Gene expression profiles in human HepG2 cells treated with extracts of the Tamarindus indica fruit pulp

Tamarindus indicaL. (T. indica) or locally known as asam jawa belongs to the family of Leguminosae. The fruit pulp had been reported to have antioxidant activities and possess hypolipidaemic effects. In this study, we attempted to investigate the gene expression patterns in human hepatoma HepG2 cell line in response to treatment with low concentration of the fruit pulp extracts. Microarray analysis using Affymetrix Human Genome 1.0 S.T arrays was used in the study. Microarray data were validated using semi-quantitative RT–PCR and real-time RT–PCR. Amongst the significantly up-regulated genes were those that code for the metallothioneins (MT1M, MT1F, MT1X) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTA1, GSTA2, GST02) that are involved in stress response. APOA4, APOA5, ABCG5 and MTTP genes were also significantly regulated that could be linked to hypolipidaemic activities of the T. indica fruit pulp

Transcriptional Profiling of Human Liver Identifies Sex-Biased Genes Associated with Polygenic Dyslipidemia and Coronary Artery Disease

Sex-differences in human liver gene expression were characterized on a genome-wide scale using a large liver sample collection, allowing for detection of small expression differences with high statistical power. 1,249 sex-biased genes were identified, 70% showing higher expression in females. Chromosomal bias was apparent, with female-biased genes enriched on chrX and male-biased genes enriched on chrY and chr19, where 11 male-biased zinc-finger KRAB-repressor domain genes are distributed in six clusters. Top biological functions and diseases significantly enriched in sex-biased genes include transcription, chromatin organization and modification, sexual reproduction, lipid metabolism and cardiovascular disease. Notably, sex-biased genes are enriched at loci associated with polygenic dyslipidemia and coronary artery disease in genome-wide association studies. Moreover, of the 8 sex-biased genes at these loci, 4 have been directly linked to monogenic disorders of lipid metabolism and show an expression profile in females (elevated expression of ABCA1, APOA5 and LDLR; reduced expression of LIPC) that is consistent with the lower female risk of coronary artery disease. Female-biased expression was also observed for CYP7A1, which is activated by drugs used to treat hypercholesterolemia. Several sex-biased drug-metabolizing enzyme genes were identified, including members of the CYP, UGT, GPX and ALDH families. Half of 879 mouse orthologs, including many genes of lipid metabolism and homeostasis, show growth hormone-regulated sex-biased expression in mouse liver, suggesting growth hormone might play a similar regulatory role in human liver. Finally, the evolutionary rate of protein coding regions for human-mouse orthologs, revealed by dN/dS ratio, is significantly higher for genes showing the same sex-bias in both species than for non-sex-biased genes. These findings establish that human hepatic sex differences are widespread and affect diverse cell metabolic processes, and may help explain sex differences in lipid profiles associated with sex differential risk of coronary artery disease

Hypertriglyceridaemia and low plasma HDL in a patient with apolipoprotein A-V deficiency due to a novel mutation in the APOA5 gene

APOA5 encodes a novel apolipoprotein (apo A-V) which appears to be a modulator of plasma triglyceride (TG). In apoA5 knock out mice plasma TG level increases almost fourfold, whereas in human APOA5 transgenic mice it decreases by 70%. Some SNPs in the APOA5 gene have been associated with variations in plasma TG in humans. In addition, hypertriglyceridaemic (HTG) patients have been identified who carried rare nonsense mutations in the APOA5 gene (Q139X and Q148X), predicted to result in apo A-V deficiency. In this study we report a 17-year-old male with high TG and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), who at the age of two had been found to have severe HTG and eruptive xanthomas suggesting a chylomicronaemia syndrome. Plasma postheparin LPL activity, however, was normal and no mutations were found in LPL and APOC2 genes. The sequence of APOA5 gene revealed that the patient was homozygous for a point mutation (c.289 C>T) in exon 4, converting glutamine codon at position 97 into a termination codon (Q97X). Apo A-V was not detected in patient's plasma, indicating that he had complete apo A-V deficiency. The administration of a low-fat and low-oligosaccharide diet, either alone or supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids, started early in life, reduced plasma TG to a great extent but had a negligible effect on plasma HDL-C. Loss of function mutations of APOA5 gene may be the cause of severe HTG in patients without mutations in LPL and APOC2 gene

Primary Hyperchylomicronemias in three patients from highly inbred ethnic groups: genetic and therapeutic aspects

