Genetic Risk Loci and Familial Associations in Migraine: A Genome-Wide Association Study in the Han Chinese Population of Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Migraine is a condition that is often observed to run in families, but its complex genetic background remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the genetic factors influencing migraines and their potential association with the family medical history. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive genome-wide association study of a cohort of 1,561 outpatients with migraine and 473 individuals without migraine in Taiwan, including Han Chinese individuals with or without a family history of migraine. By analyzing the detailed headache history of the patients and their relatives we aimed to isolate potential genetic markers associated with migraine while considering factors such as sex, episodic vs. chronic migraine, and the presence of aura. RESULTS: We revealed novel genetic risk loci, including rs2287637 in DEAD-Box helicase 1 and long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 1804 and rs12055943 in engulfment and cell motility 1, that were correlated with the family history of migraine. We also found a genetic location downstream of mesoderm posterior BHLH transcription factor 2 associated with episodic migraine, whereas loci within the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 26 exonic region, dual specificity phosphatase 9 and pregnancy-upregulated non-ubiquitous CaM kinase intergenic regions, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 and STUM were linked to chronic migraine. We additionally identified genetic regionsassociated with the presence or absence of aura. A locus between LINC02561 and urocortin 3 was predominantly observed in female patients. Moreover, three different single-nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with the family history of migraine in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified new genetic locations associated with migraine and its family history in a Han Chinese population, reinforcing the genetic background of migraine. The findings point to potential candidate genes that should be investigated further.

[Corrigendum] Next­generation sequencing analysis reveals that MTH­3, a novel curcuminoid derivative, suppresses the invasion of MDA­MB­231 triple­negative breast adenocarcinoma cells.

Subsequently to the publication of the article, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that, in Fig. 2A on p. 5, the 'Control  (24 h)' and 'MTH­3 (1 µM; 24 h)' data panels contained partially overlapping data, such that they appeared to have been derived from the same original source. The authors have examined their original data, and realized that this error arose inadvertently as a consequence of having compiled this figure incorrectly. The revised version of Fig. 2, featuring the data from one of the repeated experiments in Fig. 2A, is shown below. The revised data shown for this figure do not affect the overall conclusions reported in the paper. The authors apologize to the Editor of Oncology Reports and to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 46: 133, 2021; DOI: 10.3892/or.2021.8084].

SARA captures disparate progression and responsiveness in spinocerebellar ataxias.

BACKGROUND: The Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) is a widely used clinical scale to assess cerebellar ataxia but faces some criticisms about the relevancy of all its items. OBJECTIVES: To prepare for future clinical trials, we analyzed the progression of SARA and its items in several polyQ spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) from various cohorts. METHODS: We included data from patients with SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, and SCA6 from four cohorts (EUROSCA, RISCA, CRC-SCA, and SPATAX) for a total of 850 carriers and 3431 observations. Longitudinal progression of the SARA and its items was measured. Cohort, stage and genetic effects were tested. We looked at the respective contribution of each item to the total scale. Sensitivity to change of the scale and the impact of item removal was evaluated by calculating sample sizes needed in various scenarios. RESULTS: Longitudinal progression was significantly different between cohorts in SCA1, SCA2 and SCA3, the EUROSCA cohort having the fastest progression. Advanced-stage patients were progressing slower in SCA2 and SCA6. Items were not contributing equally to the full scale through ataxia severity: gait, stance, hand movement, and heel-shin contributed the most in the early stage, and finger-chase, nose-finger, and sitting in later stages. Few items drove the sensitivity to the change of SARA, but changes in the scale structure could not improve its sensitivity in all populations. CONCLUSION: SARA and its item's progression pace showed high heterogeneity across cohorts and SCAs. However, no combinations of items improved the responsiveness in all SCAs or populations taken separately.

