The following is a summary of “FOXP3 splice variant expression in males and females in healthy populations and in kidney transplant recipients,” published in the May 2024 issue of Nephrology by Saleh et al.
The forkhead box (FOXP3) transcript is crucial for immune tolerance, especially regarding transplanted organs. However, its expression and variants in healthy individuals and kidney transplant recipients (KTR) still need to be explored.
Researchers conducted a prospective study investigating FOXP3 mRNA variants in healthy individuals and KTRs, pre- and post-transplantation, elucidating any gender-based differences and effects of transplantation and immunosuppressive treatments.
They used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to analyze FOXP3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 101 healthy kidney donors and 248 KTRs before and after transplantation. Variants included pre-mature mRNA FOXP3, total mature FOXP3, spliced exon two FOXP3, and full-length FOXP3. A publicly available healthy cohort (N = 33) was also analyzed (GSE97475).
The result showed that healthy females and males exhibited similar FOXP3 levels. Likewise, KTRs showed comparable FOXP3 levels pre- and post-transplantation, suggesting no gender-specific influence from transplantation or treatment. KTRs expressed lower mature FOXP3 and higher pre-mature FOXP3 mRNA pre-transplant than healthy individuals, indicating potential differences in mRNA synthesis, degradation, or spliceosome efficiency.
Investigators concluded that gender doesn’t impact FOXP3 expression in healthy individuals or KTRs. Kidney transplantation and treatments don’t affect FOXP3 differently between genders. Yet, KTRs have lower mature FOXP3 and higher pre-mature FOXP3 mRNA pre-transplant, hinting at mRNA regulation differences.
Source: nature.com/articles/s41598-024-62149-1
