Tlcd4, while its exact function, associated pathways, and overall biological importance are still being explored, has emerged as a gene of interest in multiple studies. Research on it often utilizes animal models to understand its role in various biological processes and disease conditions [1-3].

In the context of cold exposure, in two animal models (ferrets and rats), Tlcd4 was affected in adipose tissue (AT) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after cold exposure. In ferrets, one week of cold exposure (4 °C) led to overexpression of Tlcd4 in aortic perivascular and inguinal AT depots and in PBMCs. In rats, 1-week at 4 °C induced Tlcd4 expression in brown AT and PBMCs, while 1-h at 4 °C reduced Tlcd4 mRNA levels in retroperitoneal white AT. In humans, the effects were less clear, with decreased PBMC TLCD4 expression only observed after acute cold exposure in normal-weight women, potentially due to short-term fasting [1]. In the study of myopia, transcriptome analysis identified Tlcd4 as one of the genes through which hypoxia and alpha-ketoglutaric acid influence scleral collagen expression [2]. Also, in sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), feature selection analysis showed that Tlcd4, along with PRSS30P and ZNF493, had moderate performance in differentiating sepsis-induced ARDS from sepsis [3].

In conclusion, Tlcd4 shows potential as a biomarker for cold exposure/fat mobilization. Its identification in the context of myopia and sepsis-induced ARDS also suggests its involvement in these disease-related biological processes. The use of animal models in these studies has been crucial in uncovering the role of Tlcd4 in different physiological and pathological conditions, helping to further our understanding of its biological functions [1-3].

References:

1. Reynés, Bàrbara, García-Ruiz, Estefanía, van Schothorst, Evert M, Oliver, Paula, Palou, Andreu. 2024. TLCD4 as Potential Transcriptomic Biomarker of Cold Exposure. In Biomolecules, 14, . doi:10.3390/biom14080935. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39199323/

2. Sun, Yun, Li, Zhuo-Zheng, Yang, Jing, Xie, Yong-Fang, Wang, Guo-Hui. 2024. Molecular mechanism of hypoxia and alpha-ketoglutaric acid on collagen expression in scleral fibroblasts. In International journal of ophthalmology, 17, 1780-1790. doi:10.18240/ijo.2024.10.03. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39430015/

3. Fang, Qing, Wang, Qilai, Zhou, Zhiming, Xie, An. . Consensus analysis via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) reveals genes participating in early phase of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by sepsis. In Bioengineered, 12, 1161-1172. doi:10.1080/21655979.2021.1909961. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33818300/