Postn

AIMS: Renal fibrosis is an important pathophysiological process commonly observed in patients chronic kidney disease (CKD). Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a major risk factor for CKD in part by promoting renal fibrosis. In the present study we investigated Brahma-Related Gene 1 (BRG1, encoded by Smarca4) in Ang II induced pro-fibrogenic response in renal fibroblasts. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Renal fibrosis was induced by chronic angiotensin II infusion. Fibroblast- and myofibroblast-specific BRG1 deletion was achieved by crossing the BRG1f/f mice to the Col1a1-CreERT2 mice and the Postn-CreERT2 mice, respectively...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterised by fibrotic tissue deposition in skeletal muscle. We assessed the role of periostin in fibrosis using mdx mice, an established DMD murine model, for which we conducted a thorough examination of periostin expression over a year. RNA and protein levels in diaphragm (DIA) muscles were assessed and complemented by a detailed histological analysis at 5 months of age. In dystrophic DIAs, periostin ( Postn) mRNA expression significantly exceeded that seen in wildtype controls at all timepoints analysed, with the highest expression at 5 months of age ( p < 0...

Prurigo nodularis (PN) is an intensely pruritic, inflammatory skin disease with a poorly understood pathogenesis. We performed single-cell transcriptomic profiling of 28,695 lesional and non-lesional PN cells. Lesional PN has increased dysregulated fibroblasts (FBs) and myofibroblasts. FBs in lesional PN were shifted towards a cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-like phenotype, with POSTN+WNT5A+ CAFs increased in PN, and similarly so in squamous cell carcinoma. A multi-center cohort study revealed an increased risk of SCC and CAF-associated malignancies (breast and colorectal) in PN patients...

Acne keloidalis (AK) is a primary scarring alopecia characterized by longstanding inflammation in the scalp causing keloid-like scar formation and hair loss. Histologically, AK is characterized by mixed leukocytic infiltrates in the acute stage followed by a granulomatous reaction and extensive fibrosis in the later stages. To further explore its pathogenesis, bulk RNA-sequencing, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics were applied to occipital scalp biopsy specimens of lesional and adjacent non-lesional skin in patients with clinically active disease...

Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) exert a crucial influence on glioblastoma (GBM) development, progression, resistance to therapy, and recurrence, making them an attractive target for drug discovery. UTX, a histone H3K27 demethylase, participates in regulating multiple cancer types. However, its functional role in GSCs remains insufficiently explored. This study aims to investigate the role and regulatory mechanism of UTX on GSCs. Analysis of TCGA data revealed heightened UTX expression in glioma, inversely correlating with overall survival...

The Ordos fine-wool sheep is a high-quality breed in China that produces superior natural textiles and raw materials such as wool and lamb meat. However, compared to the Australian Merino sheep, there is still a gap in terms of the wool fiber fineness and wool yield. The hair follicle is the main organ that controls the type of wool fiber, and the morphological changes in the secondary hair follicle are crucial in determining wool quality. However, the process and molecular mechanisms of hair follicle morphogenesis in Ordos fine-wool sheep are not yet clear...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinicopathological factors affecting discrepancies between multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and histopathological evaluation for diagnosis of extraprostatic extension (EPE) of prostate cancer. METHODS: One hundred-and-three lesions from 96 cases with suspected EPE on preoperative mpMRI, of which 60 and 43 showed bulging and frank capsular breach, respectively, were grouped according to pathological (p)EPE in radical prostatectomy specimens...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by vascular remodeling associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, vascular cell hyperproliferation, and neointima formation in the small pulmonary artery. Endothelial dysfunction is considered a key feature in the initiation of vascular remodeling. Although vasodilators have been used for the treatment of PAH, it remains a life-threatening disease. Therefore, it is necessary to identify novel therapeutic targets for PAH treatment. Periostin (POSTN) is a secretory ECM protein involved in physiological and pathological processes, such as tissue remodeling, cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation...

The molecular mechanisms associated with spaceflight-induced biological adaptations that may affect many healthy tissue functions remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed temporal changes in the serum proteome of six astronauts during prolonged spaceflight missions using quantitative comprehensive proteome analysis performed with the data-independent acquisition method of mass spectrometry (DIA-MS). All six astronauts participated in a spaceflight mission for approximately 6 months and showed a decreasing trend in T-scores at almost all sites where dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed...

