Publications by authors named "Simon Cockell"

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and steatohepatitis (MASH) are associated with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Individuals with MASLD exhibit insulin resistance (IR) and hyperglycemia, but it is unclear whether hepatic glucose production (HGP) is increased with MASLD severity. We evaluated HGP in a cohort of histologically characterized individuals with MASL/MASH using stable isotope infusion (6,6-H-glucose, U-H-glycerol) and liver-specific genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs).

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Article Synopsis
  • RBMXL2, a nuclear protein specific to germ cells, represses cryptic splicing during meiosis and is crucial for male fertility, while its similar counterpart RBMX regulates splicing in somatic cells.
  • RBMX interacts with long exons and helps maintain genome stability by preventing the use of harmful splice sites, complementing the gene silencing that occurs during male meiosis.
  • Both RBMX and RBMXL2 share parallel functions across somatic and germline tissues, suggesting their roles in splicing have been evolutionarily conserved for over 200 million years.
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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, encompasses steatosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Preclinical MASLD research is mainly performed in rodents; however, the model that best recapitulates human disease is yet to be defined. We conducted a wide-ranging retrospective review (metabolic phenotype, liver histopathology, transcriptome benchmarked against humans) of murine models (mostly male) and ranked them using an unbiased MASLD 'human proximity score' to define their metabolic relevance and ability to induce MASH-fibrosis.

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is common worldwide. Genes and proteins contributing to drug disposition may show altered expression as MASLD progresses. To assess this further, we undertook transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of 137 pharmacogenes in liver biopsies from a large MASLD cohort.

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Seizures are generally associated with epilepsy but may also be a symptom of many other neurological conditions. A hallmark of a seizure is the intensity of the local neuronal activation, which can drive large-scale gene transcription changes. Such changes in the transcriptional profile likely alter neuronal function, thereby contributing to the pathological process.

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RNA sequencing in situ allows for whole-transcriptome characterization at high resolution, while retaining spatial information. These data present an analytical challenge for bioinformatics-how to leverage spatial information effectively? Properties of data with a spatial dimension require special handling, which necessitate a different set of statistical and inferential considerations when compared to non-spatial data. The geographical sciences primarily use spatial data and have developed methods to analye them.

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Abnormalities of the arterial valves, including bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) are amongst the most common congenital defects and are a significant cause of morbidity as well as predisposition to disease in later life. Despite this, and compounded by their small size and relative inaccessibility, there is still much to understand about how the arterial valves form and remodel during embryogenesis, both at the morphological and genetic level. Here we set out to address this in human embryos, using Spatial Transcriptomics (ST).

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Background & Aims: The progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is aggravated by auto-aggressive T cells. The gut-liver axis contributes to NASH, but the mechanisms involved and the consequences for NASH-induced fibrosis and liver cancer remain unknown. We investigated the role of gastrointestinal B cells in the development of NASH, fibrosis and NASH-induced HCC.

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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common, progressive liver disease strongly associated with the metabolic syndrome. It is unclear how progression of NAFLD towards cirrhosis translates into systematic changes in circulating proteins. Here, we provide a detailed proteo-transcriptomic map of steatohepatitis and fibrosis during progressive NAFLD.

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Macrophages are key target cells of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, implicated as a viral reservoir seeding sanctuary sites such as the central nervous system and testes. This rests on the apparent ability of macrophages to sustain ZIKV replication without experiencing cytopathic effects. ZIKV infection of macrophages triggers an innate immune response involving type I interferons (IFN-I), key antiviral cytokines that play a complex role in ZIKV pathogenesis in animal models.

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly prevalent disease that is associated with multiple metabolic disturbances, yet the metabolic pathways underlying its progression are poorly understood. Here, we studied metabolic pathways of the human liver across the full histological spectrum of NAFLD. We analyzed whole liver tissue transcriptomics and serum metabolomics data obtained from a large, prospectively enrolled cohort of 206 histologically characterized patients derived from the European NAFLD Registry and developed genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) of human hepatocytes at different stages of NAFLD.

