Article
Genetics & Heredity
Sabrina Ferreira de Jesus, Laercio Ives Santos, Joao Felicio Rodrigues Neto, Thallyta Maria Vieira, Joao Batista Mendes, Marcos Flavio Silveira Vasconcelos D'angelo, Andre Luiz Sena Guimaraes
Summary: COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China, and it is believed that effective vaccines and a global vaccination program are necessary to return to normalcy. Research identified specific target markers in SARS-CoV-2 RNA for potential vaccine development based on antisense RNA, highlighting the need for further understanding of antisense RNA mechanisms.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irma Saulle, Micaela Garziano, Gioia Cappelletti, Fiona Limanaqi, Sergio Strizzi, Claudia Vanetti, Sergio Lo Caputo, Mariacristina Poliseno, Teresa Antonia Santantonio, Mario Clerici, Mara Biasin
Summary: This study found that the changes in miRNAs, cytokines, and neutralizing activity in the saliva and plasma of COVID-19 patients are associated with disease severity. Compared to mild patients, severe patients showed significant differences in the expression of 8 miRNAs in their saliva and plasma, with increased expression of immune regulatory miRNAs and decreased expression of others.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Syuzo Kaneko, Ken Takasawa, Ken Asada, Norio Shinkai, Amina Bolatkan, Masayoshi Yamada, Satoshi Takahashi, Hidenori Machino, Kazuma Kobayashi, Masaaki Komatsu, Ryuji Hamamoto
Summary: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic in 2020, and while global vaccination efforts are expected to help control the situation, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants poses challenges. Effective treatments for COVID-19 are still scarce, with the pathogenic mechanisms remaining unclear, although epigenetics is suggested to play a significant role.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Dan H. Barouch
Summary: This article reviews the protective effects of vaccination and prior infection on severe Covid-19, and proposes future research directions.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qin Liu, Qi Su, Fen Zhang, Hein M. Tun, Joyce Wing Yan Mak, Grace Chung-Yan Lui, Susanna So Shan Ng, Jessica Y. L. Ching, Amy Li, Wenqi Lu, Chenyu Liu, Chun Pan Cheung, David S. C. Hui, Paul K. S. Chan, Francis Ka Leung Chan, Siew C. Ng
Summary: By integrating clinical features and multi-omics data, the authors identified specific gut microbiome patterns associated with disease severity and development of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. These findings highlight the potential utility of host phenotype and multi-kingdom microbiota profiling as a prognostic tool for patients with COVID-19.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Matthew J. McConnell, Nao Kawaguchi, Reiichiro Kondo, Aurelio Sonzogni, Lisa Licini, Clarissa Valle, Pietro A. Bonaffini, Sandro Sironi, Maria Grazia Alessio, Giulia Previtali, Michela Seghezzi, Xuchen Zhang, Alfred Lee, Alexander B. Pine, Hyung J. Chun, Xinbo Zhang, Carlos Fernandez-Hernando, Hua Qing, Andrew Wang, Christina Price, Zhaoli Sun, Teruo Utsumi, John Hwa, Mario Strazzabosco, Yasuko Iwakiri
Summary: Analysis of COVID-19 patients suggests that IL-6 trans-signaling may cause hepatic endotheliopathy and blood clot formation, leading to liver injury.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Immunology
Rustom Antia, M. Elizabeth Halloran
Summary: The article discusses the basic concepts underlying the transition from an epidemic to an endemic state, as well as the implications of this transition for COVID-19.
Article
Virology
Daniele Santoni, Nimisha Ghosh, Carlo Derelitto, Indrajit Saha
Summary: The study focuses on the role of transcription factors (TFs) in COVID-19-induced alteration of gene expression and regulation. 19 human TFs were selected for their potential regulation of human proteins interacting with the Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. A comparison of correlation values between TFs and human genes in healthy and COVID-19 patients led to the identification of 31 genes with significant differential regulation. These findings suggest that TFs and these genes could be potential targets to counteract COVID-19 infection. Rating: 8 out of 10.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marcia C. Castro, Sun Kim, Lorena Barberia, Ana Freitas Ribeiro, Susie Gurzenda, Karina Braga Ribeiro, Erin Abbott, Jeffrey Blossom, Beatriz Rache, Burton H. Singer
Summary: The study found that COVID-19 in Brazil is spreading rapidly across municipalities with distinct spatial and temporal patterns of clustering, trajectories, and speed. Analysis shows that inadequate policy measures have led to high transmission and mortality burdens. The current surge in cases and deaths, along with the circulation of concerning variants, highlights the need for government to strengthen prevention and control measures.
