VERSATILE, CHRONIC STRESS CAN TRIGGER VSMC DYSFUNCTION, WHICH ULTIMATELY LEADS TO VASCULAR DISEASES SUCH AS AORTIC ANEURYSM AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. PROTEIN ARGININE METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (PRMT1) IS A MAJOR ENZYME CATALYZING ASYMMETRIC ARGININE DIMETHYLATION OF PROTEINS THAT ARE SOURCES OF ASYMMETRIC DIMETHYLARGININE (ADMA), AN ENDOGENOUS INHIBITOR OF NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE. ALTHOUGH A POTENTIAL ROLE OF PRMT1 IN VASCULAR PATHOGENESIS HAS BEEN PROPOSED, ITS ROLE IN VASCULAR FUNCTION HAS YET TO BE CLARIFIED. HERE, WE INVESTIGATED THE ROLE AND UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF PRMT1 IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTILITY AND FUNCTION. THE EXPRESSION OF PRMT1 AND CONTRACTILE-RELATED GENES WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE AORTAS OF ELDERLY HUMANS AND PATIENTS WITH AORTIC ANEURYSMS. MICE WITH VSMC-SPECIFIC PRMT1 ABLATION (SMKO) EXHIBITED PARTIAL LETHALITY, LOW BLOOD PRESSURE AND AORTIC DILATION. THE PRMT1-ABLATED AORTAS SHOWED AORTIC DISSECTION WITH ELASTIC FIBER DEGENERATION AND CELL DEATH. EX VIVO AND IN VITRO ANALYSES INDICATED THAT PRMT1 ABLATION SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE CONTRACTILITY OF THE AORTA AND TRACTION FORCES OF VSMCS. PRMT1 ABLATION DOWNREGULATED THE EXPRESSION OF CONTRACTILE GENES SUCH AS MYOCARDIN WHILE UPREGULATING THE EXPRESSION OF SYNTHETIC GENES, THUS CAUSING THE CONTRACTILE TO SYNTHETIC PHENOTYPIC SWITCH OF VSMCS. IN ADDITION, MECHANISTIC STUDIES DEMONSTRATED THAT PRMT1 DIRECTLY REGULATES MYOCARDIN GENE ACTIVATION BY MODULATING EPIGENETIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN THE MYOCARDIN PROMOTER REGION. THUS, OUR STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT VSMC PRMT1 IS ESSENTIAL FOR VASCULAR HOMEOSTASIS AND THAT ITS ABLATION CAUSES AORTIC DILATION/DISSECTION THROUGH IMPAIRED MYOCARDIN EXPRESSION.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
3  4303  33 MICRORNA-223 INHIBITS TISSUE FACTOR EXPRESSION IN VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS. OBJECTIVE: ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESS, IN WHICH VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (ECS) BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL OWING TO THE EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES, SUCH AS INFLAMMATORY FACTOR AND GROWTH FACTORS. TISSUE FACTOR (TF) EXPRESSION IS INDUCED BY THE ABOVE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES IN ACTIVATED ECS. TF INITIATES THROMBOSIS ON DISRUPTED ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES WHICH PLAYS AN ESSENTIAL ROLE DURING THE ONSET OF ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES (ACS). INCREASING EVIDENCES SUGGEST THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF MICRORNAS AS EPIGENETIC REGULATORS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC DISEASE. THE AIM OF OUR STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY IF MICRORNA-223 (MIR-223) TARGETS TF IN ECS. METHODS AND RESULTS: BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT TF IS A TARGET CANDIDATE OF MIR-223. WESTERN BLOTTING ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) INCREASED TF EXPRESSION IN AORTA OF C57BL/6J MICE AND CULTURED ECS (EA.HY926 CELLS AND HUVEC) AFTER 4 H TREATMENT. IN TNF-ALPHA TREATED ECS, TF MRNA WAS ALSO INCREASED MEASURED BY REAL-TIME PCR. REAL-TIME PCR RESULTS SHOWED THAT MIR-223 LEVELS WERE DOWNREGULATED IN TNF-ALPHA-TREATED AORTA OF C57BL/6J MICE AND CULTURED ECS. TRANSFECTION OF ECS WITH MIR-223 MIMIC OR MIR-223 INHIBITOR MODIFIED TF EXPRESSION BOTH IN MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS. LUCIFERASE ASSAYS CONFIRMED THAT MIR-223 SUPPRESSED TF EXPRESSION BY BINDING TO THE SEQUENCE OF TF 3'-UNTRANSLATED REGIONS (3'UTR). TF PROCOAGULANT ACTIVITY WAS INHIBITED BY OVEREXPRESSING MIR-223 WITH OR WITHOUT TNF-ALPHA STIMULATION. CONCLUSIONS: MIR-223-MEDIATED SUPPRESSION OF TF EXPRESSION PROVIDES A NOVEL MOLECULAR MECHANISM FOR THE REGULATION OF COAGULATION CASCADE, AND SUGGESTS A CLUE AGAINST THROMBOGENESIS DURING THE PROCESS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE RUPTURE.	2014	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
4  5479  25 RESVERATROL ATTENUATES CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN HUMAN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS BY REGULATING THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IS CHARACTERIZED BY ACCELERATED LUNG AGING. SMOKING IS THE CRITICAL RISK FACTOR FOR COPD. CELLULAR SENESCENCE OF AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS IS THE CYTOLOGICAL BASIS OF ACCELERATED LUNG AGING IN COPD, AND THE REGULATION OF MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) IS THE CENTRAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE. RESVERATROL (RES) IS A POLYPHENOL WITH ANTI-AGING PROPERTIES. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER RES ATTENUATES CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT (CSE)-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN HUMAN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS (BEAS-2B) THROUGH THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) PATHWAY. BEAS-2B CELLS WERE TREATED WITH RES, CSE AND TRANSFECTED WITH MIR-34A-5P MIMICS. CELLULAR SENESCENCE WAS EVALUATED BY SENESCENCE -RELATED BETA-GALACTOSIDASE (SA-BETA-GAL) STAINING AND EXPRESSION OF SENESCENCE-RELATED GENES (P16, P21, AND P53). THE EXPRESSIONS OF MIR-34A-5P, SIRT1, AND NF-KAPPAB P65 WERE EXAMINED USING QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND WESTERN BLOTTING. THE SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP) CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) WERE ASSESSED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. THE BINDING BETWEEN MIR-34A-5P AND SIRT1 WAS CONFIRMED BY DUAL-LUCIFERASE REPORTER ASSAY. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT CSE DOSE-DEPENDENTLY DECREASED CELL VIABILITY AND ELEVATED CELLULAR SENESCENCE, CHARACTERIZED BY INCREASED SA-BETA-GAL STAINING AND SENESCENCE-RELATED GENE EXPRESSIONS (P16, P21, AND P53). FURTHER, CSE DOSE-DEPENDENTLY INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF MIR-34A-5P AND SASP CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) IN BEAS-2B CELLS. PRETREATMENT WITH RES INHIBITED CSE-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND SECRETION OF SASP CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER. MOREOVER, RES REVERSED THE CSE-INDUCED DOWN-REGULATION OF SIRT1 AND UP-REGULATION OF MIR-34A-5P AND NF-KAPPAB P65. SIRT1 IS A TARGET OF MIR-34A-5P. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-34A-5P VIA TRANSFECTION WITH MIR-34A-5P MIMIC IN BEAS-2B CELLS ATTENUATED THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF RES ON CELLULAR SENESCENCE, ACCOMPANIED BY REVERSING THE EXPRESSION OF SIRT1 AND NF-KAPPAB P65. IN CONCLUSION, RES ATTENUATED CSE-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN BEAS-2B CELLS BY REGULATING THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY, WHICH MAY PROVIDE A NEW APPROACH FOR COPD TREATMENT.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
5  2326  30 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOTAIR IN ADVANCED CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. PURPOSE: CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) ACCOUNTS FOR ~10% OF LEUKEMIA CASES, AND ITS PROGRESSION INVOLVES EPIGENETIC GENE REGULATION. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOTAIR AND ITS TARGET MICRORNA, MIR-143, IN ADVANCED CML. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE FIRST ISOLATED BONE MARROW MONONUCLEAR CELLS FROM 70 PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT PHASES OF CML AND FROM HEALTHY DONORS AS NORMAL CONTROL; WE ALSO CULTURED K562 AND KCL22 CELLS, TREATED WITH DEMETHYLATION DRUG; MTT ASSAY, FLOW CYTOMETRY, QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR), METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (MSP), WESTERN BLOT, LUCIFERASE ASSAY, RNA PULL-DOWN ASSAY AND RNA-BINDING PROTEIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (RIP) ASSAY WERE PERFORMED. RESULT: AS MEASURED BY QPCR, HOTAIR EXPRESSION IN K562 CELLS, KCL22 CELLS, AND SAMPLES FROM CASES OF ADVANCED-STAGE CML INCREASED WITH LEVELS OF SEVERAL DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES AND HISTONE DEACETYLATES, INCLUDING DNMT1, DNMT3A, HDAC1, EZH2, AND LSD1, AND MIR-143 LEVELS WERE DECREASED AND HOTAIR LEVELS WERE INCREASED. TREATMENT WITH 5-AZACYTIDINE, A DNA METHYLATION INHIBITOR, DECREASED DNMT1, DNMT3A, HDAC1, EZH2, LSD1 MRNA, PROTEIN LEVELS, AND HOTAIR MRNA LEVELS BUT INCREASED MIR-143 LEVELS. HOTAIR KNOCKDOWN AND MIR-143 OVEREXPRESSION BOTH INHIBITED PROLIFERATION AND PROMOTED APOPTOSIS IN KCL22 AND K562 CELLS THROUGH THE PI3K/AKT PATHWAY. RNA PULL-DOWN, MASS SPECTROMETRY, AND RIP ASSAYS SHOWED THAT HOTAIR INTERACTED WITH EZH2 AND LSD1. A DUAL-LUCIFERASE ASSAY DEMONSTRATED THAT HOTAIR INTERACTED WITH MIR-143. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THE KEY EPIGENETIC INTERACTIONS OF HOTAIR RELATED TO CML PROGRESSION AND SUGGEST HOTAIR AS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR ADVANCED CML. FURTHERMORE, OUR RESULTS SUPPORT THE USE OF DEMETHYLATION DRUGS AS A CML TREATMENT STRATEGY.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
6  3460  40 HYPOMETHYLATION OF THE IL8 PROMOTER IN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITH NASAL POLYPS. BACKGROUND: IL-8 IS AN IMPORTANT CHEMOKINE IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS (CRS), BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF IL8 IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CRS. OBJECTIVE: WE SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DNA METHYLATION LEVEL IN THE IL8 PROXIMAL PROMOTER AND CRS IN HAN CHINESE SUBJECTS. METHODS: PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITH NASAL POLYPS (CRSWNP; N = 187), PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITHOUT NASAL POLYPS (CRSSNP; N = 89), AND CONTROL SUBJECTS (N = 57) WERE ENROLLED IN 2 INDEPENDENT COHORTS. PURIFIED HUMAN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS FROM EACH PARTICIPANT WERE ASSESSED FOR PERCENTAGE DNA METHYLATION OF CPG SITES IN THE IL8 PROXIMAL PROMOTER BY USING BISULFITE PYROSEQUENCING AND FOR FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF METHYLATION STATUS BY USING IN VITRO ASSAYS. RESULTS: DNA METHYLATION OF CPG SITES 1, 2, AND 3, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE IL8 PROXIMAL PROMOTER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN HUMAN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS OF PATIENTS WITH CRSWNP COMPARED WITH THAT IN PATIENTS WITH CRSSNP (P < .001) AND CONTROL SUBJECTS (P < .001). PERCENTAGE OF DNA METHYLATION OF THE CPG3 SITE WAS CORRELATED NEGATIVELY WITH BOTH TISSUE EOSINOPHILIC CATIONIC PROTEIN (P < .01) AND MYELOPEROXIDASE (P < .05) LEVELS. IL-1BETA (P < .001) AND TNF-ALPHA (P < .01) SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IL8 EXPRESSION ACCOMPANIED BY A REDUCTION IN METHYLATION AT THE CPG3 SITE (P < .001). ELECTROPHORETIC MOBILITY SHIFT ASSAYS DEMONSTRATED THAT METHYLATION STATUS OF CPG3 CHANGED THE BINDING OF OCTAMER-BINDING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 1 AND NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPAB. CONCLUSION: DECREASED DNA METHYLATION OF PARTICULARLY CPG SITES IN THE IL8 PROXIMAL PROMOTER MIGHT PLAY A ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CRSWNP.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
