1.
Associations between dietary patterns and gene expression pattern in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: A cross-sectional study.
Christensen, JJ, Ulven, SM, Thoresen, M, Westerman, K, Holven, KB, Andersen, LF
Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD. 2020;(11):2111-2122
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Diet may alter gene expression in immune cells involved in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease susceptibility. However, we still lack a robust understanding of the association between diet and immune cell-related gene expression in humans. Therefore, we examined associations between dietary patterns (DPs) and gene expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a population of healthy, Norwegian adults (n = 130 women and 105 men). METHODS AND RESULTS We used factor analysis to define a posteriori DPs from food frequency questionnaire-based dietary assessment data. In addition, we derived interpretable features from microarray-based gene expression data (13 967 transcripts) using two algorithms: CIBERSORT for estimation of cell subtype proportions, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) for cluster discovery. Finally, we associated DPs with either CIBERSORT-predicted PBMC leukocyte distribution or WGCNA gene clusters using linear regression models. We detected three DPs that broadly reflected Western, Vegetarian, and Low carbohydrate diets. CIBERSORT-predicted percentage of monocytes associated negatively with the Vegetarian DP. For women, the Vegetarian DP associated with a large gene cluster consisting of 600 genes mainly involved in regulation of DNA transcription, whereas for men, the Western DP inversely associated with a smaller cluster of 36 genes mainly involved in regulation of metabolic and inflammatory processes. A subsequent protein-protein interaction network analysis suggested that genes within these clusters might physically interact in biological networks. CONCLUSIONS Although the present findings are exploratory, our analysis pipeline serves as a useful framework for studying the association between diet and gene expression.
2.
Expression and Functionality Study of 9 Toll-Like Receptors in 33 Drug-Naïve Non-Affective First Episode Psychosis Individuals: A 3-Month Study.
Juncal-Ruiz, M, Riesco-Davila, L, Vazquez-Bourgon, J, Ortiz-Garcia de la Foz, V, Mayoral-Van Son, J, Ayesa-Arriola, R, Setien-Suero, E, Leza, JC, Lopez-Hoyos, M, Crespo-Facorro, B
International journal of molecular sciences. 2020;(17)
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a pivotal component of the innate immune system that seem to have a role in the pathogenesis of psychosis. The purpose of this work was to compare the expression and functionality of 9 TLRs in three peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (monocytes, B cells, and T cells) between 33 drug-naïve first-episode psychosis (FEP) individuals and 26 healthy volunteers, at baseline and after 3-month of antipsychotic treatment. The expression of TLRs 1-9 were assessed by flow cytometry. For the assessment of the TLR functionality, cells collected in sodium heparin tubes were polyclonally stimulated for 18 h, with different agonists for human TLR1-9. The results of our study highlight the role that TLR5 and TLR8 might play in the pathophysiology of psychosis. We found a lower expression of these receptors in FEP individuals, regarding healthy volunteers at baseline and after 3-month of treatment on the three PBMCs subsets. Most TLRs showed a lower functionality (especially reduced intracellular levels of TNF-α) in patients than in healthy volunteers. These results, together with previous evidence, suggest that individuals with psychosis might show a pattern of TLR expression that differs from that of healthy volunteers, which could vary according to the intensity of immune/inflammatory response.