A Co-Module Regulated by Therapeutic Drugs in a Molecular Subnetwork of Alzheimer's Disease Identified on the Basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine and SAMP8 Mice
CURRENT ALZHEIMER RESEARCH
Authors: Cheng, Xiao-Rui; Cui, Xiu-Liang; Zheng, Yue; Zhang, Gui-Rong; Li, Peng; Huang, Huang; Zhao, Yue-Ying; Bo, Xiao-Chen; Wang, Sheng-Qi; Zhou, Wen-Xia; Zhang, Yong-Xiang
Abstract
There are currently no approved effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is a classic, multifactorial, complex syndrome. Thus, a polypharmacological or multitargeted approach to AD might provide better therapeutic benefits than monotherapies. However, it remains elusive which biological processes and biomolecules involved in the pathophysiologic processes of AD would constitute good targets for multitargeted therapy. This study proposes that a co-module, consisting of biological processes, cellular pathways and nodes, in a molecular subnetwork perturbed by different therapeutic drugs may be the optimal therapeutic target for an AD multitarget-based intervention. Based on this hypothesis, genes regulated in the hippocampus and cortex of senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAMP8) mice by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions with different constituents and the same beneficial effects on AD, including the decoctions Liu-Wei-Di-Huang (LW), Ba-Wei-Di-Huang (BW), Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS), Huang-Lian-Jie-Du (HL) and Tiao-Xin-Fang (TXF), were investigated via cDNA microarray, and the perturbed subnetworks were constructed and interpreted. After comparing 15 perturbed subnetworks based on genes affected by LW, BW, HL, DSS and TXF, the results showed that the most important common nodes perturbed by these interventions in the brains of SAMP8 mice were RPS6KA1 and FHIT, and that other important common nodes included UBE2D2, STUB1 and AMFR. These five drugs simultaneously and significantly disturbed the regulation of apoptosis and protein ubiquitination among biological processes. These nodes and processes were key components of the co-module regulated by therapeutic drugs in a molecular subnetwork of AD. These results suggest that targeting candidate regulator of apoptosis and protein ubiquitination might be effective for AD treatment, and that RPS6KA1, FHIT, UBE2D2, STUB1 and AMFR might be optimal combinational targets of an AD multitarget-based therapy.
Integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in 2-, 6-, and 12-month-old Small Tail Han Sheep ovaries reveals that oar-miR-432 downregulates RPS6KA1 expression
GENE
Authors: Gu, Bo; Liu, Hang; Han, Yue; Chen, Yang; Jiang, Huaizhi
Abstract
Small Tail Han Sheep are an excellent local sheep breed in China, and their outstanding reproductive performance is one of their very important biological characteristics. Clarifying the ovary development process of these ewes should provide a theoretical basis for improving their reproductive efficiency. In this study, we identified the differentially expressed (DE) microRNAs (miRNAs) in 2-, 6-, and 12-month-old small-tail Han sheep ovaries by constructing and analyzing the miRNA expression profiles. These findings clarify the molecular mechanisms regulating the excellent reproductive performance of small-tail Han ewes. We used RNA-Seq technology and bioinformatic to analyze these profiles. Eleven, 13, and 19 DE miRNAs were identified in the 2- vs 6-, 6- vs 12-, and 2- vs 12-month-old ovaries, respectively. In total, 54, 37, and 198 predicted target genes of these DE miRNAs were identified in these three groups, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses showed that in the 2- vs 6-month-old ovaries, the target genes of DE known sheep miRNAs were involved in 102 GO terms and seven signaling pathways; in the 6- vs 12-month-old ovaries, the target genes of DE known sheep miRNAs were involved in 52 GO terms and three signaling pathways; and in the 2- vs 12-month-old ovaries, the target genes of DE known sheep miRNAs were involved in 88 GO terms and six signaling pathways. Three miRNA-target regulatory networks were constructed based on these DE miRNA-target interactions. Nine miRNAs were selected to confirm to the accuracy of the miRNA sequencing data with qRT-PCR. The site at which oar-miR-432 binds RPS6KA1 was determined with a dual-luciferase system. This is the first integrated analysis the expression profiles of miRNAs and their targets during ovarian development in small-tail Han sheep. These data clarify the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying sheep ovarian development and identify biomarkers that influence the reproductive performance of small-tail Han ewes.