7  1061  50 CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN UPREGULATION OF PERIPHERAL T-REGULATORY CELL POLARIZED TOWARDS T-BET AND TIGIT. BACKGROUND: NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS CAN CAUSE CHRONIC RELAPSING AND REMITTING OCULAR INFLAMMATION, WHICH MAY REQUIRE HIGH DOSE SYSTEMIC IMMUNOSUPPRESSION TO PREVENT SEVERE SIGHT LOSS. IT HAS BEEN CLASSICALLY DESCRIBED AS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, MEDIATED BY PRO-INFLAMMATORY TH1 AND TH17 T-CELL SUBSETS. STUDIES SUGGEST THAT NATURAL IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) T-REGULATORY CELLS (TREGS) ARE INVOLVED IN RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION AND MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE MAINTENANCE OF CLINICAL REMISSION. OBJECTIVE: TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER THERE IS A PERIPHERAL BLOOD IMMUNOREGULATORY PHENOTYPE ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS BY COMPARING PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEVELS OF TREG, TH1, AND TH17, AND ASSOCIATED DNA METHYLATION AND CYTOKINE LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE UVEITIC DISEASE, CONTROL SUBJECTS AND PATIENTS (WITH PREVIOUSLY ACTIVE DISEASE) IN CLINICAL REMISSION INDUCED BY IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUGS. METHODS: ISOLATED PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMC) FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD SAMPLES FROM PROSPECTIVELY RECRUITED SUBJECTS WERE ANALYZED BY FLOW CYTOMETRY FOR CD3, CD4, FOXP3, TIGIT, T-BET, AND RELATED ORPHAN RECEPTOR GAMMAT. EPIGENETIC DNA METHYLATION LEVELS OF FOXP3 TREG-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLATED REGION (TSDR), FOXP3 PROMOTER, TBX21, RORC2, AND TIGIT LOCI WERE DETERMINED IN CRYOPRESERVED PBMC USING A NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING APPROACH. RELATED CYTOKINES WERE MEASURED IN BLOOD SERA. FUNCTIONAL SUPPRESSIVE CAPACITY OF TREG WAS ASSESSED USING T-CELL PROLIFERATION ASSAYS. RESULTS: FIFTY PATIENTS WITH UVEITIS (INTERMEDIATE, POSTERIOR, AND PANUVEITIS) AND 10 CONTROL SUBJECTS WERE RECRUITED. THE FREQUENCY OF CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) TREG, TIGIT(+) TREG, AND T-BET(+) TREG AND THE RATIO OF TREG TO TH1 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN REMISSION PATIENTS COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE UVEITIC DISEASE; AND TIGIT(+) TREGS WERE A SIGNIFICANT PREDICTOR OF CLINICAL REMISSION. TREG FROM PATIENTS IN CLINICAL REMISSION DEMONSTRATED A HIGH LEVEL OF IN VITRO SUPPRESSIVE FUNCTION COMPARED WITH TREG FROM CONTROL SUBJECTS AND FROM PATIENTS WITH UNTREATED ACTIVE DISEASE. PBMC FROM PATIENTS IN CLINICAL REMISSION HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER METHYLATION LEVELS AT THE FOXP3 TSDR, FOXP3 PROMOTER, AND TIGIT LOCI AND HIGHER LEVELS AT RORC LOCI THAN THOSE WITH ACTIVE DISEASE. CLINICAL REMISSION WAS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SERUM LEVELS OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA AND IL-10, WHICH POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH TREG LEVELS, AND LOWER SERUM LEVELS OF IFNGAMMA, IL-17A, AND IL-22 COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE DISEASE. CONCLUSION: CLINICAL REMISSION OF SIGHT-THREATENING NON-INFECTIOUS UVEITIS HAS AN IMMUNOREGULATORY PHENOTYPE CHARACTERIZED BY UPREGULATION OF PERIPHERAL TREG, POLARIZED TOWARD T-BET AND TIGIT. THESE FINDINGS MAY ASSIST WITH INDIVIDUALIZED THERAPY OF UVEITIS, BY INFORMING WHETHER DRUG THERAPY HAS INDUCED PHENOTYPICALLY STABLE TREG ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM CLINICAL REMISSION.	2018	

8  5716  34 SIRT6 PROTECTS VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS FROM OSTEOGENIC TRANSDIFFERENTIATION VIA RUNX2 IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. VASCULAR CALCIFICATION (VC) IS REGARDED AS AN IMPORTANT PATHOLOGICAL CHANGE LACKING EFFECTIVE TREATMENT AND ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MORTALITY. SIRTUIN 6 (SIRT6) IS A MEMBER OF THE SIRTUIN FAMILY, A CLASS III HISTONE DEACETYLASE AND A KEY EPIGENETIC REGULATOR. SIRT6 HAS A PROTECTIVE ROLE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). HOWEVER, THE EXACT ROLE AND MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF SIRT6 IN VC IN PATIENTS WITH CKD REMAIN UNCLEAR. HERE, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT SIRT6 WAS MARKEDLY DOWNREGULATED IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) AND IN THE RADIAL ARTERY TISSUE OF PATIENTS WITH CKD WITH VC. SIRT6-TRANSGENIC (SIRT6-TG) MICE SHOWED ALLEVIATED VC, WHILE VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL-SPECIFIC (VSMC-SPECIFIC) SIRT6 KNOCKED-DOWN MICE SHOWED SEVERE VC IN CKD. SIRT6 SUPPRESSED THE OSTEOGENIC TRANSDIFFERENTIATION OF VSMCS VIA REGULATION OF RUNT-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 2 (RUNX2). COIMMUNOPRECIPITATION (CO-IP) AND IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (IP) ASSAYS CONFIRMED THAT SIRT6 BOUND TO RUNX2. MOREOVER, RUNX2 WAS DEACETYLATED BY SIRT6 AND FURTHER PROMOTED NUCLEAR EXPORT VIA EXPORTIN 1 (XPO1), WHICH IN TURN CAUSED DEGRADATION OF RUNX2 THROUGH THE UBIQUITIN-PROTEASOME SYSTEM. THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATED THAT SIRT6 PREVENTED VC BY SUPPRESSING THE OSTEOGENIC TRANSDIFFERENTIATION OF VSMCS, AND AS SUCH TARGETING SIRT6 MAY BE AN APPEALING THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR VC IN CKD.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