Article
Biology
Eric Kowarz, Lea Krutzke, Marius Kulp, Patrick Streb, Patrizia Larghero, Jennifer Reis, Silvia Bracharz, Tatjana Engler, Stefan Kochanek, Rolf Marschalek
Summary: A global vaccination campaign is underway to immunize billions of people against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rare cases of severe side effects, such as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), have been reported after vaccination with adenoviral vector-based vaccines. These events have not been observed with mRNA-based vaccines. Scientists have proposed a mechanism called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and discovered that DNA-encoded Spike protein can be spliced in a way that leads to the secretion of potentially harmful Spike variants. Avoiding such splicing events is important for the safety of future vaccines.
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Sazada Siddiqui, Heba Waheeb Saeed Alhamdi, Huda Ahmed Alghamdi
Summary: COVID-19 is highly contagious and has caused major disruptions around the world. Prevention is crucial through measures such as self-isolation and vaccination.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
William R. Morgenlander, Stephanie N. Henson, Daniel R. Monaco, Athena Chen, Kirsten Littlefield, Evan M. Bloch, Eric Fujimura, Ingo Ruczinski, Andrew R. Crowley, Harini Natarajan, Savannah E. Butler, Joshua A. Weiner, Mamie Z. Li, Tania S. Bonny, Sarah E. Benner, Ashwin Balagopal, David Sullivan, Shmuel Shoham, Thomas C. Quinn, Susan H. Eshleman, Arturo Casadevall, Andrew D. Redd, Oliver Laeyendecker, Margaret E. Ackerman, Andrew Pekosz, Stephen J. Elledge, Matthew Robinson, Aaron A. R. Tobian, H. Benjamin Larman
Summary: This study found strong correlation between the functionality of COVID-19 convalescent plasma and polyclonal antibody targeting of specific peptides in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Antibody responses to specific coronaviruses correlated with the development of highly neutralizing antibodies against CoV-2. Plasma donations reactive to the CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain had higher neutralizing titers.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2021)
Letter
Immunology
Isabel Griffin, Kate R. Woodworth, Romeo R. Galang, Veronica K. Burkel, Varsha Neelam, Samantha Siebman, Jerusha Barton, Susan E. Manning, Kathryn Aveni, Nicole D. Longcore, Elizabeth M. Harvey, Van Ngo, Deborah Mbotha, Sarah Chicchelly, Mamie Lush, Valorie Eckert, Paula Dzimira, Ayomide Sokale, Miguel Valencia-Prado, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Adam MacNeil, Suzanne M. Gilboa, Van T. Tong
Summary: The Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network conducted longitudinal surveillance of pregnant individuals in the United States with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Among the 6,551 infected pregnant individuals in this analysis, 142 (2.2%) tested positive for RNA >90 days and up to 416 days after infection.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zeli Zhang, Jose Mateus, Camila H. Coelho, Jennifer M. Dan, Carolyn Rydyznski Moderbacher, Rosa Isela Galvez, Fernanda H. Cortes, Alba Grifoni, Alison Tarke, James Chang, E. Alexandar Escarrega, Christina Kim, Benjamin Goodwin, Nathaniel Bloom, April Frazier, Daniela Weiskopf, Alessandro Sette, Shane Crotty
Summary: Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have successfully protected against symptomatic cases and deaths. Comparisons of T cell, B cell, and antibody responses to different vaccines can provide insights into protective immunity against COVID-19, particularly immune memory. mRNA vaccines and Ad26.COV2.S induced strong T cell responses, while mRNA vaccines showed substantial declines in antibodies.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel M. Altmann, Rosemary J. Boyton
Summary: A diverse range of first-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been successful in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, although inequitable distribution remains an issue. Future challenges include optimizing immunological boosting strategies and building an immune repertoire that can protect against upcoming viral variants.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Asiyeh Sadat Zahedi, Mahdi Akbarzadeh, Fereidoun Azizi, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: This study is the first to investigate the association of common MC4R SNPs with obesity-related parameters, revealing several SNPs that are associated with obesity indicators in Iranian adults. An interesting finding is a protective gene that helps combat obesity. Additionally, the MC4R risk score only affects BMI and waist circumference during early adulthood in the study.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Raheleh Heydari, Zohreh Jangravi, Samaneh Maleknia, Mehrshad Seresht-Ahmadi, Zahra Bahari, Ghasem Hosseini Salekdeh, Anna Meyfour