OBJECTIVE: Liver fibrosis is a prelude to a host of end-stage liver diseases. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), switching from a quiescent state to myofibroblasts, are the major source for excessive production of extracellular matrix proteins. In the present study, we investigated the role of Suv39h1, a lysine methyltransferase, in HSC-myofibroblast transition and the implication in liver fibrosis. DESIGN: HSC-specific or myofibroblast-specific Suv39h1 deletion was achieved by crossbreeding the Suv39h1 f/f mice to the Lrat -Cre mice or the Postn -CreERT2 mice...

In lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), current cancer vaccines show promising effects, despite a lack of benefit for a large number of patients. We first identified the tumor antigens into shared and private antigens, and determined the population by clustering analysis in public datasets. For vaccine development, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) were collected. WGCNA method was furthermore applied to construct a consensus gene co-expression network based on TCGA and CPTAC datasets...

Onco-fetal reprogramming of the tumor ecosystem induces fetal developmental signatures in the tumor microenvironment, leading to immunosuppressive features. Here, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and bulk RNA sequencing to delineate specific cell subsets involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) relapse and response to immunotherapy. We identified POSTN+ extracellular matrix cancer-associated fibroblasts (EM CAFs) as a prominent onco-fetal interacting hub, promoting tumor progression...

Our understanding of how human skin cells differ according to anatomical site and tumour formation is limited. To address this, we have created a multiscale spatial atlas of healthy skin and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), incorporating in vivo optical coherence tomography, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial global transcriptional profiling, and in situ sequencing. Computational spatial deconvolution and projection revealed the localisation of distinct cell populations to specific tissue contexts. Although cell populations were conserved between healthy anatomical sites and in BCC, mesenchymal cell populations including fibroblasts and pericytes retained signatures of developmental origin...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that causes muscle weakness and degeneration. In this study, we identified potential biomarkers and drug targets for DMD through a comprehensive meta-analysis of mRNA profiles. We conducted an in-depth analysis of three microarray datasets from the GEO database, utilizing the Affymetrix platform. A rigorous data pre-processing pipeline encompassed background correction, normalization, log2 transformation and probe-to-gene symbol mapping. Robust multi-array average method followed by Limma package in R was employed to ensure differential expression analysis within individual datasets, yielding gene-specific p-values...

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is characterized by persistent or relapsing allergic inflammation, and both clinical and histologic features of esophageal inflammation persist over time in most individuals. Mechanisms contributing to EoE relapse are not understood, and chronic EoE-directed therapy is therefore required to prevent long-term sequelae. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether EoE patients in histologic remission have persistent dysregulation of esophageal gene expression...

BACKGROUND/AIM: Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, a principal treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), frequently encounters the development of drug resistance. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in the progression of NSCLC, yet the relationship between endothelial cells (ECs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) subpopulations in TKI treatment resistance remains largely unexplored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The BioProject database PRJNA591860 project was used to analyze scRNA-seq data including 49 advanced-stage NSCLC samples across three different time points: pre-targeted therapy (naïve), post-partial response (PR) to targeted therapy, and post-progressive disease (PD) stage...

Heat stress (HS) can result in sudden death and is one of the most stressful and costly events in chicken. Currently, biomarkers used clinically to detect heat stress state in chickens are not optimal, especially for living ones. Analysis of changes in serum proteins of heat-stressed chickens can help to identify some novel convenient biomarkers for this. Twenty-four chickens were exposed to HS at 42°C ± 1°C with a relative humidity of 65% for continuous 5 h in a single day, and 10 birds were used as controls (Con)...

BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are potential targets for cancer therapy. Due to the heterogeneity of CAFs, the influence of CAF subpopulations on the progression of lung cancer is still unclear, which impedes the translational advances in targeting CAFs. METHODS: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on tumour, paired tumour-adjacent, and normal samples from 16 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. CAF subpopulations were analyzed after integration with published NSCLC scRNA-seq data...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of matricellular protein periostin (POSTN) on tumour-stroma crosstalk in the liver metastatic microenvironment of colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Postn-knockout mice and hepatic Postn-overexpressing mice were used to investigate the functions of POSTN on the formation of fibrotic microenvironment and the tumour-stroma crosstalk in the liver metastatic microenvironment of CRC. Clinical samples and database were analyzed to show the correlation between POSTN expression and fibrotic features and TGF-β signalling in metastatic livers of CRC...

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart defect (CHD) is the most common congenital abnormality, and it has long been a clinical and public health concern. Our previous findings have found Periostin (POSTN) and Pappalysin-1 (PAPPA) as potential biomarkers for fetal CHD. We aim to further elucidate POSTN's role in fetal heart development and explore the clinical applicability of POSTN and PAPPA as diagnostic marker for fetal CHD. This study is poised to establish a theoretical framework for mitigating the incidence of CHD and advance a novel approach for prenatal screening of fetal CHD...