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Background: Probabilistic functional integrated networks (PFINs) are designed to aid our understanding of cellular biology and can be used to generate testable hypotheses about protein function. PFINs are generally created by scoring the quality of interaction datasets against a Gold Standard dataset, usually chosen from a separate high-quality data source, prior to their integration. Use of an external Gold Standard has several drawbacks, including data redundancy, data loss and the need for identifier mapping, which can complicate the network build and impact on PFIN performance.

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Interactome analyses have traditionally been applied to yeast, human and other model organisms due to the availability of protein-protein interaction data for these species. Recently, these techniques have been applied to more diverse species using computational interaction prediction from genome sequence and other data types. This review describes the various types of computational interactome networks that can be created and how they have been used in diverse eukaryotic species, highlighting some of the key interactome studies in non-model organisms.

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Mechanical loading exerts a profound influence on bone density and architecture, but the exact mechanism is unknown. Our study shows that expression of the neurological transcriptional factor zinc finger of the cerebellum 1 () is markedly increased in trabecular bone biopsies in the lumbar spine compared with the iliac crest, skeletal sites of high and low mechanical stress, respectively. Human trabecular bone transcriptome analyses revealed a strong association between mRNA levels and gene transcripts characteristically associated with osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts.

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Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of genes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), both at the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia stages, to improve our understanding of disease pathophysiology and investigate the potential for diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers based on mRNA expression.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: University research center.

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Background & Aims: Serum microRNA (miRNA) levels are known to change in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and may serve as useful biomarkers. This study aimed to profile miRNAs comprehensively at all NAFLD stages.

Methods: We profiled 2,083 serum miRNAs in a discovery cohort (183 cases with NAFLD representing the complete NAFLD spectrum and 10 population controls).

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Traditional drug discovery faces a severe efficacy crisis. Repurposing of registered drugs provides an alternative with lower costs and faster drug development timelines. However, the data necessary for the identification of disease modules, i.

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Article Synopsis
  • NAFLD is the most common liver disease, with its severe form, NASH, linked to worse health outcomes; the study aimed to find noninvasive biomarkers for these conditions.
  • RNA sequencing of liver tissues from 98 patients highlighted that thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2) levels were significantly elevated in NASH and advanced fibrosis stages, indicating its potential as a diagnostic marker.
  • Serum TSP-2 levels accurately correlated with disease progression and could help predict the risk of severe complications, including liver cancer, making it a promising tool for managing NAFLD.
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Ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) exerts pleiotropic effects on human skin. DNA damage response and repair pathways are activated by UVB; if damage cannot be repaired, apoptosis ensues. Although cumulative UVB exposure predisposes to skin cancer, UVB phototherapy is widely used as an effective treatment for psoriasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be caused by factors such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is linked to an accumulation of inactive immune cells in the liver.
  • Immunotherapy targeting PD1 has been approved for HCC but doesn't effectively improve patient outcomes, particularly in those with NASH-HCC, as it may worsen the disease instead of helping.
  • Research suggests that CD8 T cells contribute to the development of NASH-HCC rather than supporting immune defense, indicating a need for better patient stratification based on the underlying causes of HCC.
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The mechanisms that drive nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain incompletely understood. This large multicenter study characterized the transcriptional changes that occur in liver tissue across the NAFLD spectrum as disease progresses to cirrhosis to identify potential circulating markers. We performed high-throughput RNA sequencing on a discovery cohort comprising histologically characterized NAFLD samples from 206 patients.

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Background & Aims: Genetic factors associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain incompletely understood. To date, most genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have adopted radiologically assessed hepatic triglyceride content as the reference phenotype and so cannot address steatohepatitis or fibrosis. We describe a GWAS encompassing the full spectrum of histologically characterised NAFLD.

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