Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-04-02DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101621
Weixuan Wang , Dan Ma , Yong Chen , Rui Cheng , Ting Zhang , Qian Ge , Xi Li
{"title":"miR-146b/Btg2 axis as a potential inducer of islet beta-cell decline during the progression of obesity to T2DM","authors":"Weixuan Wang , Dan Ma , Yong Chen , Rui Cheng , Ting Zhang , Qian Ge , Xi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101621","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101621","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We evaluated the potential mechanisms responsible for inducing beta-cell decline during the progression of obesity to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Between February 2021 and February 2022, 25 subjects with non-diabetic obesity, 20 subjects with obesity and new-onset T2DM, and 25 healthy volunteers were recruited. Circulating exosome-contained miRNA expression profiling was performed by miRNA sequencing. The role of specific miRNA was analyzed by a gain-of-function approach in Min6 beta-cells, mouse islets, and human islets. Expression of 83 exosomal miRNAs was differently regulated in the circulation of subjects with non-diabetic obesity. We focused on miR-146b, which was mildly up-regulated in non-diabetic obesity and dramatically up-regulated in obese new-onset T2DM. Using an obese diabetic <em>db/db</em> mouse model, we found the expression of miR-146b to be mainly increased in islets. Overexpression of miR-146b in mouse beta-cells, mouse islets, and human islets <em>in vitro</em> facilitated beta-cell apoptosis yet inhibited its proliferation and insulin synthesis, leading to impaired insulin secretion. Eventually, miR-146b directly targeted the B cell translocation gene 2 (<em>Btg2</em>), an antiapoptotic transcriptional factor. Overexpression of <em>Btg2</em> reversed miR-146b-induced apoptosis and -suppressed proliferation in beta-cells. miR-146b that targets <em>Btg2</em> might be a predictive biomarker and an inducer of beta-cell decline.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101621"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ribonucleases in Mendelian disease: Characterization and insight from model organisms","authors":"Annasha Dutta , Anastasiia Zaremba , Paulina Jackowiak","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101613","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101613","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ribonucleases (RNases), essential for RNA metabolism, are implicated in human diseases, including neurodevelopmental, developmental, hematopoietic and other dysfunctions through mutations that disrupt their enzymatic functions. Exploring RNase mutations across organisms offers insights into Mendelian diseases, facilitating molecular dissection of pathological pathways and therapeutic development. By employing model organisms, our analysis underscores the evolutionary conservation of RNase genes, facilitating deeper insights into disease mechanisms. These models are vital for uncovering rare molecular dysfunctions and potential therapeutic targets, demonstrating the effectiveness of integrated research approaches in addressing complex genetic disorders. Drawing from phylogenetic analyses, literature survey, and databases documenting the effects of human disease-causing mutations, the review highlights the significance and advantages of employing model organisms to study specific Mendelian disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101613"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144288777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-03-22DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101609
Rodriguez-Jimenez Francisco Javier , Artero-Castro Ana , Studenovska Hana , Selles Francisca , Arteaga Claramunt Alba Maria , Brymova Anna , Jendelova Pavla , Motlik Jan , Petrovski Goran , Lytvynchuk Lyubomyr , Ardan Taras , Tichotová Lucie , Drutovič Saskia , Sharma Ruchi , Lukovic Dunja , Bharti Kapil , Erceg Slaven
{"title":"Restored phagocytic ability of RPE patches derived from gene-corrected retinitis pigmentosa-hiPSCs on a biodegradable scaffold via clinical-grade protocol: Implications for autologous therapy","authors":"Rodriguez-Jimenez Francisco Javier , Artero-Castro Ana , Studenovska Hana , Selles Francisca , Arteaga Claramunt Alba Maria , Brymova Anna , Jendelova Pavla , Motlik Jan , Petrovski Goran , Lytvynchuk Lyubomyr , Ardan Taras , Tichotová Lucie , Drutovič Saskia , Sharma Ruchi , Lukovic Dunja , Bharti Kapil , Erceg Slaven","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101609","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101609","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 6","pages":"Article 101609"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-03-19DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101608
Qinglin Wang , Zehao Pan , Si Liang , Yuanjian Shi , Gaochao Dong , Lin Xu , Qixing Mao , Feng Jiang
{"title":"Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs): A rising star in liquid biopsy","authors":"Qinglin Wang , Zehao Pan , Si Liang , Yuanjian Shi , Gaochao Dong , Lin Xu , Qixing Mao , Feng Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101608","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101608","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Liquid biopsy has emerged as a valuable clinical tool due to its non-invasive nature and real-time molecular profiling capabilities. Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs generated from mature tRNAs or tRNA precursors. Recently, increasing studies have reported tsRNAs' potential to serve as promising biomarkers in various diseases, especially cancers. Notably, tsRNAs can be detected in various kinds of body fluids, such as seminal fluid plasma, blood plasma, saliva, and urine, and have been demonstrated to exist stably in body fluids. In this mini-review, we will summarize the recent discoveries on the role of tsRNAs in body fluids as biomarkers, hoping to provide new insights for disease diagnosis and therapeutic strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101608"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-03-19DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101606