Reduced atopic march risk in pediatric atopic dermatitis patients prescribed dupilumab versus conventional immunomodulatory therapy: A population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Dupilumab effectively treats atopic dermatitis (AD); however, its role in halting the atopic march remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate dupilumab's effect on atopic march in pediatric AD patients versus conventional immunomodulators. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network (2011-2024). Pediatric AD patients (≤18 years) were categorized into DUPI-cohort (newly prescribed dupilumab) or CONV-cohort (prescribed conventional immunomodulators without dupilumab). After 1:1 propensity-score matching, we analyzed atopic march progression, defined by the incident asthma or allergic rhinitis (AR). Cumulative incidence was plotted using Kaplan-Meier, with risk assessment via Cox regression. RESULTS: The study included 2192 patients in each cohort. The 3-year cumulative incidence of atopic march progression was lower in the DUPI-cohort than the CONV-cohort (20.09% vs 27.22%; P < .001). The DUPI-cohort demonstrated significant risk reduction in atopic march progression (hazard ratio [HR] 0.68, 95% CI 0.55-0.83), individual asthma (HR 0.60, 0.45-0.81), and individual AR (HR 0.69, 0.54-0.88). Younger patients on dupilumab exhibited a greater risk reduction for atopic march progression and individual asthma, contrasting with the opposite age-related pattern for individual AR. LIMITATIONS: Observational study. CONCLUSION: Among pediatric AD patients, dupilumab was associated with reduced risk of atopic march progression compared with conventional therapies.

Reduced sensitivity to future consequences underlies gambling decision in cerebellar ataxia.

INTRODUCTION: Previous research has identified that people with cerebellar ataxia (CA) showed impaired reward-related decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). To investigate the mechanisms underlying this impairment, we examined CA participants' combination of performance in the IGT, which predominantly tests reward seeking, and the modified IGT (mIGT), which mainly assesses punishment avoidance. METHODS: Fifty participants with CA and one hundred controls completed the IGT and mIGT. Task performance in each of the five twenty-trial blocks was compared between groups and the learning rates were assessed with simple linear regressions. Each participant's IGT score and mIGT score were compared. RESULTS: CA participants performed worse than controls in both the IGT and the mIGT, especially in the last block (IGT: -0.24 ± 10.05 vs. 3.88 ± 10.31, p = 0.041; mIGT: 2.72 ± 7.62 vs. 8.65 ± 8.64, p < 0.001). In contrast to the controls, those with CA did not significantly improve their scores over time in either task. Controls performed better in the mIGT than the IGT, while CA participants' scores in the two tasks showed no significant difference. IGT and mIGT performance did not correlate with ataxia severity or depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Individuals with CA showed impaired performance in both the IGT and mIGT, which indicates disruption in both short-term reward seeking and short-term punishment avoidance. Therefore, these results suggest that reduced sensitivity to long-term consequences drives the risky decision-making in CA.

4,4-Diallyl curcumin bis(2,2-hydroxymethyl)propanoate ameliorates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in methionine-choline-deficient diet and Western diet mouse models.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that causes severe liver damage, fibrosis, and scarring. Despite its potential to progress to cirrhosis or hepatic failure, approved drugs or treatments are currently unavailable. We developed 4,4-diallyl curcumin bis(2,2-hydroxymethyl)propanoate, also known as 35e, which induces upregulation of mitochondrial proteins including carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-I), carnitine palmitoyltransferase II, heat shock protein 60, and translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 20. Among these proteins, the upregulated expression of CPT-I was most prominent. CPT-I plays a crucial role in transporting carnitine across the mitochondrial inner membrane, thereby initiating mitochondrial ß-oxidation of fatty acids. Given recent research showing that CPT-I activation could be a viable pathway for NASH treatment, we hypothesized that 35e could serve as a potential agent for treating NASH. The efficacy of 35e in treating NASH was evaluated in methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet- and Western diet (WD)-induced models that mimic human NASH. In the MCD diet-induced model, both short-term (2 weeks) and long-term (7 weeks) treatment with 35e effectively regulated elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations and histological inflammation. However, the antisteatotic effect of 35e was obtained only in the short-term treatment group. As a comparative compound in the MCD diet-induced model, curcumin treatment did not produce significant regulatory effects on the liver triglyceride/total cholesterol, serum ALT/AST, or hepatic steatosis. In the WD-induced model, 35e ameliorated hepatic steatosis and hepatic inflammation, while increasing serum AST and hepatic lipid content. A decrease in epididymal adipose tissue weight and serum free fatty acid concentration suggested that 35e may promote lipid metabolism or impede lipid accumulation. Overall, 35e displayed significant antilipid accumulation and antifibrotic effects in the two complementary mice models. The development of new curcumin derivatives with the ability to induce CPT-I upregulation could further underscore their efficacy as anti-NASH agents.