9   364  41 AMELIORATION OF UREMIC TOXIN INDOXYL SULFATE-INDUCED OSTEOBLASTIC CALCIFICATION BY SET DOMAIN CONTAINING LYSINE METHYLTRANSFERASE 7/9 PROTEIN. BACKGROUND: VASCULAR CALCIFICATION (VC) IS A VERY COMMON PHENOMENON IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT SOME HISTONE METHYLATION PLAY A ROLE IN VC AS AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR. INDOXYL SULFATE (IS) IS A PROTEIN-BOUND UREMIC TOXIN THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN AS ONE OF THE MAJOR RISK FACTORS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN CKD. SET DOMAIN CONTAINING LYSINE METHYLTRANSFERASE 7/9 (SET7/9) IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT HISTONE METHYLTRANSFERASES. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF IS ON THE EXPRESSION OF SET7/9 AND THE ROLE OF SET7/9 IN IS-INDUCED OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION AND CALCIFICATION OF VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (VSMCS). METHODS: VSMCS WERE INCUBATED WITH VARIOUS CONCENTRATIONS OF IS FOR DIFFERENT DURATIONS TO ASSESS OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION AND EXPRESSION OF SET7/9. WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS AND QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WERE PERFORMED TO ASSESS THE PROTEIN AND MRNA LEVELS OF SET7/9 RESPECTIVELY. THE CALCIUM CONTENT WAS MEASURED TO EVALUATE CALCIFICATION. RESULTS: OSTEOBLASTIC DIFFERENTIATION AND CALCIFICATION OF VSMCS AND DOWNREGULATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF SET7/9 WERE OBSERVED AFTER IS TREATMENT. THE AUTOPHAGY WAS ACTIVATED AFTER TREATMENT WITH IS, WHEREAS THE INHIBITION OF THE AUTOPHAGY PARTIALLY ATTENUATED THE EFFECT OF IS ON BOTH THE STIMULATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF RUNT-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 2 AND CALCIUM DEPOSITION. CONCLUSIONS: OUR DATA DEMONSTRATED THAT SET7/9 DOWNREGULATION AND AUTOPHAGY ACTIVATION MAY BE THE KEY MECHANISM OF IS-INDUCED VC IN CKD.	2019	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
10  1826  34 EFFECTS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PRODUCTION IN HUMAN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. BACKGROUND: NASAL POLYPOSIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE SINONASAL MUCOSA AND INVOLVES MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ACCUMULATION. EPIGENETIC MODULATION BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITORS INCLUDING TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA) HAS BEEN REPORTED TO HAVE INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION IN LUNG AND RENAL FIBROBLASTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF TSA ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION IN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. METHODS: NASAL POLYP TISSUES FROM 18 PATIENTS WERE ACQUIRED DURING ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY. AFTER ORGAN CULTURE, NASAL POLYPS WERE STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND THEN TREATED WITH TSA. ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA), FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE I EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE EXAMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR), REAL-TIME PCR, WESTERN BLOT, AND IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING. HDAC2, HDAC4, AND ACETYLATED H4 EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE ASSAYED BY WESTERN BLOT. CYTOTOXICITY WAS ANALYZED BY THE TERMINAL DEOXYNUCLEOTIDYL TRANSFERASE BIOTIN-DUTP NICK END LABELING ASSAY. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF ALPHA-SMA, FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE 1 WERE INCREASED IN NASAL POLYP AFTER TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR (TGF) BETA1 TREATMENT. TSA-INHIBITED TGF-BETA1 INDUCED THESE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS. FURTHERMORE, TSA SUPPRESSED PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND HDAC4. HOWEVER, TSA INDUCED HYPERACETYLATION OF HISTONES H4. TREATMENT WITH TGF-BETA1 WITH OR WITHOUT TSA DID NOT HAVE CYTOTOXIC EFFECT. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION OF NASAL POLYP. TSA COULD BE A CANDIDATE OF A THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR REVERSING THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED ECM SYNTHESIS THAT LEADS TO NASAL POLYP DEVELOPMENT.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
11  3722  40 INHIBITION OF DNA METHYLATION DURING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE BLADDER DISEASE (COBD) IMPROVES FUNCTION, PATHOLOGY AND EXPRESSION. PARTIAL BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION DUE TO PROSTATE HYPERPLASIA OR POSTERIOR URETHRAL VALVES, IS A WIDESPREAD CAUSE OF URINARY DYSFUNCTION, PATIENT DISCOMFORT AND ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR IMMENSE HEALTH CARE COSTS. EVEN AFTER REMOVAL OR RELIEF OF OBSTRUCTION, THE FUNCTIONAL AND PATHOLOGIC ASPECTS OF OBSTRUCTION REMAIN AS A CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE BLADDER DISEASE (COBD). EPIGENETIC CHANGES, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION, CONTRIBUTE TO THE PERSISTENT CHARACTER OF MANY CHRONIC DISEASES, AND MAY BE ALTERED IN COBD. WE TESTED WHETHER CANDIDATE GENES AND PATHWAYS AND THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF COBD WERE AFFECTED BY A HYPOMETHYLATING AGENT, DECITABINE (DAC). COBD WAS CREATED IN FEMALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS