Biology subjects

Hussin, J. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Hussin, J. G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Comparative study of protein aggregation propensity and mutation tolerance between naked mole-rat and mouse

The molecular mechanisms of aging and life expectancy have been studied in model organisms with short lifespans. However, long-lived species may provide insights into successful strategies of healthy aging, potentially opening the door for novel therapeutic interventions in age-related diseases. Notably, naked mole-rats, the longest-lived rodent, present attenuated aging phenotypes in comparison to mice. Their resistance toward oxidative stress has been proposed as one hallmark of their healthy aging, suggesting their ability to maintain cell homeostasis, and specifically their protein homeostasis. To identify the general principles behind their protein homeostasis robustness, we compared the aggregation propensity and mutation tolerance of naked mole-rat and mouse orthologous proteins. Our analysis showed no proteome-wide differential effects in aggregation propensity and mutation tolerance between these species, but several subsets of proteins with a significant difference in aggregation propensity. We found an enrichment of proteins with higher aggregation propensity in naked mole-rat involved the inflammasome complex, and in nucleic acid binding. On the other hand, proteins with lower aggregation propensity in naked mole-rat have a significantly higher mutation tolerance compared to the rest of the proteins. Among them, we identified proteins known to be associated with neurodegenerative and age-related diseases. These findings highlight the intriguing hypothesis about the capacity of the naked mole-rat proteome to delay aging through its proteomic intrinsic architecture. Significance statementThe molecular mechanisms behind naked mole-rat longevity are still poorly understood. Here, we address how the proteome architecture can help delay the onset of aging in naked mole-rat by studying properties that modulate protein aggregation. We identify [~]1,000 proteins with significant differences in aggregation propensity and mutation tolerance involved in processes known to be dysfunctional during aging. These findings highlight how evolutionary adaptations in protein aggregation in distinct biological processes could explain naked mole-rat longevity.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2021

A sex-specific evolutionary interaction between ADCY9 and CETP

Pharmacogenomic studies have revealed associations between rs1967309 in the adenylyl cyclase type 9 (ADCY9) gene and clinical responses to the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) modulator dalcetrapib, however, the mechanism behind this interaction is still unknown. Here, we characterized selective signals at the locus associated with the pharmacogenomic response in human populations and we show that rs1967309 region exhibits signatures of positive selection in several human populations. Furthermore, we identified a variant in CETP, rs158477, which is in long-range linkage disequilibrium with rs1967309 in the Peruvian population. The signal is mainly seen in males, a sex-specific result that is replicated in the LIMAA cohort of over 3,400 Peruvians. Analyses of RNA-seq data further suggest an epistatic interaction on CETP expression levels between the two SNPs in multiple tissues, which also differs between males and females. We also detected interaction effects of the two SNPs with sex on cardiovascular phenotypes in the UK Biobank, in line with the sex-specific genotype associations found in Peruvians at these loci. We propose that ADCY9 and CETP coevolved during recent human evolution due to sex-specific selection, which points towards a biological link between dalcetrapibs pharmacogene ADCY9 and its therapeutic target CETP.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

Single-cell RNA-sequencing reveals pervasive but highly cell type-specific genetic ancestry effects on the response to viral infection

Humans vary in their susceptibility to infectious disease, partly due to variation in the immune response following infection. Here, we used single-cell RNA-sequencing to quantify genetic contributions to this variation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, focusing specifically on the transcriptional response to influenza infection. We find that monocytes are the most responsive to influenza infection, but that all cell types mount a conserved interferon response, which is stronger in individuals with increased European ancestry. By comparing European American and African American individuals, we show that genetic ancestry effects on expression are common, influencing 29% of genes, but highly cell type-specific. Further, we demonstrate that much of this population-associated expression variation is explained by cis expression quantitative trait loci, which are enriched for signatures of recent positive selection. Our findings establish common cis-regulatory variants--including those that are differentiated by genetic ancestry--as important determinants of the antiviral immune response.

genomics↗