Search results for "pig"

Myelin changes in Alexander disease

2018

Introduction: Alexander disease (AxD) is a type of leukodystrophy. Its pathological basis, along with myelin loss, is the appearance of Rosenthal bodies, which are cytoplasmic inclusions in astrocytes. Mutations in the gene coding for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) have been identified as a genetic basis for AxD. However, the mechanism by which these variants produce the disease is not understood. Development: The most widespread hypothesis is that AxD develops when a gain-of-function mutation causes an increase in GFAP. However, this mechanism does not explain myelin loss, given that experimental models in which GFAP expression is normal or mutated do not exhibit myelin disorders. …

2016

Common birthmarks can be an indicator of underlying genetic disease but are often overlooked. Mongolian blue spots (dermal melanocytosis) are usually localized and transient, but they can be extensive, permanent, and associated with extracutaneous abnormalities. Co-occurrence with vascular birthmarks defines a subtype of phakomatosis pigmentovascularis, a group of syndromes associated with neurovascular, ophthalmological, overgrowth, and malignant complications. Here, we discover that extensive dermal melanocytosis and phakomatosis pigmentovascularis are associated with activating mutations in GNA11 and GNAQ, genes that encode Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. The mutations were det…

Effect of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate at different pH conditions on enteric viruses.

2017

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a flavonoid from green tea, is said to have extensive antimicrobial activity in a wide range of food spoilage or pathogenic fungi, yeast and bacteria. In this work, the antiviral activity of EGCG was assessed against hepatitis A virus (HAV) and murine norovirus (MNV), a human norovirus surrogate, at different temperatures, contact times and pH conditions by cell-culture methods. EGCG was effective in reducing the titers of HAV and MNV in a dose-dependent manner at neutral pH and 25 and 37 °C, while no effect was reported at 4 °C. HAV and MNV infectivity was completely removed after overnight treatment with EGCG at 2.5 mg/mL at 37 °C. Furthermore, results als…

Approaching Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Non-Coding RNA Research

2020

International audience; Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest cause of sickness and mortality worldwide in both males and females. Clinical statistics demonstrate clear sex differences in risk, prevalence, mortality rates, and response to treatment for different entities of CVD. The reason for this remains poorly understood. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are emerging as key mediators and biomarkers of CVD. Similarly, current knowledge on differential regulation, expression, and pathology-associated function of ncRNAs between sexes is minimal. Here, we provide a state-of-the-art overview of what is known on sex differences in ncRNA research in CVD as well as discussing the contributing biol…

Alignment Free Dissimilarities for Nucleosome Classification

2016

Epigenetic mechanisms such as nucleosome positioning, histone modifications and DNA methylation play an important role in the regulation of cell type-specific gene activities, yet how epigenetic patterns are established and maintained remains poorly understood. Recent studies have shown a role of DNA sequences in recruitment of epigenetic regulators. For this reason, the use of more suitable similarities or dissimilarity between DNA sequences could help in the context of epigenetic studies. In particular, alignment-free dissimilarities have already been successfully applied to identify distinct sequence features that are associated with epigenetic patterns and to predict epigenomic profiles…

Depleted uranium induces human carcinogenesis involving the immune and chaperoning systems: Realities and working hypotheses

2019

Abstract Cancer is caused by a combination of factors, genetic, epigenetics and environmental. Among the latter, environmental pollutants absorbed by contact, inhalation, or ingestion are major proven or suspected culprits. Depleted uranium (DU) is one of them directly pertinent to the military and civilians working in militarized areas. It is considered a weak carcinogen but its implication in cancer development in exposed individuals is supported by various data. Since not all subjects exposed to DU develop cancer, it is likely that DU-dependent carcinogenesis requires cofactors, such as genetic predisposition and deficiencies of the chaperoning and immune systems. It is of the essence to…

Association between DNA methylation and ADHD symptoms from birth to school age: a prospective meta-analysis

2020

Funder: Gouvernement du Canada | Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000024

Features associated with melanoma metastasis in Latvia

2020

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, exhibits an increasing incidence worldwide and has a high potential to develop metastasis. The current study aimed to identify a set of parameters that may aid in predicting the probability and timing of the onset of CM metastasis. A retrospective analysis was performed using the archive data of 2,026 patients with CM that were treated at the Riga East University Hospital Latvian Oncology Centre, which is the largest oncological hospital in the country, between 1998 and 2015. A case-control study design was employed, where patients with metastasis (n=278) were used as the cases and patients without metastasis were used as t…

Compassionate use of everolimus for refractory epilepsy in a patient with MTOR mosaic mutation

2020

Abstract The MTOR gene encodes the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is a core component of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. Postzygotic MTOR variants result in various mosaic phenotypes, referred to in OMIM as Smith-Kinsgmore syndrome or focal cortical dysplasia. We report here the case of a patient, with an MTOR mosaic gain-of-function variant (p.Glu2419Lys) in the DNA of 41% skin cells, who received compassionate off-label treatment with everolimus for refractory epilepsy. This 12-year-old-girl presented with psychomotor regression, intractable seizures, hypopigmentation along Blaschko's lines (hypomelanosis of Ito), asymmetric regional body overgrowth, and ocular anomali…

Target Therapies for Uterine Carcinosarcomas: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

2017

Carcinosarcomas (CS) in gynecology are very infrequent and represent only 2–5% of uterine cancers. Despite surgical cytoreduction and subsequent chemotherapy being the primary treatment for uterine CS, the overall five-year survival rate is 30 ± 9% and recurrence is extremely common (50–80%). Due to the poor prognosis of CS, new strategies have been developed in the last few decades, targeting known dysfunctional molecular pathways for immunotherapy. In this paper, we aimed to gather the available evidence on the latest therapies for the treatment of CS. We performed a systematic review using the terms “uterine carcinosarcoma”, “uterine Malignant Mixed Müllerian Tumors”, “target therapies”,…