Search results for "Somatic"
showing 10 items of 305 documents
Direct Reprogramming of Somatic Cells into Induced Neuronal Cells: Where We Are and Where We Want to Go
2014
Direct reprogramming of somatic cells has emerged as a novel strategy to generate neurons, including those of human origin. The method provides enormous potential for studying the mechanisms directing neuronal differentiation, the modeling of neurodegenerative diseases, and the development of potential novel approaches for brain repair. In this chapter, we briefly trace the history of reprogramming, as well as the strategies employed to date for converting different types of somatic cells, including fibroblasts, hepatocytes, astrocytes, and pericytes into induced neuronal cells of different subtype identity. Reprogramming involves particular emphasis on transcriptional and posttranscription…
Pituispheres Contain Genetic Variants Characteristic to Pituitary Adenoma Tumor Tissue
2020
The most common type of pituitary neoplasms is benign pituitary adenoma (PA). Clinically significant PAs affect around 0.1% of the population. Currently, there is no established human PA cell culture available and when PA tumor cells are cultured they form two distinct types depending on culturing conditions either free-floating aggregates also known as pituispheres or cells adhering to the surface of cell plates and displaying mesenchymal stem-like properties. The aim of this study was to trace the origin of sphere-forming and adherent pituitary cell cultures and characterize the potential use of these surgery derived cell lines as PA model. We carried out a paired-end exome sequencing of …
B cell immunosenescence: different features of naive and memory B cells in elderly.
2011
Elderly people show a reduced protection against new infections and a decreased response to vaccines as a consequence of impairment of both cellular and humoral immunity. In this paper we have studied memory/naive B cells in the elderly, evaluating surface immunoglobulin expression, production of the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10, and presence of somatic hypermutation, focusing on the IgG(+)IgD(-)CD27(-) double negative (DN) B cells that are expanded in the elderly. Our results show that naive B cells from young donors need a sufficiently strong stimulus to be activated "in vitro", while naive B cells from old subjects are able t…
Lack of association of a functional catechol-O-methyltransferase gene polymorphism with risk of tobacco smoking: results from a multicenter case-cont…
2013
Background The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) modulates dopaminergic neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex as well as in the mesolimbic reward system. Since the reward system mediates addictive behavior, the COMT gene is a strong candidate gene regarding the pathophysiology of tobacco dependence and smoking behavior. Because of rather conflicting results in previous studies, the purpose of the present study was to test for association between a functional genetic variant in the COMT gene (single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] rs4680) and tobacco smoking behavior. Methods In a population-based case-control multicenter study designed for tobacco addiction research, a total of 551 cur…
Emotional suppression and breast cancer: validation research on the Spanish Adaptation of the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS).
2010
Emotional suppression has played an important role in the research on psychosocial factors related to cancer. It has been argued to be an important psychological factor predicting worse psychosocial adjustment in people with cancer and it may mediate health outcomes. The reference instrument in the research on emotional suppression is the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS). The present study analysed construct validity of a new Spanish adaptation of the CECS in a sample of 175 breast cancer patients. The results confirmed the proposal by Watson and Greer claiming that the CECS is composed of three subscales that measure different dimensions, but not independent, from emotional control…
Determination of somatic oncogenic mutations linked to target-based therapies using MassARRAY technology
2016
Somatic mutation analysis represents a useful tool in selecting personalized therapy. The aim of our study was to determine the presence of common genetic events affecting actionable oncogenes using a MassARRAY technology in patients with advanced solid tumors who were potential candidates for target-based therapies. The analysis of 238 mutations across 19 oncogenes was performed in 197 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of different tumors using the OncoCarta Panel v1.0 (Sequenom Hamburg, Germany). Of the 197 specimens, 97 (49.2%) presented at least one mutation. Forty-nine different oncogenic mutations in 16 genes were detected. Mutations in KRAS and PIK3CA were detected in 40/97 (4…
Direct pericyte-to-neuron reprogramming via unfolding of a neural stem cell-like program
2018
Ectopic expression of defined transcription factors can force direct cell-fate conversion from one lineage to another in the absence of cell division. Several transcription factor cocktails have enabled successful reprogramming of various somatic cell types into induced neurons (iNs) of distinct neurotransmitter phenotype. However, the nature of the intermediate states that drive the reprogramming trajectory toward distinct iN types is largely unknown. Here we show that successful direct reprogramming of adult human brain pericytes into functional iNs by Ascl1 and Sox2 encompasses transient activation of a neural stem cell-like gene expression program that precedes bifurcation into distinct…
Health anxiety and hypochondriasis in the light of DSM-5.
2015
Background: In the DSM-5, the diagnosis of hypochondriasis was replaced by two new diagnositic entities: somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and illness anxiety disorder (IAD). Both diagnoses share high health anxiety as a common criterion, but additonal somatic symptoms are only required for SSD but not IAD.Design: Our aim was to provide empirical evidence for the validity of these new diagnoses using data from a case–control study of highly health-anxious (n = 96), depressed (n = 52), and healthy (n = 52) individuals.Results: The individuals originally diagnosed as DSM-IV hypochondriasis predominantly met criteria for SSD (74%) and rarely for IAD (26%). Individuals with SSD were more impaired,…
Contingent biofeedback outperforms other methods to enhance the accuracy of cardiac interoception: A comparison of short interventions.
2019
Abstract Background and objectives Deviations in interoception might contribute to the development and maintenance of mental disorders. The improvement of interoceptive accuracy (IA) is desirable but assessment and training methods remain controversial. For instance, it was assumed that performance increases in heartbeat counting paradigms after cardiac feedback were due to an improvement of knowledge with regard to heart rate rather than due to an actual improvement in IA. Methods Here, we examined effects of contingent cardiac feedback training, non-contingent cardiac feedback, mindfulness practice, and a waiting period with external attentional focus on IA. 100 healthy participants under…
Propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Quejas Somáticas en niños y adultos españoles
2015
The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Somatic Complaints List (SCL) in Spanish child and adult populations. This instrument assesses the frequency with which people experience and feel pain such as stomach ache and headache, among others. It has been validated in different countries and languages (Dutch, English, and Persian), showing adequate psychometric properties. Nevertheless, it has never been validated in a Spanish context. Method: For the adaptation and validation, we used two different samples: 1423 children, age ranging from 8 to 12 years old, selected from 12 primary and secondary schools at 7 locations in the Valencian Community, Spain (age = 9.…