Although indicated as adjunctive therapy for seizure disorders, ketogenic diets (KDs) have gained popularity for weight loss and mitigating the metabolic risks associated with severe obesity. However, efficacy, durability, and long-term consequences are incompletely understood. In preclinical models, most studies have included only male mice, precluding an understanding of sex-specific responses to KD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accumulation of senescent cells contributes to morbidity and mortality; however, common mechanisms underpinning this age-associated phenomenon remain elusive. Hematopoietic loss of the Y chromosome (LOY) is the most frequently acquired somatic mutation in males, and this condition has been associated with various age-associated diseases and reduced lifespan. Therefore, we investigated the role of hematopoietic LOY in promoting cellular senescence, focusing on kidney disease because of its well-documented connection with aging and senescence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeart failure is the final outcome of most cardiovascular diseases and shares risk factors with other cardiovascular pathologies. Among these, inflammation plays a central role in disease progression and myocardial remodeling. Over the past 2 decades, numerous studies have explored immune-related mechanisms in cardiovascular disease, highlighting the importance of immune cross-talk between the heart and extra-cardiac organs, including bone marrow, spleen, liver, gut, and adipose tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
February 2025
Mitoregulin (MTLN) is a 56-amino-acid mitochondrial microprotein known to modulate mitochondrial energetics. MTLN gene expression is elevated broadly across most cancers and has been proposed as a prognostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, lower MTLN expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) correlates with significantly improved patient survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hypertension incidence increases with age and represents one of the most prevalent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Clonal events in the hematopoietic system resulting from somatic mutations in driver genes are prevalent in elderly individuals who lack overt hematologic disorders. This condition is referred to as age-related clonal hematopoiesis (CH), and it is a newly recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeart failure affects millions of people worldwide, with men exhibiting a higher incidence than women. Our previous work has shown that mosaic loss of the Y chromosome (LOY) in leukocytes is causally associated with an increased risk for heart failure. Here, we show that LOY macrophages from the failing hearts of humans with dilated cardiomyopathy exhibit widespread changes in gene expression that correlate with cardiac fibroblast activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsynchronously cycling cells pose a challenge to the accurate characterization of phase-specific gene expression. Current strategies, including RNAseq, survey the steady state gene expression across the cell cycle and are inherently limited by their inability to resolve dynamic gene regulatory networks. Single cell RNAseq (scRNAseq) can identify different cell cycle transcriptomes if enough cycling cells are present, however some cells are not amenable to scRNAseq.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH), which results from an array of nonmalignant driver gene mutations, can lead to altered immune cell function and chronic disease, and has been associated with worse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction. However, the role of CH in the prognosis of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has been understudied. This study aimed to characterize CH in patients with HFpEF and elucidate its causal role in a murine model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClonal hematopoiesis is a precancerous state that is recognized as a new causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therapy-related clonal hematopoiesis is a condition that is often found in cancer survivors. These clonal expansions are caused by mutations in DNA damage-response pathway genes that allow hematopoietic stem cells to undergo positive selection in response to the genotoxic stress.
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