Content Validity of the Modified Functional Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (f-SARA) Instrument in Spinocerebellar Ataxia.

The functional Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (f-SARA) assesses Gait, Stance, Sitting, and Speech. It was developed as a potentially clinically meaningful measure of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) progression for clinical trial use. Here, we evaluated content validity of the f-SARA. Qualitative interviews were conducted among individuals with SCA1 (n = 1) and SCA3 (n = 6) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) with SCA expertise (USA, n = 5; Europe, n = 3). Interviews evaluated symptoms and signs of SCA and relevance of f-SARA concepts for SCA. HCP cognitive debriefing was conducted. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed by ATLAS.TI software. Individuals with SCA1 and 3 reported 85 symptoms, signs, and impacts of SCA. All indicated difficulties with walking, stance, balance, speech, fatigue, emotions, and work. All individuals with SCA1 and 3 considered Gait, Stance, and Speech relevant f-SARA concepts; 3 considered Sitting relevant (42.9%). All HCPs considered Gait and Speech relevant; 5 (62.5%) indicated Stance was relevant. Sitting was considered a late-stage disease indicator. Most HCPs suggested inclusion of appendicular items would enhance clinical relevance. Cognitive debriefing supported clarity and comprehension of f-SARA. Maintaining current abilities on f-SARA items for 1 year was considered meaningful for most individuals with SCA1 and 3. All HCPs considered meaningful changes as stability in f-SARA score over 1-2 years, 1-2-point change in total f-SARA score, and deviation from natural history. These results support content validity of f-SARA for assessing SCA disease progression in clinical trials.

Neuronal population activity in the olivocerebellum encodes the frequency of essential tremor in mice and patients.

Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent movement disorder, characterized primarily by action tremor, an involuntary rhythmic movement with a specific frequency. However, the neuronal mechanism underlying the coding of tremor frequency remains unexplored. Here, we used in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, and simultaneous motion tracking in the Grid2dupE3 mouse model to investigate whether and how neuronal activity in the olivocerebellum determines the frequency of essential tremor. We report that tremor frequency was encoded by the temporal coherence of population neuronal firing within the olivocerebellums of these mice, leading to frequency-dependent cerebellar oscillations and tremors. This mechanism was precise and generalizable, enabling us to use optogenetic stimulation of the deep cerebellar nuclei to induce frequency-specific tremors in wild-type mice or alter tremor frequencies in tremor mice. In patients with ET, we showed that deep brain stimulation of the thalamus suppressed tremor symptoms but did not eliminate cerebellar oscillations measured by electroencephalgraphy, indicating that tremor-related oscillations in the cerebellum do not require the reciprocal interactions with the thalamus. Frequency-disrupting transcranial alternating current stimulation of the cerebellum could suppress tremor amplitudes, confirming the frequency modulatory role of the cerebellum in patients with ET. These findings offer a neurodynamic basis for the frequency-dependent stimulation of the cerebellum to treat essential tremor.

Validation of a New Patient-Reported Outcome Measure of the Functional Impact of Essential Tremor on Activities of Daily Living.

