International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Open AccessEditorial

Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective

by Maryam Ardalan

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10894; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310894 - 30 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1397

Abstract

Neurological disorders (which include a broad spectrum of central nervous system diseases from children to old people) remain among the most compelling illnesses known to humankind [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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11 pages, 2008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Two Single Nucleotide Deletions in the ABCD1 Gene Causing Distinct Phenotypes of X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy

by Katrin A. Dohr, Silvija Tokic, Magdalena Gastager-Ehgartner, Tatjana Stojakovic, Miroslav Dumic, Barbara Plecko and Katja K. Dumic

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5957; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065957 - 22 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2682

Abstract

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a rare inborn error of the peroxisomal metabolism caused by pathologic variants in the ATP-binding cassette transporter type D, member 1 (ABCD1) gene located on the X-chromosome. ABCD1 protein, also known as adrenoleukodystrophy protein, is responsible for [...] Read more.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a rare inborn error of the peroxisomal metabolism caused by pathologic variants in the ATP-binding cassette transporter type D, member 1 (ABCD1) gene located on the X-chromosome. ABCD1 protein, also known as adrenoleukodystrophy protein, is responsible for transport of the very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) from cytoplasm into the peroxisomes. Therefore, altered function or lack of the ABCD1 protein leads to accumulation of VLCFA in various tissues and blood plasma leading to either rapidly progressive leukodystrophy (cerebral ALD), progressive adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), or isolated primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease). We report two distinct single nucleotide deletions in the ABCD1 gene, c.253delC [p.Arg85Glyfs*18] in exon 1, leading to both cerebral ALD and to AMN phenotype in one family, and c.1275delA [p.Phe426Leufs*15] in exon 4, leading to AMN and primary adrenal insufficiency in a second family. For the latter variant, we demonstrate reduced mRNA expression and a complete absence of the ABCD1 protein in PBMC. Distinct mRNA and protein expression in the index patient and heterozygous carriers does not associate with VLCFA concentration in plasma, which is in line with the absence of genotype–phenotype correlation in X-ALD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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12 pages, 3398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The BCO2 Genotype and the Expression of BCO1, BCO2, LRAT, and TTPA Genes in the Adipose Tissue and Brain of Rabbits Fed a Diet with Marigold Flower Extract

by Janusz Strychalski, Andrzej Gugołek, Edyta Kaczorek-Łukowska, Zofia Antoszkiewicz and Paulius Matusevičius

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2304; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032304 - 24 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1899

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the BCO2 genotype and dietary supplementation with marigold flower extract on the expression of BCO1, BCO2, LRAT, and TTPA genes in the adipose tissue and brain of rabbits. The concentrations of lutein, [...] Read more.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the BCO2 genotype and dietary supplementation with marigold flower extract on the expression of BCO1, BCO2, LRAT, and TTPA genes in the adipose tissue and brain of rabbits. The concentrations of lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene, retinol, and α-tocopherol were determined in samples collected from rabbits. Sixty young male Termond White rabbits were allocated to three groups based on their genotype at codon 248 of the BCO2 gene (ins/ins, ins/del, and del/del). Each group comprised two subgroups; one subgroup was administered a standard diet, whereas the diet offered to the other subgroup was supplemented with 6 g/kg of marigold flower extract. The study demonstrated that the BCO2 genotype may influence the expression levels of the BCO2, LRAT, and TTPA genes in adipose tissue, and TTPA and BCO1 genes in the brain. Moreover, an increase in the amount of lutein in the diet of BCO2 del/del rabbits may increase the expression of BCO1, LRAT, and TTPA genes in adipose tissue, and the expression of the BCO2 gene in the brain. Another finding of the study is that the content of carotenoids and α-tocopherol increases in both the adipose tissue and brain of BCO2 del/del rabbits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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17 pages, 618 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Serum Proteins Associated with Blood–Brain Barrier as Potential Biomarkers for Seizure Prediction

by Elżbieta Bronisz, Agnieszka Cudna, Aleksandra Wierzbicka and Iwona Kurkowska-Jastrzębska

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(23), 14712; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232314712 - 25 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2009

Abstract

As 30% of epileptic patients remain drug-resistant, seizure prediction is vital. Induction of epileptic seizure is a complex process that can depend on factors such as intrinsic neuronal excitability, changes in extracellular ion concentration, glial cell activity, presence of inflammation and activation of [...] Read more.