BY SURGICAL LIGATION OF THE URETHRA FOR 6 WEEKS, FOLLOWED BY REMOVAL OF THE SUTURE. SHAM LIGATIONS WERE PERFORMED BY PASSING THE SUTURE BEHIND THE URETHRA. AFTER REMOVAL OF THE OBSTRUCTION OR SHAM REMOVAL, ANIMALS WERE RANDOMIZED TO DAC TREATMENT (1 MG/KG/3-TIMES/WEEK INTRAPERITONEALLY) OR VEHICLE (NORMAL SALINE). BLADDER FUNCTION WAS NON-INVASIVELY TESTED USING METABOLIC CAGES, BOTH ONE DAY PRIOR TO DE-OBSTRUCTION AT 6 WEEKS AND PRIOR TO SACRIFICE AT 10 WEEKS. RESIDUAL VOLUME AND BLADDER MASS WERE MEASURED FOR EACH BLADDER. BLADDERS WERE EXAMINED BY IMMUNOSTAINING AS WELL AS QPCR. THE EFFECTS OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT)-3A KNOCKOUT OR OVEREXPRESSION ON SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL (SMC) FUNCTION AND PHENOTYPE WERE ALSO EXAMINED IN BLADDER SMC AND EX VIVO CULTURE. RESIDUAL VOLUMES OF THE DAC TREATED GROUP WERE NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE NS GROUP. COMPARED TO COBD NS, COBD DAC TREATMENT HELPED PRESERVE MICTURITION VOLUME WITH A SIGNIFICANT RECOVERY OF THE VOIDING EFFICIENCY (RATIO OF THE MAXIMUM VOIDED VOLUME/MAXIMUM BLADDER CAPACITY) BY ONE THIRD (FIG. 1, P > 0.05). BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) VARIANTS 1 AND 5 WERE UPREGULATED BY COBD AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED BY DAC TREATMENT. DEPOSITION OF COLLAGEN IN THE COBD BLADDER WAS REDUCED BY DAC, BUT GROSS HYPERTROPHY REMAINED. IN BLADDER SMC, DNMT3A OVEREXPRESSION LED TO A LOSS OF CONTRACTILE FUNCTION AND PHENOTYPE. IN BLADDERS, PERSISTENTLY ALTERED BY COBD, INHIBITION OF DNA-METHYLATION ENHANCES FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY, UNLIKE TREATMENT DURING PARTIAL OBSTRUCTION, WHICH EXACERBATES OBSTRUCTIVE PATHOLOGY. THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS MAY RELATE TO THE GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN BDNF AND THEIR EFFECTS ON SIGNALING IN THE BLADDER.	2021	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
12  1632  27 DNMTS ARE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITIONS IN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS. CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS (CRS) PATHOGENESIS IS CLOSELY RELATED TO TISSUE REMODELING, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY KEY ROLES IN EMT. DNA METHYLATION, MEDIATED BY DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS), IS AN EPIGENETIC MARKER THAT IS CRITICAL TO EMT. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER DNMTS WERE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EMT AND ELUCIDATE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND DNMT ACTIVITY WERE QUANTIFIED. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS MEASURED USING REAL-TIME PCR (QRT-PCR) IN HUMAN CRS TISSUES. MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS OF DNMTS, E-CADHERIN, VIMENTIN, ALPHA-SMA, AND FIBRONECTIN WERE DETERMINED USING RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOTTING, RESPECTIVELY. DNMT1, DNMT3A, AND DNMT3B GENE EXPRESSION WERE KNOCKED DOWN USING SIRNA TRANSFECTION. MAPK PHOSPHORYLATION AND EMT-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR LEVELS WERE DETERMINED USING WESTERN BLOTTING. SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE ANALYZED USING SPECIFIC INHIBITORS OF MAPK. WE DEMONSTRATED THESE DATA IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, DNMT ACTIVITY, AND DNMT EXPRESSION INCREASED IN CRS TISSUES. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH LUND-MCKAY CT SCORES. TGF-BETA1 DOSE-DEPENDENTLY INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION. FURTHER, 5-AZA INHIBITED TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT, SNAIL, AND SLUG EXPRESSION RELATED TO EMT, AS WELL AS P38 AND JNK PHOSPHORYLATION IN A549 CELLS AND TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION AND EMT IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION LEADS TO DNA METHYLATION AND EMT VIA P38, JNK, SNAIL, AND SLUG SIGNALING PATHWAYS. INHIBITION OF DNMT SUPPRESSED THE EMT PROCESS AND THEREFORE IS POTENTIALLY A CRS THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY.	2022	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
13  3456  32 HYPOMETHYLATION OF IL1RN AND NFKB1 GENES IS LINKED TO THE DYSBALANCE IN IL1BETA/IL-1RA AXIS IN FEMALE PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. INFLAMMATION HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM). SUPPORTING THIS CONCEPT, ENHANCED EXPRESSION OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA AND INCREASED INFILTRATION OF MACROPHAGES ARE OBSERVED IN PANCREATIC ISLETS OF PATIENTS WITH T2DM. ALTHOUGH IL-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST (IL-1RA) PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN CONTROLLING OF IL-1BETA-MEDIATED INFLAMMATION, ITS COUNTERACTION EFFECTS AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN T2DM ARE LESS STUDIED. THUS, WE AIMED TO ANALYZE THE DNA METHYLATION STATUS IN IL1RN, RELA (P65) AND NFKB1 (P50) GENES IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) FROM TREATED T2DM PATIENTS (N = 35) AND AGE-/SEX- MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROLS (N = 31). PRODUCTION OF IL-1BETA AND IL-1RA WAS ANALYZED IN PLASMA AND SUPERNATANTS FROM LPS-INDUCED PBMCS. IMMUNOMODULATORY EFFECTS OF IL-1BETA AND IL-1RA WERE STUDIED ON THP-1 CELLS. AVERAGE DNA METHYLATION LEVEL OF IL1RN AND NFKB1 GENE PROMOTERS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN T2DM PATIENTS IN COMPARISON WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS (P< 0.05), WHICH WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCREASED IL-1RA (P< 0.001) AND IL-1BETA (P = 0.039) PLASMA LEVELS IN T2DM PATIENTS. NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AVERAGE METHYLATION OF IL1RN GENE AND IL-1RA PLASMA LEVELS WERE OBSERVED IN FEMALE T2DM PATIENTS. METHYLATION OF NFKB1 GENE WAS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH IL-1RA LEVELS IN THE PATIENTS AND POSITIVELY WITH IL-1BETA LEVELS IN FEMALE PATIENTS. LPS-STIMULATED PBMCS FROM FEMALE PATIENTS FAILED TO RAISE IL-1BETA PRODUCTION, WHILE THE CELLS FROM HEALTHY FEMALES INCREASED IL-1BETA PRODUCTION IN COMPARISON WITH UNSTIMULATED CELLS (P< 0.001). TAKEN TOGETHER, THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT HYPOMETHYLATION OF IL1RN AND NFKB1 GENE PROMOTERS MAY PROMOTE THE INCREASED IL-1BETA/IL-1RA PRODUCTION AND REGULATE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN T2DM. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO ELUCIDATE THE CAUSAL DIRECTION OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS AND POTENTIAL ROLE OF IL-1RA IN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES IN TREATED PATIENTS WITH T2DM.	2020	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
14  5760  39 SOLUBLE URIC ACID PRIMES TLR-INDUCED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION BY HUMAN PRIMARY CELLS VIA INHIBITION OF IL-1RA. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY OF THE PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE OF URIC ACID HAS FOCUSED ON THE EFFECTS OF ITS CRYSTALS OF MONOSODIUM URATE (MSU). HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN WHETHER URIC ACID ITSELF CAN DIRECTLY HAVE PROINFLAMMATORY EFFECTS. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATE THE PRIMING EFFECTS OF URIC ACID EXPOSURE ON THE CYTOKINE PRODUCTION OF PRIMARY HUMAN CELLS UPON STIMULATION WITH GOUT-RELATED STIMULI. METHODS: PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE HARVESTED FROM PATIENTS WITH GOUT AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. CELLS WERE PRETREATED WITH OR WITHOUT URIC ACID IN SOLUBLE FORM FOR 24 H AND THEN STIMULATED FOR 24 H WITH TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR (TLR)2 OR TLR4 LIGANDS IN THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MSU CRYSTALS. CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS MEASURED BY ELISA; MRNA LEVELS WERE ASSESSED USING QPCR. RESULTS: THE PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA AND IL-6 WAS HIGHER IN PATIENTS COMPARED WITH CONTROLS AND THIS CORRELATED WITH SERUM URATE LEVELS. PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY POTENTIATED WHEN CELLS FROM HEALTHY SUBJECTS WERE PRETREATED WITH URIC ACID. SURPRISINGLY, THIS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT DOWNREGULATION OF THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE IL-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST (IL-1RA). THIS EFFECT WAS SPECIFIC TO STIMULATION BY URIC ACID AND WAS EXERTED AT THE LEVEL OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION. EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING AT THE LEVEL OF HISTONE METHYLATION BY URIC ACID WAS INVOLVED IN THIS EFFECT. CONCLUSIONS: IN THIS STUDY WE DEMONSTRATE A MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF URIC ACID (UP TO 50 MG/DL) INFLUENCE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES BY FACILITATING IL-1BETA PRODUCTION IN PBMCS. WE SHOW THAT A MECHANISM FOR THE AMPLIFICATION OF IL-1BETA CONSISTS IN THE DOWNREGULATION OF IL-1RA AND THAT THIS EFFECT COULD BE EXERTED VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS HISTONE METHYLATION. HYPERURICAEMIA CAUSES A SHIFT IN THE IL-1BETA/IL-1RA BALANCE PRODUCED BY PBMCS AFTER EXPOSURE TO MSU CRYSTALS AND TLR-MEDIATED STIMULI, AND THIS PHENOMENON IS LIKELY TO REINFORCE THE ENHANCED STATE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
15  2374  51 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TNFA EXPRESSION IN PERIODONTAL DISEASE. BACKGROUND: TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE. HOWEVER, THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION ATTRIBUTABLE TO MICROBIAL AND INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS AT THE BIOFILM-GINGIVAL INTERFACE ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. IN THIS STUDY, THE DNA METHYLATION ALTERATION WITHIN THE TNFA PROMOTER IN HUMAN GINGIVAL BIOPSIES FROM DIFFERENT STAGES OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE IS INVESTIGATED AND THE REGULATORY MECHANISM OF TNFA TRANSCRIPTION BY DNA METHYLATION IS EXPLORED. METHODS: GINGIVAL BIOPSIES WERE OBTAINED FROM 17 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS (CP) AND 18 PERIODONTALLY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. ANOTHER 11 INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATED IN AN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED GINGIVITIS STUDY, AND GINGIVAL BIOPSIES WERE COLLECTED AT THE BASELINE, INDUCTION, AND RESOLUTION PHASE. TO CONFIRM THAT TNFA PROMOTER METHYLATION MODULATED TNFA TRANSCRIPTION, THP.1 CELLS WERE TREATED WITH A DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, 5-AZA-2-DEOXYCYTIDINE (5-AZA-2DC), AND AN RAW294.7 CELL LINE TRANSFECTED WITH A TNFA PROMOTER-SPECIFIC LUCIFERASE REPORTER SYSTEM WITH OR WITHOUT METHYLATION WAS USED. RESULTS: IN GINGIVAL BIOPSIES FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE CP, TWO INDIVIDUAL CYTOSINE-GUANINE DINUCLEOTIDES (CPG SITES) WITHIN THE TNFA PROMOTER (AT -163 AND -161 BP) DISPLAYED INCREASED METHYLATION IN CP SAMPLES COMPARED TO THOSE WITH GINGIVAL HEALTH (16.1% +/- 5.1% VERSUS 11.0% +/- 4.6%, P = 0.02 AND 19.8% +/- 4.1% VERSUS 15.4% +/- 3.6%, P = 0.04, RESPECTIVELY). THE METHYLATION LEVEL AT -163 