Amin Ullah , Rajeev K. Singla , Dan Cao , Boyang Chen , Bairong Shen
{"title":"Age-related and postmenopausal breast cancer progression and treatment management: The significance of pro-inflammatory cytokines and CXC chemokines","authors":"Amin Ullah , Rajeev K. Singla , Dan Cao , Boyang Chen , Bairong Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101606","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101606","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Older age is one of the leading risk indicators for advanced breast cancer. It is critical to extensively investigate how aging affects breast cancer, considering the increasing rate of population aging. Human body aging and death are caused by cellular senescence and alterations in the aging microenvironment <em>in vivo</em>. Breast cancer cells may invade more easily with age due to the stiff extracellular matrix of the breast. Furthermore, growing evidence suggests that the massive release of inflammatory immune mediators, such as cytokines (interleukins) or CXC chemokines (CXCs), and their receptors (CXCRs), including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8/CXCL8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon (INF), transforming growth factor (TGF), CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11/CXCR3, and CXCL12/CXCR4, plays a critical role in the development of breast cancer in elderly patients. Researchers are particularly interested in obesity-induced inflammation because it has been shown to raise the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women with higher body mass index. Obesity-triggered inflammation causes increased infiltration of proinflammatory cytokines, adipokines, immune cells, and tumor cells in the enlarged adipose tissue of postmenopausal women with breast cancer, thereby modulating the tumor's immune-mediated microenvironment. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the functional significance studies of proinflammatory cytokines, CXCs, and CXCRs and describe their roles in influencing breast cancer progression in older women and their factors, such as obesity in postmenopausal women. In addition, the current status and prospects of cytokine- and CXC-based theranostic interventions for breast cancer therapy in elderly and postmenopausal women are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101606"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-03-18DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101605
Wenjun Quan , Kizito Eneye Bello , Rafidah Hanim Shueb , Nazri Mustaffa
{"title":"Circular RNAs in hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma: A comprehensive review and recent advances","authors":"Wenjun Quan , Kizito Eneye Bello , Rafidah Hanim Shueb , Nazri Mustaffa","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101605","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101605","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of stable and versatile non-coding RNAs that are pivotal in the occurrence and development of some diseases, particularly tumors. Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a liver disease with substantial global impact. Despite efforts towards adequate management, the survival of patients with HBV-induced HCC has been consistently low. circRNAs regulate various physiological activities of HBV-induced HCC. This review aims to elucidate the biogenesis of circRNAs and the pathophysiology of HBV-induced HCC and comprehensively analyze the applications of circRNAs in oncology and therapeutics. In addition, this review summarizes past research achievements on circRNAs in HBV-induced HCC. Finally, the limitations of existing methodologies and circRNA research in HBV-induced HCC have been discussed to provide a blueprint for future investigations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101605"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Genes & DiseasesPub Date : 2025-03-18DOI: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101603
Haozhe Yuan , Mengping Jiang , Xingyu Xu , Jialiang Zhu , Shulong Dong , Weida Meng , Dandan Zhang , Jiakang Ma , Yicheng Lin , Ziqiang Chen , Shaoyang Sun , Wenqing Qiu , Yun Liu
{"title":"Haplotype-resolved assemblies of the MHC region in five widely used tumor cell lines","authors":"Haozhe Yuan , Mengping Jiang , Xingyu Xu , Jialiang Zhu , Shulong Dong , Weida Meng , Dandan Zhang , Jiakang Ma , Yicheng Lin , Ziqiang Chen , Shaoyang Sun , Wenqing Qiu , Yun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101603","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101603","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region plays a crucial role in immune function and is implicated in various diseases and cancer immunoediting. However, its high polymorphism poses challenges for accurate genetic profiling using conventional reference genomes. Here, we present high-quality, haplotype-resolved assemblies of the MHC region in five widely used tumor cell lines: A549, HeLa, HepG2, K562, and U2OS. Numerous oncological studies extensively employ these cell lines, ranging from basic molecular research to drug discovery and personalized medicine approaches. By integrating CRISPR-based targeted enrichment with 10 × Genomics linked-read and PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing, we constructed MHC haplotypes for each cell line, providing a valuable resource for the research community. Using these assembled haplotypes as references, we characterize the aneuploidy of the MHC region in these cell lines, offering insights into the genetic landscape of this critical immunological locus. Our work addresses the urgent need for accurate MHC profiling in these widely used cell line models, enabling more precise interpretation of existing and future genomic and epigenomic data. This resource is expected to significantly enhance our understanding of tumor biology, immune responses, and the development of targeted therapies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12689,"journal":{"name":"Genes & Diseases","volume":"12 5","pages":"Article 101603"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}