Background: The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) is a popular scale for essential tremor (ET), but its activities of daily living (ADL) and performance (P) subscales are based on a structured interview and physical exam. No patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale for ET has been developed according to US regulatory guidelines. Objective: Develop and validate a TETRAS PRO subscale. Methods: Fourteen items, rated 0-4, were derived from TETRAS ADL and structured cognitive interviews of 18 ET patients. Convergent validity analyses of TETRAS PRO versus TETRAS ADL, TETRAS-P, and the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) were computed for 67 adults with ET or ET plus. Test-retest reliability was computed at intervals of 1 and 30 days. The influence of mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) and coping behaviors (Essen Coping Questionnaire, ECQ) was examined with multiple linear regression. Results: TETRAS PRO was strongly correlated (r > 0.7) with TETRAS ADL, TETRAS-P, and QUEST and exhibited good to excellent reliability (Cronbach alpha 95%CI = 0.853-0.926; 30-day test-retest intraclass correlation 95%CI = 0.814-0.921). The 30-day estimate of minimum detectable change (MDC) was 6.6 (95%CI 5.2-8.0). TETRAS-P (rsemipartial = 0.607), HADS depression (rsemipartial = 0.384), and the coping strategy of information seeking and exchange of experiences (rsemipartial = 0.176) contributed statistically to TETRAS PRO in a multiple linear regression (R2 = 0.67). Conclusions: TETRAS PRO is a valid and reliable scale that is influenced strongly by tremor severity, moderately by mood (depression), and minimally by coping skills. The MDC for TETRAS PRO is probably sufficient to detect clinically important change.

Consensus Paper: Cerebellum and Reward.

Cerebellum is a key-structure for the modulation of motor, cognitive, social and affective functions, contributing to automatic behaviours through interactions with the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and spinal cord. The predictive mechanisms used by the cerebellum cover not only sensorimotor functions but also reward-related tasks. Cerebellar circuits appear to encode temporal difference error and reward prediction error. From a chemical standpoint, cerebellar catecholamines modulate the rate of cerebellar-based cognitive learning, and mediate cerebellar contributions during complex behaviours. Reward processing and its associated emotions are tuned by the cerebellum which operates as a controller of adaptive homeostatic processes based on interoceptive and exteroceptive inputs. Lobules VI-VII/areas of the vermis are candidate regions for the cortico-subcortical signaling pathways associated with loss aversion and reward sensitivity, together with other nodes of the limbic circuitry. There is growing evidence that the cerebellum works as a hub of regional dysconnectivity across all mood states and that mental disorders involve the cerebellar circuitry, including mood and addiction disorders, and impaired eating behaviors where the cerebellum might be involved in longer time scales of prediction as compared to motor operations. Cerebellar patients exhibit aberrant social behaviour, showing aberrant impulsivity/compulsivity. The cerebellum is a master-piece of reward mechanisms, together with the striatum, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Critically, studies on reward processing reinforce our view that a fundamental role of the cerebellum is to construct internal models, perform predictions on the impact of future behaviour and compare what is predicted and what actually occurs.

Pathologically based criteria to distinguish essential tremor from controls: analyses of the human cerebellum.

OBJECTIVE: Essential tremor is among the most prevalent neurological diseases. Diagnosis is based entirely on neurological evaluation. Historically, there were few postmortem brain studies, hindering attempts to develop pathologically based criteria to distinguish essential tremor from control brains. However, an intensive effort to bank essential tremor brains over recent years has resulted in postmortem studies involving >200 brains, which have identified numerous degenerative changes in the essential tremor cerebellar cortex. Although essential tremor and controls have been compared with respect to individual metrics of pathology, there has been no overarching analysis to derive a combination of metrics to distinguish essential tremor from controls. We asked whether there is a constellation of pathological findings that separates essential tremor from controls, and how well that constellation performs. METHODS: Analyses included 100 essential tremor brains from the essential tremor centralized brain repository and 50 control brains. A standard tissue block from the cerebellar cortex was used to quantify 11 metrics of pathological change. Three supervised classification algorithms were investigated, with data divided into training and validation samples. RESULTS: Using three different algorithms, we illustrate the ability to correctly predict a diagnosis of essential tremor, with sensitivity and specificity >87%, and in the majority of situations, >90%. We also provide a web-based application that uses these metric values, and based on specified cutoffs, determines the likely diagnosis. INTERPRETATION: These analyses set the stage for use of pathologically based criteria to distinguish clinically diagnosed essential tremor cases from controls, at the time of postmortem.

Flexible nanoimprint lithography enables high-throughput manufacturing of bioinspired microstructures on warped substrates for efficient III-nitride optoelectronic devices.