During a genetic study of primary hypertriglyceridemias we analysed the genes encoding the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and its activator the apolipoprotein C-II (apoCII) in 3 subjects with primary hypertriglyceridemia. Proband I, a 12 years-old boy, born from two first cousins from Morocco, had high plasma triglycerides (>2.000 mg/dl) associated with recurrent abdominal pain. The LPL gene sequence revealed that he was homozygous for a c.1032 T->A transversion in exon 7, which converts serine at position 259 into arginine (S259R). Although both parents and one sister were carriers of this mutation, only the father had hypertriglyceridemia. S259R substitution had been previously reported in hyperchylomicronemic patients of Berberian descent in Morocco. Proband II was a 11 months female from New-Zealand born from two second double-cousins of Maori descent. She had severe hypertriglyceridemia (>10.000 mg/dl) lipid infiltration of the retina and the central nervous system. LPL gene sequence was negative whereas the sequence of apo C-II gene revealed that she was homozygous for a c.1118 C->A transversion in exon 4 which converts the codon TAC (tyrosine at position 63) into TAA (stop) (Y63X). This new mutation results in a truncated apo C-II devoid of the LPL binding domain. This mutation introduces a new MseI restriction site; this allowed the rapid screening of the mutation in all family members. Proband III was a 5 year-old boy born from two first cousins from Morocco. The sequence of LPL and apo C-II genes in this case was negative indicating the presence of another gene affecting triglyceride metabolism. All subjects were treated with PUFA supplementation (3.4 g/day), obtaining a reduction (about 40%) of the triglycerides levels and a relief of the symptoms. Thus severe recessive hypertriglyceridemias due to rare mutations of LPL, apo C-II or other unknown genes are expected to occur in highly inbred ethnic groups and respond to the therapy with \u3c9-3 fatty acids

Inherited Apolipoprotein A-V Deficiency in Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in LPL or APOC2 genes are recognized causes of inherited forms of severe hypertriglyceridemia. However, some hypertrigliceridemic patients do not have mutations in either of these genes. Because inactivation or hyperexpression of APOA5 gene, encoding apolipoprotein A-V (apoA-V), causes a marked increase or decrease of plasma triglycerides in mice, and because some common polymorphisms of this gene affect plasma triglycerides in humans, we have hypothesized that loss of function mutations in APOA5 gene might cause hypertriglyceridemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We sequenced APOA5 gene in 10 hypertriglyceridemic patients in whom mutations in LPL and APOC2 genes had been excluded. One of them was found to be homozygous for a mutation in APOA5 gene (c.433 C>T, Q145X), predicted to generate a truncated apoA-V devoid of key functional domains. The plasma of this patient was found to activate LPL in vitro less efficiently than control plasma, thus suggesting that apoA-V might be an activator of LPL. Ten carriers of Q145X mutation were found in the patient's family; 5 of them had mild hypertriglyceridemia. CONCLUSIONS: As predicted from animal studies, apoA-V deficiency is associated with severe hypertriglyceridemia in humans. This observation suggests that apoA-V regulates the secretion and/or catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Mutations in APOA5 gene might be the cause of severe hypertriglyceridemia in subjects in whom mutations in LPL or APOC2 genes have been excluded. We detected a nonsense mutation in APOA5 gene (Q145X) in a boy with hyperchylomicronemia syndrome. This is the first observation of a complete apoA-V deficiency in humans

Additive effect of mutations in LDLR and PCSK9 genes on the phenotyoe of familial hypercholesterolemia

Patients homozygous or Compound heterozygous for LDLR mutations or double heterozygous for LDLR and apo B R3500Q mutation have higher LDL-C levels. more extensive xanthomatosis and more severe premature coronary disease (pCAD) than simple heterozygotes for mutations in either these genes or for missense mutations in PCSK9 gene. It is not known whether combined mutations in LDLR and PKCS9 are associated with such a severe phenotype. We sequenced Apo B and PCSK9 genes in two patients with the clinical diagnosis of homozygous FH who were heterozygous for LDLR gene mutations. Proband Z.P. (LDL-C 13.39 mmol/L and pCAD) was heterozygous for an LDLR mutation (p.E228K) inherited from her father (LDL-C 8.07 mmol/L) and a PCSK9 mutation (p.R496W) from her mother (LDL-C 5.58 mmol/L). Proband L.R. and her sister (LDL-C 11.51 and 10.47 mmol/L. xanthomatosis and carotid atherosclerosis) were heterozygous for all LDLR mutation (p.Y419X) inherited from their mother (LDL-C 6.54 mmol/L) and a PCSK9 mutation (p.N425S) probably from their deceased father. The LDL-C levels in double heterozygotes of these two families were 56 and 44% higher than those found in simple heterozygotes for the two LDLR mutations, respectively. The two PCSK9 Mutations are novel and were not found in I 10 controls and 80 patients with co-dominant hypercholesterolemia. These observations indicate that Fare missense Mutations of PCSK9 may worsen the clinical phenotype of patients carrying LDLR mutations