BP WAS INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSCRIPTION LEVEL OF TNFA (P = 0.018). HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE TNFA PROMOTER METHYLATION PATTERN WAS OBSERVED IN SAMPLES BIOPSIED DURING THE INDUCTION OR RESOLUTION PHASE OF EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED GINGIVITIS, WHICH REPRESENTED A REVERSIBLE PERIODONTAL LESION. THP.1 CELLS TREATED WITH 5-AZA-2DC DEMONSTRATED A TIME-DEPENDENT INCREASE IN TNFA MESSENGER LEVEL. IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT THE LUCIFERASE ACTIVITY DECREASED 2.6-FOLD IN A CONSTRUCT CONTAINING AN IN VITRO METHYLATED TNFA PROMOTER WHEN COMPARED TO THE UNMETHYLATED INSERT (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: ALTHOUGH THE BIOPSY SAMPLES REPRESENTED A MIXED CELL POPULATION, THE CHANGE IN PROMOTER METHYLATION STATUS IN CHRONIC PERIODONTAL DISEASE SUGGESTED THAT DNA METHYLATION MAY BE AN IMPORTANT REGULATORY MECHANISM IN CONTROLLING TNFA TRANSCRIPTIONAL EXPRESSION IN PERIODONTAL DISEASE.	2013	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
16   329  33 ALPHA-OXOGLUTARATE INHIBITS THE PROLIFERATION OF IMMORTALIZED NORMAL BLADDER EPITHELIAL CELLS VIA AN EPIGENETIC SWITCH INVOLVING ARID1A. INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS (IC) IS A CHRONIC URINARY TRACT DISEASE THAT IS CHARACTERIZED BY UNPLEASANT SENSATIONS, SUCH AS PERSISTENT PELVIC PAIN, IN THE ABSENCE OF INFECTION OR OTHER IDENTIFIABLE CAUSES. WE PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED COMPREHENSIVE METABOLOMICS PROFILING OF URINE SAMPLES FROM IC PATIENTS USING NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY AND FOUND THAT URINARY ALPHA-OXOGLUTARATE (ALPHA-OG), WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED. ALPHA-OG, A TRICARBOXYLIC ACID (TCA) CYCLE INTERMEDIATE, REPORTEDLY FUNCTIONS TO SUPPRESS THE PROLIFERATION OF IMMORTALIZED NORMAL HUMAN BLADDER EPITHELIAL CELLS. HERE, WE IDENTIFIED AT-RICH INTERACTIVE DOMAIN 1 A (ARID1A), A KEY CHROMATIN REMODELER, AS BEING HYPOMETHYLATED AND UPREGULATED BY ALPHA-OG TREATMENT. THIS WAS DONE THROUGH EPIC DNA METHYLATION PROFILING AND SUBSEQUENT BIOCHEMICAL APPROACHES, INCLUDING QUANTITATIVE RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT ANALYSES. FURTHERMORE, WE FOUND THAT ALPHA-OG ALMOST COMPLETELY SUPPRESSES TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION (TET) ACTIVITY, BUT DOES NOT AFFECT DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) ACTIVITY. ALTOGETHER, OUR STUDIES REVEAL THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF ALPHA-OG IN EPIGENETIC REMODELING THROUGH ITS EFFECTS ON ARID1A AND TET EXPRESSION IN THE BLADDER. THIS MAY PROVIDE A NEW POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY IN TREATING IC.	2018	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
17  1667  30 DOWNREGULATION OF PCAF BY MIR-181A/B PROVIDES FEEDBACK REGULATION TO TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTION OF PROINFLAMMATORY GENES IN LIVER EPITHELIAL CELLS. ABERRANT CELLULAR RESPONSES TO PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, SUCH AS TNF-ALPHA, ARE PATHOGENIC FEATURES IN MOST CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. A VARIETY OF EXTRACELLULAR AND INTRACELLULAR FEEDBACK PATHWAYS HAS EVOLVED TO PREVENT AN INAPPROPRIATE CELLULAR REACTION TO THESE PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. IN THIS STUDY, WE REPORT THAT TNF-ALPHA TREATMENT OF HUMAN AND MOUSE CHOLANGIOCYTES AND HEPATOCYTES DOWNREGULATED EXPRESSION OF P300/CBP-ASSOCIATED FACTOR (PCAF), A COACTIVATOR AND AN ACETYLTRANSFERASE THAT PROMOTES HISTONE ACETYLATION AND GENE TRANSCRIPTION. OF THESE UPREGULATED MICRORNAS IN TNF-ALPHA-TREATED CELLS, MIR-181A/B (MIR-181A AND MIR-181B) SUPPRESSED TRANSLATION OF PCAF MRNA. FUNCTIONAL MANIPULATION OF MIR-181A/B CAUSED RECIPROCAL ALTERATIONS IN PCAF PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN CULTURED CHOLANGIOCYTES AND HEPATOCYTES. INHIBITION OF MIR-181A/B FUNCTION WITH ANTI-MIRS BLOCKED TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED SUPPRESSION OF PCAF EXPRESSION. PROMOTER RECRUITMENT OF PCAF WAS SHOWN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH TNF-ALPHA-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTION OF INFLAMMATORY GENES. INTRIGUINGLY, PRETREATMENT OF CELLS WITH TNF-ALPHA INHIBITED TRANSCRIPTION OF INFLAMMATORY GENES IN RESPONSE TO SUBSEQUENT TNF-ALPHA STIMULATION. OVEREXPRESSION OF PCAF OR INHIBITION OF MIR-181A/B FUNCTION WITH ANTI-MIRS ATTENUATED THE INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF TNF-ALPHA PRETREATMENT ON EPITHELIAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO SUBSEQUENT TNF-ALPHA STIMULATION. DOWNREGULATION OF PCAF AND THE INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF TNF-ALPHA PRETREATMENT ON LIVER EPITHELIAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE WERE FURTHER CONFIRMED IN A MOUSE MODEL OF TNF-ALPHA I.P. INJECTION. THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT PCAF IS A TARGET FOR MIR-181A/B, AND DOWNREGULATION OF PCAF BY TNF-ALPHA PROVIDES NEGATIVE FEEDBACK REGULATION TO INFLAMMATORY REACTIONS IN LIVER EPITHELIAL CELLS, A PROCESS THAT MAY BE RELEVANT TO THE EPIGENETIC FINE-TUNING OF EPITHELIAL INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES IN GENERAL.	2012	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