III-nitride materials are of great importance in the development of modern optoelectronics, but they have been limited over years by low light utilization rate and high dislocation densities in heteroepitaxial films grown on foreign substrate with limited refractive index contrast and large lattice mismatches. Here, we demonstrate a paradigm of high-throughput manufacturing bioinspired microstructures on warped substrates by flexible nanoimprint lithography for promoting the light extraction capability. We design a flexible nanoimprinting mold of copolymer and a two-step etching process that enable high-efficiency fabrication of nanoimprinted compound-eye-like Al2O3 microstructure (NCAM) and nanoimprinted compound-eye-like SiO2 microstructure (NCSM) template, achieving a 6.4-fold increase in throughput and 25% savings in economic costs over stepper projection lithography. Compared to NCAM template, we find that the NCSM template can not only improve the light extraction capability, but also modulate the morphology of AlN nucleation layer and reduce the formation of misoriented GaN grains on the inclined sidewall of microstructures, which suppresses the dislocations generated during coalescence, resulting in 40% reduction in dislocation density. This study provides a low-cost, high-quality, and high-throughput solution for manufacturing microstructures on warped surfaces of III-nitride optoelectronic devices.

LOXL1-AS1 contributes to metastasis in sonic-hedgehog medulloblastoma by promoting cancer stem-like phenotypes.

BACKGROUND: Medulloblastomas (MBs) are one of the most common malignant brain tumor types in children. MB prognosis, despite improvement in recent years, still depends on clinical and biological risk factors. Metastasis is the leading cause of MB-related deaths, which highlights an unmet need for risk stratification and targeted therapy to improve clinical outcomes. Among the four molecular subgroups, sonic-hedgehog (SHH)-MB harbors clinical and genetic heterogeneity with a subset of high-risk cases. Recently, long non-coding (lnc)RNAs were implied to contribute to cancer malignant progression, but their role in MB remains unclear. This study aimed to identify pro-malignant lncRNAs that have prognostic and therapeutic significance in SHH-MB. METHODS: The Daoy SHH-MB cell line was engineered for ectopic expression of MYCN, a genetic signature of SHH-MB. MYCN-associated lncRNA genes were identified using RNA-sequencing data and were validated in SHH-MB cell lines, MB tissue samples, and patient cohort datasets. SHH-MB cells with genetic manipulation of the candidate lncRNA were evaluated for metastatic phenotypes in vitro, including cell migration, invasion, sphere formation, and expressions of stemness markers. An orthotopic xenograft mouse model was used to evaluate metastasis occurrence and survival. Finally, bioinformatic screening and in vitro assays were performed to explore downstream mechanisms. RESULTS: Elevated lncRNA LOXL1-AS1 expression was identified in MYCN-expressing Daoy cells and MYCN-amplified SHH-MB tumors, and was significantly associated with lower survival in SHH-MB patients. Functionally, LOXL1-AS1 promoted SHH-MB cell migration and cancer stemness in vitro. In mice, MYCN-expressing Daoy cells exhibited a high metastatic rate and adverse effects on survival, both of which were suppressed under LOLX1-AS1 perturbation. Integrative bioinformatic analyses revealed associations of LOXL1-AS1 with processes of cancer stemness, cell differentiation, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. LOXL1-AS1 positively regulated the expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß2. Knockdown of TGF-ß2 in SHH-MB cells significantly abrogated their LOXL1-AS1-mediated prometastatic functions. CONCLUSIONS: This study proved the functional significance of LOXL1-AS1 in SHH-MB metastasis by its promotion of TGF-ß2-mediated cancer stem-like phenotypes, providing both prognostic and therapeutic potentials for targeting SHH-MB metastasis.

Synthesis and SAR investigation of biphenylaminoquinoline derivatives with benzyloxy substituents as promising anticancer agents.

