Proteomics and Bioinformatics Investigations Link Overexpression of FGF8 and Associated Hub Genes to the Progression of Ovarian Cancer and Poor Prognosis.

Ovarian cancer's asymptomatic nature, high recurrence rate, and resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy highlight the need to find and characterize new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. While prior studies have linked aberrant expression of fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) to various cancer types, its precise role has remained elusive. Recently, we observed that FGF8 silencing reduces the cancer-promoting properties of ovarian cancer cells, and thus, this study aimed to understand how FGF8 regulates the development of ovarian cancer.

Exploring Differentially Expressed Sperm miRNAs in Idiopathic Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Their Association with Early Embryonic Development.

The high incidence of idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (iRPL) may stem from the limited research on male contributory factors. Many studies suggest that sperm DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress contribute to iRPL, but their roles are still debated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate various biological processes by modulating gene expression.

Quantitative Proteomics of COVID-19 Recovered Patients Identifies Long-Term Changes in Sperm Proteins Leading to Cellular Stress in Spermatozoa.

Following an initial recovery, COVID-19 survivors struggle with a spectrum of persistent medical complications, including fatigue, breathlessness, weight loss, hair loss, and attention deficits. Additionally, there is growing evidence of adverse effects of COVID-19 on the male reproductive system. This investigation seeks to understand the long-term ramifications on male fertility by examining hormonal profiles, semen parameters, and sperm proteome of recovered COVID-19 patients compared to controls.

Unveiling the Significance of FGF8 Overexpression in Orchestrating the Progression of Ovarian Cancer.

The asymptomatic nature, high rate of disease recurrence, and resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy highlight the need to identify and characterize novel target molecules for ovarian cancer. Fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) aids in the development and metastasis of ovarian cancer; however, its definite role is not clear. We employed ELISA and IHC to examine the expression of FGF8 in the saliva and tissue samples of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients and controls.

Differential Sperm Proteomics Reveals the Significance of Fatty Acid Synthase and Clusterin in Idiopathic Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a pervasive health issue affecting a large number of couples globally, which leads to increased emotional and financial strain on the affected families. While female factors have been extensively studied and are well known, the contribution of male factors to RPL remains largely unknown. As high as 40% of RPL cases are unexplained, which are termed as idiopathic RPL (iRPL), necessitating the investigation of male factors.

Male Contributory Factors in Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

With 40% of idiopathic cases, recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a problem of great concern for patients and clinicians. In addition to financial burden, it causes a lot of frustration and anxiety in affected couples. The primary objective of this review was to gain knowledge of recent advances in the field of recurrent pregnancy losses and to understand the role of male contributory factors in idiopathic cases.

Multimerin 1 aids in the progression of ovarian cancer possibly via modulation of DNA damage response and repair pathways.

Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths among women. Despite advances in the treatment regimes, a high rate of diagnosis in the advanced stage makes it almost an incurable malignancy. Thus, more research efforts are required to identify potential molecular markers for early detection of the disease and therapeutic targets to augment the survival rate of ovarian cancer patients.

Proteomic changes in human spermatozoa during in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction in normozoospermia and asthenozoospermia.

Background: The cellular and molecular mechanisms of the events that help spermatozoa acquire their fertilizing capability during capacitation and acrosome reaction are not completely understood.

Objective: This study was performed with a postulation that the identification of sperm proteins and their changes during in vitro capacitation and acrosome reaction will unravel unknown molecular aspects of fertilization that impact male fertility.

Materials And Methods: Spermatozoa collected from sequential conditions, that is, separation of ejaculated spermatozoa by Percoll gradient centrifugation, in vitro capacitation, and acrosome reaction were processed for tandem mass spectrometric analysis, followed by protein identification, label-free quantitation, and statistical analysis.

Label-free proteomics of spermatozoa identifies candidate protein markers of idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) affects a large number of couples worldwide, increasing their mental and financial burdens. While female factors that contribute to RPL have been studied extensively, the role of male factors is largely unknown, and approximately 40 % RPL cases remain unexplained despite thorough clinical examinations. These cases are clinically termed as idiopathic RPL (iRPL).

Sub-fertility in crossbred bulls: Identification of proteomic alterations in spermatogenic cells using high throughput comparative proteomics approach.

The present study was carried out to compare the proteomic profiles of spermatogenic cells of crossbred and zebu cattle in an effort to understand the possible reasons for a higher incidence of sub-fertility in crossbred bulls. The spermatogenic cells collected from the testes of pre-pubertal (6 mo) and adult (24 mo) crossbred and zebu males through fine needle aspiration were proliferated in vitro, and proteomic profiling was done using a shotgun proteomics approach. The age- and species-specific variations in the expression level of proteins were identified in spermatogenic cells.

Most Variable Genes and Transcription Factors in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a hematologic tumor caused by cell cycle aberrations due to accumulating genetic disturbances in the expression of transcription factors (TFs), signaling oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Though survival rate in childhood ALL patients is increased up to 80% with recent medical advances, treatment of adults and childhood relapse cases still remains challenging. Here, we have performed bioinformatics analysis of 207 ALL patients' mRNA expression data retrieved from the ICGC data portal with an objective to mark out the decisive genes and pathways responsible for ALL pathogenesis and aggression.

Exploring the aggregation-prone regions from structural domains of human TDP-43.

