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This study is aimed at identifying potential molecular mechanisms and candidate biomarkers in the left atrial regions for the diagnosis and treatment of valvular atrial fibrillation (VAF). Multibioinformatics methods, including linear models for microarray analysis (LIMMA), an SVA algorithm, CIBERSORT immune infiltration, and DNA methylation analysis, were employed. In addition, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO), and molecular pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) or differential methylation regions were constructed. In all, compared with the normal rhythm group, 243 different mRNAs (29 downregulated and 214 upregulated) and 26 different lncRNAs (3 downregulated and 23 upregulated) were detected in the left atrium (LA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, and the neutrophil and CD8+ T cell were infiltrated. Additionally, 199 different methylation sites (107 downregulated and 92 upregulated) were also identified based on DNA methylation analysis. After integration, ELOVL2, CCR2, and WEE1 were detected for differentially methylated and differentially transcribed genes. Among them, WEE1 was also a core gene identified by the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network that included WEE1-KRBOX1-AS1-hsa-miR-17-5p, in VAF left atrial tissue. We combined the DNA methylation and transcriptional expression differential analysis and found that WEE1 (cg13365543) may well be a candidate gene regulated by DNA methylation modification. Moreover, KRBOX1-AS1 and WEE1 can compete endogenously and may mediate myocardial tissue infiltration into CD8+ T cells and participate in the AF process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most important vegetable crops worldwide; however, environmental stressors severely restrict tomato growth and yield. Therefore, it is of great interest to discover novel regulators to improve tomato growth and environmental stress adaptions. Here, we applied a comprehensive bioinformatics approach to identify putative tomato C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP) genes and to explore their potential physiological function in tomato root development and abiotic stress responses. A total of 17 tomato CEP genes were identified and grouped into two subgroups based on the similarity of CEP motifs. The public RNA-Seq data revealed that tomato CEP genes displayed a diverse expression pattern in tomato tissues. Additionally, CEP genes expression was differentially regulated by nitrate or ammonium status in roots and shoots, respectively. The differences in expression levels of CEP genes induced by nitrogen indicate a potential involvement of CEPs in tomato nitrogen acquisition. The synthetic CEP peptides promoted tomato primary root growth, which requires nitric oxide (NO) and calcium signaling. Furthermore, we also revealed that CEP peptides improved tomato root resistance to salinity. Overall, our work will contribute to provide novel genetic breeding strategies for tomato cultivation under adverse environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]