The biphenyl scaffold represents a prominent privileged structure within the realms of organic chemistry and drug development. Biphenyl derivatives have demonstrated notable biological activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, and the treatment of neuropathic pain. Importantly, their anticancer abilities should not be underestimated. In this context, the present study involves the design and synthesis of a series of biphenyl derivatives featuring an additional privileged structure, namely the quinoline core. We have also diversified the substituents attached to the benzyloxy group at either the meta or para position of the biphenyl ring categorized into two distinct groups: [4,3']biphenylaminoquinoline-substituted and [3,3']biphenylaminoquinoline-substituted compounds. We embarked on an assessment of the cytotoxic activities of these derivatives in colorectal cancer cell line SW480 and prostate cancer cell line DU145 for exploring the structure-activity relationship. Furthermore, we determined the IC50 values of selected compounds that exhibited superior inhibitory effects on cell viability against SW480, DU145 cells, as well as MDA-MB-231 and MiaPaCa-2 cells. Notably, [3,3']biphenylaminoquinoline derivative 7j displayed the most potent cytotoxicity against these four cancer cell lines, SW480, DU145, MDA-MB-231, and MiaPaCa-2, with IC50 values of 1.05 µM, 0.98 µM, 0.38 µM, and 0.17 µM, respectively. This highly promising outcome underscores the potential of [3,3']biphenylaminoquinoline 7j for further investigation as a prospective anticancer agent in future research endeavors.

Cognitive Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Mild Alzheimer's Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Cross-Over Small-Scale Exploratory Study.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is considered a potential therapeutic instrument for Alzheimer's disease (AD) because it affects long-term synaptic plasticity through the processes of long-term potentiation and long-term depression, thereby improving cognitive ability. Nevertheless, the efficacy of tDCS in treating AD is still debated. Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex is the main role in executive functions. Objective: We investigate the cognitive effects of tDCS on AD patients. Methods: Thirty mild AD patients aged 66-86 years (mean = 75.6) were included in a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled crossover study. They were randomly assigned to receive 10 consecutive daily sessions of active tDCS (2 mA for 30 min) or a sham intervention and switched conditions 3 months later. The anodal and cathodal electrodes were placed on the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and the right supraorbital area, respectively. Subjects underwent various neuropsychological assessments before and after the interventions. Results: The results showed that tDCS significantly improved Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument scores, especially on the items of "concentration and calculation", "orientation", "language ability", and "categorical verbal fluency". Mini-Mental State Examination and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test scores in all domains of "concept formation", "abstract thinking", "cognitive flexibility", and "accuracy" also improved significantly after tDCS. For the sham condition, no difference was found between the baseline scores and the after-intervention scores on any of the neuropsychological tests. Conclusion: >: Using tDCS improves the cognition of AD patients. Further large size clinical trials are necessary to validate the data.

Influences of Genetic and Environmental Factors on Chronic Migraine: A Narrative Review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In this narrative review, we aim to summarize recent insights into the complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors affecting the etiology, development, and progression of chronic migraine (CM). RECENT FINDINGS: Environmental factors such as stress, sleep dysfunction, fasting, hormonal changes, weather patterns, dietary compounds, and sensory stimuli are critical triggers that can contribute to the evolution of episodic migraine into CM. These triggers are particularly influential in genetically predisposed individuals. Concurrently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed over 100 genetic loci linked to migraine, emphasizing a significant genetic basis for migraine susceptibility. In CM, environmental and genetic factors are of equal importance and contribute to the pathophysiology of the condition. Understanding the bidirectional interactions between these elements is crucial for advancing therapeutic approaches and preventive strategies. This balanced perspective encourages continued research into the complex gene-environment nexus to improve our understanding and management of CM.

Host-Pathogen Interactions in K. pneumoniae Urinary Tract Infections: Investigating Genetic Risk Factors in the Taiwanese Population.

