Mechanical stress induce PG-E2 in murine synovial fibroblasts originating from the temporomandibular joint

Genetic predisposition, traumatic events, or excessive mechanical exposure provoke arthritic changes in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We analysed the impact of mechanical stress that might be involved in the development and progression of TMJ osteoarthritis (OA) on murine synovial fibroblasts (SFs) of temporomandibular origin. SFs were subjected to different protocols of mechanical stress, either to a high-frequency tensile strain for 4 h or to a tensile strain of varying magnitude for 48 h. The TMJ OA induction was evaluated based on the gene and protein secretion of inflammatory factors (Icam-1, Cxcl-1, Cxcl-2, Il-1ß, Il-1ra, Il-6, Ptgs-2, PG-E2), subchondral bone remodelling (Rankl, Opg), and extracellular matrix components (Col1a2, Has-1, collagen and hyaluronic acid deposition) using RT-qPCR, ELISA, and HPLC. A short high-frequency tensile strain had only minor effects on inflammatory factors and no effects on the subchondral bone remodelling induction or matrix constituent production. A prolonged tensile strain of moderate and advanced magnitude increased the expression of inflammatory factors. An advanced tensile strain enhanced the Ptgs-2 and PG-E2 expression, while the expression of further inflammatory factors were decreased. The tensile strain protocols had no effects on the RANKL/OPG expression, while the advanced tensile strain significantly reduced the deposition of matrix constituent contents of collagen and hyaluronic acid. The data indicates that the application of prolonged advanced mechanical stress on SFs promote PG-E2 protein secretion, while the deposition of extracellular matrix components is decreased

Subcellular localization of PD‐L1 and cell‐cycle‐dependent expression of nuclear PD‐L1 variants: implications for head and neck cancer cell functions and therapeutic efficacy

The programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1)/programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) axis is primarily associated with immunosuppression in cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). However, mounting evidence is supporting the thesis that PD-L1 not only functions as a ligand but mediates additional cellular functions in tumor cells. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that PD-L1 is not exclusively localized at the cellular membrane. Subcellular fractionation revealed the presence of PD-L1 in various cellular compartments of six well-characterized head and neck cancer (HNC) cell lines, including the nucleus. Via Western blotting, we detected PD-L1 in its well-known glycosylated/deglycosylated state at 40–55 kDa. In addition, we detected previously unknown PD-L1 variants with a molecular weight at approximately 70 and > 150 kDa exclusively in nuclear protein fractions. These in vitro findings were confirmed with primary tumor samples from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated that nuclear PD-L1 variant expression is cell-cycle-dependent. Immunofluorescence staining of PD-L1 in different cell cycle phases of synchronized HNC cells supported these observations. Mechanisms of nuclear PD-L1 trafficking remain less understood; however, proximity ligation assays showed a cell-cycle-dependent interaction of the cytoskeletal protein vimentin with PD-L1, whereas vimentin could serve as a potential shuttle for nuclear PD-L1 transportation. Mass spectrometry after PD-L1 co-immunoprecipitation, followed by gene ontology analysis, indicated interaction of nuclear PD-L1 with proteins involved in DNA remodeling and messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing. Our results in HNC cells suggest a highly complex regulation of PD-L1 and multiple tumor cell-intrinsic functions, independent of immune regulation. These observations bear significant implications for the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Genome-wide haplotype association study identifies the FRMD4A gene as a risk locus for Alzheimer's disease

Recently, several genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have led to the discovery of nine new loci of genetic susceptibility in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the landscape of the AD genetic susceptibility is far away to be complete and in addition to single-SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) analyses as performed in conventional GWAS, complementary strategies need to be applied to overcome limitations inherent to this type of approaches. We performed a genome-wide haplotype association (GWHA) study in the EADI1 study (n=2025 AD cases and 5328 controls) by applying a sliding-windows approach. After exclusion of loci already known to be involved in AD (APOE, BIN1 and CR1), 91 regions with suggestive haplotype effects were identified. In a second step, we attempted to replicate the best suggestive haplotype associations in the GERAD1 consortium (2820 AD cases and 6356 controls) and observed that 9 of them showed nominal association. In a third step, we tested relevant haplotype associations in a combined analysis of five additional case-control studies (5093 AD cases and 4061 controls). We consistently replicated the association of a haplotype within FRMD4A on Chr.10p13 in all the data set analyzed (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: (1.43-1.96); P=1.1 × 10 -10). We finally searched for association between SNPs within the FRMD4A locus and Aβ plasma concentrations in three independent non-demented populations (n=2579). We reported that polymorphisms were associated with plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio (best signal, P=5.4 × 10 -7). In conclusion, combining both GWHA study and a conservative three-stage replication approach, we characterised FRMD4A as a new genetic risk factor of AD

