Leng8 is a gene that has been implicated in various biological processes and disease conditions. Although its exact function is not comprehensively detailed in the provided references, it has been associated with genes involved in immune-related functions, as an intergenic variant near it might regulate several immune-related genes such as VSTM1, LILRB1/2, LAIR1/2, LILRA3/4 [5]. It may also be related to pathways involved in signal transduction, as it was identified among genes with expression changes in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of senescence-accelerated mice treated with Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction [3].

In research, homozygous likely deleterious variants in Leng8 were identified in patients with compatible phenotypes, suggesting its potential role in Mendelian phenotypes [1]. In addition, it was identified as a hub gene in obesity-related osteoarthritis, with hub genes in this study being enriched in antimicrobial response, inflammatory response, and humoral immune response [2]. It was also found among genes potentially associated with stage III and IV periodontitis [4]. In kidney renal clear cell carcinoma, a prognostic risk score model was established based on seven hub genes including Leng8, indicating its significance in predicting the prognosis of this cancer type [6].

In conclusion, Leng8 appears to be involved in multiple biological processes, especially those related to immune-response and disease-associated pathways. Findings from genetic studies in patients suggest its importance in Mendelian phenotypes, and its identification in disease-specific gene analyses, such as in osteoarthritis, periodontitis, and kidney cancer, highlights its potential as a key gene in understanding these disease mechanisms.

References:

1. Maddirevula, Sateesh, Alzahrani, Fatema, Al-Owain, Mohammed, Monies, Dorota, Alkuraya, Fowzan S. 2018. Autozygome and high throughput confirmation of disease genes candidacy. In Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics, 21, 736-742. doi:10.1038/s41436-018-0138-x. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30237576/

2. Zhou, Quan, Sun, Huan, Jia, Jin, Wu, Zhao-Xiang, Chen, Zhong. 2022. Identification of Key Genes Related to the Obesity Patients with Osteoarthritis Based on Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis (WGCNA). In Computational and mathematical methods in medicine, 2022, 8953807. doi:10.1155/2022/8953807. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35860189/

3. Zheng, Yue, Cheng, Xiao-Rui, Zhou, Wen-Xia, Zhang, Yong-Xiang. 2008. Gene expression patterns of hippocampus and cerebral cortex of senescence-accelerated mouse treated with Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction. In Neuroscience letters, 439, 119-24. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.04.009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18524483/

4. Xue, Fan, Zhao, Jianjiang, Gao, XiaoCui, Jiang, Xuehai, Lan, Zedong. 2024. Potential susceptibility genes in patients with stage III and IV periodontitis: A whole-exome sequencing pilot study. In Biomolecules & biomedicine, 24, 73-81. doi:10.17305/bb.2023.9282. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37435641/

5. Farias, Ticiana Della Justina, Augusto, Danillo G, de Almeida, Rodrigo Coutinho, Malheiros, Danielle, Petzl-Erler, Maria Luiza. 2018. Screening the full leucocyte receptor complex genomic region revealed associations with pemphigus that might be explained by gene regulation. In Immunology, 156, 86-93. doi:10.1111/imm.13003. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30216441/

6. Song, Jukun, Liu, Yong Da, Su, Jiaming, Sun, Fa, Zhu, Jianguo. 2019. Systematic analysis of alternative splicing signature unveils prognostic predictor for kidney renal clear cell carcinoma. In Journal of cellular physiology, 234, 22753-22764. doi:10.1002/jcp.28840. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31140607/