BACKGROUND: Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) urinary tract infections pose a significant challenge in Taiwan. The significance of this issue arises because of the growing concerns about the antibiotic resistance of K. pneumoniae. Therefore, this study aimed to uncover potential genomic risk factors in Taiwanese patients with K. pneumoniae urinary tract infections through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). METHODS: Genotyping data are obtained from participants with a history of urinary tract infections enrolled at the Tri-Service General Hospital as part of the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative (TPMI). A case-control study employing GWAS is designed to detect potential susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in patients with K. pneumoniae-related urinary tract infections. The associated genes are determined using a genome browser, and their expression profiles are validated via the GTEx database. The GO, Reactome, DisGeNET, and MalaCards databases are also consulted to determine further connections between biological functions, molecular pathways, and associated diseases between these genes. RESULTS: The results identified 11 genetic variants with higher odds ratios compared to controls. These variants are implicated in processes such as adhesion, protein depolymerization, Ca2+-activated potassium channels, SUMOylation, and protein ubiquitination, which could potentially influence the host immune response. CONCLUSIONS: This study implies that certain risk variants may be linked to K. pneumoniae infections by affecting diverse molecular functions that can potentially impact host immunity. Additional research and follow-up studies are necessary to elucidate the influence of these risk variants on infectious diseases and develop targeted interventions for mitigating the spread of K. pneumoniae urinary tract infections.

Uncovering receptor-ligand interactions using a high-avidity CRISPR activation screening platform.

The majority of clinically approved drugs target proteins that are secreted or cell surface bound. However, further advances in this area have been hindered by the challenging nature of receptor deorphanization, as there are still many secreted and cell-bound proteins with unknown binding partners. Here, we developed an advanced screening platform that combines CRISPR-CAS9 guide-mediated gene activation (CRISPRa) and high-avidity bead-based selection. The CRISPRa platform incorporates serial enrichment and flow cytometry-based monitoring, resulting in substantially improved screening sensitivity for well-known yet weak interactions of the checkpoint inhibitor family. Our approach has successfully revealed that siglec-4 exerts regulatory control over T cell activation through a low affinity trans-interaction with the costimulatory receptor 4-1BB. Our highly efficient screening platform holds great promise for identifying extracellular interactions of uncharacterized receptor-ligand partners, which is essential to develop next-generation therapeutics, including additional immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Fatigue Impacts Quality of Life in People with Spinocerebellar Ataxias.

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a prevalent and debilitating symptom in neurological disorders, including spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). However, the risk factors of fatigue in the SCAs as well as its impact have not been well investigated. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of fatigue in SCAs, the factors contributing to fatigue, and the influence of fatigue on quality of life. METHODS: Fatigue was assessed in 418 participants with SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, and SCA6 from the Clinical Research Consortium for the Study of Cerebellar Ataxia using the Fatigue Severity Scale. We conducted multi-variable linear regression models to examine the factors contributing to fatigue as well as the association between fatigue and quality of life. RESULTS: Fatigue was most prevalent in SCA3 (52.6%), followed by SCA1 (36.7%), SCA6 (35.7%), and SCA2 (35.6%). SCA cases with fatigue had more severe ataxia and worse depressive symptoms. In SCA3, those with fatigue had a longer disease duration and longer pathological CAG repeat numbers. In multi-variable models, depressive symptoms, but not ataxia severity, were associated with more severe fatigue. Fatigue, independent of ataxia and depression, contributed to worse quality of life in SCA3 and SCA6 at baseline, and fatigue continued affecting quality of life throughout the disease course in all types of SCA. CONCLUSIONS: Fatigue is a common symptom in SCAs and is closely related to depression. Fatigue significantly impacts patients' quality of life. Therefore, screening for fatigue should be considered a part of standard clinical care for SCAs.

Cognitive, Emotional, and Other Non-motor Symptoms of Spinocerebellar Ataxias.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are autosomal dominant degenerative syndromes that present with ataxia and brain stem abnormalities. This review describes the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of SCAs in the context of recent knowledge of the role of the cerebellum in higher intellectual function. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies suggest that patients with spinocerebellar ataxia can display cognitive deficits even early in the disease. These have been given the term cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS). CCAS can be tracked using newly developed rating scales. In addition, patients with spinocerebellar ataxia also display impulsive and compulsive behavior, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. This review stresses the importance of recognizing non-motor symptoms in SCAs. There is a pressing need for novel therapeutic interventions to address these symptoms given their deleterious impact on patients' quality of life.