EryDB: A Transcriptomic Profile Database for Erythropoiesis and Erythroid-related Diseases.

Erythropoiesis is a finely regulated and complex process that involves multiple transformations from hematopoietic stem cells to mature red blood cells at hematopoietic sites from the embryonic to the adult stages. Investigations into its molecular mechanisms have generated a wealth of expression data, including bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing data. A comprehensively integrated and well-curated erythropoiesis-specific database will greatly facilitate the mining of gene expression data and enable large-scale research of erythropoiesis and erythroid-related diseases.

Transcriptomic and genomic characteristics of intrahepatic metastases of primary liver cancer.

Background: Patients with primary multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have a poor prognosis and often experience a high rate of treatment failure. Multifocal HCC is mainly caused by intrahepatic metastasis (IM), and though portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) is considered a hallmark of IM, the molecular mechanism by which primary HCC cells invade the portal veins remains unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the early signs of metastasis of HCC to arrange better treatment for patients.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the cellular and molecular changes that contribute to the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.

Pure ground glass nodules (GGNs) and solid nodules (SNs) represent early and relatively late stages of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in radiology, respectively. The cellular and molecular characteristics of pure GGNs and SNs have not been comprehensively elucidated. Additionally, the mechanism driving the progression of lung adenocarcinoma from pure GGN to SN in radiology is also elusive.

Mapping the single-cell landscape of acral melanoma and analysis of the molecular regulatory network of the tumor microenvironments.

Acral melanoma (AM) exhibits a high incidence in Asian patients with melanoma, and it is not well treated with immunotherapy. However, little attention has been paid to the characteristics of the immune microenvironment in AM. Therefore, in this study, we collected clinical samples from Chinese patients with AM and conducted single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze the heterogeneity of its tumor microenvironments (TMEs) and the molecular regulatory network.

A deep learning model for early risk prediction of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction by DNA methylation profiles combined with clinical features.

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), affected collectively by genetic and environmental factors, is the common subtype of chronic heart failure. Although the available risk assessment methods for HFpEF have achieved some progress, they were based on clinical or genetic features alone. Here, we have developed a deep learning framework, HFmeRisk, using both 5 clinical features and 25 DNA methylation loci to predict the early risk of HFpEF in the Framingham Heart Study Cohort.

Long noncoding RNA promotes erythroid differentiation coordinating with GATA1 and chromatin remodeling.

Erythropoiesis is a complex and sophisticated multi-stage process regulated by a variety of factors, including the transcription factor GATA1 and non-coding RNA. GATA1 is regarded as an essential transcriptional regulator promoting transcription of erythroid-specific genes-such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA). Here, we comprehensively screened lncRNAs that were potentially regulated by GATA1 in erythroid cells.

[Genetic variability and phylogenetic analysis of 39 short tandem repeat loci in Beijing Han population].

In this study, we studied the genetic polymorphisms of short tandem repeat (STR) loci from 13 CODIS and 26 non-CODIS system in Beijing Han population for the first time, and established a database of 39 STR loci whose forensic parameters were further evaluated. Our results demonstrated no significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium of 39 STR loci and no pairwise linkage disequilibrium between them. The power of discriminations, expected heterozygosity, polymorphic information content, and power of exclusion of 39 STR loci ranged from 0.

Molecular biomarkers screened by next-generation RNA sequencing for non-sentinel lymph node status prediction in breast cancer patients with metastatic sentinel lymph nodes.

Background: Non-sentinel lymph node (NSLN) status prediction with molecular biomarkers may make some sentinel lymph node (SLN) positive breast cancer patients avoid the axillary lymph node dissection, but the available markers remain limited.

Methods: SLN positive patients with and without NSLN invasion were selected, and genes differentially expressed or fused in SLN metastasis were screened by next-generation RNA sequencing.

Results: Six candidates (all ER/PR+, HER2-, Ki-67 <20%) with metastatic SLNs selected from 305 patients were equally categorized as NSLN negative and positive.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) functions as a tumor suppressor in human melanoma cells.

The insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5), which is often dysregulated in human cancers, plays a crucial role in carcinogenesis and cancer development. However, the function and underlying mechanism of IGFBP5 in tumor growth and metastasis has been elusive, particularly in malignant human melanoma. Here, we reported that IGFBP5 acts as an important tumor suppressor in melanoma tumorigenicity and metastasis by a series of experiments including transwell assay, xenograft model, in vivo tumor metastasis experiment, and RNA-Seq.

Whole transcriptome RNA-seq analysis: tumorigenesis and metastasis of melanoma.

Melanoma is the most malignant cutaneous cancer and causes over 9000 deaths annually. Because fatality rates from malignant melanoma (MM) increase dramatically upon metastasis, we investigated tumorigenesis and metastasis of MM in transcriptome analyses of three distinct cell lines that correspond with the stages of MM pathogenesis: the normal stage (HEMn-LP), the onset of MM (A375), and the metastasis stage (A2058). Using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, we detected asymmetrical expression of genes among the three cell lines, notably on chromosomes 9, 11, 12, and 14, suggesting their involvement in tumorigenesis and metastasis of MM.

Characterization of miRNomes in acute and chronic myeloid leukemia cell lines.

Myeloid leukemias are highly diverse diseases and have been shown to be associated with microRNA (miRNA) expression aberrations. The present study involved an in-depth miRNome analysis of two human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines, HL-60 and THP-1, and one human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line, K562, via massively parallel signature sequencing. mRNA expression profiles of these cell lines that were established previously in our lab facilitated an integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression patterns.

Transcriptome dynamics during human erythroid differentiation and development.

To explore the mechanisms controlling erythroid differentiation and development, we analyzed the genome-wide transcription dynamics occurring during the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) into the erythroid lineage and development of embryonic to adult erythropoiesis using high throughput sequencing technology. HESCs and erythroid cells at three developmental stages: ESER (embryonic), FLER (fetal), and PBER (adult) were analyzed. Our findings revealed that the number of expressed genes decreased during differentiation, whereas the total expression intensity increased.

Comprehensive characterization of erythroid-specific enhancers in the genomic regions of human Krüppel-like factors.

Background: Mapping of DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs) is a powerful tool to experimentally identify cis-regulatory elements (CREs). Among CREs, enhancers are abundant and predominantly act in driving cell-specific gene expression. Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are a family of eukaryotic transcription factors.

Dynamic transcriptomes of human myeloid leukemia cells.

To identify the mechanisms controlling chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in humans, we analyzed genome-wide transcription dynamics in three myeloid leukemia cell lines (K562, HL-60, and THP1) using high-throughput sequencing technology. Using KEGG analysis, we found that the ERK/MAPK, JAK-STAT and ErbB pathways promoted proliferation and metabolism in CML. However, in AML, differentiation and apoptosis blocking resulted in the accumulation of blast cells in marrow.

Influence of carbon monoxide on growth and apoptosis of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells and vein endothelial cells.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a vasoactive molecule that is generated by vascular cells as a byproduct of heme catabolism and it plays an important physiological role in circulation system. In order to investigate whether exogenous CO can mediate the growth and proliferation of vascular cells, in this study, we used 250 parts per million (ppm) of CO to treat human umbilical artery smooth muscle cell (hUASMC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HuVEC) and further evaluated the growth and apoptosis status of SMC and HuVEC. After SMC and HuVEC were exposed to CO for 7-day, the growth of SMC and HuVEC was significantly inhibited by CO in vitro on day 5 of CO exposure.

[Progress on Sp1-like and Krüppel-like factors].

Sp1-like and Krüppel-like factors (Sp1/KLFs) are a family of zinc-finger proteins that are important components of transcriptional machinery in eukaryotic cells. Sp1/KLFs have highly conserved DNA binding domains at the carboxyl terminus that have three tandem zinc-finger motifs. Their amino terminal regions vary greatly and contain transcription regulatory domains that interact with co-regulators.