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

A novel Alzheimer disease locus located near the gene encoding tau protein

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordAPOE ε4, the most significant genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD), may mask effects of other loci. We re-analyzed genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) Consortium in APOE ε4+ (10 352 cases and 9207 controls) and APOE ε4- (7184 cases and 26 968 controls) subgroups as well as in the total sample testing for interaction between a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and APOE ε4 status. Suggestive associations (P<1 × 10-4) in stage 1 were evaluated in an independent sample (stage 2) containing 4203 subjects (APOE ε4+: 1250 cases and 536 controls; APOE ε4-: 718 cases and 1699 controls). Among APOE ε4- subjects, novel genome-wide significant (GWS) association was observed with 17 SNPs (all between KANSL1 and LRRC37A on chromosome 17 near MAPT) in a meta-analysis of the stage 1 and stage 2 data sets (best SNP, rs2732703, P=5·8 × 10-9). Conditional analysis revealed that rs2732703 accounted for association signals in the entire 100-kilobase region that includes MAPT. Except for previously identified AD loci showing stronger association in APOE ε4+ subjects (CR1 and CLU) or APOE ε4- subjects (MS4A6A/MS4A4A/MS4A6E), no other SNPs were significantly associated with AD in a specific APOE genotype subgroup. In addition, the finding in the stage 1 sample that AD risk is significantly influenced by the interaction of APOE with rs1595014 in TMEM106B (P=1·6 × 10-7) is noteworthy, because TMEM106B variants have previously been associated with risk of frontotemporal dementia. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis revealed that rs113986870, one of the GWS SNPs near rs2732703, is significantly associated with four KANSL1 probes that target transcription of the first translated exon and an untranslated exon in hippocampus (P≤1.3 × 10-8), frontal cortex (P≤1.3 × 10-9) and temporal cortex (P≤1.2 × 10-11). Rs113986870 is also strongly associated with a MAPT probe that targets transcription of alternatively spliced exon 3 in frontal cortex (P=9.2 × 10-6) and temporal cortex (P=2.6 × 10-6). Our APOE-stratified GWAS is the first to show GWS association for AD with SNPs in the chromosome 17q21.31 region. Replication of this finding in independent samples is needed to verify that SNPs in this region have significantly stronger effects on AD risk in persons lacking APOE ε4 compared with persons carrying this allele, and if this is found to hold, further examination of this region and studies aimed at deciphering the mechanism(s) are warranted

Mechanical Stress Induce PG-E2 in Murine Synovial Fibroblasts Originating from the Temporomandibular Joint

Genetic predisposition, traumatic events, or excessive mechanical exposure provoke arthritic changes in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). We analysed the impact of mechanical stress that might be involved in the development and progression of TMJ osteoarthritis (OA) on murine synovial fibroblasts (SFs) of temporomandibular origin. SFs were subjected to different protocols of mechanical stress, either to a high-frequency tensile strain for 4 h or to a tensile strain of varying magnitude for 48 h. The TMJ OA induction was evaluated based on the gene and protein secretion of inflammatory factors (Icam-1, Cxcl-1, Cxcl-2, Il-1ß, Il-1ra, Il-6, Ptgs-2, PG-E2), subchondral bone remodelling (Rankl, Opg), and extracellular matrix components (Col1a2, Has-1, collagen and hyaluronic acid deposition) using RT-qPCR, ELISA, and HPLC. A short high-frequency tensile strain had only minor effects on inflammatory factors and no effects on the subchondral bone remodelling induction or matrix constituent production. A prolonged tensile strain of moderate and advanced magnitude increased the expression of inflammatory factors. An advanced tensile strain enhanced the Ptgs-2 and PG-E2 expression, while the expression of further inflammatory factors were decreased. The tensile strain protocols had no effects on the RANKL/OPG expression, while the advanced tensile strain significantly reduced the deposition of matrix constituent contents of collagen and hyaluronic acid. The data indicates that the application of prolonged advanced mechanical stress on SFs promote PG-E2 protein secretion, while the deposition of extracellular matrix components is decreased

Thiolate versus selenolate : structure, stability, and charge transfer properties

Selenolate is considered as an alternative to thiolate to serve as a headgroup mediating the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on coinage metal substrates. There are, however, ongoing vivid discussions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of these anchor groups, regarding, in particular, the energetics of the headgroup–substrate interface and their efficiency in terms of charge transport/transfer. Here we introduce a well-defined model system of 6-cyanonaphthalene-2-thiolate and -selenolate SAMs on Au(111) to resolve these controversies. The exact structural arrangements in both types of SAMs are somewhat different, suggesting a better SAM-building ability in the case of selenolates. At the same time, both types of SAMs have similar packing densities and molecular orientations. This permitted reliable competitive exchange and ion-beam-induced desorption experiments which provided unequivocal evidence for a stronger bonding of selenolates to the substrate as compared to the thiolates. Regardless of this difference, the dynamic charge transfer properties of the thiolate- and selenolate-based adsorbates were found to be nearly identical, as determined by the core–hole–clock approach, which is explained by a redistribution of electron density along the molecular framework, compensating the difference in the substrate–headgroup bond strength

Thiolate <i>versus</i> Selenolate: Structure, Stability, and Charge Transfer Properties

Selenolate is considered as an alternative to thiolate to serve as a headgroup mediating the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on coinage metal substrates. There are, however, ongoing vivid discussions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of these anchor groups, regarding, in particular, the energetics of the headgroup–substrate interface and their efficiency in terms of charge transport/transfer. Here we introduce a well-defined model system of 6-cyanonaphthalene-2-thiolate and -selenolate SAMs on Au(111) to resolve these controversies. The exact structural arrangements in both types of SAMs are somewhat different, suggesting a better SAM-building ability in the case of selenolates. At the same time, both types of SAMs have similar packing densities and molecular orientations. This permitted reliable competitive exchange and ion-beam-induced desorption experiments which provided unequivocal evidence for a stronger bonding of selenolates to the substrate as compared to the thiolates. Regardless of this difference, the dynamic charge transfer properties of the thiolate- and selenolate-based adsorbates were found to be nearly identical, as determined by the core–hole–clock approach, which is explained by a redistribution of electron density along the molecular framework, compensating the difference in the substrate–headgroup bond strength