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Heshma Alruwaili,1 Babak Dehestani,1 Carel W le Roux1,2 1Diabetes Complications Research Centre, Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; 2Diabetes Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Belfast, UKCorrespondence: Heshma Alruwaili Email alruwaily85@hotmail.comAbstract: Obesity is defined as a chronic, complex, relapsing disease characterized by excessive adipose tissue. Obesity impacts an individual’s health by increasing complications such as prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cancers (eg endometrial), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). With the increase of obesity prevalence and its negative influences on individuals’ quality of life, there is a great need for therapy with a purpose to produce sustainable weight loss of more than 10% in order to improve or even reverse the progress of obesity related complications. The GLP-1 analogue, liraglutide reduce food consumption, promote weight reduction and improve metabolic functions. The primary mechanism of GLP-1 effect on food intake, metabolism, and weight reduction is mainly due to its actions on peripheral (vagal) and central pathways and activation of hindbrain and hypothalamus. The average weight reduction induced by liraglutide was significant and the weight loss was maintained as long as the patients on therapy. Liraglutide has advantages on weight loss maintenance and promoting cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction, by decreasing systolic blood pressure and glycemic index. In this review, we aim to explain the mechanism of action of Liraglutide, its pharmacokinetic properties, its clinical impact on obesity and its safety and tolerability.Keywords: liraglutide, obesity, weight loss, GLP-1 analogue

A cell's ability to survive and to evade cancer is contingent on its ability to retain genomic integrity, which can be seriously compromised when nucleic acid phosphodiester bonds are disrupted. DNA Ligase 1 (LIG1) plays a key role in genome maintenance by sealing single-stranded nicks that are produced during DNA replication and repair. Autosomal recessive mutations in a limited number of individuals have been previously described for this gene. Here we report a homozygous LIG1 mutation (p.A624T), affecting a universally conserved residue, in a patient presenting with leukopenia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, pan-hypogammaglobulinemia, and diminished in vitro response to mitogen stimulation. Patient fibroblasts expressed normal levels of LIG1 protein but exhibited impaired growth, poor viability, high baseline levels of gamma-H2AX foci, and an enhanced susceptibility to DNA-damaging agents. The mutation reduced LIG1 activity by lowering its affinity for magnesium 2.5-fold. Remarkably, it also increased LIG1 fidelity > 50-fold against 3' end 8-Oxoguanine mismatches, exhibiting a marked reduction in its ability to process such nicks. This is expected to yield increased ss- and dsDNA breaks. Molecular dynamic simulations, and Residue Interaction Network studies, predicted an allosteric effect for this mutation on the protein loops associated with the LIG1 high-fidelity magnesium, as well as on DNA binding within the adenylation domain. These dual alterations of suppressed activity and enhanced fidelity, arising from a single mutation, underscore the mechanistic picture of how a LIG1 defect can lead to severe immunological disease., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The type II transmembrane protein fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) plays critical roles in hemostasis and immune regulation. The C-terminal immunoregulatory domain of FGL2 can be secreted and is a mediator of regulatory T (Treg) cell suppression. Fgl2 -/- mice develop autoantibodies and glomerulonephritis and have impaired Treg cell function., Objective: Our aim was to identify the genetic underpinning and immune function in a patient with childhood onset of leukocytoclastic vasculitis, systemic inflammation, and autoantibodies., Methods: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on patient genomic DNA. FGL2 protein expression was examined in HEK293 transfected cells by immunoblotting and in PBMCs by flow cytometry. T follicular helper cells and Treg cells were examined by flow cytometry. Treg cell suppression of T-cell proliferation was assessed in vitro., Results: The patient had a homozygous mutation in FGL2 (c.614_617del:p.V205fs), which led to the expression of a truncated FGL2 protein that preserves the N-terminal domain but lacks the C-terminal immunoregulatory domain. The patient had an increased percentage of circulating T follicular helper and Treg cells. The patient's Treg cells had impaired in vitro suppressive ability that was rescued by the addition of full-length FGL2. Unlike full-length FGL2, the truncated FGL2 V205fs mutant failed to suppress T-cell proliferation., Conclusions: We identified a homozygous mutation in FGL2 in a patient with immune dysregulation and impaired Treg cell function. Soluble FGL2 rescued the Treg cell defect, suggesting that it may provide a useful therapy for the patient., (Copyright © 2022 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a potentially life-threatening autosomal dominant disorder affecting roughly 1:50,000 individuals. It is commonly characterized by swelling of the larynx, gastrointestinal tract, extremities, and skin. There is growing genetic heterogeneity associated with this disease but more than 95% of mutations are found in SERPING1, the gene which encodes complement 1 inhibitor (C1-INH). HAE cohorts from several populations have been published but no large scale study has been reported from the Arab world to date. Here we document the clinical and genetic findings of HAE patients from a single Saudi institution, which is a major referral center at the national level. A total of 51 patients across 17 unrelated families were recruited including two large multi-generational families, of which one contained an in-frame exonic deletion that was resolved through MLPA. Two cases were negative for all the genes we tested (including F12, PLG, ANGPT1, MYOF, KNG1, and HS3ST6). The predominant HAE subtype in our cohort was type I, at 76%. We were able to uncover a mutation in 49 patients (96%). No type III (normal C1-INH) patients were encountered in the clinic, suggesting that this subtype does not play a major role in HAE pathogenesis in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the existence of four patients with consistently normal complement 4 (C4) levels alongside abnormal C1-INH profiles highlights the utility of dual screening for both proteins in suspected patients., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Potato virus Y (PVY) exists as a complex of strains, many of which are recombinants. The practical importance of PVY recombinant strains has increased due to their ability to induce potato tuber necrotic ring spot disease (PTNRD) that seriously affects tuber quality. In Saudi Arabia, potato production has increased fivefold during the last three decades, reaching 460,000 tons per year. Although PVY has been reported as one of the main viruses affecting potatoes, no information is available on PVY strains circulating in the country. In August 2014, a survey was conducted in a seed potato field at Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia. PVY-positive samples selected based on visual symptoms and serological reactivity were subjected to strain typing using multiplex RT-PCR assays and were determined to represent recombinant PVY strains. Whole genome sequences were determined for two representative isolates, S2 and S9, through direct sequencing of a series of overlapping RT-PCR fragments for each isolate, and found to represent strains PVY-NE11 and PVY Z (SYR-III), respectively. One of the recombinant types, SYR-III, was previously found in nearby Syria and Jordan, but the second recombinant, PVY-NE11, was found before only in the United States. Both recombinants, PVY-NE11 and SYR-III, were previously found associated with PTNRD and thought to be rare. The current identification of PVY-NE11 and SYR-III in seed potato in a new geographic region suggests that these recombinants may not be as rare as previously believed. This is the first report on the occurrence of recombinant strains of PVY in potato in Saudi Arabia, and the first report on the PVY-NE11 strain of PVY found in potato outside of the United States.