Association between Maternal Drug Use and Cytochrome P450 Genetic Polymorphisms and the Risk of Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring

Objective This study aimed to assess the associations between maternal drug use,cytochrome P450(CYP450)genetic polymorphisms,and their interactions with the risk of congenital heart defects(CHDs)in offspring.Methods A case-control study involving 569 mothers of CHD cases and 652 controls was conducted from November 2017 to January 2020.Results After adjusting for potential confounding factors,the results show that mothers who used ovulatory drugs(adjusted odds ratio[a OR]=2.12;95% confidence interval[CI]:1.08-4.16),antidepressants(a OR=2.56;95%CI:1.36-4.82),antiabortifacients(a OR=1.55;95%CI:1.00-2.40),or traditional Chinese drugs(a OR=1.97;95%CI:1.26-3.09)during pregnancy were at a significantly higher risk of CHDs in offspring.Maternal CYP450 genetic polymorphisms at rs1065852(A/T vs.A/A:OR=1.53,95%CI:1.10-2.14;T/T vs.A/A:OR=1.57,95%CI:1.07-2.31)and rs16947(G/G vs.C/C:OR=3.41,95%CI:1.82-6.39)were also significantly associated with the risk of CHDs in offspring.Additionally,significant interactions were observed between the CYP450 genetic variants and drug use on the development of CHDs.Conclusions In those of Chinese descent,ovulatory drugs,antidepressants,antiabortifacients,and traditional Chinese medicines may be associated with the risk of CHDs in offspring.Maternal CYP450 genes may regulate the effects of maternal drug exposure on fetal heart development.

Genetic mutations associated with chemical resistance in the cytochrome P450 genes of invasive and native Bemisia tabaci （Hemiptera： Aleyrodidae） populations in China

Bemisia tabaci （Gennadius） is a species complex, and its two most damaging biotypes B and Q are globally distributed pests. Despite increasing biological and economic impacts, little is known about the evolutionary mechanisms that favor their competition with native populations. Here, we investigated the genetic mutations in the P450 gene of the invasive B, Q biotypes and the native Cv population. Four mutations associated with chemical resistance, Pro-Leu, Ala-Ser, Ser-Phe and Trp-Leu, were found in the cytochrome P450 CYP6C and CYP9F genes of the B and Q biotypes. Bioassay results also revealed that both the B and Q biotypes have about 12-47 times more resistance to acephate, beta- cypermethrin, methomyl, and 5-7 times more resistance to imidacloprid insecticide than Cv population. Our results provide a molecular approach for better understanding and monitoring the pesticide resistances of invasive and native B. tabaei populations in China.

Relation of cytochrome P450 2C19 gene 681G>A single nucleotide polynmrphism to clopidogrel resistance after PCI in Chinese

Objectives Clopidogrel is a prodrug that has to be converted to an active metabolite by hepatic cytochrome P450(CYP) isoenzymes to inhibit platelet aggregation.Individualvariability of platelet inhibition by clopidogrel suggests a possibility for genetic factors having a significant influence on clopidogrel responsiveness.In this study,we sought to determine the association between the single nucleotide polymorphism of CYP 2C19 681G】A and the occurrence of clopidogrel resistance(CR) in Chinese.Methods The study enrolled 614 hospitalized patients who underwentsuccessful percutaneouscoronary intervention with drug-eluting stents were received the treatmentwith dual antiplatelet regimen(aspirin plus clopidogrel).All patients received loading doses of 600 mg clopidogrel and 300 mg aspirin.20μmol/L ADP-induced platelet aggregation ratio(PAR ) was assessed 24 h after clopi- dogrel administration.The maximum residual PAR≥70%was defined as CR.Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood samples according to standard protocols,the single nucleotide polymorphism of the CYP2C19 681G】A was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in all the patients.Results CR was found in 126 patients(20.5%).There was CYP2C19 681G】A polymorphism in the study population.The frequencies of the three kinds of genotypes(GG,GA,A A) in CR group and non-CR (NCR)group were 32.5%,47.6%,19.8%and 48.0%, 45.0%,7.0%,respectively.The frequency of AA genotype was significantly higher in NCR group than that in CR group (OR =3.03,95%CI:1.889～5.784,P=0.003).The A allele carriers were more likely to develop clopidogrel resistance compared with that of G allele carriers(OR=1.85,95%CI: 1.392～2.459,P=0.002).Conclusions CYP2C19 681G/A polymorphism is associated with the risk of CR,and the A allele carriers may be a possible genetic susceptibility factor for patients with CR.

