Alshbool, F. Z. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2021

Co-expression analysis to identify key modules and hub genes associated with COVID19 in Platelets

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWThe severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious virus that causes a severe respiratory disease known as Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID19). Indeed, COVID19 increases the risk of cardiovascular occlusive/thrombotic events and is linked to poor outcomes. The pathophysiological processes underlying COVID19-induced thrombosis are complex, and remain poorly understood. To this end, platelets play important roles in regulating our cardiovascular system, including via contributions to coagulation and inflammation. There is an ample of evidence that circulating platelets are activated in COVID19 patients, which is a primary driver of the thrombotic outcome observed in these patients. However, the comprehensive molecular basis of platelet activation in COVID19 disease remains elusive, which warrants more investigation. Hence, we employed gene co-expression network analysis combined with pathways enrichment analysis to further investigate the aforementioned issues. Our study revealed three important gene clusters/modules that were closely related to COVID19. Furthermore, enrichment analysis showed that these three modules were mostly related to platelet metabolism, protein translation, mitochondrial activity, and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as regulation of megakaryocyte differentiation, and apoptosis, suggesting a hyperactivation status of platelets in COVID19. We identified the three hub genes from each of three key modules according to their intramodular connectivity value ranking, namely: COPE, CDC37, CAPNS1, AURKAIP1, LAMTOR2, GABARAP MT-ND1, MT-ND5, and MTRNR2L12. Collectively, our results offer a new and interesting insight into platelet involvement in COVID19 disease at the molecular level, which might aid in defining new targets for treatment of COVID19-induced thrombosis. key pointsO_LICo-expression analysis of platelet RNAseq from COVID19 patients show distinct clusters of genes (modules) that are highly correlated to COVID19 disease. C_LIO_LIIdentifying these modules might help in understanding the mechanism of thrombosis in COVID19 patients C_LI

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Exposure to nicotine vapor causes short-term increases in impulsive choice in rats.

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that exposure to nicotine smoke increases impulsivity. Surprisingly, research investigating the effects of electronic cigarette nicotine vapor exposure on impulsivity has not been conducted. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of nicotine vapor exposure on impulsive choice. MethodsTwenty-four adult male rats were trained in the delay discounting task to choose between small immediate food rewards or larger food rewards with delayed deliveries. After 24 days of training in the delay discounting task, rats were passively exposed to vapor containing either 0, 12, or 24 mg/mL of nicotine for 10 days. To monitor exposure to nicotine, serum cotinine levels were assessed on exposure days 1, 5, and 10 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Following vapor exposure, rats were retrained in the delay discounting task until stable performance was achieved, and the effects of nicotine vapor exposure on choice preference were assessed. ResultsRats that were exposed to 12 and 24 mg/mL nicotine vapor displayed higher serum cotinine levels, relative to those exposed to 0 mg/mL nicotine vapor. There were no differences in impulsive choice between any of the vapor groups when tested 15-21 days after exposure. However, increases in impulsive choice were observed when testing immediately following exposure to 24 mg/mL nicotine vapor, relative to immediately following exposure to 0 mg/mL nicotine vapor. ConclusionsFindings suggest that while exposure to nicotine vapor may not cause long-term changes in decision making, it can cause short-term increases in impulsive choice, an effect that can have negative social and health consequences.

animal behavior and cognition↗