Transcription initiation is a process that is essential to ensuring the proper function of any gene, yet we still lack a unified understanding of sequence patterns and rules that explain most transcription start sites in the human genome. By predicting transcription initiation at base-pair resolution from sequences with a deep learning-inspired explainable model called Puffin, we show that a small set of simple rules can explain transcription initiation at most human promoters. We identify key sequence patterns that contribute to human promoter activity, each activating transcription with distinct position-specific effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Functional disorders of mitochondria are closely related to muscle diseases. Many studies have also shown that oxidative stress can stimulate the production of a large number of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have various adverse effects on mitochondria and can damage muscle cells.
Purpose: In this study, based on our previous research, we focused on the PINK1/Parkin pathway to explore the mechanism by which AS-IV alleviates muscle injury by inhibiting excessive mitophagy.
Transposon (de)repression and heterochromatin reorganization are dynamically regulated during cell fate determination and are hallmarks of cellular senescence. However, whether they are sequence specifically regulated remains unknown. Here we uncover that the KCNQ1OT1 lncRNA, by sequence-specific Hoogsteen base pairing with double-stranded genomic DNA via its repeat-rich region and binding to the heterochromatin protein HP1α, guides, induces and maintains epigenetic silencing at specific repetitive DNA elements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFErosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp is an uncommon neutrophilic process representing a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. It often occurs in older patients with prior sun exposure and manifests with hyperkeratosis and crust that may be difficult to distinguish from other inflammatory or neoplastic processes. Although erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp may respond effectively to high potency topical steroids or other antiinflammatory regimens, caution is advised to avoid overlooking differential diagnoses that may not be mutually exclusive, especially squamous cell carcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe transcriptome undergoes global changes during aging, including both protein-coding and noncoding RNAs. Using comparative genomics, we identify aging-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are under evolutionary constraint and are more conserved than lncRNAs that do not change with age. Aging-associated lncRNAs are enriched for functional elements, including binding sites for RNA-binding proteins and transcription factors, in particular nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAging is characterized by the loss of homeostasis and the general decline of physiological functions, accompanied by various degenerative diseases and increased rates of mortality. Aging targeting small molecule screens have been performed many times, however, few have focused on endogenous metabolic intermediates-metabolites. Here, using C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNot all individuals age at the same rate. Methods such as the 'methylation clock' are invasive, rely on expensive assays of tissue samples and infer the ageing rate by training on chronological age, which is used as a reference for prediction errors. Here, we develop models based on convoluted neural networks through training on non-invasive three-dimensional (3D) facial images of approximately 5,000 Han Chinese individuals that achieve an average difference between chronological or perceived age and predicted age of ±2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor lysis syndrome (TLS) refers to a constellation of metabolic abnormalities that result from release of intracellular solutes (potassium, phosphate, and nucleic acid metabolites) from rapidly dying tumor cells. While TLS most commonly occurs following chemotherapy, spontaneous TLS can rarely occur in rapidly dividing liquid or solid malignancies. Here, we report the cases of two patients who presented with non-specific symptoms and were found to have spontaneous TLS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Med Insights Case Rep
May 2019
Scurvy, caused by vitamin C deficiency, is very rare nowadays in the developed world. Scattered cases are found in people with unusual eating habits, alcoholism, intestinal malabsorption, mental disorders, or elderly living alone. Because of its rarity, clinical presentations of scurvy, especially anemia and bleeding, are no longer well appreciated, and consequently extensive evaluation is commonly launched to pursue scurvy mimics, such as deep vein thrombosis, vasculitis, systemic coagulation disorders, and myelodysplasia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is typically caused by phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT) that secretes the phosphaturic hormone, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23), resulting in decreased phosphate reabsorption in kidneys, hypophosphatemia, and finally osteomalacia. Rare cases of malignant tumor manifesting with TIO other than PMT had been reported, although in most of these reports, except one, circulating FGF23 levels were not evaluated and tissue expressing of FGF23 was not confirmed. In this article, we report a case of TIO in a patient with pulmonary small cell carcinoma with liver metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: the phenomenon that histiocytic/dendritic cell sarcomas may be transformed from lymphoproliferative diseases is dubbed 'transdifferentiation'. Langerhans cell sarcoma (LCS) transdifferentiated from chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small cell lymphoma (CLL/SLL) is extremely rare. The underlying mechanisms of LCS tumorogenesis and its transdifferentiation from CLL/SLL are largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dysmegakaryocytopoiesis in patients with the plasma cell neoplasm (PCN) is rarely discussed in the literature. The puzzling phenomenon, which PCN patients maintaining normal platelet count even when the marrow is mostly replaced by plasma cells, is hardly explored.
Aim: This study was aimed to determine the frequency of dysmegakaryocytopoiesis in PCN and the relationships between bone marrow (BM) plasma cell percentage, plasma cell immunomarkers, the severity of dysmegakaryocytopoiesis, and peripheral blood platelet count in PCN.
Here we describe a case of Clostridia glycolicum (C. glycolicum) bacteremia in a bed-ridden elderly man with chronic illnesses. The bacterium was identified by the Remel RapID ANA II System.
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