Summary: Sex hormones and sex chromosomes play key roles in sex differences in disease susceptibility, severity, outcomes and response to therapy. The Y chromosome harbors male-specific genes that interact with X-chromosome genes and sex hormones to impact physiology and disease mechanisms in most or all tissues. Loss of Y chromosome and aberrant expression of Y chromosome genes cause sex differences in disease mechanisms. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying Y chromosome-related diseases can have a significant impact on disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
CELL AND BIOSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Hossein Lanjanian, Leila Najd Hassan Bonab, Mahdi Akbarzadeh, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Asiyeh Sadat Zahedi, Sajedeh Masjoudi, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: Biological processes involving environmental and genetic factors drive the interplay between age- and sex-regulating lipid profile. The relation between variations in the LPA gene with increasing the risk of coronary heart disease is dependent on population differences, sex, and age. This study found that in middle-aged males, the association between the rs6415084 gene variant and the probability and age of coronary heart disease onset was significant. Furthermore, age and sex were identified as moderators of the association between genetic variants of LPA and heart disease risk.
BIOLOGY OF SEX DIFFERENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Effat Ghadirzadeh-Khorzoghi, Masoomeh Jannesar, Zahra Jahanbakhshian-Davaran, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Abolfazl Lotfi, Ali Tajabadi Pour, Seyed Mahdi Seyedi
Summary: This study determined the progeny sex ratio in four pistachio populations using molecular markers and found a female-biased sex ratio. Under stressful conditions, the sex ratio can deviate towards males, and this deviation increases with the intensity of the stress. Females are more affected than males based on physical measurements. These findings have economic importance for introducing more tolerant pistachio gender and can be used for breeding programs and reforestation.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Saeideh Jafarinejad-Farsangi, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Zari Naderi Ghale-noie, Nahid Askari, Zahra Miri Karam, Samaneh Mollazadeh, Morteza Hadizadeh
Summary: This study combines multiple microarray studies to identify genes and pathways specific to each subtype of breast cancer. Through the analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), critical genes and pathways associated with BC subtypes were identified. The results were validated using an independent breast cancer RNA-sequencing dataset, showing high concordance in specific genes related to certain subtypes.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Mahdi Akbarzadeh, Nadia Alipour, Hamed Moheimani, Asieh Sadat Zahedi, Firoozeh Hosseini-Esfahani, Hossein Lanjanian, Fereidoun Azizi, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: This study compared different machine learning classification methods in predicting the status of metabolic syndrome and identifying influential factors. The findings showed that machine learning models outperformed conventional statistical approaches and can be used to identify individuals at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Leila Najd-Hassan-Bonab, Sajedeh Masjoudi, Maryam Tohidi, Mehdi Hedayati, Fereidoun Azizi, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: This study investigates the association of common KCNJ11 variants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Iranian adults and conducts a meta-analysis. The results show that KCNJ11 variants are not associated with T2D incidence in Iranian adults, but certain variants are significantly associated with increased T2D susceptibility in diverse populations. The meta-analysis also highlights the impact of sample size on the magnitude of pooled genetic effect size.