18  2202  22 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF MIR-10A REGULATES RENAL DAMAGE BY TARGETING CREB1 IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS. EMERGING EVIDENCE HAS SHOWN THAT MICRORNA-MEDIATED GENE EXPRESSION MODULATION PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS, BUT THE NOVEL MIRNAS INVOLVED IN TYPE 2 DIABETES AND ITS FUNCTIONAL REGULATORY MECHANISMS STILL NEED TO BE DETERMINED. IN THIS STUDY, WE ASSESSED THE ROLE OF MIR-10A IN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX ACCUMULATION IN THE KIDNEY OF DIABETIC MELLITUS INDUCED BY COMBINING ADMINISTRATION OF CHRONIC HIGH FAT DIET (HFD) AND LOW DOSAGE OF STREPTOZOTOCIN (STZ, 35MG/KG). HERE, WE FOUND THAT HFD/STZ ADMINISTRATION DECREASED THE LEVEL OF MICRORNA (MIR-10A) EXPRESSION IN ICR STRAIN MICE. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-10A ALLEVIATED THE INCREASED RATIO OF URINE ALBUMIN-TO-CREATININE (ACR) RATIO OF HFD/STZ MICE. IN CONTRAST, KNOCKDOWN OF MIR-10A INCREASED THE RATIO OF KIDNEY ACR IN NAIVE MICE. FURTHERMORE, CAMP RESPONSE ELEMENT BINDING PROTEIN 1 (CREB1) WAS VALIDATED AS A TARGET OF MIR-10A IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. CREB1 AND ITS DOWNSTREAM FIBRONECTIN (FN, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX) WERE INCREASED IN HFD/STZ-TREATED MICE, WHICH WAS REVERSED BY KIDNEY MIR-10A OVEREXPRESSION. THE CONTENT OF CREB1 AND FN WAS INCREASED BY MIR-10A KNOCKDOWN IN KIDNEY OF NAIVE MICE. FURTHERMORE, HISTONE DEACETYLASE 3 (HDAC3) WAS REVEALED TO BE INCREASED IN KIDNEY OF HFD/STZ MICE, ACCOMPANIED WITH THE AUGMENTATION OF ACR RATIO AND FN LEVEL. KNOCKDOWN OF HDAC3 WITH SIRNA SIGNIFICANTLY CAUSED THE INCREASE OF MIR-10A, RESULTING IN THE DECREASE IN CREB1 AND FN EXPRESSION IN KIDNEY OF HFD/STZ MICE. CONTRARILY, HDAC3 OVEREXPRESSION MEDIATED BY LENTIVIRUS DECREASED MIR-10A CONTENT, AND ENHANCED ACR VALUE, CREB1 AND FN FORMATION IN NAIVE MICE. COLLECTIVELY, THESE RESULTS ELUCIDATE THAT HDAC3/MIR-10A/CREB1 SERVES AS A NEW MECHANISM UNDERLYING KIDNEY INJURY, PROVIDING POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES.	2016	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
19  5116  27 POSITIVE REGULATION OF HUMAN TELOMERASE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE GENE EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY BY DNA METHYLATION IN PANCREATIC CANCER. AIM: WE SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF TELOMERASE AND ITS CATALYTIC SUBUNIT HTERT IN PANCREATIC CANCER AND EVALUATE THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HTERT BY PROMOTER METHYLATION. METHODS: THIRTY PAIRED SAMPLES OF PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMAS AND ADJACENT NORMAL TISSUE AND 12 CHRONIC PANCREATITIS SAMPLES WERE STUDIED. REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, TELOMERIC REPEAT AMPLIFICATION PROTOCOL ASSAY, AND METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WERE PERFORMED TO ANALYZE HTERT EXPRESSION, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, AND METHYLATION STATUS OF GENE PROMOTERS, RESPECTIVELY. RESULT: HTERT AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY WERE UPREGULATED IN PANCREATIC CANCER COMPARED WITH PAIRED NORMAL TISSUES AND SAMPLES OF PANCREATITIS. HTERT EXPRESSION CORRELATED WITH TELOMERASE ACTIVITY (P \ .05) AND IN TURN CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH HTERT PROMOTER METHYLATION (P \ .001) AND P16 PROMOTER METHYLATION. HTERT TRANSCRIPT EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY BOTH CONFERRED A WORSE OUTCOME BY UNIVARIATE AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS (P \ .05). CONCLUSION: HTERT EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY ARE PREDICTORS OF POOR OUTCOME IN PANCREATIC CANCER. HTERT GENE EXPRESSION IS POSITIVELY REGULATED BY PROMOTER METHYLATION.	2009	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
20   351  33 ALTERED ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION-RELATED MIRS IN PLASMA FROM ME/CFS PATIENTS. MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (ME/CFS) IS A COMPLEX DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY UNEXPLAINED DEBILITATING FATIGUE. ALTHOUGH THE ETIOLOGY IS UNKNOWN, EVIDENCE SUPPORTS IMMUNOLOGICAL ABNORMALITIES, SUCH AS PERSISTENT INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNE-CELL ACTIVATION, IN A SUBSET OF PATIENTS. SINCE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND VASCULAR ALTERATIONS IS WELL-ESTABLISHED IN OTHER DISEASES, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS EMERGED AS ANOTHER PLAYER IN ME/CFS PATHOGENESIS. ENDOTHELIAL NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (ENOS) GENERATES NITRIC OXIDE (NO) THAT MAINTAINS ENDOTHELIAL HOMEOSTASIS. ENOS IS ACTIVATED BY SILENT INFORMATION REGULATOR 1 (SIRT1), AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROTEIN. DESPITE ITS RELEVANCE, NO STUDY HAS ADDRESSED THE SIRT1/ENOS AXIS IN ME/CFS. THE INTEREST IN CIRCULATING MICRORNAS (MIRS) AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS IN ME/CFS HAS INCREASED IN RECENT YEARS. ACCORDINGLY, WE ANALYZE A SET OF MIRS REPORTED TO MODULATE THE SIRT1/ENOS AXIS USING PLASMA FROM ME/CFS PATIENTS. OUR RESULTS SHOW THAT MIR-21, MIR-34A, MIR-92A, MIR-126, AND MIR-200C ARE JOINTLY INCREASED IN ME/CFS PATIENTS COMPARED TO HEALTHY CONTROLS. A SIMILAR FINDING WAS OBTAINED WHEN ANALYZING PUBLIC MIR DATA ON PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS. BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION-RELATED SIGNALING PATHWAYS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE MIRS, INCLUDING OXIDATIVE STRESS AND OXYGEN REGULATION. INTERESTINGLY, HISTONE DEACETYLASE 1, A PROTEIN RESPONSIBLE FOR EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS, REPRESENTED THE MOST RELEVANT NODE WITHIN THE NETWORK. IN CONCLUSION, OUR STUDY PROVIDES A BASIS TO FIND ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION-RELATED BIOMARKERS AND EXPLORE NOVEL TARGETS IN ME/CFS.	2021