Response of Cytochrome P450 Expression to Maize Volatiles in Helicoverpa armigera (Hner)

The 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase （ECOD） activities of cytochrome P450s and differential expression of six cytochrome P450 genes induced by the volatiles from both damaged and undamaged maize plants were investigated in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera （Hiabner）. The ECOD activity changed with time of exposure to maize volatiles. At 36 h after cotton bollworm larvae exposure to maize volatiles, the ECOD activities in cotton bollworm damaged and artificially damaged groups were 2.36 and 4.53 times higher than the control group respectively. The relative expression levels of CYP4S1, CYP6B2 and CYP6B7 in the cotton bollworm were significantly increased in artificially damaged plant group, which was 2.93, 5.09 and 10.66 times higher than that in the control group, respectively. The expression levels of CYP6B2, CYP6B6, CYP9A12, and CYP9A14 were much lower in the larvae exposure to volatiles from both healthy and pest damaged maize seedlings than in the control group at 12 h after larvae exposure to maize volatiles. For the cotton bollworm damaged maize group, the expression of CYP4S1 and CYP9A14 increased.

Characterization and expression analysis of genes encoding Taxol biosynthetic enzymes in Taxus spp.

Taxol(Paclitaxel),an important anticancer drug,is derived at very low yields from Taxus(yew)species that grow very slowly.In the present study,thirteen genes that encode enzymes involved in Taxol biosynthesis in Taxus spp.were analyzed with bioinformatics methods,and their expression levels in different tissues and after cold and hormone treatments were also analyzed.The results indicated that many cis-elements related to abiotic stresses and hormones were found in the promoter sequences of the 8 genes involved in Taxol biosynthesis.Moreover,the 13 enzymes encoded by the target genes were located in different organelles and had many phosphorylation sites in the response proteins.The 13 genes were expressed highly either in roots or in stems,with lower transcripts in needles,and they were highly expressed after treatment with cold,gibberellin,methyl jasmonate or coronatine,consistent with predictions based on the bioinformatics analysis.These results suggest that the factors such as hormones and abiotic stresses stimulate taxane biosynthesis in yews,providing an important way to sustainably generate taxanes from yew trees or their cell cultures to improve Taxol yields.

HMGR, SQS, β-AS, and Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase Genes in Glycyrrhiza uralensis

Glycyrrhiza uralensis is frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine. This plant contains a large amount of effective constituents, including triterpenoids and flavonoids. Among them, glycyrrhizin is believed to be the marker compound to evaluate the quality of G. uralensis based on Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Many studies showed that glycyrrhizin possesses various pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulating activities. In this paper, we summarized the cloning, characterization, expression, and polymorphism analysis of several functional genes involved in glycyrrhizin biosynthesis in G. uralensis.

HNF-4α determines hepatic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow

AIM: To investigate the differentiation status and key factors to facilitate hepatic differentiation of human bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). METHODS: Human MSCs derived from bone marrow were induced into hepatocyte-like cells following a previously published protocol. The differentiation status of the hepatocyte-like cells was compared with various human hepatoma cell lines. Overexpression of hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-4α was mediated by adenovirus infection of these hepatocyte-like cells. The expression of interesting genes was then examined by either re-verse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or real-time RT-PCR methods. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that the differentiation status of hepatocyte-like cells induced from human MSCs was relatively similar to poorly differentiated human hepatoma cell lines. Interestingly, the HNF-4 isoform in induced MSCs and poorly differentiated human hepatoma cell lines was identified as HNF4γ instead of HNF-4α. Overexpression of HNF-4α in induced MSCs significantly enhanced the expression level of hepatic-specific genes, liver-enriched transcription factors, and cytochrome P450 (P450) genes. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of HNF-4α improves the hepatic differentiation of human MSCs from bone marrow and is a simple way of providing better cell sources for clinical applications.