Validation and application of new NGS-based HLA genotyping to clinical diagnostic practice.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized clinical genotyping, providing high-resolution HLA genotyping with a low ambiguity rate. This study aimed to develop new NGS-based HLA genotyping (HLAaccuTest, NGeneBio, Seoul, KOREA) on the Illumina MiSeq platform and validate the clinical performance. The analytical performance of HLAaccuTest was validated for 11 loci comprising HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1/3/4/5, -DQA1, -DQB1, -DPA1, and -DPB1 using 157 reference samples. Among the 345 clinical samples, 180 were tested for performance evaluation and protocol optimization, and 165 were used in clinical trials in the validation phase for five loci, including HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1. In addition, the improvement in the resolution of ambiguous alleles was also evaluated and compared with other NGS-based HLA genotyping for 18 reference samples, including five overlapping samples in analytical performance validation. All reference materials produced 100% concordant results for 11 HLA loci, 96.9% (2092 of 2160 HLA alleles) of the clinical samples were matched with the SBT results in the pre-validation phase. After the optimization phase, the clinical trials in the validation phase showed 99.7% (1645/1650 alleles) concordance with the complete resolution for 34 ambiguity results. The retesting of five discordant cases resolved all issues and yielded 100% concordant results with the SBT method. Additionally, for ambiguity using 18 reference materials with ambiguous alleles, about 30% of ambiguous alleles were more resolved than Trusight HLA v2. HLAaccuTest was successfully validated using a large volume of clinical samples and is fully applicable to the clinical laboratory.

Differential regulation of mTORC1 and mTORC2 is critical for 8-Br-cAMP-induced decidualization.

Human endometrium decidualization, a differentiation process involving biochemical and morphological changes, is a prerequisite for embryo implantation and successful pregnancy. Here, we show that the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a crucial regulator of 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cAMP)-induced decidualization in human endometrial stromal cells. The level of mSin1 in mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) and DEPTOR in mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) decreases during 8-Br-cAMP-induced decidualization, resulting in decreased mTORC2 activity and increased mTORC1 activity. Notably, DEPTOR displacement increases the association between raptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), facilitating IRS-1 phosphorylation at serine 636/639. Finally, both S473 and T308 phosphorylation of Akt are reduced during decidualization, followed by a decrease in forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) phosphorylation and an increase in the mRNA levels of the decidualization markers prolactin (PRL) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1). Taken together, our findings reveal a critical role for mTOR in decidualization, involving the differential regulation of mTORC1 and mTORC2.

PLD1 regulates adipogenic differentiation through mTOR - IRS-1 phosphorylation at serine 636/639.

Phospholipase D1 (PLD1) plays a known role in several differentiation processes, but its role in adipogenic differentiation remains unknown. In the present study, we identified PLD1 as a negative regulator of adipogenic differentiation. We showed that PLD activity was downregulated by both 3-Isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) and insulin upon induction of differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipogenic cells. In line with this observation, PLD activity decreased in both high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice and ob/ob mice. We also found that differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes was enhanced by the depletion of PLD1 levels or inhibition of PLD1 activity by VU0155069, a PLD1-specific inhibitor. Conversely, treatment with phosphatidic acid (PA), a PLD product, and overexpression of PLD1 both caused a decrease in adipogenic differentiation. Moreover, the elevated differentiation in PLD1-knockdown 3T3-L1 cells was reduced by either PA treatment or PLD1 expression, confirming negative roles of PLD1 and PA in adipogenic differentiation. Further investigation revealed that PA displaces DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) from mTORC1, which subsequently phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) at serine 636/639 in 3T3-L1 cells. Taken together, our findings provide convincing evidence for a direct role of PLD1 in adipogenic differentiation by regulating IRS-1 phosphorylation at serine 636/639 through DEPTOR displacement and mTOR activation.