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Maryam S. Daneshpour, Mahdi Akbarzadeh, Hossein Lanjanian, Bahar Sedaghati-Khayat, Kamran Guity, Sajedeh Masjoudi, Asiyeh Sadat Zahedi, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Leila Najd Hassan Bonab, Bita Shalbafan, Sara Asgarian, Goodarz Koli Farhood, Niloofar Javanrooh, Maryam Zarkesh, Parisa Riahi, Mohammad Reza Moghaddas, Parvaneh Arbab Dehkordi, Azar Delbarpour Ahmadi, Firoozeh Hosseini, Sara Jalali Farahani, Farzad Hadaegh, Parvin Mirmiran, Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani, Arash Ghanbarian, Mohammad Sadegh Fallah Mahboob Pasand, Parisa Amiri, Majid Valizadeh, Farhad Hosseipanah, Maryam Tohidi, Asghar Ghasemi, Azita Zadeh-Vakili, Mohammad Piryaei, Shahram Alamdari, Davood Khalili, Amirabbas Momenan, Maryam Barzin, Sirous Zeinali, Mehdi Hedayati, Fereidoun Azizi
Summary: The Tehran cardiometabolic genetic study (TCGS) is a large population-based cohort study that conducts periodic follow-ups. Its primary goal is to identify potential targets for prevention and intervention for non-communicable diseases that may develop in mid-life and late life. This research provides an update on the study's rationale and design, summarizes its findings, and outlines the objectives for precision medicine.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siamak Salimy, Hossein Lanjanian, Karim Abbasi, Mahdieh Salimi, Ali Najafi, Leili Tapak, Ali Masoudi-Nejad
Summary: This study introduces a machine learning method to integrate three types of biological data and compares the performance of two other methods in identifying the survival dependency of cancer patients. The hyper-parameter optimized autoencoder was found to outperform other methods and was able to better identify survival subgroups and associated genes in colon cancer patients.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Leila Najd-Hassan-Bonab, Mehdi Hedayati, Seyed Abolhassan Shahzadeh Fazeli, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: This study optimized the Tetra-ARMS PCR method for detecting APOE mutations. The optimized method showed high accuracy and sensitivity, allowing for DNA amplification without the use of hazardous reagents. It can be performed even in low-tech laboratories.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Saber Rastad, Nadia Barjaste, Hossein Lanjanian, Ali Moeini, Farzad Kiani, Ali Masoudi-Nejad
Summary: Alzheimer's disease and major depressive disorder are leading neuropsychiatric disorders, and recent research has shown parallel molecular mechanisms in the brain. This study identified key genes in specific and shared biological pathways through gene expression data analysis and protein-protein interaction network propagation. Methylation status comparison was also conducted for these disorders. Some candidate biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and major depressive disorder were proposed based on the findings.
GENES & GENETIC SYSTEMS
(2023)
Review
Psychiatry
Leila Najd-Hassan-Bonab, Mahdi Safarpour, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Fereidoun Azizi, Maryam S. Daneshpour
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis to verify the positive association between FTO rs1421085 and the risk of developing obesity.
EATING AND WEIGHT DISORDERS-STUDIES ON ANOREXIA BULIMIA AND OBESITY
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Sayyed Sajjad Moravveji, Samane Khoshbakht, Majid Mokhtari, Mahdieh Salimi, Hossein Lanjanian, Sajjad Nematzadeh, Mahsa Torkamanian-Afshar, Ali Masoudi-Nejad
Summary: This study analyzed the levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and identified the biological pathways associated with 5-hmC. The main pathways identified were the cell cycle, apoptosis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. The study also developed a predictive model using 11 genes and achieved a high accuracy in distinguishing cancer patients from healthy individuals. The findings suggest that 5-hmC may play a significant role in GI cancers and can be utilized for early cancer detection and precision medicine.
Review
Oncology
Marzieh Lotfian Sargazi, Saeideh Jafarinejad-Farsangi, Maryam Moazzam-Jazi, Farzaneh Rostamzadeh, Zahra Miri Karam
Summary: This review explores the crosstalk between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway in carcinogenesis, outlining the role of Hh-related lncRNAs in tumor progression and their potential for clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.
