Search results for "Atom"
showing 10 items of 31559 documents
Uterine microbiome—low biomass and high expectations†
2018
AbstractThe existence of different bacterial communities throughout the female reproductive tract has challenged the traditional view of human fetal development as a sterile event. There is still no consensus on what physiological microbiota exists in the upper reproductive tract of the vast majority of women who are not in periods of infection or pregnancy, and the role of bacteria that colonize the upper reproductive tract in uterine diseases or pregnancy outcomes is not well established. Despite published studies and advances in uterine microbiome sequencing, some study aspects—such as study design, sampling method, DNA extraction, sequencing methods, downstream analysis, and assignment …
DNA Damage Signaling Instructs Polyploid Macrophage Fate in Granulomas.
2018
Granulomas are immune cell aggregates formed in response to persistent inflammatory stimuli. Granuloma macrophage subsets are diverse and carry varying copy numbers of their genomic information. The molecular programs that control the differentiation of such macrophage populations in response to a chronic stimulus, though critical for disease outcome, have not been defined. Here, we delineate a macrophage differentiation pathway by which a persistent Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 signal instructs polyploid macrophage fate by inducing replication stress and activating the DNA damage response. Polyploid granuloma-resident macrophages formed via modified cell divisions and mitotic defects and not…
Inhibition of DNA damage response at telomeres improves the detrimental phenotypes of Hutchinson–Gilford Progeria Syndrome
2019
Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a genetic disorder characterized by premature aging features. Cells from HGPS patients express progerin, a truncated form of Lamin A, which perturbs cellular homeostasis leading to nuclear shape alterations, genome instability, heterochromatin loss, telomere dysfunction and premature entry into cellular senescence. Recently, we reported that telomere dysfunction induces the transcription of telomeric non-coding RNAs (tncRNAs) which control the DNA damage response (DDR) at dysfunctional telomeres. Here we show that progerin-induced telomere dysfunction induces the transcription of tncRNAs. Their functional inhibition by sequence-specific telomer…
IFNL3/4 genotype is associated with altered immune cell populations in peripheral blood in chronic hepatitis C infection
2016
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms near the interferon lambda 3 (IFNL3) gene predict outcomes to infection and anti-viral treatment in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To identify IFNL3 genotype effects on peripheral blood, we collected phenotype data on 400 patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The IFNL3 responder genotype predicted significantly lower white blood cells (WBCs), as well as lower absolute numbers of monocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes for both rs8099917 and rs12979860. We sought to define the WBC subsets driving this association using flow cytometry of 67 untreated CHC individuals. Genotype-associated differences were seen in the ratio of CD4CD45RO+ to CD4CD4…
Serum Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels and Frailty in the Elderly: The Progetto Veneto Anziani Study
2016
High or low thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels seem to be associated with several negative outcomes in the elderly, but the literature about TSH and frailty is still limited. In this article, we investigated whether TSH is associated with prevalent and incident frailty in a cohort of older community-dwelling subjects. Among 3099 initially screened in the Progetto Veneto Anziani Study, 2571 men and women aged ≥65 years (for cross-sectional analyses) and 1732 (longitudinal, mean follow-up period of 4.4 years) were divided into sex-specific quintiles according to baseline serum TSH concentrations within normal range (0.3 and 4.2 mUI/L). Frailty was defined as the presence of three among …
Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Cardiovascular Health
2018
Abstract Significance: Social and demographic changes have led to an increased prevalence of loneliness and social isolation in modern society. Recent Advances: Population-based studies have demonstrated that both objective social isolation and the perception of social isolation (loneliness) are correlated with a higher risk of mortality and that both are clearly risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lonely individuals have increased peripheral vascular resistance and elevated blood pressure. Socially isolated animals develop more atherosclerosis than those housed in groups. Critical Issues: Molecular mechanisms responsible for the increased cardiovascular risk are poorly understoo…
BDE-47 exposure modulates cellular responses, oxidative stress and biotransformation related-genes in Mytilus galloprovincialis.
2020
Abstract Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants, characterized by elevated stability in the marine environment, where are accumulated by organisms, inducing a wide panel of negative effects. In this study, some biochemical patterns related to toxicity, biotransformation and oxidative stress, were studied in the marine model system, Mytilus galloprovincialis, exposed to BDE-47. Mussels were fed with microalgae, previously treated with increasing concentrations of PBDEs (maximum dose 100 ng L-1 of BDE-47 per day). After 15 days of treatment, mussels were fed with the same diet without BDE-47, for additional 15 days. Gills and digestive glands were analyzed at T 0, at 15 a…
Piriform cortex alterations in the Ts65Dn model for down syndrome
2020
The piriform cortex is involved in olfactory information processing, that is altered in Down Syndrome. Moreover, piriform cortex has a crucial involvement in epilepsy generation and is one of the first regions affected in Alzheimer's Disease, both maladies being prevalent among Down Syndrome individuals. In this work, we studied the alterations in neuronal morphology, synaptology and structural plasticity in the piriform cortex of the Ts65Dn mouse model, which is the most used model for the study of this syndrome and mimics some of their alterations. We have observed that Ts65Dn piriform cortex displays: a reduction in dendritic arborisation, a higher density of inhibitory synapses (GAD67),…
Oligodendrocytes Support Neuronal Glutamatergic Transmission via Expression of Glutamine Synthetase.
2019
Summary: Glutamate has been implicated in a wide range of brain pathologies and is thought to be metabolized via the astrocyte-specific enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS). We show here that oligodendrocytes, the myelinating glia of the central nervous system, also express high levels of GS in caudal regions like the midbrain and the spinal cord. Selective removal of oligodendrocyte GS in mice led to reduced brain glutamate and glutamine levels and impaired glutamatergic synaptic transmission without disrupting myelination. Furthermore, animals lacking oligodendrocyte GS displayed deficits in cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization, a behavior that is dependent on glutamatergic signaling in th…
Duodenal Bacteria From Patients With Celiac Disease and Healthy Subjects Distinctly Affect Gluten Breakdown and Immunogenicity
2016
Background & Aims Partially degraded gluten peptides from cereals trigger celiac disease (CD), an autoimmune enteropathy occurring in genetically susceptible persons. Susceptibility genes are necessary but not sufficient to induce CD, and additional environmental factors related to unfavorable alterations in the microbiota have been proposed. We investigated gluten metabolism by opportunistic pathogens and commensal duodenal bacteria and characterized the capacity of the produced peptides to activate gluten-specific T-cells from CD patients. Methods We colonized germ-free C57BL/6 mice with bacteria isolated from the small intestine of CD patients or healthy controls, selected for their in v…