RNA base-modification and A-to-I editing landscapes of oxidatively stressed human retinal pigment epithelium under Quantum Molecular Resonance electrotherapy and blood-derived secretome.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Division of Medical Biotechnologies and Preventive Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
- 2Department of Biomolecular Strategies, Genetics and Avant-Garde Therapies, Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (I.E.ME.S.T.), Palermo, Italy.
- 3Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
- 4Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
- 5Telea Electronic Engineering Srl, Sandrigo, Italy.
- 6Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Abstract
Chemical modifications of RNA bases and adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing are regulatory layers essentially unexplored in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), whose oxidative dysfunction underlies age-related macular degeneration. We mapped both layers in ARPE-19 cells exposed to tert-butyl hydroperoxide under two non-pharmacological interventions, Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR) electrotherapy and a patient blood-derived secretome, across 56 libraries spanning four arms, three time points and matched stressed and stress-free conditions (GEO: GSE328981). Base modifications were called with HARMLNC and A-to-I editing screened with a transition-signal caller, then re-analysed with REDItools3, JACUSA2 and LoDEI. The high-confidence set comprised 241 calls at 15 sites, all of classes canonical to tRNA and rRNA. The most prevalent was an adenosine modification at chrM:2617 in mitochondrial 16S rRNA (MT-RNR2), detected in 51 of 56 libraries and in every arm. Two positions 1 bp apart lie in an EZR/SYTL3 overlap region, whereas a third chromosome 6 site maps to HLA-C, 127.5 Mb away. No position of either layer differed between treatment arms: 7 testable modification sites (minimum p = 0.19) and, at single-nucleotide resolution under dedicated callers agreeing to r = 0.975-0.992, 15 curated editing positions (minimum q = 0.169). Two one-sided tests bound any change in substitution composition within 1.4% and in mean editing frequency within 10% for secretome and combination and 20% for QMR. Against a stress-free baseline internal to the cohort, only chrM:13710 (MT-ND5) changed detectably (q = 0.03). These layers are therefore small, largely constitutive and quantifiably undisturbed by either intervention at the resolution available.
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BibTeX
@article{morda2026basemodification,
title = {{RNA base-modification and A-to-I editing landscapes of oxidatively stressed human retinal pigment epithelium under Quantum Molecular Resonance electrotherapy and blood-derived secretome.}},
author = {Domenico Mordà and Simona Alibrandi and Concetta Scimone and Angela D'ascola and Federica Aliquò and Giorgia Abate and Gianantonio Pozzato and Sergio Zaccaria Scalinci and Rosalia D'angelo and Antonina Sidoti and Luigi Donato},
journal = {RNA biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/15476286.2026.2731889},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876306},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - RNA base-modification and A-to-I editing landscapes of oxidatively stressed human retinal pigment epithelium under Quantum Molecular Resonance electrotherapy and blood-derived secretome.
AU - Domenico Mordà
AU - Simona Alibrandi
AU - Concetta Scimone
AU - Angela D'ascola
AU - Federica Aliquò
AU - Giorgia Abate
AU - Gianantonio Pozzato
AU - Sergio Zaccaria Scalinci
AU - Rosalia D'angelo
AU - Antonina Sidoti
AU - Luigi Donato
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - RNA biology
DO - 10.1080/15476286.2026.2731889
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876306
AB - Chemical modifications of RNA bases and adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing are regulatory layers essentially unexplored in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), whose oxidative dysfunction underlies age-related macular degeneration. We mapped both layers in ARPE-19 cells exposed to tert-butyl hydroperoxide under two non-pharmacological interventions, Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR) electrotherapy and a patient blood-derived secretome, across 56 libraries spanning four arms, three time points and matched stressed and stress-free conditions (GEO: GSE328981). Base modifications were called with HARMLNC and A-to-I editing screened with a transition-signal caller, then re-analysed with REDItools3, JACUSA2 and LoDEI. The high-confidence set comprised 241 calls at 15 sites, all of classes canonical to tRNA and rRNA. The most prevalent was an adenosine modification at chrM:2617 in mitochondrial 16S rRNA (MT-RNR2), detected in 51 of 56 libraries and in every arm. Two positions 1 bp apart lie in an EZR/SYTL3 overlap region, whereas a third chromosome 6 site maps to HLA-C, 127.5 Mb away. No position of either layer differed between treatment arms: 7 testable modification sites (minimum p = 0.19) and, at single-nucleotide resolution under dedicated callers agreeing to r = 0.975-0.992, 15 curated editing positions (minimum q = 0.169). Two one-sided tests bound any change in substitution composition within 1.4% and in mean editing frequency within 10% for secretome and combination and 20% for QMR. Against a stress-free baseline internal to the cohort, only chrM:13710 (MT-ND5) changed detectably (q = 0.03). These layers are therefore small, largely constitutive and quantifiably undisturbed by either intervention at the resolution available.
SN - 1547-6286
SN - 1555-8584
ER -