As 30% of epileptic patients remain drug-resistant, seizure prediction is vital. Induction of epileptic seizure is a complex process that can depend on factors such as intrinsic neuronal excitability, changes in extracellular ion concentration, glial cell activity, presence of inflammation and activation of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). In this study, we aimed to assess if levels of serum proteins associated with BBB can predict seizures. Serum levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, S100B, CCL-2, ICAM-1, P-selectin, and TSP-2 were examined in a group of 49 patients with epilepsy who were seizure-free for a minimum of seven days and measured by ELISA. The examination was repeated after 12 months. An extensive medical history was taken, and patients were subjected to a follow-up, including a detailed history of seizures. Serum levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, CCL-2, and P-selectin differed between the two time points (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.0035, respectively). General linear model analyses determined the predictors of seizures. Levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and CCL-2 were found to influence seizure count in 1, 3, 6, and 12 months of observation. Serum levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and CCL-2 may be considered potential biomarkers for seizure prediction and may indicate BBB activation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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20 pages, 2734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Downstream Effects of Mutations in SOD1 and TARDBP Converge on Gene Expression Impairment in Patient-Derived Motor Neurons

by Banaja P. Dash, Axel Freischmidt, Jochen H. Weishaupt and Andreas Hermann

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(17), 9652; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179652 - 25 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3499

Abstract

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease marked by death of motor neurons (MNs) present in the spinal cord, brain stem and motor cortex. Despite extensive research, the reason for neurodegeneration is still not understood. To generate novel hypotheses [...] Read more.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease marked by death of motor neurons (MNs) present in the spinal cord, brain stem and motor cortex. Despite extensive research, the reason for neurodegeneration is still not understood. To generate novel hypotheses of putative underlying molecular mechanisms, we used human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSCs)-derived motor neurons (MNs) from SOD1- and TARDBP (TDP-43 protein)-mutant-ALS patients and healthy controls to perform high-throughput RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq). An integrated bioinformatics approach was employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and key pathways underlying these familial forms of the disease (fALS). In TDP43-ALS, we found dysregulation of transcripts encoding components of the transcriptional machinery and transcripts involved in splicing regulation were particularly affected. In contrast, less is known about the role of SOD1 in RNA metabolism in motor neurons. Here, we found that many transcripts relevant for mitochondrial function were specifically altered in SOD1-ALS, indicating that transcriptional signatures and expression patterns can vary significantly depending on the causal gene that is mutated. Surprisingly, however, we identified a clear downregulation of genes involved in protein translation in SOD1-ALS suggesting that ALS-causing SOD1 mutations shift cellular RNA abundance profiles to cause neural dysfunction. Altogether, we provided here an extensive profiling of mRNA expression in two ALS models at the cellular level, corroborating the major role of RNA metabolism and gene expression as a common pathomechanism in ALS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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15 pages, 2874 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis of CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated ARC-Knockout HEK293 Cells

by Yu-Yuan Wang, Shih-Hsin Hsu, Hsin-Yao Tsai, Fu-Yu Cheng and Min-Chih Cheng

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(9), 4498; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094498 - 19 Apr 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3789

Abstract

Arc/Arg3.1 (activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein (ARC)) is a critical regulator of long-term synaptic plasticity and is involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The functions and mechanisms of human ARC action are poorly understood and worthy of further investigation. To investigate the function of the [...] Read more.

Arc/Arg3.1 (activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein (ARC)) is a critical regulator of long-term synaptic plasticity and is involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The functions and mechanisms of human ARC action are poorly understood and worthy of further investigation. To investigate the function of the ARC gene in vitro, we generated an ARC-knockout (KO) HEK293 cell line via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing and conducted RNA sequencing and label-free LC-MS/MS analysis to identify the differentially expressed genes and proteins in isogenic ARC-KO HEK293 cells. Furthermore, we used bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) assays to detect interactions between the ARC protein and differentially expressed proteins. Genetic deletion of ARC disturbed multiple genes involved in the extracellular matrix and synaptic membrane. Seven proteins (HSPA1A, ENO1, VCP, HMGCS1, ALDH1B1, FSCN1, and HINT2) were found to be differentially expressed between ARC-KO cells and ARC wild-type cells. BRET assay results showed that ARC interacted with PSD95 and HSPA1A. Overall, we found that ARC regulates the differential expression of genes involved in the extracellular matrix, synaptic membrane, and heat shock protein family. The transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of ARC-KO HEK293 cells presented here provide new evidence for the mechanisms underlying the effects of ARC and molecular pathways involved in schizophrenia pathophysiology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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Review