TDP-43 (transactive- response DNA binding protein) amazes structural biologist as its aberrant ubiquitinated cytosolic inclusions is largely involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). An important question in TDP-43 research is to identify the structural region mediating the formation of cytoplasmic pathological aggregates. In this study, we attempted to delineate the aggregation-prone sequences of the structural domain of TDP-43.

Interplay between CedA, rpoB and double stranded DNA: A step towards understanding CedA mediated cell division in E. coli.

Cell division is compromised in DnaAcos mutant E. coli cells due to chromosome over-replication. In these cells, CedA acts as a regulatory protein and initiates cell division by a hitherto unknown mechanism.

Gene expression profiling, pathway analysis and subtype classification reveal molecular heterogeneity in hepatocellular carcinoma and suggest subtype specific therapeutic targets.

A very low 5-year survival rate among hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is mainly due to lack of early stage diagnosis, distant metastasis and high risk of postoperative recurrence. Hence ascertaining novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and patient specific therapeutics is crucial and urgent. Here, we have performed a comprehensive analysis of the expression data of 423 HCC patients (373 tumors and 50 controls) downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) followed by pathway enrichment by gene ontology annotations, subtype classification and overall survival analysis.

Identification of functional interactome of a key cell division regulatory protein CedA of E.coli.

Cell division is compromised in DnaAcos mutant Escherichia coli cells that results in filamentous cell morphology. This is countered by over-expression of CedA protein that induces cytokinesis and thus, regular cell morphology is regained; however via an unknown mechanism. To understand the process systematically, exact role of CedA should be deciphered.

Structural insights of Mycobacterium GTPase-Obg and anti-sigma-F factor Usfx interaction.

An essential protein for bacterial growth, GTPase-Obg (Obg), is known to play an unknown but crucial role in stress response as its expression increases in Mycobacterium under stress conditions. It is well reported that Obg interacts with anti-sigma-F factor Usfx; however, a detailed analysis and structural characterization of their physical interaction remain undone. In view of above-mentioned points, this study was conceptualized for performing binding analysis and structural characterization of Obg-Usfx interaction.

Human Spermatozoa Quantitative Proteomic Signature Classifies Normo- and Asthenozoospermia.

Scarcely understood defects lead to asthenozoospermia, which results in poor fertility outcomes. Incomplete knowledge of these defects hinders the development of new therapies and reliance on interventional therapies, such as in vitro fertilization, increases. Sperm cells, being transcriptionally and translationally silent, necessitate the proteomic approach to study the sperm function.

N-Glycoproteomics of Human Seminal Plasma Glycoproteins.

Seminal plasma aids sperm by inhibiting premature capacitation, helping in the intracervical transport and formation of an oviductal sperm reservoir, all of which appear to be important in the fertilization process. Epitopes such as Lewis x and y are known to be present on seminal plasma glycoproteins, which can modulate the maternal immune response. It is suggested by multiple studies that seminal plasma glycoproteins play, largely undiscovered, important roles in the process of fertilization.

Heparin binding carboxypeptidase E protein exhibits antibacterial activity in human semen.

Carboxypeptidase E (CPE) cleaves basic amino acid residues at the C-terminal end and involves in the biosynthesis of numerous peptide hormones and neurotransmitters. It was purified from human seminal plasma by ion exchange, heparin affinity and gel filtration chromatography followed by identification through SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF/MS analysis, which was further confirmed by western blotting. CPE was characterized as glycoprotein by Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) staining and treating with deglycosylating enzyme N-glycosidase F.

Aggregation analysis of Con A binding proteins of human seminal plasma: a dynamic light scattering study.

Concanavalin A (Con A) binding fraction of human seminal plasma is vital as it shows decapacitating activity and contains proteins which have critical roles in fertility related processes. Con A binding proteins were isolated by lectin affinity chromatography. These proteins form high molecular weight aggregates at near physiological pH (7.

Human epididymis protein-4 (HE-4): a novel cross-class protease inhibitor.

Epididymal proteins represent the factors necessary for maturation of sperm and play a crucial role in sperm maturation. HE-4, an epididymal protein, is a member of whey acidic protein four-disulfide core (WFDC) family with no known function. A WFDC protein has a conserved WFDC domain of 50 amino acids with eight conserved cystine residue.

Interaction analysis identifies semenogelin I fragments as new binding partners of PIP in human seminal plasma.

Identification of protein-protein interactions is vital for complete understanding of a biological process and for functional characterization of a protein in related biochemical pathways. In this study, we performed analysis of prolactin inducible protein (PIP) interactions in human seminal plasma. PIP and its interacting partners were co-immunoprecipitated, analyzed by SDS-PAGE and identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Quantification studies in human seminal plasma samples identify prolactin inducible protein as a plausible marker of azoospermia.

Background: Prolactin inducible protein (PIP) is a ~17 kDa protein, which is known to play vital roles in immunoregulation, fertility, antimicrobial activity, apoptosis and tumour progression.

Objectives: This study reports quantification of PIP concentration in human seminal plasma (SP) samples.

Methodology: PIP was purified by immunoprecipitation and its concentration in human SP samples was quantified by ELISA method.

Differential proteomics of human seminal plasma: A potential target for searching male infertility marker proteins.

The clinical fertility tests, available in the market, fail to define the exact cause of male infertility in almost half of the cases and point toward a crucial need of developing better ways of infertility investigations. The protein biomarkers may help us toward better understanding of unknown cases of male infertility that, in turn, can guide us to find better therapeutic solutions. Many clinical attempts have been made to identify biomarkers of male infertility in sperm proteome but only few studies have targeted seminal plasma.