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15 pages, 2735 KiB

Open AccessReview

Lipid Nanoparticles: Promising Treatment Approach for Parkinson’s Disease

by Keelan Jagaran and Moganavelli Singh

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(16), 9361; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169361 - 19 Aug 2022

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5459

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is a life-altering, debilitating disease exhibiting a severe physical, psychological, and financial burden on patients. Globally, approximately 7–10 million people are afflicted with this disease, with the number of cases estimated to increase to 12.9 million by [...] Read more.

Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is a life-altering, debilitating disease exhibiting a severe physical, psychological, and financial burden on patients. Globally, approximately 7–10 million people are afflicted with this disease, with the number of cases estimated to increase to 12.9 million by 2040. PD is a progressive movement disorder with nonmotor symptoms, including insomnia, depression, anxiety, and anosmia. While current therapeutics are available to PD patients, this treatment remains palliative, necessitating alternative treatment approaches. A major hurdle in treating PD is the protective nature of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and its ability to limit access to foreign molecules, including therapeutics. Drugs utilized presently are nonspecific and administered at dosages that result in numerous adverse side effects. Nanomedicine has emerged as a potential strategy for treating many diseases. From the array of nanomaterials available, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) possess various advantages, including enhanced permeability to the brain via passive diffusion and specific and nonspecific transporters. Their bioavailability, nontoxic nature, ability to be conjugated to drugs, and targeting moieties catapult LNPs as a promising therapeutic nanocarriers for PD. While PD-related studies are limited, their potential as therapeutics is evident in their formulations as vaccines. This review is aimed at examining the roles and properties of LNPs that make them efficient therapeutic nanodelivery vehicles for the treatment of PD, including therapeutic advances made to date. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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Other

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10 pages, 1382 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

PHF21A Related Disorder: Description of a New Case

by Ambra Butera, Antonio Gennaro Nicotera, Gabriella Di Rosa, Sebastiano Antonino Musumeci, Girolamo Aurelio Vitello, Antonino Musumeci, Mirella Vinci, Angelo Gloria, Concetta Federico, Salvatore Saccone and Francesco Calì

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 16130; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232416130 - 17 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2074

Abstract

PHF21A (PHD finger protein 21A) gene, located in the short arm of chromosome 11, encodes for BHC80, a component of the Lysine Specific Demethylase 1, Corepressor of REST (LSD1-CoREST) complex. BHC80 is mainly expressed in the human fetal brain and skeletal [...] Read more.

PHF21A (PHD finger protein 21A) gene, located in the short arm of chromosome 11, encodes for BHC80, a component of the Lysine Specific Demethylase 1, Corepressor of REST (LSD1-CoREST) complex. BHC80 is mainly expressed in the human fetal brain and skeletal muscle and acts as a modulator of several neuronal genes during embryogenesis. Data from literature relates PHF21A variants with Potocki–Shaffer Syndrome (PSS), a contiguous gene deletion disorder caused by the haploinsufficiency of PHF21A, ALX4, and EXT2 genes. Clinical cardinal features of PSS syndrome are multiple exostoses (due to the EXT2 involvement), biparietal foramina (due to the ALX4 involvement), intellectual disability, and craniofacial anomalies (due to the PHF21A involvement). To date, to the best of our knowledge, a detailed description of PHF21A-related disorder clinical phenotype is not described in the literature; in fact, only 14 subjects with microdeletion frameshift or nonsense variants concerning only PHF21A gene have been reported. All reported cases did not present ALX4 or EXT2 variants, and their clinical features did not fit with PSS diagnosis. Herein, by using Exome sequencing, and Sanger sequencing of the region of interest, we describe a case of a child with a paternally inherited (mosaicism of 5%) truncating variant of the PHF21A gene (c.649_650del; p.Gln217ValfsTer6), and discuss the new evidence. In conclusion, these patients showed varied clinical expressions, mainly including the presence of intellectual disability, epilepsy, hypotonia, and dysmorphic features. Our study contributes to describing the genotype–phenotype spectrum of patients with PHF21A-related disorder; however, the limited data in the literature have been unable to provide a precise diagnostic protocol for patients with PHF21A-related disorder. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neurological Diseases: A Molecular Genetic Perspective)

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